Chapter 0058: Begging for Life
Nanyang has always been a key area in the Central Plains. As the heartland of the Central Plains, Nanyang is now also an important town in the Sui Dynasty. In Wancheng, the governor of Nanyang County Yuan Zhao and the deputy governor of Nanyang County Lu Zizang gathered together.
"Brother Lu, Yunyang Pass has been lost. Li Yu's Qihuo Army shot down Yunyang Pass with three arrows, and the army is coming towards Nanyang in a mighty manner." Yuan Zhao put down the letter in his hand, threw it aside, and said, "There are 10,000 soldiers and horses in the city now. If we gather soldiers and horses from all around, we can get 30,000 troops. There will be no problem in stationing in Nanyang."
"My lord, you summoned me here, but I'm afraid it's not because of this matter!" Lu Zizang looked at his superior.
"Yes, Master Yin Shi sent someone to deliver a letter, ready to join forces with me to deal with Li Yu's beggar army. His 30,000 troops suffered a great loss in Lu County, with more than half of the army lost. If he retreats to Guanzhong at this time, he will probably be ridiculed by others, so he invited me to join forces to defeat Li Yu in one fell swoop." Yuan Zhao said with a smile.
"Are you moved, sir?" Lu Zizang did not answer the other party, but looked at Yuan Zhao and said: "Li Yu was able to defeat Yin Shishi's brave army. If we fail in our attack on the other side, I am afraid that the entire Nanyang County will be in trouble. This responsibility will be borne by you and me at that time." Lu Zizang did not recommend the encirclement and suppression of Li Yu.
"If Li Yu continues to run rampant in Nanyang County, do you think His Majesty will forgive me?" Yuan Zhao said with a wry smile, "Everyone knows that His Majesty hates my Yuan family to the core and wants to uproot my Yuan family. If anything goes wrong with me, His Majesty will definitely kill me. If Li Yu's troops cause trouble to Nanyang County, it will also be my fault. Instead of this, I might as well fight hard and get rid of Li Yu. At least the court won't bother me."
After hearing this, Lu Zizang fell silent. He also knew the embarrassment of Yuan Zhao in the court. The Yuan family was the royal family of the previous dynasty and a big family in Guanzhong. Because they had offended Yang Guang in the past, Yang Guang wanted to uproot the Yuan family after he ascended the throne. If things really got messed up like that, he would not be in trouble, but Yuan Zhao would definitely be.
"Since you have made the decision, I have no objection. My only concern now is that Li Yu will not leave Nanyang." Lu Zizang shook his head and said, "He is a smart man. From avoiding the Central Plains and leading the army south, we can see that Li Yu will not attack Nanyang. Otherwise, he will be surrounded and suppressed by the imperial army."
Thinking of this, Lu Zizang immediately looked at Yuan Zhao with sympathy. If this was the case, Li Yu would at most sweep through Nanyang and then enter Jingxiang, but as the prefect of Nanyang County, Yuan Zhao would definitely be held accountable.
"Yes, Li Yu is different from Yang Xuangan. He is insidious and cunning. He will definitely not attack Nanyang. But the other party has already taken Yunyang Pass. Where will he go next? Fangcheng?" Yuan Zhao looked at the map opposite, which recorded everything about Nanyang County. His eyes were fixed on Fangcheng. Fangcheng also had food and population, which just met Li Yu's conditions.
"Fangcheng and Biyang are both Li Yu's attack targets." Lu Zizang stroked his beard and said, "But one thing is certain, the enemy will definitely cross the Biyang River."
"First, order all counties to block the Biyang River. Within two months, no boats are allowed to be launched and all ships must be sealed in the county treasury." After hearing this, Yuan Zhao's eyes flashed with a cold light. Since he had decided to take action against Li Yu, he had to be prepared.
