The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 958

The battle of Dangchang also opened the prelude to the decisive battle in Yibei, and the loss of Dangchang County also made Liu Hongji's Tang army in a precarious situation, and the strategic depth of maneuvering was pitifully small.

Not long after Wang Fubao occupied Dangchang, Yu Chigong and Yao Junsu, who occupied Shunzheng County, joined forces in Xiucheng County, but the two were not in a hurry to go south for a decisive battle because they had to wait for Wang Fubao, the Sui army from the West Road. information.

Although Yuchi Gong was arrogant and aggressive, but in this battle leading to the unification of the world, each Sui army was not fighting alone, and each Sui army had its own mission.

Now the Yibei Sui Army has formed a joint force of the three armies, approaching from the west, north, and east. In the south, Pingwu is besieged by General Liu Gang led by the left guard. Although the strength is only [-] However, while ensuring the safety of Pingwu, he was able to dispatch some soldiers to support the three-way army, so that the southern part of the Tang army was also threatened by the Sui army.

Yang Tong's purpose of making such a big move is very obvious, which is to wipe out all the civil and military descendants of Li Shimin headed by Liu Hongji in Yibei, and achieve the effect once and for all.Now that the encirclement of the four Sui armies has been completed, Yu Chigong dare not take the risk of Liu Hongji's escape and lead the Seventh Army to fight alone, so he sent someone to send a message to Wang Fubao, more to show off and encourage, I hope Wang Fubao moved eastward quickly so that they could finish fighting and withdraw their troops earlier.

After all, the imperial court has invested too much military, manpower, and material resources in this battle, and the daily consumption is an astonishing amount. The long-term confrontation is definitely not a good thing for the imperial court.

It was the second day of the Battle of Dangchang, and the sky was not yet completely bright. The Tang army camp outside Licheng was painted with a light blue color. .

When the generals retreated one by one, Liu Hongji, the chief of the march, Li Xuandao, the deputy chief of the march, Yu Zhining, the left Sima of the march, Su Shichang, the right Sima of the march, and Shi Linghu, the chief of the march, discussed urgently.

Their only support now may be the special geographical features of Wudu County.

Wudu County is located in the south of Longnan. The branches of the Qinling Mountains and Minshan Mountains run across the whole territory from east to west. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. High mountains, river valleys, karst caves, hills and basins intersect. The geographical differences are obvious, and there has been a saying of "seeing the four seasons at a glance" since ancient times.

In addition, Wudu County has well-developed water transport, and the turbulent Jianjia River and Baishui River flowing southward belong to the Jialing River system. After converging in Qushui County in the south of Wudu County, they flow together to Pingwu County in the south. When Li Shimin first went north to Dangchang, he took advantage of this With convenient water transport conditions, the food, weapons, military supplies and other materials collected along the way were transported to the north.

The section of riverbed from Qushui County to Pingwu County meanders southward among the mountains and valleys. The terrain is not weaker than the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. During the dry season, large ships cannot pass through; and now, when the water potential is weakening again, this section of the river has become the key to Liu Hongji's lifeline. can not achieve.

When everyone was discussing urgently, a soldier guarding the camp gate hurried to the big tent of the Chinese army. He took out a piece of information and handed it to the guard. There is an urgent military situation."

The guards immediately entered the big tent, and reported at the door: "Report to the general manager, there are military reports from Changsong County."

"Hurry up and bring it here." Liu Hongji was shocked, and a creepy feeling came from the bottom of his heart.

"Here." The guard stepped into the door and quickly presented the military situation.

Liu Hongji looked at it at a glance, and sat down on the chair with an earthy face, unable to recover for a long time.

Liu Hongji's expression of imminent disaster made Li Xuandao, Yu Zhining, Su Shichang, and Linghu Defen very anxious. Yu Zhining asked in a deep voice: "Chief, what happened?"

Liu Hongji took a deep breath, and said the content of the military situation very bitterly: "Last night, Wang Fubao took Niu Jinda as his sidekick and attacked the Changsong camp by surprise. Our army suffered heavy losses. Old General Pang Yu unfortunately died in battle."

