The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 533 will be outside, the king's life will not be affected
At dusk, Li Shimin led a group of civilians and soldiers to inspect the wounded barracks in the pass. The whole barracks was filled with a strong sense of sorrow. The soldiers' cries and wailings made people listen, and I couldn't help but feel some indescribable pain in my heart. .

Facing him, Yin Kaishan, who was in charge of the wounded barracks, walked quickly with a bitter face, and saluted Li Shimin first: "Your Highness, the medicine in the army can't keep up with it, and many wounded soldiers can't be healed."

"There is no way to transfer medicinal materials from Xiangyang. We can't wait for the soldiers to die." Li Shimin shook his head. He has nothing to do now, but the wounded soldiers must be rescued. Various benefits of the Sui army have already been spread throughout the world. It also affected the attitude of the princes from all walks of life towards the wounded soldiers. The biggest change was that they did not dare to ignore the life and death of the disabled soldiers. Otherwise, who would follow them to work hard?The benefit brought about by this is that the soldiers are more united, and the cohesion and loyalty are increasing step by step, but the disadvantage is that it costs money-it costs money to support the army, pay for pensions, and save lives and heal the wounded.

Until now, Li Shimin didn't understand why Yang Tong wanted to reduce the number of troops and implement the policy of elite soldiers even though the world was not yet under his control.It's all because the welfare of the Sui army is so good, not to mention the weapons and equipment, the settlement fee alone is an astronomical sum, if Li Tang compensates according to Yang Tong's standard, Li Tang will be pitifully short in one fell swoop The finances were spared, but it was also for this reason that the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty dared to work hard, and all the people were proud of joining the army.In this way, Yang Tong was not worried about the lack of soldiers, nor was he worried that the soldiers would flee.

Retreat?

This thought suddenly flashed in Li Shimin's mind. Even if Zhu Yang could hold the gate, his army would probably be wiped out.

However, as soon as this idea flashed, Li Shimin dispelled it. He had to fight, let alone retreat. The mighty Eastern Expedition of the Tang Army, plus the backup army that has been continuously invested, is as high as 50 people. If he retreats now, Yang The several Sui army regiments that Dong deployed in the direction of Guanzhong will immediately enter along Wuguan. Not to mention the loss of Xiyang County, even Xiangyang County and Fangling County are under the attack of the Sui Army. As for Nanyang, where the father is located, It will fall into a dangerous situation surrounded by three sides. If the army retreats again, then wait for Yang Tong to nibble away step by step.At that time, who else can stop Yang Tong from unifying the world?
"How about..." Liu Hongji hesitated, looked at Li Shimin, and put forward his own suggestion: "Mobilize some troops from Xicheng County?"

In name, Li Tang launched the Eastern Expedition with the most powerful soldiers, but at key nodes, there were still some troops stationed there. There were [-] elite troops defending Wei Chigong's Shiquan New City in Xicheng County, and [-] soldiers defending Hanyang Wang Fubao. Lintao Xue Wanche's Tongchang and Dangchang each had [-] yuan, but such a large amount of army food and pay was shared with the common people, causing an extremely heavy burden.There are complaints from the people, and the anger of the people has been suppressed to the extreme.

Li Tang had high hopes for the Eastern Expedition, and planned a brilliant victory to deter the voices of opposition from the people, and to open up territories, expand territory, and compete for population, so as to relieve the pressure on the people of Bashu and Jingzhou.The beginning was just as Li Tang's court had expected, several counties were acquired in one go, but after the Sui army went south, all of them became Yang Tong's, which led to all the previous efforts of Li Tang in vain, and ended up in the current situation.

"No!" Before Li Shimin could speak, Yin Kaishan had already said: "The army in Xicheng County is under no less pressure than other places to defend Yuchi Gong's Seventh Army of the Sui Dynasty. Once a part of the army is withdrawn, a fatal loophole will appear in the defense. Yu Chigong's [-] elite will immediately drive straight in, approaching Fangling County!"

