In Cai County, Ruyin County, on the north bank of the Huai River, a huge military camp is stationed here. At this time, in the Chinese army's tent, the majestic and mighty Shan Xiongxin looked at the group of generals in front of him and roared angrily: "It's been a whole month.

, you can’t cross a strip of Huai River, what are you doing for food?”

Shan Xiongxin was originally Zhai Rang's general. Historically, after Zhai Rang was killed by Li Mi, the Wagang Army's internal centrifugal force seemed strong, but there were many internal conflicts. Shan Xiongxin, Zhai Rang's brother, had always held a grudge against Li Mi, and in Mang

In the Battle of Mangshan, Shan Xiongxin severely cheated Li Mi. He first stood still during the fierce battle, and then sequestered his troops, preventing Li Mi from entering Luokou City. Therefore, it can be said that Li Mi suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Mangshan.

, directly related to Shan Xiongxin!

But now the situation has changed drastically. Zhai Rang died at the hands of Yu Wenhuaji, which led to Li Mi taking the position directly. Li Mi was fair and just, impartial in dealing with things, and had great prestige in Wagang. More importantly, Li Mi made Wagang Village

There was a qualitative change. It was no longer plundering villages and plundering merchants and robbers, but fighting for political power. Therefore, Li Mi quickly secured the position of leader. With the support of Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji and other Wagang heroes, Li Mi

They were able to successfully eliminate Wagang and establish the Wei Dynasty. This change in status also transformed them from a barbarian to a neat and polite nobleman. They were no longer a native Wei state, and they also gained the support of many talented people.

.

Shan Xiongxin also changed from a historical opponent to a die-hard supporter of Li Mi. He was highly valued by Li Mi and was named a general. His status in the army was only lower than that of Li Mi.

He was the chief general of Du Fuwei's army in the southern expedition, but there was a natural strategic barrier between the two, and that was the Huai River.

The Huai River originates from Lao Yacha on Tongbai Mountain in Nanyang and flows straight into the sea. After Li Mi's invasion, Du Fuwei immediately ordered the bridge to be burned and took control of all civilian ships, allowing a simple naval force to stop Li Mi's army from going south. The Huai River was turbulent.

, wide and deep, without ships and bridges, Li Mi's army could not cross at all. The Du army guarding the opposite side were Wang Xiongdan and Kan Leng. These two brave generals were Du Fuwei's adopted sons and had very good personalities.

They were tenacious, courageous and loyal, and both of them were very smart. One of the two brothers defended the ferry, while the other led a navy to patrol up and down the Huaihe River, completely ruining Shan Xiongxin's plan to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

Shan Xiongxin knew that Li Mi's strategy of going south was to quickly wipe out the big forces in the south, and then use the power of the south to fight against Li Yuan and Yang Dong. Although Li Mi never urged him, he knew very well how important it was to Li Mi to capture Jianghuai.

.Especially now, Li Yuan has launched a strong offensive against Xiao Mian. If Li Yuan succeeds in capturing Jingzhou, then Li Mi's plan to go south to Jingyang will not be aborted, but it will also be subject to many constraints, which will affect the great cause of Xiongba.

"General, all the boats around here have been robbed by Wang Xiongdan and Kan Leng's men. There are now more than 20 fishing boats, and some are even leaking. And even if there are, they are not Du Fuwei's regular fishing boats.

According to the opponents of the ship, their warships were all built during the Yang Guang period, especially the Huai River. Even if they reach the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, they can sail across it without hindrance." A general said bravely.

"And even if we have warships, we must also have a strong naval force, but none of us know how to fight water battles. If we get on the ship, we will be a living target." Another person said weakly.

"Yes! Why don't you and your Majesty find some soldiers who are good at water-based training for a few months? At the same time, we can find craftsmen to build ships urgently."

"This..." Shan Xiongxin was speechless for a moment, and then sighed. Although his soldiers are not completely dry ducks, if they really get on the ship, their biggest advantage will be completely eliminated, but although he understands this truth

, but the time given to Wei was too little to waste even half of it.

