Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 783
Almost when Liang Jun defeated the Tang Army not far from Renshou Palace, in the valley outside Liyuan County, Longzhou, Li Shan was still weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, should we slip away?
It is definitely safe to slip away, not to mention going back to Chang'an directly, at least you can go to Renshou Palace, no one can find a reason, but Li Yuan's perception of him will definitely decline, which is not good news for him.

After thinking and thinking, Li Shan still decided to stay the same.

First of all, Liang Jun defeated the Lingzhou Army. Li Shenfu, the commander of the Lingzhou Road, and Duan Decao, the deputy commander, were both defeated. They lost the territory of three states in a row.

Jingzhou and Longzhou, which border Yuanzhou, have already become the front lines. When the generals who take over come, they will withdraw by themselves... It is justified.

Second, Li Shan suspected that he would rush to Renshou Palace immediately, maybe he would be stalked by that old fox Pei Shiju, because that guy had encouraged Li Yuan to appoint him as the marching commander of Lingzhou Road earlier.

Li Shan counted with his fingers, Master Liang won the three states in Guanzhong, and his power rose sharply. Li Shenfu and Duan Decao were defeated, and there were not many qualified and famous people to take over.

Li Jing and Li Daozong who were far away in Hedong, Ren Gui who was still in the Central Plains, Li Shan who was Secretary of Agriculture, and Li Shimin, the king of Qin who was unemployed.

Liang Jun's defeat of the Tang Army was a tragic event for Datang itself, but objectively speaking, it may not be a bad thing for Li Shimin.

Li Shan didn't want to spoil Li Shimin's affairs... According to the plan, Li Shimin was going to do something after the defeat of that bastard Li Shenfu.

Third, Li Shan himself is really unwilling to take over. On the one hand, it is because Su Dingfang is not around this time. On the other hand, he has doubts about the combat power of the Guanzhong government soldiers. Now the world is tentatively determined, but a considerable part of the government soldiers are still stationed. Jianghuai, Central Plains, those are the elite of the Tang Dynasty.

Based on what Li Shan has seen with his own eyes in the past few months, it is difficult for the Guanzhong government soldiers to compare with the Daizhou Army he formed two years ago, in terms of equipment, horses, ordnance, and morale. few.

Fourth, and the one thing that caused Li Shan the most headaches, was the brothers Zhang Wenguan.

A few days ago, Chang Da and Zhang Shilong, the general manager of Longzhou, led the army to the north. Huating County is now the front line.

However, the Zhang family brothers have a very close relationship with Li Shan, not to mention friendship, not to say that they are in-laws, and even Zhang Wenxi should not be able to directly control a county when he becomes an official. After saying hello, Zhang Wenxi was able to serve as Huating order.

To put it bluntly, Zhang Wenxi was almost sent to the knife by Li Shan... although he had good intentions.

On this day, Zuo Qianniuwei suffered heavy losses outside Renshou Palace. When Su Dingfang, Hou Junji, and Niu Jinda were all famous generals in history, Zhang Wenguan appeared in the valley.

"Brother Huai, dear brother Huai!"

Before the mount stopped, Zhang Wenguan had already rolled off the horse, staggered and almost rushed towards Li Shan, "Huating is defeated!"

With a gloomy face, Li Shan supported Zhang Wenguan with both hands, "Don't worry, don't worry!"

"Bring water."

Zhang Wenguan, who was covered in loess all over his face, took the cup and drank it in one gulp, but was choked suddenly. The water from the corner of his mouth was mixed with loess, and his face was immediately covered in mud.

"Speak slowly and carefully."

After a heart-piercing cough, Zhang Wenguan stabilized his mind a little, and then said: "Three days ago, the general manager, don't drive the troops to the north, and fought several times. There were winners and losers. The Liang army retreated yesterday afternoon. Don't drive Zhang Shilong." He led his troops in pursuit and was ambushed, defeated and killed, and the Liang army attacked Huating again."

"The manager had no choice but to send his personal guards back to Liyuan County for help, and the younger brother came with him, asking His Highness to send troops."

Zhang Wenguan was choked with sobs, and suddenly knelt on the ground, "Your Highness!"

"Get up!" Li Shan yelled lightly: "You and my brother, the best friend in this life, do you call each other by this?"

Zhang Wenguan struggled to break away from Li Shan's hand, "How can I compare with brother Demou?"

Among the descendants of the aristocratic families who had the best friendship with Li Shan, Li Kai and Wang Renbiao both became friends when Li Shan was unknown, and both played more or less roles in Li Shan's rise. .

Without Li Kai, Li Shan would have lost Guo Pu and others to protect him in Shandong, and the ending would be hard to say.

Last year, after Li Shan broke the Turks three times and became famous all over the world, Li Kai called Li Shan "His Royal Highness" because of his uncle Li Jing. Only then did the two recover as before, and their friendship became stronger.

