Late Tang

On behalf of Beiyun Prefecture, Qingpodao Niupiguan Xiashili Town Dongjun camp, Li Jing is drinking, Li Zhen, Guo Chengan, Zhang Hong, Du Zhongwu, and Lin Wu, Gao Shunli, Wang Pu, Li Juyi and other generals accompany.

Li Jing was in a good mood today, and it was rare for him to drink in the army. All the generals were a little strange, but Li Jing didn't say it directly, so they could only guess that there might be some happy event, and it might be private.

They guessed right, Li Jing received a letter from Lin Wei early this morning.The letter was written by Zhang Yingying, who had already returned to Qinghai Town, Silla. The letter told him one thing, that he became a father.The child was born shortly after he left the army. On the sixth day of September, Zhang Yingying gave birth to a baby girl in Qinghai Town, Silla. The baby weighed about two pounds and was very healthy.At the moment, I haven't chosen a big name, but only a nickname, Qingnu.This child, Zhang Yingying had already explained, was to be raised by herself.

Although she is a girl, Li Jing is not too patriarchal.Besides, Li Jing already has five wives and three lovers, so there is really no pressure to have children.And even if Zhang Yingying wants to raise Qingnu, it's not a big deal, she raises that is her own daughter.It's just a pity that it's thousands of miles away across the ocean, so I can't see it for a while.

Calculating the time, Wang Wanjun, Pei Chenxi and Pei Chenlan were pregnant in April, while Gui Niang and Wan'er were in May, and now it is November, and the three Wang Wanjun are almost due to give birth, almost next year In the first month and February, the five children in the family will be born.

In addition to the newly born Qingnu, Li Jing will become the father of six children in a blink of an eye.The excitement of becoming a father for the first time made it difficult for Li Jing to calm down.However, it is not easy to publicize Zhang Yingying's daughter, so Li Jing had to invite a few generals to drink together.

Li Jing and the others chatted while drinking wine.The wine is fruit wine, the alcohol content is not high, with some hazelnuts, raisins, etc., it is very leisurely.Although soldiers and horses were stationed at the pass, Li Jing had no intention of attacking the city immediately.The soldiers in the battalion trained half a day and attended classes half the time, so they were also very leisurely.

While drinking, Li Cunxiao, who had become a low-ranking bodyguard, reported at the door: "General Li of the Flying Eagle Camp, please see me."

"Please come in." Li Jing nodded to Li Cunxiao. He observed Li Cunxiao carefully, and saw that he was calmer, and there was no resentment or dissatisfaction on his face. He was very satisfied. It is indeed helpful for Li Cunxiao.

Li Wei stepped inside, clasped his fists and luggage: "Report to Dutong, scouting out cavalry and caught a barbarian who claimed to be a secret envoy and wanted to see Dutong." After speaking, he submitted a letter he had collected.

Li Jing opened the letter and read it. First, he looked at the end of the letter and there was no signature, but the letter was clearly written. It was a general in Guanzhong who wanted to return to the imperial court. He hoped that Li Jing could give him a guarantee.

"Bring people up."

The man was brought up quickly. He was a barbarian dressed in white and had the appearance of a Sogdian.

"Why did you send the letter?" There was no signature on the letter, and this Li Jing also understood that it was a means of self-protection to prevent the letter from being intercepted.

"Chief Mihaiwan of the Sage Tribe, and Shi Jingcun, chief of the Anqing Tribe!"

Li Jing couldn't help being surprised when he heard that these two people actually intended to surrender.Both the Sage tribe and the Anqing tribe are one of the three Shatuo tribes.Although they are called the Shatuo Tribes, they are not actually Shatuo people.Only because the Shatuo people became more and more powerful in Daibei, the Shatuo army began to recruit some Hu people who lived in the Tang Dynasty attached to Daibei, and finally formed the Shatuo Three Tribes.

In fact, there are not many pure Shatuo people. Sixty years ago, only 60 Shatuo people returned to Tang Dynasty. Now, no matter how many people reproduce, it is impossible for there to be too many people.The current Shatuo people are actually a new mixed race from the mixed tribes of Daibei.

The Sage tribe and the Anqing tribe, one of the three Shatuo tribes, are actually Sogdians who originally lived in the Western Regions.Later, many people moved inland and lived in the Hetao and Daibei areas.Sagar and Anqing refer to the original residence of these two tribes.Sage Mansion is in the territory of Zhenwu Army, while Anqing Mansion is in the north of Yunshuo.At first they lived in the Hetao area, then moved to Shizhou in the east of the river, and finally moved to Yunshuo.Since the two prefectures of Sage and Anqing were located not only on good pastures, but also an important passage from the grassland to the east of the river, the imperial court later stationed the Shatuo cavalry in this area.

Over time, the relationship between the three ministries has continued to strengthen, and since several times the internal wars of the Tang Dynasty, the three ministries sent troops to participate in the war, and the three ministries were all controlled by the Zhu Xie family. When Li Guochang arrived, they directly referred to the three ministries as The three tribes of Shatuo have become more closely related, and intermarriages have continued.

