Chapter 490 Chapter 493
Shen Mu watched Gaozhai from a distance with great interest, and smiled, "If Feiyun and I ride from behind to attack, we can guarantee that the enemy will not be surprised when they cross the trench."

Ba Fenghan pointed to the four watchtowers in the south of the village and said: "The guards of the watchtowers need to doze off."

Shen Mu said: "With our skills, we can take out the sentry on the tower before the enemy is unprepared, right?"

The Luo River and the Yi River meander through from the left and right sides. The Luo River runs through Luoyang and flows into the city from the west of the city.

Shen Mu pondered and said: "Our grand plan for withdrawing troops can be divided into three parts. First, send contradictors and sabers and archers to pass through three tunnels, spread out secretly on this hill, and then use surprise soldiers to come out of the tunnels to raid Gaozhai, and then The three gates on the south side were wide open, and the troops intercepted the enemy's troops going to aid Gaozhai. After reuniting with the Gaozhai assault army, they retreated to this side. Withdraw to the south. Success depends on whether we can make a quick decision, enter Hongnong County before the Tang army in Yique and Shou'an cities block the road, and go straight to Xiangyang along the east bank of the Zhejiang River."

Ba Fenghan said: "It's easy for you to say, if we want a quick victory, we have to send a large number of horses here, first of all we have to fill in the trenches and destroy the enemy's battle formations on the edge of the trenches."

Shen Mu said with a smile: "So when it comes to planning an army attack, the most important thing is to be willing to use your brains. As long as we extend the tunnel to the enemy's arrow tower formation, hollow out the bottom of them, treat it as an exit, and erect wooden pillars first. , When the time comes to launch an attack, pour fire oil on the column and burn it to the bloody people, when the wooden column breaks, the arrow tower array will naturally collapse, and we can smash the enemy's solid formation without any effort."

Ba Fenghan laughed hoarsely and said: "Learn and apply it flexibly, it's really thanks to you for coming up with such a sinister trick."

Shen Mu happily said: "It's all thanks to my brother's advice, the more ruthless you are, the more chances you have to win. Damn it! I'm about to become hard-hearted!"

Xu Ziling suggested: "The tents, food, and supplies must be transported to the secret place of the export first, so that it will be easier and more convenient for us to escape."

Shen Mu said excitedly: "We just happen to be three cobblers, and we make up a Zhuge Liang. Even if Li Shimin is as wise as the sky, the Tiance Mansion is like a cloud, and the counselors are like rain, he will still not be able to compare with the eternally famous Mr. Wolong. His grandma's bear, Li Xiaozi thinks it's not so easy for me to die. Huh!"

The three of them changed color at the same time.

There was a sound of breaking wind from behind, and it was obvious that someone was flying towards them.

The three of them kept the posture of prostrate, looked back, and among the dark trees, a slim and beautiful black shadow rushed towards them, the other party obviously didn't notice them, and the speed didn't slow down.

Seeing her rushing up the hillside, she immediately stopped in shock, her face turned pale, and when she saw clearly that it was the three of them, her shock turned into astonishment, and she pressed her chest and said, "I was trying to find you in a hurry, why are you here? "

The person who came was Shen Luoyan, a military strategist who was a beauty. Although she was thinner than before, she was even more charming.

The three sat up from the slope, Shen Mu scratched his head and said, "Don't you know that Luoyang is heavily besieged by Li Yuanji? If someone finds out that you, Sister Shen, are visiting us, it will be harmful to Brother Shiji."

Shen Luoyan was dressed in a night-walking costume, and came to the three of them in shock, squatted down, and said in a low voice: "I don't have the time and mood to gossip with you, the battle between Tang and Xia has been divided, Li Shimin defeated Dou Jiande, and Dou Jiande was captured alive. Now Li Shimin is returning to Luoyang, while Shiji is ordered to attack Chen Liu with all his strength, and cut off all the connections and passages between your Young Commander Chen Liu's army and Luoyang. If you want to die, flee as far as you can. Alas! You must leave immediately, flee Going to Dajiang is the only way to survive, but we must avoid the defenders of Shouan and Yique."

The three of them changed color at the same time, although they had expected that Dou Jiande would be defeated, how did they expect to lose so quickly and so badly, they were caught off guard before they were ready.

Shen Mu gasped and said, "How could Dou Jiande be so useless?"

