Chapter 1244: Letter of Invitation

Chapter 1244: Letter of Invitation

Jingxing Road is the fifth of the eight mountains in Taihang. It starts from Yangquan in the west and ends at Tumen in the east. The mountain roads stretching for hundreds of miles can be considered as part of the Jingxing Road.

Compared with Fukou, which has to be transferred to Dang's Fukou to reach Jinyang, the connection between Jingxing and Jinyang is more direct. One can reach the Taiyuan Basin through Jingxing from Hebei, and it is also the most important passage connecting the east and west of the Taihang Mountains. one.

Duan Shao's Qi army was stationed on the Jingxing Road. In addition to Tumen, the most important pass on the Jingxing Road, Duan Shao's troops were also stationed on the Bafu Ridge and Pingdu City lines where the Wei army was currently aggressively attacking. The main force was Then he was stationed at Tumen under the leadership of Duan Shao.

The Qi army had gone back and forth several times before, but in the end they returned to Tumen, allowing the situation in Hebei to rot without taking any action. At present, there was a confused and dull atmosphere permeating the entire camp.

Even if ordinary soldiers had doubts about this series of situation changes and capricious military orders, they did not dare to directly question them. As the situation in Hebei further deteriorated, they did not even dare to talk too openly in private. There is inevitably a pessimistic mood lingering in my heart.

Ordinary soldiers do not dare to speak out their inner thoughts, but there are always some special people who do not have these scruples.

In the evening, a young and handsome jade-faced general led dozens of cavalry scouts and ran into the camp. After dismounting at the gate, they strode towards the Chinese army's tent.

This jade-faced young general was Gao Changgong. After his uncle Gao Yan ascended the throne as emperor, he was finally granted the title of King of Lanling. His official rank and title were greatly promoted, and he still served under Duan Shao, King of Pingyuan.

In the big tent, Duan Shao was discussing military affairs with several counselors and generals. When Gao Changgong entered the tent and saw this scene, he first handed back the order for mobilizing troops and horses, and then retreated to the side of the big tent and stopped talking.

Tens of thousands of people are stationed here, and even if they don't move, a large amount of military affairs will be produced every day. Especially now that the situation in Hebei is corrupt, there are many things that need to be treated with caution.

After completing some trivial military affairs in the camp and arranging specific personnel to carry them out, several generals got up and resigned one after another.

"How is the situation in Zhao County?"

When the desk matter was over, Duan Shao glanced at Gao Changgong, who was still standing on the side of the tent with his head down and a thoughtful look on his face, and asked.

After Gao Changgong heard the words, he raised his head. When he wanted to answer, he hesitated. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and said in a low voice: "The Wei army swept across Hebei, but King Lu refused to send troops south. The situation in Zhao County is also different. It will only become more corrupt. It is unnecessary for King Lu to ask sincere questions."

Where the Northern Qi Dynasty was founded, apart from the Gao clan, there were only a few people who had meritorious service and were crowned kings, and each of them was highly respected. But after that, some people were awarded the title of king one after another, especially the current leader of Qi, Gao Yan, who launched a coup with the support of Jinyang nobles and ascended the throne. This directly led to the increase of more than ten heroes and kings, and the kings were no longer what they were before. Revered.

Nowadays, when calling these famous kings, the official prefix must be added before the word "king", so as to avoid confusion and demonstrate power. Duan Shao previously guarded Yenan, and at the same time he was appointed as the Minister of Records. He was able to participate in the political decision-making of Yedu, so Gao Changgong was called the King of Lu.

When Duan Shao heard Gao Changgong's answer, he knew that Gao Changgong was angry and somewhat dissatisfied with his behavior during this period, and he couldn't help but have a wry smile on his face.

For Gao Changgong, his cousin, he admired him very much, and loved and loved him even more than his own son. Therefore, after hearing Gao Changgong's anger, he did not reprimand him, but frowned and thought deeply. After a while, he looked at Gao Changgong and said, "Then according to your opinion, how should I act?"

After hearing the words, Gao Changgong opened his mouth to speak, but after seeing Duan Shao's deep eyes, he paused. After a moment, he said in a deep voice: "King Lu asked me what he wanted to do. I really don't know. But if you ask me how I want to act, , then the soldiers will come to block it, kill the enemy in bloody battles, and defend our country without regrets even to the death!"

"I have defended our country without any regrets even to the death... The young man's strong voice is really sobering, and his generous feelings are really enviable!"

After Duan Shao heard this answer, he murmured a few words, and then sighed, his voice mixed with a bit of helplessness that he couldn't explain clearly.