"Ah?" Hearing these words, the four of them were shocked at the same time, with the same expressions as before Liu Hongji.

No wonder they were so shocked.

Because there are only seven counties in Wudu, and there are three counties in Changsong, Zhengxi, and Qushui in the southwest alone. Before, Liu Hongji ordered veteran Pang Yu to lead [-] and fifty soldiers to take charge of the defense of the three counties in Changsong City, but now , Pang Yu was killed in battle, the main force of the Tang army was lost, and the other two county towns, which were empty of troops, might not be able to survive. If this happened, their situation would be a hundred times more difficult.

"But I don't know what the chief executive has decided?" Yu Zhining settled down and asked with his hands clasped.

His tone has become very flat, just like his heart, thinking about it seriously, this is actually expected.Just because of Li Xiaochang's fiasco and death in Jiangyuan city, he made a very bad start.

Li Xiaochang was their western wing, responsible for the safety of Tongchang. The loss of this army had an impact on the Tang army not only in turmoil, but also in the loss of half of their troops, making their only advantage disappear.It directly led to the rapid fall of the two counties of Tongchang and Wenshan, which in turn led to the fall of Shunzheng and Dangchang.

The Sui army, which was originally scattered everywhere, was defeated one by one by the Tang army. While shrinking the encirclement, the troops were also gathered one by one, which greatly increased the strength of the Tang army, thus forming an absolute suppression of the Tang army in terms of military strength and combat power. , so Pang Yu's defeat is actually only a matter of time.

If they are beaten down layer by layer by the Sui army like this, they will be wiped out by the Seventh Army, Ninth Army, and Yao Junsu Department in Jiangli Camp, just like Wei Xiaojie's end.

Liu Hongji thought about it for a long time, but he didn't think of any countermeasures. He sighed and said, "I'm in a turmoil right now. I really don't have a good plan. Let's talk about it and see if there is any way to reverse our unfavorable situation."

As early as when the news of Li Xiaochang's disastrous defeat came, Yu Zhining had been thinking about the way out. At this time, upon hearing Liu Hongji's inquiry, he said: "The situation today is caused by the gap in national power between the two dynasties, not just reflected in the military. But Although our current situation is unfavorable, it has not yet reached the most serious time. If we handle it properly, there may be a chance for a turnaround, and it depends on whether the chief executive has the courage."

Liu Hongji was overjoyed, "Please tell me, Sima, I will listen with all my ears."

"We are isolated and helpless. We are in a dilemma where we are not as strong as our troops, our weapons are not as good as ours, our combat power is not as good as ours, our soldiers are not as good as ours, and our food is not as good as ours. In this way, we can not only maintain the strength of the army, but also jump out of the encirclement and attack Pingwu, which was short of troops in the Sui Dynasty, and then quickly pass through Yicheng and Brazil along the Xihan River, and finally from the Xincheng County, which is also understrength, entered Shu County." Yu Zhining said slowly: "Although the entire Wudu County will be lost, this is a territory that is doomed to be lost, and there is no need to stick to it. We still have [-] troops. , as long as [-] return to Shu County, we will not be regarded as a failure. Moreover, in the cruel fleeing and continuous fighting, the weak and the soldiers with insufficient willpower were all eliminated, and finally [-] soldiers remained It will be the best of athletes and the best of elites, and the combat power it will produce will be no less than that of the previous [-] troops."

These cruel words made the heartstrings of chief and deputy managers Liu Hongji and Li Xuandao suddenly tense.Yu Zhining's strategic shift is full of many dangers and crises. If the planning is not good and the preparations are not enough, the [-] troops may not even be able to get out of Wudu.Yu Zhining is a counselor, and is only responsible for making suggestions, but the two of them are responsible for the actual implementation.

As one of the few veteran generals in the Li Tang Dynasty, Liu Hongji also knew that this was the best way.

But he also knew that the return of the [-] troops to Shu County was already a very optimistic estimate. If the Sui army kept chasing and killing them, the retreat would turn into a rout all over the mountains and plains. Two or three thousand soldiers had returned to Chengdu. It's amazing.

