Chapter 666: General Chunliang
With the Lin family and his son coming to surrender, and Baiting City being leaderless, it was a matter of course for the Wei army to capture the city in one fell swoop. After all, Baiting City's location is key, but the city itself is far from indestructible.
After the city changed hands, the most surprised person was of course the city's elite who had been arranged to leave the city. They thought that this trip was to attack the enemy camp, but they did not expect that they would open the door and hunt down the thieves.
But when the matter became a foregone conclusion, even if they were shocked, they already regretted it. Their armor was quickly confiscated and imprisoned together with other prisoners in the city.
Shi Jing and others were naturally overjoyed to have effortlessly captured such an important city and overfulfilled the tasks assigned by the general. So when the situation in the city initially stabilized at dawn, they sent personnel to the city again. The general stationed himself to inform him of the good news.
"You captured Baiting City?"
Different from the imagination of the soldiers at Baiting, Li Tai did not smile after hearing the news. Instead, he frowned, and then said in a deep voice with some displeasure: "Didn't I tell you that I would only siege but not attack?"
Quan Xu, who came here to report the news, saw the general frowning and hurriedly put away the smile on his face. Then he lowered his head and replied carefully: "The report to the general is not that the general and others take the initiative to attack Baiting City, but The city's defenders came out of the city to surrender..."
He did not dare to show off any more, and hurriedly recounted the process of acquiring Baiting City in detail, and finally said: "The general Lin Sheng and his son who came to surrender also entered the camp with the general. After the general summoned his father and son, we know that the general is waiting for him. There is no greed for success.”
"Then call Jiang Ren into the camp first!"
After listening to Quan Xu's story, Li Tai relaxed his brows slightly, and then said in a low voice.
Soon Lin Sheng and his son were ushered into the tent, along with Li Ya. Because Shi Jing did not give him a clear and satisfactory answer, he asked to see the general on the grounds that he had recruited surrenderers into the camp and could tell the story of the surrender in detail.
Of course, his main purpose is to ask the general about the level of his achievements that he picked up at random. Even if he is not qualified to open a mansion, can he be granted the title of Grand Governor? Watching Shuofeng, a guy who was originally on the same level as him, now showing off in the army as a governor every day, he felt really uncomfortable.
After several people entered the camp, they quickly bowed. After getting up, Li Ya stood in front of Li Tai's writing desk very familiarly.
"busy?"
When Li Tai saw this, he frowned and asked, while Li Ya shook her head and waved her hands, then looked at Lin Sheng and his son in the tent and said sternly: "This is General Li, the Duke of Taiyuan. You and your son are here to pay homage to me. You can say whatever you want, don’t worry about not being able to express your feelings while I’m here, I’ll play it for you, General!”
The father and son didn't know what the personnel of the Western Dynasty were like. Although they felt that they were already in the same tent with General Li face to face, there was no need for anyone else to play the part. But since Li Ya said this, it was probably some special Western Dynasty etiquette. , so he quickly recounted his life experience and surrender in detail.
Li Ya stood in front of the case and listened carefully to the story of the father and son. When they said something, he would turn back and tell the general something, which undoubtedly greatly affected the rhythm of the narrative.
"Shut up, I can hear you!"
After listening to a few words, Li Tai became impatient. He raised his hand and pointed at the kid who was making trouble for him and told him to get out of the way. After Li Ya stood aside with a look of aggrieved, he then motioned to the father and son again. Keep talking.
"Therefore, King He Bagong of Yan was a hero of the North who was famous all over the world. It is indeed a pity that he fell into the den of thieves and died young."
After hearing the father and son's story, Li Tai said with emotion.
There are many heroes among the people of Six Towns, and the three brothers of the Heba family are definitely among the leaders. In terms of qualifications and reputation, all the heroes of North Town, including the deceased Gao Huan, are now younger brothers to them.
As the eldest of the three brothers, He Bayun did not take the path of separatism. Instead, he joined Gao Huan to establish righteousness in the capital and oppose the domination of the Erzhu family. Gao Huan was able to obtain the remnants of the six towns from Er Zhu Zhao and reduce them to his own use, and He Bayun also contributed a lot. Being able to be crowned king like Gao Huan during the period of Emperor Xiaowu shows his high status.
But the three brothers were inevitably destined to marry others, and each ended in tragedy, leaving this powerful family, which could be called the most famous family in North Town, without a successor.
After lamenting the fate of the Heba family, Li Tai looked at the father and son and said, "It's rare that although your father and son are in a difficult situation, they are still unyielding in their ambitions. Now they have returned to righteousness bravely, which can be regarded as a consolation to the heroic spirit of the late master. Since you are Heba My old friend, I have done a great job in returning to justice and dedicating the city to you. For the time being, I will stay in our army with peace of mind. When the day of victory comes after the war, I will definitely report your merits to the imperial court and ask for your reward."
After hearing this, the father and son quickly kowtowed, while the father, Lin Sheng, sighed and said: "It's a shame to say that although the last general came to congratulate Bagong, he had been working hard for many years and had worn down his ambition. At first, he did not dare to have the thought of returning to his righteousness. . It was because Quanzi repeatedly said that General Li was a hero who was famous all over the world. If he surrendered, he would suffer disaster, so he decided to return to justice. Zheng Faseng, the leader of Baiting City, was also killed by Lin Jia. "
"There is such a hidden secret? Having such a young man is a blessing to our family!"