After Gao Changgong heard this, his brows suddenly raised again, and his tone became a little cold: "King Lu now has tens of thousands of soldiers in his hands, and he is in a high position of power. He can be called the head of the distinguished ministers. But with such ambition, who in the country dares to It’s really puzzling to stop this majestic sentiment and stop moving forward now, sighing in the camp!”

Duan Shao glanced at the serious-looking young man again, hesitating in his heart whether he should tell this brave and straightforward young man what he had been thinking and worrying about during this period. But some thoughts were bothering him, and it was really hard for him to talk about them.

After being silent for a while, Duan Shao spoke again: "A few days ago, we were discussing military affairs in Jinyang Palace. King Xianyang wanted to lead his troops south to Queshu Valley to attack the enemy, but King Changle asked him why he wanted to travel abroad because of the national crisis. Do you know the matter?"

On that day, military affairs were discussed in Jinyang Palace, and many courtiers and generals participated. It was not considered a forbidden conspiracy. After the meeting, the contents gradually spread out. With Duan Shao's status, naturally someone reported the matter to him immediately.

Gao Changgong also heard about this matter. After hearing the words, he frowned and said: "King Changle is a mediocre person, and he knows nothing about military and national plans! Even if King Xianyang's plans need to be discussed, he must not accept such unreasonable speculations. Such rats are greedy for peace. It’s really shameful to be too timid to take risks!”

Speaking of this, he looked at Duan Shao with some enlightenment and said: "Is King Lu also worried about being criticized like this? However, it is still unclear what the enemy situation planned by King Xianyang is, but now Yedu has been lost and Hebei has collapsed. It’s a solid fact. It’s the minister’s duty to send troops to fight the Wei army, recover Yedu, and expel the enemy invaders. Who dares to criticize this!”

Duan Shao waved his hand after hearing this, and then said to Gao Changgong in a serious tone: "I'm not worried that people will slander me. I quoted this matter just to tell you that when things are about to happen, there are thousands of people involved, and the plan you have determined may not be the same." If you can win the approval of others, the overall situation you plan may not be the overall situation for others. If you are stubborn, it will not last long. "

Gao Changgong frowned deeply after hearing this. He didn't know whether he didn't understand Duan Shao's meaning, or he just couldn't agree with this so-called sophistication.

Duan Shao did not continue to explain this topic in depth to Gao Changgong. Although Wei Can's speculations and accusations against Hu Luguang were somewhat unreasonable, they could stir people's thoughts. After this meeting, Hu Luguang's plan came to nothing, and it became clear that Wei Can was not the only one who was not happy for him to hang around.

Looking back in time, at the beginning of the battle between the two sides, Jinyang was still dangerous, so the emperor ordered Duan Shao to be transferred from Yenan, and gathered people from Hebei to go to Jinyang. Isn't this because he didn't want Duan Shao to wander outside? ?

Compared with Gao Changgong's idea of ​​simply blocking with troops and fighting when it's time to fight, Duan Shao undoubtedly has more to bear and consider. Especially when the emperor's troops surrounded Liaoyang in the past year, Duan Shao did not clearly express his feelings for the emperor. support. Duan Shao didn't know whether the emperor had digested this thorn in each other's hearts, and although he didn't mention it anymore, he didn't dare to forget it.

Of course, although these internal personnel disputes had a certain impact on Duan Shao's behavior, they were not the decisive reason.

Probably because he had kept some thoughts in his heart for too long, Duan Shao also wanted to find someone to confide in, so he looked at Gao Changgong, who was still frowning, and said: "If you want to achieve great things, you need to unite the will of the people. If you act arbitrarily, even if you are lucky enough to succeed in a short time, , but if it is not destroyed on the outside, it will be destroyed on the inside. Your history is still shallow, and first remember, no matter what your plan or ambition is, if it goes against everyone's wishes, then no matter how clever you are, , but also need to think carefully.”

"I have recorded King Lu's teachings."

Gao Changgong could also hear that Duan Shao was teaching him sincerely, so he nodded in agreement, but in the end he was still a little unhappy, so he asked again: "Then, may I ask King Lu, what is your plan to deal with the enemy after thinking twice?"

Seeing that Gao Changgong was still entangled in the matter, Duan Shao spoke again: "King Changguang fled to avoid the enemy, which really shocked both the inside and outside. The Wei State took advantage of this and swept across Hebei. Many people in Hebei were panicked, and many corrupt people responded in a riot. , making the situation more and more corrupt, but such momentum is easy to gain and easy to lose. As long as the battle is lost, the vassals will inevitably flee.