Shen Luoyan was afraid that they would not believe them and lose the opportunity to escape, so he hurriedly said: "Dou Jiande was lured into the tiger prison and set up a battle, but the King of Qin refused to fight, and made Dou's army wait from the hour of the morning to noon, when Dou's soldiers were exhausted, The king of Qin sent Yuwen Shi and led three hundred light cavalry to the west of the Jiande formation to disturb the morale of the army. Then he personally led the Xuanjia war cavalry to attack the enemy's formation. And enter, go straight out of the back of Dou's formation, and then turn back and rush back to the main formation. Dou's army collapsed and scattered like this several times. Kouzhu escaped and was captured alive by Bai Shirang and Yang Wuwei of the Tang army. The Dou army captured 5 people in this battle, but they were released on the spot by the king of Qin and let them return to their hometowns. Dou Jiande is finished, and it’s your turn. Don’t go now. When will it be?"

Shen Mu's heart sank, thinking of Dou Jiande, the hero of the first generation, how majestic he was in those days, but now he is a prisoner under his rank, life and death depend on others, he felt so sad that he wanted to cry.

Li Shimin was right. He asked Dou Jiande to come to his aid, only to harm him and speed up his downfall.

Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were worried about how to escape before the tunnel and deployment were completed, so they were speechless.

Shen Luoyan asked anxiously: "Why did you suddenly become dumb? I really wasn't joking with you. Li Yuan issued an imperial edict ordering King Qin to bring Shen Mu's head back to meet him. Shiji told me this personally!"

Shen Mu managed to pull himself together, and said with a wry smile, "Please don't worry, military commander, beauty. If Li Shimin wants to behead me, he has to ask my little brother about the long sword in his hand."

Shen Luoyan glared at him and said, "I will never change my nature." Xuan lowered her head again, and said softly, "I haven't had a chance to thank you for the matter of Chang'an yet."

Shen Mu said: "We are old friends!"

Shen Luoyan was obviously thinking of Li Mi's sudden death, his eyes were gloomy, and he hung his head speechless.

Xu Ziling didn't want her to remember the sad things, so he asked, "How long ago was Dou Gong broken?"

Shen Luoyan remembered the purpose of this trip, and hurriedly said: "It happened three days ago. Li Shimin led the army to set off the next day. I guess his first troops should arrive here within five days at the latest. You must leave here immediately. Youdai frowned lightly and said: "How can you come here freely?"

Even though Shen Mu trusted Shen Luoyan, he still didn't dare to reveal the truth because the matter was so important, and he couldn't bear to lie to her, so he leaned over and whispered in her crystal clear ear: "This is because of the benefit of being low and high. "

Ba Fenghan was afraid that Shen Mu's words would become more blatant, so he said: "Madam Li is very generous, and our three brothers are very grateful. This place is a place of right and wrong, Madam Li should not stay for a long time, and we have to go back to the city to prepare to evacuate."

He purposely called her Mrs. Li to remind Shen Luoyan of her own situation, which would easily implicate Li Shiji.

Sure enough, Shen Luoyan's tender body trembled slightly when she heard the words, she hesitated to speak and glanced at Xu Ziling several times, and finally nodded lightly: "You all take care, don't try to be brave."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and left quickly from the same road.

The three of them looked at her disappearing back in the forest, and sat blankly near the top of the hillside. After a while, Shen Mu said, "Our nightmare seems to have just begun, what should we do?"

Ba Fenghan said: "The most urgent task is to divide the manpower. First, dig the tunnels that can break through the enemy's trenches. On the other hand, build the toad carts to fill the trenches. We must work day and night to complete everything within one or two days. The capture of Dou Jiande Only the top-ranking generals must know, and we must not leak it into the army. We are racing against time, as long as we can break through and leave before Li Shimin arrives, the sea and the sky are high outside, let me fly, and there will be a comeback one day."

Shen Mu said: "The most fearful thing is that Li Yuanji sent a letter to Wang Shichong with a flying arrow first, and this reckless villain will definitely betray us."

Ba Fenghan said: "So we must let Ba Yegang and others know about this, and take all precautionary measures. If Wang Shichong makes any changes, we will kill his mother and leave no one behind."

……

After finding out the situation of the mountains and rivers near and far from the exit, the three of them returned to the city through the tunnel and held an emergency meeting at the Nancheng Guards to inform Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Ba Yegang, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai and others about Dou Jiande's defeat and capture. In the end, Shen Mu said: "The situation in Luoyang is gone, the only way to go is to retreat to the south, but the retreat must be done beautifully."

