Guo Shiheng is also a general under Wang Shichong. He was named General Zhendong. He is currently leading 10,000 troops to be stationed in Huaian County. Guo Ziheng and Tian Zan have a deep friendship, so Zhang Xuan intends to let Tian Zan surrender to this person.

Tian Zan certainly understood Zhang Xuan's intention. He thought for a while and said, "Guo Shiheng is the same as a humble general. He was originally a general under Zhang Zhenzhou. After Zhang Zhenzhou's death, we were all relieved of military power and transferred to Luoyang to unemployed. Wang Shichong initially ordered Yang Gongqing to take over Zhang Zhenzhou's army, but this person was from a thief in Hebei, and the soldiers did not obey him. Yang Gongqing could not command this army, so Wang Shichong had to let Guo Shiheng replace him. This person had strict military discipline, which was very different from Wang Renze."

Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "At present, the Tang army has attacked Nanyang County and is besieging Rang County. I saw that Guo Ziheng's army has not intended to rescue Nanyang County for a long time. I guess he already has an idea. I want the general to persuade him to surrender for me. In addition, I will send you another letter and give him the letter. If he is willing to surrender, you can send someone to report to me immediately."

Tian Zan stood up and said, "I am willing to persuade General Guo to surrender to the general."

Zhang Xuan immediately wrote a letter, asking Tian Zan to rush to Huaian County immediately. He was worried that the Tang army would surrender to Guo Ziheng first. Zhang Xuan even saw that Guo Ziheng was reluctant to help Nanyang, so how could Li Shimin not see it? The 10,000 troops under Guo Ziheng were elite troops trained by Zhang Zhenzhou. It would be a pity if they were obtained by the Tang army.

So Zhang Xuan was considering the candidate for surrendering to Guo Ziheng on the road. When he heard that Tian Zan shot and killed Wang Renze and surrendered to the Sui army, he immediately decided to let Tian Zan go and surrender to Guo Shiheng.

Tian Zan did not delay, so he returned to the account to clean up, and then rushed to Huai'an County with more than a dozen followers.

Zhang Xuan stationed 80,000 troops in Xiangyang County. It was not to wait and see the Tang army conquered Wang Shichong and seize Luoyang. The agreement he reached with the Tang army was limited to Jingzhou. Li Yuan exchanged land for the army and gave up the entire territory of Jingzhou. Zhang Xuan let the Tang army return to the court. In addition, the agreement between the two sides did not mention Luoyang or Wang Shichong at all.

This means that the Tang army is attacking Wang Shichong with all its strength, which does not mean that the Sui army cannot attack.

The capital of Luoyang, Henan County, Xingyang County, Hongnong County, Xiangcheng County, Jingyang County, Nanyang County, Xiyang County and Huaian County, and one capital of the eight counties occupied the entire western part of the Central Plains. As Luo Cheng said, the demise of Wang Shichong means that the Sui and Tang dynasties would no longer have a buffer, and the final battle for hegemony would gradually come.

At this time, a personal guard reported at the door of the tent: "Your Highness, General Liu has arrived."

"Let him come in and see me immediately."

Not long after, Liu Lancheng, the general of the Inner Guard, quickly walked into the tent. After destroying the Tang army warships in Yidao County, Liu Lancheng was promoted to general and became the fastest-promoted general of the Sui army. His two deputy generals Zhang Li and Li Keshi were also promoted from General Huyalang to General Huben, and the other meritorious generals were rewarded.

Liu Lancheng knelt down on one knee and saluted, "I am not aware of the commander!"

"General Liu please get up!"

"Thank you, Marshal!"

Liu Lancheng stood up, stood up with his hands down waiting for the commander's military order. Zhang Xuan walked a few steps behind his hands and turned around and asked, "Is General Liu familiar with Huaian County?"

"Whitei passed by Huai'an County when he attacked Junyang County the previous year. He was not very familiar with it, but he also knew a little about it."

Zhang Xuan then said slowly: "Tian Zan followed my military order to persuade Guo Shiheng, the governor of Huai'an County. If he was not recruited by the Tang army, there was a high possibility of surrendering to us. This is my way to restrain the main force of the Tang army on the east road, but Xiyang County on the west road must also place an army to seize Xiyang County, cut off the Nanxiang Road, and cut off the logistics transportation of the Tang army, which will completely restrain the main force of the Tang army.

But one thing is that you must wait until Tian Zan attacks the Tang army before you officially appear in Xiyang County. In short, you are the last step. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand completely!"

Zhang Xuan nodded and said, "I guess Li Shimin will send Li Xiaogong's army to wipe out you. Don't fight, but directly hit Wuguan. If you can break into Shangluo County, you can directly threaten Chang'an. After Li Xiaogong's army goes north, you will fight back to Xiyang County. I think Li Yuan will not let Li Xiaogong's army return to Xiyang County. In short, it is eight words, flexible and maneuverable, knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger."

"Please rest assured, the handsome man will definitely remember these eight words."

Zhang Xuan told him a few more words, and Liu Lancheng bowed and left.

At this time, Zhang Xuan did not want to turn against the Tang army, especially before the Tang army of Yiling County and Qingjiang County were all evacuated from Jingzhou, he still needed to maintain superficial peace with the Tang army, but Wang Shichong's eight counties and one capital, he had to take away his own share.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan immediately ordered: "Please come to see me by Mr. Cen!"

