Battle of Luoyang (Part 2)

"I hadn't expected the Buddhist sects not only to support Li Mi, but to have also won over Dou Jiande's side. They've even made moves against Zhu Jie's forces. Are they planning to besiege us from three sides?"

Listening to the intelligence Shen Luoyan had brought, Shen Fei looked at the map before him and could not help smiling. Now, only the Li Clan in Chang'an to the west had yet to make any move. If they mobilized as well, Luoyang would be besieged on all four sides.

While Shen Fei had been plotting against Buddhist forces such as Cihang Monastery and Jingnian Chan Temple, Cihang Monastery had not been idle either. They had been forging alliances in secret. Neither Fan Qinghui nor the Buddhist sects were fools; naturally, they would not simply watch Shen Fei make his moves without reacting.

"Your Highness, please be extra careful. I've heard that quite a few experts have already infiltrated Luoyang." As the former intelligence chief of the Wagang Army, Shen Luoyan still learned certain things through other channels, even after Li Mi had grown wary of her and stripped away much of her authority.

When two armies went to war, intelligence was crucial. Wang Shichong had previously been very weak in this regard. Fortunately, the Demon Sect had filled that shortcoming.

However, Wang Shichong could not really be blamed for that. He had originally only been the Sui Dynasty's governor of Luoyang, with no powerful aristocratic clans backing him. Moreover, the Sui Dynasty had not yet fallen at the time. Under such circumstances, Wang Shichong naturally could not have developed an intelligence organization.

Compared to the other rebel kings, Wang Shichong's only advantages had been the vital fortified city of Luoyang and the tens of thousands of troops that had originally belonged