Chapter 261

The Emperor didn't continue on the topic of Wu Yi. He turned and looked at Mu Xiaoyao with undisguised appreciation in his eyes: "you are the only person in the Imperial Guard Office who hasn't disappointed me so far this year. In fact, I already knew the disastrous defeat in the northwest before you came back. I'm glad not only to have loyal guards like you, but also loyal soldiers."

He paused and ordered Su Buwei: "let Zhuge Zhan come in. The news of him and Mu Xiaoyao complement each other. You can understand what happened in the northwest."

Fang Xie bowed his head and stepped back. What he thought was Mu Xiaoyao. It would be strange if he had any loyalty to you as an emperor. However, since the emperor said so, Fang Xie would not be foolish enough to say that it was all because of me and had nothing to do with you, the emperor!

Not long after, Zhuge Zhan, who had completely recovered, walked in quickly, saluted the emperor first, and then looked at Fang Xie them curiously.

The emperor pointed to Mu Xiaoyao and said, "she is the second person to come back from the Northwest after you, and she is a thousand households in the Imperial Guard. You two talk about what you saw and heard in the northwest. I want to know the most clear truth from your words."

Zhuge Zhan said yes, and then repeated what he had seen and heard in the northwest. Fang Xie's face changed when he mentioned that he could see a pagoda piled up with the heads of Sui soldiers every ten or even several miles on the grassland. He knew that this was the custom of the Mongolian Yuan people. They would cut off the enemy's head and pile it into the shape of a pagoda. Because they think that if the heads are piled up like this, the human soul will not die, but will be suppressed by the pagoda town forever. This is an extremely vicious means, although Fang Xie doesn't think it really has such an effect.

Shen qingfan nodded and said, "maybe we withdrew earlier than general Zhuge, so the ministers in the war are not very clear. They just know that the army was defeated very quickly, and the whole front collapsed in almost ten days."

"Less than ten days!"

Zhuge Zhan said: "Our left leader guard is the last man and horse to hold on to, but from the moment when the right leader guard was surrounded and defeated to the moment when our left leader guard was surrounded, it was only four days in total, while our left leader guard was besieged by more than 300000 Mongolian Yuan men and horses, and was on the March. The enemy's cavalry had an absolute advantage, and many battalions were defeated before they could finish the battle... We... Insisted Four days. "

It was only eight days, and 700000 troops collapsed.

But this is only a big battle. I believe that many small-scale people and horses of the crippled Sui army must have dispersed after the defeat. Maybe there are still many Sui troops hiding on the grassland and can't form a counterattack. After all, it's impossible to kill 700000 troops and millions of civilians in eight or nine days.

"The minister was aware of Li Yuanshan's plot, so he immediately sent someone to report to Hou Wenji, the caretaker of Qingya Town, but the people I sent never came back..."

Mu Xiaoyao was silent for a moment and said, "that night, I found many people around the camp, and immediately rushed out with my men. More than 100 elite men brought by my men killed and injured more than half of them. I knew that Hou Wenji must have a problem... I happened to find Li Yuanshan's secret when I sneaked all the way to avoid the pursuit."

"What secret?"

The emperor seemed a little anxious.

Muxiao waist path: "Li Yuanshan found a large-scale iron mine in the northwest and sent heavy troops to guard it. When he withdrew, he happened to find it and ventured to check it. He found that there were a large number of craftsmen, not only migrant workers mining iron ore... There, he found a large number of forged weapons and armor, as well as heavy siege equipment, with a heavy siege hammer of 10000 kilograms After assembly, there are many ladders, riprap trucks, and even siege trucks. "

The emperor frowned and his face immediately changed: "Li Yuanshan... Has been planning a rebellion for a long time. I sent troops to the northwest, but I gave him a chance... If there was no war in the northwest, he would not dare to make trouble with his right Xiaowei and one guard, even if he had prepared so many things."

His tone was very sad. Obviously, the man who can definitely be called Mingjun regretted sending troops to the Northwest for the first time.

"There are left and right leading guards and Zuo Xiaowei in the northwest. If Li Yuanshan wants to make trouble, he must first get rid of these three guards. I ordered to invade the northwest, which was a great event for the great Sui Dynasty, but he took advantage of it... This scum has forgotten that he is a Sui, and even bowed to the barbarians of Mongolia and yuan!"

This sentence is exactly the same as Prince Yi's evaluation of Li Yuanshan.

"More than that"

Muxiao waist path: "The three roads in the northwest have been blocked, and all the official roads are guarded by the county soldiers. The Minister of the Ministry of war, Mr. Mou Liangbi, is in charge of the logistics supply of the army, but most of the supply is in the Shandong Road, and it is difficult to carry out Mr. Mou's orders. Most of the supply of the army has been withheld by Yuan Chongwu and others. When the army annihilated the people and horses of mandutu and rushed all the way to the west, the supply has been stopped Jing couldn't keep up. But no one thought at that time that Yuan Chongwu didn't just want to force Mou Liangbi away, but to intercept materials for rebellion. "

"The minister arrested several people in Li Yuanshan's iron mine for interrogation. They said that Li Yuanshan began secretly recruiting people as early as six or seven years ago. These people were called up by him in the name of tuntian, but they have been training all the time."

