This is a rare good weather. Although there is still a chilly breeze blowing, the high sun brings long-lost warmth to the earth.
Lazy Li Shan sat on a rock to bask in the sun without any manners, with his legs spread apart, wanting to do a split.
It was already the second day since we set off from the north of Liting and headed south. Without the drag of wounded soldiers, the speed was much faster. Although Su's mother's injury was still far away from recovery, Su Dingfang insisted on taking it with him personally, two people and one horse, every other After a while, Li Shan and Zhou checked their injuries and found that they were in pretty good condition.
Therefore, Li Shan has been having a hard time these past few days... The speed south was not very fast before, and Li Shan could barely keep up, but as the speed increased, the inner thighs became bloody again, and now he had to be supported on and off the horse.
Guo Pu sat aside and said with a smile: "It takes a few months to wear out the cocoon, at least half a year."
Li Shan sighed, and Uncle Ling on the side laughed... Yesterday, Li Shan had a sudden idea and spread a quilt on the saddle. As a result, if Guo Pu hadn't been quick, Li Shan would have fallen half to death.
"Yongji County is ahead." Zhang Wenguan pointed ahead, "After Yongji County, we will enter Weizhou, which is only a few dozen miles away from Guantao."
Li Shan gave an appreciative look and kicked Zhou Zhao beside him with his toes, "Are you considered a Beizhou native?"
Zhou Zhao patted his clothes expressionlessly and took a few steps away in disgust.
Zhang Xuansu pointed to the west side, "That's Yongji Canal."
Li Shan couldn't help but stand up and look around. The Yongji Canal was an important part of what Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty called the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, unlike several other rivers, the main function of the Yongji Canal was to transport military supplies... It was the main transportation artery for the Sui Dynasty to send troops to Liaodong. .
Without this Yongji Canal, history might not have turned out like that... The Ming and Qing Dynasties established Beijing as their capital and used water transportation to maintain the capital and the northeastern defense line, mainly because of the North-South Canal, and the Yongji Canal was the most critical section.
Zhang Xuansu said softly: "In the fourth year of the Great Cause, Emperor Sui ordered more than a million people from all counties in Hebei to open the Yongji Canal to divert the Qinshui River, reaching Yuhe in the south and connecting Zhuojun in the north."
"In the past few years, Shandong has been fighting for years, and there is no longer a situation of hundreds of teams competing for the river or thousands of sails racing."
Li Shan watched for a while and suddenly asked: "If there is an enemy coming from the west...is there a bridge in Yongji Canal?"
Zhang Wenguan raised his voice and said: "Of course there is a bridge, but it is still far from here."
"Is there an enemy coming from the west?" Ling Bo stared at Li Shan.
Li Shan waved his hand, "Don't worry, further south is Yongji County, and beyond Yongji County is Weizhou... Now Liu Heitai must be attacking Luozhou..."
Halfway through, Li Shan stopped talking in the face of angry glares from everyone.
Zhang Wenguan looked around curiously, a little confused, and pointed at the tied Turkic young man, "I heard Mr. Zhou say before that this person has an extraordinary status... There won't be any Turkic soldiers chasing him, right?"
"In Wucheng County, Fan Yuan asked about this person's whereabouts. Naturally, his status is extraordinary." Li Shan thought for a while and then said: "But Liu Heitai should not let the Turkic soldiers invade Beizhou."
"Think about it, if the Turks lose their temper and kill indiscriminately in Qinghe, then Liu Heitai will be the target of thousands of people."
"If Liu Heitai can break through Luozhou, he will definitely attack Xiangzhou and Weizhou. When the time comes, these Turks may come in handy."
After just a few words, the people around him had already dispersed. Zhou Zhaolian, who had injured his calf yesterday, was jumping up and down, Zhang Xuansu and Ling Bo were walking fast, and even Guo Pu and Su Dingfang were walking away while chatting.
"Uh...this is..."
Li Shanqian laughed a few times, then almost covered his ears and ran while shouting... I won't listen, I won't listen!
Doesn't it mean that you walked far away and didn't hear me, that I didn't say anything?
wrong!
