Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 400 Yuan Junzhang's Choice

The city of Mayi was broken, and only the Turks were the most proud... Although there was civil strife, they finally held the important city of Mayi in their hands.

If the Turks want to attack Hedong, they must use Mayi. This nail must not fall into the hands of the Tang army... Yugu set up a triumphant return to the north.

The one who was most disappointed was naturally Liu Shirang. He originally wondered whether Gao Manzheng would be able to hold on for a while longer. As long as it snowed heavily, Yuan Junzhang would definitely withdraw his troops. Carry this blame?

Perhaps Li Gaoqian and Li Shenfu were proud...but the most aggrieved and unhappy one was Yuan Junzhang himself.

Although it has withstood the onslaught for more than a month, the city gate of Mayi is still stable, and he hurried through the gate. Yuan Junzhang saw that the city was still in chaos, and thinking about what he saw just now, the outside of the city was in a mess, and he couldn't help sighing secretly.

Yuan Junzhang is the son of Shi Yuankan, the former governor of the state. Although he rarely reads, he is agile and brave, and good at managing politics. He is not an ordinary warrior.

Yuan Junzhang felt a little emotional when he got off his horse outside Shuozhou’s general manager’s mansion. In the early years, this house was built by Wang Rengong, the former prefect of Mayi in the Sui Dynasty. Later, Liu Wuzhou killed Wang Rengong and took Mayi. Seize the throne, and then regain Mayi by yourself.

This important military town has changed hands six times in a row in just six years, an average of once a year... I don't know when the next time will be.

Walking into the study, Yuan Junzhang sat down silently, frowning, and took the book casually, not knowing where his mind was going.

Although Mayi was captured, Yuan Junzhang is very depressed now. In fact, although he has the heart to regain Mayi, he does not want to fight this battle at this time... He clearly felt that his foundation had been shaken.

This is an inevitable thing. Yuan Junzhang's old nest was originally in Shuozhou, and he was forced to go to Yunzhou by Gao Manzheng. He was already unstable and relied on the Turks, but he wanted to forcefully expropriate food and grass in Yunzhou, and forced the young and strong to join the army... …

After the capture of Mayi, Yuan Junzhang hesitated and was in a dilemma. He wanted to go back to Yunzhou, but Yugushe refused without hesitation... The Turks needed Mayi as an important military town.

But stick to Mayi... Yuan Junzhang has no confidence.

Although it was only a year apart, Yuan Junzhang's strength was not as good as before. First, there was Gao Manzheng's rebellion, then there was the defeat of Mayi, and then this vigorous attack on the city caused heavy casualties.

The most important thing is that Yuan Junzhang is very aware of the importance of Mayi. The Turks used Mayi to attack Yanmen Pass to encroach on Hedong, and the Tang army also deliberately occupied Mayi to push the front line beyond Yanmen Pass.

Yuan Junzhang put down his book, sighed in the room, paced back and forth... To Tang?

After all, he occupied the two prefectures of Shuo and Yun, so Yuan Junzhang was a bit reluctant to vote for Tang... Moreover, Turkic would not sit idly by, Gao Manzheng's fate is still vivid in his mind.

But he was forced by the Turks to garrison Mayi, Tang Jun would watch helplessly?

If it was last year, perhaps the Tang Dynasty could still bear it. After all, in the six years before this, the Tang army had never ventured beyond the west of Yanmen Pass.

More importantly, Gao Manzheng voted to Tang this year, which led to Mayi changing hands, regardless of whether there was civil strife in the Turks... As a result, the Turkic army failed to invade Hedong this year.

Under such circumstances, would Emperor Li Tang tolerate Mayi leaving his control?
Yuan Junzhang was caught between Turkic and Li Tang, he couldn't move up and down, he couldn't even raise his hands and feet by himself... Most importantly, he lost his confidence, he couldn't see where the hope lies.

Thinking of what he saw during his tour today, Yuan Junzhang scolded softly. Although he was no more than a young literati, even though he was no more than a hundred lihou, he had a vicious mind. The schemes he used seemed plain, but they were actually vicious... Liu Heikai died at his hands, really No injustice!
After Yugu set up at Yanmen Pass and retreated westward, Yuan Junzhang rectified and realized how much trouble Li Shan had caused him... This is also the main reason why he lost confidence, or what he saw today gave him fatal blow.

Although Yunzhou and Shuozhou were both places of the Fourth World War and experienced many years of war, the catastrophe of this war... far surpassed any previous one.

Under the persecution of the Turks, Yuan Junzhang had to forcibly send troops south to attack Shuozhou more than a month after the new defeat. He almost squeezed out all the resources in Yunzhou. From the population to the food and grass, there was almost nothing left by the people.

And the Turkic raids on Shuozhou were also extremely ruthless... Just think about it, the battle lasted for more than a month, and Liu Shirang was willing to go out of the city to fight in the first seven or eight days.

But after Liu Shirang retreated into the city, it could only be that Yuan Junzhang led the infantry to attack the city, and the remaining tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers... Are they expected to suddenly collectively eat fast and chant Buddha instead of looting places?
It was under such circumstances that Li Shan's strategy of gathering money through business and absorbing the population exerted great power... Li Shan never thought that it would be so exaggerated, and neither did Yuan Junzhang.

The trusted followers of Yunzhou wrote a letter almost every day describing the fleeing of the people. Yuan Junzhang went on a tour in person today. He stood on the commercial road from Yunzhou, Shuozhou to Daizhou, and watched the people with colorful faces go eastward in an endless stream. ... This scene greatly stimulated Yuan Junzhang.

Yuan Junzhang is not a soft-hearted person, but he is keenly aware that the hearts of the people are gone.

Yuan Junzhang was attached to the Turkic state, and even controlled the two states of Shuo and Yun with a saber. The hearts of the people were not important to Yuan Junzhang, but he also knew that the people would not be able to survive, and he had nothing to do.

The people are not afraid of death, how can they be afraid of death?
What's more, let alone the people of the two prefectures, many soldiers under his command fled, and some of his personal guards even abandoned them... For example, he has followed the Yuan family for decades and served three generations of the Hong family's personal guards, and the eldest son is by his side. The second son died in battle, and the third son followed Erlang. As a result, because of a dispute with the Turks over food and grass, Erlang simply sent the whole family to Dai County.

After thinking about it, Yuan Junzhang scolded a few more words, relying on the young county magistrate who has not yet been crowned, it is a good trick!
It seems simple, but it is like a big net that binds oneself firmly, making oneself helpless.

"Mr. Erlang asks to see you."

The guard's report sounded outside the door, Yuan Junzhang hummed, but thinking of his son Yuan Xiaozheng, he couldn't help scolding Li Shan... This guy is really not a good bird!

After Yugushe led the army to go south, Yuan Junzhang immediately confirmed one thing after several times of testing. The existence of Li Shan or the news about Li Shan is not light...at least in Yugushe's mind. Not light weights.

But before Yuan Junzhang could think about how to use this weight, Yuan Xiaozheng came back from Dai County... He told him happily that Master Li accepted a child as his apprentice!

Yuan Junzhang's face turned pale at the time. If Yugushe knew about this... the only son of Jieli Khan has never been an unreasonable person.

Seeing his son walking quickly with complicated eyes, Yuan Junzhang sighed. He also thought about distinguishing his son from Li Shan... What is the name of master and apprentice, it is all nonsense, nothing!

But not to mention that Yuan Xiaozheng wanted to recognize this teacher, when Yuan Junzhang heard his son recite the "Humble Room Inscription", he knew that the status of master and apprentice was inseparable.

That fellow Li Shan is such a thief!

(End of this chapter)