Crown Tang emperor

Chapter 0501 secret order in hand, murder

The so-called Daibei Road, as the name suggests, is the Monan area north of Daizhou, which is under the jurisdiction of Shanyu Duhufu.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, with the defeat of Jieli Khan and his return to the court, the Eastern Turks officially destroyed the country and became a vassal of the Tang Dynasty.His hometown was also completely controlled by the Tang Dynasty, and the Shanyu Duhufu was established to rule it.

This situation continued until Emperor Gaozong Tiaolu's reign, when the Eastern Turkic nobles rebelled for the first time, but were defeated by Pei Xingjian soon after, and their leader Ashina Funian surrendered to the Tang Dynasty again.However, under Pei Yan's persuasion, Gaozong killed Ashina Funian, and did not properly arrange the remaining Turkic troops who surrendered.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong Yongchun, Fu Nian Yu's Ashina Gu Dulu rebelled again, occupied the Heisha City in Monan and looted everywhere shortly thereafter, quickly grew, and established a tooth tent, announcing the official restoration of the Eastern Turks.

At this time, the Tang court was also undergoing a rather drastic power change. Gaozong Bintian and Zhongzong were abolished, and Wu Zetian took control of the highest power in the Tang Dynasty, and successively eliminated Cheng Wuting, Wang Fangyi and other main fighters who fought against the Turks. This gave the Turks an opportunity to grow stronger.

Up to now, although the Turkic Khanate ruled by Gu Dulu has not yet reached the heyday of the Eastern Turks, it has basically controlled the Monan and Mobei regions, and by virtue of the mobility of its troops, it has mastered a certain degree of control over the Tang Dynasty. The initiative of the battle and the plundering of various parties made the northern sides of the Tang Dynasty directly threatened by the Turks, and they were tired of dealing with it because they did not have an overall coordinated counterattack plan.

This time marching on behalf of Beidao, the target is Heisha City where Turkic Nanya is located.However, since the purpose of the march this time was not to fight against the foreign invaders, but to promote martial arts and build momentum for the Fengshan Songshan, and the victory was not allowed to be defeated, so the march was conservative.

Although the time has come to deep winter, the army is still only stationed in Shuozhou, that is, the Yanmen area.

In the deep winter of Daibei, the climate is extremely harsh, the weather is extremely cold, occasionally there will be heavy snow flying, and most of the time the sky and the earth are filled with cold and hard winds.

In such a climate, even if the garrison does not come out, it is quite a tough job for the army, especially in the current situation where there is no clear combat goal and plan, which makes morale low. All lifeless.

Fortunately, the imperial court attached great importance to this march, and the preparations for food and supplies were quite sufficient. If the supplies were short, the army's morale might become even more unstable.

However, there was one exception. Xue Huaiyi, who was the general manager of the march, was not affected by the low morale. He galloped in the camp every day, let the soldiers search around, drove some wild animals into the camp, and shot and hunted games.

The soldiers were also curious about the energetic performance of the chief executive.Under such weather, even veterans who have been tested by the army lack energy and are too lazy to move.

But this pampered monk was always in the wind and snow, chasing wild animals in the camp every day, shooting and hunting without getting tired, not only did not feel pain, but took pleasure in it.

On this day, another batch of supplies was transported into the Shuozhou camp. The quartermaster made a brief inventory before entering, frowned immediately, and scolded angrily, "Why is this time overdue for several days? The quantity is still so small..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a man in a cloak being helped down from the cart by the soldiers transporting supplies, and when he saw the man's face clearly, he hastily stopped his voice and stepped forward to cross his hands and said, "I have seen you in the end." Your Majesty, I don't know that your Majesty personally escorted the luggage into the camp this time, it is really rude!"

Wu Youyi's complexion was rather ugly. I don't know if it was because of the long-distance travel and fatigue, or because he was annoyed that the soldiers were far behind.After getting out of the car, he went to the camp, and when the camp general hurried up to greet him, he said in a deep voice, "Where is Master Xue?"

"The chief executive is hunting in the left camp, and his humble position will make people report that the king has already entered the camp."

A general said quickly after hearing the words.

"No need!"

