First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 131 Erosion of the Sui Realm
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A bowl of flax porridge is not expensive, but it is a kind of porridge that many people often eat in this era, but Li Yuan's move is undoubtedly to show his favor to everyone.

After all, in the cold weather, the whole half of the celestial court meeting, I was already very hungry. At this time, it is very comfortable to serve such a bowl of hot and fragrant flax porridge, which shows Li Yuan's concern for his courtiers.

After finishing the porridge, Li Yuan thoughtfully offered tea, and everyone thanked them one after another. Gao Chong followed suit with a full belch and a big belly. Not to mention, the pot of pastries was also very real.

Among all the people here, except for Li Shimin, Gao Chong was the youngest, hanging behind Li Yuan noticed it at a glance, and then looked at the food table.

Li Yuan looked at Gao Chong, shook his head and smiled, "Yuzhi, you are going to be a general, your appetite is too small."

Everyone looked at it, only to see that half of the small bowl of porridge in front of Gao Chong was left, but Gao Chong couldn't eat any more.

Gao Chong was stunned when he heard this.

Seeing this, Li Shimin laughed and said: "Aye, I'm thinking about it. Youzhi has been hungry all morning, and he just ate a plate full of pastries outside."

Everyone understood immediately when they heard the words, and then burst out laughing.

"So you've been hungry all morning?" Pei Jiwenyan stared in surprise, pointed at Gao Chong and said with a smile: "The Gao family boy will know to pad his stomach in advance next time."

Gao Chong also smiled wryly: "If I had known this, I would have gotten up early to have a meal."

Everyone burst into laughter when they heard the words, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Then the waiter removed the dinner plate, and the atmosphere became slightly condensed again.

Li Yuan took a sip of his tea and looked at the crowd, "I agree with what Junya said, sending troops to the east of the Kanto to gain power. In your opinion, how should we march?"

After the words fell, Li Shimin cheered up and said directly: "Aye, I am willing to lead an army of [-] troops out of Tongguan and take Luoyang directly.

Li Yuan was noncommittal, and looked at Gao Junya, "Junya, you proposed this move? What do you think?"

Gao Junya thought about it for a while, and then said directly: "Li Mi and Wang Shichong have already fought fiercely. Our army has formed an alliance with Li Mi. If the troops leave Tongguan, they should go to Luoyang to help them. Don't get caught up in the disputes among the princes of the Kanto region, you need to get out in time."

Hearing Gao Junya's words, everyone nodded their heads one after another, and Gao Chong knew it well. To put it bluntly, this wave of operations was to increase the sense of presence.

Li Yuan has been dormant for too long, and if things go on like this, the people of the world will ignore it. This will be a heavy blow to Li Yuan's prestige. Without aristocratic families and scholars to vote, it will be extremely unfavorable for Li Yuan to compete in the Central Plains in the future.

This principle is easy to see, only a few people in the court who are short-sighted and want to make peace speak out against it, and all the people present here are important ministers, so wise, they naturally agree.

Li Yuan also nodded straightly, "Our army has formed an alliance with Li Mi, so we should help our allies. Luoyang's strong city must not be attacked by force, and it must not be done by force.

Hearing these words, Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up, and he was about to go out, but Li Yuan murmured: "Shimin".

Li Shimin's spirit was shaken, and he came out excitedly.Li Jiancheng was startled, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes, he swayed and stopped in his tracks.

"As soon as the first month is over, you will leave Tongguan and go straight to Luoyang. You must show your power." Li Yuan slapped the desk and sternly shouted.

Li Shimin accepted the order solemnly.

"Jianjian, the burden on your shoulders is not light." Then Li Yuan looked at Li Jiancheng, "After the first month, Bashu and Kanto will use troops, and the food and grass in Guanzhong are insufficient. You need to give up on raising food."

Li Jiancheng responded solemnly.

Li Shimin could lead the army if he got his wish, and after returning to the Youling Army Mansion, he called Gao Chong, Liu Hongji and others to discuss.

"Everyone, the expedition is scheduled to start on the first day of February, and we still have one month to prepare." Li Shimin was in high spirits, "What do you guys think, come quickly."

Speaking of which, Li Shimin turned around and hung the map of Kanto on the screen, pointing to the map and said: "This time the troops left Tongguan and marched along the Dahe River, passing through Hongnong County and entering Henan County."

Speaking of this, Li Shimin also paused and sighed: "After Liu Zhaoren's victory at Tongguan, he took the opportunity to go east to occupy Hongnong County. He was really ahead of his time. Now when I wait for the soldiers to leave Tongguan, we can use Hongnong as an outpost. , you can retreat and defend."

Everyone also nodded, and Gao Chong couldn't deny that Liu Wenjing was indeed capable of both civil and military affairs. Moreover, Liu Wenjing's military talents were outstanding and he had a great strategic vision. If it wasn't for his personality, his achievements would never stop there.

"Now that Wang Shichong has been repeatedly defeated by Li Mi, he has already been extremely cautious. Moreover, Luoyang City has a high wall and a thick Sui army, and Li Mi's 30 army cannot break it. If you want to take Luoyang, it is difficult to reach the sky. You should follow the intention of the Tang King and attack its surrounding areas. The prestige of our army is increased by weakening the prestige of the Sui army in counties and counties."

Changsun Wuji pondered for a moment, saw Li Shimin eager to try, and immediately said, Changsun Wuji was really worried that Li Shimin was impulsive and wanted to compete with Li Mi for Luoyang, and no matter what the result was, it would be a heavy loss.

Fang Xuanling also nodded and agreed: "Forcing the attack is definitely not possible."

"Since that's the case, then our goal is obvious. To attack the counties and counties around Luoyang, we can now look away from Luoyang and see which counties and counties around Luoyang are worthy of our attack." Gao Chong slapped his hands and said decisively .

Li Shimin smiled when he heard the words, "You always look at things from such a tricky angle." He walked to the map and tapped Yiyang, Xingtai and other places with his fingers. Sui territory, advancing to Luoyang."

From what everyone can see, Yiyang and other places belong to Henan County, located between Tongguan and Luoyang. If they occupy Yiyang and other places, the Tang army's power will move eastward a little bit, and encroach on its territory in this way. One city today, one place tomorrow, and so on. The soldiers approached Luoyang City.

Everyone agreed after hearing the words.

Within a few days, the shocking news came that Li Mi in Kanto sent an invitation, asking Li Yuan to send troops to attack Wang Shichong and Luoyang together.

After Li Yuan received the news, it was exactly what he wanted, and he was overjoyed immediately. He pretended to reply to Li Mi, promising to send troops to attack Henan County in February.

It turned out that Li Mi was impatient. After stationing in Jinyong City, he stationed troops and Mang Mountain outside Luoyang City to attack Shangchun Gate several times but failed. Shangchun Gate is the northeast gate of Luoyang, the eastern capital.

Luoyang, the eastern capital, was built by Yang Guang with countless manpower and material resources. Behind the high wall, the Sui generals headed by Wang Shichong, such as Duan Da and Yuan Wendu, defended the city. Li Mi suffered heavy casualties, but they were still unable to attack. Half a step to Luoyang City.

At this time, under the reminder of his subordinates, Li Mi remembered that he was the leader of the world's anti-Sui alliance.

It shouldn't be that he, the lord of the alliance, is tough with the main force of the Sui army here, while the others sit idly by in Hebei, Guanzhong and other places.

Little did he know that this move was in line with Li Yuan's intentions. Regardless of whether other people sent troops or not, Li Yuan would definitely send troops, but he would not attack Luoyang by force, but aimed at the counties and counties around Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)