Chapter 448 The first chapter takes shape

"Tuk-tuk" knocked on the window and door, just like Yang Gongqing called the door just now. Kou Zhongwei was astonished, moved to the window, pushed the window open, and there was a beautiful girl named "Orchid" from Kucha standing outside the window, wearing a nocturnal dress, she looked a little thin, but there was another kind of provocation in her bones. Lovely look: I don't know if it's because she no longer has the frosty demeanor she used to have, or because there is a trace of sadness between her eyebrows and eyes. Linglongjiao said softly: "Young commander, hello."

Kou Zhong has the urge to hold her in his arms, it must be a very intoxicating enjoyment, especially when he recalls her hateful gesture of rejecting people thousands of miles away; take actions.He didn't know what to say, and said, "Long time no see." Linglong glanced at him coquettishly, frowned slightly and said angrily: "Why are you staring at him so intently? Is it because you have forgotten me?" Kou Zhong was taken aback secretly, thinking that when a woman said such resentful words, she must have a lot of affection and forced himself to express his position.He couldn't help thinking of the sad past when he said goodbye to Shang Xiufang in Chang'an but waited for nothing, coughed dryly and said, "How could I forget Miss Jiao? Come in and talk about it?"

Linglongjiao shook her head and said: "I am ordered by the Holy Majesty to go to Changping immediately to monitor the Tang army's movements. Before leaving, I just came to say hello to the young commander." From Tongguan to Luoyang, the water route passes through the Yellow River, and the land route exits the Tongluo official road. Changping is located in the middle of the Tongluo official road, tightly strangling the south bank of the Yellow River. Economically or militarily, it is a battleground for military strategists.When the cities in the Guandong surrendered to the Li Clan, Changping was still firmly in the hands of Wang Shichong, but if it fell into the hands of Li Shimin, the Tang army in Guanzhong would be able to go straight out of Tongguan, pass through Hongnong to Changping, or arrive at the north of Luoyang by water. As its only main road on land, it attacked Mianchi and Cijian, two important towns on Luoguan Road in Xitong, Luoyang.

Kou Zhongdao: "How does Miss Jiao know that I'm here?" Linglong rolled her eyes at him and said: "It's rare for me to hide what happened here. Sigh, I really don't understand how the Holy Majesty treats you like this, yet you are still willing to help him." Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "This is called interest. Miss Jiao should understand what kind of person Wang Shichong is, why is he still in love with the inn? Once Luoyang falls, is it not a joke?" Linglong Jiao shrugged her shoulders, showing her charming and coquettish attitude inadvertently, she wrinkled her nose and said: "He is following orders. If he dies, I will be free, and then I will transfer to your banner to be a spy!" "

Kou Zhong said dejectedly: "I hope I still have my life to enjoy that blessing." Linglongjiao slightly annoyed: "Young Marshal, how can you be so unconfident in yourself, don't tell you." A tumbling, dexterous civet cat arrived on the top of the wall, did not forget to say goodbye to him, and quickly disappeared outside the wall. Kou Zhong shook his head and smiled wryly, he had a deep understanding of Li Shimin's great talent and skill in using soldiers.Unless Wang Shichong immediately abdicates to him, or entrusts his military power to Kou Zhong, there may still be a little chance of reversal.This is not because he thinks that he is superior in strategy and can compete with Li Shimin, but at least he can appease the generals under Wang Shichong who have long been renounced, and employ people according to their talents, instead of only knowing how to appoint relatives like Wang Shichong.

From now on, until the city of Luoyang is broken, it will be the most important time for his young commander.The longer this period, the better for him.He will meet with Xuan Yong, Bai Wenyuan, Bu Tianzhi and others through Yang Gongqing to arrange offensive and defensive plans.Only by winning his hometown Jiangdu can he hope to win the world and compete with the invincible Li Shimin in the Central Plains. For the next fifteen days, Kou Zhong stayed at home, devoting himself to digesting the precious experience he had learned from Ning Daoqi, and went deeper to improve the subtlety and mystery of the "Eight Techniques in the Well".Whenever Yang Gongqing came to visit him, he would study Luoyang's geographical situation and the application of military tactics with him, living a quiet and fulfilling life.

On the sixteenth day, Wang Shichong finally held a military meeting that had been delayed for at least five days for no reason. Yang Gongqing was ordered to pick him up into the palace, and as soon as he boarded the carriage, Yang Gongqing said angrily: "Do you know why Wang Shichong insisted on delaying the meeting for a few days?" Kou Zhong was startled and asked why. Yang Gongqing said fiercely: "Wang Shichong issued an edict this morning to announce that Wang Honglie guards Xiangcheng, Wang Xingben guards Hulao, Wang Tai guards Huaizhou, Wang Shihui guards South City, Wang Shiwei guards Philadelphia, Prince Xuanying guards East City, and Wang Xuanshu guards Hejia City , Wang Dao guarded Yaoyi City, and he himself led 20,000 troops to fight against the Tang army."

