Li Yuan and Li Shimin looked at each other, knowing that Li Shan was doing this just in case. No one could say for sure, and Li Shan couldn't guarantee whether Jihu would betray him under the pressure of a hundred thousand Turkic troops... But there was one thing. It is certain that even if Jihu rebels, the Turks only have a few thousand more cavalry and it has nothing to do with the overall situation.
But Jihu must not be allowed to sneak into Yuanzhou. Once Yuanzhou is breached, the situation will be difficult to deal with.
After leaving the imperial city, Li Shan went straight home. He glanced at Eleven Niang absently and then went to the outer study. He stood in front of the map for a long time and stared at the place names. It seemed that he could see the Turkic cavalry rushing back and forth. , we can see the bravery of the Tang soldiers holding on to the Mingsha camp.
"Huairen?" Ling Jing, who was in charge of the office, walked in. He and Su Dingfang were the only people who could enter the study without notification. "I have heard His Highness the King of Qin mention that Zhang Zhongjian has quite a strategy."
Indeed, Zhang Zhongjian had a strategy. Although he abandoned Lingwu County, he was still stuck in the place that made Dubu Khan the most uncomfortable. This not only kept an appropriate distance from Yuanzhou, but also ensured that the Turks could not invade Mingsha. Under the nose of the main force of the Tang army in the camp, they looted wantonly.
Of course, the losses are also obvious. Lingwu County will definitely not be saved. Even if the Turks retreat, they will definitely demolish the walls of Lingwu County and set fire to the city... Years ago, Li Daozong defended Lingwu County, and then with the cooperation of Yang Shidao The allied forces of Turks and Liang divisions were defeated.
In fact, the name Lingwu County has been changed several times in history. On the one hand, it was due to wars, and on the other hand, it was due to the flooding of the Yellow River.
After a brief exchange of words, Ling Jing quickly noticed Li Shan's worry, "Are you afraid that Jihu will revolt and become attached to the Turks?"
"Yes." Li Shan nodded, "If Jihu rebels..."
"The possibility is very small." Ling Jing sighed: "Huairen underestimates himself too much."
"What?"
Ling Jing pointed at Li Shan's face, "You, Li Huairen, have repeatedly defeated the Turks in the past few years. In the battle of Yuanzhou, magic soldiers descended from the sky. In three days and two nights, you easily captured Xiaoguan on New Year's Eve. You also repeatedly built up buildings in Jingguan and Jihu." Why not be afraid?"
"It goes without saying that Liu Hei'er is in Chang'an now, but your name, Li Huairen, is enough to suppress him." Ling Jing analyzed: "If the Turks surrender, and the Tang army will march north in the future, will Jihu still be able to live in Anle Prefecture?"
"He will inevitably return to the grassland with the Turks. If he could gain a foothold in the grassland, why did Jihu go south, either to join the Tang Dynasty or to seek refuge in the Liangshi capital?"
Ling Jing asserted: "If Mingsha is lost, Jihu will definitely attack the Turks. If Zhang Zhongjian can maintain the situation, Liu Nucheng will not be so bold!"
"If the main force of the Tang army is not defeated and Liu Nu rebels after hiding her success, isn't he afraid that you, Li Huairen, will pile up the capital with more than ten thousand heads of Ji Hu?"
Li Shan felt that he should be humble, but after thinking about it, it seemed that it was really like this... The three Turkic Khans all suffered great losses at his own hands. Two of them were captured alive by him, and the remaining one was even worse. .
At this time, Su Dingfang pushed the door open, looked at the map a few times, and said softly: "Liu Heier came just now."
"Is he also afraid that Ji Hu will change?" Li Shan frowned.
"Li Chengjihu will not betray the Tang Dynasty easily."
Ling Jing and Li Shan looked at each other and both understood the meaning of Liu Hei'er's words. Just as Ling Jing said just now, if Zhang Zhongjian is not defeated, Liu Nu's hidden achievement will not subjugate the Turks. After all, they can rely on the city to defend it. Although the Turks have a large number of troops, after all, siege is not their strong point... Well, in this regard, because of the disastrous defeat in the battle of Guji Town, the Turks are quite afraid of the ant attack method of attacking the city.
But if Zhang Zhongjian is defeated, or even the entire Lingzhou army is annihilated, Liu Nu can only surrender... Li Yuan can't blame others for this. He can't expect these Hu people who have not joined for more than a year to abandon themselves for the Tang Dynasty. Will your head be sprinkled with blood?
