~Date: ~November 05~

On the territory of the Great Sui Dynasty, Hongnong County did not rely on the Yellow River. A narrow area to the north belonged to Henan County, extending all the way to Tongguan. It was like the eldest brother of Henan County stretched out his long arms and hugged the younger brother of Hongnong County. However, in terms of historical evolution and customs, the narrow area along the Yellow River taken away by Henan County has always been under the jurisdiction of Hongnong area.

In the ninth year of Daye, Yang Xuangan rebelled and Luoyang was in danger. In order to allow Yang Zhiji, the then prefect of Hongnong County, to block Yang Xuangan from retreating west into Guanzhong, Yang Guang issued an order to temporarily put all the west of Shan County under Hongnong County, forcing Yang Zhiji to do everything possible to delay Yang Xuangan from retreating west.

The edict stated that although it was temporary jurisdiction, it had never been abolished, so that the narrow area along the Yellow River west of Shan County was under the jurisdiction of Luoyang and Hongnong County. Therefore, when Li Yuan sent general Li Xiaogong to lead 30,000 troops to appear in this narrow area, it caused a great shock in Luoyang. The court and the people unanimously agreed that this was not as simple as capturing Hongnong County. Li Yuan intended Luoyang, and Emperor Tai Yang Tong ordered Wang Shichong to respond urgently, so Wang Shichong kept his confidant to defend the city. He personally led 30,000 troops to station troops in the dangerous places of Wushan, and stared at Li Xiaogong's army.

Li Xiaogong's main army was stationed about twenty miles west of Shan County, close to the Yellow River. In addition, he sent his general Huang Zhi to lead his army to guard Hangu Pass 3,000, and sent deputy general Liu Hongji to lead his army to guard Hongnong City 5,000, firmly controlling several strategic areas in Hongnong County, forming a confrontation with Wang Shichong.

At this moment, news came from the spies from Hedong County that Yang Yuanqing personally led 40,000 troops from Henei County to Hedong County, divided his troops into two groups, stationed in Fenglingdu, and stationed troops in Hebei County on the other side of the Yellow River, across the river from them.

The sudden situation made Li Xiaogong very worried. Yang Yuanqing's 40,000 troops stationed on the north bank of the river brought great pressure to him. Once Wang Shichong launched an attack to cooperate with Yang Yuanqing's army to cross the river, if the Sui army in Fengling crossed the river at the same time and cut off his retreat, his 30,000 troops would encounter a catastrophe. Li Xiaogong urgently sent someone back to Chang'an to report to Li Yuan.

In the Gushan Camp, Wang Shichong also stood in front of a sand table and kept silent for a long time. Many people knew about Yang Yuanqing's use of sand tables to fight, and Wang Shichong was one of them. He sent scouts to explore the mountains and rivers of Henan Province and also made a sand table for the 12 counties of Henan Road. Although it was not as accurate and detailed as Yang Yuanqing's sand table, it was much more useful than the map.

Although Wang Shichong looked at the sand table, he was thinking about the affairs of the court. For more than two months of fighting against the Wagang Army, he gradually gained military power, but the conflicts with Lu Chu, Huangfu Wuyi and others began to intensify. He was just an alien monk, and in the control of the court, he was far inferior to those of Lu Chu and other old ministers. Emperor Tai also obviously favored Lu Chu, which made him very passive. Although he controlled most of the army, the 10,000 imperial guards who guarded the imperial city were controlled by Lu Zushang, nephew of the Lu Chu clan, which made him unable to take action even though he wanted to launch a military coup.

Recently, Wang Shichong heard a rumor that the court planned to surrender Li Mi, which made him very nervous. If the rumor was true, then he would face a life-and-death disaster. Li Mi's army came over and was no longer dealing with Luoyang, but against him, Wang Shichong himself, and no one in the court would support him, which made Wang Shichong feel politically entangled and extremely isolated.

