The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 779 Retreat to Xiangyang
The Tang army camp in Chongling was built in the north of Huyang County and south of Bishui. It only needs to march more than 220 miles to the southwest to reach Xiangyang. The military administration of Chongling was well organized.

Like the ruling and opposition parties, Li Xiaogong and Chai Shao are also paying attention to the war between Yang Tong and the Ertu Allied Forces, but the two of them are most concerned and worried about whether they can bring this army back to Xiangyang in its entirety and into Yizhou. state.

This is not unfounded worry, but they were not blinded by the truce agreement. They agreed that if the Sui army sat back and watched them return to the army safely, if the Sui army did not take advantage of the opportunity of the Chongling army withdrawing to Xiangyang and losing the protection of the camp, they would be wiped out. That is, Yang Tong is incompetent and Yang Shanhui is mediocre and ignorant.

Obviously, neither Yang Tong nor Yang Shanhui was this kind of person, otherwise they wouldn't have amassed hundreds of thousands of troops in Xinye.

If the powerful Sui army is the foreign enemy they transferred to Xiangyang, then the interior is also full of unstable factors. Among the 12 troops, most of them are the troops of the Tang Dynasty brought by the kings under Xiao Xian's tent. There were only 5 people, and the other [-] were either Xiao Xian's army, or Nanchongling people who were forcibly conscripted into the army, and there were many Jingling people and Nanyang people.

After the Sui and Tang truce agreements were signed, although Li Xiaogong and Chai Shao concealed the news, the news that the Tang Dynasty exchanged the five counties in Jingbei for a half-year truce had spread all over the world, and the soldiers usually had to farm and contact the people in many places, so We can't hide it at all. It's one thing for the agreement to cause morale to be low. The key is that everyone can't see the hope of victory. Once Chongling is withdrawn, desertion is inevitable.

In the big tent, Li Xiaogong paced back and forth. Just now, he received an order from Li Jiancheng to return them to Xiangyang as soon as possible to avoid long nights and dreams.

For Li Xiaogong, giving up Chongling and withdrawing westward to Xiangyang was a one-sentence matter, but Li Xiaogong was worried about his army. The soldiers' morale is low and they can maintain stability. Everyone thinks that Li Xiaogong can bring everyone back. Xiangyang, accepting Li Jiancheng's reward, if the Sui army suddenly invaded, under extreme fear, he was very worried that the army would collapse.

For them now, the more than 200 miles from Chongling Huyang to Xiangyang will be a road of escape full of killings and deaths. If they do not arrange properly and respond poorly, the fate of the entire army will be wiped out again.

But apart from leading the army westward to Xiangyang as soon as possible, they seem to have no other choice.

At this time, Chai Shao, who was also at a loss, said from the side: "Your Highness, the general feels that the more we delay, the more unfavorable the situation will be for us. First of all, the low morale of the soldiers is caused by the unknown future. The most urgent thing is to take everyone to Xiangyang. Let the soldiers down, but also let everyone gain a sense of security, and then we will work with the prince to rectify the army in Xiangyang, and eliminate the unstable soldiers by cutting off the dead branches and leaves, and keeping the roots and trunks. The remaining soldiers will be loyal to the Tang Dynasty elite soldiers."

Lu Zushang, the first general under Li Xiaogong's command, also said: "General Chai's words are very true. The Sui and Tang armies are in a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the clear. Yang Shan will know everything about us, but we don't know how many people there are in the Sui army, and we don't know when they came. It is this kind of unknown that caused the whole army to be in a state of ignorance and fear. Soldiers who have lived in high tension and fear for a long time may even scream at the camp. The soldiers themselves will fight cleanly in the camp roar. Li Mi's camp roar is a lesson for us."

"General Lu's words are also the most worrying thing for the humble officer." The samurai stood up and said: "We should move now rather than stay still. As long as our army moves, the Sui army will follow suit, and our army will be in an active position."

Li Xiaogong nodded, and said bitterly: "You are all right, and you are all deadly. But we don't know anything about the Sui army, we are too passive, I am very worried that the other party will intercept us in Tangzishan area, that is a flat river." The wilderness has a natural advantage over cavalry."

"Then what does Your Highness think?" Samurai Xun knew that Li Xiaogong was wiped out by Luo Shixin once, and now he is deeply wary of the cavalry.

"I thought so."

Li Xiaogong looked at the crowd, and suddenly showed a smile, "Whether we retreat west or south, it is within the expectation of the Sui army. Why don't we do the opposite, kill Handong County in the east, and then bypass Tongbai Mountain , avoiding Yang Shanhui's army, and went all out to attack Huai'an, Yingchuan, and Xingyang, which were empty of troops, and directly burned the flames of war to Henan County where Luoyang was located. When the Sui army came to encircle them, they turned to Dongjun. Ji, deploying troops in Qingzhou, this is one. The second is to cross Anlu from the east of Han and take Jiangxia directly, and kill them by surprise. I believe that there will not be too many troops there, and we can support war with war."

"I personally think that going south is more successful and safer, because the Sui Dynasty regained Jianghuai and Jiangnan not long ago, and the local people's sense of belonging to the Sui Dynasty is far less than that of the northerners. If we operate properly, at worst, we can also Occupy the three counties of Jiujiang, Yuzhang, and Poyang, and use the mountainous and watery terrain to turn Yangzhou upside down."

