Chapter 88 Indecision
Li Ji was stunned, and Yu Cheng hurried in to report: "There is someone outside who wants to see you."
He hurried out and saw two middle-aged men standing outside the door.
A visitor said with a smile: "Greetings to Lord Li. In the previous dynasty, when I was a minister, Derui was elected as the governor of Weishi County and came here to submit to him."
Another visitor hurriedly bowed and said, "I am the governor of Sucheng, Zu Junyan, and I am here to report in."
Li Ji greeted them one by one and led them into the big tent.
During the greetings, Li Ji realized that Zu Junyan had come from Changping, and he was particularly polite.
Because he was famous for his talent, Li Ji appointed him as a secretary and ordered him to be in charge of secretarial work.
It’s good that they are here. Li Ji arranged for them to sit in the main seats.
"Yucheng, bring up the aged wine!"
At Li Ji's command, Yu Cheng brought a few personal soldiers and moved a few jars of sorghum red from the warehouse.
There are ten large bowls and twelve large dishes on each table.
There was a hot pot in the middle, with white smoke bubbling out.
Li Ji held up the wine glass and said loudly:
"First of all, the first cup of wine should be to congratulate the great victory of Luokou Warehouse. Luokou Warehouse is our life warehouse. With it, our supplies will be endless."
He raised his hand and drank the wine in the glass in an instant.
The guard beside him refilled his glass.
"For this second glass of wine, let's toast to the heroes of Wagangzhai, Lord Zhai, and Situ Zhai."
"Mr. Zhai, you have a noble character and deserve respect. You took the initiative to give way to others, which has won the attention of the world. Come, let's toast to such an example!"
All the leaders raised their glasses together, and there was a splash of water, and everyone drank it all in one gulp.
Li Ji glanced at all the leaders with a stern look, and he raised his voice and said:
"The third cup of wine, a toast to our great leader, the new leader of Wagang Village, Duke Wei!"
Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate, and cheers resounded through the sky.
Suddenly, people heard a loud shout from the hall.
"Leaders, please be quiet."
Li Ai raised the wine glass above her brow.
"Generals, what have I done to deserve this? All of this is thanks to the full support of Lord Li. We should be grateful that we have met such a young and strong helmsman."
He looked at Li Ji and said loudly: "Let us express our gratitude to Lord Li for providing strong support to the Wagang Army."
Li Ai took a step forward and knelt on one knee in front of Li Ji: "Let's toast to Lord Li together!"
All the soldiers in the audience rose up and knelt on the ground, raising their glasses with both hands.
Li Ai shouted, "Cheers!"
All the leaders raised their hands in unison.
With a sizzling sound, he drank the wine in the glass.
After the leaders returned to their respective seats, Li Ji continued:
"The new Wagang Army must have a new look and new deeds. We must show the prestige of the new army. We welcome heroes from all over the world to join Wagang Village."
For a time, many rebel armies north of Zhao and Wei and south of Jianghuai heard the news and joined Li Li Ji.
Li Ji granted them official titles one by one and allowed them to continue to lead their original tribes.
Li Ji used the area of forty miles around Luokou City as his base , set up a special marching marshal's office and dispatched four groups of troops to seize the counties in Henan. He also appointed Meng Rang of Qi County as the general manager and ordered him to attack the Eastern Capital at night.
Li Ji personally led his troops to Luocang, repaired the camp, and approached the Eastern Capital.
General Duan Da of the Left Guard and others led 70,000 troops to resist.
In the battle north of Huiluo Cang, the Sui army was defeated and fled.
Li Ji asked his shogunate to issue a proclamation to all counties, listing Yang Guang's ten major crimes.
Zu Junyan, a clerk, wrote in his manifesto: "Even if we use up all the bamboos in the Nanshan Mountains, we can still write down countless sins; even if we use up all the waves in the East China Sea, we can still carry away all the evils."
Jiangdu Palace.
When Zu Junyan's manifesto reached Jiangdu, Yang Guang was furious.
