The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 438
Outside Zhuyang County, Hongnong County, the military camp stretches for dozens of miles. Li Shimin is sitting in the big tent of the Chinese army, discussing the battle of Luoyang with a group of civil and military personnel.This time he led 18 elite soldiers to attack Luoyang, and he was sure to win, but the changes of the Sui army made him worried again.

Just as the Sui army got the news that Li Tang was attacking Wang Shichong, Li Shimin also got the news that Yang Tong led the army to the south, and he immediately realized that the battle of Luoyang would be a big melee.

Li Shimin looked at the Hanoi County north of the Yellow River on the map. Yang Tong most likely crossed the Yellow River from Hanoi County.

"Your Highness, if I guess correctly, Yang Tong should be in Xingyang at this time."

Behind Li Shimin, Liu Wenjing said in a deep voice.

For this Eastern Expedition, Li Shimin specifically asked Li Yuan to appoint him as a military adviser. With this mastermind in charge, the Northern Expedition was a little more certain of victory.

Li Shimin nodded, "I also think that Yang Tong is in Xingyang, and he is not supporting Wang Shichong. I suspect that he also wants to attack Luoyang, but he just happened to join us. Does Liu Xiangguo think my thinking is correct?"

"After Yang Tong's expedition to the Western Turks ended, he deployed heavy troops to the south. This was certainly to defend against our Tang Dynasty and Wang Shichong, Li Mi, and Dou Jiande, but it was more to prepare for going south to the Central Plains. After more than a year of recuperation He doesn't want to delay the battle any longer. I don't think His Highness's inference is wrong, that is to say, the battle of Luoyang this time is actually another confrontation between the Sui and Tang Dynasties."

It was Gao Shilian who also came over, and said from the side: "If Yang Tong plans to go south, how will he deal with Li Mi's Wei army?"

Li Shimin picked up the wooden pole and pointed it at Liangjun: "I think that once the war starts, the Sui army will go south to Liangjun and threaten Li Mi's capital from the northwest, making Li Mi unable to participate in the battle of Luoyang."

Speaking of this, Li Shimin glanced at Liu Wenjing, seeing that he was stroking his beard and saying nothing, obviously reserved certain opinions, Li Shimin couldn't help being startled, "Does Xiangguo think what I said is wrong?"

"Your Highness is right, but I underestimated Yang Tong's ambition." Liu Wenjing took the wooden pole, pointed to the Jianghuai land, and said, "If you guessed right, Yang Tong has already made an alliance with Du Fuwei, and Du Fuwei will Contain Li Mi from the south. In this way, even if Li Mi wants to help our army, he will not do his best. Coupled with the restraint of the Sui army in Xingyang, he will send troops only symbolically at most, so don't hold Li Mi too seriously hope."

Li Shimin nodded silently. The Li Tang Dynasty had expected that the Sui Dynasty would send troops to interfere in the Eastern Expedition, so it formed an alliance with Li Mi to deal with the Sui army, but the alliance between Yang Tong and Du Fuwei was unexpected.In this way, Li Mi, who was attacked from the north and the south, could not have any hope.

Li Shimin sighed and said: "We will fight against the Sui army alone as if there is no foreign aid like Li Mi."

Liu Wenjing said: "Also, we can't just watch this battle."

"Xiangguo means that the Sui Dynasty not only competed with us for Luoyang?" Li Shimin was surprised.

Liu Wenjing said solemnly: "After so many years of fighting in the Sui Dynasty, I found that Yang Tong was never limited to his eyes. Taking the Battle of Bingzhou as an example, Pei Ji only focused on Taiyuan, the land of dragon prosperity. In fact, Queshu Valley is the key to victory. ;When it came to the Battle of Guanzhong, we mistakenly believed that Yang Tong's main attack direction was Guanzhong and Chang'an, but the truth? The main battlefield was the Hehuang area where His Highness is located. This time... what will happen?"

Li Shimin, who suffered a great loss, broke out in cold sweat and said, "Xiangyang is empty of troops!"