Li Shimin nodded. Yang Tong has been slow to move. The Seventh Army led by Yu Chigong is probably waiting for them to take down Fangling and point directly at Xiangyang when the front line can no longer support the deployment of troops from the rear. If Yang Tong is really successful Let alone Yang Shanhui and Qin Qiong who defeated Nanyang, even if he and his father's Nanyang army invaded Henan County separately, it would be useless, instead they would become a lone army without any support.

"If you don't mobilize troops, how can you fight?" Zhang Gongjin smiled wryly, "How many are there in this camp?"

"Even defending the city like this, this battle is not easy to fight." Hou Junji felt that the Sui army's excellent crossbows and arrows, the long range of the catapults, the elite soldiers, and the fearlessness of the slave soldiers all exceeded In his imagination, this was still relying on the strength of the city wall of Zhuyangguan. If a large-scale war was launched in the wilderness, Hou Junji couldn't imagine what it would be like.The Qin Dynasty ruled the world back then, relying on strong bows and crossbows and the desperate fighting style of the soldiers. It is said that the Qin Crossbow can shoot at a range of [-] steps at the farthest. Although the bed crossbow of the Sui Army did not reach the legendary level , but even if it is [-] steps, it is far beyond the crossbow of Tang Jun.

The Sui army's crossbows, bed crossbows, platoon crossbows, continuous crossbows, magic machine crossbows... and other crossbows have different ranges, different sizes, and different functions, both near and far!Even for melee combat, the equipment of the Sui army was not bad either. Even the single-shot crossbow of the most penetrating Tang army could not penetrate the solid shields. Their use of cavalry was also amazing. Every time they went out of the city, They all ended up with the whole army wiped out, and the opponent's losses were so small that the Tang army never dared to go out to fight again.

Hearing Hou Junji's emotion, Li Shimin couldn't help but give the boy a hard look. The war has continued until now, and everyone knows that this battle is quite difficult, but is it appropriate for you to say such things in front of so many people? ?Do you still want morale?

Yin Kaishan said: "Hongnong is Luoyang's most important external strategic depth zone. Once there is a loss, Henan County has no danger to rely on, and Luoyang, the capital of the Sui Dynasty, will also be in turmoil; after leaving Zhuyang Pass, Hongnong County will be destroyed. Yishui eastward travel easily reached Luoyang; Yang Tong regarded our army as a confidant, wishing to annihilate our army overnight, and for me to achieve the goal of winning the pass, it became natural to offer various advanced equipment. As we all know, the strong Ice is not a rare thing in winter, but it is a precious thing in summer and autumn. The Sui army now even uses solid ice as a siege weapon. From this, it can be seen that Yang Tong is in extreme anxiety, which also proves that Yang Tong is extremely anxious. Dong is helpless against our army."

"It makes sense!" Li Shimin's expression turned pale.

"Although the Sui army is strong, as far as the general knows, Xue Wanjun is one of the strongest generals under Yang Tong's command, and the mission of this army is related to the safety of Luoyang. , the most elite soldiers under Yang Tong's command, other soldiers and horses are naturally unable to compare with Xue Wanjun's powerful army, everyone must not be discouraged!"

"Before the pass, there are as many as [-] elite Sui troops. As long as we drag them to the direction of Zhuyang Pass, the holy majesty who has lost a few percent of the pressure will have a chance to defeat the enemy. As long as the holy majesty makes a breakthrough in the direction of Nanyang, we can take advantage of the victory After regaining the two counties of Fuyang and Xiangcheng, and approaching Yique Pass, Yang Tong will inevitably spare part of his troops to help Yique so that Luoyang will not be attacked by our army. At that time, we will have a chance to defeat the enemy. Therefore, You don't need to be too stressed, just guard Zhuyang Pass well."

Yin Kaishan shook his head with a smile, regardless of whether the words are true or not, but at this time, he cannot admit cowardice.

Hearing this, the generals couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, if each of Yang Tong's soldiers and horses were so strong, it would be hard for Datang.

"Let's do this!" Li Shimin thought for a while, then made a decision, and said: "When the grain transport fleet arrives, let them transfer the injured general to Xiangyang for treatment. Not only will we save a heavy burden, but we can also stabilize the morale of the army. .”