It should be, does it mean that if I say it, the Turks will come after me?
After resting for half an hour, the group set off again and soon passed Yongji County.
After all, they hadn't entered Weizhou yet, so everyone kept discussing and entered Weizhou territory first. Before they had gone far, there were scouts flying back from the front.
Fan Shiyi, who insisted on stepping forward to explore the road despite being injured, looked quite happy. He stepped back and shouted: "General Manager Wei Zhou personally leads the army and is stationed in front."
Long sighs sounded around, and the long journey was finally over.
Starting from Xiabo, he went through three states, fought more than ten battles, and even attacked enemy camps at night and stormed the city... Li Shan thought in his heart that this is not a big legend.
The sound of horse hoofbeats was getting closer and closer. Li Shan squinted his eyes to take a closer look. More than a hundred horses were galloping towards them. The leader was wearing bright light armor and had a tall figure. He lifted up his helmet. He was a middle-aged man with a broad face and a straight nose.
"Brother Tian!" Liu Jun rushed out. He and Tian Liu'an were former colleagues. They both accompanied Li Shimin to attack Luoyang and also attacked Dou Jiande.
"Brother Liu." Tian Liuan turned over and dismounted, "Where is King An of Huaiyang?"
Liu Jun smiled miserably, "In the battle of Xiabo, the King of Huaiyang led his elite cavalry to break through the formation. Shi Wanbao stopped and was trapped in a tight siege. The King of Huaiyang ordered someone to lead his troops to the east and to the west on his own, breaking out of the encirclement in two directions."
"To the west..." Tian Liuan's cheeks moved, "Qi Shanxing led his troops to retreat south to Luozhou."
"Zhaozhou has already fallen, and Xu Shanxing, the general manager of Beizhou, was defeated and died."
In other words, the chance of Li Daoxuan trying to escape from the siege is almost non-existent, and it has been several days. If he escapes, he should reach Luozhou and Weizhou.
Tian Liuan sighed. He was from the Fourth Army of the Right Army of the Prince of Qin. He was quite familiar with Li Daoxuan and knew very well how much the Prince of Qin valued him.
Looking at the queue, Tian Liuan frowned slightly. Although they were all cavalry, there were actually many women and even children. "They are..."
"Oh, let me explain." Liu Jun introduced them one by one.
Zhang Xuansu, who joined the army in Jingcheng Records, has naturally been well-known for a long time. Zhang Wenguan, a descendant of the Zhang family in Qinghe, has also heard of it. This is because although Zhang Wenguan is from Beizhou, he was actually born in Weizhou and grew up in Weizhou. Returned to Beizhou and became acquainted with many Tang army generals.
"Su Dingfang?" Tian Liuan felt as if he had heard this name somewhere.
"This is Mr. Ling, the prince of the state under the command of King Xia."
Tian Liuan's expression changed slightly and he saluted, "After the battle at Hulao Pass, His Highness the King of Qin once inquired about Mr.'s whereabouts."
After Li Shimin captured Dou Jiande, he interrogated the prisoners and was shocked into a cold sweat by Ling Jing's advice.
Ling Bo still had the same temper, "Does the King of Qin want to kill everyone?"
"You are joking. Your Highness has heard of your talent for a long time."
Zhang Xuansu tried to smooth things over and said: "Shandong Lingjing has always been ambitious and resourceful. For such a person, the King of Qin does not accept him as his subordinate, but he wants to kill them all?"
Ling Bo wanted to retort, but Li Shan behind him coughed twice, and the old man stopped in anger.
Tian Liuan's eyes fell on Li Shan, but Zhang Xuansu in front of him whispered: "How is the battle in Luozhou?"
Tian Liuan took a few steps to the side, while Su Dingfang and Ling Bo both paced in the opposite direction and turned away.
"Xiabo was defeated. Qi Shanxing, the general manager of Xingzhou, led his troops to retreat to Luozhou."
"Yesterday's military report reported that Liu Heitai stormed Luozhou. The king of Lujiang County summoned the general manager of Xiangzhou to go north. He was defeated and died."
