In the Liangyi Hall, Li Yuanduan sat in the first place, listening to Chen Shuda, the provincial minister under his command, telling the memorial of Cheng Mingzhen, the general manager of Luozhou, Hebei Province.
The Turks' successful sneak attack on Feihu Trail was the key to the sudden turn of events in Hedong. Daizhou was naturally responsible, but Hebei was also responsible. Hebei did not yet have a marching general office at the moment, and the armies were under the command of Luozhou general Cheng Mingzhen.
After the Turks broke through Feihu Trail, Cheng Mingzhen obviously knew what would happen and immediately sent troops to attack Feihu Trail in an attempt to rescue Daizhou... Unfortunately, Feihu Trail was too difficult to attack and the Tang army was never able to break it.
Then Cheng Mingzhen tried to take Puyinxing, which is also one of the Eight Taihang Trails and is right on the edge of Feihu Trail. There is a section in the middle that connects with Feihu Trail.
But in comparison, the terrain of Puyinxing is more dangerous. Entering through the Aimen Mountain Gorge, you can pass through the rocks. The right wall is steep to the sky, and the left is a cliff hundreds of feet high. There are raging turbulences below. It is even more difficult for the Tang army to make a breakthrough.
Therefore, Cheng Mingzhen's choice was consistent with the previous judgments of Li Shimin and Li Shan, and he finally chose Jingjing Pass. The other passes of the Eight Taihang Trails are all on the south side of Hebei Road, and they are all close to the Yellow River. Even if they enter the east of Hebei, there will be no effect. effect.
Jingjing Pass is different. It is located in the Taihang Mountains to the east of Taiyuan Prefecture, bordering Hengzhou and Zhaozhou. Cheng Mingzhen sent Qi Shanxing, the general manager of Zhaozhou, and Shuang Shiluo, the general manager of Dingzhou, to lead his troops through Jingjing Pass into Hedong and already stationed in Yangquan. County, and tried to contact Shouyang westward.
Shouyang County is less than a hundred miles away from Yuci County, where the Bingzhou Army has the strongest defense. It can be said that Cheng Minzhen's choice will greatly reduce the pressure on the Bingzhou Army in the Hedong battlefield.
Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He secretly summoned Erlang back to the capital as a last resort. However, as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he was also afraid of losing Hedong. Now that Hebei troops are coming to help merge the state, Tuli Khan always has to consider his retreat. No. Too likely to continue the onslaught southward.
In this way, even if Erlang returns to Beijing, the war situation in Hedong should not be corrupted.
Thinking of this, Li Yuan glanced sideways. Prince Li Jiancheng was still in the same state as he had been in recent months, with his head slightly lowered and his eyes dull, as if he was in a trance.
Li Yuan felt a little relieved. He was now playing tricks. What he was most afraid of was that something would happen in the East Palace before Erlang returned to the capital. Although Su Zhi, the supervisor of the palace, had repeatedly assured him, who knew whether something would go wrong?
The prince had been in charge of the East Palace for ten years, and his sphere of influence was by no means limited to the East Palace, but spread throughout the Tai Chi Palace. This was something Li Yuan acquiesced to, consciously or unconsciously.
The entire Taiji Palace is divided by Ganlu Gate and Ganlu Hall. But in the past, the prince, King Qi and even King Qin could come in and out at will and enter the harem behind Ganlu Gate. Who knows if the prince has anyone in the harem?
"Erlang should have crossed the river, right?" Li Yuan suddenly asked.
"His Royal Highness the King of Qin set out on the third day of the Lunar New Year, and today is the sixth day of October." Yang Gongren calculated, "The army's food, grass and ordnance need to be transported across the Yellow River one by one from Fengling Ferry. His Highness the King of Qin has sent cavalry north to support Jinzhou and brought his own The Chinese army is moving slowly. According to the time, it should have crossed the river and should be in Jiangzhou or Puzhou."
Li Yuan nodded, "Is there any unusual movement among the Turks occupying Lingzhou?"
Chen Shuda was a little surprised. Zhang Zhongjian just sent a report yesterday, so why did His Majesty ask about it again today.