Wu Youyi raised his hand to stop the way when the messengers had walked a certain distance. After he pondered for a while, he said again: "Quickly call Chief Qibi to the front tent of the Chinese army. I have military inquiries."

In addition to serving as the governor of Bingzhou Metropolitan Government, Wu Youyi also served as the deputy commander of the Beidao March, so of course he was qualified to inquire about military affairs.Moreover, the chief executive chased rabbits and shot deer with passion, but he basically didn't care about military affairs, and paid all of them to several marching chiefs.

When Wu Youyi entered the army tent, he leaned against the fire to dissipate the cold air from his body, a middle-aged general in his early forties wearing light armor opened the tent and entered. , whose name is Qi Biming, is a fan general who was born in the Tie Le tribe.

"I don't know that your majesty entered the camp lightly, and his humble position never went out to greet you. What a disrespect!"

After Qi Biming entered the camp, he cupped his hands and said.

Facing Qi Biming, Wu Youyi was not arrogant, stood up and raised his hand to let Qi Biming sit in front of him, and asked directly: "How is the situation in the army recently?"

Qi Biming let out a long sigh after hearing the words, what can happen to the situation, the army is only stationed here, and there is no other action at all, except for the chief executive who is astonishingly energetic and free of himself, facing the current situation, all the generals have nothing to do. There is a mouthful of depression.

As one of the chief executives, Qi Biming didn't just talk about the current predicament, but asked instead: "Your Majesty entered the camp in person, is it because there is an order to urge a quick battle in the city of God? It's not that the last general is waiting to be lazy. In fact, the situation in Monan this winter is really weird. Black Sand City is where Nan Ya is located, but there are few tourists..."

Wu Youyi entered the camp this time because he had other important matters in mind, and he was really not interested in what Qi Biming said about military affairs. Hearing what Qi Biming said, he opened his mouth and said, "Since there is no war to fight, can you wait for a while?" Make a retreat?"

In order to conceal his true intentions, he continued: "I know that all the officers and men are eager to show their strength and make contributions, but the cold weather in the south has already missed the good opportunity to fight. The army has been stationed outside for a long time, and the pressure of supplementing various supplies is really not small. , Bingzhou alone is going to be difficult to support. I mean, can the army be temporarily withdrawn to Bingzhou for a little rest?"

After Qi Biming heard the words, a trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes, and he asked hesitantly: "Is this the king's opinion, or..."

The army is outside, although there is a certain degree of autonomy in how it moves, but right now they have to withdraw without even finding out the traces of the enemy army.In particular, this trip to the army has a strong political meaning, so we need to be more cautious when advancing or retreating.

Hearing Qi Biming's question, Wu Youyi's eyes flickered with hesitation, he was not in a hurry to answer this question, but stood up and went out of the tent, and ordered the soldiers to stand guard a few feet away from the tent, and no one was allowed to approach this place Big account.

When Wu Youyi returned to the tent, he saw that Qi Biming had retreated to the other side of the big tent, and at the same time his saber was untied and placed in front of his knees, looking very vigilant.

"Chief Qibi doesn't have to be like this. If I hadn't entrusted you with my life, I wouldn't have invited you to see me directly when I entered the camp today."

Seeing this, Wu Youyi gave a wry smile, took out a sealed bamboo tube from his bosom, and said seriously: "This book is of great importance, in your eyes, it must not be passed on." While speaking, he threw the bamboo tube in front of Qi Biming .

Seeing Wu Youyi's demeanor, Qi Biming of course realized that there must be something extraordinary in the bamboo tube, subconsciously he didn't want to interfere, but thinking that Wu Youyi summoned him to share secrets, if he refused, he might not even be able to get out of the big tent .

In addition, I was really curious, so I opened the bamboo tube and poured out the secret book that was rolled into a roll. When I opened it, my face suddenly changed, and I looked up at Wu Youyi and said in surprise: "His Majesty the Holy Emperor actually made such a move?" This secret system? When exactly..."

"I didn't believe it at the beginning, but the seals are all there, and His Majesty is indeed a secret order. Once the army returns victorious, the army will immediately kill the righteous people in the army! All the crimes have been listed in the book, and the chiefs must not disobey the order!"