Everyone was stunned for a while, Chai Shao and Lu Zushang looked at each other, Chai Shao quickly said: "Your Highness, what the Holy Majesty and the Crown Prince mean is that we go back to Xiangyang, and then sit in Padong to block the westward advance of the Sui army."

"But Badong is difficult. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. How can we need so many soldiers? I mean that the soldiers will be divided into two groups. You will lead the army to Xiangyang, and you will go west with the prince. I will bring [-] elite soldiers and [-] from Jingzhou Soldiers are enough." When Li Xiaogong said this, he suddenly sighed, and said: "I have been in the army for so many years, I really want to fight a war with freedom and no worries."

"As a general, the last general also understands His Royal Highness's feelings, and wants to fight a battle that is not under the remote control and command of the imperial court, but I, the Li Tang Dynasty, really can't stand the toss. Now Yizhou is empty of troops. All the available troops have been suppressed above the border of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but there are still Beizhen Army, Dugu Wudu, and Taihe Army in Yizhou. Huo, if these forces join forces, Yizhou will be raging with flames and the people will be in dire straits. Our 12 army can be regarded as the last vital force of the Tang Dynasty, and it is used to save lives. Glancing at Li Xiaogong, Chai Shao continued: "Even if there are no such questions, His Highness asks himself, are you sure to avoid the Sui army scouts all over Chongling?"

"This..." Li Xiaogong sighed, he was self-aware, even though Chongling still had an army of 12 troops, Yang Shanhui had already figured out the truth. Surrounding the barracks, there might be Sui army spies everywhere. The action, I am afraid that the opponent will notice it within half an hour, and they are almost all infantry. The time difference of half an hour is really not a difficult distance for the Sui cavalry to catch up.Even if he jumped out of the encirclement and captured the entire Jianghuai land as he wished, he still didn't have enough troops to occupy these territories.

Seeing that Li Xiaogong was not sure yet, Chai Shao persuaded with a bitter face: "Although your Highness's idea is hugely risky, it is indeed possible to succeed, but the crown prince is still waiting for us to enter Shu together in Xiangyang, which is empty of troops. This action has angered the Sui Dynasty, I am afraid that Xue Wanjun will immediately lead a large army from Xiyang to the south, gather heavy troops to surround Xiangyang, if there is any trouble with the prince, the prince will not be the only one who will be lost in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Xiaogong's heart is awe-inspiring. As a bystander of Li Tang's high-level officials, he can see clearly than those who enter the game, and see more thoroughly than ordinary bystanders. It established the situation that the Sui Dynasty was strong and the Tang Dynasty was weak.The root cause is not how cunning and powerful Yang Tong is, but the seizure of power by the father and son brothers of the emperor of the Li and Tang Dynasties, and the seizure of power by the monarchs and ministers affected the decision-making of the military and the country, which gave the Sui Dynasty a chance to break the Tang Dynasty.

If something happened to Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji might immediately launch a battle for succession, which would be a disaster for the country.He used to think that Li Shimin was a person who took care of the overall situation, but judging from the fact that he led the army away, Li Shimin was obviously a person who only cared about his own interests and did not care about Datang's life or death.As for Li Yuanji, not to mention, if he wants talent but no talent, and no morals, if this kind of person is in the top position, it will only speed up Li Tang's demise.

Thinking of the situation of the Li Tang dynasty and the consequences of the civil strife, Li Xiaogong's desire to lead the battle has also faded a lot, and he couldn't help but sighed a long time.

At this time, Lu Zushang and the warrior Xun looked at each other, and the warrior Xun hurriedly persuaded him, "Your Highness, what General Chai said is very true, and our Tang Dynasty really cannot afford to lose."

Li Xiaogong didn't speak, he walked to the door silently, looking at the north from a distance.

In the north that he couldn't see was Yang Shanhui's camp.

Like a ferocious beast, it will tear them to pieces at any time.

At this time, the voice of the soldiers came: "Your Highness, Xinye scouts have information."

"Bring it in."

"Here." The soldiers quickly stepped inside and presented a piece of information to Li Xiaogong.

Li Xiaogong opened it, his face changed slightly, there were 13 people in the Sui army camp?However, the information said that the Sui army camp had changed from a fence to a tall and solid board wall barracks, which also made him a little relieved, because this kind of camp was more defensive, but this may be a strategy of the Sui army, which made them misunderstand. He thought that the Sui army only defended but not attacked, but no matter what, he couldn't afford to delay.

Thinking of this, Li Xiaogong walked quickly to the map. According to the intelligence, he found the place where the Sui army was stationed. Going south from Liangjiangkou where the camp was established is a flat road, and the cavalry can reach Xiangyang in half a day.This is to force him to retreat, otherwise he will directly target Xiangyang.

Another shameless conspiracy, really disgusting.

After thinking for a long time, Li Xiaogong turned around and gave an order: "Pass my order, send troops tonight, go south to Zaoyang County, then go west along the end of the water, and rest in Caiyang."

(End of this chapter)