The afterglow of the sunset, like the gaze of a beautiful young woman, gently brushes across the land of Changyuan County, releasing the last aftertaste.

Darkness engulfs the earth in an instant.

At the same time, there is also a glimmer of hope for Li Shimin.

When Li Shimin got the news that the Great Sui army occupied Luoyang without blood, he understood the depth of Yang Tong's layout in the world. I am afraid that long before the Tang Dynasty contacted Li Mi and attacked Henan County, shadows had been laid all over the world, and these shadows played a major role in the later defensive layout, otherwise Yang Tong would not have been able to capture Dongjun and Jiyin so easily...... Xingyang, Xiangcheng, Shuyang and other vast lands.

Now the main force of Yang Shanhui is stationed in Yiyang County, Henan County, less than 100 miles away from Changyuan County in Hongnong County, and with the powerful iron cavalry of the Great Sui, this is only a day's journey.

The reason why Li Shimin was stationed in Changyuan County was to hope that the Great Sui army would encounter a vicious battle in Luoyang, even if the Great Sui finally entered Luoyang, the Sui army would also be stubborn by the remnants of Wang Shichong and suffer heavy losses

led hundreds of thousands of troops to Luoyang, and now not only did he lose his troops, but also harmed Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong's Eastern Route Army, and 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 found out that he had executed Wang Shichong and his family, which was actually a favor for Yang Tong. Because if you really want to investigate it, he, Li Shimin, is actually a sharp blade in Yang Tong's hands: it is precisely because he insists on using Wang Shichong's head to return to Beijing to show his merits and win a certain amount of political capital, so he cheapens Yang Dong in vain.

This ending made him very frustrated and unwilling, but so what? Things have happened, and he is powerless to change them.

In the big tent, Li Shimin stared at the map for a long time and was silent, he obviously felt that he was being held by Yang Tong's nose, and now it is up to the other party to decide whether to fight or not.

The current situation makes him very passive, and if this problem is not solved, the Tang army will not only be fierce and unlucky in this battle. It will even lead to the fall of Xiangyang, if you really want that, where will Datang go? Do you really want to retreat into Bashu?

At this time, Liu Wenjing paced forward and said solemnly: "Your Highness, the minister has been thinking about it for a long time, and I think that the best way now is to contain the Sui army in Hongnong County and buy time for the imperial court." However, we have been fighting in Luoyang for too long, and war-weariness has begun to breed in the army, and if we want to contain the Sui army here, our army alone cannot complete it, so the minister means to ask the imperial court for reinforcements, once the reinforcements arrive, the current stalemate can be broken. ”

"I also hope that my father will send the 80,000 troops in the hands of Uncle Li Shentong to help our army, 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 patience with me." ”

After speaking, Li Shimin sighed again: For this battle, Li Tang can be said to have done his best, and even bet all his family wealth on him and Li Xiaogong, but the result was still a fiasco.

Li Shimin almost didn't have to think about it, he could know that the court was full of pessimism, and 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 Lord is unwilling to send reinforcements. ”

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

"The minister remembers that when His Royal Highness withdrew from Luoyang, the reason for asking the Holy Lord for reinforcements was that he wanted to fight to the death with the Sui army in Hongnong, and if he wins, the Tang Dynasty will be able to recuperate, and if he loses, the Tang Dynasty will be defeated, and I am afraid that the Holy Lord and the ministers of the court will not be able to bear such consequences, so they will not send reinforcements."

"What's more, of the 300,000 troops of my Tang Dynasty, almost 200,000 were put into the battlefield, but not only did they not win as expected, but the Eastern Route Army and us suffered heavy losses, and if we send reinforcements again, it makes no sense to send 20,000 or 30,000, at least more than 50,000, isn't that the army of the country to fight this battle?"

Speaking of this, Liu Wenjing said this, waved his hands helplessly, and said in an aggravated tone: "The sixth army of the Sui Dynasty in Shangluo County has a total of 60,000 people, and the main ones are Xue Wanjun, Yao Junsu, and Huang Junhan, who can fight well...... In Hanchuan, the Seventh Army was dominated by Wei Chigong and supplemented by Cheng Yanjin and Qian Jie, with the same 60,000 elite soldiers; Hanyang is the ninth army of Wang Fubao and Niu Jinda, and Lintao is the tenth army of Xue Wanche...... If the imperial court comes here, then my Datang will be empty, and these several armies that can fight well can enter the territory of Datang at the same time, and it will cause great pressure on Datang at that time, and I am afraid that it will be a fiasco on all fronts at that time. ”

"I know what you say......" Li Shimin was silent for a long time, looked at Liu Wenjing fixedly, and said: "Actually, I think the best way is to withdraw the army." Retreat to Xiangyang to preserve strength, and even give up some unfavorable counties to the Sui army, and then hold on to the territory with geographical advantages, once the Sui army can't attack our Tang Dynasty, then it will definitely aim at Li Mi and others. ”

"I know it's a good idea, but is he willing to do it?" Liu Wenjing glanced at Li Shimin lightly.

"That's the problem."

Li Shimin said worriedly: "I'm worried that my father's imperial residence and temple have been too long, and I can't see the current grim situation. I'm even worried that he won't understand the predicament that my Datang is in right now. Actually, I'm not worried about my side, because we have enough food and armaments in Zhuyang Pass to fight a protracted war, in case we can't defend Hongnong, it's a big deal to stick to Zhuyang Pass, and not fight against the Sui army. I'm actually worried about Xicheng County, where the army is dominated by Shu people, they have not fought for a long time, and they can't bear the Sui army that can fight well, if Xicheng County is defeated, Wei Chigong and Xue Wanjun can wave their troops into Xiyang, and my side will also fall into the predicament of being surrounded on all sides. ”

Liu Wenjing thought for a while and said, "Yang Tong seems to be aware of this. ”

Li Shimin said: "It's not that he is aware of this. But it was deliberately arranged, you see that Yang Shanhui is now stationed in Yiyang County, confronting me from afar, and has no intention of fighting with me, so it can be seen 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 give up Hongnong and retreat to Zhuyang Pass to protect Xiyang and Xicheng two counties, and at the same time persuade my father to send troops to attack the front line of Yingchuan, even if only 20,000 or 30,000 people are sent, as long as the Sui army is put under pressure from the direction of Yingchuan, and the Sui army can be held back for a month or two, maybe we can change our current passive situation." ”

"I guess the Holy One won't agree."

"I know ......" Li Shimin glanced at Liu Wenjing deeply, and said in a deep voice: "So, I hope you can talk to my eldest brother about the key to the problem!" ”

Li Shimin was very sad and difficult to let go of Liu Wenjing's loyalty to Li Jiancheng, but at this juncture, he could only work together to persuade his father.

Liu Wenjing nodded and said, "Try your best." ”

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