Emperor Sui Yang

Yang Ming came out of Luoyang by land. There was no other way, the ships were completely mobilized by Yang Guang, so he could only march on two legs.

One by water and one by land, they naturally pass by each other.

Li Jing had already fought with Zhang Xiu's rebels in Ruyin County. The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. Zhang Xiu didn't even have a chance to escape. More than 2 of his men were wiped out on the north bank of the Huaihe River.

The meaning of the whole army being wiped out does not mean that everyone is dead, the team is scattered, and the number is gone, it means that the whole army is wiped out.

Then, Li Jing forcibly crossed the Huaihe River at night, led the left and right guards of the East Palace, and ran into Zhang Shan'an's department under Du Fuwei's command in Huainan County.

Zhang Shanan was a rebel army under Du Fuwei who had stayed north of the Yangtze River from beginning to end. He was originally in Lujiang County. When he confronted Du Laihu'er in Liyang, no one took action.

Now that Du Fuwei has withdrawn, Zhang Shanan has three of the four counties west of Jiangdu. He came out in full force this time to deal with Yu Zhongwen who was stationed in Zhongli County, the barrier to the west of Jiangdu.

The rebels in the south are crossing the river crazily, and Jiangdu can only temporarily evacuate. Yu Zhongwen of Zhongli County arranged it to prevent Zhang Shanan from harassing Jiangdu.

But Yu Zhongwen didn't expect that Li Jing would come so quickly.

"So, Zhang Xiu is finished," Guan Guogong Tian Shishi said: "The pharmacist arrived just in time. If we can defeat Zhang Shan'an here, we don't actually have to evacuate Jiangdu."

Mai Tiezhang nodded and said: "The Xiangyang Navy is also on its way back. Shandong Zhang Xutuo Shi Huaiyi and the prince are in the direction of Luoyang. We can completely defend Jiangdu and compress the battlefield to the Jianghuai area. If we retreat north into Shandong, it will be impossible. The danger can be defended, so it is better to be a passive tiger and settle the matter in Jiangdu."

Yu Zhongwen said solemnly: "This is a decisive battle. I dare not make any decision. Once defeated, Jiangnan will not be able to take it back. I will ask Yu Wenshu for instructions, but General Mai please quickly lead [-] troops to support Li Jing. Remember, fight if you can, and retreat if you can't. We need to preserve our strength now."

Over in Huainan County, Zhang Shanan fought with Li Jing without reservation. He felt that he would not lose, because behind him, there were a steady stream of troops crossing the river. Li Jing, the lone army from the expedition, could not do anything. Can't reach them.

In the direction of Lujiang County, the Kanling Division, which received the news, is also marching north to support Zhang Shanan. The two divisions total 5000 people.

There were limited ships, so the progress of Du Fuwei and Feng An's army was slow. They did not build a pontoon bridge because the waters of the Yangtze River here are too wide. The width is several miles, even more than ten miles, close to the mouth of the sea. The current of the Yangtze River will destroy the pontoon bridge.

The fighting in Jiangdu City was in full swing, and the most elite left and right guards were not indifferent. They firmly guarded the river bank defense line and fought back waves of rebels.

Cai Ju's Wuya fleet was the busiest. It had to run back and forth on the Yangtze River and collide with the ferry boats. However, he had too few ships in hand. However, even so, it greatly delayed the rebels' crossing the river.

This is a five-tooth fleet. In more than ten days, it has sunk more than 200 small boats. Its performance is quite impressive.

The big ships couldn't catch up with the small ones, and Cai Ju was too busy putting out fires everywhere to form a blockade. If the main force of the Xiangyang Navy was there, a water defense line would be formed in the waters of the Yangtze River on the south bank of Jiangdu, and the rebels would not be able to cross here.

This is the importance of the Navy. The equipment of your [-]-strong army is not as valuable as the Xiangyang Navy. Do you think all this money is wasted?
Yu Wenshu was sitting in Jiangdu and received the news that he was coming to protect his children.

"We can't let him withdraw. Even if he dies, he will die in Wu County." Yu Wenshu said to the messenger: "Tell Lai Hu'er that our army has no way to retreat. Let him hold on for a while longer and the navy will return." Help, please go smoothly, we will surely come if we hold on for another five days."

Originally, Jiangdu's combat deployment was to withdraw, but news came from Shandong. Zhang Xutuo and Shi Huaiyi were rushing here desperately, and Li Jing had also entered Jiangnan, which meant that the prince was almost there.

In this situation, Yu Wenshu would not withdraw.

The key key actually lies with Xiangyang Navy.

Wu Jun is Suzhou, and Lai Hu'er has long been unable to bear it. Wan Zan died in the battle, Guan Chong defected to Lin Shihong, and his connection with Xu Wanche has been severed by the rebels. Now he doesn't know what the other party is like, and there is only one left. Liu Yuanjin followed him back to Changshu County, where there is the only naval dock, which is still very shabby.

There are less than [-] soldiers left in the army. It will take time to retreat to the sea ships. Lai Hu'er has been insisting. He hopes to wait for the good news from Jiangdu.

Don't count on Chen Leng's navy, which is an empty shell with only sailors and no soldiers.

"Father, withdraw, otherwise it will be too late," the eldest son Lai Kai advised.

Liu Yuanjin was also in the lobby at this time and said: "General Manager, you will not fight anymore unless you are in a humble position. Lin Shihong has already captured most of Wu County. If we don't leave, we won't be able to leave."

Fei Qingnu remained silent. In his place, whatever Lai Huer said was whatever he said. He would just obey and would never disobey.

