More than a month ago, Prince Li Jiancheng and King Qin Li Shimin resisted the Turks from the south on Guannai Road and Hedong Road, and made some small gains. They forced a peace with war and forced the Turks to retreat.
When the later sage ordered the King of Qi to attack Liu Heitai with the general manager of Bingzhou, almost everyone thought that this was a war without any suspense.
After all, Liu Heitai had not captured Dingzhou at that time, and Shuang Shiluo, the general manager of Dingzhou who was born in the Qin Palace, was still resisting desperately.
But no one expected that Qi King Li Yuanji did not choose to leave the Taihang Mountains eastward and go directly to Zhaozhou and Dingzhou for reinforcements. Instead, he chose to go south to Shaanxi Province and try to lead the army north again.
The delay of time caused the war situation to take a turn for the worse. King Qi stopped moving forward, and Liu Heitai finally captured Dingzhou. His old troops revolted and tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers marched southward.
Yizhou, Dingzhou, Mozhou, Yingzhou, Shenzhou and Zhaozhou were successively conquered in a short period of time. Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai's old troops rebelled and even attacked Yanzhou, Cangzhou and Guanzhou. Most of Hebei Province had been lost. .
After the battle report of Bo's defeat reached the capital, the city was already in an uproar. The 30,000 elite Tang troops were wiped out. The life and death of Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan, the commander-in-chief of Hebei Province's march, and the former deputy commander-in-chief, Yuan Guogong Shi Wanbao, were unknown.
This reminds countless people of Liu Heitai's achievements in Hebei and Shandong last year.
Among the officials in the DPRK, there were also some who were cursing Li Daoxuan and Shi Wanbao for losing their troops and losing their land... This is basically a rare animal.
He looked at Qin King Li Shimin half-understanding. After all, Li Daoxuan had always been close to Li Shimin, and it was even the latter who brought him here.
A true expert should go and see Prince Li Jiancheng... There is no doubt that although the battlefield is in Hebei, it is part of the battle between the East Palace and the Prince of Qin's Palace to seize the throne.
On the day when the battle report came, Wei Zheng hurried back to Chang'an. Although he often visited the battlefield, Wei Zheng looked quite tired because of such a hurry.
"Xuan Cheng's trip has been hard, but he came at the right time." Wang Gui, the first person under the crown prince of the East Palace, personally came to greet him and helped the staggering Wei Zheng into the East Palace.
Not only Wang Gui, but also Prince Li Jiancheng was waiting outside the Mingde Hall, and Corporal Li Xian's attitude was impeccable.
"No hurry, no hurry, let's serve the tea first." Wei Ting helped Wei Zheng sit down on the soft couch and asked the servant to bring the tea cup, "Brother Xuancheng, drink slowly."
After a lot of fuss, Wei Ting drove everyone out, leaving only the prince, Wang Gui, Wei Ting and Wei Zheng in the palace.
"Brother Xuancheng, the report of King Huaiyang's defeat has been transmitted to the capital. Are there any other reports?"
Wei Zheng licked his chapped lips, "I received a battle report before leaving. Xu Shanhu, the general manager of Beizhou, was defeated and died."
Wang Gui raised his eyebrows and said, "Is there any news about King Huaiyang and Duke Yuan?"
Wei Zheng shook his head tiredly, "Liu Heitao's soldiers are sharp. He sent a partial army to defeat Xu Shanhu, and personally led the main force to attack Xingzhou. We still don't know the outcome."
"Qi Shanxing, the general manager of Xingzhou, is Dou Jiande's old subordinate..." Wei Ting suddenly added, "If he surrenders the city..."
Qi Shanxing was indeed Dou Jiande's old subordinate, but before he became the general manager of Xingzhou, he was the second left guard of the Qin Palace. Wei Ting's words were obviously gloating.
"Ahem." The prince glanced over and reminded, "You may not be defeated."
"Well?"
Wang Gui snorted, "I've never heard that the prince of Lujiang County is good at military strategy."
If Qi Shanxing is defeated, the next unlucky person will be Luozhou. The general manager of Luozhou, Li Yuan, the prince of Lujiang County, is a close friend of the prince. Luozhou is also the only state capital in Hebei Province that is in the hands of the East Palace.
Wei Ting ate at the head of the queue, shrank his head and kept silent. Li Jiancheng asked a few questions in detail, and after pondering for a moment, he asked: "Xuancheng, from your perspective, is it appropriate to send troops to Hebei?"
