People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1657: troops deployed to garrison Luoyang

With a "dong" sound, the thin green bamboo gold pen slipped from the air and fell directly on the imperial desk.

The golden ink on the tip of the pen flew out and landed on the black robe embroidered with a gold phoenix.

The golden ink left a long mark, and it looked as if the golden phoenix on the phoenix robe had been cut off across the chest.

Empress Wu had no time to care about the soiled phoenix robe. She stared at Wu Sansi, who was kneeling in the center of the hall, and asked with gritted teeth, "What did you say? The army was defeated?"

All the officials, maids, and eunuchs in Qianyang Palace stared at Wu Sansi. Even they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

Wu Sansi bowed solemnly and said helplessly: "I was ordered to support the army, but before I arrived at Mianchi, I encountered thousands of right guard cavalry.

I led the army to charge and rushed out for ten miles before I encountered the defeated soldiers of the Right Army Guard. Only then did I know that not only Pei Shaoye was defeated, but also Mianchi was lost. "

"So, you escaped back." Empress Wu raised her head and looked at Wu Sansi with a cold gaze. The next moment, she grabbed the inkstone beside her and smashed it hard on Wu Sansi's face.

Wu Sansi didn't dare to dodge at all and could only let the inkstone hit him hard in the face.

"boom!"

Wu Sansi's forehead, nose, and chin suddenly began to hurt.

Gold paint was splashed all over his face.

Two lines of nosebleed flowed uncontrollably.

Wu Sansi didn't dare to clean up, he could only kowtow to the ground and beg, "Aunt, please calm down."

"Calm down, calm down. Can calming down save the situation?" Empress Wu looked at Wu Sansi with hatred and said through gritted teeth, "Pei Shaoye was defeated and Mianchi was lost. Sansi, Sansi, do you know what this means?"

"I know that this means that King Peng can attack Luoyang at any time." Wu Sansi bowed his head solemnly, but then he looked up and said, "But aunt, this is Luoyang City. Luoyang City is not only high and well-preserved, but there are also tens of thousands of troops in the city. There are even catapults and countless crossbows and arrows on the city walls. King Peng can't attack us, but we can rely on Luoyang City to consume his troops. Finally, we can rush out of the city and kill him."

Empress Wu looked at Wu Sansi deeply, sighed helplessly, waved her hand, and said, "Okay, go down and pack up first, and then attend the court meeting."

"Yes!" Wu Sansi bowed quickly, then backed out.

Wu Sansi didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he left the hall.

Of course he knew that it was no longer realistic to defeat Li Xuan now.

But it’s not that there is no solution at all, it’s just the dumbest solution.

Given the strength of Luoyang, it took Emperor Taizong more than half a year to capture it.

The strategy used is still to consume food.

After the Tang Dynasty occupied Luoyang, it made numerous targeted arrangements to prevent others from attacking Luoyang in the future.

Even if Emperor Taizong were to come back to power, he would not be able to capture Luoyang without a year.

As for King Peng, is he as powerful as Emperor Taizong?
……

In the Qianyang Palace, Fan Lubing bowed and said seriously: "When Emperor Taizong attacked Luoyang, he also first took down Hangu Pass and Xiashi Pass, occupied the Heluo Plain, then captured Hulao Pass and occupied Mangshan, and then attacked from Mangshan and defeated Wang Shichong's army that broke out from Luoyang.

Afterwards, they marched southwards and captured Yique Pass, Dagu Pass, and Guangcheng Pass, completely cutting off all contact between Luoyang and the outside world. While the whole country submitted, Luoyang was completely surrounded.”

On the imperial couch, Empress Wu glanced at Wu Sansi, then looked at Fan Lubing and said, "Now that the Heluo Plain has been completely taken over by King Peng, his next focus must be to advance eastward to open up Gongyi and Yanshi, and finally join forces with Li Duozuo and Wang Fangyi, and then advance southward to cut off Shannan, Huainan, and Shandong's support for Luoyang."

"It must be so." Fan Lubing attacked seriously, and all the ministers in the hall nodded at the same time.

"Then what should we do?" Empress Wu looked at Fan Lubing seriously.