Seeing the drastic change in Qi Biming's expression and his unbelievable appearance, Wu Youyi's originally heavy heart was filled with a hint of evil pleasure. Just this secret order has already surprised you so much. If you know the drastic changes in Shendu City today, I don't know what to panic about.

But after thinking about it, he also felt that his pleasure came for no reason, and the drastic change in God's Capital was the real disaster for him.

The day before yesterday, Wu Youyi, who was sitting in Bingzhou to raise supplies for the army, got the news of the coup d'état in Shendu. King Wei and others were all beheaded by the Daiwang's troops, and even His Majesty the Holy Emperor might be in a bad mood.

When she just heard the news, Wu Youyi was frightened out of her wits for a moment, thinking that she must also be unable to escape.But after the initial panic, when he gradually regained his senses, Wu Youyi soon realized that he still had a chance, and that was the tens of thousands of troops stationed in Shuozhou.

Because of the time difference brought by the distance, the Shuozhou army must not have heard the news of the Shendu coup.Moreover, His Majesty the Holy Emperor gave him a secret order before, which gave Wu Youyi the opportunity to get rid of Xue Huaiyi and replace him, and control the army by himself.

Although I haven't figured out what to do after I have mastered this army, but with soldiers and horses in hand, I can always have more confidence in my heart.

Therefore, Wu Youyi quickly collected a batch of supplies in Bingzhou, using this as an excuse to come to the Shuozhou army, and secretly wooed the generals in the army, intending to take Xue Huaiyi into the army.

The reason why he didn't reveal the secret order before was that Wu Youyi couldn't figure out why His Majesty the Holy Emperor issued such a secret order. If another order came later, he felt that it would be inappropriate to leak the content of the secret order privately.

Second, this matter is not difficult in Wu Youyi's view. Anyway, Xue Huaiyi has no foundation in the army, so he can wait until the army triumphantly enters Bingzhou territory before killing the opponent directly.

But now that such a big accident happened, of course Wu Youyi had to get rid of Xue Huaiyi before the news of Shendu spread to the army.Otherwise, once the generals in the army know that their Wu clan kings have become past futures, they might easily pick off his head to claim credit!

Chapter 0502 kills the general lightly, the military spirit is uncertain

The thick felt tent has good barrier properties, the cold wind outside the tent is biting, but there is no wind noise in the tent, and the heat of the brazier does not leak at all, making the inside of the big tent as warm as spring, which is like the outside of the tent. Two worlds, so that the foreheads of the two people sitting opposite each other were covered with fine sweat.

The tent was extremely quiet, and each other's breathing could be heard clearly.Qi Biming held the secret order in his hands and looked at it again and again, not doubting the authenticity of the secret order.

Apart from the seal and other credit schemes, the content of the secret order seemed absurd. To actually kill the general after winning was simply not a decision that normal people could make.But because of this, Qi Biming was able to further confirm that the secret order was indeed not forged.

Don't talk about a mere Xue Huaiyi, even a famous general like Cheng Wuting and Black Teeth Chang, in the eyes of His Majesty the Holy Emperor, he would be killed if he said he was killed, and if he said he was guilty, he would be guilty.

Qi Biming himself didn't have a good impression of Xue Huaiyi. In fact, in the entire Daibei Dao camp, from the commander of the army to the ordinary soldiers, not many people had a good impression of Xue Huaiyi.

But after seeing this secret order, Qi Biming didn't have much good feelings in his heart, instead, there was a sense of sadness in his heart.Regardless of Xue Huaiyi's character and crimes, he is the general manager of the North Marching Army and their immediate general.

But in the eyes of the Holy Emperor, they are just pigs and dogs that can be killed lightly with a secret order, and they have no scruples about what kind of touch and influence this will bring to the entire Daibei Road march.

It is conceivable what kind of things these lower-level generals in charge of the army are in the eyes of His Majesty the Holy Emperor.What is the significance of these camp soldiers, enduring hunger and cold, and conquering the frontier?

Of course, feeling lost at this point was not enough to make Qi Biming feel so much sympathy for Xue Huaiyi that it even affected his own choice. After experiencing the initial shock, he was already subconsciously thinking about how to get rid of Xue Huaiyi and give the army cause minimal impact.