Once this decision is made, it will affect the life and death of [-] troops. Even though Liu Hongji, as the highest decision maker of the whole army, has received the promise of Li Shimin's full decision-making power, he has been unable to express his position for a long time, and asked: "In addition to evacuation, What is the middle policy?"

"Boss, the best strategy is to take advantage of Niu Jinda's unstable foothold and send a general with [-] elites to fight against him. We will defend Licheng. If we defeat Niu Jinda's troops, then we have a [-]% chance of regaining Pingwu County. , and then the soldiers pointed directly at the rear of the Sui army on the middle road." Yu Zhining said in a deep voice: "The commander of the Sui army on the middle road is Yang Yu, the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. The army can only focus on Yang Yu and rush to rescue, giving our Tang Dynasty an opportunity to defeat the enemy."

Liu Hongji's eyes showed a touch of emotion, but after a long thought, he sighed again: "But the prerequisite for mobilizing the various Sui troops based on Yang Yu's safety is to defeat Niu Jinda, Wang Fubao, Liu Gang, and Pei Xingyan successively. The cumulative strength of the troops under his command is at least [-] elite soldiers. Even if we break through the Ninth Army of Niu Jinda and Wang Fubao, I am afraid that Liu Gang’s Army and Pei Xingyan’s First Army are already ready to fight. Moreover, Chen Bing’s Yu Chigong, Yao Junsu and others in our northeast They will not sit idly by, so the success of this strategy is really not great.”

"The humble staff also knows the risks and difficulties of the middle strategy, which are far superior to the best strategy." Yu Zhining said in a deep voice: "So the chief executive needs to show the courage to make a decision."

Seeing Liu Hongji frowning in deep thought, Li Xuandao, the deputy manager next to him, couldn't make a decision, so he couldn't help asking: "Then what is Sima's worst plan?"

"The worst strategy is very simple... The worst strategy is to ignore Yu Chigong, Yao Junsu, Wang Fubao and Niu Jinda. Immediately send the whole army to the south, launch a fierce offensive against Pingwu, and completely defeat Liu Gang with a speed that is too fast to cover your ears. , but I have only two points for this choice, and once the war reaches a stalemate, it means that Wang Fubao, Yao Junsu, and Yuchi Gong are like three sharp arrows, quickly attacking the rear of our army and annihilating us at the turn of Wudu and Pingwu .”

Yu Zhining took a look at Liu Hongji and sighed: "Nowadays there are many Sui troops looking at the tiger, and they will pull out the fulcrums around Jiangli City in at most three days, and the soldiers will come to Jiangli City. There is a saying that 'time does not wait for me, just wait for it. Fighting for the day and night', I hope the chief executive will make a decision as soon as possible, if we continue to waste time here, we will have no choice but to choose."

Liu Hongji smiled bitterly and said, "The difficulty right now is the choice. Yu Sima has given me a huge problem."

"But you have to choose, don't you?" Yu Zhining shook his head helplessly.

Liu Hongji nodded silently, and began to repeatedly weigh Yu Zhining's top, middle, and bottom strategies. In fact, he also knew that no matter what choice he made, he had to fight the Sui army. The only difference was how many enemies he wanted to fight.

Compared with the middle and lower strategies, although the best strategy needs to go around in a big circle, it passes through areas where the Sui army's strength is relatively weak. Pingwu, Yicheng, and Brazil were occupied by the Sui army for a relatively short period of time. The Tang Dynasty still had a certain foundation of popular support there, and the terrain was not conducive to cavalry charging and galloping, which further offset the advantage of the Sui army.In addition, there is a waterway downstream to help them transport heavy materials such as grain, grass, weapons, etc., and reduce the burden on the soldiers.

But with such a big circle, the time it takes is multiplied and multiplied. If the Sui army finds out, they will still encircle them.But the good thing is that the Sui army can't take advantage of the cavalry, and they can also use a small number of troops to defend layer by layer, buying precious time for the army to move forward.

Thinking of this, Liu Hongji, who was more inclined to the best policy, immediately made a decision and said resolutely, "I choose the best policy."

"The chief manager is wise." Seeing Liu Hongji finally showing his courage, Yu Zhining showed a relieved smile on his face.