"It might be Xiangyang, it might be Bashu, it might be King Zhaojun or King Rencheng of Xiangcheng, and it might even be our 18 army!" Liu Wenjing glanced at Li Shimin and said, "If our army delays If Luoyang cannot be conquered, the Sui army can go out of Hanchuan and attack Xicheng County. After passing Xiyang or Fangling, it will be Xiangyang. At that time, the Holy One will definitely send our army to rescue Xiangyang. At that time, Xue Wanjun, who is in Shangluo, can completely Break through Waiwu Pass, take advantage of the situation to occupy Hongnong Zhuyang Pass, and thus use the Yellow River, Tongguan, and Zhuyang to cut off our army's rear and food and grass. In the end, our army was unable to advance or retreat as His Highness did back then. Therefore, I suggest that Your Highness do two The first thing is to send reliable and capable generals to sit at Zhuyang Pass, and the second is to quickly notify the Holy One to strictly guard Wuguan, Xicheng Shiquan and Ankang City, and prepare for an all-out war with the Sui Dynasty."

"It makes sense." Li Shimin immediately assigned a task, let Li Xizhi lead an army of [-] to sit at Zhuyang Pass, and at the same time let a messenger deliver a letter to Xiangyang.After arranging everything, he asked again: "What should our army do next?"

Liu Wenjing said: "In order to avoid long nights and dreams, we should fight quickly. At the same time, Li Mi is urged to send troops."

"it is good."

One day later, 16 Tang troops set out to march towards Hongnong Tanshan in a mighty way. In response to this battle, Li Tang allocated one million shi of grain from Xiangyang as military rations, and mobilized 30 civilians from Xiangyang, Nanyang, and Xiyang. For logistics transportation, Li Tang also carried a large amount of siege equipment and military supplies in order to conquer the strong city of Luoyang. The team of hundreds of thousands of troops stretched for dozens of miles.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By the Xinzhong Bridge in Luoyang, there was already a sound of howling at this moment. A businessman who lost his soul, begged in pain, and hissed and cursed was pushed to the bank of the Luoshui River. Wang Xuanqiong, who was in charge of the execution, waved down the command flag indifferently. They fell to the ground, and some heads rolled into Luoshui.The clear Luoshui changed color, and the blood stained the river red.

The heads of the people who were killed by the knives and axes fell to the ground, and these people have long been numb. In this day, just because of Wang Shichong's words, thousands of businessmen in Beishi alone fell to the ground; and the innocent people who were beheaded in Luoyang City There were as many as 4 merchants and aristocratic families. Some people came to drag the corpses away, pile them up, and burn them together after the execution.

In the city of Luoyang, the cries of innocent people who lost their families filled the entire city. The soldiers walking on the road and patrolling the city could intuitively feel the eyes of the people full of anger and hatred.

That night, more than a hundred city patrol soldiers disappeared for no reason during the patrol, and their bodies were finally found in some remote corners, which made the patrol soldiers have to go together even to relieve themselves.

Wang Shichong didn't feel anything wrong, or in other words, Wang Shichong didn't have the heart to understand these things at all. Wang Xuanying asked for an interview several times, but was blocked by Wang Shichong's guards.

In fact, this is not the first time that this kind of thing has been done. When he was ordered by Yang Guang to suppress the rebellion, his Jianghuai Army was well-trained and well-equipped, and he won successive victories against the rebels many times. Wang Shichong continued to use tricks He tricked tens of thousands of rebels into surrendering, and in a blink of an eye, Wang Shichong violated the agreement and killed all these tens of thousands of people.In the subsequent counter-rebellion, in order to satisfy the desires of himself and the army, he frequently killed good people and pretended to be meritorious, and he slaughtered countless counties.This was the case in the past, but now it is about the life and death of a family, and he is even more unceremonious when killing people.

Among the three sons, the eldest son Wang Xuanying and the second son Wang Xuanshu are honest and honest, and only Wang Xuanqiong has inherited his violent heart.

"Tell Father, Li Shimin has entered Henan County and will arrive in Luoyang soon. If Father doesn't come out, Luoyang will be finished!" Wang Xuanying stared at the guards at the door, he had lost patience, if these The guards continued to obstruct, and he would directly lead people in.

"This..." Facing Wang Xuanying's, Wang Xuanshu's and Wang Renze's unfriendly gazes, several guards looked at each other in blank dismay. The matter was so important that they didn't dare to stop them as before. After a moment of hesitation, a guard cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness treat."

