The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 453 Li Yuan's Decision
In the Imperial Study Room of Xiangyang Taiji Palace, Li Yuan was discussing important military affairs with a group of prime ministers. Since the outbreak of the Luoyang Battle, Li Yuan's mind was focused on this battle, and all government affairs were left to Prince Li Jiancheng.

He spends most of his time thinking about military affairs in the imperial study, not because he is too cautious, but because the Central Plains War is very important.If the Western Central Plains can be won, then Ten Tianxia will take three points, Yang Tong will take four points, and other forces will share three points.If the war fails, then Li and Tang will be divided into two parts of the world with great loss of national strength, but Yang Tong may expand to five or six parts. At that time, the pattern of three parts of the world will definitely reappear. This is the result that Li Yuan never wants to see .

Li Yuan said worriedly: "Pei Qing, it will be a matter of time before Yang Tong sends troops to Luoyang. According to our information, Yang Tong not only deployed more than 20 troops to the east of Luoyang, but also deployed about [-] troops in Hanoi County. In addition, He also made frequent moves in the land of Qilu, I think what he wants is not only Luoyang, but the entire Central Plains, this battle is of great significance to my Tang Dynasty, it is a big battle that can only be won but not defeated."

"Could it be that Yang Tong also knew that Li Mi was preparing to map the Jianghuai River in the south?" The death of the eldest son and the loss of family members scattered all over the world made Pei Ji much older and seemed to be a lot more low-key than before.

"Li Mi's movement of food and grass troops to the south cannot be fooled by Yang Tong's all-pervasive spies. Li Mi's center of gravity will move southward, and there will be gaps in power in many places in the Central Plains. It is impossible for Yang Tong not to seize the opportunity to occupy." For headaches, although Li Tang's rule is also vigorously cleaning, but there are many mountains and rivers in Bashu and Jingxiang, the anti-corruption campaign for more than a year has had little effect, and the more powerful Li Tang's suppression is, the more sophisticated the other side's hidden methods become. Make it impossible to check.

Pei Ji hesitated for a moment, then said: "My lord, the king of Huai'an County led all [-] troops to the north. Jingxiang was empty of troops, and I was very worried that Xiao Xian would take the opportunity to counterattack. Should we let Yizhou Dougui lead the army eastward to fill the gap?" Jing Xiang troops?"

Li Yuan shook his head and said: "Xiao Xian is very suspicious. This is a great opportunity for him to rectify his internal affairs. He has no intention of Jingxiang. Moreover, his territory is thousands of miles away from the north and the south. The vast territory makes his foundation weak, so we don't have to Worry about him."

Pei Ji said seriously: "My lord, there are only [-] cavalry from His Royal Highness King Qi in Xiangyang. If an army goes to the city of Xiangyang, it will deal a heavy blow to the hearts of the people and the morale of the frontline soldiers. After all, Yang Tong likes to do this kind of stealth the most." The next thing to do."

Li Yuan's expression changed slightly. Didn't Yang Tong enter the Guanzhong with light soldiers and burn down the Daxing Palace?If this play was staged in Xiangyang again, Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong would have to return without success. If Xiangyang fell, he would not even have a place to stay.

He was sweating and solemnly said: "Pei Qing is right, but I was really careless. Then the Tongchuan and Badong troops will enter Beijing immediately. Moreover, this is a protracted war. In order to have a large army available at any time, let Dou Gui recruit A hundred thousand young men from Yizhou were sent to Xiangyang for training."

At this moment, an eunuch reported outside the door, "Report to Your Majesty, Xiao Xiangguo and Hussar General Yuwenshi rushed back from Luoyang, saying that there is an urgent military report."

Li Yuan immediately said: "Announce the two of them to have an audience!"

a while!

The dusty Xiao Yu and Yu Wenshi hurried into the imperial study room and bowed deeply, "I see the Holy One!"

"Don't be too polite!"

Li Yuan signaled the two of them to sit down, and asked anxiously: "Second Qing came from Luoyang hand in hand, but something urgent happened?"

"My lord, Yang Tong has launched an attack on our Tang Dynasty, the situation is very urgent!" Xiao Yu said solemnly.

Li Yuan's expression was solemn: "Tell me, how did Yang Tong send troops?"

