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Chapter 843 Battle of Pujin Pass

The heavy rain made it difficult for the main force of the Zhao army marching westward to Chang'an.

The carriage moved slowly on the mountain road, and there was a steep cliff on the side. The soldiers did not dare to neglect to push the carriage forward step by step.

It was raining heavily outside, but inside the carriage Li Chongjiu, Zhang Xuansu, Ji Chuan, and Yu Shinan were discussing military matters.

Under an oil lamp, a simple sheepskin map was spread out on the car, and four people sat there.

"Duan Zhixuan was captured, all Jiangzhou defenders surrendered. I didn't expect Jiangzhou to be captured so easily." Li Chongjiu in the carriage looked at the good news from ahead, and frowned after the initial surprise.

Zhang Xuansu said: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is indeed a great victory."

Li Chongjiu asked: "Duan Zhixuan was captured, and the Tang army lost courage. It is understandable, but the Tang army collapsed so quickly, it is obvious that they did not have enough confidence to hold Jiangzhou City. This Jiangzhou City is the base camp of Li Tangdong's army, so take Jiangzhou Is it equivalent to annihilating the entire Hedong Army?"

"Is the Tang army vulnerable, or our army is too brave and good at fighting."

Zhang Xuansu replied: "Your Majesty, several generals who surrendered to the Tang army reported that when Xiangwu King Li Chen was the general manager of Jiangzhou, the Hedong Army had [-] soldiers, and when Duan Zhixuan took over as the general manager, the soldiers and horses were transferred away by Li Shimin. Right now, there are only ten thousand troops left in the Hedong Army, and none of them are the elite of the past, lacking in equipment and daily supplies, and their morale is not high."

When Li Chongjiu heard this, he nodded and said: "I understand, leaving so few troops to guard Jiangzhou, it seems that Li Shimin really has plans to give up Jiangzhou and fight me in Hedong. Then we can be sure that Li Shimin's current elite force will not Not in Hedong anymore. Zhang Qing, where are you looking?"

Zhang Xuansu thought for a while and said: "It's hard to judge. It may be in Tongguan, it may be in Chang'an, and it may be in Hexi. From the point of view of my humble minister, Li Shimin is not a person who is waiting to die. He may not be big in Chang'an, so he must go west. Go to Hexi and Wang Junkuo's West Route Army decisive battle, defeating the main force of our army all the way ahead of schedule. Or they knew that Luoyang was empty, so the army marched east from Tongguan and took Luoyang directly, reversing the current unfavorable situation."

Hearing Zhang Xuansu's analysis, Li Chongjiu thought deeply: "So when the temple was calculated, did you take this situation into consideration?"

Zhang Xuansu reported: "Your Majesty, we have all considered that whether Li Shimin leads the main force of the Tang army to go west or east, Chang'an will inevitably be empty, so our army only needs to capture Chang'an. Chang'an is the heart of Guanzhong. If there is no Chang'an, The Guanlongmen faction will no longer support Li Shimin."

"That's not necessarily the case!" Ji Chuan objected, "I've heard that Li Tangchao's hall, because of the exhaustion in Guanzhong, had several proposals to move the capital. I think that if Li Shimin abandons Chang'an and leaves an empty city, he deliberately lures us to attack it. , and lead the main force to capture Luoyang, or defeat Wang Junkuo's West Route Army."

Seeing that Li Chongjiu was noncommittal about his suggestion, Ji Chuan also said: "I heard that Li Shimin is planning to move both the queen and the crown prince to Sichuan and Shu, and it seems that he has plans to separate the kingdom in Sichuan and Shu and become king."

After hearing what Ji Chuan said, Li Chongjiu asked, "Zhang Aiqing, Yu Aiqing, do you think Ji Shilang's analysis makes sense? Will Li Shimin move his capital to avoid the edge of our army?"

Zhang Xuansu said very cautiously: "I think this possibility is indeed possible, so I dare not make a judgment."

Yu Shinan said: "I think it's impossible, Li Shimin can't give up Chang'an. If it's true, Li Tang's foundation will be shaken."