After a pause, Tian Liuan continued, "Today's battle report shows that the king of Lujiang County abandoned the city and was unable to escape. Qi Shanxing gathered his army and retreated south."
The expressions of Zhang Xuansu and Liu Jun changed greatly. The capture of Luozhou was of great significance to Liu Heitai. It represented a flag and also represented that Hebei and Shandong would no longer be the territory of Li and Tang.
"Withdraw, cross the river and go to Shaanxi Province." Zhang Xuansu suggested: "Liu Heita has sharp soldiers and tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry..."
"We must not retreat!" Zhang Wenguan's face turned red.
"The King of Qi stopped advancing with his army and watched with cold eyes. Weizhou and Xiangzhou were unable to support them alone." Zhang Xuansu said sternly: "Are we going to let the entire Tang army in the three states be annihilated?"
"If you don't retreat today, how can you come back tomorrow?!"
"Now that it's winter, the Turks will definitely return north..."
The two argued endlessly, and Tian Liuan hesitated and turned to look at Liu Jun.
Liu Jun thought for a while and whispered: "Just now there is someone who has not been recommended to Brother Tian. Although this person has not been crowned, he is really a hero. My younger brother cannot escape and is pursued by the enemy. He should have died, so he got his help. "
"who?"
Liu Jun led Tian Liuan towards Li Shan.
Tian Liuan was a little surprised. As the general manager of Weizhou, Liu Jun introduced him, but he did not lead the person over, but led him over... I don't know whether Liu Jun was intentional or unintentional about the sense of propriety here.
The footsteps paused slightly, and Tian Liuan suddenly noticed that the arguing voices behind him disappeared. He turned his head and looked, and Zhang Xuansu and Zhang Wenguan actually followed him.
What does this mean?
"Li Shan, a surname from Chengji in Longxi, fell in love with the King of Huaiyang at first sight in Xiabo that day. He once urged His Highness not to waste time fighting, but it's a pity..."
Li Shan bowed and said, "The time, place, and people are favorable, but Brother Daoxuan didn't get one, so he attacked rashly and ended up defeated. This should be heartbreaking. How can we boast about it?"
Tian Liuan's expression softened, and he nodded: "Today's Hebei Province, Weizhou, and the north of Xiangzhou have all fallen..."
Liu Jun whispered a few words in his ear, but Li Shan's expression did not change, "I will follow the King of Qi south to Shaanxi Province, and then escort the grain and grass to Xingzhou, and then go east to Xiabo to meet Brother Daoxuan."
Tian Liuan frowned, he actually came with King Qi.
Li Shan didn't say much, just reached out and took out two letters and handed them over.
One was written by Li Keshi, and the other was written by Fang Xuanling.
Although Li Keshi's status in Prince Qin's palace was not very high, he was born in Danyangfang of the Li family in Longxi. His brother Li Jing was in the process of pacifying Jiangnan, and Li Keshi's wife was from the Changsun family and was the cousin of Princess Qin.
Needless to say, Fang Xuanling was the first-class confidant of the King of Qin. The most important thing is that Tian Liuan and Li Junxian defected to the Tang Dynasty in the second year of Wude, and they were introduced to the King of Qin's palace by Fang Xuanling.
After reading the two letters, Tian Liuan's attitude made a 180-degree turn, "If you can be praised by His Highness and recommended by your landlord, you must be a hero."
Li Shan then got back to the topic, "If you report the battle, you must have entered Chang'an. Do you think that the saint will order the King of Qin to attack Hebei again?"
Tian Liu'an hesitated for a while, "Liu Heita's soldiers were sharp and unstoppable. He swept across Hebei. If King Qin hadn't led the army, who else could have done it?"
"It will never be the King of Qin who leads the army." Li Shan looked indifferent, "Even if the whole territory of Hebei is lost, it will be difficult for the King of Qin to leave the capital!"
"Donggong?"
