The news that Liu Zongmin's entire army was annihilated was quickly spread to Li Jiancheng's Chinese army tent. After hearing the news, Li Jiancheng froze on the spot, his mouth open, and he stared blankly at the scout in front of him.
"You...you are saying it again." Li Jiancheng said with disbelief.
The scout gave a helpless smile, "Your Highness, General Liu Zongmin's entire army has been wiped out, and General Liu Zongmin died in battle!"
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!" Li Zicheng on the side shook his head vigorously and said emotionally: "Liu Zongmin has five thousand elite soldiers, elite soldiers! They are our warriors who have fought for the Tang Dynasty for many years. How could all of them be defeated?" What about the annihilation of the army?"
Among the people in the tent, Li Yan was the calmest. He stopped Li Zicheng, who was a little excited, and asked calmly: "Can you tell me how Liu Zongmin's army was wiped out? Also, the battle in Xinye City was Whose flag is it, and are there Sui army reinforcements in the city?"
Hearing this, Li Jiancheng glanced at this handsome general with admiration, nodded and said, "Mr. Li Yan is right. Please quickly tell me the reasons why Liu Zongmin's entire army was annihilated!"
After hearing this, the scout carefully described everything that happened under Xinye City in detail. After listening, everyone fell into deep thought, thinking that if they encountered such a situation, they might not be able to escape the end of the entire army being annihilated.
After a long time, Li Jiancheng let out a long sigh, "I didn't expect that a small Xinye County would have such a talented person. I was entrusted by my father to go on this expedition. I didn't expect that I would encounter such a setback in the first battle!"
Li Zicheng said: "Your Highness, the humble minister has a plan, but I wonder if it will work?"
Li Jiancheng was overjoyed when he heard this, "Brother Zicheng, what's your clever plan? Come quickly!"
Li Zicheng smiled sinisterly, "That Zhang Xun has such a strategy, but he has been relegated to a small county magistrate. I think he must be dissatisfied. If we don't seduce this person with a high official and a generous salary, maybe Xinye will surrender without fighting!"
Li Jiancheng nodded when he heard this, "Brother, this plan may be a try, but we can't place our hopes on it. Order the three armies to cut down trees nearby, build siege ladders, and be ready to attack the city at any time!"
. . . . . . . . . .
After Zhang Xun defeated Liu Zongmin, he did not dare to relax at all. He ordered his three thousand county soldiers to guard the city defense and kill anyone who dared to leave the defense without permission!
"Report, Sir, there is a man coming down from the city, claiming to be Tang Xian, the Guanglu doctor of the Tang Dynasty."
Zhang Xunzheng and Lei Wanchun were inspecting the city defense, and a soldier hurried over and reported carefully.
Lei Wanchun heard this and asked in confusion: "What is the purpose of the envoy from the Tang Army?"
Zhang Xun smiled slightly and said, "Nine times out of ten, we are here to persuade you to surrender!"
"Persuading you to surrender?" Lei Wanchun asked suspiciously: "We just killed five thousand of their troops. Instead of getting angry and attacking the city with all their strength, they actually sent people to persuade us to surrender. Is it impossible?"
Zhang Xun explained: "As far as I know, the commander-in-chief of the Tang army this time is Prince Li Jiancheng. Although this man has a reputation as a virtuous man, he has insufficient military merit. Compared to his second brother Li Shimin, he is a little unknown. I am afraid that he will go on this expedition. It’s also to get some credit, but fortunately, he is also on the same level as Li Shimin in the army, so what he fears most is failure, and it is naturally best for him if he can fight without losing blood."
Lei Wanchun asked: "Is the envoy seen or not?"
"Yes, why not?" Zhang Xun smiled slightly, "Li Jiancheng wants to persuade him to surrender, but I have to delay him for thirty or fifty days. The longer I delay, the better it is for us, isn't it?"