Qi Biming kept silent for a long time, Wu Youyi was naturally anxious, because after all, it was related to whether he could successfully control the army and even his future life and death.

It was related to her own life and safety, Wu Youyi naturally used her brains a lot, and it was not blind to choose Qi Biming to communicate this matter.The entire army, including himself and Xue Huaiyi, made up a total of eighteen road chiefs.

These stewards have different backgrounds, different interests, and different powers in their hands.

The reason why Wu Youyi preferred Qi Biming was that Qi Biming was a general and had no deep connection with the court, and the other was that Qi Biming did not follow Xue Huaiyi from the capital of the gods to the north, but was Shan Yu who was stationed in Yunzhong City The guardian envoy of the Duhufu, and together with Wu Youyi to prepare for the northward march of the Dai Beidao army, have a closer relationship with each other than the general managers of the northward march.

Qi Biming and Wu Youyi also have one thing in common, that is, they both married the daughters of Li Tangzong's family. Wu Youyi's wife is the granddaughter of Huo Wang Li Yuangui, and Qi Biming's wife is the daughter of Taizong's son Cao Wang Li Ming.

If Shendu City really changed completely and the government returned to the Li family, then he and Qi Biming, as the son-in-law of the Li family, would undoubtedly have more common topics in the next plan.

Moreover, Qi Biming was born in the Tie Le tribe, and his family is still quite powerful in the Helanzhou area. His father-in-law, Cao Wang, was deposed in the early years because of conspiring with the deposed prince Li Xian, and there was a slight relationship with the Dai Wang.

In this way, as long as he can pull Qi Biming to his side, there will be enough room for advancement and retreat whether it is fleeing or attaching.

"When the army advances and retreats, there are other military commanders under the general manager who can provide advice, and it is not something that can be decided by two or three people."

Wu Youyi waited for a long time before hearing Qi Biming's answer, and he secretly breathed a long sigh of relief, knowing that Qi Biming had decided to get rid of Xue Huaiyi together with him.

So he quickly said: "Of course I understand this. It's just that I have been supervising the transportation of food and grass in the rear for a long time, and I don't know much about human affairs and military affairs in the camp. According to what Chief Qibi saw, which road chief should be contacted before we can finalize the decision The army retreats?"

"Currently, in the camp, the general manager is poor and happy, and most of the military camp affairs are entrusted to the general managers such as Su Honghui, Li Duozuo, and Cao Renshi. The only ones who can tell me about their humble positions are the governor of Chitian, Adan Fengchen, and a few others."

Now that he decides to conspire with Wu Youyi, Qi Biming also thinks carefully, he has lived with the army for more than a month, and he naturally understands the internal personnel more deeply than Wu Youyi.But to be honest, although he has a little advantage as a landlord, he can influence only two or three people who are also generals. The relationship between the real chiefs in charge of the army is really so-so.

Wu Youyi frowned when she heard the names Qi Biming mentioned.Among the chief executives in power, Su Honghui is the grandson of the famous general Su Dingfang, Master Cao Ren is the son of Cao Jishu, the brave general who followed Su Dingfang to destroy Baekje, and Li Duozuo, although he is a general, has a high prestige in the army.

If it was just to get rid of Xue Huaiyi and hold the Holy Emperor's secret order, Wu Youyi could contact these people with confidence.But the problem is, in addition to killing Xue Huaiyi, he also wants to control the entire military power of Daibei Road. In his opinion, these three people are still potential competitors, and he even wants to get rid of them together.

"So, can you get rid of Huaiyi directly here?"

After thinking about it, Wu Youyi said again.

After hearing the words, Qi Biming hurriedly waved his hands and said: "This is absolutely impossible! Right now the army is still at the border, and the situation in Monan this winter is already weird and unpredictable, and there are many servants in the army. If you rashly kill the general, the army will be in danger." It will be difficult to restrain! It is best to return to Bingzhou and make plans again."

Although he was also born in Fanhu, his whole family had been in Tang Dynasty for a long time. Both father and son were relatives of Li Tang's clan, so he subconsciously placed himself in the position of Tang people.

