Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

After everyone sat down, Li Shan said directly without saying a word: "There are changes in Hedong, and the two counties of Bingzhou have been captured. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince have decided that the cavalry will set off tomorrow and gather the infantry from Jiangzhou and Jinzhou to go north."

"Ordnance has been fully deployed and transported to Xinfeng, Jingyang, Xianyang and other counties, and grain and grass are collected at Huazhou Yongfeng Warehouse."

"The cavalry is gathered from the four prefectures of Yanzhou, Jingzhao, Longqijing, Ning, and Lingyuan. The total strength is about 20,000. The general manager of the cavalry is concurrently served by Su Dingfang, with Liu Heier and Yuchi Gong as his deputies." Li Shan said with emphasis: "Of all the generals here, there is a certain Li Huairen, so you should know how powerful he is."

"It doesn't matter if you are a direct descendant of His Majesty, a favorite general of the Crown Prince, or a close friend of Li Huairen, no matter who you are, you will not respect military orders..."

"Duan Zhixuan can serve as a lesson to others!"

Duan Zhixuan was speechless. Why did you drag me out now?

Besides, I wasn't the only one who was driven back to Chang'an by you... Wasn't Chang He sitting there too?

Most of the people here used to be Li Shan's former subordinates, and everyone looked solemn. Everyone knew that Li Shan was a little less qualified, but he had great military exploits, prestige in the army, and because of his three rescues, he won the title of His Majesty. The prince's trustworthiness has long since eliminated his lack of qualifications.

It is unlikely that Li Shan will be able to kill a general...but if he is driven back to Chang'an, he will be completely humiliated, and neither His Majesty nor the Crown Prince will make the decision.

No one would take such a risk... Didn't you see that His Highness the Crown Prince came to defend the battle?

Li Shimin on the side looked at this scene with a smile on his face. Although this battle was probably just a formality, it might not be without gains.

After Li Shan glanced at everyone, "The left army is led by Liu Hei'er, assisted by Duan Zhixuan, Hou Hongtao, Zhang Baoxiang, Qu Hong, and An Yuanshou. They lead 6,000 cavalry and set off tomorrow. They will cross the Yellow River from Longmen and pass through Ci." Prefecture, along Gushe Mountain into Jinzhou."

Several eyes were cast on Liu Hei'er. No matter in terms of qualifications or military exploits, Liu Hei'er was far from being comparable to many of the generals here... Apart from two rescues, he only did so during the snowy night in Yuanzhou during the Xiaoguan Pass. Meritorious service.

But with Su Dingfang and Zhang Zhongjian in front of them, everyone remained silent... Well, mainly because of Zhang Zhongjian. After all, Su Dingfang was not well-known in his early years, but he was not an unknown person after all, but Zhang Zhongjian came from a real grassroots background.

In the battle of Jingzhou, Li Shan appointed Zhang Zhongjian, who was very junior, to lead the front army alone. The latter lived up to expectations and proved his ability with perfect performance. He also made outstanding achievements in Yuanzhou and Lingzhou, so that he is now in charge of the Lingzhou army. .

In the past year or so, Li Shan has commented several times in public, claiming that Liu Heier is not inferior to Su Dingfang and Zhang Zhongjian.

Li Shan looked at Liu Hei'er and said, "After entering Jinzhou, there is no trade war."

"Yes." Liu Heier responded, "We should seize the entrance of Queshu Valley and hook up with the army of Duke Ren who is stationed in Huoyi."

Li Shan nodded, and Li Shimin glanced at Liu Heier. If Li Shan hadn't discussed it with him before, this person did have a strategy.

"The battle report mentioned that there were Turkic troops lingering on the border between Jinzhou and Jiangzhou, looting everywhere." Li Shan looked at Yuchi Gong, "Brother Jingde led the right army, led by Hu Yan, Li Mengchang, Ma Sanbao, Fan Xing and Chang He, as auxiliaries, led six thousand cavalry, crossed the river from Fengling Ferry, and attacked the left army from the north and south. We must defeat the enemy."

Yuchi responded respectfully, thinking that Liu Heier's left army crossed the river from Longmen, but he crossed the river from Fengling Ferry further south, so the speed would be slightly slower.

