Chapter 566 Yingchuan is in danger

Chapter 566 Yingchuan is in danger

Recently, not only Li Qianzhe's brother Li Xian and his entourage came to Jingzhou uninvited, but Wang Sizheng of Yingchuan also sent envoys to Rangcheng to visit Li Tai, including Wang Sizheng's eldest son Wang Yuanxun, his general Guo Xian, and the previous Zhao Gang, who once belonged to Li Tai, now remains in Henan to assist Wang Sizheng.

Li Tai was recently busy inspecting various villages within his territory for land reclamation and spring plowing matters. His entourage happened to encounter them while they were roaming the countryside, and they were directly led to Li Tai's camp.

"I've met Mr. Xihe!"

During the camp, several people strode forward to greet Li Tai.

Li Tai nodded to several people one by one. Finally, his eyes fell on Zhao Gang and he said with a smile: "Zhao Chaqi, we haven't seen each other for several months. How are you feeling?"

Zhao Gang smiled and responded briefly to Li Tai's greetings, and then he couldn't help but said: "In the old years, I also went to various places in Jing Town, but it is very different from now. I saw the villagers working in the wilderness. Scenes abound, and the wilderness is no longer as desolate as it was in the past. It is expected that after Xihegong entered the country, he promoted good governance and encouraged farmers. If we stay here, there is hope for the revival of this town! "

Li Tai couldn't help but smile proudly after hearing this. Although Zhao Gang's statement that there were many scenes of reclamation was a bit exaggerated, it was also a fact that the scene in Jingzhou's countryside had fundamentally changed from when he first entered the town. Naturally, I can take this compliment calmly.

Next to him, Guo Xian also laughed and said: "When Xihe Gong, the Duke of Taiyuan, went out to control Jingzhou, he also sincerely lamented that this state has been awarded the important task. Xihe Gong has repeatedly promoted wasteland and made outstanding achievements. Everything he saw along the way proves this. For Xihe Gong, I am also impressed by his treatment skills!”

Li Tai could accept Zhao Gang's praise calmly, but when he heard Guo Xian's words, he couldn't help but feel wary. Showing courtesy for nothing is either a traitor or a thief. You almost caught all the rats in Jingzhou's treasury before and left me such a mess. Now you have come together to sing praises. It's really hard to help but think about it. point.

"Although Jingzhou is in a border barbarian territory, after all, it has been under the rule of the king for a long time, and the army and the people all look up to it, so it is not difficult to govern. On the contrary, the Duke of Taiyuan bravely expanded the states in Henan and defended them well, so he was able to win over them. I am humbled by the support of Jing Cong from the people in Jing Lifu."

He didn't take the top hat from Guo Xian and handed it back with his backhand.

Wang Yuanxun, the son of Wang Sizheng on the side, was about the same age as Li Tai. It should be because the city was not deep. After hearing what Li Tai said, he couldn't help but sigh: "What Duke Xihe said is a little less optimistic. The people in that country have been controlled by thieves for a long time. He is cunning, frivolous and unfit for duty, especially after Hou Jing's defeat..."

Guo Xian hurriedly pulled Wang Yuanxun to stop him from continuing, lest his underwear would be turned out, and smiled awkwardly at Li Tai.

Li Tai could naturally guess that Wang Sizheng's current situation was not very optimistic. After all, after the Southern Liang Northern Expedition army and Hou Jing's rebel army were defeated one after another, the Yingchuan where Wang Sizheng was stationed was like a bright beacon that directly led to the Eastern Wei army. The way forward, if this can still be stable, it will be damned.

Moreover, listening to Wang Yuanxun's complaints about the villagers in Henan, Li Tai could also guess that Wang Sizheng was not very optimistic about the effect of absorbing and reorganizing local military and civilian forces in Henan.

After he came to Jingzhou himself, he had an absolute advantage. He spent a lot of effort in sorting out the powerful forces in the village. So far, he has only achieved slight results, and it is far from being able to manage Jingzhou in a monolithic way.

As for Wang Sizheng, it must be more difficult than Li Tai's.

Hou Jing, who originally managed this place, turned himself into a domestic slave with three surnames in a short period of time. The changes in the situation were dizzying. It can be said that the original ruling foundation of Henan was destroyed with one hand. The upper ruling class and the middle class were The rural order at the lower level was completely out of touch.

Although Wang Sizheng can be called a world-famous general, the so-called famous general cannot be ignored. He wants to reshape the order in a very short period of time and effectively integrate the local forces in Henan. , basically equal to dreaming.

In the past, the Southern Liang Northern Expeditionary Army and Hou Jing disrupted the situation and shared the firepower, but now these two groups were defeated one after another. The possibility of Henan forces turning to Wang Sizheng was even slimmer. Li Tai was worried for Wang Sizheng just thinking about it.

He introduced this group of people into the tent and sat down. He no longer played casually with them, but directly asked about the latest situation in Henan.

When he learned that scouts from the Eastern Wei Dynasty had appeared sporadically in the areas around Yingzhou, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. In fact, if everyone is less selfish and more honest, the situation will not be completely impossible to resolve.

If Yu Wenhu did not send the troops to Heyang, but stuck to the two cities of Heyang, even if there was no major breakthrough, the Eastern Wei Dynasty would not dare to go south with its unscrupulous army, and it may not be possible to defeat the Southern Liang Northern Expedition Army and Hou Hou so easily. Jing Luanshi.

