Chapter 361 Bait
April, the third year of Wude.

Xuzhou, Langya County.

More than 30,000 Qingzhou troops confronted nearly 40,000 Tang troops for several months. Yang Kan, who was defeated by Li Yuan in the Battle of Xingyang last year, regrouped and attacked Donghai in Xuzhou under the rule of the Tang Dynasty. The two sides fought several times in the Langya area of ​​Donghai, with both sides winning and losing.

The Tang army in Xuzhou was composed of two parts. One part was the more than 10,000 soldiers led by Pei Minzhi, the governor of Xuzhou. They were under the command of the Xuzhou governor's office. Their predecessor was the Xuzhou Zhenrong Army of Dayan. They were well-trained and elite.

The other part was the 25,000-man guard force of the Right Guard, under the command of the Right Guard generals Liu Yuanqing and Chen Zhen.

Among them, the twelve Zhechoufu commanded by Liu Yuanqing were the foundation of the rebel army that started the uprising with him, while the thirteen Zhechoufu under Chen Zhen's jurisdiction were mainly composed of the Jianghuai Army from Xuzhou.

After Murong Ying quickly captured Murong Anguo, the Prince of Qiao who was the military commander of Xuzhou, thousands of Xuzhou soldiers were transferred to Jianghuai. They were also the earliest organized troops to join Li Yuanhui. The rest were recruited soldiers, so Chen Zhen could be considered a direct descendant.

Last year, more than 30,000 Tang troops were stationed in Xuzhou. Except for a battle with the Qingzhou army at the beginning of the year, they also lost. Later, because of the fierce fighting in the north, the Xuzhou Tang army has been following Li Yuanhui's orders to defend the East China Sea and did not send troops without authorization.

After February of the third year of Wude, the Yang family members, who had been defeated by Li Yuan last year, organized a large army to attack Xuzhou.

Originally, the Tang army did not want to fight with the Qingzhou army because they needed to recuperate, store food and prepare for future battles.

As for the strategy of Qingzhou, Li Yuanhui, Li Yuan and his two elder brothers had discussed it in Jinyang. They thought that it would be best to send a large army to take it all at once while ensuring the strategic security of the north. A strategic stalemate must not be allowed to form.

Qingzhou's terrain makes it easier to deploy troops, but its strength is much weaker than that of Northern Yan.

Even if Jinyang was captured, the Tang Dynasty did not have the ability to destroy Northern Yan in the short term, so it had to be prepared for a long-term war. Yang Shi of Qingzhou could threaten the security of the Central Plains from the flank when the Tang Dynasty sent troops to the north.

Therefore, after discussion, the four fathers and sons reached a consensus to take Qingzhou first.

As for Qingzhou, the Yang family members were also mentally prepared for this.

Yang Kan was determined not to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, but there were other people in the Yang family who held different views. In addition, the people of Qingzhou did not want to continue fighting with the Tang Dynasty. At present, the Yang family could still control the situation, but what about the long term? How would the situation change? Many people were already dissatisfied when they failed to take advantage of the situation last year.

So, a letter was sent to the East China Sea.

When Pei Minzhi received Yang Sui's letter, he sent someone to invite Liu Yuanqing and Chen Zhen.

"Yang Sui wants to give up Qingzhou? Yang Kan disagrees? What does this mean? Is there an internal conflict in the Yang family?"

After reading the letter, Liu Yuanqing was a little confused. With his current level of understanding, it was already difficult for him to recognize the words on the letter.

Chen Zhen asked thoughtfully: "Mr. Pei, do you mean there is a trick here?"

Pei Minzhi shook his head: "No, Yang Sui is probably serious. He may really want to submit to the Tang Dynasty."

Chen Zhen nodded upon hearing this. He could understand this idea. The Tang Dynasty occupied most of the world and had the greatest hope of unifying the world. It was perfectly reasonable to want to submit to the Tang Dynasty. After all, whether it was for individuals or family forces, it was their nature to seek benefits and avoid harm.

Although the Yang family had been bandits for a long time and joined the Wagang Army after Yang Xun's defeat, the Yang family's foundation as a Guanzhong aristocratic family remained unchanged.