Xiao Yu said in a hoarse voice: "General Pei Xingyan of the Sui Dynasty commanded [-] troops and attacked Qi County from Bohai to the south. Liu Heita retreated to defend Lu County. Licheng in Qi County has now become an important logistics center for the Sui Army in the east. Du Ruhui is in command. With an army of [-] in town, Pei Xingyan then occupied Jibei County. Wei Jun Meng let the [-] army be annihilated. Immediately afterwards, Pei Xingyan occupied Dongping County almost without bloodshed and invaded Lu County at any time. At the same time, Shen Guang led an army of [-] From Xingyang to the east, Dongjun and Jiyin have been occupied, and the army is stationed in Shanfu County, Jiyin. The front of the soldiers is directed at Yucheng in Liangjun and Fengxian in Pengcheng County. These two people are the Sui Dynasty East Route Army.”

When Xiao Yu said this, he picked up someone's teacup from the table and drank it in one gulp, obviously extremely thirsty. He then said: "The Central Route Army is headed by Yang Yu in Xingyang County and Henan County. Part of the army, numbering as many as 20, was dispatched by Yang Tong in Yanshi. Luo Shixin's troops had already occupied Yique Pass, Ren Chengwang's [-] army, and Wang Junkuo's [-] Jingqi army from Luoyang to aid Annihilated. The whereabouts of King Rencheng and Wang Junkuo are unknown."

Li Yuan hurriedly asked: "Why is the whereabouts unknown?"

"Yique Pass is the only way for Luoyang to go south and Xiangcheng to go north. Rencheng King led an army of [-] to sit in the town, but this pass is a fortress for defending the south. It cannot defend the [-] troops of Yingyang Luo Shixin. If this pass is lost, Cut off the connection between the two armies of King Jin and King Zhaojun." Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and said, "The King of Jin was worried that King Rencheng would not be able to defend the Yique Pass, so he sent General Wang Junkuo to lead [-] elite cavalry to assist in the defense. , General Wang was ambushed by the Sui army, and King Rencheng sent troops to rescue. Luo Shixin defeated both of them in one fell swoop, and took the opportunity to occupy Yique Pass. None of the [-] troops fled north to the Luoyang camp, so the whereabouts of King Rencheng and General Wang were unknown. .”

Li Yuan sighed slightly, and said sadly: "What a brave teacher! I lost Daozong, and other nephews, but I lost [-] sons, but I don't have such a brave and loyal teacher again. May God bless them all."

During a war, accidents often occur that affect the situation of the battle, leading to a drastic change in the situation of the battle. For example, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the Green Forest Army who listened to his orders at that time had only more than 2 people. I heard that Wang Mang sent 40 troops to encircle and suppress them, and many people were scared away. Even if such a mob of mixed good and bad were possessed by killing gods, they could not compete with Wang Mang's 40 troops. But on the eve of Liu Xiu's decisive battle, With the help of heaven and earth, a meteorite hit Wang Mang's army barracks.With the help of God, Liu Xiuru led the green forest army who had beaten chicken blood to kill Wang Mang's army, which had lost their morale. According to the last statistics of the 40 army, only 2 were left.

There is also the battle of Cheng Zu Zhu Di’s Jingnan. In the critical battle of Baigou River, the Yan army was retreating steadily, and the morale of Li Jinglong’s army was high. It would not take long for the Yan army to be completely defeated. At the critical moment, there was a strong wind, Zhu Di Riding the wind and setting fire to counterattack, tens of thousands of enemy troops were beheaded, and more than [-] people drowned, thus changing the situation of the battle.

Today's Yiqueguan is also very similar, but it is not the time, but man-made. Li Shimin, who sent Wang Junkuo to do bad things with good intentions, became the protagonist of this incident.The difference is that this incident was carefully planned by Luo Shixin, who took advantage of Li Daozong's inability to see death and help him, and used Wang Junkuo as a bait to lure Li Daozong out of the city to fight. As a result, Li Daozong's entire army was wiped out and Yiqueguan fell.

Li Yuan can also blame the kind Li Shimin, but he also knows that the strategic position of Yique Pass is extremely important.

Taking Yiqueguan will allow the northern and southern armies to communicate smoothly and help each other at any time. This is also an important reason why Li Shimin sent Wang Junkuo to help Li Daozong: split the Sui army with the "Yellow River-Luoyang-Yiqueguan" line of defense and stabilize the western Central Plains , and then map the Great Central Plains.Therefore, Li Yuan, who planned this war, must retake this dangerous pass.

Just as Li Yuan was thinking about how to take back Yique Pass, Xiao Yu said, "Your Majesty, there is also the West Road Sui Army!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan hurriedly said, "Please tell me, Aiqing!"

