Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

In Jingkou City, the soldiers were diligently repairing the city's defense armor. They were well-armed and ready for battle at any time. Compared with Duxia Jiankangdu, they were much better.

Situ Chen Baxian has always been known for his wise military management and the combination of leniency and severity. Not long ago, when a group of Jiangbei soldiers who successfully defended Guangling City withdrew to Jingkou, because the imperial court in Beijing made no statement on this, Chen Baxian simply dispersed his family wealth and Money and silk were used to reward these meritorious soldiers, and as a result, they gained more support from the soldiers.

In the main hall of the city, a soldier hurriedly went to the hall and reported: "Reporting to Situ, the envoy of that dynasty, Jiang Yuan, is here again, begging Situ to be released and returned to the dynasty."

In the hall, before Chen Baxian had time to reply, Hou Andu below had already frowned and said: "This disciple came here with the order of traitors, intending to lure our elite troops into the court to impose sanctions. Now he is not sanctioned, only detained, and he is already the master. Mercy, if it had been anyone else, I am afraid that I would have killed this apostle, who swore me as my righteous teacher, would he have thrown himself into death?"

These words were not only an answer to the soldier who was performing the mission, but also for Chen Baxian to listen to. Before the soldier came into the performance, Chen Baxian was summoning several of his close generals to discuss whether to obey the imperial court's call. Order and send troops to the court to obey orders.

Hearing Hou Andu's words of holding a gun and a stick, Chen Baxian didn't feel dissatisfied. He just pointed at him and said with a smile: "Mr. Hou is arrogant and has a bigoted opinion. He doesn't understand the principle of listening and listening at the same time. You guys, are you right?" What do you think about this?”

Among the people present, in addition to Hou Andu, there were Xu Du and Du Leng, as well as Zhou Wenyu, who had been stationed in Guangling and had just been recalled by Qingzhou this morning. These people are the generals who have been under Chen Baxian's command since he was still in Lingnan in the past years. Now they are also Chen Baxian's confidants, who often conspire with him on important military affairs.

While speaking, Chen Baxian turned his attention to Xu Du who was sitting here. Xu Du is much older than Hou Andu, and has a more stable personality. He can be said to be both wise and brave. He has made many suggestions since he joined Chen Baxian. Chen Baxian also cited him as the mastermind, and he had to listen to Xu Du on many matters. Views.

Xu Du met Chen Baxian's gaze and said in a deep voice: "My lord was loyal and righteous, and he tried his best not to welcome Zhenyang. There has been a deep rift between him and Taiwei Wang, and they have been suspicious of each other for a long time. Besides, we have gained control of both towns, and we are stronger than Beifu." , I am afraid that he will be even more intolerable to Taiwei Wang.

As Hou Lang said, the imperial court sent envoys to ask for troops just to weaken our troops in Beifu. Regardless of whether the Lord should or should not, it is difficult to explain Wang Taiwei's suspicion. It is only in vain to use people's difficulties to create a dilemma for me. Since we are no longer in the same camp, it is wise to make other plans as soon as possible! "

Zhou Wenyu, who was on the side, also nodded after hearing this and said: "I followed my lord and fought fiercely for several years before settling the chaos in the Lingnan area of ​​Jiaozhou. I can say that I have done nothing for the country. I have not had time to sit back and relax since I marched north. I have fought with all the people one after another. Fang Qiang and his bandits fought, and the blood of the soldiers was spilled in the rivers and seas, but they were still treated as aliens. It was really chilling!

When the country is facing a crisis, the only way to stabilize the country is to use force. When it comes to wearing armor to kill the enemy, why should someone be afraid of these Jiangling old disciples! Wang Sengbian abandoned Jiangling Yuze and married a northern captive because of his high position in the Liang Kingdom. Everyone in the world knew that he was a traitor to his lord and a traitor. It was an opportunity given by heaven to let his lord seize the talisman and carry it. A certain class of old disciples from Lingnan are of course happy to follow their lord to the capital of Xianda! "

Compared to what Xu Du said, Zhou Wenyu's answer was more straightforward. Even though Chen Baxian was so deep in the city, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for a while.

He coughed twice and then sighed and said: "Although Emperor Xiaoyuan was not the hero of the ZTE, he was able to guide the heroes to quell the chaos and avenge the emperor and Taizong, which is considered to be a meritorious service to the country. Wang Sengbian was a confidant of his old colleagues. Not only did he not I felt sad and pitiful because Emperor Xiaoyuan died abroad, but instead bullied the weak young master and flattered the powerful. If I followed him in unison, where would the loyalty of Jiangnan be? "

As he said this, he looked at the last Du Leng who had not yet expressed his stance.

Unlike the others who made impassioned remarks, Du Leng frowned and said: "My lord wants to make a big plan, how dare General An disobey him? But now there is still a huge gap in power between the two parties. Wang Taiwei is in charge of the government alone, and all the people are involved." They all followed his military orders and carried more than 100,000 soldiers with armor.

On the other hand, we have less than 50,000 soldiers, and all the troops in Guangling are exhausted after a long battle. Now we can only hold Beifu. Once he breaks up with the imperial court, he will be embattled on all sides. It seems that the power is across the river, allowing the south and the north, but in fact, both the north and the south are enemies..."

The originally exciting service atmosphere suddenly became dull as Du Leng began to analyze the current situation and talk about the difficulties and disadvantages he faced. After hearing this, Chen Baxian's brows furrowed even more tightly, but he didn't say a word.