"This method is very good!" Yin Kaishan greatly agreed, looked at the sky, and said: "If it is not as expected, there will be a fleet of ships arriving at noon."

"Sir, get ready and let the wounded soldiers leave today." Li Shimin frowned looking at the wounded barracks that were wailing, and the wailing was enough to shake the morale of the entire army.

"Your Highness!" Without waiting for Yin Kaishan to reply, a scout rushed over with a pale complexion. Seeing this, Li Shimin's heart sank, and he asked quickly, "What happened?"

"Return to Your Highness, the Nanxiang Warehouse was attacked by the Sui army yesterday." The scout said in a trembling voice.

"what?"

When everyone heard the words, they were all anxious.

"Tell me what's going on first? How many troops have been lost?" Li Shimin asked right away. He was also extremely shocked, and was eager to know how much damage the Sui army's attack had caused and how much it would affect him. this army.

Facing Li Shimin's devouring gaze, the scout trembled in cold sweat, "His Royal Highness, [-] Sui Army cavalry came from the south under the banner of King Qi's New Army, and the officials along the way did not dare to intervene..."

"Don't worry about that, let's talk about the loss first?" Li Shimin interrupted him.

"The [-] defenders in the Nanxiang Warehouse suffered more than [-] casualties, and all the fodder and the fleet from Xiangyang were burned."

"Where's the food?"

Li Shimin had an ominous premonition that neither the fodder nor the fleet had been transported, but had been burned. It can be seen that the Sui army did not intend to take the food for themselves, but completely destroyed it.

The scout lowered his head and said softly, "30 shi of grain and [-] sets of winter clothes have also been burned."

"Are you mad at me?" Li Shimin felt his eyes go dark, and he was about to fall to the ground. Hou Junji and Liu Hongji had quick eyesight and quick hands, and quickly supported him.

"Waste, Zhang Liang is a complete waste, I am so disappointed." Li Shimin slowly came back to his senses, his hands clenched into fists involuntarily. He came up with the strategy of building embankments to hold the people of Henan County hostage. I am afraid that his army will be destroyed in Hongnong. After learning the lessons of failure, he will be more familiar with the defensive loopholes in the logistics area than others. Who would have thought that Zhang Liang let him down again.Zhang Liang made mistakes again and again, so Li Shimin couldn't help being angry. If someone was in front of him, he would definitely behead him with a sword.

"Where's Zhang Liang? Let him come to see me." Li Shimin was bleeding with hatred in his heart.

The scout whispered: "Your Highness, General Zhang is dead."

Li Shimin felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart that he was "knocked down on the cotton with one punch", and the feeling of being so angry that he had nowhere to go made him almost go crazy.

On the side, more than a dozen civil and military personnel did not dare to speak out. They were also shocked. The Nanxiang warehouse was lost. What about their rations?
Li Shimin's brows were frowned. The underlying meaning of this news was that the Sui army had already entered Xiyang, and the defenders of Zhuyang Pass and Waiwu Pass were in a situation where the north and the south were attacking; The defense of the north and the Waiwu Pass are defenses against the northwest, neither of which is aimed at the south. If the Sui army marches northward, the two important passes are of no value at all. Is it necessary to guard?If we don't retreat in time, then the Tang army, who managed to get out of the tiger's mouth, will fall into the siege of the Sui army again. This time, there is no way to hold Yang Tong hostage, because the south is the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and if there is any threat, it is the Sui army. The Tang Dynasty army threatened them.

"Your Highness, please give the last general [-] elites. The last general is willing to lead the army to support Nanxiang. He must drive the Sui army out of Xiyang and reopen the grain road." Hou Junji pleaded for orders.

Li Shimin finally came to his senses from long-term contemplation, and sighed deeply: "Junji's courage is admirable... But it's meaningless... If we divide the troops, it will just give the Sui army an opportunity to divide and annihilate them! The entire Sui army in the south Riding, coming and going like the wind, if there are fewer people, they will be hunted down one by one. If there are too many, Xue Wanjun will definitely launch a fatal blow. He has spent so long with us, but he has never launched a large-scale attack. Isn't it true? Wait until we divide up our forces so that we can conquer Zhuyang Pass in one go?"