Kou Zhong was stunned when he heard that.These generals guarding Luoyang Bafang City are all relatives of Wang Shichong, which shows that he does not trust generals with foreign surnames at all. Wang Shichong may be because of Li Mi's former supervisor, knowing that once the army is defeated, there will be a chain reaction of surrendering to the enemy under his command. However, such arbitrariness of relatives and talents, dispatching troops and generals will only put Zheng Jun in a doomed situation. place. This arrangement also caused Wang Shichong to use his brains and work hard, which caused the meeting to be delayed.

Kou Zhongdao: "Is Zhang Zhenzhou here?" Yang Gongqing said: "The town arrived six days ago, and Tian Fen, the governor of Xianzhou, and Yang Qing, the governor of Guanzhou, were also here. But Li Mi's surrendered generals Duan Da and Shan Xiongxin were not called to Beijing by him, because Wang Shichong I don’t trust them. Sigh, tell me, young commander, you don’t need to fight to win or lose this battle.” Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, "Wang Shichong is the one who didn't know he would lose. We expect him to last longer." Yang Gongqing nodded and said, "Besides that, what else can I ask of him?"

The carriage enters the imperial city. When the three sailboats sailed from the Yellow River into the Tongji Canal and headed towards Liangdu, Xu Ziling knew that he had lived up to Kou Zhong's entrustment and successfully transported the treasure back to Pengliang. Because Tong Xinghui has always worked hard, regularly filial piety, Qianzhi has a good reputation, so Zheng Jun has not been detained in any way.Everyone was elated, and hurriedly changed into the Ssangyong banner of the Young Marshal Army, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. When it was about an hour's journey away from Liangdu, Bu Tianzhi heard the news and arrived, and personally led the warship to meet him. Everyone was very happy to see each other again after a long absence.

