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Chapter 561
The news of the defeat of Luo Shixin's forward army immediately spread to the marching Zhao army's main camp.

Li Shimin led five hundred Xuanjia troops to ambush [-] Zhao cavalry, which surprised Zhao Jun. When they swept Hebei, Zhao Jun defeated Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai. It was unacceptable to general Zhao Jun, especially when he was defeated by a Tang army whose strength was far inferior to his own.

When Luo Shixin, the forward and deputy forward, and Qi Ashu came to the camp together, they were all in a nervous mood.Qi Ashu was injured, which was fine, but Luo Shixin couldn't help feeling ashamed when he saw that he walked into the big tent safe and sound.

After entering the big tent, he immediately felt the gazes of the generals of the Zhao army sitting on the left and right looking at him. Luo Shixin felt very uncomfortable, but he clasped his fists and said: "The crime will be seen by Your Majesty."

Luo Shixin didn't bow down. According to the etiquette of Da Zhao, soldiers in armor, generals, seeing the emperor, and superior officials are not required to bow down.

Li Chongjiu said: "You tell me and your colleagues about the battle of Sishui."

Luo Shixin nodded and made it clear immediately.

General Zhao Quanting said: "General Luo, it is unbelievable that the leader of Qi'a Shu was successfully attacked by the Tang army since he did not fall into ambush."

"Being defeated by inferior soldiers and horses upright does not mean that the soldiers are incompetent."

"Although I, Zhao Jun, are not incapable of losing a battle, but the defeat is so embarrassing. Hmph, I think it's time to withdraw."

A few cold voices said, Luo Shixin glared at the man angrily and said angrily: "So-and-so is defeated, you want to beat and scold, so-and-so has nothing to say, but the soldiers under such-and-such are all top-notch!" You can't insult them, man. They did try their best."

Hearing what Luo Shixin said, Qi Ashu, who was still wounded on the side, also said: "Your Majesty, this battle is the responsibility of the last general, but none of the cavalry in my house is afraid of death. If you want to blame, punish them." , or come at me alone."

Li Chongjiu heard the words of the two generals, and immediately said: "I heard that the cavalry of the Tang army you encountered was the Xuanjia army?"

Luo Shidao: "Our army and the Tang army are fighting squarely, so we can see clearly that this Tang army cavalry is extremely skilled in horse warfare, but not all of them are wearing black armor. Some of their horses bear armor, and some don't. Armor, I dare not conclude that it is the Tang army's elite Xuanjia army."

Xue Wanshu said to Li Chongjiu: "This is similar to the intelligence of our army's Tabai Army and the secret work meeting. Xuanjia Army is just a title, but not all soldiers wear Xuanjia."

"Xuanjia Army!"

The generals of Zhao Jun whispered, and Xue Wan said: "As for the strength of the Xuanjia Army, you have seen it in the document issued just now. This is Li Tang's selection of Turkic, Xianbei, the elite from the Li family's trilogy, as well as the Tang army from Guanzhong. The elite of the government army's selection of strikers."

All the generals nodded when they heard the words.

Zhang Xuansu said: "There is a saying in the art of war that generals can't predict the enemy. They use the few to unite the masses, and the weak to attack the strong. There is no choice for the front. Li Shimin is in Luoyang. If he wants to help the tiger prison, he must choose elite soldiers and strong generals. Selecting a striker from the army, and having no intention of doing mental calculations, I thought that the two generals Luo Shixin and begging Ashu really did their best."

After Zhang Xuansu finished speaking, several people interceded for Luo Shixin and the others, hoping to be excused.

Li Chongjiu looked at Luo Shixin, begged Ashu and said: "No matter what kind of Xuanjia or Xuanjia army, our army and the Tang army fought first, and you two were defeated first, which broke the spirit of our army. Send an order to remove Luo Shixin from the post of Ying Yanglang , Qi Ashu was also dismissed from the post of military commander, and everyone was demoted to one level, and he made meritorious deeds."

Luo Shixin and Qi Ashu showed no signs of disobedience, they clasped their fists together and said, "No, Your Majesty."

The generals heard that Li Chongjiu still severely punished the two generals, they couldn't help feeling sorry for them, and there was no sound in the tent.

Wei Zheng said: "Our army lost the first battle, I don't know how to attack the Hulao Pass, how should we defeat the enemy?"

Xue Wan said: "I don't think the Tang army is just guarding. Li Shimin is the best at judging the food road. If he takes our army to stand under the Hulao City and sends cavalry to harass the food road in the rear of our army, isn't our army going to deploy troops to guard the rear Liang Dao, with such a division of troops, we will not have enough troops to attack Hulao."

Ji Chuan said: "At present, in Hulao Pass, apart from Li Shimin's [-] fine cavalry, there are also Chai Shao and Li Junxian's thousands of troops. There should be [-] Tang troops in total. To break the tiger prison, at least [-] to [-] troops must be dispatched."

Hearing Xue Wanshu and Ji Chuan's words, Xue Wanche smiled slightly and said, "Don't forget, we still have kerosene bombs, which are very effective in attacking the city."

Li Chongjiu narrowed his eyes slightly, but did not speak.

On the Yumen Ferry at the north gate of Hulaoguan, dozens of Tang Army ships with white sails are slowly approaching Yumen Ferry.

On the deck of the first ship, Huang Junhan, the head of the Huaizhou Road March of the Tang Army, stood on the battleship with his arms folded and his hands behind his back.The river wind was blowing, Huang Junhan looked calm, looking at Hulao City not far away.

As one of the eight chief managers of the Tang army in Luoyang this time, Huang Junhan had already been a man of the hour before joining Li Tang.