"General Li, go and gather the generals and let them secretly prepare for the withdrawal." Liu Hongji glanced at Li Xuandao and confessed: "Don't cause riots in the army, let alone expose our decision to the Sui army early."

"I obey the order." Li Xuandao obeyed the order and retreated.

"Yu Sima and Su Sima are responsible for sorting out the food and other supplies. Linghu Changshi, your task is to let the local officials and county soldiers collect the ships from Jiangli and Fujin counties as soon as possible."

"A lowly post!" The three of Yu Zhining looked at each other, and Yu Zhining bowed and suggested: "Since we have chosen to evacuate, the chief manager needs to send someone to notify His Highness the Crown Prince, Zhang Shigui, and Hou Junji, so that they can take care of us. We are fully prepared for the retreat; especially the two generals Zhang and Hou. They have a large number of troops concentrated in Ziyang County. Please keep the military situation open with us and make a counterattack against Suining to help us contain Suining, Brazil, The Sixth Army of the Sui Army in Xincheng...if the fighters allow, we will take down the three counties..."

"Yu Sima's discussion is very good, but I was negligent." Liu Hongji slapped his forehead, and said to Zhining: "Don't bother the two masters with one thing, contact with the army and the follow-up matters, and trouble Sima together. Take responsibility."

"The humble official takes orders!" Yu Zhining responded, and with Su Shichang and Linghu Defen withdrew from the tent.

Looking at the backs of the three of them, Liu Hongji couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and said to himself worriedly: "I hope Zhang Shigui can put the overall situation first and send troops to respond."

History took a big turn because of the appearance of Yang Tong. Zhang Shigui was neither attracted by Li Shimin, nor participated in the Xuanwu Gate Change. He was Li Yuan's man from the beginning to the end.Among several leading generals of the Tang army outside of Chengdu, Zhang Shigui was the only general who was not directly related to Li Shimin.

That's all.

The key point is that although Zhang Shigui is a general of the imperial party, he has been away from the core forces of the Li Tang Dynasty for a long time, and Li Yuan is the only existence of the Li Tang Dynasty. He tried his best to figure out how to plot against Yang Tong, deal with the messy military and political affairs, and even intrigue with Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji. He only spent a small amount of energy on a few confidant ministers, so that he ignored Zhang Shigui. A "little person" like "grandma doesn't love uncle and uncle".

However, the little people have to survive, and the little people also have their own ambitions.They put their heads on their waistbands and followed Li Yuan to rebel for the ambition of being glorious and prosperous, but Li Yuan obviously disappointed everyone and made everyone's ambition come to nothing.

Under such circumstances, Li Yuan still didn't care enough about others, so Zhang Shigui didn't have the ties of kindness and affection at all, and the rest was just the concept of "loyalty".But can this thing make Zhang Shigui serve a dying dynasty?Liu Hongji felt a little mysterious, and this was what he was most worried about.

However, Zhang Shigui happened to be caught between him and Hou Junji, and the army under his command is also the army Liu Hongji relies on most at present; , is very likely to become the next strategy.

……

What Liu Hongji didn't know was that although Zhang Shigui's situation was slightly better than his, it had nothing to do with the word "optimistic".

Not long ago, Zhang Zhen retreated from Xincheng to Suining, causing Xue Wanjun and Huang Junhan's army to join forces in Changjiang County, Suining, and threatened Zhang Shigui's stronghold Fangyi City from the north. Su Dingfang also took the opportunity to lead troops north from Qingshi County, and Du Fuwei attacked Ziyang from Fuling. Anyue County was in charge of cutting off Zhang Shigui's West Road, making his situation suddenly tense.It was also at this time that Li Shimin asked him to quickly return to Puci County in Ziyang, thereby jumping out of the encirclement, and blocked the northern enemies for Hou Junji so that he could concentrate on dealing with the two Sui armies of Li Jing and Duan Decao.

However, this relatively good situation has become even worse with the joining forces of Xue Wanjun, Huang Junhan, Su Dingfang, and Du Fuwei. Their coalition camp is now stationed in the west of Anju County, Ziyang, only [-] miles away from Puci City. .