"Today Menxia Province did not receive reports from Lingzhou and Yuanzhou." Chen Shuda hesitated for a while, "But in yesterday's report, Guangling County Duke mentioned that the Turks have divided their forces and may choose to cross the Yellow River at the same time. The camp is afraid that it will be difficult to stop."
"There are at least tens of thousands of soldiers in the Mingsha Camp. Dubu Khan will never dare to cross the river with the main force." Li Yuan said slowly: "Otherwise, there is the risk of being attacked from both sides by the Lingzhou Army and the Longyou Dao Army."
Dou Gui hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, King Huai'an..."
This is what the court is most worried about. The historical record of Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, is too poor. Even if the Turks only have 20,000 or 30,000 cavalry going south, it will be difficult for Li Shentong to withstand it.
Li Yuan was silent and didn't speak. He thought about it in his mind. At this time, he had no choice but to use Huairen.
Erlang returned to the capital, and after quickly dealing with the East Palace, he immediately left the capital and headed towards Longzhou to gather troops. At least he could not let the Turks break through the Great Shock Pass and invade the inner roads of the pass.
Although troops were mobilized from Qizhou and Jingzhou, and Qian Jiulong, the governor of Jingzhou, had accompanied the army in the expedition to Hedong, Ningzhou and Longzhou still had troops, and it was really impossible to mobilize troops from Yuanzhou.
As for the generals, when Erlang returned to Beijing, at least a few generals such as Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin should be accompanying him, and there were also generals like Yu Chigong, Wang Junkuo, Su Dingfang, and Qu Hong in Chang'an.
As for the Hedong side, Huairen can only be allowed to go, as long as the situation in Hedong can be prevented from collapsing. With Shuang Shiluo and Qi Shanxing advancing westward, the remaining Bingzhou Army and Daizhou Army should not be defeated.
However, it was very difficult for Liu Shirang and Li Shiji of Shuozhou, and they basically became abandoned sons.
Li Yuan thought in his heart, fortunately when he was in Renzhi Palace, he asked Huairen to get close to Erlang, otherwise Huairen might not be able to command the generals of Tiance Mansion when he went to Hedong.
Thinking of this, Li Yuan looked at Su Zhi, the supervisor in the palace, and said, "In the afternoon, you can personally summon Li Huairen, the heir to the throne of Wei, to see him."
"Yes." Su Zhi was a little surprised. He also wanted to pretend to pass on the imperial edict. Well, this time he really didn't pretend to pass on the imperial edict.
Li Jiancheng was even more surprised. He glanced at Pei Shiju below from the corner of his eye. The appointment was before dusk, but his father summoned him in the afternoon.
Pei Shiju remained calm and guessed Li Yuan's thoughts, but he felt that Li Yuan was just trying in vain... The strength of the incoming army would exceed Li Yuan's expectation, and Li Shentong might not even be able to withstand the first wave of offensive.
Coupled with Luo Yi, King of Yan County, who will receive a secret letter today, most of Longyou Road will inevitably fall in a short period of time. Li Mengchang alone will be unable to achieve anything.
"Who is the general manager of Liangzhou?"
Yang Gongren once served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he still remembers clearly, "Zhang Liang, the Duke of Changping County."
"Zhang Liang..." Li Yuan remembered this man, who was born in Wagang and later became an official in the Tiance Mansion. "Zhongshu drafted an edict and ordered Zhang Liang to immediately lead three thousand troops and march north to Jingzhao to defend Chang'an."
Chen Shuda, Yang Gongren, Xiao Yu and Dou Gui were not surprised. Now that Jingzhao Mansion was empty, Longyou Road might be attacked by Turks. At this time, it was reasonable to mobilize troops to go north.
But Pei Ji was vaguely aware of something strange. He knew very well that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who had known each other for decades, would not be so aggressive if nothing changed... It sounds simple to say, but Liangzhou was Hanzhong during the Han Dynasty, so mobilizing troops to go north was not A small thing.
In addition to the war, Li Yuan discussed several other political matters with several ministers before turning back to the Manlu Palace.
Outside Ganlu Gate, Wang Junkuo still stood wearing armor and holding a sword. Li Yuan was a little surprised and smiled and praised him a few times.
In the Menxia Province on Chengtianmen Street, Pei Shiju had already sent people to Tonghuafang to keep an eye on Princess Pingyang's mansion.
(End of chapter)
