On June 14, the general manager of Bingzhou, Rencheng Wang Li Daozong, rode northward to Yanmen Pass. After the news of the battle in Guji Town came, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He even thought about whether to lead the cavalry to follow him out of the fortress... It was a good opportunity to beat the drowned dog. , it’s simply a waste of credit!
But after thinking about it again and again, Li Daozong still didn't dare. Zhang Baoxiang led a thousand and five cavalry to support him. This was already the limit. The army crossed the border... After all, it was taboo. As a member of the clan, he was once a general of the King of Qin. Now the East Palace has If you are interested in recruiting, it is better not to look for trouble.
But when he heard the news from Yanmen Pass on June 13th that the King of Handan went north to pursue and returned with a great victory, Li Daozong could no longer bear it. The army did not move. He and the governor Shi Doujing only brought more than a hundred personal guards. He ran towards Yanmen Pass, intending to come out of the pass to meet him.
But when Li Daozong and Dou Jing arrived at Yanmen Pass, they immediately felt a strange atmosphere. The strangest thing was that, not to mention their official positions, a county king and a relative arrived, and the only person who came out to greet them was the Recorder and Counselor of the General Manager of Daizhou. Military Lu Chengji alone.
Before Li Daozong could react, the city gate opened wide, but only a thousand Tang cavalry came back.
Li Daozong saw Li Jing, the expressionless manager of Daizhou, and Zhang Gongjin, who looked embarrassed.
What's going on?
While Li Daozong was confused, Dou Jing on the side saw something and pulled the former's sleeve, "Where is the prince washing his horse, Wei Xuancheng?"
Yes, Wei Zheng of the East Palace met him once on his way north. By the way, wasn't Daizhou Sima Zhu Yichen ordered to stay at Yanmen Pass?
Where did these two people go?
After chatting for a while, Li Daozong looked at Li Jing's face and didn't ask anything... The latter smiled forcefully and disappeared after a few words, leaving only Daizhou and Zhang Gongjin behind.
"Brother Hongshen?" Dou Jing asked curiously, "Where is the King of Handan?"
Zhang Gongjin hiccuped for a long time and whispered a few words. Li Daozong understood a little bit. He thought for a while and did not continue to ask. He only left the seclusion with Dou Jing and drove towards the northwest.
On June 13, the Tang cavalry returned slowly and arrived thirty miles outside Guji Town. Li Shan decided to set up an altar in Guji Town to commemorate the thousands of Tang soldiers who died in the battle. He also invited the prince Xi Ma Wei Zheng, who came to welcome him, to write a memorial memorial. .
This memorial text... was written by Wei Zheng, but the meaning was basically determined by Li Shan.
On the second day, Li Shan ordered Zhang Gongjin to lead more than a thousand cavalrymen back to Yanmen Pass... This meaning is very clear. Li Shan did not want to drive Zhang Gongjin away. After all, he led the army north and followed him to pursue the Turks.
The key is that Zhang Gongjin is the only general among the generals who has always relied on Li Jing, the general manager of Daizhou... To pay tribute to the soldiers who died because of Li Jing's selfish interests, Li Shan could not tolerate Li Jing's pretentious presence.
Without Zhang Gongjin as a fig leaf, no matter how thick-skinned Li Jing was, he had no shame to stay... Moreover, he "occasionally" saw the written memorial, which contained the words "unjust death".
Therefore, when Li Daozong arrived at Yanmen Pass, he saw no one except Lu Chengji. Er Zhu Yichen, Wei Zheng and even Nao County Magistrate Li Yiyan had already rushed to Guji Town.
Li Daozong arrived in Guji Town in a hurry. Looking from a distance, he saw a large number of troops standing silently. An altar was built not far from the city gate. Headed by Li Shan, King of Handan, Liu Shirang, Zhang Shigui, and Xue Wanche paid their respects solemnly. Wei Zheng on the platform was standing high. Reciting rituals in a loud voice.
"There were three thousand soldiers in this battle, and I don't know how many survived..." Dou Jing sighed secretly: "To be fair, Yongkang County Duke is too harsh."
"It is said that in the battle of Guji Town, Huairen fell off his horse but continued to attack. After being hit by an arrow, he drew the arrow with his backhand and opened his bow. If the oil and the lamp were not exhausted, how could the bodyguard have allowed Huairen to return to danger." Li Daozong turned over and dismounted, looked from a distance, walked around the queue, As we walked forward, we could faintly hear crying coming from the altar.
When he got closer, he saw Li Shan stood up with tears on his face and was about to fall. Li Daozong was shocked and there was a commotion around him. Su Dingfang and Zhang Zhongjian rushed to help Li Shan up.