Although Huang Junhan and Su Dingfang left the camp with their troops and stationed in Feiwu County, Xincheng County in the north of Puci County, this also meant that Zhang Shigui's northern part was restless.

Inside the big tent of the Chinese army, Zhang Shigui stared at the map for a long time without saying a word. He obviously felt that the Tang Dynasty was held by the nose by the Sui Dynasty. It was up to the opponent to decide whether to fight or not. He even had a vague intuition that it was Yang Tong. He didn't plan to fight one by one, but planned to send him and Hou Junji to Chengdu City together, and then it would be a battle.

The current situation is very passive. If this passive problem is not resolved, Tang Jun is likely to be bombarded by the opponent to Chengdu City, and then wiped out all at once.

Sima Yuanren of the marching army stepped into the big tent at this time, and saluted from a distance: "General Manager, the best way is to get reinforcements from the imperial court, not to let reinforcements support us, but to station in Jinyuan County to contain Su Dingfang and Huang Junhan for us. This will break the current stalemate and give us a chance to move. Otherwise, let alone supporting General Hou, we will not be able to protect ourselves.”

Zhang Shigui sighed, and said with some dissatisfaction: "I also hoped that the crown prince would send reinforcements, but the crown prince refused."

"Chairman, I don't think the crown prince is unwilling to send reinforcements." Master Yuan Ren, who is Li Shimin's confidant, heard Zhang Shigui's dissatisfaction and explained on his behalf: "There must be a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Zhang Shigui glanced at him and asked, "What kind of misunderstanding does Yuan Sima think?"

"I remember that the general manager asked for reinforcements at the beginning, because he wanted to take advantage of Xue Wanjun's unstable foothold, instead of fighting in Suining; if he won, he would annihilate the Sixth Army of the Sui Dynasty and ease the pressure on the eastern part of Shu County; In the north of Ziyang and the southeast of Shu County, not only General Hou Junji had no way out, but also Chengdu was surrounded by the Sui army, and the crown prince couldn't bear the consequences of failure, so he didn't send troops to help." Master Yuan Ren said. For a period of time, he kept going back and forth between Chengdu City and Puci City, and he was very aware of Li Shimin's concerns. Seeing Zhang Shigui pondering without saying a word, he continued: "The Sui army surrounded us from all directions, and almost all of our troops were thrown into the battlefield. There is only [-] soldiers and horses, and there is no point in sending another [-] to [-] reinforcements. If all the troops in Chengdu are dispatched, wouldn’t the emperor have no soldiers to defend? If the Sui army breaks through somewhere, what will we do to stop it?"

Zhang Shigui was silent for a while, then raised his head and asked, "Does that mean that having no soldiers to send is the key problem?"

"Not only are there no soldiers to send, but the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers in Chengdu are all recruits who have not experienced war. If they arrive on the battlefield, I am afraid it will only be a disservice." Master Yuan Ren nodded and said with a wry smile: There isn't much food left."

"I also know the court's difficulties. It's just that we are now completely following the established deployment of the Sui Dynasty. If we continue to be passive like this, I doubt that the tens of thousands of soldiers in Chengdu will be forced to be divided into various battlefields. If a certain place Once the battlefield fails, the Sui army will be able to take Chengdu easily." Zhang Shigui sighed, and then expressed his opinion: "Actually, I think the best way is to return to Shu County and gather us together with Hou Junji and Zhai. With the strength of the eldest grandson, it is better to fight a decisive battle with the Sui army in Pingquan and Xinjin, Shu County, than to be swallowed by the Sui army one by one, and we still have at least [-] chances of winning."

The implication is very obvious, anyway, the Li and Tang dynasty is about to be over, why not make a big gamble?
If he wins, Li Tang Dynasty still has a glimmer of life.If you lose, it's all over, it's just a little bit ahead of time.

Although he didn't say it clearly, Master Yuan Ren could hear the hidden meaning, and said with a wry smile: "But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince obviously disagrees, and even if the Crown Prince agrees, the important officials in the court may not agree. After all, the current court has different people's hearts. Nah."