If the march on behalf of the North Road was just an army from the inland, the situation would be simpler, but now there are tens of thousands of fanhu servants around the camp.These fanhus are afraid of prestige but not morality. Once they know that such a drastic change has taken place in the camp, they may turn their heads and seduce the Turks to counterattack the army.

So Wu Youyi's idea is absolutely unacceptable.

Unavoidable that Wu Youyi couldn't hold back and did stupid things, Qi Biming said patiently: "These three are either born in the family of senior generals, or foreigners who appreciate kindness and gratitude, such as humble positions. They dare not respond to orders. Among them, Su Honghui is cautious and timid, half of the reason why the army is stuck in trouble, it is not forcible to say that it is a risky strategy. But the other two will definitely make people understand."

Qi Biming is urging Wu Youyi to contact Cao Renshi and Li Duozuo. One of them is in charge of the elite of the Chinese army, and the other is quite prestigious among the Northeast Hulu. If they are willing to help this matter, there will be no problem.

As for Su Honghui, it's not that Qi Biming underestimated the family history of famous generals.In fact, Su Honghui was mature and prudent, with a profound strategy, and most of the camp affairs were handled by him. The army had been stuck here for such a long time without any disturbances, which showed that he had ability.

But from Qi Biming's point of view, Su Honghui has committed the mistakes of being benevolent, unbearable, knowing but timid, and cowardly and suspicious, as stated in "The Art of Defense of the Duke of Wei". Low, but if you lead an army all the way alone, such a character will cause major problems, ranging from delaying the fighters to hindering the entire army.

If Su Honghui were to know about this, even though he would not dare to disobey the Holy Emperor's secret orders, he would definitely be careful and hope that Xue Huaiyi would be imprisoned but not killed, and he would be sent back to God to wait for the Holy Emperor's ruling.

But if the Holy Emperor sees Xue Huaiyi again and suddenly becomes emotional and decides to save his life, then these conspirators will offend Xue Huaiyi severely, and it is better to kill Xue Huaiyi directly.

Hearing Qi Biming's persuasion, Wu Youyi also fell into deep thought.Qi Biming only knew one thing and didn't know the other, so although the suggestions he gave were not unreasonable, they didn't meet Wu Youyi's requirements.

At the same time, he also realized that if the army did not retreat, it would be difficult to kill Xue Huaiyi directly in Shuozhou.Even Qi Biming, who had already been recruited by him, disapproved of him doing this. One can imagine what attitude the other chief executives would have towards this.

It seems that if you want to kill Xue Huaiyi, you must first bring the army back to Bingzhou.And if you want the army to retreat, you can't get around the three chiefs.For a moment, Wu Youyi was extremely entangled.

Qi Biming saw that Wu Youyi was still hesitant, so he couldn't help but continue to say: "Since the withdrawal of the troops is imperative, let's just discuss this matter right now. As the secret order says, just ignore it and wait until the army returns to Bingzhou , then it will be much easier to gather strength!"

Wu Youyi's eyes lit up when he heard this. He originally planned to bring the army back to Bingzhou and end up with Xue Huaiyi, taking advantage of the situation to take control of the army.Qi Biming's reminder made him think back to the original point.

But this entanglement was not in vain.At least let him realize that if he wants to control this army, he must get rid of or control a few overly powerful chiefs.

"Just like Chief Qibi said, you and I can contact all the chiefs in the battalion to determine the right to withdraw troops. As for the future, we will discuss it in detail after returning to Bingzhou."

Wu Youyi nodded, ready to split up with Qi Biming.Although there was no guarantee that the news of the Shendu coup would spread to the army as the army retreated to the rear, he could also use this period of time to gain control of the army.

Previously, he had the Holy Emperor as his backing, and he didn't have a strong need to directly control the army, so he stayed at the rear and didn't want to go to the front to suffer.But now that the backer has fallen, it is necessary to use this time difference to control the army.

Right now, it's not easy to deal with Xue Huaiyi directly, but he can also use Xue Huaiyi to suppress some thorns in the army.This idea was not born out of thin air, he had already learned a lot from Dai Wang, and his past experience could come in handy at this time.

Qi Biming was mainly responsible for lobbying Cao Renshi and some marching chiefs who had less power to speak, while Wu Youyi was responsible for lobbying Su Honghui and others, but he deliberately left out Li Duozuo.

