Chapter 229: Is there such a plan?

Qiaohan Road, Tongguan.

After breaking through Jindou Pass, the 100,000-strong army led by Duan Yihong stationed at the foot of Tongguan City.

After successively eliminating many sub-passes that formed part of the Tongguan defense system, they had completed the semi-encirclement of the main pass of Tongguan.

At the moment, Duan Yihong was not in a hurry to drive the army to attack the main city. Instead, he let the soldiers who had been fighting for a long time take turns to retreat and rest while maintaining the siege of the city.

Such a move made many generals quite dissatisfied. After all, if they could make a concerted effort and attack Guanzhong, they could join forces with Li Yuan's army to defeat the rebels led by the false emperor Murong Zan.

The sudden rest at this time raised many questions in the minds of many generals.

After all, General Duan Yihong was not a general who didn't know how to fight.

Inside the big tent, Duan Yihong was concentrating on using a dagger to shave the meat off the roasted leg of lamb, drinking wine from time to time.

The two young men sitting across the table ate more recklessly, grabbing the meat and chewing it directly. They were both his sons, the eldest son, Duan Wuchen, the Right Dragon General, and the youngest son, Duan Wuda, the Imperial Guardsman and Military Commander.

The eldest son Duan Wuchen looks about 70% like Duan Yihong, while the youngest son Duan Wuda has features very similar to his father and brother, but is more rugged, and looks like a small mountain when he sits there.

"Father, why don't we send troops to attack the city? As long as we break through Tongguan, we can capture the traitor Murong Zan. If it's any later, the great achievement will be snatched away by the Li family's father and son." Duan Wuda, who was unable to hold back his temper, couldn't hold back his breath and asked his father about his plan.

Duan Yihong looked up at Duan Wuda, then at his eldest son Duan Wuchen.

"Wu Chen, why do you think I didn't attack Tongguan by force?"

Duan Wuchen heard this and spoke after a while: "My father, you are probably worried that the casualties of a strong attack on Tongguan will be too great. Even if we can enter Guanzhong, we will suffer heavy casualties. The father and son of the Li family are well-rested and will be difficult to control."

Duan Yihong smiled and nodded when he heard this. "That can barely be considered one of the reasons. What else?"

Duan Wuchen shook his head, "I don't know. Please tell me clearly, Father."

Duan Yihong put down the dagger, picked up a bowl of wine and drank it, then wiped his hands with the cotton cloth beside him and said calmly.

"You are right. The Li family is already too powerful to be controlled. All the officials in the court understand that as long as I station 100,000 troops outside Tongguan, Li Yuan and his son will not rush to Chang'an. The court will have more time to prepare and maintain the status quo temporarily. If Tongguan is breached, I am afraid we will have to face the Li family immediately."

Duan Wuchen frowned slightly when he heard this. He was a smart man and understood it immediately. Duan Wuda was a little surprised. Why did he seem to be going to fight with the Li family?

Duan Wuchen asked, "Father, won't Luoyang urge you to march?"

Duan Yihong smiled and said, "You can rest assured. Although Gao Situ is fighting fiercely with Xue Pushe and Liu Zhongshu, the three of them are wise men and can see the current situation clearly. Besides, I am leading the army outside, do I still need to act according to their expressions?"

Duan Wuchen was silent for a moment, then asked with some embarrassment: "Father, the Changping granary in Hongnong is not enough for our army to eat all year round, so we still have to consider Luoyang."

Duan Yihong said, "Of course I know about this, so you don't need to say more. The Li family is now strong and powerful, and Li Yuan has the demeanor of an elder. Whether in Luoyang or Chang'an, I'm afraid there are many people who want the Li family to be independent. Now the Li family has not acted presumptuously, but that day will not be too far away. My Duan family and the Murong royal family share weal and woe. As the only king of a different surname in Dayan, I naturally cannot make peace with them. But if that day really comes, the Duan family will depend on you brothers."

Duan Yihong's words made Duan Wuchen and Duan Wuda fall silent.

These words undoubtedly told the two brothers that our family and the Murong family were too close. It was impossible for him to surrender to the Li family, after all, his status was here.

