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

Chapter 1666: Raiding Longguang Gate, threatening Xuanwu Gate, the world is in your hands
In Yique Pass, Li Xuan stood in front of a huge sand table.

Tang Zhenxing, Qu Chongyu, Zhou Qian, Su Baotong, Zhang Huan, Li Lang, and a dozen other generals of the Central Army stood on both sides of the sand table with solemn expressions.

The sand table shows the terrain of Luoyang's eight passes and four rivers.

From Dongxiao Mountain and Xixiao Mountain in the northwest, to Xiong'er Mountain and Funiushan Mountain in the southwest, to Ji Mountain, Shaoshi Mountain, Taishi Mountain, Song Mountain in the east, and finally Mang Mountain in the northeast, all are included.

Xishi Pass, Yique Pass, Xuanyuan Pass, and Hulao Pass are inlaid on it respectively.

The Luo River, Yi River, Jian River and Chan River all converge into Luoyang City at the same time.

Yanshi and Gongyi in the north, Yiyang in the west, Yichuan in the south, Xingyang, Zhengzhou, Xinzheng and Xuchang in the east are all surrounded by the eight passes and four rivers of Luoyang.

But now, Yanshi and Gongyi in the north, Yiyang in the west, Yichuan in the south, and even Xingyang in the east have all fallen into Li Xuan's hands.

The only external access to Luoyang was the road that passed through Xuanyuan Pass in Songshan Mountain and led to Xinzheng.

"Pass the order." Li Xuan spoke softly, and all the generals around him became solemn at the same time.

"Order the Minister of War, General Wang Fangyi of the Right Guard to station troops in Mangshan, and then select 5,000 elite cavalry to raid Longguang Gate and threaten Xuanwu Gate." Li Xuan pointed the wooden stick in his hand directly at the position of Xuanwu Gate with a stern expression.

"Yes!" All the generals bowed in unison. Chen Ziang, who was sitting at the desk at the back, was already writing military orders quickly.

Xuanwu Gate is one of the northern gates of Ziwei Palace.

Outside the Xuanwu Gate are Xuanwu City, Yaoyi City and Yuanbi City, where the left and right imperial guards are stationed.

In fact, it is a city defense system similar to the 瓮城.

The gate of Yuanbi City is Longguang Gate. As long as we take down Longguang Gate and the left and right guards, Xuanwu Gate will be right in front of us.

The generals knew very well who Wang Fangyi was.

Once he appeared at Xuanwu Gate, no, even if it was just Longguang Gate, it would be enough to make Empress Wu grit her teeth and go crazy.

Li Xuan's eyes gently turned eastward, pointed to the location of Zhengzhou, and said softly: "Order the Right Army General Li Duozuo to contact the Zheng family in Xingyang and ask them to help capture Zhengzhou and finally go south to Xinzheng."

"Yes!" The generals bowed.

Xinzheng is the last way out for Luoyang. It goes from Luoyang through Songshan Mountain, out of Xinzheng, and connects Zhengzhou and Xuchang.

Once Xinzheng fell, Luoyang's access to the outside world would be completely cut off.

Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Qu Chongyu, and said seriously: "Father-in-law, are you willing to stay at Yique Pass, inspect the chief officer of the Jingzhou Grand Military Governor's Office, stabilize Shannan, or go east to Xuchang and take Xinzheng?"

"Go to Xuchang." Qu Chongyu made the decision without any hesitation.

If it was before, he would have some ideas about the Chief Secretary of the Jingzhou Grand Marshal's Office, but since he knew that Li Xuan's siege center was in the east city of Luoyang, he naturally followed Li Xuan.

"Okay!" Li Xuan nodded and said, "Then please ask my father-in-law to lead our troops to Xuchang, capture Xuchang, and join forces with Li Duozuo in Xinzheng to attack Xuanyuan Pass from behind."

"Yes!" Qu Chongyu immediately bowed.

Li Xuan nodded, looked at Chen Ziang, and said, "Send a message to Chang'an, order the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Lu Yuanfang, the Inspector of the Luozhou Xingtai Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and the Inspector of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office Changshi to station in Xuchang, contact the other states, and stabilize the world."

When Li Xuan said this, everyone present was stunned.

During this battle, Lu Yuanfang was mobilized again.

And so on, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Inspector of the Shangshu Zuo Pushe of Luozhou Xingtai, the Inspector of the Chief Clerk of the Yangzhou Grand Marshal's Office, connected with various states and stabilized the world.