As the fleet sailed down the river, Xu Ziling, Bu Tianzhi, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, and Zha Jie gathered in the cabin to talk and say goodbye to each other.Seeing such a talent as Bu Tianzhi, Gao Zhandao and others also turned to Kou Zhong, and their confidence increased even more. Bu Tianzhi said: "Young Marshal has arrived in Luoyang safely and is fighting the old fox. I hope he can defend Luoyang steadily. Four days ago, the Young Marshal just sent a message saying that Ziling and General Gao will arrive at any time." Everyone was worried about Kou Zhong's recent situation, and when they learned of this, they immediately let go of their hearts. But only Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong had successfully slipped from Ning Daoqi's hands, and knew that from that moment on, if he fought alone, there were not many people in the world who could do nothing to Kou Zhong. Gao Zhandao was surprised: "Why does Mr. Bu call me a general?" Bu Tianzhi smiled and said: "This is the arrangement of Master Xu. The young commander does have vision, and Master Xu is really a rare talent. He organized our scattered sands into a real army of young commanders, and the management of the economy and people's livelihood is even more orderly. Brother Gao is now one of the eight generals of my young commander's army. Waiting for the young commander's powerful fat stock, brother Niu and brother Zha are the left and right flying generals respectively. The strength of a town is 3,500 for the time being. will be greatly expanded." Gao Zhandao and the others were used to being pirates, they had more than 200 people gathered together, and they felt very amazing. When they heard that more than 3,000 people were assigned to command them at once, they immediately lifted their spirits and were overjoyed. Bu Tianzhi lowered his voice and said: "Young Marshal's message doesn't mention Yang Gong's treasure house, what's the situation?" Xu Ziling said, "Have you heard any rumors?" Bu Tianzhi sighed: "All I received was bad news. It is said that something went wrong in your treasure hunt, and the Li family took over the treasure house instead. But money and weapons are always external objects. As long as people are safe and sound, you don't need to worry about other things." .” Xu Ziling said in a low voice: "The fact is just the opposite. In the bilges of our three ships, the gold carried in the bilges of our three ships is enough to spend at least three years for the soldiers and civilians in the entire Pengliang area. This is the secret of the young commander, and it must not be passed on. Let it out." Bu Tianzhi stared at him in disbelief, and after Xu Ziling's brief explanation, Bu Tianzhi slapped his legs and shouted: "This will solve the most troublesome problem of the military division Xu. After we hide Cao Yinglong's secrets, the military division Xu will still be rich according to the young commander's wishes." Yu Min, exempted from all taxes in Pengliang District for one year, and bought a large amount of grain, goods and building materials from various places through Zeyue of the Longyou Gang, and used up the inventory. Now getting this batch of gold is another matter of course. It's a matter." Niu Fengyi asked: "How is Peng Liang's current situation?" Bu Tianzhi said happily: "Under the governance of Military Division Xu, all the people in Pengliang have returned to their hearts and are thriving. Even if the Tang army arrives tomorrow, we have the confidence to last for a while." Cha Jie asked with great interest: "Apart from the generals of the eight towns, who else is there?" Bu Tianzhi replied: "Now there are only six town generals, and there are still two vacancies waiting for virtuous persons. The other five generals are Xuan Yong, Chen Changlin, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin and my younger brother. They each lead a town, and the total force is around 20,000." Xu Ziling wondered: "When I left that day, the total force should have exceeded this number." Bu Tianzhi said: "This is exactly one of the reasons why I admire Xingzhi. In the past, we did not distinguish between soldiers and civilians, and there were not enough weapons and horses to distribute them. The number of people seemed to be 40,000 to 50,000, but they were actually mobs. Xingzhi was a big event to promote revolution. First, the whole army was disbanded, and then the elite were selected from those who were willing to join the army and loyal to form an army of six towns. After strict training, Pengliang was divided into six districts, with one town in each district, which could not only maintain law and order, but also assist in regional farming. Produce, build houses and build roads, and strengthen the defensive military in various districts. The Young Marshal Army is no longer the former Young Marshal Army.” Xu Ziling secretly praised Kou Zhong's luck, and he understood why Li Shimin became more and more afraid of Kou Zhong. It was because of Peng Liang's situation that he would report to him in detail through the mouth of the spies. Bu Tianzhi started to talk, and continued: "In terms of internal affairs, Xingzhi set up four supervisors, with Eldest Sister Ren as the supervisor of household etiquette, in charge of the six districts of farm households, Duyong, money and silk, warehouses, etiquette, host and guest, food and feeding, etc. Various ministries: Chen Laomou served as the supervisor of the Ministry of Industry, in charge of civil engineering construction, farming, Tuotian, Shanzeyuan, Zhouyi River Canal, etc. Examinations, rewards, criminal laws, and military affairs. Since everyone is very united, the overall operation is both streamlined and effective.” Xu Ziling didn't know what it was like to hear it. Under the painstaking management of Xu Xingzhi and others, the Young Marshal's Army finally has a large scale. If the Datang Army takes advantage of the situation and destroys it with the strength of Mount Tai, and the army is scattered, Xu Ziling will not feel good. Cha Jie said excitedly: "What instructions does the young commander have? Will we send troops to help Wang Shichong defend Luoyang?" Bu Tianzhi smiled wryly and said: "Although we have 20,000 troops in name, in fact there are only 20,000 or 3 people who can fight. Li Zitong, who was under the heavy scrutiny of the tiger, took advantage of the situation, and the actual number of people he could mobilize was no more than three or four thousand. Fortunately, the young marshal clearly stated that we only need to secure the base camp, and asked us to go back to Luoyang with brother Ziling to meet and discuss with him." Xu Ziling said, "When are you planning to go?" Bu Tianzhi said: "If you have no objection, we will set off immediately tonight." Xu Ziling nodded and said, "Okay, we'll leave tonight." The military meeting that decided the rise and fall of the Zheng Kingdom was held in the Hall of Deliberations, presided over by Wang Shichong