"But if the grain road is cut off, the consequences will be very serious."

"I know that!" Li Shimin took a few steps with his hands behind his back, and said slowly to Yin Kaishan, "Sir, do you think that Zhuyang Pass is a bait to annihilate us?"

Yin Kaishan was stunned, thought for a moment and said: "I don't think so. If Yang Tong really has this intention, then it will be a good opportunity in Hongnong Changyuan. Yang Shanhui and Luo Shixin will attack from east to west, and then send sailors to go up the Luo River. It is difficult for the army to fly, but he always just let Yang Shanhui store up troops in Xionger to confront our army, and did not let Luo Shixin launch an attack until the crown prince arrived at Zhuyang Pass, I think it will be more beneficial and easier to succeed then than now, what do you think, Your Highness?"

Li Shimin nodded silently, Yin Kaishan's analysis is very convincing, if Yang Tong really wants to wipe out himself, Hongnong's terrain and timing are better than now, he asked again: "Then what is Yang Tong's intention?"

Yin Kaishan said worriedly: "The humble official thinks that Yang Tong has great ambitions, and it is very likely that he intends to kill the Holy One, the Crown Prince, and His Royal Highness. After all, compared with the complex landforms of Xiangyang and Bashu, Xiyang and Nanyang are much simpler. If he If the trick succeeds, my Tang Dynasty will be gone."

Li Shimin was secretly startled. Liu Wenjing also told Yin Kaishan about his analysis not long ago. He thought it was alarmist at the time, but judging from the current battle situation, he is gradually developing towards this bad side. Yang Tong's success is now It's still quite large. If he breaks here, then Xue Wanjun's army can go south, and then cooperate with Yang Shanhui and Qin Qiong to launch a desperate offensive against the father in the west, north, and east. To finish, after a long while, he said to himself: "It seems that we are really going to exit Zhuyang Pass."

"Your Highness! Your Majesty..."

Li Shimin interrupted Yin Kaishan, "Sir, don't say any more, Zhuyangguan and Waiwuguan can't be defended, and it will be a matter of time before they fall! We are not as strong as others, so why bother to spend unnecessary money on territory that doesn't belong to us?" sacrifice?"

"But we still have an army of [-] to [-]. If we use it well, we may not have a chance of winning." Hou Junji said at this time.

Li Shimin laughed bitterly and said: "Zhuyang Pass, Waiwu Pass are not important, Xiyang is not important, only the army and Nanyang are important. If there is no accident, Xue Wanjun's fierce offensive will come soon. If we don't leave now, we will never leave again." We can’t go anymore. If we voluntarily withdraw, not only will all the troops be saved, but we will also be able to take back Nanxiang, and then we will deploy defenses south of Danshui with the Waiwuguan defenders, forming a parallel trend with the father.”

"Your Highness! It's hard to explain to the Holy Majesty."

"Don't talk anymore!" Li Shimin interrupted Hou Junji decisively. He knew that his father would not allow him to give up Zhuyang Pass, but he knew that once he was surrounded, the Sui army would never give him another chance to escape. The army could no longer be put in a desperate situation. This time, Li Shimin decided not to ask for orders, but decided to make a decision before the battle. He felt that only a quick southward retreat was the most correct choice, and he immediately ordered: "Quickly send my order to make Zhang Shigui withdraw from the foreign army." Pass, lead the army to Danshui County."

Under such a complex and unfavorable situation, Li Shimin made the decision to abandon Zhuyang Pass and Waiwu Pass. Although it is regrettable to lose half of Xiyang, his decision is undoubtedly the most wise choice, and concentrate his forces to guard the south bank of Danshui , not only successfully avoided the other two rounds set up by Xue Wanjun against Zhuyangguan, but also saved his vitality, and also avoided the fate of being defeated one by one by the Sui army. Li Shimin, the soldier of Wuguan, also has the ability to fight back.

(End of this chapter)