The words are lobbying, but the army is trapped here, and the suffering is unspeakable. In fact, the commanders of the armies have already intended to go, but they are afraid of being accused of being cowardly. A consensus has been reached over time.

The chief officer, Xue Huaiyi, had another fulfilling day, and returned to the tent of the Chinese army with unfulfilled desires. He ordered the soldiers to pack up and cook the prey he shot today, and serve it as dinner. The decision to withdraw troops has been made behind his back.

Wu Youyi did not shy away from Xue Huaiyi's invitation, and after contacting the general managers, he came to the Chinese army tent on time.

Chapter 0503 with the help of strength, the detention of Fan generals

The big tent is brightly lit, and the brazier with strong charcoal fire is placed around the tent, which makes the whole tent extremely warm and there is little smoke. Many people in the tent don't feel cold with only their single clothes on.

Of course, not all soldiers can enjoy such conditions.Although there are still plenty of supplies in the Daying Camp of Daibei Road, since they are stationed in the border areas, it is natural to use sparingly in terms of supplies.

Naturally, the charcoal used for heating can be saved as much as possible. The generals have enough supply, and only the elite soldiers in the army can enjoy it in a limited amount.

As for the fanhu servants on the outskirts, if they are not prepared enough, they can't even meet the basic camp shelter, and some even need to live in snow caves to endure hunger and cold.

Of course, it wasn't because Datang was treating them harshly.Every time the Tang army conscripts, there will be some rewards in terms of military resources and spoils of war, but it is absolutely impossible to distribute them to every soldier, and most of them will be withheld by their respective leaders and chiefs.

Those Hu chiefs treated their tribe members with little sympathy and care, and only regarded them as resources in exchange for wealth.If you can't even do this, what's the use of raising so much idle energy.

It is precisely because the people of the Tang Dynasty were rich and powerful and were willing to share the benefits. Although the border affairs of the Tang Dynasty have become increasingly sluggish since the establishment of the conquest, there are still many Hulu who respond to servants every time they are enlisted.

If you stand on the side of the Turks, looting houses seems to be enjoyable, but the benefits that the Turks can give them are very small. They fight fiercely and share the leftovers. If the results of the battle are not rich enough, they themselves may become the targets of the Turks' looting. The risk is real too high.

So as long as the situation on the border of Datang can be stabilized, those fanhus with few people are still more willing to make a living with Datang.

In the tent, Xue Huaiyi sat reclining with open arms, while his own soldiers diligently divided up the barbecue, poured wine and refills, and brought it to his mouth.Of course, this kind of enjoyment is far from what it was when he was in Shendu, but Xue Huaiyi is not dissatisfied with it, and on the contrary enjoys it.

Although the city of Shendu enjoys endless prosperity and wealth, Xue Huaiyi always feels a little depressed.In the early years, when he led the troops out for the first time, he was in a panic, but after walking for a distance, the joyful feeling of leading thousands of troops and being the only one in the camp quickly overwhelmed the fear of the battlefield.

Especially every time he marched, there was no need to fight, and there was no shortage of topics to show off when he returned to the capital of God. Not only did Xue Huaiyi no longer reject leading the army on an expedition, he even had some expectations in his heart.

Of course, having fun is one aspect, and Xue Huaiyi also understands his weight, so every time the Dian army goes out, he never asks about specific military affairs, and only focuses on his enjoyment in the camp.This is also because the military affairs are complicated and complicated, even if he wants to interfere, he can't do it, so he can simply enjoy himself without worrying about it.

Xue Huaiyi was very happy to learn that Wu Youyi entered the camp in person today.It's not because he has a good relationship with Wu Youyi, but he is an old acquaintance in God's capital, which can let Wu Youyi see his high prestige in the army.

After all, he lacks words to boast about this kind of thing, and even if other people hear about it, they are just scratching their heads. It is better to experience it directly and profoundly.

It is precisely because of this that Xue Huaiyi summoned all the generals above Guoyi in the camp tonight, except for the generals who were on guard in the direct inspection battalion. There are nearly a hundred people, but the interior space is still quite spacious.