Li Chongjiu said: "Yes, I also think it is impossible. From my understanding, if Li Shimin really retreated without a fight and moved his capital to Sichuan and Shu for temporary refuge, he would not be Li Shimin. However, what is the trend of the Tang army? Under the city, you can know."

After finishing speaking, Li Chongjiu opened the car window, and the heavy rain fell outside, and a puff of fishy and damp air swept up the inside of the car.

"Where did the car go?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is almost time to hear the joy."

Li Chongjiu said: "Send the order, the army will speed up, and also order Yu Chigong, Su Dingfang, Luo Shixin to attack Pujin Pass. The forward must cross the Yellow River in three days and build a pontoon bridge for the army."

"promise!"

The heavy rain fell, hitting the waves of the Yellow River rolling eastward.

In the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the waves are turbid.Hundreds of warships are heading down the river.

In the past, Li Yuanji, king of Qi in Li Tang, and Li Yuan, king of Lujiang, were sailing down the Yellow River together in a warship.Fifteen thousand Zhao troops were sailing down the river in warships.

It was Li Yuanji's suggestion to Li Chongjiu to build ships from the upper reaches of the Yellow River to conquer the Tang Dynasty, and it was adopted.At the beginning, Li Yuanji's plan was to build a fleet navy at the place where Fenshui enters the Yellow River, and then go straight down the Yellow River, and directly reach the city of Chang'an by Weishui or Guangtong Canal.

This water transport route was used by the State of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period.At that time, the state of Jin borrowed grain from the state of Qin due to the famine and shortage of food. Later, Qin Mugong, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, agreed. He sent grain ships from Yongcheng, the capital of Qin, to transport tens of thousands of dendrobium grains, along the Wei River to the Yellow River, and then changed to the Fen River. Transported by water to Jiangcheng, the capital of Jin.The white sails for transporting food from the capital of Qin to the capital of Jin, covering eight hundred miles by land and water, are connected end to end, and there is an endless stream. History books call this a battle of rafting.

Therefore, Li Yuanji's suggestion is very insightful, and it is very useful for the Zhao army who has always used waterways to transport troops and food. If the food is transported by boat, this time the Tang Dynasty can save 20 civilians from running on the road to transport food for the army. up.When Li Chongjiu first heard about it, he couldn't even believe that it was Li Yuanji who came up with the plan.

Li Chongjiu took Li Yuanji's suggestion to the Ministry of Education for discussion to see if it was feasible.But in the end, Zhongshu Province rejected Li Yuanji's plan.

Because the Weihe River is no longer comparable. At the beginning, the Weihe River was so silted that it was not enough for large ships to pass through. Later, the Guangtong Canal opened by Emperor Wendi Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty was too far away and had to be detoured from Tongguan.Therefore, it was considered unfeasible to send a large army to take a boat from the upper reaches of the Yellow River to attack Chang'an.

But later Zhang Xuansu saw Li Yuanji's plan, but was greatly inspired, and proposed a substitute plan, thinking that ships could be built in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and Pujin Pass would be attacked by land and water instead.After capturing Pujin Pass, warships were used to build pontoon bridges on the Yellow River so that the army could cross the Yellow River.

This plan was appreciated by Li Chongjiu and considered feasible.So last year Yu Chigong, under the instruction of Li Chongjiu, captured the three counties of Hedong and seized the entrance of the Fen River.Then Li Yuanji and Li Yuan moved here to build ships.

Now Li Yuanji and Li Yuan led [-] soldiers and horses reorganized from the descended army of the Tang army, together with Xue Wanjun's [-] guards, they sailed down by boat and approached Pujin Pass.On the other hand, the three generals Wei Chigong, Luo Shixin, and Su Dingfang were about to conquer Jiangzhou, and they led [-] soldiers and horses to approach Pujin Pass by land.

At the beginning, Zhang Xuansu's strategic concept of land and water attack has been achieved.

But for Tang Jun defender Cheng Yaojin, this is not good news.

(End of this chapter)