Then tell us about your retreat plan.

Chen Laomou patted his chest and promised: "As long as I double the manpower, I can finish the work by the evening of the day after tomorrow."

Ma Chang said: "Please leave the toad car to your subordinates."

Shen Mu said decisively: "Then set the withdrawal operation to the night after tomorrow. During this period, we must not make any mistakes. Every operation must be aimed at leaving safely. I want my people to strictly control the whole city, Do not allow any news to leak out of the city, and any letters coming in from outside the city must be delivered to me, not to Wang Shichong."

Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling exchanged glances, and both could see what was in each other's mind——Shen Mu finally recovered from frustration and worry in the face of life and death, and turned back to the invincible commander who regarded war as a game, ruthless and sharp like a sword .

Ba Yegang frowned and said, "Should we clean up Wang Shichong first?"

Ba Fenghan gave Ba Yegang a thumbs up and praised: "Brother Yegang is ruthless."

Shen Mu calmly smiled and said, "Lao Ba doesn't need to remind the younger brother again."

Turning to Chen Laomou and Ma Chang, he said: "Mr. Chen and General Ma don't need to waste time here. You all do your best to disturb the work you just agreed on, and leave the rest to us."

Chen Laomou and Ma Chang happily took orders and went.

Shen Mu asked Yang Gongqing for advice: "Yang Gong, please advise."

Yang Gongqing stroked his beard and smiled, "My way is too old and outdated! Everything is under the order of the young commander. The man is shrouded in horse leather. Life and death are nothing but trivial matters."

An ominous feeling surged in Shen Mu's heart. In the past, he and Yang Gongqing had to go through life and death many times, but this time he directly talked about death.

At this moment, I had no time to think, shook my head slightly to shake off disturbing thoughts, looked at Ba Fenghan, and said with a smile: "I have been avoiding a street fight with Wang Shichong to preserve my strength, so I must block the place where Dou Jiande was captured. News, if my guess is correct, Li Yuanji should know about this matter later than us."

Xu Ziling agreed: "Li Shimin will hide this from Li Yuanji. Because he wants Wang Shichong to surrender to him instead of Li Yuanji."

Everyone sat around a round table, and the shining lights made the lobby of the city guards suddenly bright and then dark. Xu Ziling suddenly thought of Shi Feixuan, and the touching scene when he first met her. Everything happened in Luoyang, and his mood at that time and at this moment , but it is a world of difference.

Ba Fenghan shrugged and said: "Everything is done according to your methods. In the final analysis, I am a lone swordsman, and all I think about is killing or being killed. But you are the supreme leader of the entire army, young commander. , everything is for the sake of the overall situation, and what I think about in my heart is the final victory."

Shen Mu laughed and said, "Besides Xu Ziling who knows me, you must count Ba Fenghan."

Then the divine light in his eyes shot towards Ba Yegang, and he said in a deep voice: "So don't bother to move Wang Shichong for the time being, now there are nearly 3 people against [-] imperial guards, and it's his turn to speak in the way."

Ba Yegang was sincerely convinced, and saluted: "Observe the order!"

Shen Mu said: "From this moment on, I will have generals on duty on the east wall in turn, and pay close attention to the movements of the enemy troops on the east outside the city. If there are any changes, they must report immediately."

Guo Shancai said: "The subordinates are responsible for this."

Shen Mu smiled and said, "Then it's all up to you. To be honest, I have tried even worse environments. As long as everything is done according to the plan, we will be able to get through this."

Everyone knew that the "worse environment" he was referring to was the Battle of Helenburg. The facts were all there, and General Ba Yegang's confidence was greatly increased immediately, and he took orders separately.

Yang Gongqing, Shen Mu, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were left. With the flickering lights, the huge hall had a sense of desolation and desolation before the war.

Yang Gongqing said: "If Li Shimin came back by boat, entered Luo through the big river, and sailed along the river, he would arrive in Luoyang in less than four days."

Shen Mu and the others felt chills when they heard that, Dou Jiande was defeated and captured three days ago, if Li Shimin's soldiers marched into Luoyang by water and land in two groups, the troops by water could arrive at any time now.

Ba Fenghan said: "Fortunately, according to our reliable information, Li Shimin chose land instead of water." Then he asked in surprise, "Why do you two look so ugly?"

Shen Mu smiled wryly, "If the opponent is not Li Shimin, Yang Gong's words will never shake my confidence."