But you two brothers shouldn't go down the same path.

Duan Yihong was having a heart-to-heart talk with his son. Not far outside the camp, Central Guard General and King of Wu Murong Yang, wearing a robe and a fox fur blanket, stood by the Yellow River, gazing at the river not far away.

Standing side by side with him was his cousin Wei Xiaoju, who was dressed similarly. "Your Highness, how come you have such a refined taste to come and see the scenery of Tongguan and the Yellow River? It's been several months, haven't you seen enough?"

Murong Yang listened to his cousin's joke and said with a smile: "Cousin, how can you see enough of this beautiful land?"

Wei Xiaoju smiled when he heard this but said nothing.

Murong Yang continued, "Seeing that Tongguan was about to be recaptured, General Duan stopped and did not move forward. What do you think, cousin, is the reason?"

Wei Xiaoju sighed, and then said, "What did your Highness's Liang Sanjun say to your Highness?"

Liang Chongli, a military officer in the Prince of Wu's Palace, was quite intelligent and had always been trusted by Murong Yang. However, this man was narrow-minded and Wei Xiaoju never liked him very much.

Murong Yang said: "Cousin, just tell me the truth. General Duan is a famous general in the world. What exactly is he worried about? Is it Duke Tang's army?"

Wei Xiaoju said helplessly: "Your Highness, the situation is very clear now. If our army stops at Tongguan, Lord Tang and his son will not immediately advance to Chang'an. Otherwise, with Li Erlang's ability, how could the Wei River stop him? There are only two possibilities. One is that Lord Tang is afraid that after taking Chang'an, the court will immediately reduce his power. The other is that the Li family may be negotiating peace with the Yuwen family."

"However, according to the troops that the Li family father and son have now, they are already enough to compete with Luoyang. They also have the King of Shu in their hands, and they can completely make the King of Shu the emperor. Therefore, the first possibility is very small, so they are probably negotiating peace with the Yuwen family."

After hearing this, Murong Yang's expression changed slightly, and then he asked: "If the commander of Tongguan surrenders the city at this time, will General Duan immediately march into Guanzhong?"

Wei Xiaoju nodded.

"So, what General Liang said is similar to what my cousin said. They are heroes who think alike."

Wei Xiaoju felt a little uneasy, "What is your highness going to do?"

Murong Yang laughed and said, "Liang Canjun said, take advantage of troubled waters to fish."

Wei Xiaoju felt a little uneasy. "Could it be that General Liang is trying to persuade the commander of Tongguan to surrender the city?"

Murong Yang nodded, "Yes."

"Your Highness, what do you want to do? If you march into Guanzhong now, my army will be on the brink of war with Lord Tang, leaving no room for buffer. Your Highness, do you want to let the two fight each other and take advantage of the situation? Have you prepared a backup plan?"

Wei Xiaoju really didn't believe that Liang Chongli, a paranoid and radical guy, could come up with any reliable ideas or make any careful arrangements.

However, Murong Yang still trusted Liang Chongli quite a bit, so he told him everything about his plan.

After all, a lot of this requires Wei Xiaoju's efforts and coordination.

It was probably to knock on Tongguan first, and then urge Duan Yihong to go to war with the Li family. With the current strength of the Central Army, it is highly likely that it will not be able to defeat the Liangzhou Army and the Yizhou Army, and the two sides are likely to form a stalemate.

Even if we are defeated, with General Duan's military skills, he will definitely be able to save most of the troops.

If we win, then everything will be fine and there will be no loss.

But as long as there is a stalemate or the war is not going well, Wei Xiaoju will have to step in to connect with a group of generals, and Murong Yang's backup plan in Luoyang will also be launched. At that time, he will use the edict from Luoyang to seize the military power from Duan Yihong.

As long as he has the military power in his hands, once he returns to Luoyang, it will be up to him, Murong Yang, to decide.
After hearing the entire plan, Wei Xiaoju was shocked.

"This kind of plan was actually thought up by Liang Chongli? How could a scholar like him have such a talent?"

(End of this chapter)