The sudden turn of the war in Hedong was beyond the expectations of many people. Although Liu Wuzhou swept almost the entire Hedong Road back then, with Li Shan taking office a few years ago, he regained Shuozhou and formed the Daizhou Army, leaving Hedong for many years. It was never ravaged by the Turks again.
Li Daoxuan gave up Yanmen Pass and retreated south, but he still had more than 10,000 troops in his hands. In addition to the tens of thousands of troops under the command of Li Daozong, the general manager of Bingzhou, and the 7,000 Tang troops under Liu Hongji who had rushed to Hedong, in fact, the total strength of the Tang army in the Hedong battle was not counted. It's too bad, after all, you are on the defensive.
However, they did not expect that Li Daoxuan would be forced to retreat south again and suffer a major defeat on the way. This was something that neither Li Shimin nor Li Shan could have imagined. If Li Daozong could not stand in the next war, the Turks might cross Bingzhou and continue southward.
Before Li Yuan spoke, Li Shimin glanced at Li Shan and said, "Huairen?"
"Ren Guogong Liu Hongji." Li Shan replied very quickly.
Li Yuan finally came to his senses, "Where has Liu Hongji arrived now?"
Li Shan looked back at the messenger, who could no longer hold on any longer and reluctantly replied, "I saw on the way that Duke Ren's army is at the border of Jinzhou and Fenzhou."
"Father immediately sent a messenger to tell Liu Hongji to stop and not go north." Li Shimin gritted his teeth.
"Ren Guo Gong is rushing to Bingzhou now, fearing a sudden attack by Turks." Li Shan added: "This is a tactic to add fuel to the fire."
Although there was no so-called refueling tactic at this time, Li Yuan understood the general meaning and immediately sent men out of the palace. If Liu Hongji was defeated, not only would the Tang army, the only mobile Tang army in Hedong, lose its combat effectiveness, but the Turks would also likely be driven in. All the way to Puzhou, it is not uncommon for horses to drink from the Yellow River.
The unbearable messenger was helped down to rest. Li Shan quickly reviewed it in his mind, "How could the King of Rencheng be in charge of Yangqu County and allow thousands of Turks to easily break through Shiling Pass?"
Li Yuanqian, who had been in Taiyuan for a long time in the Sui Dynasty, knew the terrain very well, and sighed: "Shilingguan Mountain is steep and steep, with Wutai in the east and Guanmao in the west. To the north, it is narrow and dark, with steep and curvy slopes, but the terrain on the south side is flat. And there is no brick and stone camp to protect it.”
Li Shan's mouth twitched. That's right. Shiling Pass guards Taiyuan. The terrain is dangerous, but the defense is from the north. There is indeed no need to garrison heavy troops on the south side, and a spacious passage must be left for the army to enter and exit. In fact, Yanmen Pass It's almost the same. If Li Daoxuan didn't retreat south that day, he definitely wouldn't be able to hold on.
Looking at the map spread on the ground, Li Yuan looked at Li Shimin, "Erlang?"
In terms of military affairs, Li Yuan always trusted Li Shimin the most. Every time he encountered danger in the past, as long as he released this tiger, he would be invincible.
"Let's talk about the battle situation first." Li Shimin stood next to the map. "Suffering successive defeats, Daozong can only be trapped in Jinyang and Yuci. The messenger returning to the capital was intercepted and killed by Turkic cavalry. Apparently the Turkic cavalry has penetrated into the southwest of Bingzhou."
"Jinyang and Yuci are important towns. Qingyuan, Jiaocheng, Qixian, and Wenshui also have high walls. The Turks should not be able to attack them, but..."
Having said this, Li Shimin paused, turned to glance at Li Shan, who had a bitter look on his face, and then looked at Li Yuan, "Father, if the Turks plunder Bingzhou, Xinzhou, Daizhou and other places, the situation can still be maintained, but if... "
Li Yuan's face turned ugly. Li Shan was the first to put forward this point of view. Many prime ministers and ministers agreed, some denied, and some were noncommittal... The Turks' southern invasion this time was not for money, food, or population, but for money, food, and population. It was to force Datang to bow his head.
If this is the case, then Tuli Khan will not stop.
Li Yuan rubbed his eyebrows, "Huairen?"