"This is an opportunity for the prince to make great achievements. You must not miss it." Although Wei Zheng's voice was hoarse, he was passionate and powerful. "First of all, the King of Qin must not be allowed to lead the army. Secondly, His Highness must not ask for battle immediately."
"Why?"
Wei Zheng explained in detail, "In the battle of Xiabo, tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry participated..."
Li Jiancheng immediately gave up the idea of requesting an expedition immediately, which was why Wei Zheng hurriedly returned to Beijing.
Li Jiancheng was not stupid, and he was no stranger to military affairs. He had led troops into battle several times, and he had also been on his own. He knew very well that Liu Heitai's conquest of Hebei was already difficult enough. If he added tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry... he would lose more and win less. .
"Someone once offered advice..." Li Jiancheng said softly: "If you want to be completely sure, you need to wait for the cold winter, and the Turks will eventually return north."
Wang Gui chuckled and said: "Xuan Cheng was watching the war in Hebei and summoning heroes from Shandong for His Highness. Unexpectedly, before entering Shandong, he sent heroes...Li Dewu, the captain of Chang'an County, this person is quite knowledgeable."
"Is it him?" Wei Zheng was stunned. He had talked with Li Dewu several times in Wuling County, but he really didn't notice it.
The East Palace has been paying attention to the war in Hebei for a day or two. Wang Gui had already made a plan and turned around and said: "Your Highness first admonishes the saints, and secondly summons the generals..."
Li Jiancheng nodded before he finished listening. This was the same as what Wei Zheng said. The first thing was that his second brother should not be allowed to lead the army.
Li Jiancheng was confident about this. His second brother's military exploits were unparalleled, and even his father did not want to see him make new achievements again... Using his second brother to conquer Hebei at the beginning of the year was really a last resort.
Even so, the second brother Luoshui was victorious, and his father immediately summoned him back to the capital.
Wang Gui continued: "Hebei Province has been fighting for many years. The fields are barren and the food and grass are poor. In the first battle at Xiabo, 30,000 troops were lost. Your Highness should make suggestions to adjust the grain, grass and troops of Shaanxi Province."
"Master Wang is absolutely right!" Li Jiancheng patted the table gently, his tone was quite cheerful.
Wang Gui's proposal seems logical. In fact, during the Hebei war last year and this year, Shaanxi Province has been sending food and troops. But what he is actually saying is... Your Highness, now is a good opportunity to attack Shaanxi Province.
Li Jiancheng's eyes were shining, and he couldn't help but get up and pace back and forth. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good time.
King Qin Li Shimin held many positions in the court, including General Tiance, Shangshu Ling, Shangzhu Kingdom, etc. But outside of Chang'an, he also had many positions, such as Yongzhou Shepherd and Liangzhou General Manager.
But the most important of them are the two positions, one is the Shangshu Ling of Yizhou Daxingtai, and the other is the Shangshu Ling of Daxingtai of Shaanxi Province.
In other words, he, Li Shimin, is the top leader in both Yizhou Road and Shaanxi Road.
Yizhou Road was in Shu territory, which was too far away, and was mainly attacked by Li Xiaogong and Li Jing. The officials at Xingtai on Yizhou Road were not considered Li Shimin's confidants, and at most they followed him in the expedition.
But Shaanxi Province is different, it is too important, almost including the Central Plains. The main officials in Daxingtai of Shaanxi Province are either Li Shimin's confidants, or they are simply from the palace of the Prince of Qin.
Li Shimin controlled Shaanxi Province. Li Jiancheng had to sleep with one eye open in the East Palace. Now that he had the opportunity to attack Shaanxi Province, how could he not be tempted to make a move?
Li Jiancheng tried hard to control his expression and looked at Wei Zheng, "What do you think Xuan Cheng?"
Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "Brother Yu Yu is a great talent, but he is nowhere near as talented as a lower official."
"This statement is wrong. If Xuancheng hadn't traveled thousands of miles and planned painstakingly..."
Wei Zheng and Wang Gui were humbling each other...or rather complimenting each other, which made Li Jiancheng's beard stand up.
"If that's the case over there, I will immediately go to Tai Chi Palace to pay my respects to my father."
"Xuancheng is not in a hurry to return home. There will be a banquet later."