After Li Tai heard this, he became a little curious. He looked at the young man Lin Jia carefully, and then he kept the matter in mind for the time being and led the father and son down to settle him down properly.
After the father and son left, Li Ya turned around cautiously and whispered: "Excuse me, General, can I speak?"
"Say it."
Li Tai nodded and said casually, his eyes still falling on the Baiting City personnel book compiled and presented by Shi Jing.
"The surrender Lin Jia visited the military camp at night to surrender, but the general was aware of it and introduced him into the camp before he could meet with Governor Shi. Now that the city has been successfully captured, the general also knows the whole story, and all the disciples in the incident Regardless of their respective merits, should they also..."
When Li Ya said this, she felt a little shy, but she still looked at Li Taidao expectantly.
"You want to say that you have made a lot of contributions in this? Should you be given a solemn reward?"
Li Tai could see what this kid was thinking at a glance, and immediately his face darkened again, and he sneered: "Who is telling you that taking down Baiting City is a great achievement? Do you know that because Baiting City was taken down, my plan will be a big one?" Affected?"
Li Ya's face changed immediately after hearing this, and she laughed dryly and said, "How come taking down the enemy city doesn't count as merit? Do we, the soldiers, have to be punished for taking down Baiting City?"
The punishment was not enough, but Baiting City was taken down so quickly, which was indeed a bit beyond Li Tai's expectations, and it did make some of his plans fail.
After Zhu Hunyuan trapped Jinyong City, the Northern Qi garrison forces between Heluo and Luo had been divided. Because Yiyang Jiuqu City had to guard against the main force of Guanzhong in the Western Wei Dynasty, although there were many troops stationed there, they did not dare to move without permission, so they could basically be ignored. As for Baiting City, it was surrounded by barbarian troops led by Li Renjie, Shi Jing and others, and it also lost its role as a central node.
But Zhu Hunyuan, as the coach of the Northern Qi Dynasty who stayed in Heluo, was of course responsible for reversing this unfavorable situation, and he must not remain huddled in Jinyong City.
Li Taylor ordered the troops to only besiege Baiting City but not attack it. In addition to the poor combat effectiveness of the barbarian soldiers, he also wanted to use Baiting City as a bait or trap, forcing Zhu Hunyuan to divide his troops to rescue it.
As long as Zhu Hunyuan takes action, Li Tai can find flaws in his behavior, and then seek opportunities to fight with him, defeat or even kill him in battle, and achieve a true victory in Heluo. It’s not a few painless victories.
Now that Baiting City was unexpectedly captured, it seems logical that in order to maintain a complete Heluo defense line, Zhu Hunyuan might risk sending troops to recapture it.
But as long as he is still rational, he will understand that it is difficult to maintain a complete Heluo defense line with his strength, so the most likely way to deal with it is to stick to the Jinyong and Heyang lines to avoid falling into more forces.
As for Yiyang, it is best if it can be defended. Even if it cannot be defended, it will consume part of the power of the Western Wei Dynasty, allowing it to wait for work to face the main enemy force.
At the same time, once Baiting City is captured, if the barbarians are rewarded and divided with the spoils, then after they get the supplies, they may directly return to the mountains and forests and settle down, rather than risking being used by Li Tai. If the spoils are not divided, these barbarians may become resentful and even turn against each other.
Li Tai understood very well that a big reason why he made relatively smooth progress after entering Heluo was because the enemy here mistakenly believed that the main force of Kansai would soon enter Heluo, so he often made some response choices. Rat-proof device. Therefore, Li Tai's success is not due to how smart he is, but because the enemy's perspective has a huge blind spot.
Now that September is almost over, the Kansai army must have already gathered in Hongnong. Any subsequent actions will inevitably expose the march plan of the main force Wu Wu He Luo. In this way, the situation faced by Li Tai will be will become passive. Yiyang's men and horses were liberated, but Zhu Hunyuan was also free to conduct containment operations against him in the entire Heluo area.
Therefore, the early capture of Baiting City does not mean any good news, and of course it cannot be said to be a fault. At least they obtained a lot of military supplies and food stored in the city, which was what Li Tai lacked when he marched north from Sanya Road with light troops. And if the long siege is ineffective, the enthusiasm of the barbarians may fade away, and they may not be able to survive until the moment when Li Tai fishes out Zhu Hunyuan.
In short, there are good and bad aspects to this matter. As for the next direction of the situation, it depends on how Li Tai uses it.
After pondering for a while, he said to Li Ya: "Capturing the enemy city is certainly an achievement. But if you surrender someone, even if you are rewarded, it cannot be said to be a meritorious service. Now I will entrust you with another task. If you do If you do well, you can be appointed commander-in-chief after you return."
"Is he just the handsome commander?"
After hearing this, Li Ya suddenly became uninterested, but when she saw Li Tai turning his hand to touch his side, she hurriedly raised her chest and clasped her fists, saying: "Please give me the general's instructions. I will definitely complete the mission! It's the king's business." If you are loyal and serve the general, how can you care about your position? Although there is a bad habit of being proud of one's position in the army, this is definitely not the case for the general!"