"That's the problem." Zhang Shigui nodded, thought for a while, and said worriedly: "To be honest, I'm not worried about Ziyang and Longshan. I, General Hou and General Zhai have enough food and troops. The big deal is that we will stick to the barriers and not go out to fight the Sui army. What I am worried about is that Dou Xiangguo is in charge of Luo County and Jiulong. Qingqiang people, can these people obey orders? Can they defeat the elite Sui army headed by Yang Tong? If Dou Xiangguo is defeated, Yang Tong will be able to siege Chengdu and use his cavalry to hunt down and support Chengdu. of the army, and the rest of the army took advantage of the opportunity to hide and kill."

"Yang Tong seems to be aware of this, so people from all walks of life intensified their encirclement efforts to force the crown prince to transfer troops away from Chengdu. What does the chief executive think?" Master Yuan Ren said uncertainly.

"Yuan Sima's words are wrong. It's not that Yang Tong was aware of this and stepped up the containment efforts. In fact, our situation is caused by Yang Tong's deliberate arrangements, because he is very clear about our weaknesses?" Zhang Shigui corrected Master Yuan Ren pointed to Luo County on the map and analyzed to him: "You see, Yang Tong has been stationed in Luo County for a long time now, but he has no intention of fighting Dou Xiangguo. Li Jing, Shen Guang, Xue Wanjun, Su Dingfang and others behaved in such a loose manner. It can be seen that the tactic Yang Tong adopted was to remove all the troops in Chengdu, and then wait for work and support. The well-reserved men and horses of all walks of life launched a thunderous force against our armies, realizing the strategic goal of dividing and eating, and finally easily regained the tall and majestic city of Chengdu, which has no troops."

Just as Zhang Shigui judged, Yang Tong really planned to transfer the troops in Chengdu to the front line one by one, but he just wanted to eat them without dividing them, so that Li Yuan could launch a military coup and let a large number of Li's clansmen fight among themselves. His death is not because he has enough evidence to prove that "Li Yuan must launch a military coup", but a person who has been preparing for rebellion since he was an adult, is he willing to fail and be content with the status quo?What's more, he still has the power to turn the tables. If the external environment is suitable, [-]% of them may seize it by force. He is not fighting the Sui Dynasty for taking power, but fighting for the dignity of the emperor and his father.Even if Li Yuan didn't do it, it was not in vain for Yang Tong to transfer Tang Jun out of Chengdu, because Xie Yingdeng and Li Daliang had sneaked into Chengdu County, which would also provide convenience for the second general to seize the city.

Although the Sui Dynasty could end this unresolved war simply and neatly on the frontal battlefield, the war of unification of the world is not only about annihilating and surrendering the superficial enemies, but also for future considerations.

If there is no accident, after the end of this war that affects the whole situation, as long as Yang Tong is alive, there will be no major civil wars in the country. This is certainly a good thing, but it also makes the enemy change. Become the "one of my own people" of the Sui Dynasty, and this kind of people are not only smart people with flexible minds, but also masters with wealth, fertile land, and power. Not satisfied with the status quo, they tried to win more things that did not belong to them in the name of the founding heroes through war, but now they have chosen the wrong object of allegiance, causing them to lose everything, and suddenly fell from the high clouds to the dust.

This kind of people who are inherently restless obviously won't settle for the status quo, and don't want to live in poverty.

How to do?
Naturally, he broke the pot and used his clever mind to make big things in secret.

The imperial court clearly knows that they are restless, but without real evidence, the imperial court is not good at punishing them arbitrarily. Although they can also be punished with "unnecessary" charges, it is easy to kill these people, but the impact on the people of the world is huge .Therefore, this battle is fought for future stability rather than unity. It is best to kill them all on the battlefield in the name of destroying the enemy.

Of course, Zhang Shigui didn't know Yang Tong's sinister intentions, he thought for a while, and resolutely said to Master Yuan Ren: "I still want to persuade the prince to send troops, even if he doesn't agree to retreat to Shu County for a decisive battle, he should send troops from Jin Yuan Fang put pressure on Su Dingfang's troops so that General Hou and I can do something. If we eat a Sui army, we can change this passive situation. I also invite Sima Yuan to come to Beijing again and state my intentions to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince , I also hope that the ministers of the DPRK and China will put the overall situation first.”