Lei Wanchun suddenly realized and said with a smile: "Then go and invite the Tang Army envoy!"
After a while, Lei Wanchun led Tang Xian into the city, and Zhang Xun also walked down the corridor. After the two saluted each other, Tang Xian handed Zhang Xun the autographed letter from Li Jiancheng hidden in his arms.
Zhang Xun took the letter and read it carefully. He couldn't help but take a breath of air-conditioning. Li Jiancheng was such a generous hand. He granted him the title of Marquis of Peace, the title of General, and the title of Prince's Mansion Officer.
Seeing that Zhang Xun was silent, Tang Xian thought that Zhang Xun was tempted and struck while the iron was hot: "County magistrate Zhang has such a strategy, but he still succumbs to the position of county magistrate in a small county in Xinye. It shows that Yang Gao doesn't know how to employ people at all. Sooner or later, he will do something for me." Destroyed by the Tang Dynasty! I, the prince of the Tang Dynasty, love talents as much as his life and thirst for talents as much as he thirsts for talents. If County Magistrate Zhang surrenders now, he will be a subordinate of the dragon. When my prince ascends the throne in the future, Mr. Zhang will definitely be extremely valuable!"
Zhang Xun pretended to be silent for a long time, and said in deep thought: "Thank you to His Highness the Crown Prince for your kindness. Zhang is grateful. However, my father is still settled in Zhijiang County. If I surrender now, I might harm my father. Please give me a few days of grace, and wait for Zhang." If you take my father out, you will definitely surrender to the crown prince!"
Tang Xian nodded and said: "Then I will go back to the camp and report to His Highness the Crown Prince. Filial piety comes first. His Highness the Crown Prince has always been generous, so he must be able to understand Mr. Zhang!"
"Zhang Xun thanks Mr. Tang!"
Zhang Xun thanked Lei Wanchun and said, "Wan Chun, send this to Mr. Tang!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Tang Xian returned to Li Jiancheng's camp and explained the previous events to Li Jiancheng. After hearing this, Li Zicheng burst out laughing and said, "Your Highness, God has blessed us with this great Tang Dynasty!"
Li Yan on the side frowned and said: "I don't think things are that optimistic. That Zhang Xun is also a man who is well versed in the art of war. It is impossible for him not to see the importance of Xinye to our army. He said he wanted to take out my father, but I always I feel that this is his delaying strategy, and the general thinks that regardless of whether Zhang Xun surrenders or not, the prince should immediately lead his army to attack the city, and must not waste time here!"
Li Jiancheng was also a very strategic person. After listening to Li Yan's words, he nodded and said, "Mr. Li is right. After all, we are on the territory of the Sui Dynasty. We must not be careless in anything!"
The policy of persuading surrender was proposed by Li Zicheng. He was originally smiling after listening to Tang Xian's explanation, but suddenly heard Li Yan's suggestion, and Li Jiancheng seemed to be touched. He immediately straightened his face and hurriedly dissuaded.
"Your Highness, you must not listen to Li Yan. If this matter spreads, who else will be willing to submit to the Tang Dynasty in the future!"
After listening to Li Zicheng's words, Li Jiancheng, who had originally planned to order an attack on the city, sat down again and said with a sad face: "What brother Zicheng said is not unreasonable. If Zhang Xun truly surrenders, then if we do this, we will undoubtedly end the world." The thought of talented people defecting to the Tang Dynasty! Moreover, Zhang Xun is quite strategic, so I love him very much!"
Li Yan said anxiously: "Your Highness, you must not be merciful to women at this moment. If this southern expedition fails, Your Majesty will be furious..."
Li Yan did not continue, but Li Jiancheng understood what he meant. If he failed in the southern expedition, his father would deprive him of his position as crown prince and replace him with his second brother Shimin.
After thinking about this, Li Jiancheng broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly stood up and loudly ordered: "Send the order to the entire army to assemble quickly. The target is Xinye City!"
