Li Shimin led an army of 150,000 people out of Tongguan and headed straight for Luoyang. Wang Shichong, who had long been warned by the Sui Dynasty, also led 80,000 elite troops to garrison Hongnong to resist the Tang army's attack.
At the foot of Hongnong City, Li Shimin, who was in armor, looked at the orderly and high-morale Sui soldiers on the city wall. He suddenly sighed and said, "Although Wang Shichong is treacherous, he is really good at training troops. No wonder he can be fooled by Yang Guang. Reuse, these Sui troops look well-trained, and they are by no means comparable to the soldiers and horses from bandits that we fought against in the past!"
When Li Yuanji heard this, he snorted disdainfully: "Second brother, His Highness the King of Qin, you are making too much of a fuss. In front of our 150,000-strong army of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Shichong is nothing more than a mantis trying to act as a chariot, and is completely vulnerable."
Li Shimin frowned slightly and said unhappily: "Wang Shichong is indeed not our opponent of the Tang Dynasty. But don't forget that there are hundreds of thousands of Sui troops behind Wang Shichong. If we deal with Wang Shichong, we will lose too many troops." Strength, that little girl ended up making a wedding dress for the Sui army!"
Li Yuanji sneered: "There are no immortals in a war. If the generals of the Tang Dynasty are as timid as King Qin, then I think you should just go back to Guanzhong!"
"You...hum!"
Li Shimin snorted angrily and ignored Li Yuanji, who was sarcastic at him. Surrounded by two newly promoted generals, Gao Xianzhi and Guo Zhiyuan, he rode forward on his horse, raised his head and said loudly to the Sui army on the wall: " Where is Zheng Guogong and Wang Shichong? Li Shimin, the king of Qin in the Tang Dynasty, is here. Does General Wang dare to come out and see him?"
As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Wang Shichong, surrounded by Wang Renze, Wang Yanzhang, Shan Xiongxin and other generals, appeared on the city wall and shouted to Li Shimin below the city: "Li Shimin, I, Wang Shichong, have never done anything sorry to you Li Tang. Why do you, Li and Tang, raise troops one after another to invade our border and plunge the people into misery?"
Li Shimin smiled slightly and said: "General Wang's words are wrong. As the saying goes, an ordinary man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade! Luoyang is the center of the world, and no matter which force it is, it will be greedy, let alone the Tang Dynasty, which is my ambition in the world!"
"Renze, Yanzhang, Xiongxin, I will hold Li Shimin here. You quietly go down and prepare your troops at the city gate. When you hear the sound of the drums, rush out of the city and capture Li Shimin alive. Mr. Li Yuan is relying on Li Shimin now. My son conquers the world, as long as we capture Li Shimin, we are not afraid that the Tang army will not retreat!"
Wang Shichong visually measured the distance between Li Shimin and the city gate, and suddenly became malicious, secretly giving orders to the three generals Wang Yanzhang, Wang Renze, and Shan Xiongxin.
"As you command!"
The three generals received their orders in a low voice, each picked up their weapons and secretly descended from the city wall.
Seeing the three people leaving, Wang Shichong curled his lips slightly and continued to talk to Li Shimin: "Listen to King Qin's tone, is it bound to have a war between you and me?"
Li Shimin looked calm and said calmly: "If General Wang insists on keeping Luoyang, this battle is indeed unavoidable. But if General Wang can surrender to our Datang and offer Luoyang, then not only can this battle be avoided, but also our Datang I will also give you heavy rewards to General Wang and the generals under your command."
Wang Shichong's expression changed when he heard this, and he scolded sternly: "Li Shimin, put away your sweet words. I will be greatly favored by His Majesty. How could you betray the Sui Dynasty and surrender to the Tang Dynasty?"
Li Shimin laughed and said: "General Wang, a wise man does not speak secretly. Everyone knows whether General Wang is a Sui minister or an independent party. General Wang, don't look at Yang Gao'er who is now prosperous in the south, but Sooner or later, he will die by Gu's sword. General Wang is a sensible person and should know what to do to make the right decision!"
Wang Shichong seemed to be moved, and asked: "Li Shimin, no, Your Highness the King of Qin. I want to know what kind of title your Tang Dynasty will give me if I surrender to Luoyang?"
Li Shimin's face lit up with joy when he heard this. Originally, he just wanted to give it a try, but who would have thought that Wang Shichong actually had some intentions. He was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "General Wang, please don't worry. Before I go on an expedition, My father told Gu that if General Wang is willing to surrender the city, he can make General Wang King Zheng and lead the governor of Sizhou and Zhuguo."
"Prince Zheng, Governor of Sizhou, Zhuguo! What a great official position. Li Shimin, do you think that I, Wang Shichong, am a fool? I, an outsider, am actually the king alongside your own son. Can I, Prince Zheng, be king for a long time?" "
Wang Shichong snorted coldly in his heart, but in order to buy time for Wang Yanzhang and others, he pretended to be hesitant on the surface and murmured: "Your Highness, King Qin, let me think about it, think about it!"
Wang Shichong pretended to be deep in thought and stood on the top of the city without speaking for a long time. After a long time, Li Shimin also felt something was wrong, so he said to Wang Shichong: "General Wang, I will give you one night to think about it. If you figure it out, I will come to the city to surrender. If you can't figure it out, I will fight to the death with He Gujue!" The reins will leave.
When Wang Shichong saw that Li Shimin was about to leave, he secretly thought that Wang Renze and others were almost ready. His expression immediately changed, and he laughed wildly and said: "Li Shimin, do you think that I, Wang Shichong, am a three-year-old child that is so easy to deceive? Come here, get it for me." Get rid of this brat who doesn’t know the heights of heaven and earth!”
Dong dong dong dong…
As soon as Wang Shichong finished speaking, drums sounded loudly on the city wall. The city gate also opened with a bang at this moment, the rumbling sound of horse hooves accompanied by the intensive beating of drums, and thousands of cavalry swarmed out. The three generals Wang Yanzhang, Wang Renze, and Shan Xiongxin were the first to charge, shouting loudly: "Li Shimin Don’t leave, kid!”
"Ding dong, it has been detected that Wang Yanzhang has entered the leading state, the force is +7, the base force is 100, and the current force has increased to 107."
"Ding dong, it has been detected that Wang Renze has entered a state of rapid advancement. The force is +4, the base force is 96, and the current force has increased to 100."
"Ding dong, Wang Renze's four-dimensional ability has been detected. Commander is 91, force is 96, intelligence is 84, and politics is 75."
"Ding dong, it has been detected that Shan Xiongxin has entered the brave state, his force is +3, his base force is 95, and his current force has increased to 98."
"No, brothers, hurry up and rescue His Highness King Qin!"
The sudden change surprised the Tang army generals who were arrayed not far away. Yuchigong, who surrendered in Bingzhou and was favored by Li Shimin, was the first to react. He roared, and rushed out first with his legs under the horse's belly.
"Ding dong, it has been detected that Yu Chigong has entered the state of protecting the master. The force is +5, the base force is 97, and the current force has increased to 102."
Yu Chigong roared, and all the Tang generals woke up immediately. Generals such as Li Siyuan, Li Cunshen, Shan Shituo, Pei Xingyan, Li Jixuan, etc. all urged their horses to come out of the battle and rushed to rescue Li Shimin at lightning speed.
"Wang Shichong is really insidious!"
Li Shimin cursed angrily and rode away. Guo Zhiyun and Gao Xianzhi guarded the left and right sides, and from time to time they called Li Shimin for the arrows fired by the Sui troops from behind.