With the current situation, everyone can see that Li Guochang and his son are about to stumble this time. Facing the Zhendong Army approaching the city, the soldiers and horses of Niu Piguan obviously have their own considerations.Sage and Anqing No. [-], which have been controlled by the Shatuo people, now want to jump out of Li Guochang's wrecked ship.

A total of 3000 troops from the Second Division and the Shatuo Division came from Shuozhou to Yunzhou for reinforcements, and each of the three divisions had [-] elite cavalry.These cavalry are not ordinary cavalry, but real battle-tested cavalry, which is also the basis for them to rule the roost in Daibei.Neither Mi Haiwan nor Shi Jingcun wanted to see the pawns in their hands being consumed here.

Especially after Shanyu Dufu's mansion was breached by the imperial court's west camp, their thoughts became even stronger.

Regarding their surrender, Guo Chengan was worried that it was a false surrender by the enemy.Lin Wu also has this worry. After all, although they are not real Shatuo people, they have a relationship with Shatuo people for decades, so they have to guard against them.

Regarding this, Li Jing was very calm.It would be better if they surrendered, but Li Jing didn't care too much if they didn't surrender.

"If the two governors are really willing to surrender, then the governors will naturally report everything to the court after the incident. But words alone can't show their sincerity. If they really want to go anyway, then you can tell the two governors back to Yun, as long as they are willing to surrender. Niupiguan takes Xian and Ben Dutong, then everything is easy to talk about." After saying this, Li Jing ignored him and sent someone to send him away.

"The Duke of the county doesn't seem to care much about the situation at Niupi Pass?" Li Zhen saw that Li Jing seemed a little indifferent, so he hurriedly asked.

Li Jing smiled lightly: "The same is the case. If this battle is only fought by our family, then naturally the sooner the better. But the current situation is that this battle is fought by the seven families together. If it is Tuoba Sigong , that’s eight families, and if Li Guochang’s side is included, it’s a chaotic battle between nine families. We have to grasp the rhythm, fighting too fast and too fiercely is not a good thing.”

Li Jing didn't say a word directly, that is, he was waiting for news from Taiyuan and Youzhou.On Youzhou's side, if Li Guochang was defeated as expected, then Li Keyong would no longer be able to stay in Taiyuan to confront each other. His move would trigger a change in the overall situation.It is very likely that some of the soldiers and horses of the five towns in Taiyuan will want to jump out of the headache and beat the dog in the water, and want to grab the merits and take advantage of it.

At that time, there will definitely be a good show.Li Jing waited, he didn't want to fight too hard now, otherwise, Li Keyong might run straight towards him regardless of everything, and he would be at a loss at that time.

Consuming it now, so that Li Keyong doesn't have to worry so much, so that he can fight with the soldiers and horses of the imperial court.Only when Li Guochang, Li Keyong, and the soldiers and horses of the imperial court are both injured, will Li Jing really launch a thunderous blow.Only in that way can he get the first victory in this battle and bring out the might of the Zhendong Army.Now that he has taken down Weizhou, he is closing in on Niupi in Yunzhou.

Tianmen Pass in the north of Taiyuan.

The two mountains are like gates, and they are in the dry side of the county, so they are called Tianmen.

Tianmen Mountain is a hump of the Qianli Luliang Mountains in Taiyuan.Behind the hump is a grand canyon.There is a valley between two mountains, with a depth of 30 miles.The peaks in the valley meander and have different shapes, some are abrupt and piercing, some have walls cut thousands of feet, and some slopes are as gentle as wings.

Since ancient times, it has been an important passage to the north of Taiyuan, and it is a battleground for military strategists.Previously, Li Keyong fought fiercely with Cao Xiang, the former Jiedu envoy of Hedong. Li Keyong first feigned defeat, then led the Hedong army into the canyon, and finally broke through Hedong. Cao Xiang was defeated and returned to Jinyang City, where he died immediately. Use the assassin's men.

Li Keyong led 1 elite troops to garrison at Tianmen Pass, but fell into a dilemma.

Since Zheng Congyu took over as recruiter, this civil official has led the five towns under his command very well.The soldiers and horses of the five towns all retreated into Jinyang City, and then fortified the walls and cleared the fields.Outside the city of Jinyang, the northern capital, countless ditches were dug, pits for horses were sunk, many pickets were planted, and so on.

Around Jinyang City, there is not even a piece of land suitable for cavalry combat.Without the advantage of cavalry, Li Ke's Ya'er army could not storm the northern capital of the Tang Dynasty like Jinyang.

But at this time, it would be impossible to retreat like this, because he was stationed at Tianmen Pass, which forced the soldiers and horses of the five towns not to dare to leave the city.If he retreated, the Wuzhen soldiers would definitely come out after him.It was a good thing for the opponent to go out of the city, but Li Keyong had few soldiers after all, and he was afraid that the opponent would divide his troops to attack the Zhenwu army at that time, and the place was extremely empty now.

