"Your Majesty appoints the King of Qin as the Grand Marshal of the Western Conquest and leads the army to fight against Xue Ju. All officers and soldiers of the Prince of Qin's palace should return to the front of the palace and wait immediately!"
As the guards shouted, the entire Prince Qin's palace started to move.
Everyone in the mansion rushed to tell each other and prepare for King Qin's expedition.
When Li Shimin, wearing armor and riding a white-hooved crow, walked out of the mansion, the people waiting outside the mansion saluted him together: "Your Highness, King Qin!"
Li Shimin was riding on his horse, his eyes sweeping over everyone, including counselors Xuan Ling and Ru Hui, bodyguard generals Duan Zhixuan, Li Jing, Zheng Rentai, Li Mengchang, Hou Junji and others.
A strong excitement surged from his heart, and he couldn't help but hold the reins tightly. This was the first time he led an army alone. As a marshal, he led 30,000 people to attack Xue Ju's 100,000 troops!
This battle can only be won, not lost!
"Go to war!"
Li Shimin acted neatly and led all the soldiers to the residence of Shangshu Zuopu She Pei Ji.
"etc!"
A man in his twenties, fair-skinned and slightly fat, who looked very prosperous, quickly walked out of the house. He was wearing a round-collared robe, a futou on his head, and looked like a Confucian scholar. He was Li Shimin's eldest uncle and eldest grandson. Wuji.
"Erlang! Wait!"
Changsun Wuji chased after him, and Li Shimin shouted to everyone: "You keep walking, I will follow later!"
"Wuji, do you know those things?"
Li Shimin was the first to ask the question. When he nodded, he bent down on his horse and whispered to him: "Go find some old farmers who are good at farming and plant corn on the best land. The planting method is similar to beans. Send someone to watch carefully. Don’t let livestock eat the seedlings.”
Changsun Wuji hesitated for a while, then nodded. Just as he was about to ask, Li Shimin said again:
"That medical book, you and Xuan Ling find some doctors, promise a lot of money to keep it secret, re-edit the contents of the book, and write down the words and names of herbs that you don't understand and send them to me."
Changsun Wuji still wanted to say, but Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder, "If you really can't understand, just copy a few copies first, copy down all the prescriptions in them, compile them into a book, and wait until I come back!"
"By the way, you and Xuanling can help me find more mosquito-repelling plants and send them to Gaoshan along with the food and grass!"
"..."
What else could Changsun Wuji say? I can only give my hands to this marshal's brother-in-law and wish him success.
None of the other questions he wanted to ask were asked, and seeing the situation, his brother-in-law didn't want to answer him.
That’s all, just take it as a medical book given by a god!
…
Li Shimin arrived at the residence of Prime Minister Pei Ji and waited for a long time with the adviser's bodyguard before seeing Pei Ji, dressed neatly, coming out with his entourage.
"Prime Minister Pei!"
Li Shimin did not dismount, but handed him over: "Soldiers are valuable and quick, let's go to the military camp as soon as possible!"
Pei Ji: "...Your Highness, please."
Qu Tutong, Minister of War, and Prince Li Jiancheng were both alive and dead, so Zuo Pu She Pei Ji could only lead Li Shimin and carry Li Yuan's tiger talisman to the barracks to dispatch troops and generals.
After the tiger talisman was delivered, Pei Ji read out the imperial edict to the generals in the barracks and officially named King Qin Li Shimin as the Grand Marshal of the Western Campaign.
The Chang'an barracks was completely empty.
Thirty thousand soldiers went out to Longxi, leaving only the Xuanwu Gate Beiyuan Imperial Guards in the city to guard the palace.
Li Shimin ordered the entire army to advance rapidly. After marching for more than 70 miles, they finally saw a small group of defeated Tang Dynasty troops on horseback.
They were surprised when they saw the flag of the Tang Army, but they did not dare to get close and only watched from a distance.
Li Shimin sent someone to inquire and found out that some of them were suffering from malaria.
"Follow me! Those behind keep moving forward!"
Li Shimin wanted to take his personal guards there, but Duan Zhixuan quickly stopped him: "Your Highness, no, this malaria is really serious... Even if Your Highness said it was mosquito bites, this disease..."
Lu Shiheng, who came back from Gaoshan, told the story in detail about what happened in the city.
After the spread of malaria, the morale of the military was unstable. Everyone was afraid of this natural disaster. They didn't know where the malaria came from. They only knew that wherever there was plague, the more people there were, the more severe the plague would be!
There were a total of 90,000 Tang troops in the city. The longer they stayed, the more severe the plague would become.
Lu Shiheng didn't know what the discussion between the prince and the marching commander in the marshal's mansion was like. He only knew that after more and more people got malaria, the prince ordered the army to leave the city and set up a battle array to fight Xue Ju's army of 100,000 people.
As a result, during the battle, a group of right-wing cavalry suddenly came from behind the Tang army. The Tang army was defeated. They either fled into the mountains to the north, fled back to the city, or jumped into the Jing River. Most of them fled towards Chang'an.
In the rebellious army, Lu Shiheng rode on horseback day and night, and rushed back to Chang'an with more than a dozen scouts to report the military situation.
"It doesn't matter."
