"no!"
Hearing Du Ruhui's suggestion, Li Shimin flatly refused: "Tens of thousands of elite cavalry in Hulao Pass have followed Gu for many years, and the Xuanjia cavalry are elites carefully selected from hundreds of thousands of troops. How can such an army Able to give up easily."
"What's more, if Gu puts the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers at risk for his own life, how can Gu have the face to lead the three armies in the future? Who among the soldiers of the Tang Army would dare to trust Gu?"
When Du Ruhui heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "What His Highness said is absolutely true. He is short-sighted in his humble position, and almost missed His Highness's important events!"
Li Shimin made a decisive decision and ordered loudly: "Immediately pass on the order, the three armies pack up and evacuate Hulao when the time comes. In addition, he immediately sent an eagle letter to Li Jilong and Qu Tutong, ordering them to divide their troops and cooperate with Gu to attack from the front and back, and quickly defeat them. Yang Yanzhao is a roadblock! In addition, order Li Cunxu and Song Jingang to quickly return to the east of the river to collect ships, and support Gu's army to cross the Yellow River and return to the east of the river!"
All the generals in the tent immediately raised their hands and said: "General, I will obey the military order!"
"Your Highness! Hulao Pass is the throat barrier that protects Luoyang. How can such a dangerous pass be handed over to Yang Gao'er?" General Li Siyuan came out and said with his hands: "The general thought that Your Highness could prepare fire starters in the pass in advance. When the time comes, After our army withdrew, they set fire to the pass and destroyed the east gate of Luoyang. Moreover, the raging fire could also delay the pursuit of the Sui army outside the pass, buying time for our army to defeat Yang Yanzhao!"
Li Shimin immediately nodded in agreement and said: "General Gao, this plan is very clever, I will leave this matter to you!"
Li Siyuan smiled sinisterly: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will definitely not disappoint Your Highness!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Li Jilong, Qu Tutong and other Tang army generals who were still besieging Luoyang City took action quickly after receiving Li Shimin's order. The veteran Qu Tutong led generals Wang Junke, Wang Renze, Qu Tugai and the newly reborn generals. General Gongsun Shu, his brother Gongsun Mei and 30,000 troops rushed to Yang Yanzhao's camp in Wanxiang Mountain at night. Li Cunxu and Song Jingang quickly returned to Hedong County after receiving the order.
Naturally, such a large-scale mobilization of the Tang Army could not be concealed from Meng Gong and Zeng Guofan who were in the city. They understood the intention of the Tang Army after a while, and immediately sent troops out of the city to harass the Tang Army's camp. They also ordered Yang Zaixing and Gao Siji to lead the elite cavalry to rush to Yang Yanzhao's aid. .
However, Li Jilong, who still stayed under the city of Luoyang, was no ordinary person. He personally led his troops to defend to the death and placed heavy guards on several important roads. Several raids by the Sui army ended in failure, and many Luoyang army surrendered generals including Wei Lu were killed. The cavalry led by Yang Zaixing and Gao Siji were also blocked back to Luoyang City.
Meng Gong and Zeng Guofan had no choice but to send an eagle letter to inform Yang Yanzhao of the situation and told him to be careful.
Ten days later, when Li Shimin learned that everything was ready, he immediately ordered the entire army to abandon the pass and leave. He teamed up with Qu Tutong's troops to attack Yang Yanzhao's troops in front and back, and quickly opened the way to retreat.
. . . . . . . . . .
Wanxiang Mountain has rolling hillsides and dangerous terrain. Yang Yanzhao, who arrived here more than a month ago, personally urged all the soldiers to build fortifications and arrange defenses, which became a huge barrier for Li Shimin to retreat to Luoyang.
"Your Majesty, Li Shimin led tens of thousands of Tang army cavalry to attack. According to this, it is now less than twenty miles away."
"Report, Your Highness, Qu Tutong's front vanguard, Wang Junke, led by 5,000 soldiers and horses, is less than ten miles away from here!"
"Li Shimin, you are finally here!"
After hearing the news, Yang Yanzhao smiled slightly, pressed his sword in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Hu Yanzan, Yang Yansi, I order you two to lead 20,000 elite troops to set up defenses on the west side of Xiangshan Mountain, and you must do your best to intercept Qu Tutong!"
Hu Yanzan and Yang Yansi immediately raised their hands and said, "General, I will obey!"
"The rest of the generals!"
As Yang Yanzhao spoke, he unsheathed his sword and shouted loudly: "Follow me to fight against Li Shimin. As long as you can capture Li Shimin alive, you will have glory and wealth at your fingertips!"
Tens of thousands of Sui soldiers cheered thunderously, waving their weapons and shouting to the sky: "We must win, we must win!!!"
. . . . . . . . . .
In less than half an hour, dust was already rising in front of the Sui military camp in the east, and there was a constant noise of people shouting and horses neighing. Tens of thousands of Tang Army cavalry lined up in a neat triangular formation with their crotches forward, flags fluttering, spears like a forest, fine armor shining in the sun, murderous intent, the rumbling sound of horse hooves causing smoke to billow.
When the Tang army moved to about a stone's throw in front of the Sui army camp, they suddenly stopped. Li Shimin, wearing a golden helmet and bright armor, slowly stepped out of the formation, galloped back and forth in front of the formation, and shouted loudly: "The Tang army is here." Soldiers, following the warriors who fought in the south and north, our hometown Guanzhong has been invaded by the shameless Sui army. The life and death of our relatives are unknown. The Tang Dynasty has reached a critical moment of life and death! In order to defend our hometown and protect our own relatives , we must rush back to Guanzhong as soon as possible! Now, please use all your strength to defeat the Sui army in front of you, and rush back to Guanzhong to protect your relatives and defend the Tang Dynasty!"
"Defend the home and defend the country! Defend the home and the country!" Tens of thousands of Tang army elites roared loudly. Even the war horses under their crotches seemed to be exaggerated. They kept beating the earth with their hoofs, causing the entire plain to start. Shake slightly.
"Kill!" Li Shimin immediately issued the order to attack, and tens of thousands of Tang army cavalry immediately launched into action, pouring down instantly like a torrent that burst a dike. Thousands of horses are galloping, dust is flying, and the momentum is surging. Even the sky and the earth seem to change color at this moment.
Seeing this scene, Yang Yanzhao couldn't help but nodded slowly, with murderous intent in his eyes, and said sternly: "No wonder His Majesty is so afraid of Li Shimin's son, this person does have some abilities. Today, we must find a way to keep him here no matter what. "