"My lord, the West Route Army of the Sui Army has a total of about 10 people, commanded by Yang Shanhui, and they are going to cross the river from Shan County."

"What!" Li Yuan was taken aback. If Yang Shanhui crossed the river successfully, Li Shimin, who was surrounded by two sides, would be in danger.However, although he was shocked, he also knew that he needed to calm down now. Xiao Yu and Yuwen Shiji came here from Luoyang, it was not just a simple report, they must have other important matters, otherwise, Li Shimin would not have sent these two back Yes, he took a deep breath and said, "Ai Qing continued."

"My lord, if the Sui army from Hanoi County crosses the river, plus the Yang Tong army from Yanshi, and Wang Shichong's tens of thousands of troops from Luoyang, King Jin will be encircled on three sides. If the back road is cut off by the Sui army cavalry, the consequences will be severe. It's unbelievable." Xiao Yu said with a sad face.

The worry in Li Yuan's eyes became more intense, and he also saw Yang Tong's strategic plan, Luo Shixin seized Yique Pass, thus cutting off the connection between the two kings.

Secondly, the Sui army of Hanoi County landed in Shan County, which could cooperate with Yang Tong in fighting, or march into Hongnong to cut off the main force of the Tang army's food road, and on the other hand, cut off the retreat route of the main force of the Tang army.

In the end, Yang Tong's more than 20 cavalry troops and Wang Shimin attacked the Tang army's camp together, and wiped out Li Shimin's army under the city of Luoyang.

After straightening out the cause and effect, Li Yuan took a breath and asked quickly, "What is King Jin's plan?"

Xiao Yu said: "The king of Jin has two plans. One is to abandon Luoyang and retreat to Hongnong County to ensure that the army is not lost, and then take the opportunity to seize Luoyang; the other is to hope that the imperial court will quickly increase its troops by [-], and there will be a showdown with the Sui army in Luoyang. In life and death, the winner is king and the loser is Kou."

Li Yuan, Pei Ji, Chen Shuda, Duguzheng, and Dou Wei looked at each other. Everyone was speechless about Li Shimin's second plan. Except for the [-] army in Li Shentong's hands, Xiangyang only had [-] troops. Li Shimin actually wanted [-] reinforcements. It's a last stand, victory will curb the Sui army's crazy growth momentum, and then the two sides will spend a few years to settle down, and then decide life and death, but what if they lose?

Defeat means that Li Tang has no army to use, and Yang Tong destroys the Li Tang Dynasty in a decisive manner. Li Shimin's huge gamble based on the fate of the country makes Li Yuan hesitant to make a decision.

Dou Wei next to him said: "My lord, the consequences of a last stand are quite dangerous. If we win, Yang Tong can safely withdraw from the Central Plains. Before long, he can bring out hundreds of thousands of slave soldiers; if Yang Tong wins, we will Apart from retreating to Bashu, there is no third choice."

"What does Dou Aiqing mean?"

"I think it's not time to gamble on the fate of the country. Now we occupy the two major grain-producing areas of Bashu and Jingxiang, and we have another 700 people to support our troops. The national strength is recovering. Wait for another three to five years, and the situation will be against us. It will be more beneficial, the decisive battle now will only fulfill Yang Tong's wishes."

Li Yuan remained silent. If Li Shimin withdrew his army to Hongnong Lushi County, he would definitely not have completed his previous strategic intentions, but he would also have harvested Xiangcheng County, Fuyang County and half of Hongnong County.

Especially this half of Hongnong is extremely important. Occupying here is equivalent to opening the door to Luoyang. You can attack Luoyang at any time, and even push it to the south bank of the Yellow River, and then threaten Bingzhou and Guanzhong.

If Li Xiaogong can conquer Yingchuan, Runan, and Huaiyang on the eastern front, it will be easy to capture Luoyang in the future.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan also felt that he should accept it as soon as it was good, and decided to make a firm decision: "I agree with the plan to withdraw Hongnong County, and first consolidate the results of this battle."

"Holy Majesty is wise!"

All the ministers breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone was worried that their emperor would be crazy and follow Li Shimin crazy.

Xiao Yu and Yuwen Shiji looked at each other and smiled. Li Shimin didn't want to take the risk of destroying the country. The reason why he asked for [-] troops was because he knew that his father didn't have the courage, so he decided to retreat.

(End of this chapter)