"Report, madam is here!" A Shatuo soldier reported loudly.

Li Keyong was surprised, why did Mrs. Liu come to the front line.

The Shatuo soldiers looked at Li Keyong, and then whispered: "Weizhou has fallen, and the Taixi Pass on the border of Weidai has also fallen. In addition, the three major generals Kexiu Kezhang Kerou died in battle!"

Li Ke turned his head violently, and stared fiercely at the soldier with his one eye, giving out a fierce wolf-like gaze. "Can you say that again!"

The soldier was stared at by Li Keyong, only felt his legs tremble, and bravely said the words again.

With a roar, Li Ke directly strangled the soldier's neck and lifted him up.The soldier's neck was strangled, he couldn't even breathe, his face quickly turned red, and then blue, seeing his eyes wide open, he was about to suffocate.

At this time, a strong force pulled Li Ke's arm away. Li Ke turned his head and raised his hand to hit him, but he saw a familiar face, which turned out to be his wife Liu Shi. Going down, loosening his hand, the soldier fell to the ground, coughing and crawling away.

"Why are you here?" Li Ke said, looking at his wife who had lost a lot of weight due to the long journey.

Liu's eyes dimmed and said: "Li Jing led 3000 Zhendong troops from Youzhou to Yuzhou. I did not resist but led the army back into Daizhou. Who knows, Zhendong troops are chasing after them. First, a dozen assassins were sent to capture the three of Kexiu. Later, they were surrounded and refused to surrender, so they set fire and burned them all. Then Li Jing's army arrived, but we couldn't resist. Three thousand brothers died in battle, and Weizhou only had [-] people fled. Fortunately, Li Jing did not pursue them. When I passed through Daizhou, I brought all the [-] soldiers and [-] young men who stayed behind in Daizhou. Husband, it is not appropriate to stay for a long time at this time. We should withdraw to Shuo first. Let's talk about it."

Li Keyong didn't expect the situation to become like this. Madam brought all the soldiers and horses here at this time. This is to concentrate the soldiers and horses to avoid being broken by the split roads, which is the right thing to do.

"But my father is still attacking Youzhou with his troops. Once we retreat, my father will be surrounded by the army."

"Report!" Another urgent call sounded outside the tent.

"After the report stayed, Yu Jia Tuyuhun He Lianduo, the governor of the Tiande Army, led 1 troops to attack the Zhenwu Army. The defenders of Huyan Pass mutinied. They killed General Li Ting and surrendered to the Tang Army. Afterwards, the Tang Army called Yanguan and entered. The Zhenwu Army stormed the Shanyu Duhu Mansion four hundred miles away, and the Shanyu Duhu Mansion was destroyed and occupied a few days ago, and the commander's family is completely invincible."

When Li Keyong heard the news, he felt a thunderbolt on the sunny day, which almost knocked him down.

Just after Weizhou was lost, Daizhou also gave up on his own initiative. At this time, even his father's stronghold, Shanyu Duhu Mansion, was gone.How to fight this, Li Jing's 1 Zhendong Army came from the east with a murderous look, and Yu Yu's [-] people from the west came to kill.

"Husband, retreat immediately, if we don't leave, we will be surrounded." Liu did not expect that the Tiande army would also make an extremely powerful move.With this move, the Zhenwu army's retreat was cut off.

"How can I retreat alone at this time." Li Ke gritted his teeth, and his one eye shone with a strange light. "Ma'am, let's lead our troops to meet up with father, and we will go to the pass together."

Mrs. Liu trembled: "Are you crazy? There are countless soldiers and horses in Guanzhong. Even if we bring all the soldiers and horses together, we will not be able to save father. Instead, we have to go in."

"I'm not crazy. It's too late for us to withdraw now. Li Jing and Yu Yu will be waiting for us on our way of retreat. Right now, only the soldiers are in danger. Go to Youzhou first, make a move to march to Chang'an, and send the imperial court If the situation is good, we may be able to force the court to negotiate peace. If not, we will join my father and go directly from the Tiande army across Yinshan Mountain to the grassland."

"Crazy!" Mrs. Liu propped her forehead, not knowing how to describe it anymore.

But what the husband said is not unreasonable, even if he withdraws into Yunshuo at this time, he cannot escape the encirclement, and Li Guochang will be encircled and suppressed immediately.

"Okay, I'll go with you." Liu gritted his teeth and nodded.

"No!" Li Keyong shook his head, and stretched out his hand to caress his wife's thin face, "You go back to Shuozhou immediately, and I'll let Siyuan and Sizhao go back with you, and you recruit soldiers and horses there, as many as you can. Recruit as many as you want, and then go directly to Tatar, they have a good relationship with us, you wait there for me and my father to come back. As long as the remaining soldiers and horses are there, we will be able to kill them back sooner or later."

Liu groaned, and finally nodded: "I listen to you, you must come back alive!"

"Definitely!" Li Ke nodded solemnly. (To be continued.)