"Mr. Xu, do you think this Ah Ji is decent? He is getting more and more out of control. What crime have I committed? Is it worth him to publicize it like this?"
Yuwen Shu's face was sallow, and he responded breathlessly:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. From what I have heard, Aji was just acting on impulse. The culprits are Zhai Rang and Li Ai who are by his side."
Yang Guang asked: "Mr. Xu, do you have any solution?"
"I think this group of bandits is just a mob and not a cause for concern. We can just send the best troops of the Great Sui Dynasty to suppress them and they will disperse in one blow."
He said in a low voice, "It's just that Empress Xiao has already told us not to start a war. We only need to prepare the Eastern Capital, and we shouldn't mobilize a large army to encircle and suppress them."
"This is strange. How can a child have such a big dream of becoming an emperor? As long as he rebels, he can become the emperor? Isn't this just a foolish dream?"
"Your Majesty, I also think that Ah Ji is just trying his luck and trying to take advantage of the rebellion."
"Mr. Xu, do all the people in this world want to fight for the throne of the Sui Dynasty?"
Yuwen Shu replied tremblingly: "These rebels are just afraid of poverty. They think that the Sui Dynasty is within their grasp. This is nothing more than an ant trying to shake a tree."
"Notify the King of Yue in Dongdu to strengthen defenses. I will send troops from Jiangdu if necessary."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
May of the first year of Yining (617) during the reign of Emperor Gong of Sui.
Emperor Yang ordered General Jianmen Pang Yu, a native of Jingyang, and General Hu Shiju, a member of the Tiger Guards, to lead the troops inside the pass to rescue the Eastern Capital.
This afternoon.
The guards came to the shogunate quietly.
He proposed a clever plan to Li Ai.
Chai Xiaohe meant to march westward to Chang'an.
He believed that the Guanzhong region had solid mountains and rivers, and the Qin and Han dynasties relied on it to achieve their imperial achievements.
It would be better to let Zhai Situ defend Luokou and Pei Zhuguo guard Huiluo, and you personally lead the elite troops to attack Chang'an in the west.
After the capture of the capital Chang'an, our foundation was consolidated and our military strength was strengthened. We then turned eastward to pacify the Yellow River and Luo River basins.
Just send a letter of declaration and the world will be at peace.
Today, the Sui Dynasty can no longer control the entire country, and heroes from all over the world are competing with each other. If we don’t act soon, someone will surely get there before us, and by then it will be too late to regret.
Upon hearing this, Li Ai nodded slightly.
"I, Li Ai, have also considered General Chai's brilliant plan. This is indeed the best strategy, and I have thought about it for a long time."
He continued, "Although the plan is good, I still need to see what the lord thinks."
Chai Xiaohe lowered his voice and said, "General, you are the leader of the Wagang Army. You have the military power in your hands and you can command the support of hundreds. Why do you have to accept the control of that young county governor?"
Li Ai said sternly: "Guard, don't talk nonsense. Although the lord is young, he can observe the clouds and predict good and bad luck. You and I only rely on force, but the lord is a prophet who can see the future and control the direction of the general situation."
Chai Xiaohe smiled and said, "Duke Wei, you should not be superstitious about physiognomy. As the saying goes, 'He who strikes first is strong, and he who strikes last suffers.' I hope Duke Wei will take the initiative and not be passive everywhere."
Li Ai sighed, and then he analyzed:
"The tyrant emperor is still in power, and there are still many troops following him. My subordinates are all from Shandong. If they see that Luoyang has not been captured yet, who would be willing to help me to attack Chang'an in the west?"
He looked at Chai Xiaohe and said worriedly:
"The leaders of the Wagang Alliance are all born as bandits. If we let them stay in Wagang Village, they will each try to show off their power and compete with each other. This will ruin our great cause."
Chai Xiaohe said: "Yes, Lord Wei, you are in a dilemma. You have Lord Li above you, and the leaders below you. You are really at a loss!"
Before he finished speaking, Li Ai's expression changed, and a shining sword was unsheathed...