Fan Lubing clasped his hands and said, "Use the navy to defend the area between Luoyang and Gongyi. As long as King Peng is not allowed to cross the Luo River from the east of Luoyang, the connection between Luoyang and Gongyi will not be cut off. Then send people to guard the Yi River. As long as King Peng does not cross the Yi River, the passage between Luoyang and Duanshannan, Huainan and Shandong will not be cut off."

"We can defend Luoyang, but what about Xuchang?" Empress Wu stared straight at Fan Lubing.

Now Li Duozuo and Wang Fangyi are surrounding Gongyi, trying to meet up with Li Xuan as quickly as possible. Currently, they have not thought of heading south to Xuchang.

Going south along Mount Song from Zhengzhou is Xuchang.

"Left Army General Li Zhishi and Imperial Censor Wei Yuanzhong should both go to Xuchang. While delivering the autumn grain from Jiangnan, they should also mobilize troops from Jiangnan, Huainan, and Shandong to resist Wang Fangyi and Li Duozuo's southward advance. The key is to connect with the locals and get them to serve the king."

Local people are loyal to the king.

After saying this, Fan Lubing himself felt extremely heavy.

How can local people serve the king diligently?
Of course it is to mobilize troops.

But are local governments willing to deploy troops?
Now Li Xuan has arrived at the city of Luoyang. He has come in the name of revenge for Emperor Zhongzong. What will the governors of the world think?
Will these people choose sides between Empress Wu and Li Xuan, or do nothing and remain neutral?

Once these people remained neutral or voted for Li Xuan, it would mean that they had abandoned Empress Wu.

This is the most terrible thing.

Among the three hundred states in the world, how many people supported King Peng, how many supported Empress Wu, and how many remained neutral.

They have been trying to blur this issue before.

He planned to deal with the governors of the 300 states step by step after dealing with Li Xuan.

But now, with Li Xuan fighting his way to the city of Luoyang and cutting off Hulao Pass, Bingzhou and Hebei may all lose contact.

The remaining Shandong, Huainan, and Shannan are fine, but they just conquered Jiangnan, and it’s good enough that there is no chaos. How much power can support them?

This is the naked reality.

This is also the reality they must face now.

Fan Lubing looked at Empress Wu solemnly and bowed solemnly.

Empress Wu nodded calmly and said, "Local governments are nothing more than officials and noble families. It is enough to have the support of one side. It is not important. As long as we can defeat King Peng once under the city of Luoyang, we can win the hearts of the people. But how can we win this time?"

Victory can bring hope, victory can win people's hearts. As long as Li Xuan was defeated in Luoyang, even if he was defeated only once, it would be enough for many people to regain their confidence in Empress Wu.

Starting from Changzhou, Li Xuan had to deal with Wang Xiaojie, Ma Sizong, Yang Zaisi, Yang Zhirou, Cheng Wuting, and Pei Shaoye, all of whom had never gotten away with it.

Now that he has reached the gates of Luoyang, it is difficult for people in the world to see any hope of victory from Empress Wu.

If so, Empress Wu must win once.

"Luoyang City is strong, with 50,000 troops inside and outside. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone who can defeat King Peng, right?" Wu Sansi stood up again and looked sideways at Fan Lubing.

"Who? Duke Liang, please recommend a candidate, even someone like General Pei Shaoye will do." Fan Lubing stared straight at Wu Sansi.

Wu Sansi was stunned and then speechless.

Is it difficult to find a general in Luoyang City who can defeat Li Xuan?

It sounds difficult, but it’s actually not that difficult.

If you look carefully, you can still find a few of them.

For example, Li Xiaoyi, Duke of Liang, Li Dazhi, General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard, Li Lingwen, General of the Imperial Guard, Qin Shandao, General of the Left Jinwu Guard, Qin Ming, General of the Left Jianmen Guard, Yuchi Xunyu, and so on.

There is no need to say much about Li Xiaoyi. Before Li Xuan's rise, he was the first general of the royal family.

Li Dazhi and Li Lingwen are the son and grandson of Li Keshi.

Qin Shandao and Qin Ming are the son and grandson of Qin Qiong.

General Yuchi Xunyu of the Left Guard was the grandson of Yuchi Jingde.

The Pei family and the Xue family also have outstanding generals.

But Empress Wu did not dare to use these people.