"Let Yun Zhao come back! Li Yu is so brave, I'm afraid he is the only one who can deal with Li Yu." Lv Zizang suddenly said. There was a strange light in his eyes. Others did not know Yun Zhao's true identity, but Lv Zizang knew it. He was the leader of the Nine Elders of the Sui Dynasty. He was killed by Yang Guang because he opposed Yang Guang. His son Wu Yunzhao fled to Nanyang and was taken in by Yuan Zhao, who changed his name to Yunzhao.
"I'm afraid this is the only way." Yuan Zhao smiled bitterly, "Damn Li Yu, why didn't he come earlier or later? He came to Nanyang at this time. If things go wrong, he might even meet Yin Shishi. Yin Shishi has no bottom line when doing things!"
"Then we should try not to let Yun Zhao meet Yin Shishi. Humph, Yin Shishi claims to be a brave general of the court and doesn't take us seriously. I didn't expect that he would come to beg us in the end." Lu Zizang said disdainfully: "30,000 troops can't do anything to thousands of defeated soldiers. They deserve to be defeated."
"After a great war, Li Yu was not just a few thousand defeated soldiers. The Qihuo Army had risen from the ashes and now defeated the imperial court's brave soldiers who were several times stronger than them. The morale of the army was high, which was unmatched by ordinary armies." Yuan Zhao shook his head. Although he was a civil servant, he was born into a noble family, especially the Guanlong aristocratic group. These people cultivated their children to be both civil and military, which had a lot to do with their aristocratic origins in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Yuan Zhao was also like this, a man of both civil and military talents, who could command the army on horseback and govern the people on foot.
"What a pity, a talent like Li Zixiong, both father and son are geniuses, but now they have become rebels against the court." Lu Zizang said regretfully .
Yuan Zhao snorted coldly and didn't say anything. Yang Guang wanted to catch the Yuan family in one fell swoop. Similarly, the Yuan family also hated Yang Guang. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, Yuan Zhao would have wanted to refute him, but he didn't say it in the end.
What Yuan Zhao didn't expect was that Li Yu, who was far away in Yunyang Pass, was more powerful and more terrifying than he had imagined.
At Yunyang Pass, Li Yu rode on a war horse, holding a big sword, watching everything below the pass. Yunyang Pass fell into Li Yu's hands very easily, and the soldiers inside the pass also surrendered to Li Yu. Li Yu only selected the young and strong people without families to join the Begging Army, and for the others, he distributed the land of the local tyrants and evil gentry inside the pass to the people, winning the support of the people in Guanzhong.
Now in front of him appeared five thousand soldiers, all of whom had seen blood and killed people. In addition to the five thousand, there were more than a thousand auxiliary soldiers. Among the five thousand soldiers, there was a thousand cavalry, led by Li Yu himself, and then divided into four camps, namely the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise Camps. Xie Yingdeng was the leader of the Azure Dragon Camp, Pang Jue was the leader of the White Tiger Camp, Ding Meng was the leader of the Vermillion Bird Camp , and Li Gu was the leader of the Black Tortoise Camp. Then the Old Camp was set up, headed by Cen Wenben and Fan Jin, in charge of food and grass, military supplies and medical care, etc., with more than ten thousand old and weak in the camp as the foundation, guarded by auxiliary soldiers, and followed the army. In this way, the Qihuo Army was truly established.
What made Li Yu happy was that the 5,000 soldiers in front of him were all wearing armor, and the worst was leather armor. The weapons in their hands were all standard weapons of the court, including swords, spears, large shields and even bows and crossbows. These were all seized by Li Yu from previous wars, and some were also captured from fierce battles. For example, a large number of bows and arrows were confiscated at the Yunyang Pass under his feet. This was very good news for Li Yu. In the short term, Li Yu did not have to worry about his equipment.
"I wonder if Master Yin Shi still has the courage to attack me if he knows the military strength I have now." Li Yu looked at the shouting and killing on the parade ground with a smile on his face. He now hopes that Master Yin Shi will attack. The newly established Beggar Army needs a victory to strengthen the determination of the soldiers and boost their morale.