Wang Shichong was not a rebellious bandit like Zhu Jie or Li Zitong, with a simple mind. He only knew how to kill and plunder. He was not a famous loyal minister like Yang Yichen or Zhang Xutuo. He was good at fighting, had the ability to command, and had strategies. He was also insidious and vicious. At the same time, he also had a certain political mind and vision. He knew that it was no longer the era of the seven years of Daye when bandits were everywhere and heroes were united. If you want to participate in the battle for the world, you must have a political foundation, get the support of literati, and get the support of famous families who have various resources.

If all the civil and military ministers and emperors of the court were killed by their courage alone, it would be the moment when Wang Shichong was destroyed. He must get the support of political forces. Now he is worried about internal and external troubles, with hostility from Lu Chu and others inside, and threats from Li Yuan and Li Mi outside, which made him feel deeply stressed. Now his only way to eliminate is Yang Yuanqing. He has the support of Yang Yuanqing, food aid, maintain his army, and military support, which has weakened his external pressure.

At this time, Wang Shichong also arrived at the information. Yang Yuanqing sent troops to Hedong County to suppress Li Yuan's army north, which made him overjoyed. This meant that his nephew Wang Renze had gained something from his mission. However, why did his nephew not come back yet, which made Wang Shichong very anxious.

At this moment, a personal guard outside the tent reported, "General Renze is back!"

Wang Shichong was overjoyed. Just as he thought of his nephew, his nephew came back. He quickly ordered: "Let him come in and see me!"

After a moment, Wang Renze hurried in and knelt on one knee, "Nephew Renze meets his uncle!"

"Get up quickly!"

Wang Shichong helped his nephew up and sat down. Wang Shichong asked impatiently: "How about it, what is Yang Yuanqing's attitude?"

Wang Renze had already heard the news that Yang Yuanqing had transferred to Hedong County on the road. This was to fulfill his promise, to suppress Li Yuan's army from the north and express his sincerity. This news made Wang Renze very excited.

"Uncle, Yang Yuanqing is willing to cooperate with his uncle in the overall situation, but he still needs to give in some details."

Wang Shichong nodded, "Tell me the details of the meeting with him first, and every word he said cannot be omitted."

Wang Renze told Wang Shichong about the details of his meeting with Yang Yuanqing one by one. Wang Shichong did not say a word, and there was no expression on his face. However, when Wang Renze said that Yang Yuanqing called Yang Tong the King of Yue, a strange light flashed across Wang Shichong's eyes. He then continued to listen without showing any expression. When he heard that Yang Yuanqing was willing to support him to take another step, he could no longer help but feel excited and stood up and paced back and forth.

He was convinced that Yang Yuanqing supported him to replace the Southern Sui Dynasty. There was only one Sui Dynasty, which was in Taiyuan and not Luoyang. This was more important than anything else. This was the cornerstone of his cooperation with Yang Yuanqing, and it also meant that after he seized the Luoyang regime, he would be able to get Yang Yuanqing's support and allow him to survive the initial difficult period.

"Uncle, can we agree to exchange for 30,000 stones of grain for 30,000 military artifact supervisors?"

Wang Shichong smiled slightly. This was a small problem. As long as it could be exchanged for Yang Yuanqing's support, he could fully agree to this condition. Moreover, Yang Yuanqing did not propose harsh conditions such as Hongnong County that were difficult for him to accept.

“This condition is acceptable.”

"But will the court agree?" Wang Renze asked worriedly.

Wang Shichong hesitated for a moment. Although the military weapon surveillance was under his control, it was not so easy to send Sanqian Liangjiang and their family away. He thought for a while and said, "Yang Yuanqing didn't say he wanted it soon. You can wait a little for him. Thank you for your hard work and go to Hedong County to discuss the details with Yang Yuanqing and tell him that as long as Li Yuan's army retreated, I can give him the craftsman."

"My nephew understands, I'll go and see Yang Yuanqing again right away."

Wang Shichong simply wrote a handwritten letter to Yang Yuanqing and ordered his nephew to take it with him.

In the early morning, the gates of Hongnong County were as bustling as usual. Although the situation in Hongnong County was tense, it had no effect on ordinary people. A large group of farmers gathered in front of the gate with loads, clamoring to go to the city to sell vegetables.

