There was controversy within the Li Tang Dynasty about this Eastern Crusade at the beginning, and the opposition believed that the Eastern Crusade was too hasty, and their main point was that the army did not have enough time for training, especially the soldiers from Shu who had been out of battle for a long time, and could not be the opponent of the Sui Dynasty's Hundred Battles Heroes, but Li Yuan and Li Shimin's insistence, so before the results came, the opposition to the Eastern Crusade did not occupy the mainstream. However, with the annihilation of the Eastern Route Army, the loss of the two counties of Xiangcheng and Shuyang, and the failure of the Tang Army on the Western Front to seize Henan County, the news reached Xiangyang one after another...... As a result, the discontent in the court became more and more high-profile.

In particular, Li Xiaogong's unfair treatment has become a reason for people to criticize Li Shimin, the representative of the main battle faction, and they strongly criticized Li Shimin, the king of Qi, for his unfavorable performance in the war, if he hadn't sent Wang Junkuo to intervene in the defense of Yique Pass without authorization, Li Daozong would not have come out of the pass to rescue, Yique Pass would not have been lost, and there would have been no later defeat of Li Xiaogong, so in the final analysis, it was Li Shimin's fault, and he was the main person responsible for the defeat of the East Route Army, not Li Xiaogong who was affected by the pond fish.

The voices opposing Li Shimin and supporting Li Xiaogong are very marketable in Xiangyang, although there are various forces contributing to the trouble, but it is also directly related to Li Xiaogong's personal reputation in Jingzhou. Just because the land of Jingzhou became the territory of the Tang Dynasty was actually Li Xiaogong's personal work, and there were many southerners who were promoted by him, and the benefactors were wronged, so these people naturally took advantage of the situation to speak out.

Wudeden Imperial Study!

Xiao Yu was once again entrusted by Li Shimin to lobby Li Yuan, and Chen Ming had a strong relationship.

Although Li Yuan's condition improved, his mood was really low, and the unfavorable situation on the front line and the dissatisfaction of the government and the opposition brought him tremendous pressure, and he also realized that he had made a strategic mistake.

It was he who misjudged the situation in the world and believed that the Sui Dynasty, which had undergone a major military reform, fell into a short-term chaos, and Yang Tong was temporarily powerless to interfere in the affairs of the Central Plains......

It was also his lack of understanding of Wang Shichong's strength and resistance that caused the Western Route Army to spend too much time in the Battle of Luoyang and drain their sharpness prematurely in the decisive battle with Wang Shichong, so when they faced the Sui army that suddenly moved south, they could only be forced to withdraw.

On the other hand, he and Li Mi reached a consensus and was too optimistic, believing that the Central Plains was inevitable and within reach, so he appointed Li Xiaogong to lead the Shu army that was negligent in the battle formation to seize the Central Plains, and he found that he had made a fatal mistake in this major decision, if the order at that time was to let Li Xiaogong and Li Shimin become one, then Henan County would have been taken long ago, and at that time, it would be possible to resist the Sui army in the north with the danger of the Yellow River, and resist the Sui army in the Xingyang area with the Tiger Pass, but it is too late to say anything. But what Li Yuan didn't know was that his mistake was not the first time, but the worst thing was that he did not change his mistakes repeatedly.

"Shengshang, the situation of the Western Route Army is extremely bad now, and it is always facing the risk of the Sui army being surrounded on all sides, and the King of Qi means to temporarily abandon Hongnong County and withdraw to Xiyang County, in addition to preserving the strength of our army, it can also form a heavy army to defend the Sui army in Waiwuguan and Zhuyang Pass, so as to consolidate the outer defense line of our Xiangyang. When our strength recovers, we can attack Luoyang again, and after learning the lesson of this failure, we will definitely succeed! Xiao Yu tried hard to persuade Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's pale face showed a strong look of hesitation, and he sighed: "I understand his difficulties very well, but if we retreat, the Sui army will occupy Henan County, and then occupy the entire Central Plains, and it will be even more difficult for us to think about it." Moreover, the Western Route Army and the Sui Army only had a small collision at the crossing of the Yellow River, and if you calculate it carefully, the Western Route Army is no different from not fighting in World War I. The Western Route Army now has sufficient food and grass, and its strength and armament are no less than that of the Sui Army, if we retreat because we are afraid of the Sui Army's momentum, I really can't explain it to the court and the people! ”

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said to Xiao Yu seriously: "Shiwen (Xiao Yuzi) ah......"

"The minister is here!" Xiao Yu bowed respectfully.

"I also want to be faced! Therefore, I hope that King Qi can work hard and defeat Yang Tong once in a dignified and chic manner, not only to keep Hongnong, but also to earn a bit of glory for my old face. ”

"......" Xiao Yu smiled bitterly: Shengshang's attitude is really not what King Qi expected, although he said it very tactfully, but Shengshang not only disagreed with King Qi's withdrawal, but also hoped that King Qi would defeat Yang Tong, break the 'curse' that the Tang army would lose every time Sui, and add beauty to the Tang Dynasty and the opposition that had been repeatedly defeated and morale was sluggish.

Since the saint refused to withdraw his troops, Xiao Yu could only retreat: "The minister understands the difficulties of the saint, and also knows that my great Tang dynasty is eager for a hearty victory...... If you withdraw from the army, you really have no shame to face the world, so can the saint increase the army appropriately? The king of Qi hoped that the Holy Lord would be able to send 350,000 troops from Huai'an to put pressure on Xiangcheng, Shuyang, and Yingchuan in the north, so as to disperse Yang Dong's energy and troops, so as to increase the chances of acquisition. ”

"This... Rong Zhen thinks about it and then makes a decision..."

The Li Tang Dynasty poured troops into the country to fight this war, and after the rest were divided into various places, the troops left in Xiangyang were really pitiful, and Li Shimin now asked for more troops, and Li Yuan was a little embarrassed. And the lessons of the past also made Li Yuan dare not send reinforcements again, because he had poured his troops into fighting Xue Ju, but as a result, the main force of Li Tang led by Li Shimin was beaten by Li Jing in Liangzhou and could not even return to Guanzhong, and finally he could only return to Jingzhou by Shu Road. That battle was also a battle in which the Li Tang Dynasty was weakened, if it weren't for Yang Tong's efforts to blast the Guanlong group out of Guanzhong, the Li Tang Dynasty would have perished at that time, but despite this, the Li Tang Dynasty finally gave up Daxing City and defeated Xiangyang in a very undignified way.

If all the limited forces are pressed now, and Li Shimin is defeated again, what will the Tang Dynasty use to defend Xiangyang? Do you want to repeat the old thing?

The key is whether Yang Tong will let Li Tang go again?

The answer is obviously no, just because the strength of the Sui Dynasty is not what it used to be, Yang Tong no longer cares about the family, so naturally there is no need to compromise with the Guanlong Group, which has suffered a great loss in strength, let alone let go of the Li Tang Dynasty.

As for the thoughts of the Guanlong Group, the Shandong family, and the Southern Shi clan, Li Yuan also knows it.

The children of the family have always put their own interests first, and seeing that the cause of the Great Sui is thriving, they have long looked forward to the idea of re-boarding the big ship of the Great Sui Dynasty, but Yang Tong does not look down on them, so there is no way to survive, so they can work together with the Li Tang Dynasty to get to the present. If Yang Tong throws out a fleshless bone now, they will also break their heads to earn a struggle, and it is too late for them to tie Yang Tong, where does Li Yuan expect them to argue with Yang Dong? For this reason, he now attaches great importance to military power, and has always held the command of the army in his own hands.

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