"Political Affairs Hall?" Qu Chongyu looked at Li Xuan in surprise. He already understood what Li Xuan was going to do.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "Once we take Xinzheng, Xuanyuan Pass won't be closed for long. Once Xuanyuan Pass is closed, Luoyang will be completely trapped and its connection with the rest of the world will be completely cut off. At this time, we must take over immediately."

After a short pause, Li Xuan continued, "Prime Minister Lu was already the Minister of Personnel during the time of the previous emperor. Although he was later transferred to the position of Prince Zuo Shuzi, he was still a third-rank official at the same level as the Secretariat, and was already a prime minister. This is known to everyone in the world. Now, with his status as the Minister of the Secretariat, he can serve as the Minister of the Left of Luozhou Xingtai and contact other states, which will easily bring peace to the world."

It is also the easiest way to make the world break away from Empress Wu's control and then recognize Chang'an.

"Then why not the Left Prime Minister?" Qu Chongyu asked curiously.

As long as Liu Rengui appears in Xuchang, there will probably not be many governors in the world who will not recognize him.

"First, there is the safety of Chang'an. Second, Mr. Yue's health is not very good. Third, there is Prime Minister Lu.

Lu Xiang was born in Jiangnan, and in his early years he served as the Sima of the Yangzhou Governor's Office. He is very familiar with the affairs of the southeast, and the aristocratic families in the southeast highly recognize him. As long as he enters Xuchang, the grain and grass from Jiangnan will soon be transported up continuously. "

Li Xuan looked up at Luoyang City on the sand table and said softly, "Once we take Luoyang City, the millions of people in Luoyang City will become a burden to us. We need to consider this in advance."

"Yes!" All the generals bowed in unison, their expressions solemn.

"Then why is it Xuchang and not Zhengzhou?" Qu Chongyu asked immediately, "Isn't Zhengzhou higher than Xuchang?"

"That's true, but the problem lies in Hebei." Li Xuan pointed the stick in his hand to the north of Hulao Pass and said seriously: "The key to Zhengzhou is to connect with Hebei. However, Hebei has always been less than submissive to the Tang Dynasty. This may not have been a good thing in the past, but it is definitely not a bad thing now."

"Because they are equally disrespectful to the Queen Mother." Qu Chongyu immediately understood.

"That's right." Li Xuan nodded and said, "Hebei is not closely connected with the Queen Mother, so we can temporarily ignore Hebei and focus on Henan Road, Jiangnan Road, and Shannan Road. Together with Jiannan Road, Guanzhong, Longyou, and Hedong, the whole world will be in our hands."

"Yes!" All the generals bowed in unison, their expressions still unable to conceal their excitement.

Once Lu Yuanfang can contact the local governor and the local governor is willing to follow his orders, then even if they have not yet taken Luoyang, the world will be completely in their hands.

As for the prisoner-in-arms in Luoyang, it was only a matter of time before it was taken. He ordered the Minister of the Central Secretariat Lu Yuanfang, the Inspector of the Luozhou Xingtai Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and the Inspector of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office Changshi to station in Xuchang, contact the other states, and stabilize the country.

really not bad.

……

Li Xuan's eyes fell on Xuanyuan Pass and he said seriously: "Our biggest enemy right now is Wei Yuanzhong and his 15,000 elite cavalry."

The generals' expressions became solemn again.

Wei Yuanzhong is a very cautious guy. Last night, they had already made enough preparations, waiting for Wei Yuanzhong to deploy more troops. Unexpectedly, that guy suddenly ran away at the critical moment and did not continue to participate in the battle.

"These 15,000 cavalrymen who can appear anywhere at any time will be the biggest threat to us." Li Xuan pointed in the direction of Luoyang City.

Songshan Mountain is located in the southeast of Luoyang. Going down from Songshan Mountain, you can go straight to Qixia Gate, Dingding Gate and Houzai Gate in the south city of Luoyang, or you can go straight to Yongtong Gate, Jianchun Gate and Shangdong Gate in the east city of Luoyang. It is very flexible.

"We need to push forward step by step." Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Tang Zhenxing and said, "General Tang, starting from tomorrow, I will order you to lead the left guards to attack Houzai Gate, Dingding Gate and Qixia Gate continuously. Send 2,000 cavalrymen each time, with catapults and crossbows, to attack each city gate from a distance."

"Yes!" Tang Zhenxing looked solemn.