Xu Ziling sighed: "Young Marshal's worries are not without reason."

Ba Fenghan was taken aback, frowned and said: "You mean Li Shimin worried that Shen Luoyan would tip off to us, so he intentionally didn't tell Li Shiji the truth about the deployment of the army?"

Yang Gongqing was at a loss when he heard it, and asked in confusion: "The news came from Shen Luoyan, what's going on?"

Shen Mu explained clearly to him, saying: "The more you think about it, the more suspicious you become. Li Shiji clearly understands the relationship between Shen Luoyan and us, so he should keep it a secret from Madam, why did he tell her himself?"

Yang Gongqing said: "This is not unusual. It is said that Li Shiji is very affectionate, or because you have kindness to his wife, so he intends to give his wife a chance to repay your kindness to you."

Just as Shen Mu was about to speak, Ba Yegang rushed into the lobby like a whirlwind, shouting: "A large number of naval ships from the Tang Army arrived from Luoshui."

The ears of the four of them were like thunder on the ground, causing everyone's eyes to stare and their scalps to go numb.

The most terrible situation finally happened unfortunately.

"boom!"

Shen Mu slapped the table with his palm, and shouted: "My boy, I played tricks on you again."

Ba Fenghan stood up, his face became extremely cold, and said in a cold voice: "Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover, let me see if Li Shimin is really superhuman."

Yang Gongqing then stood up and said: "Let's go to the top of the city to have a look."

Xu Ziling looked down at his pair of translucent, slender and beautiful hands, and there was no more fear in his heart. Suddenly, he deeply understood the essence of war, which is to fight for the final victory by any means, and to compete with the enemy. There is no room for love and kindness. .

Whoever is ruthless will survive.

And until now, Shen Mu was still not ruthless enough.Of course he himself was even worse.

Stand up slowly.

The four pairs of eyes all focused on Shen Mu who was still sitting in the chair.

Shen Mu took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Li Shimin wants to kill me, Shen Mu, this is the only chance. If he misses Luoyang, he will never be able to do it."

Huo Di stood up and strode towards the exit of the lobby. Every step was so sure and powerful. With his posture of walking like a dragon, his mighty image, and the strange rhythm composed of his footsteps, he revealed a strong confidence to move forward bravely.

Under his leadership, Ba Fenghan and others stepped out of the gate like a whirlwind, and headed for the battlefield.

The drums were thundering, and the horns sounded in unison. What was played was not an offensive drum, but a piece of music to welcome Li Shimin's triumphant return.

Li Yuanji's siege army came out in full force, and set up a formation in Heyuan outside the city. The sky was full of lights, reflecting nearly a hundred naval ships coming from the great river, filling the canals and Luoshui. Overshadowed.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The two leading ships set off the whips of victory, and the flames flickered for a while, and the smoke rose into the sky. Tens of thousands of Tang troops on the plain and the soldiers who had landed and returned to Luoyang shouted and cheered in unison. Whiplash, morale is high and boiling to the extreme.

Shen Mu, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, Ba Yegang, and Yang Gongqing arrived at the east wall. Wang Shichong, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Wang Shizhe and other royal generals came to the wall earlier to observe the enemy's situation.Generals with foreign surnames Guo Shancai, Shan Xiongxin, Duan Da, Cui Hongdan, Meng Xiaowen, Zhang Tonger, etc. stood on the city wall blankly, everyone's faces were ashen, and they looked at the overwhelming momentum outside the city with fear, and the excitement was high. .

From Wang Shichong to every soldier defending the city of Luoyang, all their ambitions were taken away, and they were lost in fear and despair.

Shen Mu and others came to Wang Shichong's right and joined the ranks of watching the enemy.

The blood on Wang Shichong's face faded, he glanced at Shen Mu next to him, then cast his gaze outside the city again, and said in a low voice, "Dou Jiande is over!"

Shen Mu's scalp was numb and he was speechless.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of rhythmic drums rose from the ocean of cheers, and the shouts and demonstrations of the Tang Army gradually faded away, replaced by the uniform sound of soldiers marching forward, forming a spell to remind the soldiers defending the city.

The Datang army located on the plain between the channel and Luoshui began to advance towards Luoyang and divided into three armies. The front rows were armed with contradictions, followed by swordsmen and cavalry.

Flags are flying everywhere outside the city, and the formation looks like the sea, but its power is enough to make people collapse without fighting, and they cannot compete with the domineering momentum.

(End of this chapter)

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