In the former, Yedu was occupied by the enemy. I had lost the initiative and went in a hurry. The chance of victory was not high. If we were defeated, the situation would be even more disastrous. It is better to retreat to Jingxing, attack the enemy at will, defend this advantageous terrain, wait for the enemy to arrive in a hurry, break it in one fell swoop, and then Hebei will be determined! "

"But how can King Lu be so sure that Li Boshan will come to fight in a hurry? Since he has captured the capital of Ye, and there are corrupt people in Hebei who are responding, why wouldn't he settle in Hebei and manage patiently?"

Gao Changgong asked again with doubts on his face.

"He will come. The Wei State's intention to use troops this time is only in Jinyang. Its northern division has come a long way. If it loses support from the south, it will go deep alone. There are still tens of thousands of troops stationed in Jinyang, so why bother to travel far away? Can it be easily defeated in the future? Once the northern division fails to make achievements and is defeated in a hurry, Jinyang will be out of danger. By then, it will be able to condescend to Hebei and destroy it. "

Duan Shao said in a deep voice, although there are other strategies to meet the enemy besides holding Jingxing and waiting for the Wei army to move north, only this strategy can reassure the emperor and satisfy the nobles of Jinyang.

"The king of Lu has a grand plan for his destiny, and he has already prepared a plan to deal with the enemy. I am narrow-minded in the difficulty, but instead harbor more resentment. I am really ashamed!"

After listening to Duan Shao's analysis, Gao Changgong sorted it out in his mind, and then looked at Duan Shao and said with a look of shame.

Duan Shao naturally didn't care about this, otherwise he wouldn't have said so much to Gao Changgong. When he heard Gao Changgong bowing his head to apologize, he waved his hands and said it was nothing, and then said seriously: "Although it is a safe way to wait for the enemy here. , but there are also hidden dangers. If Bafu Ridge is overrun by the enemy, I will inevitably be disturbed on the west route.

There are also families of children from six states in Dingzhou, whose safety requires special vigilance and cannot be relaxed. Today in Guandong, Liu Duogan is the claw of Li Boshan's eagle and dog. If something happens there and I have no time to observe carefully, you must fill in the omissions for me, don't neglect it! "

After hearing this, Gao Changgong nodded quickly and responded: "King Lu, please rest assured, I will be diligent in asking questions and will never let the Wei army take advantage of it!"

Duan Shao certainly had an overall idea and a sound plan here, but those who really bear the pressure of the Wei army cannot be as calm and calm as him. Seeing that there is no hope for foreign aid, they still have to find ways to work hard on their own. Save yourself.

Dingzhou is located on the east side of the Taihang Mountains, and the counties under its jurisdiction such as Zhongshan, Changshan, Boling, Beiping, and Julu are all familiar. It is an important state and county in Hebei.

For the Northern Qi Dynasty, Dingzhou has another special meaning, that is, after the Six Towns Mutiny, a large number of people from Beizhen Town were placed in Dingzhou. In order to control these troubled townspeople, the Northern Wei Dynasty removed the towns and established prefectures. These townspeople who moved inland to Dingzhou were also called Liuzhou Xianbei.

After the first stage of the six-town mutiny ended, due to the improper placement of the town soldiers in Beizhen, a more massive mutiny broke out in Hebei among the town soldiers who had moved in. The source of the rebellion was the resettlement settlement. Xianbei, the six prefectures of the prefecture.

The Zhenbing families such as Yuwentai and Duguxin who originally helped the Northern Wei regime suppress the mutiny in the first stage also joined the Zhenbing uprising at this stage.

Including Gao Huan also joined the Zhenbing uprising led by Du Luozhou during this period, and successively plotted to get rid of Du Luozhou, Ge Rong and other uprising leaders, and to usurp the leadership of the rebel army, but all ended in failure. When others rebelled, he ran away. Finally, after defecting to Er Zhurong, he finally found a stable path to rise. After Er Zhurong's death, he was able to successfully execute Lu's revenge, wiping out Er Zhu's power in one fell swoop.

Because of this connection, Dingzhou has also become the base camp of Hebei's soldiers. Therefore, the governor of Dingzhou also serves as the governor of the six states, which is used to manage the Xianbei soldiers in the six states. He is also the most powerful among the frontier officials. A special one.

The current governor of Dingzhou is Gao Sihao, King of Nan'an, one of the few in the Northern Qi clan who has the talent for bravery. However, facing the chaotic situation in Hebei, even though Gao Sihao is brave, he cannot calm down.

Due to the stable source of troops from Xianbei in the six prefectures, even though part of the prefecture's armed forces had just been mobilized not long ago, as Hebei became chaotic, Gao Sihao once again swept away the troops and gathered an army in the prefecture. Relatively considerable armed forces.

However, this also failed to bring a sense of security to the people of Dingzhou. Even as the Wei army advanced further north, Boling County, which was also under the rule of Dingzhou, directly surrendered to the Wei army, leaving Dingzhou directly exposed to the blade of the Wei army. .

