Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2719 Shi Siming rebels against the Tang Dynasty, Han Xin gathers the righteous army
Although the Battle of the Cicada took more than a month, Li Mu finally broke through this obstacle and annihilated 25,000 of Li Tang's troops.

However, after more than a month of fierce fighting, culminating in Zhang Liao's cavalry battle, the casualties suffered by his troops along the way were actually quite significant.

The combined land and naval forces numbered 100,000, but after the battle, it was estimated that more than 30,000 men and soldiers were lost.

Therefore, Li Mu first rested in this city for seven days, allowing his generals to reorganize the troops, before leading his army by land and sea to advance towards the capital of the Li Tang dynasty.

Meanwhile, Li Shimin had already led Li Yuanba and others back to the capital.

However, upon his return to the capital, he was faced with a number of thorny issues that required his attention.

Hou Junji rebelled and even assassinated Li Xiaogong from behind, which truly grieved Li Shimin.

However, Hou Junji had been with him for decades, so it was impossible for him to have no feelings for him at all.

Although Hou Junji betrayed him, if Li Shimin could capture him one day, he would naturally have him torn to pieces.

However, Li Shimin initially did not have the heart to pursue the matter concerning Hou Junji's wife, children, and elderly parents.

However, shortly after he returned to the capital, Lijing Pavilion reported to him that Mozang Epang, Gao Xiuyan and others were secretly colluding with the Great Jin.

Gao Xiuyan was the city gate guard of the inner city, and the importance of this position is self-evident. The fact that such a person was secretly communicating with the Great Jin Dynasty immediately alarmed Li Shimin.

As for Meicang Epang, his sister Meicang Heiyun was originally a concubine of Li Yuanhao, Li Shimin's political enemy. After Li Shimin seized the throne in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he also dealt with Li Yuanhao on the same day.

After that, Mozang Heiyun was taken in by Li Shimin, and Mozang Epang became a half-brother-in-law of the emperor.

If the Jin army were to approach the city, and these two men were to lead a group of people to defect, it would pose a fatal threat to the Tang Dynasty.

By this time, Li Shimin had fully realized the extent to which the Tang Dynasty was unstable, first with Hou Junji, a veteran, and then with people like Meizang Epang and Gao Xiuyan.

If we don't instill a sense of awe and fear, this fortified capital will become nothing more than a facade when the Jin army besieges the city.

It was precisely for this reason that Li Shimin had originally decided to spare Hou Junji's family.

However, he ultimately decided to use killing to intimidate people.

Therefore, he ordered the execution of Hou Junji's entire family, including Hou Zhongzhuang, Hou Wenhu, Hou Wenying, and Hou Wenjie.

Consort Mei Zang was beaten to death with a stick, while Mei Zang E Pang and Gao Xiu Yan were dismembered with 50,000 pieces of flesh. Both families were executed along with their entire members.

After that, before Li Mu's army arrived, Li Shimin recalled the troops that had been suppressing the eastern regions of the Li Tang dynasty. The country was about to fall, so what was the point of keeping so many troops to continue suppressing the local areas?

Li Shimin, with his eldest princess Li Xiuning as the leader and generals such as Yiwen Zhide, Pugu Huaien, and Que Teqin as his assistants, and strategists Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang as his right-hand men, led an army of 15,000 and was stationed in Wandu City.

He himself took charge of the two cities, which formed a pincer movement, making them the focus of their final resistance.

Li Shimin's massacre within the city walls was intended to deter rebellious elements. However, unbeknownst to him, a similar rebellion was raging on the Gaima Plateau, resulting in the loss of nearly ten thousand Li Tang troops. Han Xin effortlessly crippled the Li Tang defenders and killed their commander, Gao Xianzhi.

From this point on, the biggest obstacle for Han Xin to cross the Gaima Plateau was gone. As long as he could successfully cross the plateau, he could then head straight for the eastern side of Wandu.

The one who betrayed the Tang Dynasty was Shi Siming, Gao Xianzhi's deputy general.

Shi Siming was a man of loyalty, but his loyalty was only directed towards himself.

Therefore, whether it was Li Shimin or any other emperor, when the other side was powerful, he would become the best weapon in their hands, helping them to expand their territory.

However, once the other party declines, even if he doesn't personally take their place, he will absolutely no longer have any thoughts of loyalty and dying for their cause.

Therefore, when the Li Tang dynasty had declined to its current state, and when it faced imminent danger from the three armies of the Jin dynasty, it was even before it had received information about the other two armies.

However, after Han Xin's troops arrived at the Gaima Plateau, Shi Siming did not hesitate for long and immediately sent a trusted confidant to secretly contact Han Xin.

Then, when Han Xin's troops attacked, Gao Xianzhi led his trusted troops to turn against him. Originally, Gao Xianzhi had the advantage of terrain, so even if he lost, it wouldn't be so easy for him to lose, and he could at least hold out for a while.

However, it was precisely because of this rebellion that, with the cooperation of Han Xin and Shi Siming, nearly ten thousand Tang soldiers under Gao Xianzhi's command were almost completely wiped out. Hu Fu, Shang Zuo, Lady White Bone, Ashina Zhong, and Nashina Mimo, all under his command, fell in this battle.

It can be said that if Shi Siming had not betrayed him, even with Li Mu's army at the gates, Xue Rengui would still have been blocked at Liangkou, and it would not have been so easy for Han Xin to cross the Gaima Plateau.

However, Shi Siming's rebellion not only meant that two armies were about to reach the capital, but even more terrifyingly, even though Xue Rengui was still blocked at Liangkou, the Jin army still managed to organize a large number of troops.

Because Han Xin mobilized a massive army!

He demonstrated his ability to rapidly build up an army, and he did so right in the enemy's own territory.

Just three months later, when Han Xin led his 50,000 troops across the Gaima Plateau, he quickly swept away the rebel armies in the eastern part of the Li Tang Dynasty through both warfare and appeasement.

After a simple selection process, he organized 80,000 rebel troops to cooperate with his own forces and began to besiege Wandu and two other cities in the country, together with Li Mu.

Of course, all of this will happen three months from now.

At least for now, Han Xin is still suffering through marching his troops across the Gaima Plateau.

For his troops, the biggest difficulty was not fighting the enemy, but crossing this plateau.

After all, the transportation conditions on the Gaima Plateau at that time were truly hopeless. In particular, the logistical support for 50,000 troops severely limited their advance.

As for Li Shimin, who has now begun to retreat to the domestic territory and Wandu, he has actually been waiting for news from the grasslands.

He knew very well that if they couldn't attract external forces to fight this battle, no matter how hard they defended, they would only be defending and would have no power to counterattack.

Relying solely on defense will eventually lead to a breach.