But Liu Hei'er galloped, on the one hand to support Ren Guogong in Huoyi, and on the other hand to cut off the retreat of the Turkic troops. The main attack was still on himself.

"The first battle must be as fast as thunder, but there is a difference between the left and right armies. You two can discuss one or two things." Li Shan said loudly: "Destroy the enemy in the first battle, let Ren Guogong lead the infantry into Queshu Valley, march north slowly, respectfully Brother De leads the right army to the rear."

Yuchi Gong nodded repeatedly. The Queshu Valley is extremely narrow, rugged and steep, with winding mountain roads. It is not as short as other passes, with a total length of nearly thirty miles. The cavalry can pass through quickly, but once it encounters the enemy, it will be difficult to form a formation. .

The Turks couldn't use the art of gathering and dispersing, but Tang Cavalry couldn't take advantage of charging into the formation. Unless they were chasing and defeating the enemy, they were really not as good as infantry.

Yu Chigong had great experience in this regard, because he was defeated in Jinzhou back then, and then Li Shimin personally led his troops to pursue them. They fought eight times a day in Queshu Valley, killing Song Jingang and Yuchi Gong and defeating them.

"After the infantry leaves the Queshu Valley, the right army will penetrate the two wings. If the Turks do not retreat, they will be trapped in Gaobiling, Jiahu Fort, and Lingshi County, and wait for Liu Heier to lead the left army out of the Queshu Valley."

"If the Turks retreat, we are allowed to pursue them, but they are not allowed to cross Jiexiu County."

Qin Qiong listened silently on the side, thinking that the command of King Wei Si was quite different from that of His Royal Highness.

Comparing this with the Battle of Baibi, Li Shimin only chose a rough strategy, choosing not to retreat, choosing to send troops to invite a fight, choosing to send partial divisions to bypass and cut off the enemy's food routes, choosing to lead the army to attack at the most critical moment, and choosing three options. The pursuit continued day and night without dismounting.

But Li Shan was relatively more meticulous in his command. In the case of the Battle of Jingzhao, although the deployment of troops, the focus and timing of the attack were all chosen by different generals, they had all been fully arranged and deployed in advance. , and even make various preparation plans in advance.

It's hard to say who is superior and who is inferior. Qin Qiong has no objection. He also defeated Yuchi Gong twice in the past. He knows very well that from Huoyi to Queshu Valley, after leaving the valley, there are passes such as Jiahu Fort and Gaobiling. After passing Lingshi County, There are quite a lot of mountains blocking the way, but the terrain near Jiexiu County is relatively flat and can be used to deploy troops. After passing Jiexiu County, there is a smooth river. Wei Siwang ordered Wei Chigong to pursue not to cross Jiexiu, which was the right choice.

"I led the Chinese army across the river from Longmen. Su Dingfang led the army, assisted by Qin Qiong and Zhang Shigui, and led the remaining cavalry. Er Zhuhuan and Wang Junhao led the lone personal guards. The remaining generals marched with the Chinese army."

"The right army crossed the Yellow River from Fengling Ferry, and when it passed Jiangzhou, it sent the infantry out of camp and headed north. Duke Jiang was about to return to Beijing for training. With Qian Jiulong, the governor of Jingzhou, as the main general, he merged with the Chinese army at the southern end of Queshu Valley."

Li Shan completed the arrangements one by one and turned to look at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head. This was already the fastest and relatively safest marching strategy.

Li Shan looked at Wen Yanbo again, "How about the troops and food in Hedong?"

"More than ten days ago, grain and grass were transferred from Shaanxi Province to Hedong. At the same time, the Yongfeng warehouse in Huazhou was full of grain and grass." Wen Yanbo was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and these were his duties. "There is no shortage of grain and grass in the Tang Army camp in Jiangzhou and Huoyi." , but the Turkic cavalry plundered everywhere and it was difficult to suppress them."

"No need to worry." Li Shan nodded, "After the first battle, Brother Jingde led the right army to go north, and the left army was divided into more than a thousand cavalry and stayed in Jiangzhou to ensure that the food road was not lost."

"In the war east of Hedong, the food route takes Fenshui as the priority." Li Shimin said: "There are tens of thousands of infantry in this battle, so we should not ignore it."