"You know that our strategy of going south in the Wei Dynasty is to seize Jingyang to feed the people. You also know that Li Xiaogong first defeated Zhu Can in Xiyang and Nanyang, and then fought consecutive victories in Jingzhou, while I was all trapped on the north bank of the Huai River.

, no progress has been made. If Xiao Mian is annihilated by Li Tang, we will not only lose the opportunity to capture Jingzhou, but even Yangzhou will be difficult to open up. At that time, what qualifications do we, Wei, have to compete for hegemony. So we must attack no matter how difficult it is.

On the other side, no matter how difficult it is, we must seize Yangzhou before Li Yuan seizes the entire territory of Jingzhou. Otherwise, how can we face the king?" Shan Xiongxin said sternly.

The generals all lowered their heads with ugly expressions, hating the Huai River and the Du army rampant in the south of the Yangtze River.

"General, don't worry." At this moment, the tent was suddenly opened, and Li Mi, dressed in armor, walked in with several personal guards. He had just arrived.

"See you, Your Majesty!" All the generals in the big tent saluted.

"Haha, you don't need to be polite!" After Li Mi entered the commander's tent, he ordered Fang Xuanzao who was following him with a smile: "Sir, the soldiers have worked hard, please go ahead and add a meal of meat today.

.”

The Huai River lying in front of him not only made it difficult for the Wei army to cross, but also seriously damaged their morale. He had to comfort them and let them regain their courage. The soldiers sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for nothing more than four things, one for power and two for power.

The third is profit and the fourth is food and clothing. Li Mi can't provide the first three for the time being, but he can barely provide food and clothing.

"Here!" Fang Xuanzao responded immediately.

After Li Mi sat down, he looked at the ugly and ashamed-looking generals, smiled and comforted him: "Generals, you don't have to be like this, the defeat in this battle is not yours, it's all because I, the king, saw Du Fuwei and saw the advantages of the navy."

, it’s because of my lack of preparation. If you want to judge the crime, I am also the culprit.”

After hearing this, the faces of the generals softened and their moods calmed down. Fang Xuanzao looked at Li Mi with admiration. As a minister, you should first blame yourself and then everyone else. Only in this way can everyone be united.

"Your Majesty!" Shan Xiongxin said with a slight worry: "The upper and lower parts of the Huaihe River are controlled by Du Fuwei's naval forces. However, we in the Wei Dynasty have no naval forces and most of them are not familiar with water. I am worried that if this continues, Li Yuan will seize it."

The entire Jingzhou will compete with me, the Wei Dynasty, to capture Yangzhou in the future. Attacking Yangzhou by then will be a hundred times more complicated and a hundred times more difficult than it is now. Therefore, our army must win the battle quickly, after all, time does not wait for me."

"Haha, what the general said is true. It seems that it is impossible to cross the Huai River by force. Lu Mingyue did not attack by force back then. Firstly, because Yang Guang was still in charge of Jiangdu, and secondly, he was afraid that such a thing would happen, so our army also

We need to change our tactics." Li Mi said with a smile.

"I wonder if your Majesty has any clever ideas? Please tell me clearly." Shan Xiongxin asked immediately.

"With the arrival of Li Yuan, the delicate balance in the south has been torn apart. Now Li Yuan's attack on the city has aroused Wang Shichong's concern. He is willing to have a complete truce with us and join forces to deal with Li Yuan before we have a showdown. I feel that

Wang Shichong’s opinion is very necessary.”

"That's true, but Wang Shichong is a cunning man. How can we trust his words?"

"Of course I can't believe it. We still need martial law at the border." Li Mi analyzed very confidently: "Zhuyang Pass has now fallen into the hands of Li Yuan, and his Hongnong County is under Li Yuan's military front, only for a short time.

, Li Yuan’s army can reach the gates of Luoyang City, and Li Yuan is his first priority to defeat. He will not attack us before repelling Li Yuan."