"A lowly officer takes orders." Master Yuan Ren saw that he was unwilling to give up, so he had no choice but to agree. After leaving the big tent, under the protection of a team of personal soldiers, he hurried towards Chengdu City.

. . . . . . . .

In fact, it was not only Zhang Shigui who had doubts and dissatisfaction with Li Shimin's passive defense, but also the civil and military ministers in the court of Li Tang Dynasty, because of a series of unfavorable news, they also began to have disputes about this life-and-death battle. Even the spearhead is mostly directed at Li Shimin, the violent prince.

The news that Duan Zhixuan and Wei Xiaojie of the northern Tang army died in battle, leading to the fall of Shunzheng and Dangchang also spread to Chengdu.The unfavorable situation of the war made the dissatisfaction of the court more high-profile, and the unfavorable situation of the war also made the imperial party, which had been peaceful for a while, start to rise, especially Li Shentong and Li Yuan. The leaders of the imperial party began to criticize the princelings (Li Shimin Party) on various occasions Unfavorable performance in the battle situation.They believed that Liu Hongji, Li Zhongwen, Zhang Changxun, Li Xiaochang, Han Wei, Duan Zhixuan, and Wei Xiaojie, who were reused by Li Shimin, were all incompetent and mediocre, so they were defeated by the Sui army one after another. dilemma.

In the Jiade Hall of the East Palace, Master Yuan Ren came to persuade Li Shimin once again entrusted by Zhang Shigui. Li Shimin has been in a very anxious and depressed mood for the past few days. On various occasions, it is still possible to prevaricate by suddenly taking over the government and not being familiar with government affairs.But a series of military failures cannot be justified.

Facing the internal and external difficulties, Li Shimin also woke up and realized that he had made a fatal mistake.

He misjudged the situation, overestimated the danger of Yizhou, and seriously underestimated the strength of the Sui Dynasty and the weapons and equipment of the Sui army. As a result, he sent too many troops. After being captured by the Sui Army using the Flying Shenzhou without knowing it, he had no soldiers to send for a while, so that the Sui Army did not encounter much decent resistance and easily took Qinghua, Pingwu, Yicheng, The five counties of Pu'an and Jinshan, and the total fall of these five counties, shocked all parties, and the Tang army rushed to fight without preparation and awareness, which caused a series of disastrous defeats.

On the other hand, his performance in the south was too optimistic, thinking that Gao Shilian could rely on the danger to keep Li Jing out of Zigui. Even if Zigui fell, Wushan and Padong could defend; He also asked Hou Junji to rescue Zigui.He made a mistake on this important decision. If the order at that time was to let Hou Junji support Renfu County, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, Gao Shiliangao gave up Zigui, Wushan, and Badong, and went to Renfu County to meet Hou Jun The two became one, then Li Anyuan would not be ambushed by Su Dingfang, and the south would not be in the passive situation it is today.

Otherwise, even if the Beizhen army headed by Su Dingfang made some gains, it would only be Gao Shilian who sacrificed, rather than the crisis of a large area of ​​territory falling and the Sui army constantly killing them.

"Your Highness, Director Zhang means to withdraw our troops back to Shu County to maintain our army's strength, and then concentrate our forces to fight the Sui army on the South Road in Pingquan and Xinjin. We have the advantages of time, location, and harmony, as long as we learn from previous failures. The lesson is that a Sui army can definitely be successfully wiped out. Although the current situation will not be fundamentally reversed, it can at least strengthen the confidence of the ruling and opposition parties and the entire army to resist the Sui. At the same time, it can also repel many unfavorable forces sound."

After Master Yuan Ren returned to Chengdu City, he went straight to the East Palace, but he could hear all kinds of voices that were unfavorable to Li Shimin on the road. It can be seen that these voices have reached the point of being very loud, and the only way now is to It is good to achieve military results and reverse Li Shimin's reputation, even if it is only a small result, otherwise, this kind of voice will become more and more intense. When the whole city is discussing politics and doubting, the situation will be a hundred times more dangerous .