"How many people are there?"

The emperor asked in a deep voice.

Mu Xiaoyao said, "it's said... No less than 100000."

……

……

The emperor sighed, holding a teacup in his hand, but forgot to drink: "I think yuan Chongwu sent his son yuan Chengshi to Chang'an just to paralyze me. He may have made a plan. Once the northwest started, he would take yuan Chengshi back from Chang'an. But he didn't expect that Yuan Chengshi would be killed... That's why he was determined to rebel."

He took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his mood. He was an emperor and didn't want to show uneasiness in front of his ministers.

"Yuan Chongwu has been writing to ask me to allow him to rest for three more months because of the pain of losing his son... I thought he was just testing my bottom line for their northwest officials. Now I understand that he kept writing to paralyze me... Good calculation, my ministers are good calculation."

Fang Xie didn't know whether to interrupt. He subconsciously looked at Su Buwei. When he looked up, he found that Su Buwei was just looking at him.

Su Buwei did not miss the sign of the other party, Fang Xie was stunned, and then nodded.

"I think... Your majesty doesn't have to be too angry."

Fang Jie cleared his throat and said.

The emperor looked at him and said, "do you mean that I should still be happy when they rebelled?"

The voice was very cold. Obviously, the emperor was in a bad mood.

After sorting out the wording, Fang Xie said: "Your Majesty... I beg your pardon. For example, the great Sui Dynasty is a towering tree. Emperor Taizu planted the seeds. More than 100 years later, this tree has become the highest existence in the world. The people and courtiers are insects attached to this tree. Most insects just take this tree as their home and rely on it to protect themselves from the wind and rain. And there are too many insects, naturally There are also pests. They drill holes in the big tree and try to get benefits... They think the tree is too high and too big. You can't see everything clearly sitting on the crown. "

"In the northwest, like a branch of this big tree, many holes have been eaten out by pests, but they cover up well. You can't find anything from a distance. If they don't jump out by themselves, you may not see it at all."

Fang Xie paused and continued: "Your Majesty, you are angry. You are angry at several pests and destroyed a large branch. But since the branch has been broken, just cut it off. After cutting it off, a part of the tree will certainly look bare and ugly, but in a short time, new branches will grow out and become stronger and stronger."

The emperor understood Fang Xie's meaning. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "I know what you mean... But it's a whole three rivers and mountains. If you cut them down, I'll hurt myself."

Fang Xie bowed his head and said, "a long pain is better than a short pain... If these insects don't jump out in a hurry, they will bore more and more holes in the big tree. When it breaks down, it's not a branch, maybe a trunk. If it takes longer, it may bite the root."

"What do you think of the war in the northwest?"

The emperor couldn't help asking.

Fang Xie went to the front of the map and pointed to a thick north-south line on the map: "This is the Weihe River. It's like a knife scar cutting the northwest. Even if the rebels have prepared for a long time, they don't lack food, soldiers and supplies, but they lack warships... If your majesty orders, mobilize the navy to block the river and forbid anyone to sell food and grass to the northwest. Then send elite men and horses into the northwest as teams to burn granaries and grain fields... It will only take a year for the rebels in the northwest If they don't get a reward for a long time, they won't continue to support the rebels. The rebels will be defeated in two years or three or five years. "

"But in the Northwest... There are millions of my people."

The emperor frowned.

Solution: "In one or two years, after the trouble in Northwest China formed, the people would be angry. They would think, if it weren't for the rebellion of rebels such as Li Yuanshan, how could they suffer like this? The climate in Northwest China is cold, and the food production is small. The people usually have enough to eat and drink, but they don't have much food. If the three roads in Northwest China are blocked, the people will be in chaos at that time, The rebels will have no soil for rebellion, and that branch will wither. "

After a long silence, the emperor shook his head: "if you follow your plan, hundreds of thousands of people will starve to death in the northwest in two years!"

"I also love the people, but if the war is not controlled within the three roads in the northwest, more people will suffer. If the food roads are not blocked and the anti thieves in the northwest give benefits, no one will resist."

"I will order the navy to block the Weihe River, but I will not stop the people from crossing the river."

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Fang Xie, I know you're planning for the great Sui Dynasty. But I'm the king of a country and the people all over the world are my people. I can't help forgiving them for their mistakes. If you force the people to hurry, how do you know they won't rebel with the rebels?"

"As long as you can't cross the river..."

Fang Xie was interrupted by the emperor before he finished his words: "am I still afraid of those clowns? When the matter of Chang'an city is over, I will fight in person. Why do I need two or three years to fight back the three roads in the northwest?"

Fang Xie was stunned and silent.

He knew that his strategy was really cruel. In ancient times, no one had done this... Nian gengyao was ordered to calm the rebellion in Qinghai. This year, the general just surrounded but did not fight. He blocked all roads and did not allow a grain of grain to enter Qinghai. He sent people to dive in and burn forage granaries. More than 100000 people died of hunger?

However, your Majesty's personal expedition is really to calm the northwest in an instant?

Suddenly, Fang Xie was shocked.

When did my heart become so cruel?