If the Wei army captured Boling and other places through real fighting with swords and guns, then Gao Sihao was not afraid of a battle. He gathered Ding Zhuangjia from the state to die in the state city, in order to fight with the enemy when the Wei army invaded. Fight to the death.

However, the Wei army came north this time, and military operations were only auxiliary. They mainly relied on various instigation and co-optation and other conspiracies to capture the city. For example, after the fall of Boling, it is said that there were many members of the Boling Cui clan among the Wei army to seduce their homesickness, and the Guandong clans also ignored the imperial court's kindness in raising scholars in the past and defected to the Wei army one after another. Countless people dedicated their entire city to it.

Gao Sihao was naturally disgusted by this situation and was full of vigilance. He wished he could kill all these ignorant white-eyed wolves!

Dingzhou is currently considered one of the few places in Hebei that is not weak and has not yet fallen. Therefore, many people who have fled the war elsewhere gather here. Among them are many members of the Guandong family, such as the Li family of Zhao County and the Boling Cui family. There is no shortage.

In view of the affairs in other places, although Gao Sihao himself married a woman from the Li family in Zhao County, in the face of the crisis at home and country, he felt that these potential personnel risks should not be tolerated, especially after Boling was imprisoned. After the Wei army occupied the city, Gao Sihao ordered the entire city to arrest the children of these famous clans, and not allow them to have the opportunity to camp in the city and engage in any conspiracy.

Following Gao Sihao's order, a large number of members of the Guandong family who were seeking refuge in the city were arrested, especially members of the Li family in Zhao County. Even Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang's brother-in-law Li Zuqin and others were not spared and were all locked in prison.

But in this way, it is inevitable that there will be people who are wronged. For example, the Li family of Zhaojun and others were often married to the Gao family. When Emperor Shenwu Gao Huan Hebei raised righteousness, Li Yuanzhong, who was born in the Li family of Zhaojun, took the most credit. great.

These people did not choose to join the Wei army in the south, but chose to flee all the way to Dingzhou. It can be seen that they were very resistant to the arrival of the Wei army in their hearts, but now they were locked into prison by Gao Sihao without any screening, which was more or less the case. It's a bit unfair.

Princess Li of Nan'an was born in the Li family of Zhao County. While Gao Sihao was resting at home, she expressed the hope that she could take care of her people of the same clan. After hearing this, Gao Sihao glared and shouted angrily: "Everything is ruined because of the kindness of this woman." ! You are a married woman who is lucky enough to be in the royal family. If you dare to rely on this grace to cover up your sins and harm me, I will show no mercy!"

"How dare I harm the king's affairs? It's just that my family is very loyal and good, and the country is quite powerful. If the king is willing to pay a special visit and treat me with a little courtesy, I may be able to get some intellectual help..."

After hearing this, Princess Nan'an hurriedly lowered her head and said.

Gao Sihao couldn't help but have a thought after hearing the words, so he brought the members of the Li family of Zhaojun who were imprisoned into the house for an interview, and he did not forget to threaten: "You old clans are competing for each other because of their family status. The party, regardless of the danger of the country, only wants to make itself known. Now that I am here, it is difficult for you to have evil thoughts. If there is a plan to defeat the enemy, I can spare your lives!"

After hearing the words, everyone in the Li clan nodded in agreement. One of them, Li Xiaozhen, quickly bowed his head and said: "Some people know that the king is unyielding, so they came to support each other in order to protect the king and ensure his integrity. So what?" You are thinking of surrendering to the enemy! Your Majesty has recently inquired, and there is indeed a plan to be presented. The Wei army is taking advantage of strange personnel to advance in a large scale, so they must underestimate the enemy and surrender. Then you can set up a hunting ground outside and wait for the Wei army to arrive to surround and kill!"

"That's right, that's right! Cui Zhiping, who led the Wei army into Boling this time, is Xiaguan's cousin. He and his father Cui Qian were separated in the hometown last year, so he took care of my family. Now he has brought thieves to bring trouble to the hometown. Xiaguan is willing I sent a letter to the king to lure him, I only hope that the king can expel the thieves and protect the country!"

Li Zue's brother Li Zuqin, who was also born in the Li family of Zhao County, also hurriedly paused and said. These people had a deeper relationship with the Northern Qi Dynasty, and they did not have too strong thoughts of surrendering to the Wei Dynasty. Now that they were obsessed with Gao Sihao, they naturally tried every means to strive for performance.

When Gao Sihao saw them making this statement, the anger on his face subsided slightly, and he snorted coldly: "In that case, you and others should work hard. If the plan really works, I will ask the court for credit. "