Although Li Jing had great achievements in destroying Nanliang, pacifying Lingnan, and controlling the Jianghuai River, all of them were in the south. Just because he sat back and watched the Turks attack Guji Town, Li Jing's reputation among the northern army plummeted.
After serving as the general manager of Daizhou for several years, Li Jing also admitted that the Wei Siwang did not do anything secretly, but he still felt that it was quite inconvenient and he could not command the Daizhou army well... Zhang Shigui, Xue Wanche, Liu Shirang, and Er Zhu Yichen all Li Jing felt constrained.
Even if Li Jing is now the commander-in-chief of the march of Yanzhou Road and has jurisdiction over the four states, the commander-in-chief of Yinzhou Hu Yan, the governor of Suizhou Yang Ze, and the commander-in-chief Duan Decao of Yanzhou are all Li Huairen's old troops, and a large number of military lieutenants and generals participated in the Jingzhou Campaign last year. In the war between Zhouzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lingzhou, they all bowed to the Wei heir.
This is also the reason why Li Jing insisted on replacing Xue Wanche with Zhang Gongjin as the general manager of Xiazhou that day, and why he submitted a letter asking the general to transfer the deputy general manager of Yanzhou Road March.
Li Jing calmed down and chuckled: "Zhang Zhongjian is from Yangzhou. He joined the army in the Sui Dynasty. He has been in Mayi for a long time. He is an old subordinate of a certain person."
"What?" Yuchi Gong was greatly surprised. Zhang Zhongjian was actually Li Jing's subordinate.
"Who do you think Li Huairen is?" Li Jing turned and sighed: "If nothing else, King Wei Si has a unique vision, is good at recognizing people, and is also courageous."
"Jingde thinks that because of the deep hatred of Wei Si Wang, he is unwilling to send troops?"
Li Jing stood up and walked around for a few steps, "The Yanzhou Army and the Lingzhou Army each have their own organizational structures and cannot be crossed at will. If we send troops to Yanzhou... Yanzhou has recently been recovered. There are few cities and it is difficult to hold on. The Turks have nothing to fear. If the troops are If there are more, the Turks will not dare to sit back and watch, and will definitely attack."
Glancing at Yuchi Gong, Li Jing emphasized his tone and said: "Dubu Khan was defeated in Jingzhou last year. This time he comes back with hatred and must raise troops. If Yanzhou Road sends troops, it will sweep through Lingzhou, Huizhou, Yanzhou and even A war in Xiazhou is unavoidable, and His Highness the King of Qin is afraid of it but unwilling to do so."
Yuchi Gong thought for a moment without speaking, but he agreed with this point of view in his heart. Although Li Huairen, the successor king of Wei, has defeated the Turks several times in recent years, the Turks are still the heroes of the grassland... Someone once asked Li Huairen in public, and the latter frankly said that defeating the Turks would not be possible. It is difficult, but it will take time to destroy the Turks.
Nowadays, although the Northern Territory is preparing for war against the Turks, it is still mainly focused on defending the border. It is hoped that on the one hand it will kill some people, and on the other hand it will recuperate and recuperate for the future.
In this large-scale war that involved both the Lingzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army, it would be okay if they won, but if they lost, I'm afraid the Tang Army would be greatly damaged... In fact, even if it was a victory, the terrain of Lingzhou, Xiazhou, and Yanzhou They are all more suitable for Turkic cavalry to move freely. Even if the Tang army can win, they will probably lose their vitality.
"Secondly, Su Dingfang, the Duke of Zhao, was pulled out of the grass by Li Huairen. After the battle in Lingzhou, he became a famous general." Li Jing sat down again and said with a smile: "Wang Junhao is Wang Fubao's nephew. He is brave and will not let Su Dingfang, but Li Huairen only uses it for The personal guards are in charge, which shows that Wei Siwang has a good understanding of people."
"In the battle of Jingzhou, Zhang Zhongjian led the front army alone, and his merits were not given to Su Dingfang. This man was familiar with the art of war and had great strategies. He was quite famous in Mayi back then..."
Speaking of this, Li Jing paused. When he first arrived at Yanmen Pass, until Zhang Zhongjian served as Shuozhou Bingcao and joined the army, he deliberately tried to win over Zhang Zhongjian and used this as a breakthrough to gain military power... Unfortunately, Zhang Zhongjian chose Li Huairen.
Li Jing came to this conclusion, "Don't worry, even if Zhang Zhongjian finds it difficult to defeat the enemy, he should be able to maintain the war situation."