Li Shan thought for a moment, "I wonder how the food and grass in He DTZ is now..."

"Shi Doujing, the chief administrator of Bingzhou, has been farming in Bingzhou for several years, and Daizhou has also been farming near Wutai County." Wen Yanbo shook his head, "Qixian and Shouyang have been conquered. I'm afraid the Turks will not be short of food and grass." Li Shan thought about it in his mind. Before Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan made an emergency retreat south, he burned all the food and grass in Yanmen Pass and Dai County. Maybe the Turks attacked Qixian and Shouyang just for food and grass.

"Be cautious in this battle." Li Shan said loudly: "If there is no big change, we can't waste the battle."

Regarding the development of the war in Hedong, Li Shan and Li Shimin have discussed many times. If the Tang army can pass through the Queshu Valley smoothly... it should not be a big problem. Although the Queshu Valley is narrow and difficult to pass, it will be difficult for the Turks to stop it.

Through Queshu Valley, south of Jiexiu, in the relatively narrow terrain, it is difficult for the Turks to exert their advantages, and they are likely to retreat all the way north.

Now the main force of the Turks should be at the junction of Fenzhou and Bingzhou... because they have just conquered Qixian.

However, if the main force of the Tang Army's reinforcements left Jiexiu, considering that the main force of the Bingzhou Army was stationed in Yuci, Jinyang, Qingyuan and other places, the Turks were likely to withdraw all the way to the vicinity of Yangqu County, north of Jinyang.

In that case, Li Shan can easily break the siege of Bingzhou, join up with Li Daoxuan and Li Daozong, and have the advantage in military strength. Whether to have a big battle, watch the Turks return north, or send cavalry to attack at the critical moment, there will be a lot of room for choice. .

Li Shan calculated the time in his mind, "Today is October 17th...On October 19th, the left and right armies should be able to reach Jinzhou..."

After thinking for a moment, Li Shan looked at Liu Hei'er and said, "I ordered Duke Liu Hongji to send a messenger across Tongjunchuan to the east of Bingzhou, and ordered the Tang Army of Hebei... to send troops to Shouyang on October 22."

"They should have passed Queshu Valley by then. The Turks must have gathered their forces and will not stick to Shouyang."

"Yes." Liu Heier responded, thinking that Alang said he was just going to Hedong for a trip, but he was also ready for a big battle.

Next is the specific deployment of relevant troops. In terms of combat strength, the largest and most complete units are the troops returning from Hedong and the Yanzhou cavalry.

Among the senior generals, Qin Qiong and Su Dingfang are not good at speaking, while Yuchi Gong of the right army carelessly assigned all the elite cavalry to his command. After all, Liu Hei'er of the left army is more junior, but Duan Zhixuan, who is also from the left army, is not. Agreeing, he jumped out to confront Yuchi Gongfang, and their shouts were heard outside the Yamen.

Li Shan and Li Shimin didn't care about this. Generally speaking, there was not much difference in the cavalry's combat power. The main thing these people fought for was the six thousand cavalry in Yanzhou... Well, they followed Li Jing to defeat the Turks in Lingzhou, and then crossed the mountains and crossed Lingnan. The batch that went to Jingzhao.

Everyone knows that there is a big difference in combat effectiveness between a fully-organized cavalry and a makeshift cavalry. The troops returning from Hedong should be retained as the Chinese army.

What remains are two groups of cavalry, one is the Yanzhou Road cavalry, and the other is the cavalry that accompanied Li Shan to resist the Hu cavalry. They are mainly composed of soldiers from Jingzhao, Longzhou, and Qizhou, and at the same time, additional cavalry must be added. Shang Ningzhou and Yuanzhou were partially replenished, and Duan Zhixuan and Hou Hongtao also brought back more than a thousand Lingzhou troops.

The strength of the two groups of cavalry is about 6,000, and the strength of the left and right armies set by Li Shan happens to be 6,000... Obviously Li Shan did not say it casually.

Yuchi Gong kept saying that he was still the deputy general manager of the Yanzhou Road March... Well, it was true. He temporarily went south to defend Chang'an more than half a month ago, and this position has not been revoked.

