The night shrouded Xiyang County, the stars were dim, August had entered autumn, and the night wind in Danshui was a little cooler. Under the night, a team of more than 20,000 people marched all night. The team was neat and orderly, and the soldiers wore uniforms.

They were wearing armor, holding long contradiction cards in their hands, walking vigorously and energetically. From the quietness of the march, it can be seen that they are by no means a rabble.

The team marched quickly along the coast of Danshui. On one side was the sparkling Danshui, and on the other was a large area of ​​dense forest, with rolling hills and continuous mountains. Teams of scouts were exploring the road ahead, and from time to time they would send back news that nothing happened along the way.

Chinese Army.

The leader was a general with a mighty physique and extraordinary bearing. He was Zhang Shigui, the guard of Waiwuguan. After receiving the information from Li Shimin, he knew that Waiwuguan had no value to Li Tang, so he immediately followed Li Shimin's instructions.

With the order, the Tang army stationed at Waiwuguan quietly retreated in an orderly manner during the night.

Zhang Shigui is from Lushi County, Hongnong, and is very familiar with Xiyang. Although the situation of the Tang Army in Xiyang County is extremely bad, as long as they return to Danshui County, they will be under Zhang Shigui's control. They can advance, attack, retreat, or defend.

never fail.

He has learned martial arts since he was a child, has extraordinary arm strength, is good at riding and shooting, and has drunk the blood of countless bandits with a horse spear. He has a calm personality and is usually very low-key. His presence in the Li Tang Dynasty is not strong. But this does not mean that he has a mental state.

Worse than others...

"Father, do you think the Sui army will attack us?" Zhang Shigui's eldest son Zhang Ai looked at his father worriedly.

Zhang Shigui smiled: "Of course the Sui army will send troops to attack us, but we don't need to be afraid. We are not the focus of the Sui army. As long as we reach Danshui County, we will be safe."

"Is father talking about the King of Jin?" Zhang Yi asked knowingly.

Zhang Shigui saw that his son was a little nervous, so he said: "The King of Jin is the legitimate son of the Holy Emperor and the first general of the Tang Dynasty. He has many soldiers under his command. His value is much higher than that of our father and son. The Sui army is not stupid, how could it be possible?"

Will they come to deal with us first? What's more, if we retreat quickly, the Sui army may not know our whereabouts."

Zhang Yi was silent for a while, then seeing his father's cronies surrounding him, he said, "Father, is Yang Tong really that powerful?"

Zhang Shigui said: "Although he is an enemy, I have to say that Yang Tong does have courage and strategic vision. He will first destroy the weak and then attack the strong. When he has an absolute advantage, everyone in the world thinks that he will send his troops south. If he takes over

With Jizhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou going south, these three heroes must unite to fight against the Sui Dynasty, which plunges them into a quagmire of war. However, he unexpectedly attacked the Hulu from the north, so Wang Shichong, Li Mi and Dou Jiande were at ease in the pursuit of the Central Plains, and the three of them fought more and more.

Weak, the more they fought, the weaker they became. However, he not only stabilized the rear, gained national justice, and used foreign wealth to support the people of the Sui Dynasty, but also weakened the three heroes of the Central Plains in the war. If the King of Jin and the Holy Emperor could each stabilize their armies, they would not

If it fails, Yang Tong will attack Xuzhou next, and then Jiangnan. As long as Jiangnan is captured, the general trend of the world will be determined."

Having said this, Zhang Shigui took another breath: "Speaking of it, the Tang Dynasty was originally the strongest. It has the support of the Longlong dignitaries, the Guandong gentry, and the Jiangnan gentry. Guanlong occupies the land of Longxing, and Bingzhou has the internal and external rivers and mountains.

Bashu, the land of hidden dragons, has an unparalleled momentum, and is like a strong Qin in the Warring States Period. If the soldiers serve, the monarchs and ministers are united, the civil and military are united, and the clan is united, then our Tang Dynasty will definitely become the Sui Dynasty today. It is a pity that the Tang Dynasty is in internal strife.

Ruined a great future."

"Why does father think this situation occurred in the Tang Dynasty? The child is puzzled." Zhang Ai has obviously also considered this issue.

Zhang Shigui felt that he should teach his son, so he waved his guards to disperse so that outsiders would not disturb the listening. After arranging everything, he rode alongside his son, and then said softly: "This is actually the responsibility of the Holy One. From the beginning,

He shouldn't have named the King of Jin in the first place. The King of Qi, the King of Chu, the King of Wei, the King of Yan, the King of Han, the King of Wu, and the King of Yue could do it, but he couldn't seal the King of Qin, Jin, and Yong. The King of Qin was the king of Guanzhong.

Lord, it is easy to gain the support of the powerful people in Guanlong. In the Sui Dynasty, the kings of Jin and Yong were the titles given to the prince before he entered the East Palace. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty originally named Emperor Wu of the Sui Dynasty the king of Jin, and Emperor Wu of the Sui Dynasty named Prince Zhaode the king of Yong.

These are all preludes to the establishment of a crown prince, so up to now, King Jin and King Yong have strong hints; and the Holy One named King Jin King of Jin, this is the source of civil strife."