Watching the guards rushing to inform Wang Shichong, Wang Xuanying couldn't calm down. Since the massacre of traders, there have been complaints in Luoyang City. Not to mention the approach of the enemy, in the past few days alone, many people have killed officials and rebelled .

It's okay to complain, but the massacre of soldiers and officials touched Wang Xuanying's sensitive nerves. It was only at this time that Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Renze and other insightful people realized that something was wrong. disaster.

Although those traffickers and pawns are not many compared with the people of Luoyang, the impact they have caused is beyond imagination. In recent days, some people have continued to add fuel to the flames, using the old incident of Wang Shichong's massacre of the city to tarnish Wang Shichong's reputation. In fact, there is no need to discredit However, with the death of those innocent traffickers and pawns, Wang Shichong's reputation among the people has been reduced to infamy, but the fuel of these people has directly caused mobs in the city.

What was even more frightening was that Li Shimin, who had stopped for several days, chose to send out his troops at this time. The 10,000+ army would soon arrive in Luoyang. Even if Wang Shichong cheered up, it would be difficult to stop Li Tang's troops.

Wang Xuanying suddenly felt how ridiculous his hard work over the years was. An excuse that might not exist for the third brother Wang Xuanqiong and Yun Dingxing revealed the nature of his father, who was originally restrained, and a single decision made Luoyang fall into an absolutely passive situation. .

Chaos broke out inside, and the Sui and Tang dynasties were watching outside. Before the battle started, half of the city wall of Luoyang collapsed. As for the remaining half, Wang Xuanying was not very optimistic about it.

"You mean...the Tang army has sent troops?" Fifteen minutes later, Wang Shichong summoned his second son and nephew, and said solemnly.

"The king of Cai, Wang Qianshou, died in Tanshan. The Tang army marched eastward along the Luoshui River, and Changyuan had already fallen. According to the information just obtained, the forward of the Tang army, led by Hou Junji, has entered Henan County, Xiong'er County, and Yiyang County. The county magistrate has surrendered in Kaesong." Wang Renze said very sadly, he was the leader among the brothers in the clan, followed by Wang Qianshou, King Cai, Wang Honglie, King Jing, Wang Xingben, King Jing, and Wang Tai, King Song. Counting it down, there are only two people left in the Wang family who can fight.

"asshole!"

Wang Shichong was furious, "Is my salary not high enough? Or is it that I don't care about them enough? I offer four times the salary of Li Tang, and I don't ask you to sacrifice your life for righteousness, but you have to put on a show for at least two days." If you can't hold it anymore, you can surrender under the excuse that you can't bear to see the people in the city being massacred. In this way, you will have face and a reputation of benevolence and righteousness, and you may be able to make a fortune. And I have at least a little time Get ready, isn't everyone happy? Okay. These bastards actually went out of the city and surrendered. Where did they put my face? Are you really valued? Stupid, stupid."

Wang Shichong scolded those officials who surrendered as stupid, and none of the three in the hall dared to speak.

After a long time, Wang Shichong took a deep breath, and said to Wang Renze: "Nephew, you came just in time, and I was just about to discuss the military situation with you. I want to know if Hongnong County is gone?"

Wang Ren nodded silently, "Your Majesty, not only the entire Hongnong County was lost, but the Tang army also divided into two groups, one led by Liu Hongji with 1 people, and they have already arrived at Hangu Pass; Taking the Luoshui Valley Road to occupy Xionger County and Yiyang County in Henan County, the forward is less than two hundred miles away from Luoyang."

Speaking of this, Wang Renze took a cautious look at Wang Shichong, and saw that although his face was quite ugly, he was not angry, and his heart sank a little. As long as the Holy One didn't get angry, the next thing would be easy.

He continued: "My lord, I estimate that the forward of the Tang army will arrive in Luoyang in the day after tomorrow."

Wang Shichong has also calmed down from his rage. He realized that anger cannot solve the problem. Now that Tang Jun is attacking aggressively, he must actively respond to escape.

When Wang Shichong saw that Wang Renze had something to say, he asked, "It's all over now, let's just speak up."