But Zhang Wenguan is different. Although he has a deep friendship, he almost died in Wucheng. At the critical moment, Li Shan sent Su Dingfang to lead his troops to break through the city, and Zhang Wenguan survived.

Zhang Wenguan is not stupid either. After all, decades later in history, when he became an official to Zaifu, he faintly sensed that Li Kai knew more than himself and had a deeper relationship. There were many reasons why Li Shan made concessions to Li Jing, but he and The friendship between Li Kai obviously also accounted for a large proportion.

"Needless to say." Li Shan increased his strength again, pulling Zhang Wenguan up abruptly, "You and I have been friends for a long time, will someone just watch?"

"Wang Junhao, Zhang Zhongjian!"

"exist."

"exist."

"Assemble the soldiers and horses. The horses, weapons, and rations must be ready." Li Shan's face was frosty, "Let's go at any time."

Supporting Zhang Wenguan, who was about to bow down and be grateful, Li Shan asked in a low voice: "Let's talk about the battle situation in detail... A certain question, tell me."

First poured a glass of water for Zhang Wenguan, Li Shan sat down slowly, and told himself in his heart that whenever a major event occurs, you need to calm down first.

Since you can't escape, you can only face up to the difficulties and retreat... It's always just a strategy.

Li Shan has traveled to this era, but he still maintains the nature of his previous life. When encountering difficulties, his first choice is never to retreat!
"Liang Jun's strength?"

The first question Li Shan asked is the most important. According to Li Shan's prediction, Liang Jun is unlikely to attack Longzhou with all his strength.

"About two to three thousand, most of them are cavalry." Zhang Wenguan recalled: "There are some Hu people among them, but they should not be Turks... because they all obey the orders of Liang Jun generals."

Li Shan nodded slightly, Liang Shidu was attached to the Turks, and to put it bluntly, it was a dog raised by the Ashina clan. Dogs have always been the only ones who dominate others, and the owner will not let the dog ride on his neck to do his best.

The Turkic civil strife should not be quelled so quickly. From this point of view, Liang Shidu's attack this time is likely to be his own decision, not the Turkic plan... Li Shan felt a little relieved, if the Turkic came, he would also I can only run away.

"Is it possible for Huating County to stick to it?"

"Don't let Zhang Shilong lead three thousand Tang troops to pursue them. They were defeated and died in the ambush. The remaining soldiers who fled back were only three or four hundred. Including the defenders in the city, the total is more than a thousand." Zhang Wenguan sighed: "But the morale is low, and the troops are completely lost. We can only defend against the city, and the Liang army will attack with all its strength..."

Obviously, Zhang Wenguan is not very optimistic about how long Huating County can hold on.

Li Shan thought repeatedly in his mind that the Liang army only had two to 3000 people, which is not a large number. If there is no follow-up force, it should be just a tentative attack. What a pity that Chang Da and Zhang Shilong are two wastes!

Yang Ze mentioned before that Zhang Shilong became a general of Yingyang Lang before the Sui Dynasty. Liang Shidu raised his troops back then, and the first general of the Sui Dynasty he defeated was Zhang Shilong... This time, not only was he defeated again, but he even lost his life. Filled in.

Although his personal guards only have [-] riders, they are all absolutely elite. Most of them have experienced the battle of the past year. There is no shortage of armor, good horses, and Tang crossbows. Zhang Shigui once mentioned that the combat power of these personal guards is no better than The Xuanjia Cavalry of Tiance Mansion is much worse.

Zhang Zhongjian selected four hundred elite soldiers from Hou Chen's side to vote. Most of them were veterans who had been on the battlefield. They were equipped with horses and weapons, but there were not many armors. After all, the general soldiers might not have them. Passed down from generation to generation, these people were refugees a few months ago,
Of course it is impossible.

There were quite a few leather armors, but among the invading Liang army were many barbarians who were proficient in riding and shooting, the defensive power of leather armor might not be enough.

But after all, the [-] cavalry is not a weak force in Longzhou today. As long as the Liang army does not attack aggressively, Li Shan feels that as long as they do not advance aggressively, they can at least break the siege of Huating. After all, in terms of cavalry combat power, Liang Jun does not have much superior strength, so he cannot compete with Tang Qi.

But if Huating falls... Li Shan glanced at Zhang Wenyu, and would snatch Zhang Wenxi out if possible, but if there was no chance, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops to Qianyuan County to wait for reinforcements.

Just thinking of this, Zhu Ba quietly entered from outside the door, "Your Majesty, Chang Shi Yang is here to visit."

"Let him in." Li Shan raised his brows, the army was defeated, and Yang Ze couldn't sit still... After all, unlike himself, Yang Ze had the responsibility of guarding the land.

Yang Ze hurried over, and the first thing he said was, "Your Highness wants to lead troops north?"