himself, including Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Wang Shihui, Wang Shiwei, Wang Daoxuan and other princes and princes, and generals with foreign surnames included Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou, Song Mengqiu , Lang Feng, Yang Qing, Tian Fen, and Kou Zhong were barely added to make the two sides equal. Wang Shichong obviously digested the shock of Kou Zhongchu's report, and seemed confident and calm.But at least on the surface they still respected Kou Zhong, let him sit in the upper seat on the right, side by side with Wang Xuanying opposite. Kou Zhong originally thought he would meet Linglongjiao, but the beauty from Kucha did not show up. Wang Shichong said: "Just received the news that Song Jingang raided Yuci with 20,000 fine cavalry and defeated the troops of Jiang Baoyi and Li Zhongwen, the Tang generals. The next target is not Pingyao, but Jiezhou." Everyone was in an uproar, only Wang Xuanying observed Kou Zhong with a sneer on his face, his reaction was completely different from the others. Kou Zhong wondered in his heart, Wang Xuan should not be surprised, since he knew about this earlier.But it's intriguing to be so unkind to yourself. What exactly is wrong? Wang Xuanshu was puzzled and said: "Although Song Jingang is a fierce general, the Tang army should not be so weak." Wang Xuanying said triumphantly: "My brother does not know something. This time when Song Jingang invaded Taiyuan south, Xieli fully supported him, not only supplying war horses and equipment, but also using Turkic elites to disguise as Song Jingang's subordinates, how could the Tang army be able to handle it. " Kou Zhong began to understand why Li Yuan was so afraid of Turks and dared not openly offend Xieli.If the face is torn apart, Xie Li joins forces with Song Jingang to march south without any scruples, who can stand them?Fortunately, it is still not so blatant. Zhang Zhenzhou said: "Once the Song army captures Pingyao and Jiezhou, they will be able to directly besiege Taiyuan City. Taiyuan is not only Li Yuan's old nest, but also the Tang Dynasty's back-up granary. There is no room for loss. I wonder what Li Yuan's countermeasures are?" Wang Shichong looked at Kou Zhong, and said with a relaxed expression: "If you really know what the young marshal guessed, Li Shimin deliberately let Li Yuanji lose the battle in order to lure Song Jingang in, then he is very likely to make a big mistake that turned the Li family from prosperity to decline. .” Kou Zhong said indifferently: "What's wrong?" Wang Shichong raised his voice, and said sonorously and forcefully: "The mistake is to underestimate the enemy. Now Li Yuan is defending Taiyuan with Li Yuanji, and he also ordered Pei Ji to be the marching officer of Jinzhou Road to lead the army to assist Li Yuanji. It can be seen that Li Yuan is aware of the danger. Once in Taiyuan If it is lost, Song Jingang's troops can go south along the Fenshui River, follow Li Yuan's old road to enter the pass, cross the Yellow River and head straight to Chang'an, otherwise why would Pei Ji go to help?" Wang Xuan smiled speculatively and said: "As long as we can contain Li Shimin's army outside the pass, when Song Jingang goes south smoothly, even Li Shimin will be overwhelmed by the enemy, no one can change his fate." Kou Zhong shrugged his brows, but did not answer. Tian Tomb said: "How is the strength of Li Shimin's troops, and where are they stationed?" Wang Xuanying hurriedly said: "Li Shimin's main force is currently concentrated in Chousang in the northwest of Hongnong, and they can reach Taolin in two days' march. It depends on the situation that they want to invade Changping. We must make him come or go this time." Kou Zhong secretly sighed in his heart, guessing Li Shimin's ability based on Wang Xuanying's low ability and ignorance, waiting for Xia Chong to talk about Bing, he didn't know what to say. Zhang Zhenzhou frowned and said: "With Li Shimin's shrewdness, how could he be so stupid to start two fires? Everyone knows that even if there is an isolated city left in Luoyang, it cannot be conquered in a year or so." Wang Xuanying said in displeasure: "If he doesn't come to attack me, I will attack him. We must make him sink in the mud, and we can't divide our troops to deal with Song Jingang. When Song Jingang and Li Jun are both defeated, we will take advantage of the vacancy and reap all the benefits. Fisherman's profit." Wang Shichong coughed dryly, interrupted Wang Xuanying's self-satisfied chatter, turned to Kou Zhong and said, "Young Marshal, if you have any opinions on this, please speak up without any hesitation." Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, although Wang Shichong put on the attitude of a corporal, in fact, he had already arranged for the princes to take charge of the strategic towns around Luoyang.If you want to besiege Luoyang, you must first clear the barriers. At that moment, he said slowly, "What's happening on Li Shiji's side?" Wang Shichong said: "Li Yuan appointed Li Shentong, king of Huai'an, as the pacifying ambassador of Shandong Province, to help Li Shiji attack Yu Wenhuaji's army in Wei County, hoping to capture Yu Wenhuaji one step earlier than Dou Jiande, so as to stop Dou Jiande's army." Kou Zhong patted the table and sighed: "This is exactly the role of Li Shimin's garrison army Chousang, the purpose is to contain the Holy Majesty's Zheng army, so that Li Shiji can expand northward." Zhang Zhenzhou nodded and said: "Young commander's words are reasonable." Wang Xuanying sneered and said, "I think Li Shimin is seeking his own death. Yu Wenhuaji is about to perish. This is a fact that no one can recover. No matter which side captures Yu Wenhuaji, Xia and Tang will confront each other head-on without aid. It’s more beneficial to us than harmful.” Wang Honglie and other Wang Xuanying's "inners" praised each other and supported him. Wang Shichong coughed again, drawing everyone's attention back to him, and said in a deep voice: "Our meeting today is to decide whether we should send troops to attack Li Shimin. face." Wang Xuanying said decisively: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we must not miss it." Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing exchanged glances, but did not speak.Tian Fen and Yang Qing's status was lower than theirs, and they dared not speak up. Song Mengqiu expressed his approval first, and Lang Feng and other clan members followed suit one after another. Wang Shichong saw Kou Zhong frowning as if he was in a daze, wondering, "Does the young commander have any other ideas?" Kou Zhong suddenly woke up, nodded and said: "It is true that I have other ideas, my humble opinion is that under the current situation, it is absolutely inappropriate to send troops to attack Tang." "Peng..." Wang Xuanying slapped his palm heavily on the table, and said angrily, "I knew you were a spy sent by Li Shimin, and you still didn't show your fox tail." Everyone, including Wang Shichong, was stunned.