Lai Huer frowned and said: "I feel something is wrong. In several encounters, Lin Shihong attacked very hard, but after arriving in Changshu, he stopped attacking, as if he deliberately let me live." Lai Kai said in surprise: "How could father have such delusions? With your identity, any rebel would be eager to kill you, so why would you let us go?"

"Perhaps he is unwilling to fight to the death with us," Fei Qingnu said: "Now south of the Yangtze River, our army has no stronghold. Lin Shihong may be unwilling to spend time on us. He and the trainer Qi are at odds with each other. If we attack us, his losses will be considerable. If he really wants to fight me to the death, if he suffers too many casualties, he may be annexed by the trainer."

Lai Huer said: "Your idea is possible in normal times, but not now. As for what Lin Shihong is thinking, I can't guess. Since he doesn't move, we won't move either. If he comes with all his strength, Attack, let's withdraw again. After all, our army is the only imperial army on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Once we withdraw and our morale is exhausted, it will not be easy to come back."

There are many reasons why Lin Shihong stopped fighting. It was too difficult for Lai to protect his children, and his losses were indeed too great. But the main reason was that he did not want to kill Lai to protect his children.

Because Lai Huer's status is too high, if he kills him in Wu County, if the situation takes a turn for the worse in the future, he will not even have the chance to join the imperial court.

Even if you can't kill Lai Hu'er and let him escape, Lai Hu'er will kill him after he surrenders to the court in the future, so the best way is not to fight and leave you a way to escape.

In fact, Lai Huer knew about it a long time ago, because he received a letter from Lin Shihong, but he didn't tell anyone, and he also hid it from his son.

Otherwise, why don’t we come to protect our children?They're all gone so quickly.

Among the rebels, Lin Shihong was the one who left the most escape route for himself. This was related to his own character and also to the fact that Xiao Shilian deceived him every day.

What did Xiao Shilian say?To give him an example, in the second year after Jiuchen was destroyed by the Sui Dynasty, the whole Jiangnan rebelled. As a result, Yang Su defeated you again in less than half a year.

The leader of the rebellion at that time was Xiao Shilian's younger brother, Xiao Shilue. How could he not know that?He knows the whole process better than anyone else.

In the final analysis, there is no danger to defend the south of the Yangtze River. The only thing to rely on is the Yangtze River. Even though Old Chen had control of half of the Yangtze River, he could be wiped out in two months. The current rebels have no control over the Yangtze River at all. .

Xiao Mian also told Lin Shihong that the Xiangyang navy would definitely rescue them, and when the navy came back, those who had crossed the river and those who had not crossed the river would be treated differently.

The navy will completely block the Yangtze River. Those who have not passed will not be able to get through, and those who have passed will become a lone army. There is no other way except to fight to the death with the officers and soldiers.

Lin Shihong is a person who easily accepts other people's opinions. He believed it, so when Wu Jun attacked Lai Hu'er, he kept delaying, otherwise Lai Hu'er would have been destroyed by him.

The purpose of procrastination is to avoid going north to cross the river. In fact, it is to avoid putting yourself in danger.

"That Wan Zan is also a good man. He would rather die than surrender. I gave him a chance, as you can see," Lin Shihong and Xiao Shilian were whispering in the room.

Xiao Shilian said with a smile: "Although Guan Chong surrendered, this person cannot be trusted. His remaining army of more than [-] people must be dispersed to various places."

"It's hard to handle," Lin Shihong said: "I took away his military power just after he surrendered. There must be something wrong with this person. I know this person cannot be trusted, but now I can't help him disobeying me and surrendering to the court and then to me. He has no There is no way out, what else can he do except listen to me?"

You are still smart. There are many ways to escape. Xiao Shilian said with a smile: "Wan Zan surrendered to the prince, and was entrusted with important tasks afterwards. He did not dare to be embarrassed when he came to protect his children. As the saying goes, a scholar dies for a confidant, and Wan Zan died well. If If you have heirs, you must have a title.”

Lin Shihong nodded: "Do you think the navy will definitely come?"

In fact, he knew in his heart that the Xiangyang navy would definitely come back. After all, the emperor had run away and Jiangdu was surrounded. It was impossible not to come back. But that was the way he was. He looked forward and backward, and had no idea of ​​his own. Fortunately, he listened to others' advice. .

"He will definitely come back. General, believe it or not, the prince is on his way here and will arrive in Jiangdu soon," Xiao Shilian said:
"Only the Crown Prince can save the current situation, and the Crown Prince will definitely save it, because as soon as he arrives, all the troops will have a backbone and they will no longer fight independently. They will work together as one. Du Fuwei is in danger. At that time, if you can surrender the land south of the Yangtze River, it is possible for you to be crowned king."

Xiao Shilian started PUA again.

"Eh~~~~" Lin Shihong said with a smile: "I'm not that ambitious. The uprising also meant that my brothers couldn't eat. I led everyone to find a way to survive. I am a country squire, and my family owns hundreds of acres of thin farmland. If it weren't for the situation in Jiangnan, At this point, I won’t raise an army.”

I didn't have any ambition before, that was in the past, but now that I'm good at it, my ambition will naturally increase.

The reason why Xiao Shilian deceived Lin Shihong in this way was to induce the other party to fight back when Du Fuwei, Feng Ang and others were defeated. If Lin Shihong really had such vision and courage, don't tell me, he could be crowned king.

There was no precedent for naming a king with a different surname during the Great Sui Dynasty, but there were quite a few before the Great Sui Dynasty.

Besides, I can change your last name. (End of chapter)