Zhang Yi thought for a while and said softly: "Perhaps the prince is too old, which makes the emperor feel threatened."

Zhang Shigui praised: "It is not easy for you to see this. It is indeed like this. The Holy One canonized the King of Jin as the King of Jin, and the minister ordered him to recruit his own officials. These are the powers that only the prince has, and he was given to the King of Jin.

Even the prince does not have the right to confer a sixth-grade military officer. Do you know what all this means? It is to make the prince put pressure on him and set his sights on the menacing King Jin instead of the throne of the Holy Emperor. This is a very extreme situation.

Emperors of all dynasties have mastered the art of balancing. It is understandable that His Majesty did this. However, His Majesty did it too early. He should have destroyed Yang Dong, a powerful enemy, or unified the south of the Yellow River before playing with imperial power. It is a pity.

Your Majesty is too impatient."

Zhang Shigui sighed and continued: "The world has gradually become a tripartite power. In terms of national affairs, the Sui and Tang dynasties were like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who were facing each other from the north to the south. Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought to seize the throne.

His roommates fought against each other and turned into enemies, so they were eliminated one by one by Cao Cao. Otherwise, given the vastness of the four states, Cao Cao could persist for a long time even if he used troops like a god. He could even use his strong national power to drag down Cao Cao, who was short of money and food and surrounded by enemies on all sides.

And Cao Cao was very smart. During that period, his son, let alone cultivating power, would be punished if he had close contacts with courtiers. This was Cao Cao's wisdom. When the world was not yet unified, he needed courtiers.

All the energy should be concentrated on the great cause, rather than being distracted by the dispute between the prince and the son."

"Yang Tong is more powerful than Yuan Shao, and his monarch and his ministers are of one heart and one mind, just like Cao Cao during the dispute between Yuan and Cao. It can be said that he combines the strengths of the two without the weaknesses of the two. Our Tang Dynasty is the complete opposite, combining the two.

The disadvantages of those who take full advantage of it.”

Zhang Wei pondered for a while and then asked: "If the Holy One returns from his lost ways, is there still hope for the Tang Dynasty?"

"It's very difficult! Our Tang Dynasty has lost too much in the past. Our vitality has been severely damaged and our national power has been exhausted. All the young and strong people in Bashu, Jingxiang and Xiang are soldiers. The people under the rule have heavy taxes and resentment among the people, while the royal family and nobles have rampant manors.

, drunken life and death, coupled with the army's repeated defeats, the loss of cities and lands, the government and the public all lost confidence; while all the powerful enemies in the north of the Sui Dynasty were prostrate on the ground, there were no border troubles, and the momentum was huge, but Yang Tong was not impatient, so he

The absolute strength of the troops is advancing step by step, encroaching on the territory of the Tang Dynasty bit by bit, without revealing any flaws. Even if there are flaws, they are completely made up by the huge number of troops, so that our soldiers cannot show their weaknesses with surprise troops. This is an absolute gap in strength. All

Conspiracies and tricks are unlikely to be effective. Unless Yang Tong makes a major internal mistake, such as a big defeat, internal rebellion, or perhaps an invasion by a foreign enemy, which distracts the Sui army's energy and gives the Tang Dynasty a chance to breathe, otherwise,

Under the pressure of Yang Tong, the situation of our Tang Dynasty is getting more and more difficult day by day." Zhang Shigui also became a little confused. If Li Tang loses, where will his father and son go?

"Does father think there will be a rebellion in the Sui Dynasty?" Zhang Wei asked.

"From the six years of chaos in Daye to the present, the people have already made up their minds. People have finally lived a good life. Who will rebel? What's more, the policies of the Sui Dynasty that benefit the people are unprecedented. People regard aristocratic families as enemies, how can they welcome aristocratic families to run rampant?

Where is Datang?"

"Is there no hope for Datang?"

"Not necessarily!" Zhang Shigui shook his head and said: "As long as Tang and Wei form an alliance, there is still a chance! However, brothers cannot live and die together and share hardships. Both countries are afraid of suffering losses and are afraid that the other side will take advantage. How can it be possible?

Are we of one mind and one heart? Well, these are not things that we, father and son, should be concerned about, and it is not appropriate to talk about them too much. It will not be good for others to hear. As long as you know that brothers are of one mind, they can cut through gold, and you will be very happy as a father. "

"Children, please obey your father's teachings."

"General, Dan Sankou will be here soon!" At this time, a scout came on horseback and reported the military situation to Zhang Shigui: "Should we rest on the spot or continue eastward?"

Dansankou is where two tributaries merge into Fanshui. The terrain is relatively flat and it is already in Danshui County. Zhang Shigui estimated that they had walked at least more than sixty miles. Since the Sui army had already entered the country, they could not take the right path.

There will be a long and rugged river bank next. If you march in the dark, you may fall into the Danshui if you are not careful. Seeing that it is not far from dawn, he said: "Don't be anxious, rest on the spot, we will come back after dawn."

Set off."

"No!" The scout rode away and rushed to the front army to convey the order.

Order to go down.

