First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 42
41. Heavy rain hinders
Li Shimin was taken aback by Gao Chong's set of proverbs and sayings, and raised his hand to signal Gao Chong to stop for a while.

"Yuzhi, you... can this unheard of proverb be reliable?"

Gao Chong was stunned, and said anxiously: "This is the crystallization of wisdom summed up by the great ancestors through careful observation and personal experience in their daily lives. Of course it is reliable."

"It's just that the army has enough food and grass now..." Li Shimin frowned, a little hesitant, "If I prepare in advance, I'm afraid I will disturb the morale of the army."

Seeing this, Gao Chong said in a loud voice: "If you wait until the grain road is blocked and the grain and grass are in short supply, then it will be too late to go to rush the grain, or you can send people back to Jinyang first, and add grain and grass for a month, so that you will be safe.

If I made a mistake in my judgment, that is a good thing, I am willing to be punished, and even if the food and grass are shipped in advance, it will not be wasted. If you are worried about frightening the morale of the army, you should keep the information secret.”

It was the first time Li Shimin saw Gao Chong so excited, he immediately nodded seriously: "I believe in you", and then got up, "You and I will convince my father together".

At the same time, in the big tent of the Chinese army, listening to the torrential raindrops hitting the tent, Li Yuan looked sad, and felt that the wine in the cup was dull and tasteless, and sighed quietly: "I thought the soldiers were expensive, but I took advantage of the Sui army's reaction. Not enough, I went to a few more cities, but I never thought that the heavy rain would hinder my journey."

In front of his old friend, Li Yuan did not pretend. He just wanted to take advantage of the fact that the court of Chang'an and the defenders of Linfen County hadn't reacted, and quickly captured more places. To put it bluntly, he didn't want to fight tough battles, and had the intention of taking advantage of it. .

After hearing this, Pei Ji smiled wryly, "I have won the two counties of Xihe and Longquan without any effort, so I will be content with my uncle, there is no reason to be lucky in marching and fighting."

Li Yuan was startled, looked at Pei Ji and couldn't help being annoyed: "My foundation is still shallow, I can't compare with Li Mi and others, every step I take needs to be cautious, why don't you understand Xuanzhen."

Hearing this, Pei Ji hurriedly tried to comfort her, "Okay, Uncle De, don't worry, this is the end of the matter, don't look forward and backward," he said, pointing to the outside of the account, "But speaking of it, the sudden heavy rain disrupted the schedule, we will wait for the time to come." Just make some preparations and eat."

Seeing Li Yuan's doubts, Pei Ji went on to say: "When it rains on the day of the summer solstice, there is a possibility of continuous rain. If there is continuous rain and the roads are muddy, the grain roads may be affected. You need to prepare some grain and grass in advance, just in case."

Li Yuan frowned when he heard that, "Now the grain and grass are enough for a month, and the follow-up grain and grass arrive every half a month, do we need to add more food?"

Pei Ji shook his head, "No one dares to determine how the rain will be in the coming days, just be prepared."

As soon as the words fell, Li Shimin came with Gao Chong. It was all about greetings, and Li Shimin went straight to the point.

"Aye, Youzhi is worried that there will be heavy rain for several days in the future, lest the grain road will be blocked, I suggest adding grain and grass in advance, just in case of accidents, the child thinks it is very appropriate, even if there is no heavy rain after the shipment, it is still usable to store grain and grass. I also ask Aye to make a decision."

Li Yuan was startled when he heard that, and looked at Pei Ji, who was also stunned by Pei Ji's hand twisting his beard, "You also know astronomy?"

"I don't dare to speak clearly, I only know a little bit," Gao Chong hurriedly said humbly.

This fellow Li Shimin uttered the Gulu proverb and common saying that Gao Chong had said, and Pei Ji memorized it silently, nodding frequently.

"What a coincidence", Li Yuan also said strangely, "Just now Xuanzhen also suggested to me to transport more food and grass".

After a little deliberation, he drew up a pen and wrote a general order, "Since the two of you agree, I will order Cui Shanwei and others to transport more grain and grass for one month, just in case."

Li Shimin was overjoyed when he heard that, he didn't expect Gao Chong to go with Pei Ji.

Seeing that Li Shimin was there, Li Yuan took the map, "I originally planned to pass through the Queshu Valley quickly, go to Jiahu Fort to garrison, and surprise Huoyi, but now the heavy rain is blocking it, what do you think?".

After hearing this, Li Shimin also looked worried, "I heard that the road in Queshu Valley is dangerous and narrow for tens of miles, and it is rugged and steep. After this heavy rain, it must be even more difficult and dangerous."

Li Yuan nodded when he heard the words, frowned and said: "Last year when I conquered the bandit Kou Zhendi, I walked through the Queshu Valley when I was a child. It was really steep. Now that there is a heavy rain, it must be impassable."

Seeing that both father and son were worried because they couldn't walk through Queshu Valley, Gao Chong had a strange face, coughed, and said softly, "May I ask Mr. Tang, why did we decide to go to Queshu Valley?"

As soon as these words came out, several people were startled.

Pei Ji paused for a moment, and then laughed out loud.

"Xuanzhen, what are you doing?"

Seeing this, Li Yuan was puzzled, "Because the Queshu Valley is located in a remote place, and it is directly connected to Huoyi by the mountains, and the soldiers marching in it can't be seen on the left or right, and it's very hidden..." Li Yuan seemed to have reacted as he said this, looking at Li Shimin, father and son The two stared at each other, and then laughed.

Li Yuan frowned, and her mother-in-law had a wry smile on her face, "I didn't expect me to be so dizzy", Li Shimin also couldn't laugh or cry.

It turned out that the reason why they decided to go straight to Huoyi on the steep road of Queshu Valley was because they liked the concealment of this road, and tens of thousands of troops marched in it without outsiders knowing. Quickly passing through the Queshu Valley, Huoyi City can be caught off guard, and there will be a surprise attack effect.

But now that the road is blocked by the heavy rain, the marching speed has slowed down, and it is impossible to reach the outside of Huoyi City as scheduled. After a long time, let alone the Sui army in Linfen County and Hedong County in front of us, even the Great Sui Dynasty in Chang'an City should also react The strategy of attacking the unprepared is no longer feasible, and this is why Li Yuan was worried about the rainstorm earlier.

Li Yuan and his son were worried about the battle situation and fell into a misunderstanding for a while, but they didn't expect that now that the army was hindered by the heavy rain, there was no need to hide, and there was no need to go to the steep Valley of the Rat.

"Then wait until the weather clears, and march directly along the official road, attack Huoyi head-on with an upright army, and when the entire Linfen County is captured, then point the sword at Hedong County," Li Shimin then cheered up and said high-spirited.

Seeing this, Pei Ji twitched his beard and nodded slightly. If he wants to become a dominant player, it is not shameful to seize the opportunity to seek opportunities, but it also needs a strong and upright army to conquer the hearts of the world.

Gao Chong also nodded his head and said in agreement: "Our army has never fought a tough battle in the two counties of Xihe and Longquan. It needs a tough battle to show the momentum of our Taiyuan Rebel Army."

After Li Shimin Gao Chong and the two left, Li Yuan frowned, and said angrily: "You are young and vigorous, everyone wants to fight tough battles, but it is important to preserve your strength." Li Yuan did not hide his thoughts in front of his friends. Have the mentality of "stealing crystals for development".

(End of this chapter)