Outside Hongnong City, the Tang Army camp was located.
It was now the middle of winter, with heavy snow flying all over the sky and a biting cold wind howling outside. Hundreds of thousands of Tang troops put on thick cotton clothes. Except for the necessary patrols, most of the soldiers hid in tents, and three or five people gathered around the stove to keep warm.
In the commander's tent, Qin King Li Shimin, Qu Tutong, Li Jilong, Liu Wenjing, Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui and other major generals sat around the stove. As for Li Yuanji, the deputy commander of the Tang Army, he led hundreds of soldiers to find an excuse and ran back to Tongguan to spend the winter because he couldn't stand the cold more than ten days ago.
Li Shimin took a few sips of ginger soup to warm his stomach. He turned to ask Changsun Wuji, "Assistant machine, have Song Jingang and Li Cunxu made any progress?"
Song Jingang and Li Cunxu were originally stationed in Bingzhou with Chai Rong and Li Keyong. Two months ago, they were ordered to go south and send troops from Hedong to harass Luoyang, with the intention of forcing Wang Shichong to return to rescue Luoyang.
Changsun Wuji shook his head helplessly: "Scouts came last night to report that Wang Shichong's eldest son Wang Xuanying asked Xue Rengui for help. Sui generals Meng Gong and Gao Siji had led 15,000 elite troops into Luoyang to assist in defense. Li Cunxu and Song Jingang made several raids. It didn’t work, and two thousand soldiers were lost.”
Li Shimin gave a wry smile, waved his hand and said, "That's all, since it's useless, then order the two of them to quickly withdraw their troops to Hedong. Don't let the Sui army encircle Luoyang City."
Liu Wenjing heard the frustration in Li Shimin's words and began to persuade: "King Qin, although the current war situation is slightly unfavorable, the old thief Wang Shichong is treacherous and unpopular, and he will definitely not be my opponent in the Tang Dynasty."
Li Shimin frowned slightly, shook his head and said, "Mr. Liu, don't say such high-sounding nonsense again at this time. What I want now is a way to break Hongnong and defeat Wang Shichong!"
Liu Wenjing's face turned red, her mouth opened, then she lowered her head and stopped talking.
Li Jilong gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, Wang Shichong is Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. Although Yang Guang's posthumous title in the Sui Dynasty was Emperor Wu of the Sui Dynasty, the posthumous title added to him by the Tang Dynasty was slanderous. The most trusted general of the Tang Dynasty was able to protect Luoyang when Li Mi swept through the Central Plains, which shows that this person does have some ability to defend the city. And now The depth of winter has arrived, and the soldiers are suffering from the severe cold. In my humble opinion, it is better to return to the main camp for the time being and make long-term plans."
"No!"
As soon as Li Jilong finished speaking, Sun Wuji and Du Ruhui, the chief advisers sitting next to Li Shimin, shouted in unison: "The important land of Luoyang must not be abandoned. Now that the Sui Dynasty has gradually stabilized the Central Plains, if we miss this opportunity, Wang Shichong will surely It will be destroyed by Yang Gao. If Luoyang falls into Yang Gao's hands, it will become more difficult for us to capture it!"
Li Jilong glanced at Changsun Wuji and Du Ruhui displeasedly: "The book business is angry. How could I not know the importance of Luoyang? But now the weather is severely cold, the soldiers have already been miserable, and there are more or less people in each camp. Complain. If we continue to fight fiercely, I'm afraid there will be a risk of mutiny!"
"Huh? Is it so serious?"
Du Ruhui was immediately surprised when he heard this. He was the military advisor responsible for making suggestions. In addition, he had been thinking hard about good strategies these days, so he didn't know much about the affairs in the military camp.
Li Shimin, who was sitting in the middle, nodded solemnly: "Xuanjia Jingqi has been getting up and making trouble in the past few days, and the calls to return to Guanzhong are getting louder and louder!"
Li Shimin's Xuanjia Jingqi was the most elite unit among the Tang army. Even the Xuanjia Jingqi had begun to complain. One can imagine the state of the other troops.
After realizing the unstable situation in the army, Du Ruhui also changed his original firm attitude and tentatively said to Li Shimin: "Your Highness, if the situation in the army is really as General Li Jilong said, then I humbly suggest that Your Highness should temporarily withdraw the troops and return to Guanzhong. Although Luoyang It’s important, but there can’t be any mistakes with these 150,000 troops.”
Veteran Qu Tutong also echoed: "Yes, Your Highness! Although Luoyang is a coveted piece of fat, our current situation is that the morale of the military is unstable. If we continue to fight, the result will most likely be to steal the chicken but fail." What a loss of rice!"
Several confidants, both civil and military, expressed their intention to withdraw their troops, but Li Shimin remained unmoved. With a pair of piercing tiger eyes, he firmly shook his head: "What you all said is absurd. Our goal in the Tang Dynasty is to unify the world! We want to unify the world." , Luoyang is a hurdle that can never be bypassed! Our current situation is indeed very difficult, I admit this, but if we retreat when difficulties arise, then why do we talk about competing for world supremacy? "
The corner of Li Jilong's mouth twitched slightly, and he sighed helplessly: "King Qin, I will admit that you are right, but now the war situation is in a stalemate, and the situation in the army is deteriorating, and we are completely unable to break this predicament!"
Li Shimin raised the corner of his mouth slightly and sneered: "Who said we are unable to break the predicament?"
When all the civil and military officials heard this, their eyes lit up, and they all said together: "Did your Highness have some clever plan?"
Li Shimin smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Yes, Gu did think of a way to deal with Wang Shichong. Moreover, it was Keming and Auxiliary Machine who gave Gu a hint."
Changsun Wuji and Du Ruhui looked at each other, shook their heads at each other, and turned to Li Shimin in confusion.
Li Shimin ignored the confused looks in their eyes and said calmly: "Wang Shichong defended the city well. The only way to defeat Hongnong is to force Wang Shichong out. As the saying goes, a snake will hit seven inches, and Wang Shichong's seven inches is his Luoyang His lair. Therefore, the key to forcing Wang Shichong out is Luoyang!"
Changsun Wuji was stunned when he heard this, and said in confusion: "But Sui General Meng Gong has led his army to Luoyang. Didn't His Highness just say that what he asked Li Cunxu and Song Jingang to do was useless and asked them to withdraw from Hedong?"
"It is true that we cannot threaten Luoyang, but just because we can't do it doesn't mean that everyone can't do it."
The corners of Li Shimin's mouth raised, revealing a confident smile: "You and Keming both mentioned just now that the Sui army will definitely attack Wang Shichong after stabilizing the Central Plains. So why can't we add fuel to the fire and intensify the conflicts between them in advance?"
"Yes!"
Everyone in the tent was a person who had left their name in history, and their abilities were not simple. After Li Shimin's suggestion, they quickly reacted: "There is Sui general Meng Gong stationed in Luoyang now. If he suddenly attacks Wang Shichong, Luoyang can’t live without chaos!”
Li Shimin chuckled and said to Changsun Wuji: "Assistant machine, I'll leave this matter to you. Xue Rengui has been in charge of the Central Plains for Yang Gao'er for many years, and his ability should not be underestimated. Since he dares to let Meng Gong lead an army alone, There must be something extraordinary about this person. It’s best for you to start with Wang Shichong’s idiot son Wang Xuanying.”