Twenty thousand exhausted Tang troops rested on the spot, and more than a hundred scouts spread out, vigilantly paying attention to the surrounding situation. They were not worried about enemy attacks, but Zhang Shigui was rigorous in his military management, and during the march

Particular attention is paid to the arrangement of light and dark sentries.

However, crises usually come without preparation. Zhang Shigui never imagined that the incoming Sui army, mainly targeting Li Shimin, had already quietly sneaked around. This was also Zhang Shigui's misunderstanding. He thought that Li Shimin was a member of the Jin Dynasty.

Wang must be the first choice for the Sui army to attack. After all, he is Li Yuan's legitimate son. Once captured alive or killed, it will be a great achievement. Moreover, from a tactical point of view, the Xinan Sui army should also cooperate with Xue Wanjun to attack Zhuyang Pass and welcome

Xue Wanjun's army entered the country, then gathered and headed south.

But Luo Shixin was not a person who acted according to common sense. Secondly, he had confidence in Xue Wanjun. He knew that he might not be able to play any role at Zhuyang Pass. He thought that instead of helping Xue Wanjun clean up the battlefield, it would be better to eat foreign troops.

The merits of the garrison at the pass are much greater than those of going to Zhuyang Pass to pick up leaks. Moreover, Waiwu Pass is a defensive pass in the north. There is no need to attack the city at all. With the combat power of the Xiaoguo Army, it is not a problem for the 20,000 Tang Army. In order to prevent

The garrison at Waiwuguan ran away after hearing the news. He did not take the right path and went north along Danshui like Zhang Shigui. At this time, the two armies just collided with each other. Compared with Zhang Shigui who was marching on the mainland, Luo Shixin who took advantage of the enemy's territory was undoubtedly more powerful.

To be more vigilant, he discovered the enemy's tracks before Luo Shigui and set up an ambush here.

The Xiaoguo Army led by Luo Shixin hid about two miles southwest of Zhang Shigui's army, close to the direction of Xunxiang, so Zhang Shigui did not notice their presence. However, at that time, the dark army was already lined up and when he heard that the Tang Army was resting on the spot,

Under the moonlight, Luo Shixin's eyes flashed with excited murderous intent.

He slowly picked up the Cold Iron Divine Spear, then raised his head and glanced at the crescent moon flickering under the clouds. He narrowed his eyes slightly. He had killed many times outside the fortress, which made him like fighting under the moonlight very much. He didn't know why.

For some reason, it wasn’t until we had a casual chat that I discovered that Yang Tong also liked to fight under the moonlight, because fighting in this environment has a kind of violent beauty, which is the aesthetics of violence. This made Luo Shixin suddenly realize that while there was killing, there was also beautiful things.

Isn't night the beauty of violence?

Luo Shixin likes the beauty of violence, but Zhang Shigui may not like it. A cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and the gun blade drew an arc in the moonlight, pointing straight ahead.

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

The horn of the charge whimpered, and the low and desolate sound of the horn resounded across the wilderness. Upon hearing the sound, the Xiaoguo Army launched into action and burst out with earth-shattering shouts, letting out the courage they had accumulated for a long time.

Thousands of horses galloped, overwhelming the sky, like a tsunami setting off a huge wave. The heavy sound of horse hooves was like bursts of muffled thunder on the ground, making the earth tremble, shattering the tranquility, and roared towards Zhang Shigui's army with a stern black line.

Zhang Shigui's army discovered the ambush when the horn sounded. The Tang army, which was lying on the ground in a mess, was in chaos. They marched in the middle of the night and were already exhausted. Zhang Shigui gave the order to rest and took the time to rest. Some of them had even fallen asleep.

, it is not easy to quickly form a combat organization and combat formation, and Zhang Shigui was so shocked that his scalp exploded.

Zhang Shigui slapped his forehead in annoyance, hating himself for being too careless, but it was too late to hate now. He had to organize a battle formation. Zhang Shigui shouted to his deputy Gongsun Wuda: "General Gongsun, please quickly bring five thousand soldiers to hold off the enemy.

Buy me time!"

"As you command!"

Gongsun Wuda also asked the messenger to blow the charge horn, and five thousand elite soldiers immediately followed him to fight the Sui army one mile away.

Zhang Shigui's army quickly concentrated, but it was too late to form a formation at this time, so he had to put the prepared soldiers in front. He could only rely on Gongsun Wuda to resist the Sui army's attack and buy time to restore the infantry combat formation.

Xiaoguo's army ran closer and closer, and finally collided with Zhang Shigui's five thousand warriors. Luo Shixin nodded secretly. Zhang Shigui was praised by the emperor as a rare and famous general. Everyone must be careful when encountering this person, regardless of his formation.

Regardless of the level of the formation, few people can match the decisiveness of making responses and choices in an instant. As for the Tang army he encountered, no general could do this. It was a pity that he met a man who only valued the royal family.

, Li Yuan, who only focuses on his birthplace, would definitely have a place for him in the Sui Dynasty.

It's just that Zhang Shigui is not leading the Sui army. Want to regain the disadvantage under adversity?

Beautiful thought.
To be continued...