Duan Zhixuan weirdly pointed out that most of the cavalry in Yanzhou participated in the battles in Jingzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lingzhou. They were his old troops, not to mention the cavalry in Yanzhou...the horses were all sent from Lingzhou. past.

Li Shimin looked at this scene with a smile, and commented with interest: "Yu Chigong is a bit domineering, Su Dingfang and Qin Qiong are too honest, Liu Hei'er..."

Ma Zhou on the side glanced at Liu Heier, who sat there without speaking, just waiting for the final result in silence.

Ma Zhou couldn't help but glance at Li Shan. There have been many generals in the Wei Siwang lineage in recent years. They have made meritorious deeds in various battles. There are nearly ten people who have been knighted, including a Duke. , a county official.

Su Dingfang is now the deputy marshal of the Hedong Road March. Although Zhang Zhongjian is the deputy general manager of the Lingzhou Road March, he is in charge of the Lingzhou Army alone. Qu Hong, Hou Hongtao, He Lou Xingshu and others also have high status among the Twelve Guards.

Therefore, Ma Zhou felt that it was quite inappropriate for Li Shan to choose Liu Hei'er to lead the left army. If there were no accidents, this battle would be Li Shan's last battle. Is it necessary to launch Liu Hei'er at this time?

As if he had seen through Ma Zhou's thoughts, Li Shan spoke at the right time: "Ah Hei is brave and good at fighting, and he has a measure of advance and retreat. The most important thing is that this person is obedient."

Li Shimin frowned slightly, vaguely guessing Li Shan's thoughts... He once learned from Yuchi Gong that on the night of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, if things went wrong, Li Shan had the intention to escape eastward and go south from Tongguan.

This shows that Li Shan is not very reassured by Guangling County Duke Zhang Zhongjian...or if the prince's rebellion succeeds, Li Shan feels that Zhang Zhongjian is likely to accept Li Jiancheng's gentle solicitation.

Looking at the commotion below, Wen Daya frowned and reminded: "The generals are fighting for it, please leave it to His Highness the Crown Prince to make a decision."

Li Shimin shook his head and said with a smile: "Huairen is the coach in this battle."

Wen Daya glanced at Li Shan. He was summoned to the capital by Li Yuan's messenger the day after the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He had just arrived in Chang'an and had never seen Li Shan before.

However, Wen Daya knew this person, and knew that his second brother Wen Yanbo had cooperated with him three times, and that his third brother's son Wen Bang was also the best man at Li Shan's wedding that day.

"No rush, let them fight for it. We will set off early tomorrow morning." Li Shan was very indifferent to this, and the leaders of the left and right armies were Ah Hei and Yu Chi Gong. Did he need to get involved personally?

Han Liang was indifferent to this, but he was a little worried about the changes in the war. He whispered: "I wonder how the war in Xinping will be..."

Hey, it happened that a battle report was delivered from outside at this time... Although it was night and the city gate was closed, because the battle was near Jingzhao, the messenger could not come in, but the battle report could still be sent.

Li Shimin opened it and glanced at it for a few times, then glanced at Li Shan.

Li Shan blinked, reached out and took it, looked at it, and couldn't help but laugh.

At dusk, on the south side of Xinping County, the Turks fought fiercely with the Tang army for a long time, and then suddenly turned around and broke through the encirclement from the east side... Li Jing had no cavalry and could not catch up.

After the Turks returned to Jingzhao, they crossed the Jinghe River from the south of Chunhua County, entered Qizhou via Yongshou County, and fled overnight.

Alas, after repatriating so many generals and almost all the cavalry, Li Shan concluded that Li Jing would not give up... But he couldn't stop it, so you can't blame me.

Li Shan's heart suddenly returned to his stomach. What he was most worried about before was that Li Jing had to capture and kill Dubu Khan. Then he would have to cause trouble in Hedong, otherwise the Turks would be unified by Tuli Khan. It's likely to grow again.

There is no need to worry now. Once Dubu Khan escapes, Li Shanzhen only needs to go to Hedong to solve the siege of Bingzhou, and then force Tuli Khan to withdraw his troops as soon as possible and try to save Liu Shirang and Li Shiji.