Tibet

Lulong Jiedushi was Fan Yang Jiedushi of Anlu Mountain. After the Anshi Rebellion, he was renamed Lulong Jiedushi by the court, also known as Youzhou Jiedushi.

Originally there was a Pinglu Jiedu Prefecture, in charge of Pingzhou and Yingzhou, but now there is no more. Pingzhou was merged into Lulong Jiedushi, while Yingzhou was occupied by the Xi people, and the entire Liaodong region was occupied by the Xi people. The Khitans divided it up.

Lulong Jiedushi not only governed the Youzhou area, but also governed the four prefectures of Dingzhou, Hengzhou, Mozhou, and Cangzhou in northern Hebei, intersecting with the spheres of influence of Li Baochen and Tian Chengsi.

So this time there was internal strife in Youzhou, and Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen took the opportunity to seize the land that originally belonged to Li Huaixian.

Li Ye pondered for a moment and asked: "Tian Chengsi occupied Dizhou, and Li Zheng has no reaction?"

Dizhou is the territory of Ziqing Jiedushi Li Zhengji, but Dizhou is special. It is located to the north of the Yellow River and threatens Tian Chengsi's back. Therefore, taking this opportunity, Tian Chengsi simply did not do anything. , and occupied Dizhou, which would of course offend Li Zhengji.

Duan Xiushi shook his head, "Li Zhengji's army was confronting Guo Ziyi's army and had no time to take care of Dizhou. Tian Chengsi also seized this opportunity."

Li Ye walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and suddenly asked: "Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen should start getting married!"

Duan Xiushi was stunned: "How does Your Highness know?"

Li Ye smiled lightly and said, "I guessed it!"

Duan Xiushi gave a thumbs up, "Your Highness is really a god. I have just received the news that Tian Chengsi's daughter married Li Baochen's brother Li Baozheng, and the two families were married. Tian Chengsi was very generous and gave Jizhou as his daughter's dowry. Li Baochen."

"It should be said that it is half of Jizhou. The other half has been occupied by Li Baochen. The two families fought once to compete for Jizhou. Now Tian Chengsi did a favor and gave all of Jizhou to Li Baochen. The conflict between the two families has been eliminated. But this time It’s just the beginning!”

Duan Xiushi was startled, "What do you mean by just starting? I don't understand my humble position."

Li Ye laughed, "Why can I guess that the two families are going to get married? Because I know what they want to do next? The two families are going to join forces to attack Xue Song!"

Xue Song was originally a subordinate of An Lushan. He was the grandson of Xue Rengui. It was because of this relationship that Xue Song was the first to surrender to the imperial court and was named Xiangwei Jiedushi by the imperial court, with jurisdiction over Xiangzhou, Weizhou, Mingzhou and Xingzhou. Waiting for four states.

Although he was also a vassal town in Hebei, he did not separate one party like Tian Chengsi and others. He was more biased towards the imperial court. Officials in the four states were appointed by the imperial court, and taxes were handed over to the imperial court, which would then be returned to him.

With only 20,000 men under his command, he was the weakest among the vassal towns in Hebei. Because Xue Song relied on the imperial court, Tian Chengsi and Li Zheng no longer dared to touch him.

Li Ye sneered and continued: "Now that one army of the imperial court is suffering from the plague, another army is restrained by Li Zhengji, and another army wants to defend Luoyang, there is no way to support Xue Song. Even I can't take this opportunity. If you can see it, can Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen not see it?"

"The imperial court can also ask Tian Shengong to rescue Xue Song!"

Li Ye shook his head, "Tian Shengong only has that few troops. Yunzhong wants to prevent Huihe from going south, and Jingxing wants to hoard heavy troops. How can he have extra troops? Besides, the imperial court will not let his army go south. Southern Shanxi is the granary of the imperial court. The imperial court Tian Shengong will not be allowed to get involved."

"But if Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen divide the four states of Mingxing and Xingzhou, the imperial court will be in danger. Duji Road, where Luoyang is located, and Tian Chengsi's power are only separated by Huaizhou, and the emperor will not be able to sleep."