Even after Li Zhi's death, they were all submissive to Empress Wu, but she ultimately chose to leave them idle and did not dare to use them in any important capacity.

Especially at a time like this, if they were really allowed to lead the army, someone might open the city gate one night and let Li Xuan into the city.

Even if this possibility is only one in ten thousand, it is enough to make everything collapse completely.

However, apart from these people, there are almost no ones who can really be used.

……

Sitting on the imperial couch, Empress Wu looked out across the entire palace.

The Tang Dynasty conquered all directions: Tibet, the Western Regions, the Turks, Andong, and the Southwest.

Almost all those who can fight are outside, and these people have close ties with Li Xian.

Gao Kan in the north, Wang Fangyi and Li Xuan in the west, and Li Jingxuan who has passed away in the southwest.

These people all have close relations with Li Xian.

The only person who can be used is Wang Xiaojie.

When Pei Xingjian conquered the Turks, the late emperor transferred Li Xuan back to the capital to take charge. After Li Xuan left, he transferred Wang Xiaojie back.

In other words, in the eyes of the late emperor, the only one who could compare with Li Xuan was Wang Xiaojie.

But now that Wang Xiaojie died at the hands of Li Xuan, there is almost no one else who can be compared with Li Xuan.

Empress Wu sighed, turned sideways and looked at Dou Xuande, and asked, "Mr. Dou, you have been the Minister of Personnel for many years. Do you have anyone to recommend?"

Dou Xuande's eyes jumped slightly, and then he saluted and said, "My Queen, the world is so big, there are many talents to be used, but I don't have anyone who can definitely defeat King Peng."

Hearing Dou Xuande's words, Empress Wu's eyes lit up and she asked, "So, Mr. Dou still has a candidate in mind?"

"Yes!" Dou Xuande bowed and said, "In fact, in the world today, Heichi Changzhi is one of the people who can defeat King Peng, but he is far away in Fanzhou and may not obey orders, so he cannot be used. However, in the early years, there was still someone who was better than Heichi Changzhi."

"Yes?" Empress Wu asked quickly.

"Marquis of Fuyang, former General of the Left Guard Shatuo Zhongyi." Dou Xuande bowed and said, "Shatuo Zhongyi was born into a Baekje noble family. Back then, he and Heichi Changzhi were both recruited by the Left Prime Minister and served the Tang Dynasty. However, he was transferred back to the central government during the Yifeng period and retired during the Tiaolu period. He now lives in Luoyang."

"I remember that he seemed to be the superior of Heichi Changzhi back then." Empress Wu remembered Shatuo Zhongyi.

"Yes!" Dou Xuande bowed and continued, "Because he retired for several years, Shatuo Zhongyi has not had much contact with the court, and has had no contact with King Peng. He only has some relationship with the left prime minister, but since he retired, he has had no contact with him."

Empress Wu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Okay, I will decree that Shatuo Zhongyi be made Duke of Cang, and command the Left Army Guard General to be in charge of all matters concerning the defense of Luoyang. General Yan Huaidan of the Imperial Guard will assist him. As for defeating King Peng, we will slowly look for an opportunity."

"Here!" All the ministers raised their hands at the same time.

Wu Sansi's expression had changed at first, but when he heard the words "Imperial Guard General Yan Huaidan will assist him", he felt relieved.

Dou Xuande stood up and said, "I would like to recommend another person who may also be useful."

"Please speak, Mr. Dou." Empress Wu breathed a sigh of relief. She began to trust Dou Xuande, the old minister.

"Su Honghui, the General of the Left Guard." Dou Xuande sighed and said, "Su Honghui was originally Wang Xiaojie's deputy general, but unfortunately, when Wang Xiaojie went on the Western Expedition, Su Honghui had something going on at home and could not accompany him, so he stayed in Luoyang. He is also experienced in battle and may be of some use."

Empress Wu nodded slightly, narrowed her eyes, and said, "Let Su Qing go to Yique Pass. In addition, transfer 50,000 troops from Shannan and Huainan respectively and send them to Yique Pass under the command of Su Qing. Then, wait for an opportunity to defeat King Peng from the south."

"Yes!" Dou Xuande bowed, and then continued: "I have one last plan."

"speak!"

"His Majesty……"

(End of this chapter)