Wang Renze bowed and said, "Your Majesty, our army is now scattered for defense, and it is extremely easy to be defeated one by one. I implore you, Your Majesty, to concentrate the army in Luoyang."

"You mean to give up Hangu Pass, Hulao Pass, Mianchi, Xingtai and other counties?" Wang Shichong understood what he said.

"That's right." Wang Renze said hastily: "Li Shimin divided the Tang army into two groups, and all the way to Hangu Pass with light soldiers. After advancing eastward, counties such as Hangu Pass, Yique Pass, and Mianchi no longer had any defensive significance. Instead of letting the Tang army wipe them out one by one, it would be better to concentrate their living forces and focus on defending Luoyang City. Similarly, the Sui army also Yangcheng has been taken, and Hulao Pass has also increased the value of defense."

Wang Shichong took a few steps. This is a matter of strategic decision-making. Either take the outer line defense route or the isolated city defense route. After all, the Tang army only has more than 20 people, and its strength is not necessarily sufficient.If you wait until the world is changing, you may not have a chance to make a comeback.

After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded, using the fortified city to defend against the invading enemy, they had a geographical advantage, and an army of 20 to [-] was enough to deal with the [-] attacking Tang army.

"This strategy is feasible. I immediately sent messengers to recall Luoyang, and at the same time asked them to transport the grain from the official warehouses of the counties back to Luoyang."

"The sage is wise!" Wang Ren was overjoyed. The problem of insufficient military strength that he was most worried about was finally solved.
Wang Shichong asked: "How many soldiers are there in Luoyang today?"

"Currently there are still [-] soldiers in the city to be mobilized, but the troops still need to be divided to suppress the people in the city. The actual number of troops that can be mobilized is probably only [-]!" Wang Ren said shyly.

"Why suppress the common people?" Wang Shichong was slightly startled.

"Because the emperor ordered the massacre of the merchants, the family members of these merchants felt resentful towards the emperor, so they have resisted fiercely in the past few days. Hundreds of soldiers have been secretly beaten to death by the people." Wang Xuanying said with a wry smile.

Wang Shichong was furious: "Why didn't you investigate?"

"There is nothing to investigate at all, and deserters have even appeared since yesterday." Wang Xuan responded: "Father, in the face of such a formidable enemy, we can only appease the people and not be too violent, otherwise, not only will the resentment of the people be hard to dissipate, but the army will Lieutenant officers and soldiers will also have resentment, most of the soldiers in the army come from the common people in the city, and the beheading of traders has already made many soldiers resentful."

Wang Shichong looked at Wang Xuanying in a daze, and also wanted to understand the cause and effect of this, he patted the armrest fiercely, and cursed loudly: "Xuan Qiong and Yun Dingxing have misunderstood me a lot."

At this time, it is not the time to shirk and pursue responsibility, otherwise it will only add to the chaos, Wang Xuanying bowed and said: "Father, at this moment, the most important thing is to appease the inside of our army, and there must be no more twists and turns. Everything is waiting for the enemy to retreat. Make a decision later."

Wang Shichong heard the words, although he was angry, he could only suppress it, nodded angrily and said: "Assemble the troops as soon as possible, and at the same time send people to guard the outer fortresses to protect the retreating troops."

"Here!" Wang Ren sighed secretly, bowed to accept the order and left, leaving only Wang Shichong, father and son, sitting on top of the hall, staring outside.

Wang Xuan replied: "Father, Qianjin Fort and Jinyong City are the important defenses of Ziwei Palace in Luoyang. I think it is necessary to send trustworthy people to guard it. I am willing to sit in Qianjin Fort."

In addition to relying on the tall and strong city walls of Luoyang, Wang Shichong also established large and small military facilities around Luoyang.Among them, Qianjinbao, which protects Ziwei Palace in the north of Luoyang, is the largest and strongest fortification built outside the city.In addition to the high walls and thick walls, the fort is also equipped with a large number of long-range bed crossbows.

"Royal father, let the minister go! Eldest brother is inseparable from the city." Wang Xuanshu begged for orders.

"Alright!" Wang Shichong thought for a while, and said, "Erlang sits in Jinyong City, let Yue Wang sit in Qianjin Fort."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)