If Wang Sizheng had not been so greedy for power and insisted on setting up his platform in Yingchuan, where there was little protection on the left and right, so that he was out of touch with the other armies, he would not have been alone and troubled...

Although he had already experienced Wang Sizheng's stubbornness, Li Tai still couldn't help but said: "The East Thief Division's consecutive victories and strong momentum are definitely not a blessing to me. In terms of military art, it is also necessary to avoid the edge temporarily. I don't know if Taiyuan Duke is What’s the plan?”

On the one hand, Li Tai felt that it was a pity that Wang Sizheng was sent away. On the other hand, he also felt that the presence of Wang Sizheng's forces had a certain protective effect on Jingzhou. It would be best if they could achieve mutual military coordination.

But now Yingchuan is isolated and if it is besieged, even if Li Tai wants to rescue it, his troops will be exposed in the plain without any cover and be surrounded and killed by the Eastern Wei army.

The so-called "encirclement and attack" refers to this situation. If Gao Huan had not been killed in Yubi City, it is estimated that Wang Sizheng had discussed with the Eastern Wei to create such a battlefield that is greatly beneficial to his division.

So let alone Wang Sizheng, even if Li Tai was besieged in Yingchuan City, he could not take such a big risk with the lives of his men.

Hearing Li Tai's question, Guo Xian said: "Taiyuan Gong said that since the death of Gao the bandit last year, his national division has been busy with the rebellion and has become exhausted after a long battle. Although we have won today, our division is just a spent force. It is difficult to keep it sharp for long if we fight and defeat it. If we give up the prefectures and counties in Henan that we have already occupied because of fear, it will be much more difficult to take them back when the eastern bandits divide their troops and stay in the city to rest..." Hearing Guo Xian's analysis conveyed to Wang Sizheng, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh that from a tactical perspective, Wang Sizheng's analysis is indeed reasonable, and he is also capable of implementing his own ideas. The Eastern Wei army defeated powerful enemies one after another, which can be said to be awe-inspiring, but it encountered a wall when it came to Yingchuan, and then the war was stalemate, no longer as vigorous as before. But the problem is that Henan is a flat terrain, and it is not something that can be determined by a single battle for a long time. Even if the Western Wei spared no effort to support Wang Sizheng, the war would soon turn into the most unfavorable national power contest.

Hearing what Guo Xian said, Wang Sizheng obviously did not intend to give up Yingchuan, so Li Tai did not say anything more. He was neither Wang Sizheng's superior nor his subordinate. They came when they agreed and left when they did not. Li Tai had no obligation to change his established plan for Wang Sizheng.

"Now the Eastern Bandit Army may march into Yingchuan at any time, but the people are still scattered and the goods are scarce in the capital. Although I know that your request is presumptuous, it is not a one-way job to resist the enemy and defend the city. I dare to ask Xihe Gong, can you help a little in personnel matters? When the bandits are defeated, I will definitely give you a generous reward!"

Seeing that Li Tai's attitude became a little cold and the atmosphere in the tent seemed a little dull, Wang Yuanxun took the initiative to speak again.

It should be said that after Li Tai gave Wei Xiaokuan a sum of military rations in the Battle of Yubi, his reputation for righteousness and wealth was also widely circulated. Later, after interacting with the various volunteer armies in western Henan, this reputation spread more widely. So Li Tai was not surprised by Wang Sizheng's request.

"I am new to this place, and you can see that the countryside is busy with reclamation, and the treasury has not seen any income. If we want to force the mobilization of materials, we still need to rely on Guanzhong. Since Taiyuan Gong has this need, I will not refuse, but it will take some time."

Li Tai's words are not an excuse. Although he brought a lot of military rations from Guanzhong, he has consumed a lot from last year to now. At present, he really can't provide a large amount of aid to Wang Sizheng. It may be too late to transport it from Guanzhong. Instead, he can get some from Xiangyang nearby.

He knew that he didn't have to expect the so-called generous reward, and the reason why he agreed to this request was not because he had too much money to burn. From a regional strategic point of view, if Wang Sizheng could hold on for a little longer, it would also form a certain protective effect for Jingzhou.

Hearing Li Tai's agreement, Wang Yuanxun and Guo Xian thanked him repeatedly, but Li Tai continued, "Since the people of Yingzhou are unwilling to join, if the Eastern bandit army comes, it will be difficult to protect more with just the city. Now Jingzhou is creating various industries, so can General Guo and others send some people there to this town?"

His money and food were not obtained out of thin air, of course he hoped to get value for money. Since the people in Yingzhou are out of control, it is better to drive them to Jingzhou and let Li Tai reform them calmly. This is not taking advantage of the fire, after all, Wang Sizheng will not have the time and energy to take care of these civil affairs next.

At the same time, Li Tai looked at Zhao Gang and said, "When I worked with Zhao Cheqi before, I was impressed by his efficiency and meticulousness. Now my Jingzhen is in need of reconstruction and is in urgent need of talent. In particular, there are many barbarian tribes around the territory that need communication and integration. Would Zhao Cheqi be willing to stay here and help me?" Zhao Gang was not originally under Wang Sizheng. When he heard Li Tai's invitation, he was also happy to see Jingzhou's prosperity. In addition, he had a good relationship with Heba Sheng and Dugu Xin. He was also happy to work with Li Tai, so he nodded and agreed with a smile.