Li Xuan looked at Su Baotong and said, "Baotong, your troops will be ambushed at the foot of the mountain east of Yishui and ten miles south of the city gate. If Wei Yuanzhong only sends one or two thousand people to harass, then General Tang will lead his reinforcements to directly wipe him out. But if he sends out a large army, the left guard will retreat and lead him into the ambush circle of Yishui, and then the left and right guards will attack at the same time to completely defeat him."

"Yes!" Tang Zhenxing and Su Baotong bowed at the same time.

Li Xuan took a deep breath and said, "If he can endure this, then we have no choice but to storm Xuanyuan Pass. At that time, the left and right guards will storm from the west to attract Wei Yuanzhong's attention, and the right leading guard and another right guard will attack from the east and take over the entire Xuanyuan Pass in one fell swoop."

Li Xuan's fists suddenly clenched. If Xuanyuan Pass was breached, Luoyang would become an isolated city.

……

Three days passed in a flash.

In the south of Luoyang City, in front of Houzai Gate, Dingding Gate and Qixia Gate, dozens of crossbow arrows flew into the air and pierced through the city gates.

With countless "bang" sounds, arrows were nailed firmly into the city wall and penetrated directly into the gaps in the wall made of bluestone.

A dozen soldiers who hadn't noticed were instantly pierced through the chest.

Countless boulders smashed up directly from under the city wall, but only a few hit the wall, causing minor casualties. Most of them either hit the surface of the wall or fell directly into the moat, causing no major casualties at all.

The city of Luoyang was four zhang high, and the walls were also filled with catapults and crossbows.

As soon as the attack outside the city ended, countless crossbows and catapults fired down. However, because the catapults and Fuyuan crossbows outside the city were careful enough, not much casualties were caused.

Yan Huaidan stood on the city wall of Dingding Gate, looking at the city below with caution.

Although the casualties caused by them and Li Xuan's catapult weapons were not great, Li Xuan's Fuyuan crossbow and catapult seemed to have a longer range than theirs.

Yan Huaidan had never served under Li Xuan, but he had heard that King Peng was a skilled craftsman.

But now these modified catapults and crossbows have begun to threaten the city gates...

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from the south, and then countless black cavalry rushed out from the foot of Longmen Mountain and headed straight for Xuanyuan Pass in Songshan.

The thousand cavalrymen who had just rushed out of the mountain road seemed to be prepared. They turned around in an instant, rushed back to the mountain road, and re-entered Mount Song.

Seeing this scene, Yan Huaidan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and said softly: "This is the third time."

……

"This is the third time." Li Xuan reined in his horse outside the mountain path, looking at the cavalry disappearing in the depths of the mountain path, his expression couldn't help but become solemn.

Su Baotong followed him and whispered, "Your Majesty, Wei Yuanzhong is too cautious. Even when he sent troops to harass us, he only sent a thousand men at a time.

After the first loss, the cavalry under his command slowed down their charge speed. When they were attacked, they immediately turned back, making it difficult for us to defeat them. "

"Then let's try another way." Li Xuan calmly took out a memorial from his arms, handed it to Su Baotong, and said, "Send it to the top of the city wall, to Yan Huaidan's hands."

Su Baotong's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

A moment later, a huge Fuyuan crossbow pierced through the wall of Dingdingmen.

Although the speed was fast, the city gate was high enough, and the soldiers on it quickly dodged, and soon someone discovered the memorial hanging on it.

Yan Huaidan looked at the memorial in astonishment, then opened it without a care, and saw the following words written on it: "Your servant, Peng Wangxuan, requests to conduct the funeral for Emperor Zhongzong. The day after tomorrow, at Gongling, I will lead 30,000 troops to weep and kowtow for Emperor Zhongzong for three days in mourning. I ask the Empress Dowager to grant your approval!"

It can be seen that Li Xuan put a lot of effort into writing "Please ask the Queen Mother to grant your approval".

"Thirty thousand people, wearing sackcloth and weeping for Emperor Zhongzong for three days, with such a huge momentum, what will be the reaction in Luoyang city and what will be the reaction of the officials? Brother Yuanzhong, you are in big trouble." Yan Huaidan looked towards the direction of Songshan worriedly.

He knew that Empress Wu would definitely not want to see Li Xuan using Emperor Zhongzong's name to do anything again, and she must stop it.

At this time, Wei Yuanzhong, the only mobile force in and outside Luoyang, and his more than 10,000 cavalry must stop Li Xuan.

In this case, it will be difficult to guard Xuanyuan Pass.

"This King Peng always chooses ways to win on the battlefield outside the battlefield." Yan Huaidan sighed, then gritted his teeth and cursed: "He really deserves to die!"

(End of this chapter)