At this time, a man riding a horse came from a distance with a carriage. The crowded crowd forced them to slow down and patiently follow the basket and shoulder poles into the city.

The man was about thirty years old, with fair skin, long and thin face, and a black beard left under his jaw. Although he looked a little haggard, his eyes were very clear and bright. This person was Yang Shidao, who once served as the prefect of Wuyuan County, and he was also the son of Yang Xiong. After Yang Yuanqing became an independent member in Fengzhou, he had to leave Wuyuan County and return to Beijing. He was appointed as the prefect of Liang County by Yang Guang. However, Liang County was captured by the Wagang Army, so he had to return to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Honglu Temple. After Emperor Tai ascended the throne, he was appointed as the Minister of Rites.

Yesterday at noon, Yang Shidao received the exact news that Lu Chu and others had convinced Emperor Tai and prepared to accept Li Mi's surrender, which made Yang Shidao very nervous. He realized that a war was coming, so he fled from Luoyang City with his wife and children overnight. His brother Yang Gongdao took his place to avoid it.

Yang Shidao traveled all night last night and considered the journey. Although he also heard that his brother surrendered to Li Yuan, Yang Shidao himself wanted to go to Taiyuan. The reason was very simple. His younger sister Yang Peihua was named Jiang Peihua, married Yang Yuanqing, and was named the concubine of the King of Chu.

Moreover, he served as the prefect of Wuyuan County, had strong connections in Fengzhou, and had a good relationship with senior officials such as Cui Junsu, Du Ruhui, and Zhang Ting. He believed that he could be valued and might even become a prime minister.

But he wanted to explain some things to his elder brother Yang Gongren. Yang Shidao's wife died of illness last year and left behind two young sons, who were taken care of by his concubine Bai Yuniang. This time he escaped from Luoyang and brought them out together.

The carriage slowly stopped at the back door of the county yamen. This was the prefect's house. The front door was very busy. More than a dozen carriages were filled with cages of large and small sizes, and dozens of yamen runners were helping to carry items.

Yang Shidao was slightly stunned. Is the eldest brother going to move? Yang Gongren happened to walk out of the gate and arrange his bookcase.

"Brother!"

Yang Shidao shouted, and Yang Gongren turned around and saw that it was his third brother. He was stunned. Didn’t the third brother serve as the Minister of Rites in Luoyang? Why did he come to Hongnong County?

"Uncle!" Yang Shidao's two sons also poked their heads to wave to him.

Yang Gongren came up with a smile, reached out and touched the heads of his two nephews, and asked Yang Shidao with a smile: "Why don't you write a letter first? I'm leaving one hour later. Where are you going to find me?"

"Where is the eldest brother?"

Yang Gongren smiled, "It's not convenient to speak here, go to the house and talk!"

Yang Gongren ordered his family to bring the carriage into the mansion, and ordered someone to find his wife to take the children. He took his brother into the study. Yang Gongren and Yang Shidao are half-brothers, and Yang Gongren is ten years older than Shidao. Even so, the relationship between their brothers is not very sad.

The two of them sat down in the study, and Yang Gongren asked, "What happened in Luoyang?"

Mr. Yang sighed, "Lu Chu and his group of stupid people lead the wolf to drive away the tiger. Luoyang is probably going to have a mutiny."

Yang Shidao then said that Lu Chu convinced Emperor Tai to accept Li Mi's surrender. He sighed and said, "Wang Shichong is a cruel and ruthless person. How could he surrender? He will definitely take action first. Sooner or later, the Southern Sui court will change his surname to Wang."

Yang Gongren pondered for a moment and said, "Why do you come with me to Chang'an! Li Yuan has been granted the title of Minister of Revenue, and I can also protect you as the prefect."

Yang Gongren looked at his brother, and Yang Shidao shook his head, "I decided to go to Taiyuan and want to ask my brother to get a boat for me."

Yang Gongren pondered for a long time and finally agreed, "Okay, Yang Yuanqing and Li Yuan still don't know who will kill him in the future. Our brothers really want to leave a way out for each other."

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Chapter completed!