Speaking of this, Duan Xiushi whispered: "Maybe the emperor will ask us for help!"

Li Ye smiled and said, "Maybe it's possible! Let's take a look and talk about it."

Duan Xiushi resigned, and Li Ye returned to the study, meditating in front of the miniature sand table.

He knew the emperor Li Heng, and the emperor was very wary of him. He would never ask him for help or send troops unless he had no choice.

If the emperor refuses to ask for help from himself, then there is only one way to solve the upcoming war of defense, which is to reconcile with Li Zheng, encourage Li Zheng to send troops to Dizhou, penetrate Tian Chengsi's back, and force Tian Chengsi to withdraw his troops.

Then Guo Ziyi's army withdrew to support Xiangzhou and Weizhou, so that Xue Song could be saved. It can be said that this was the only way.

Li Ye was still thinking with his hands behind his hands, how much of his own interests would there be in this?

As Li Ye predicted, Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen launched an attack on Xue Song not long after their marriage. Tian Chengsi led 30,000 Wei Bo troops to attack Xiangzhou, and Li Baochen also led 30,000 German troops to attack Xingzhou.

This was the carve-up plan that the two had long discussed. Tian Chengsi annexed Xiangzhou and Weizhou, and Li Baochen annexed Mingzhou and Xingzhou.

This is also the reason why Tian Chengsi gave up Jizhou to Li Baochen. Xiangzhou and Weizhou have vast plains and fertile land, while Mingzhou and Xingzhou have more mountainous areas and are slightly smaller.

Xue Song only had 20,000 troops. Facing the strong attack of the opponent's 60,000 troops, the 20,000 troops were unable to resist. They lost consecutive battles. In just a few days, Xue Song lost Xingzhou, Mingzhou and Xiangzhou, and lost most of his army. .

He led six thousand troops to retreat to Ji County of Weizhou. Ji County is the capital of Weizhou. The city wall is tall and strong, and the moat is wide and deep. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, when Xue Song retreated, a large amount of grain was transported from Liyangcang. Allowing him to hold on for several months with no problem.

While Xue Song mobilized the people in the city to join the army, he also sent people to the court to ask for help in urgent need.

Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen jointly attacked Xue Song, which also shocked the court. Once Tian Chengsi captured Weizhou, the straight line from Luoyang was less than 300 meters and only separated by the Yellow River. Tian Chengsi could directly enter the capital via the waterway.

Emperor Li Heng was anxious and summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

Pei Zunqing took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, the top priority is to provide assistance. Wei Chen suggested that we immediately send 30,000 troops to Huaizhou to support Ji County from the side.

Unexpectedly, Pei Zunqing's plan was opposed by Yu Chaoen.

"I want to remind Prime Minister Pei that the entire Duji Road has only 80,000 troops, and at least 50,000 troops are needed to defend Luoyang. The other 30,000 troops are guarding important passes, such as Sishui Pass in the east, Hangu Pass and Hangu Pass in the west. Shaanxian County, Yique Pass in the south, Heyin in the north, etc. In fact, these 30,000 troops are not enough. Shaanxian County and Hangu Pass alone used 20,000 troops.

Pei Xiangguo said without any effort, if he transfers 30,000 troops to Huaizhou, then there will be no troops to guard the Luoyang pass. If he transfers the troops guarding Luoyang, there will only be 20,000 defenders left in Luoyang, and we will not be able to sleep at night. "

Although Yu Chaoen was hated, his words made sense. Emperor Li Heng immediately denied Pei Zunqing's suggestion.

"The 80,000 troops in Dugi Province cannot be moved under any circumstances. Let's think of other ways!"

Prime Minister Cui Huan said: "Your Majesty, otherwise let Tian Shengong send troops to support us."

"no!"

After Cui Huan finished speaking, Li Heng immediately denied it, "Hedong only has a total of 50,000 troops. Yunzhong needs 30,000 troops to defend Uighur. Yanmenguan and Jingxing each have 10,000 troops. There is no army to support at all."

At this moment, a eunuch reported at the door, "Your Majesty, Mr. Wei Ge is urgently seeking to see you. He said he has a strategy to defeat the enemy!"