The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 463 Breaking the game
The afterglow of the setting sun, like the gaze of a charming and beautiful young woman, gently brushes across the land of Changyuan County, releasing the last aftertaste.

Darkness engulfed the earth in an instant.

At the same time, Li Shimin's glimmer of hope was also swallowed.

When Li Shimin got the news that the Sui army occupied Luoyang without bloodshed, he realized the depth of Yang Tong's layout in the world.I am afraid that long before Datang contacted Li Mi and attacked Henan County, he had already planted secrets all over the world. These secrets played an important role in the subsequent defense layout, otherwise Yang Tong would not have been able to capture it so easily. Dongjun, Jiyin... Xingyang, Xiangcheng, Fuyang and other vast lands.

Now the main force of Yang Shanhui is stationed in Yiyang County, Henan County, which is less than a hundred miles away from Changyuan County in Hongnong County. With the powerful cavalry of the Sui Dynasty, this is only a day's journey.

The reason why Li Shimin was stationed in Changyuan County was that he hoped that the Sui army would encounter a fierce battle in Luoyang. Even if the Sui army finally entered Luoyang, the Sui army would also be fiercely attacked by the remnants of Wang Shichong and suffer heavy losses. In this case, then Tang Jun's opportunity has come, but the last news really disappointed Li Shimin

Leading an army of hundreds of thousands to Luoyang, not only did he lose his troops, but he also killed Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong's East Route Army. What made him even more unacceptable was that he finally made a wedding dress for Yang Tong out of thin air.
It was also at this time that he realized that by executing Wang Shichong's family, he was actually helping Yang Tong.Because if you really want to pursue it, Li Shimin is actually a sharp knife in Yang Tong's hands: it is precisely because he insists on using Wang Shichong's head to go back to Beijing to show his merits and gain a certain amount of political capital, so Yang Tong has been taken advantage of in vain.

This ending made him very frustrated and unwilling, but so what?It had happened and he was powerless to change it.

In the big tent, Li Shimin stared at the map for a long time without saying a word. He obviously felt that he was being led by the nose by Yang Tong, and now it was up to the opponent to decide whether to fight or not.

The current situation makes him very passive. If this problem is not resolved, the Tang army will not only have a lot of bad luck in this battle.It will even lead to the fall of Xiangyang. If that is the case, where will Datang go?Do you really want to retreat into Bashu?

At this time, Liu Wenjing stepped forward and said solemnly: "Your Highness, I have thought about it for a long time, and I think the best way now is to contain the Sui army in Hongnong County and win time for the court. However, we have been fighting in Luoyang for too long , war weariness has already begun to grow in the army, and our army alone will not be able to contain the Sui army here, so what I mean is to seek reinforcements from the imperial court, and once the reinforcements arrive, the current deadlock can be broken."

"I also hope that my father will help our army with the [-] troops in the hands of Uncle Li Shentong, but my father refuses." Li Shimin shook his head and smiled bitterly. He glanced at Liu Wenjing, sighed slightly, and said, "I think my father has lost me Be patient."

After finishing speaking, Li Shimin sighed again: For this battle, Li Tang tried his best, and even bet all his wealth on him and Li Xiaogong, but the result was still a disastrous defeat.

Li Shimin knew that the court was full of pessimism without even thinking about it. He even suspected that his father had plans to enter Shu.

Liu Wenjing frowned, and said: "Your Highness, I think there must be a misunderstanding in this, and it's not that the Holy One refuses to send reinforcements."

"Misunderstanding?" Li Shimin smiled: "What misunderstanding can there be?"

"I remember that when His Highness withdrew from Luoyang, the reason why he asked the Holy One for reinforcements was that he wanted to fight the Sui army in Hongnong to the death. If he won, the Tang Dynasty would be able to recuperate. If he lost, the Tang Dynasty would fall. This is why they refuse to send reinforcements."

"What's more, almost 30 of the 20 troops of our Tang Dynasty were thrown into the battlefield. In the end, not only did we not achieve the expected victory, but the Eastern Route Army and we suffered heavy losses. If it costs more than [-], wouldn’t that be an army of the whole country coming to fight this battle?”

Speaking of this, Liu Wenjing waved her hands helplessly and said in a more emphatic tone: "The Sixth Army in Shangluo County in the Sui Dynasty had a total of 6 people, and the main generals were Xue Wanjun, Yao Junsu, and Huang Junhan who were good at fighting... In Hanchuan, it was the seventh army led by Yu Chigong, supplemented by Cheng Yaojin and Qian Jie, with the same [-] elite soldiers; Hanyang was the ninth army of Wang Fubao and Niu Jinda, and Lintao was the tenth army of Xue Wanche Army... If the imperial court's all-powerful soldiers come here, then the interior of our Tang Dynasty will be empty. These large armies capable of conscripting and fighting can enter the territory of the Tang Dynasty at the same time, and it will put great pressure on the Tang Dynasty. It will fail disastrously across the board.”

"I know what you said..." Li Shimin was silent for a while, looked at Liu Wenjing firmly and said, "Actually, I think the best way is to withdraw the troops. Return to Xiangyang to preserve strength, and even hand over some counties that are not conducive to defense. Give it to the Sui army, and then use the geographical advantages to hold on to the country, and once the Sui army can't attack our Tang Dynasty, then they will definitely set their sights on Li Mi and others."

"I also know that this is a good way, but will the sage agree?" Liu Wenjing glanced at Li Shimin lightly.

"That's the problem."

Li Shimin said worriedly: "I'm worried that my father has lived in the temple for too long, and I can't see the serious situation now. I'm even worried that he won't understand the danger that my Tang Dynasty is in. Actually, I'm not worried about my side. , because we have enough food and weapons at Zhuyangguan to fight a protracted war. If we fail to defend Hongnong, at worst we will stick to Zhuyangguan and not fight against the Sui army. I am actually worried about Xicheng County, where The main army is Shu people. They haven't fought for a long time, and they can't hold back the Sui army, which is capable of fighting well. If Xicheng County is defeated, Yu Chigong and Xue Wanjun can march into Xiyang with their troops, and my side will also be encircled on all sides. predicament."

Liu Wenjing thought for a while, and said, "Yang Tong seems to have realized this too."

Li Shimin said: "It's not that he's aware of this. It's just a deliberate arrangement. You see, Yang Shanhui is now stationed in Yiyang County, confronting me from a distance, and has no intention of a decisive battle with me. This shows that Yang Shanhui is also waiting for news. Because he knows where our weaknesses are?"

Speaking of this, Li Shimin finally made up his mind, "I still decided to abandon Hongnong and retreat to Zhuyang Pass to protect the two counties of Xiyang and Xicheng. At the same time, I persuaded my father to send troops to attack Yingchuan. As long as we put pressure on the Sui army from the direction of Yingchuan and hold the Sui army back for a month or two, we may be able to change our current passive situation."

"It is estimated that the Holy Majesty will not agree."

"I know..." Li Shimin took a deep look at Liu Wenjing, and said in a deep voice, "So, I hope you can tell my elder brother the key to the problem!"

For Liu Wenjing's loyalty to Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin was very sad and couldn't let go of it, but at this juncture, the brothers could only work together to persuade the father.

Liu Wenjing nodded and said, "Try as much as you can."

(End of this chapter)