"Not only the East Palace, but also saints." Li Shan's words were unscrupulous. "Now there are Xiangzhou, Weizhou, and Weizhou in Hebei Province. General Manager Qi went south to Xiangzhou, General Manager Tian guarded Weizhou, and Cheng Mingzhen guarded Zhou. Two of them were born in In the Prince of Qin's Mansion, Cheng Mingzhen also served under the Prince of Qin at the beginning of the year."
Li Shan stared into Tian Liuan's eyes and said, "Qi Wang Yuexu Dun has stopped moving forward, and now he will not lead his troops northward."
"That……"
"Donggong intends to personally conquer Hebei." Li Shan, who had read the answer, said decisively: "Donggong has been spying on Shandong for more than a day. King Qi led his army south to Shaanxi Province, and Prince Xi Ma Wei Xuancheng came with the army to inquire about the military situation."
"but……"
Li Shan ignored Zhang Xuansu's interruption and interrupted: "If it weren't for Donggong's personal conquest, who else could suppress King Qin?"
"It will be winter in half a month, and the Turks will inevitably return north. Liu Heitai will be a dead snake."
"If we retreat south across the river at this time and allow Liu Heitai to occupy Weizhou, the East Palace will surely be happy and the King of Qin will inevitably decline."
Tian Liuan said in a daze: "That's true...The King of Huaiyang was defeated, Qi Shanxing abandoned Xingzhou, and Ruo crossed the river and retreated south..."
Zhang Xuansu on the side opened his mouth to speak, but after thinking about it, he closed his mouth.
It sounds a bit incredible. You said that it is difficult for the King of Qin to conquer Hebei again. This is quite reasonable... but why do you conclude that Donggong will personally conquer Hebei?
But as Li Shan analyzed it, Zhang Xuansu began to be dubious.
Indeed, the commander-in-chief of the march in Hebei Province was defeated. If troops and generals were deployed from within the pass, the only one who could suppress the King of Qin would be the prince... The saint had never left Jingzhao since the founding of the country.
There is a reason that everyone knows but cannot explain. When Li Tang founded the country and fought in all directions, he basically used the clan members as commanders. It was also for this reason that Li Daoxuan was able to command the Tang army in Hebei.
But Li Xiaogong was still in Jiangnan, and Li Shentong was defeated several times in Hebei by Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai. Li Daozong was Li Shimin's direct lineage, and even Li Shentong favored the King of Qin.
In this case, only the prince's personal conquest can suppress the King of Qin's lineage. We can't count on Li Yuan, the king of Lujiang County, who abandoned Luozhou and fled, right?
After all, the battlefield in Hebei is the battlefield of the Tang Army and Liu Heitai, as well as the battlefield of the East Palace and the Prince of Qin's Mansion...the proportion of the latter is even heavier.
Li Shan almost broke things down and talked about it, and Tian Liuan finally made up his mind to stick to Weizhou.
As long as you don't run away, that's fine... Li Shan finally felt relieved.
Li Shan had a rough plan before going on the expedition. In the end, he chose to push Li Dewu into the East Palace, but now he doesn't know whether he succeeded.
Next is the Prince of Qin's Mansion. Even if Li Shan cannot enter the Prince of Qin's Mansion, he still has to be protected by the King of Qin... It's not that he wants to lick Li Er, these are all interrelated.
Pei Ji originally favored the East Palace, Pei Shiju was originally the prince Zhan Shi, and Li Shan tried to push Li Dewu into the East Palace... The only one who could protect him was the King of Qin.
But now Li Daoxuan was defeated in Xiabo and was likely to die... But Li Shan left Xiabo early after asserting that Li Daoxuan would be defeated. Li Shimin's attitude was hard to say.
He has already run the first time, so he can't run the second time... Li Shan thought in his heart, and he didn't know how many points he could get back by persuading Tian Liu'an to stick to Weizhou.
At this time, the desolate horn sound was faintly heard, and Su Dingfang's expression changed drastically, "The Turks are coming!"
Except for Tian Liuan and Zhang Wenguan, everyone's eyes were focused on Li Shan.
It seems that just when you were taking a break, you asserted that the Turks would definitely not appear in Beizhou? !
Li Shan's face turned green and white. He was a little desperate. The trust he had finally built up was gone in an instant.