After fighting to the death for several times and thinking carefully about the future, Li Shan was not only injured in many places, exhausted to the extreme, but also mentally and physically exhausted. Today he returned to Guji Town and saw mountains of corpses. Recalling the sounds and faces of the past, his heart ached and his face burst into tears. He would never see it again. Unable to hold on any longer, Wei Zheng fainted and fell to the ground while he finished reading the memorial text.
Pao Ze's friendship is always the most reliable emotion in the world. It can be entrusted with life and death, and there is nothing like it in the world... The generals almost rushed forward with such sincerity that Li Daozong couldn't help but be moved.
The reason why he was moved was not only that the generals supported Li Shan, but also that Li Daozong knew very well that Er Zhu Yichen, who loudly called for the doctors and soldiers, was the general of the East Palace, and Zhang Shigui, who brought the stretcher and lifted Li Shan up with Su Dingfang, was the confidant of the King of Qin.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Daozong watched the doctor peel off Li Shan's clothes and replace his dressing. His back, shoulders, arms, thighs, and calves, except for the parts protected by thick armor... were covered in bruises.
Outside the house, Er Zhu Yichen looked ugly. He didn't expect Huairen to be so seriously injured. He glanced quietly, turned around and left, finding a remote corner.
After a while, a gloomy-looking Zhu Wei came over and said, "Sanlang-kun..."
Er Zhu Yichen grabbed Zhu Wei's collar with his hands and scolded him in a low voice: "It's such an injury, why didn't you give me advice?!"
Zhu Wei was speechless for a while and then whispered: "How can I persuade you..."
Er Zhu Yichen couldn't help but loosen his grip, but then he said angrily: "Pharmacist Li... Pharmacist Li!"
"In the previous battle in Guji Town, apart from being hit by an arrow in the shoulder, his injuries were not serious." Zhu Wei said in a low voice: "I have already questioned Wang Junhao and Su Dingfang carefully, and went north to pursue them. I took the lead several times..."
Zhu Wei narrated in detail here, while Zhang Shigui and Su Dingfang slowly recounted the several battles in the northward pursuit, while Liu Shirang and Xue Wanche supplemented from time to time.
Li Daozong, Wei Zheng, Dou Jing, Li Yiyan and others heard that they saw Shenxuan, and they rushed into the battle on horseback. They fought bravely and sharply. They were defeated twice and surrendered the flag again. If the battle in Guji Town was not a great victory, but several battles in Yunzhou , especially the battle of Cangtou River, was a great victory. Jieli Khan led his remaining troops and fled north in embarrassment.
"Three thousand corpses were built into the Jingguan?" Li Daozong blinked quickly, remembering that there was also one outside Yanmen Pass, but this was different... He was good at killing prisoners and built the Jingguan. He was indeed good at killing.
"Huairen is heartbroken and his subordinates have suffered so many casualties...it can't be considered a cruel method." Wei Zheng said lightly: "What's more, Huairen didn't kill well, and those who beheaded were all from the Ashina clan."
Wei Zheng had already received a letter from Pei Shiju, and a letter from Prince Zhongyun Wang Gui. Although both letters were vague, this upright and famous official in history had his own considerations.
If we say that before taking office in Daizhou, although Li Shan was famous and had the trust of saints and was supported by Princess Pingyang, his weight was too low after all... In the final analysis, he had no real power and no prestige in the army, and this One thing is what Donggong values most.
But things are different now. In the battle of Guji Town, he defeated the enemy in a deadly battle. He shot down the flag of Khan and led his army to pursue northward. He was as fast as thunder and defeated the enemy twice... Since the Battle of Hulao in Luoyang in the fourth year of Wude, military achievements have been flourishing. Only Li Shimin, who won the great victory at Luoshui, and Li Xiaogong and Li Jing, who quelled the Jianghuai Rebellion, can compare.
However, Li Xiaogong was accused of treason. Although it was a false accusation, he no longer had military power and could only idle in the army. Li Jing's reputation in Yanmen plummeted this time. On the contrary, Li Shan's reputation in Hedong will be reached with the help of his military exploits. And his prestige in the army must be unparalleled, and it is difficult to compare with Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng.
In other words, Li Shan, who is now quite prestigious in the army, has enough weight and strength to truly enter the main battlefield of winning the throne.
How could Wei Zheng not recruit such a person for the prince?
Moreover, Wei Zheng believed that Li Shan was more likely to be recruited than Li Jing. Wei Zheng could not say how bad he felt about him, but he knew very well that Li Jing was unlikely to join the East Palace because the prince had been recruiting him for a long time. , but Li Jing’s attitude was quite cold.
That's why Wei Zheng was so casual... He hoped to promote Li Shan to the position of Daizhou Governor. With such strong military support, the prince would be more confident.