Li Shimin smiled slightly, "Malaria is not a natural disaster, but caused by mosquitoes sucking blood. Once again, the marshal ordered the soldiers to pay attention to mosquitoes and not to roll up their sleeves and trouser legs!"
Duan Zhixuan, Li Jing, Hou Junji and others were sweating and wiped their foreheads with their sleeves.
Marching on a hot day, my whole body is covered in sweat, and I can't roll up my sleeves and trouser legs...
Li Shimin took Duan Zhixuan and other personal guards to the defeated army and told them to prevent mosquitoes to prevent malaria infection.
"His Royal Highness King Qin!"
Dozens of defeated troops were so moved that they did not expect that the King of Qin, after already knowing that some of them were suffering from malaria, would personally come to tell them how to prevent and treat malaria.
"I will send someone to bring the prepared medicine later. We can go back to Chang'an when you are able to move!"
Li Shimin ordered them.
"Your Highness!" Fei Qiwei, who was temporarily leading the defeated army, knelt on one knee, raised his hands and said to Li Shimin: "We are not sick, and we are willing to return to the battlefield with King Qin!"
Except for the patient, everyone else also knelt on the ground and expressed their willingness to fight Xue Ju again.
Li Shimin looked at them and said, "Okay, even though you are defeated, you still have courage! But I only need twenty of you, and the rest will stay to protect the injured."
"Yes, King Qin!"
Fei Qiwei stood up and ordered nineteen people to follow King Qin.
When they came to the team, they learned that it was not the King of Qin who was leading the army, but the marshal!
…
The 30,000-strong army moved more and more, and the defeated troops walked out of the mountains and forests one after another, or joined the ranks, or obtained life-saving herbs from the army, and then returned to Chang'an after recovering.
The team began to encounter Xue Jujun's scouts who were pursuing them. Li Shimin ordered the army to speed up again, and finally met the soldiers who had returned from the defeat at Gao'an. At a glance, there were more than 10,000 people, all of them looking disgraced and miserable.
"Brother!"
Li Shimin met the prince Li Jiancheng. He was riding on a horse. His armor was stained and his eyes were black. He must have not slept well for many days. On the way back, he was constantly attacked and killed by Xue Ju's cavalry.
"...Jiro."
Li Jiancheng forced a smile, "I didn't expect you to pick me up... ugh."
He sighed and said nothing more.
Li Shimin took a quick look and found that Qu Tutong, Yin Shishi, Liu Wenjing, Yin Kaishan, etc. were all beside his brother. After seeing him, they all looked embarrassed and remained silent.
Under their leadership, the Tang army fought a disastrous battle and was too embarrassed to return to Chang'an.
However, Li Shimin did not see his third brother-in-law Chai Shao, general Liu Hongji and others. I am afraid that his brother did not know whether they were alive or dead.
"Let's go back to Chang'an first."
Li Jiancheng said feebly.
After running away for a day and hiding for several more days, he just wanted to return to Chang'an and talk about the battle later.
"Pass the Marshal's order and return to Chang'an!!"
The prince himself followed and shouted the order to convey the order.
There was a commotion among the more than 10,000 defeated troops, but the more than 30,000 troops blocking the road in front of them did not move at all.
Li Jiancheng guessed something and looked at his second brother in shock.
"Brother!"
Li Shimin bowed his hands to him and said, "My father appointed me as marshal to lead all wars against Xue Ju!"
As soon as this statement came out, Qu Tutong, Yin Kaishan, Liu Wenjing and other general managers and generals all saluted Li Shimin to express their compliance with the new marshal's order.
This is a battlefield coaching change!
Whoever is the marshal and whose orders they follow must express their stance immediately!
Otherwise, Li Jiancheng wanted to return to Chang'an, and Li Shimin wanted to go to Gaogong. The old and new marshals would lead the army together, and the military orders would be messed up. Xue Ju would lead the troops to charge over, and the Tang army would be defeated again.
Therefore, Qu Tutong and others immediately expressed their compliance with Li Shimin as marshal.
"Erlang, you!"
Li Jiancheng's expression froze and he glanced at the 30,000 troops winding on the road behind Li Shimin.
"Brother, please return to Chang'an first."
Li Shimin dismounted, cleared the way, respectfully made an invitation gesture, and asked Prince Li Jiancheng to lead the army back first.
Before Li Jiancheng could speak, Qu Tutong said: "We still have the strength to fight, and we are willing to follow the marshal back to Gao'an City!"
Yin Kaishan is also willing to go back with the new marshal Li Shimin to fight again!
Liu Wenjing hesitated and said nothing.
Now that the Tang army was defeated miserably, in his opinion, even if Li Shimin led the army to Gaoshan, he could only hold on to the city. There was still malaria in the city. He really didn't want to go back. He could go back to Chang'an with the prince.
Li Jiancheng couldn't say a word.
He could only look at his second brother, and ordered to the 30,000 troops behind him: "Make way, let the prince go first!"
Li Jiancheng looked silent and headed towards Chang'an with less than 3,000 people.
With Li Shimin leading the army forward, they no longer need to worry about Xue Ju's troops attacking on their way back.
But Li Jiancheng's mood was a little heavier than before.
Yin Shishi came over on horseback.
"Prince, do you remember what happened between Yang Guang and Yang Yong?"
"..."