"Du Gong's argument is fallacious! How can Hou Jingnan be a prosperous army when he comes to the south? No one in the capital can defeat him! Now I have tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but the capital is in ruins. If you dare not take action, consider yourself cowardly. , What does it mean to be invincible! How can we win every battle? Fight hard and never look back!"

Hou Andu was the youngest person present, and as Chen Baxian said, his personality was a bit arrogant. When he heard that Du Leng was so proud of others' ambitions and destroyed his own prestige, he felt dissatisfied and stood up. He pointed at Du Leng and said angrily.

When Du Leng saw Hou Andu frankly admitting that he was timid, while his lord Chen Baxian just sat in silence at the table, he felt a little unhappy. He also stood up and looked at Hou Andu and said, "So Hou Lang wants to be Hou Jing again? Where the capital is and where the imperial court is, it is extremely difficult for the vassal officials to raise their troops and admonish them internally.

The current generals in charge of the army are all old Jiangling officials and relatives of the Wang family. Even if they can quickly arrest them, how can they overwhelm the four sides? What's more, the imperial court has negotiated and made an alliance with the Qi people. If there is civil strife in the country, how can the Qi people sit back and watch? Once the Qi army besieges Guangling again, what plan will I make to advance and retreat?

Hou Lang has great ambitions, but how can he be used for it? If you act rashly, what you have to face is not hundreds of scattered soldiers, but a huge crowd? How many battles can Hou Lang survive and how many people can he kill? Shouldn't such a big plan be planned and implemented later? "

Du Leng argued and asked, leaving Hou Andu unable to answer for a moment, but he still refused to admit defeat, holding his sword in his hand and glaring at Du Leng in front of him.

At this time, Chen Baxian slowly stood up from his seat, walked up to the two people who were facing each other, and separated their eyes from each other. But then he suddenly pulled out a handkerchief, ducked around Du Leng's neck, and held it tightly with both hands. The hand towels were twisted together.

Du Leng was suddenly attacked by this, and was greatly panicked for a moment, but at this time he could no longer make any sound from his throat. He only wanted to peel off the towel wrapped around his neck with both hands, but no matter how hard he struggled, Chen Baxian was behind him. The taut arms were as motionless as iron. His legs were kicking on the ground in a panic, but his breathing and strength were rapidly weakening, and his movements were becoming weaker and lighter.

When several other people in the hall saw Chen Baxian like this, they all stood up in shock, with a look of fear in their eyes. They tensed their bodies, held back their breathing, and did not dare to make the slightest sound.

Chen Baxian maintained this posture for dozens of breaths, until Du Leng in front of him had completely stopped making any movement. Then he loosened the tight towel and wiped the white mark with the towel. The palm of his hand then covered the face of Du Leng, who was lying on his back and motionless.

"Today's things are not optional, but must be done! We may drink poison to quench our thirst, but being trapped in Jingkou is the same as sitting back and waiting for death, and it is also not waiting for the turtle!"

Chen Baxian looked around at the people present again, and said in a deep voice: "Du Gong's discussion of matters is indeed thorough. But why should there be any doubts about today's matter?"

Several other people had not reacted for a while, but Hou An, who was already enthusiastic, clapped his hands and cheered when he heard Chen Baxian's statement: "My lord is wise! Now that the matter has come to this, we can only strike first and strike later." Treat people! If the situation is unresolved, death is coming, and my life is not guaranteed, why bother to tie me up now with long-term plans!"

Xu Du and Zhou Wenyu both reacted at this moment and nodded in agreement.

After unifying the internal opinions, Chen Baxian immediately began to assign tasks. Ever since Wang Sengbian failed to withstand the pressure from the Northern Qi Dynasty and welcomed Xiao Yuanming to the south, he knew that the differences between them might not be easy to reconcile, so he had been making secret preparations, and even the supplies to reward the soldiers had been secretly prepared. preparation. Even if Wang Sengbian hadn't sent envoys to recruit troops this time, he was already secretly planning when to launch the attack.

This attack on Jiankang can be described as a desperate struggle, and Chen Baxian will naturally have no reservations. Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, after deducting the old, weak, sick, and those who are weak from the journey, there are still less than 20,000 elite soldiers. This time, they will naturally go out in full force, while other troops who are not considered elite will temporarily stay in Jingkou to guard this old nest.

But in this case, the power used to guard Guangling in Jiangbei will inevitably be somewhat insufficient, and the important town of Guangling must have a trusted general in charge before it can rest assured.

"How great it would be if Seng Ming was still here!"

When considering who should stay in Guangling, Chen Baxian couldn't help but sigh and said that Du Sengming was the number one general he relied on most, but he died of illness on the way to rescue Jiangling, causing him to lose his arm. Now, when I want to do big things, I don’t have enough confidants anymore.

After some consideration, Chen Baxian decided to leave Xu Du to stay in Guangling, and told Xu Du: "None of the other generals are as thorough and safe as filial piety. It would be best if we can quickly establish the situation when we go to Jiankang. If not, Xiaojie still needs to take charge of the rear division to deter all parties. As for Guangling, abandon it, after all, Jiangdong is the foundation!"

After Xu Du heard the words, he quickly nodded in agreement. At this moment, Du Leng, who had been lying on the ground silently, suddenly let out a weak moan. Everyone in the hall was shocked. Chen Baxian was also stunned for a moment, but Xuan Ji sighed and said, "Duke Du has been with me for many years. He suddenly had a different plan, but I tolerated killing him! He will be placed in the dark room of the other hall first. When the army goes out for the expedition, I will apologize to him and go with him."