Tibet.

Chapter 1232 Lure the snake out of its hole
Guo Ziyi was an old hand, his attack on Yanzhou was just a test, just like when two masters fight, they would make a feint to test the opponent. As expected, Guo Ziyi had tested Li Zheng, and he immediately shrank back like a frightened turtle.

The troops deployed in various states were withdrawn to Qizhou and Qingzhou.

At this time, Guo Ziyi's army fought back to Yunzhou. It was impossible for him to go directly north from Yanzhou as the logistics could not keep up. He could only fight back to Yunzhou and occupy the northernmost Xuchang County. Hundreds of ice sled boats transporting a large amount of food and supplies set out from Caozhou and went north along the Jishui River. They arrived at Xuchang County in two days.

But Guo Ziyi remained on hold, still waiting for news from Nan Jiyun.

At noon that day, two guards brought a messenger soldier into the tent. The soldier knelt on one knee and saluted, "I am here on the orders of General Nan to deliver a letter to the old general!"

After that, the soldier presented the letter. Guo Ziyi took it and read it, then asked, "There is no official road from the bay to Gaomi County! How did you get the food supplies to Gaomi County?"

"Reporting to the old general, there is indeed no official road, only a small path to take, but there is a Gaomi River that leads from the bay to Gaomi County. We brought twenty ice sleds and forty cows, and used the ice sleds to deliver food and supplies to Gaomi County again and again. Then General Nan collected carts from nearby states and prepared to transport supplies from Gaomi County to Yidu County."

Guo Ziyi nodded, and then he ordered his men to fetch General Li Feiyuanli. Not long after, Li Feiyuanli hurried over, bowed and said, "Greetings, old general!"

Guo Ziyi said slowly: "General Nan's army has arrived at Gaomi County, Mizhou. You can lead 50,000 troops to Gaomi County and cooperate with his army to encircle Yidu County."

This was a plan that Li Ye had deployed long ago. Li Fei Yuanli was a high-ranking military official and knew about this plan. Of course, this was arranged long ago, but it was up to Guo Ziyi to decide when to set off.

Li Feiyuanli immediately bowed and said, "I obey your order!"

That afternoon, Li Fei Yuanli led an army of 50,000 and six days of dry food and marched towards Gaomi County.

Half of the ten armies had gone, and Guo Ziyi led the remaining 50,000 troops to continue northward to Qizhou.

Just fifty miles south of Guo Ziyi's army, Xi Wanli led 30,000 cavalrymen and followed slowly.

This was naturally Li Ye's strategy. On the surface, it seemed that there were 100,000 troops attacking Li Zhengyi, but in fact there were 160,000 troops, and the other 60,000 were hidden troops, including 30,000 troops coming from the sea and 30,000 cavalry following behind.

Guo Ziyi divided the 100,000-strong army into two, which easily gave the enemy troops in Qizhou an illusion that they were facing only 50,000 troops.

This was actually a strategy to lure the enemy out of their hole. From the very beginning, Li Ye had no intention of launching a siege. If it eventually evolved into a street fight, it would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to Licheng County with a population of 200,000.

The entire Shandong Peninsula did not suffer the massacre of the Anshi Rebellion. Although it was occupied by warlords one after another, these warlords intended to use it as their base. There was no burning, killing, looting, or massacre like in Hebei.

This point is also what Li Ye attaches great importance to. He does not want the war to pacify the vassal states to end up in a disaster.

Two days later, the 50,000-strong army entered Qizhou and stopped.

At this time, Li Na had received the latest intelligence that Guo Ziyi led 50,000 troops into Qizhou, while another 50,000 troops went to Qingzhou.

This made Li Na's heart beat fast. The other side had only 50,000 troops, while he had 80,000 troops. What if he could attack and directly defeat the other side?

Li Na immediately called his military advisor Jia Shen to discuss the matter. Jia Shen was a little hesitant, "Sir, the enemy is Guo Ziyi, who is cunning and sly. He won't really lead 50,000 troops to challenge us. He won't make such a low-level mistake!" "It is because he is cunning and sly that he will bluff and scare us so that we dare not fight. Once the other 50,000 troops capture Yidu County and the 50,000 come back to attack, we will lose our chance."

Jia Shen frowned and said, "There is absolutely no need for them to bluff. The troops can stay in Jeju or Yunzhou."

"Guo Ziyi is also worried that we will support Yidu County! That's why he came to Qizhou to hold us back and prevent us from making any rash moves."

The more Li Na spoke, the more he felt that his idea was correct. Moreover, the Tang army's firearms were powerful and they could not defend the city. It would be better for them to take the initiative and attack with more men than fewer.

"It's decided. Once we defeat the Tang army, we will rush to support Yidu County."

Military advisor Jia Shen did not object to Li Na's final decision. The key was that the Tang army's siege weapons were too sharp and could easily blow up the city. They had heard that once the city collapsed, the defenders would lose their morale and the army would undoubtedly be defeated.

It would be better to take the initiative and use the high morale to defeat the opponent. Jia Shen also accepted Li Na's decision.

Seeing that the military advisor no longer objected, Li Na was immediately encouraged and ordered Jia Shen to lead 5,000 troops to defend the city. He personally led 80,000 troops out of the city and marched south to meet the enemy.

Of course, Li Na had a deeper plan. The Yellow River would thaw in half a month. If he attacked now, it would be great if he won. If he lost, he could retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River in time.

If the Tang army surrounded the city without attacking, and waited until the ice on the Yellow River melted before attacking the city, they would have no way to retreat.

Of course, he didn't dare to tell the deeper reason. Once he told it, it would be tantamount to betraying his father.

Guo Ziyi led the army and marched slowly northeastward along the Ji River. As soon as the army arrived at Shanchi County, Guo Ziyi received news from scouts that Li Na led an army of 80,000 out of the city to fight.

Guo Ziyi was overjoyed. He immediately sent someone to rush to the rear to inform Xi Wanli, who was leading the cavalry and following from a distance.

In the vast wilderness east of Shanchi County, 50,000 Tang troops formed their battle formation.

The 50,000 Tang troops were composed of 20,000 cavalry, 20,000 spear troops and 10,000 sword and shield troops. Among the 20,000 spear troops, there were 6,000 heavy armored infantry hidden, and among the 10,000 sword and shield troops, there were also 2,000 special soldiers hidden. The special soldiers mainly referred to the spear troops and firearms soldiers.

This was the first time that Guo Ziyi commanded the Guanlong Army into battle. He had fought on the battlefield for decades and had never been as confident as he was today.

The Guanlong Army not only had powerful cavalry and invincible heavy armored infantry, but more importantly, it had a powerful firearms battalion of one thousand people. After witnessing the power of the iron fire bombs and explosive arrows with his own eyes, he became more confident of victory. Even without 30,000 cavalry, his 50,000 troops would still be able to defeat the enemy's 80,000 troops with a smaller force.

Of course, Guo Ziyi was a cautious general. Since there were reinforcements, he would certainly make full use of them.

Half an hour later, a long black line appeared ten miles away in the distance, and the main force of the enemy's 80,000 troops appeared.

"The army advances!" Guo Ziyi waved his sword and gave the order.

(End of this chapter)