The network of relationships and connections are still there. If Qingzhou surrenders to the Tang Dynasty, it will definitely receive preferential treatment.

After all, the father and son of the Li family of the Tang Dynasty were both extremely generous and tolerant.

But he could also understand that Yang Kan did not want to surrender. After all, there was hatred between them, which was understandable. The content of the letter Yang Sui sent, in addition to expressing his willingness to give up Qingzhou, was to say that Yang Kan was unwilling to cooperate.

But there is no explanation as to when exactly the surrender will take place.

Pei Minzhi understood Yang Sui's meaning. No matter what he talked about with the three of them, it might not count. Even if they wanted to surrender, they would talk to the person who could make the decision.

I sent the letter here just to ask you to help pass the message.

After understanding this, although they were helpless, they also understood this truth. Qingzhou sent troops, and they were responsible for resisting.

However, if he wanted to send troops to Qingzhou, or negotiate terms with Yang Sui, he still had to ask for permission from Li Yuanhui, the Prince of Qi who was the Grand Chancellor of the East Shaanxi Circuit and the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of the Guandong Provinces in Luoyang.

Apart from this, no one east of Tongguan can make this decision.

At the front line of confrontation between the two armies in Langya and Donghai, this situation made Li Yuanhui always think that Yang Kan's target might still be Yanzhou.

After all, it was meaningless to keep wandering around in Xuzhou. Xuzhou still had a large number of troops, but Yanzhou was relatively weak in defense compared to Xuzhou, with only more than 10,000 troops stationed there.

It was not until the letter from Pei Minzhi, the governor of Xuzhou, arrived that Li Yuanhui figured out something different.

After reading the letter, Li Qinglian, the Sima of the Prince of Qi's Mansion, put forward an idea.

As for Qingzhou, it should be an "internal strife", that is, they wanted to bet on both sides. It is possible that Yang Sui led some people to join the Tang Dynasty, and Yang Kan led some people to either Northern Yan or Eastern Wei.

Or it is not impossible to divide it into three parts.
After all, the situation in Qingzhou is there. Under the watchful eyes of the two major forces, it has no conditions to secede, let alone the strength to conquer the world.

Qingzhou is different from Guanzhong, Hedong, Longyou and Shuzhong. Because of their excellent geographical conditions, these places can easily form separatist forces and then participate in the competition for the world.

Although Qingzhou has a big river in the north and Mount Tai, Mount Lu, Mount Yi and Mount Meng in the west, they are not enough to serve as a natural barrier against strong enemies. Therefore, even if there are rich lands, fertile fields, and the benefits of fishing and salt, it is still difficult to use them as a foundation to compete for the world.

So after Li Qinglian's reminder, Li Yuanhui quickly figured out the connection and wrote a reply letter himself. He then ordered his men to send it to Xuzhou and asked them to pass it on to Yang Sui.

The content of the letter was nothing more than a promise of an official position, as well as psychological appeals and persuasion to surrender, and the conditions for expelling oneself.

Give Yang Sui the title of a county marquis and a provincial governor.

The other members of the Yang family who were willing to come were also willing to be granted the rank of governor, and they were also told that the two Yang family members who were captured last year were now being well fed and well entertained.
It's a matter of winning over and beating at the same time.

When dealing with those external forces that have not surrendered yet, we should not only use high-ranking positions and generous salaries to attract them, but also use our strength to pressure them and tell them not to jump. Even if they don't surrender, I can still deal with them in some time.

You may also face the other party having unrealistic fantasies or asking for too much.

In Kaiyang City, the capital of Langya County, Yang Sui read the letter and then handed it to Yang Kan who was standing beside him.

Yang Sui said with some worry: "Li Silang is not an ordinary person. He should be able to see our plan. In my opinion, it is better for us to submit to the Tang Dynasty. Brother Yang Xun would not want to see us struggling over this matter."

Yang Kan said firmly, "Sixth brother, you don't need to persuade me. I have made up my mind. If you surrender Qingzhou, you will be able to protect my family. Although Northern Yan lost the battle of Jinyang last year, its main force was not damaged. Now that Qingzhou is about to surrender, can Liu Xuanji bear not to intervene?"

(End of this chapter)