Fang Xuanzao continued: "Wang Shichong can only rule the five counties of Hongnong, Xingyang, Xiangcheng and Juiyang in Henan. These five counties have been suffering from military disasters since the beginning of the troubled times. Although after one year of hard work by Wang Shichong, they are much more prosperous than before.

, but it is barely enough to support an army of 100,000. With few soldiers and little food, he dare not take the initiative to open up two routes. Therefore, Wang Shichong can put it aside for the time being."

Shan Xiongxin nodded and no longer asked Wang Shichong's questions, but returned to Du Fuwei's army who was most urgent behind the curtain: "What should we do about Du Fuwei? Should we continue to fight or let him go?"

"We don't have a naval force, so naturally we have to let him go." Li Mi said helplessly.

"The final general is willing to form a naval force in Xiacai to prepare for the attack on Du Fuwei and the big forces south of the Yangtze River." Shan Xiongxin asked for the order with a face full of reluctance.

Li Mi laughed loudly and said: "The general is my number one general in the Wei Dynasty. I can rest assured that the general will be by my side in the upcoming war. Other people should be responsible for training the naval army."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration. I will not give up until I die." Shan Xiongxin said gratefully.

Li Mi is very good at winning over people's hearts. He knows how to treat different people in different ways. For people like Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji and Wang Bodang, as long as you give sincerely and let them feel your feelings, they will serve you sincerely and will never die.

It goes without saying that if you do it for benefit or do it for deceit, you will end up in the inferior position; but for the former village masters like Meng Rang, Zuo Xiaoyou, He Xiaode, etc., they need to do it in their own way.

He looked at Shan Xiongxin with satisfaction and said with great appreciation: "The general is right to worry. Water warfare is not our army's strength. If we confront Du Fuwei here for a long time, our army cannot afford to waste time.

Therefore, Fang Shangshu and I decided to change our strategy."

"Du Fuwei is just a minor disease and will not affect the overall situation. Once the training of the naval forces is completed, they can escort our army to the other side. It will be decided in one battle. He can take a break for the time being. Our army broke camp overnight and marched westward along the river.

Come in, come and seize food from the tiger's mouth, seize Xiao Xian's Jingzhou, Yiyang, Handong'an, Luyong'an, Mianyang and other counties. He must block Li Yuan's army to the west of the Han River. After completing this step of the strategy, there is no way to turn back to deal with Du Fuwei.

Later, when the time comes, even if the naval force is not yet mature, we can march eastward from land to Yiyang, Lujiang and other places."

At Li Mi's signal, Fang Xuanzao said more seriously: "Xiao Mian may be vulnerable, but don't look at Li Yuan. The reason why he has been defeated repeatedly is because he has met stronger opponents. Li Yuan can

The powerful people of Guanlong surrendered willingly, were able to conquer and merge the state into Guanzhong in just a few months, and contact the Turks to deal with the same people for their own personal benefit. This shows how ambitious this person is, how ruthless this person is, and how incompetent his methods are.

Imagine, and although his main force has been lost, the dozens of counties in Bashu and Shu under his control have not been affected by the war, and he can easily bring out hundreds of thousands of troops. If our army cannot take the east of the Han River in his weak time,

The vast area will be very difficult in the future.”

Hearing this, the generals showed a hint of nervousness in their eyes, but there was also a hint of expectation.

"However, you don't have to worry!" Li Mi's face flashed with pride, and he said with a sure-win tone: "Li Yuan lost his troops and defeated generals, and the remaining soldiers and generals in his hands were very few, and his elite strength was defeated by Li Shimin, so we are facing

They are actually just a group of new soldiers. Moreover, when our army attacks Xiaoxian and several counties, Wang Shichong will also launch an attack on Xiyang and Nanyang, and those two counties are Li Yuan's territory, so our pressure is at least

It will be about 70% less.”

"The Great Wei is victorious." The generals stood up and roared.

"Haha! Okay, the whole army is full. Let's eat in open air today and set off again in the evening." Li Mi ordered with a heart-warming smile.

"Here."

…
Chapter completed!