"It cannot be determined." Li Shan grinned, "It still depends on the movement of the Turks. If the Turks besieged Jinyang and Yuci, they would send another army to attack Lanzhou and plunder the eastern part of Bingzhou... But if the Turks bypassed Jin Yang, want to break Fenzhou..."
Chen Shuda, who had a different military strategy and had never been to Hedong, finally realized why the first thing Li Shan and Li Shimin did just now was to ask Ren Guogong Liu Hongji to stop at the border of Fenzhou and Jinzhou. If they continued Going north, it is very likely that you will be attacked by Turks on the way.
Li Shimin looked at the map and hesitated: "Jiexiu... Lingshi..."
Dou Gui whispered: "It should be the spirit stone."
"It's best to use the spirit stone." Li Shan said quietly, "But if you can't keep the spirit stone, it can only be Huo Yi."
Li Yuan was silent. He knew the terrain of Hedong very well. There was a pass on the march route from Taiyuan south to Fenzhou, to Guanzhong or to Longmen Ferry, which was the Queshu Valley.
The terrain of Queshu Valley is a bit like the Flying Fox Trail, with dozens of miles of dangerous passes. It is the only way from Taiyuan to Jinzhou. The two most important strongholds are Lingshi County on the north side of Queshu Valley, surrounded by Jia Hubao, Gaobiling and Fenshui Pass are all dangerous places.
The other one is Huoyi on the south side of Queshu Valley. At that time, Li Yuan raised troops from Jinyang and quickly went south. He first took Jiahu Fort, broke through Queshu Valley, and defeated the Sui general Song Laosheng in Huoyi. After this battle, Li Yuan arrived at Longmen in two days. , broke into the pass.
Therefore, if Lingshi County can be defended, that would be the best. But whether Liu Hongji can defend it is a big question. But if he cannot defend it, he must ensure that Huoyi is not lost...otherwise, the southeastern part of Henan Province will become a Turk. In this land of wanton control, if the Longmen Ferry was blocked, it would be difficult for the Tang army to invade Hedong.
"Your Majesty, Duke Ren lived in Taiyuan for a long time, so he should know the importance of Queshu Valley." Li Shan said softly: "But now, there are not enough troops in Hedong..."
Li Shimin said: "Yes, the second thing is the strength of the troops. Hebei is too far away, so we can only mobilize troops from the Guannai Road to prevent the Turks from breaking through Jinzhou."
Once Huoyi is lost and Jinzhou is captured, there will be almost no obstacle in front of the Turks. The entire southeastern part of the river will be under the hooves of the Turks' cavalry, and will also threaten the Guannai Road.
It is certain that troops will be mobilized, and they can only be mobilized from the inner pass. Li Yuan gritted his teeth and said: "There are still more than 10,000 troops in Shangfan Mansion, but I'm afraid they are not enough."
"There is no war on Yanzhou Road now. We can ask Yuchi Gong, the deputy general manager of the march on Yanzhou Road, to lead his troops south and rush to Longmen Ferry in Tongzhou or Fengling Ferry in Huazhou." Li Shan thought that he would still have to mobilize troops from Yanzhou, but Yuchi Gong can no longer stay in Chang'an.
But Yang Gongren said: "Go south from Yanzhou and cross several states to Tongzhou and Huazhou. I'm afraid it's too late. It's faster to mobilize troops from Qizhou and Jingzhou. Although it's a little farther, the road is smooth and the speed is faster."
Xiao Yu nodded in agreement, "The Duke of Guangling County can defeat the Turks. Dubu Khan is unable to defeat Lingzhou and Yuanzhou. The troops of Jingzhou, Longzhou, Ningzhou and Qizhou are available."
Li Shan's face was gloomy, and he suddenly turned to look at Pei Shiju, "What do you think Mr. Pei is?"
Pei Shiju secretly laughed in his heart, you are suspicious of Long Youdao, but it is a pity that you cannot say the reason for your suspicion, "This matter should be decided by Your Majesty and the King of Qin."
Li Shimin's face was equally gloomy. It would indeed be faster to mobilize troops from Longzhou and Qizhou, but in that case, if it were as Huairen speculated, once the Longyou Road changed, it would be difficult for Li Mengchang to hold it.
(End of chapter)