When Yang Guang was still in power, Huang Junhan was just a jailer in Dongjun County.At that time, Huang Junhan, who was a jailer, saw his bravery, but he was a strong man. Yushi sneaked in in the middle of the night and said, "We don't know the time and personnel, how can you die in prison?"
The other party replied: "A certain person is like a pig in a cage now, and his life and death are only your orders."

At that moment, Huang Junhan released the other party, entered the grass with him, and died in Wagang, East County, becoming a thief.The person Huang Junhan rescued was Zhai Rang, the leader of Wagang Village.Later, Zhai Rang was killed by Li Mi, and Huang Junhan, who had a good relationship with Zhai Rang, was squeezed out by Li Mi.

This time when Wang Shichong was attacked, Huang Junhan sent troops from Heyin to attack Huiluo City with a boat division. Huiluocheng was broken, captured Zheng Jun Daxi Shanding, and burned down the Heyang South Bridge, cutting off the connection between Luoyang and Hebei. , made a great contribution.

Now that Li Shimin led his army to station at Hulao Pass, he ordered Huang Junhan to lead his water army down the river to transport grain and grass for Hulao Pass.

Huang Junhan's Tang Army Navy arrived outside Hulao Pass, and Li Shimin met him personally on the shore.

Huang Junhan bowed immediately and said: "See His Royal Highness King Qin!"

Li Shimin took Huang Junhan's hand, and said with a hearty smile: "With Director Huang's navy here, the tiger prison is safe."

Huang Junhan lowered his head and cupped his fists and said: "King Qin is too famous. I heard that King Qin defeated Zhao Jun's forward in the first battle, so I will congratulate you at the end."

Hearing this, Li Shimin put away his smile and said solemnly: "It's just a small victory. Zhao Jun held a hundred thousand troops in Hulao, and the momentum was huge. It's not easy to win."

Huang Junhan said: "His Royal Highness, the two armies are facing each other, focusing on the grain road. Between me, the Zhao army's frontline army must rely on Liyang warehouse for food supply. If I lead the water army to cut off the connection between Henan and Hebei, the Zhao army will be defeated."

As soon as Huang Junhan finished speaking, Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui beside him laughed.

Huang Junhan didn't lose his face because of the other party's laughter, he clasped his fists and said: "His Royal Highness, if what the general said is wrong, please give me some pointers."

Li Shimin said with a smile: "It's not that it's wrong, Xuanling and the others are laughing like no other, but you and I agree with each other!"

Huang Junhan immediately lowered his head and said, "The final general made a mistake."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said: "You don't have to be too modest, now Gu is relying on your navy, and I hope you will win this battle for Gu. I heard that Zhao Jun has thousands of warships, are you sure you can win?"

Huang Junhan said proudly: "I started my business in Wagang by robbing water boats, and there was no one on the water of the Yellow River. Your Highness, although there are not many dozens of warships under the command of the last general, they are all sons who have followed for many years and are good at water warfare. Captain Zhang Yasha is even more courageous."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "But Zhang Yecha who captured Daxi Shanding alive?"

"Exactly, Yasha is just his nickname. He is brave and good at fighting, but he has forgotten his real name over time. His Royal Highness, although Zhao's army has many ships, the Hebei army is good at bow and horse, but short at water warfare. Back then When Cao Cao conquered Eastern Wu, the 20 troops were disobedient and defeated. Second, most of the merchant ships, cargo ships, and passenger ships were rebuilt, and most of the sailors were hired by the people. They have never been in battle, so they are definitely not my opponents.”

Hearing what Huang Junhan said, Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling happily, and Du Ruhui said, "Xuanling, Keming, what do you think of what Director Huang said?"

Du Ruhui said: "Boss Huang's eyes are like a torch, and he can see through the pros and cons of the two armies at a glance. With such a general, the King of Qin can't use it?"

Li Shimin laughed loudly and said: "Keming's words are exactly what I want, and Director Huang will kill you..."

While speaking, when the Hulao Pass was closed, a school captain suddenly reported: "His Royal Highness, the Zhao Army fleet appeared downstream of Hulao Pass!"

Huang Junhan said in surprise, "Zhao Jun actually asked for a fight?"

Li Shimin led the crowd to the north watchtower of Hulaoguan City, but saw that the Yellow River was covered with Zhao Jun's warships in darkness.

Du Ruhui lost his face and said: "His Royal Highness, why does Zhao Jun's fleet have five-toothed warships, and there are as many as two more? This was used by Yang Sugong to conquer the Sui Dynasty!"

Li Shimin didn't say a word, the details of Zhao Jun's fleet obviously greatly exceeded his expectations, he couldn't figure it out, Hebei is not Jiangnan, but how did Li Chongjiu get such a huge navy.

On the side of Zhao Jun's fleet, two big warships with five teeth stood out.

On each of the five-tooth warships, 800 Zhao troops operate the ship, and the five-tooth warship can actually accommodate [-] soldiers.

Cheng Mingzhen, the general manager of Zhao Jun's navy, stood proudly on the prow of the five-toothed ship. On the left and right were Zhao Jun's naval division, Zhou Zhou, the governor of Donglai County, Zhao Xin, and Zhou Zuojiang from the Ministry of Industry.

Cheng Mingzhen was demoted from the Xia army and was promoted by Li Chongjiu to be the chief of the navy. It was the time when he was in high spirits, and there were more than 200 warships behind him, of which more than 100 were Zhou Zhou's efforts for a year. The repaired sea ships of the Sui Dynasty who crossed the sea to conquer the Liao army.

This time the fleet was transferred by Li Chongjiu to attack Tang!

(End of this chapter)