"I also understand General Zhang Shigui's difficulties, and understand his desire to fight. Even I think his idea of ​​a decisive battle is the best and only way for us at present. It's just that once he, Hou Junji, and Zhai Changsun withdraw their troops Going north, the Sui army will press on every step of the way, and we will not be given time to prepare for the battle. We will fight in the Chengdu Plain in a hurry. If we lose again, the Sui army in the south will come to the city. Think again It will be even more difficult to defeat them..." At this point, Li Shimin was in a daze for a while.

It was also at this moment that when Li Shimin, the top decision-maker of the Li Tang Dynasty, said these words, he finally understood the difficulties of Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng.In the past, it wasn't that Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng didn't want to fight or were afraid of fighting, but they couldn't fight or couldn't afford to fight. The same is true for themselves now.

If today's self is Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng who "feared the Sui Dynasty like a tiger" in the past, then Zhang Shigui, who is eager to fight, is undoubtedly the "gambling" self back then.And myself, in the face of the general situation, finally lived in the way I hated the most.

"Your Highness, if we concentrate our forces to fight, we may not necessarily lose." Master Yuan Ren persuaded dutifully.

"I also think that the combination of the four armies can defeat a certain part of the Sui army, but what happens after the victory? Can the Tang army, which paid a heavy price, be able to defend Shu County? Can it send troops to recover the north and south of Yizhou? The army blasted out of Yizhou?" Li Shimin asked back.

"This..." Master Yuan Ren was speechless and unable to answer. After a long time, he smiled practically and said: "The Sui Dynasty's national power was at its peak and its army was strong. Even if Yang Tong exchanged the lives of five soldiers for our army A soldier, in the end it was him who won."

"That's right." Li Shimin nodded in agreement: "In fact, we haven't fought a battle with the Sui army in the south. If we retreat and are killed by the Sui cavalry from behind, the decisive battle will be impossible. Or lose. This cannot be explained to the court or the people of the country, so I still hope that General Zhang Shigui will work harder and work with Hou Junji to stabilize the situation in the south. As for the enemy in the north, I will handle it."

Master Yuan Ren secretly sighed in his heart, Li Shimin's attitude was actually within his expectation.Although his words were very tactful, he actually rejected Zhang Shigui's proposal to withdraw his troops to Shu County for a decisive battle in disguise, and he also hoped that Zhang Shigui and Hou Junji would win a brilliant victory with the few and the strong with the weak.

"In this way, it is indeed inappropriate to withdraw our troops to enter Shu County for a decisive battle, otherwise we will lose room to maneuver." Having reached this point, Master Yuan Ren had no choice but to retreat, and asked for instructions: "Then can we increase our troops appropriately? "

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Where do we need to increase our troops? Is it Puci City?"

"It's not to support Puci, but to station in Jinyuan County." Master Yuan Ren shook his head and understood: "Director Zhang hopes that His Highness can send an army to Jinyuan to contain Su Dingfang in Feiwu County for us. We are missing this Enemy troops all the way, the odds of winning will be greater.”

"This request is very reasonable, and Jinyuan does need troops to defend, but the strength of Chengdu City is really running low. If we send fewer troops, we won't be able to restrain them at all, but if there are more troops, I don't have any now." Ah." Li Shimin glanced at Master Yuanren with some embarrassment, pondered for a while, and then said: "I agree with Jin Yuan's increasing troops to contain Su Dingfang, but I have to think about how many troops to send!"

"Director Zhang is very much looking forward to His Highness's decision, so I will go back and reply first." Master Yuan Ren heaved a sigh of relief, and this can be regarded as an explanation to Zhang Shigui.

"Well, let's go!" Li Shimin nodded bitterly. Master Yuan Ren had fulfilled Zhang Shigui's expectations, but for him, Li Shimin, there was a big problem that could not be solved.

Chengdu City now has only [-] soldiers.

How many to send, how to send, and who will lead the troops are the first problems he has to face.After he sent the army away, the defense of Chengdu City, whether Luo County, Jiulong, Wenchuan needed reinforcements, etc. came up again.

(End of this chapter)