Yuchi Gong was still a little uneasy. Lingzhou, like Yanzhou, had few important towns and it was difficult to hold on. When Liang Shidu retreated at the beginning of the year, he deliberately demolished the city walls. Zhang Zhongjian had to choose another place to set up camp. Can he hold it? ?
Li Jing looked at Yu Chigong's face and added: "We can send more scouts to Yanzhou to investigate. The Turks will attack Lingzhou with their main force, or they may attack Huizhou with a partial force, but they should not harass Yanzhou."
Yuchi Gong was stunned for a moment before he realized that it was indeed true. If the Turks wanted to attack Yanzhou, on the one hand they would be bordering Xiazhou under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Road. On the other hand, if they wanted to attack Yanzhou, there was no need to send partial troops. In Xiazhou, Zhang Baoxiang would not meet thousands of Turkic cavalry on the left.
Seeing Yuchi Gong striding away, Li Jing sighed, and he was fooled.
Is it necessary to send troops to Yanzhou Road?
Hard to say.
But one thing is certain, if Luziguan is breached, the fate of the Duke of Dai will be worrying.
Nowadays, no one knows whether Dubu Khan’s goal is Lingzhou or Xiazhou. Logically speaking, it should be Lingzhou, but after conquering Lingzhou and Huizhou, with the troops of Yanzhou Road beside him, the Turks want to go smoothly. Going south from Yeoju to Gyeongju is not easy, and directly attacking Wonju will be even more difficult.
On the other hand, if the Turks can attack Luzi Pass in a surprise attack, they can go all the way from the middle of Yanzhou, cross Fushi, and invade Yanzhou. Although it is difficult to continue south due to a series of mountains such as Ziwu Ridge, it is not far from Chang'an, so The pressure to create in Chang'an is great.
Li Jing repeatedly took inventory in his mind. The information was unclear. It was not appropriate to move at this time and should be calm. He also speculated in his mind. It was said that Li Huairen, the heir of Wei, was good at understanding people. Can Zhang Zhongjian take on the important task?
This question actually exists in the hearts of Li Yuan and Li Shimin in Chang'an City, and even Li Shan himself is a little uneasy... After all, Li Jing and Su Dingfang are historical figures, and the bearded guest is a character.
In Linhu Palace, Li Shan was helpless when faced with Li Yuan's inquiry.
"Uncle, if my nephew says that the Duke of Guangling will not be defeated, and if he is really defeated, Your Majesty will probably think that I have selfish motives." Li Shan felt aggrieved, "If my nephew says that the Duke of Guangling will be difficult to defend, Lingzhou, I’m afraid your majesty still feels that I’m at fault..."
Even though Li Yuan was upset, he was also amused by these words and laughed out loud. Uncle, Your Majesty, nephew, minister... he could switch easily.
In fact, Li Yuan also knew that it was not Li Shan's fault. Li Shan and Su Dingfang, the two military commanders of Lingzhou Road, invited themselves back to Beijing. A large number of military generals were either transferred back to Chang'an or transferred to Yanzhou Road. At that time, only Li Shan was a personal guard. , Zhang Zhongjian, who led the front army alone in the battle of Jingzhou, and made great contributions in the battles of Yuanzhou and Lingzhou, could barely control the Lingzhou army.
When he was staying in Renzhi Palace for the summer, Li Yuan once considered transferring the city king Li Daozong to be the military commander of Lingzhou Road after Yi Chu, and the commander-in-chief of the northwest military power of Guannai Road. However, Yang Wenqian's rebellion disrupted the rhythm.
And Li Shan had just made a great contribution to the rescue, so Li Yuan could not immediately transfer Zhang Zhongjian back to Chang'an. After all, Li Shan and Su Dingfang had successively abandoned their posts to show their intentions.
But they did not expect that Dubu Khan and Turli Khan would form an alliance, and the Turkic civil strife was quelled. The Turks were about to invade the south. At this time, changing the commander before the battle... The risk was too great. Li Yuan and Li Shimin discussed for a long time before deciding to retain Zhang Zhongjian. Chang'an transferred generals to join the Lingzhou Army.
At this time, there were rapid footsteps coming from outside.
Li Yuan's expression tightened. The people who came in were Qin Wang Li Shimin and his subordinate Chen Shuda.
"Father, Lingzhou Military Report." Li Shimin said seriously: "Dubu Khan and his army have arrived at the foot of Helan Mountain."
Li Shan snorted. He invented the word Helan himself. The Chinese name should be Huaiyuan, but after the great victory in Lingzhou, even Li Shimin also called him Helan.
"How many troops are there?"
"At least a hundred thousand people."
(End of chapter)