That night, Li Shan, Ling Jing, and Su Dingfang stayed in the study for a long time, discussing the Lingzhou war. Zhang Zhongjian's strategy showed that he had a strategy, but no one could predict whether it would be effective and withstand the Turks' fierce attack. of.
Until late at night, Li Shan, who was yawning, sent the two of them off and returned to the backyard with a heavy heart. He happened to see his wife waking up in the middle of the night.
"Lingzhou war?"
"Who is nagging in your ears?" Li Shan snorted, "I have ordered not to mention the war in the backyard. I must reward him with ten sticks tomorrow!"
Cui Shiniang raised her small and straight nose, "Father said, reward him."
"Uh..." Li Shan was speechless. Only Cui Xin dared to say this in the backyard. However, he was from Zhongshushe. In theory, he would have to handle all memorials and battle reports.
“Is Lingzhou unstable?”
"It's not bad. His Highness the King of Qin praised him for his cleverness." Li Shan said vaguely, "Why do you care so much? Go to sleep."
Cui Shiniang was in good spirits and asked again: "Is there no movement on Pei Hongda's side?"
This sentence made Li Shan stunned. His pants were halfway down and he froze there. He thought for a while before continuing to take them off. He leaned on the bed and shook his head and said, "No movement."
"Is Pei Hongda going to sit back and wait for death?"
Li Shan didn't say anything. Perhaps he was too focused on this war and ignored Pei Shiju... Indeed, he had long confirmed that this war was the last chance for Pei Shiju, but the continuous changes in Daidi and Lingzhou made him ignore it. Got this.
But what can Pei Shiju do?
In fact, when the situation developed to this point, Pei Shiju had no way out. If he was willing to serve and plead guilty to the King of Qin, he might be able to die peacefully, but he refused, because even if the King of Qin could tolerate it, Li Shan would not tolerate it.
In other words, Pei Shiju didn't believe that Li Shan could tolerate it.
Everyone in Chang'an knew the reason why Li Huairen, the heir to the throne of Wei, and Li Yaoshi, the Duke of Dai, were at odds with each other, but only a few people knew it. The news that Li Shan was trapped in Guji Town was informed to Jieli Khan by several rebel generals. Yes, the source was Wang Renyou's mischief back then... But for the news to spread among the people so quickly, it was secretly the work of Pei Shiju.
Li Huairen was heartbroken because of the dead or disabled bodyguards around him. He broke up with Li Yaoshi because of this, even though he didn't care about his deep friendship with Danyang Yifang of the Li family in Longxi. How could he let Pei Shiju go?
Li Shan thought for a long time and couldn't figure out what Pei Shiju could do in the current situation?
Taiyuan, Hebei, has nothing to do with the big move. There is Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, in Yanzhou, Li Yaoshi, the Duke of Yanzhou, Zhang Zhongjian, the Duke of Guangling County in Lingzhou... The most likely place to start is in Lingzhou.
But although Zhang Zhongjian did not get along with Guo Xiaoke and Hou Junji, the latter two were both favorite generals of the King of Qin. What could Pei Shiju do?
After thinking about it for a long time but without any clue, Li Shan turned his head and glanced. His wife had fallen asleep at some point.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Mingsha Camp in Lingzhou, Zhang Zhongjian listened silently as Chief Shi Tangjian described the distribution of troops in the camp, as well as the amount of food, ordnance and other supplies.
"We can hold on for at least a month." Tang Jian stroked his beard and said, "The Zhongning side is slightly smaller, but the city is strong."
Zhang Zhongjian carefully calculated in his heart. After all, the Mingsha Camp was not a city and could not be defended. It was necessary to attack at the right time. This was also the reason why he retreated to Mingsha. However, the food and grass he had prepared was quite sufficient, and he could still kill him at the last moment. The horse satisfies hunger and can survive for a month and a half... I don't believe that the Turks will not return to the grassland until December.
At this time, there was a noise outside, and the general on duty, He Fang, quickly entered the tent, "The Turks are making noise outside again."
"Don't worry about it." Zhang Zhongjian sneered. The Turkic cavalry was making noise outside. It was nothing more than harassment to prevent the Tang army from resting peacefully, so that it could be weakened when the official war started tomorrow.
However, the Yellow River is to the west of the Mingsha Camp, and the 40,000 troops including civilians expanded the area over a very wide area. The Turks could not encircle it, so this kind of harassment would have minimal effect.