Mr. Cen is the former Prime Minister Cen Wenben of Xiao Xian. When Jiangling was defeated, he scrambled among the refugees to escape from Jiangling City and hid in the countryside of Jiangling for half a month. After the situation was settled, he took a boat north to Zhongdu and defected to Prime Minister Xiao Yu.

Cen Wenben's family is also a prominent family in the Nanjun. His grandfather Cen Shanfang was once appointed as the Minister of Personnel of the Western Liang Dynasty and had a close relationship with the Xiao family.

Xiao Yu recommended him to Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan had heard of his name for a long time and appointed him as the Prince of Qi's Mansion to consult and provide military affairs. During this southern expedition, Cen Wenben also followed the army south.

Soon, Cen Wenben hurried into the tent, bowed and said, "See Your Highness!"

"Sir, don't be too polite, please sit down!"

Zhang Xuan asked Cen Wenben to sit down and asked his personal soldiers to have tea. Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "I should be very sorry if I didn't let Mr. return to Nanjun!"

At present, the prefect of Nanjun was appointed by Zhou Faming, the younger brother of Zhang Xuan's superior general Zhou Fashang. Zhang Xuan intended to let Cen Wenben be the county magistrate, but Fang Xuanling advised Zhang Xuan to stay away from Zhongdu and the prefect is a local village party. Then the county magistrate should be appointed from the north, so that it is easier to restrict each other and prevent Nanjun from being controlled by the local sects of Nanjun. Over time, it will gradually break away from the court and form its own system, which is not conducive to breaking the pattern of aristocratic families controlling the local area.

Zhang Xuan accepted Fang Xuanling's advice and decided to leave Cen Wenben in the army and no longer send him to Nanjun, so that he could be allowed to be the prefect in the north.

Cen Wenben was indeed a little regretful, but since this was decided by King Qi, he had no choice but to bow and say, "I am willing to obey all the arrangements of Your Highness."

Zhang Xuan nodded and said, "Mr. is a great talent in the world. Xiao Xian also advised me to value Mr. He. Although he was in Nanjun, he had returned home, but he also buried talents. I plan to take down Luoyang and appoint Mr. He as the Luoyang Order to restore the people's livelihood in Luoyang for me."

The Luoyang Order was just a county magistrate on the surface, but because of Luoyang's special status, the Luoyang Order was actually equivalent to the prefect and was a fifth rank. This was indeed an extraordinary reuse for Cen Wenben, who was only 27 years old.

Cen Wenben quickly stood up and saluted, "Thank you for your cultivation. I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

Zhang Xuan smiled and waved his hand, letting Cen Wenben sit down, and he said, "I believe that Mr. can see clearly the current situation. What is the best strategy to win Luoyang? I want to hear Mr.'s opinion."

The situation of taking over Luoyang has gradually become clearer. Almost every military advisor and aide have their own ideas, including Zhang Xuan. Of course, everyone has different positions and starting points, so their best strategies will be different. For example, Fang Xuanling prefers to solve the Tang army first and then force Wang Shichong to surrender with his strength, but Zhang Xuan prefers to take two-pronged approach and must seize Luoyang before the Tang army goes north, which is slightly different from Fang Xuanling.

Cen Wenben also had his own ideas. He pondered for a moment and said, "My subordinates suggested starting from two directions, one was Xingyang County and the other was Xiyang County. If they occupied Xingyang County, they could reach Luoyang City. The capture of Xiyang County cut off the main retreat of the Tang army. Li Shimin was attacked from both sides. He had no third way except to go north to Hongnong County."

Zhang Xuan nodded repeatedly, Cen Wenben's idea coincided with himself. He couldn't help but ask happily: "So what is the specific strategy to seize Luoyang?"

Cen Wenben smiled and said, "Wang Shichong's biggest weakness is that he usurped the throne, his reputation was not right, his words were not right, and he used him to seek wealth for the time being, but few people truly loyal to him. Wang Shichong himself understood, so he tried his best to value his brothers and nephews. However, Wang Shichong was born in a barbarian in the Western Regions, and most of his brothers and nephews were not doing their jobs, and very few could use them. Your Highness could take advantage of this and transform it into Wang Shichong's internal parts, especially those who hold heavy power and Wang Shichong had to rely on it. Your Highness must bring him over. Even if there were some festivals in the past, Your Highness would try to be tolerant. In this way, Wang Shichong's regime would be broken from the inside, and Your Highness could seize Luoyang with the least amount of losses."

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "Does sir refer to Cui Wenxiang?"

Cen Wenben shook his head, "Cui Wenxiang is despicable and kills his brother for honor. Such a person is not enough to redeem his sins after death. Besides, this person only has a little power in court, and his subordinates talk about military power."

Cen Wenben dipped in tea and wrote a name on the table, "I am talking about this person. As long as your highness pulls him over, I believe that the Zheng Dynasty will eventually be destroyed by this person."

Zhang Xuan nodded, took out a golden arrow and handed it to Cen Wenben, and said with a smile: "I took advantage of Wang Shichong's opportunity to transport food and sent a thousand Luoyang soldiers to sneak into Luoyang. The sir can command this army with this arrow. I will write another letter. I will ask the sir for this matter."

Cen Wenben stood up and said, "Don't worry, your highness, you will fulfill your mission!" (To be continued.).
Chapter completed!