"That's right." Li Shan nodded and said, "Si Nong Qing went out to patrol Longzhou alone, and only brought his personal guards to the north, so he didn't need permission from his step?"

Yang Ze was stunned, saluted before saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Gu has already made it clear that it is for the public and not for the private." Li Shan sighed, "But this time going north, one is Huating, and the other is a friend. In fact, it is private."

Yang Ze glanced at Zhang Wenguan at the side, guessing in his heart who this was.

After the news of Liang Jun's battle against Lingzhou came, Chang Da gathered a total of more than [-] troops in Longzhou, of which [-] were stationed in Huating County, the gateway to the north of Longzhou. Now there are only a thousand troops left in Liyuan County.

These troops may not be able to defend the city. If the whole army goes north and is defeated by the Liang army, then the entire Longzhou is likely to fall quickly, and by then it will be a big deal.

Yang Ze knew this truth, and so did Li Shan, so he never thought of taking Yang Ze to the north.

But in Yang Ze's opinion, in terms of the current situation, the safest choice is to stick to Siyuan County. Even if Huating falls, it can delay the speed of Liang Jun, and the reinforcements from Qizhou, Jingzhao and other places should be very fast. just arrived.

Of course, the most beneficial thing is to go north quickly, break the siege of Huating, and repel the Liang army, but this is also the most risky choice. The King of Handan led his personal guards to go north. Of?
Thinking of this, Yang Ze saluted again, "But please order, Your Highness."

"Since you are not going to fight, try your best to send the armor." Li Shan thought for a while, "Send more horses, spears, crossbows, and horses."

Try to give the guards an extra layer of defense, more spare ordnance, and even more horses, maybe they can be used at critical moments. This is Li Shan's habit. Try to think more before the battle and prepare more.

Last year's war was able to stick to Guji Town. The crossbows and bed crossbows played a lot of power, and the Wengcheng also played a key role. After that, Li Shanduo's army went north, and the horses gathered in the previous year or two also played a decisive role.

Yang Ze responded one by one, and immediately sent people back to the city to prepare.

"Lingzhou, Huizhou, and Yuanzhou have fallen, and the king of Xiangyi and the Duke of Pingyuan don't know whether they are alive or dead. His Majesty should send generals to lead the battle, and the troops of Qizhou, Jingzhao and other states will come to help quickly." Li Shan instructed: "There is no need to go to war, stick to Qianyuan, if the Liang army attacks, gather the villagers into the city, and wait for the reinforcements."

Yang Ze nodded, "Your Majesty is in Renshou Palace...Maybe he will use His Highness to control the army, and this time he is going north, please do not take any risks."

Yang is really worried. This young county king has become famous all over the world in just a few years, but looking at his resume, he defeated the enemy in Hebei, attacked the camp on a snowy night, recruited Yuan Junzhang, chased him overnight, defeated the Turks three times, and even rode alone Going to the battle, every time is a desperate attempt to survive.

Li Shanchang said with a smile: "In the Hall of Liangyi that day, Gu once told the Turkic envoy that he wanted to see how much better Jieli was than his son!"

"Let's see this time, Master Liang is a bit better than Liu Heita and Yuan Junzhang!"

"Liu Heikai swept across Hebei twice, Yuan Junzhang has held Mayi for several years, and Liang Shi is all alone, how can he be compared with these two." Zhang Wenguan, who had calmed down, said: "His Royal Highness's army is mighty!" First appeared in Shandong, then attacked Shuo Dynasty, Jieli Khan came to attack the whole country and fled in embarrassment, the name of the King of Handan resounded throughout the grassland, and he will surely defeat the enemy!"

"Zhigui is right!" Li Shan said so in his mouth, but he was complaining in his heart, he was so good at bragging for me!

So many times before, every time I only care about the general situation, the specific leader is Su Dingfang, but this time...

At three o'clock in the afternoon, all the guards were full, armor, ordnance, crossbow arrows, and dry food were all ready, and Yang Ze personally brought over a hundred spare horses and various ordnance.

Turning on his horse, Li Shan's gaze swept over the faces of Zhao Da and Zhu Ba, Zhang Zhongjian, Wang Junhao, Qu Silang, Hou Chen, He Fang and others. The fighting power and loyalty of the three hundred guards were not needed Doubtful, the key is whether the four hundred young men on Houchen's side can work.

"This time going north, I will lead the army alone."

Li Shan said loudly: "Zhang Sanlang and Wang Junhao are the two leaders, no matter whoever violates the military order and is timid before the battle, they will all be beheaded!"

Although Zhang Zhongjian and Wang Junhao are the generals in name, in fact Zhang Zhongjian is the general.

Li Shan thought to himself, this time, we have to see what kind of character the boss of the Three Heroes is!

(End of this chapter)