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In addition to this army, Zhou Tao's navy will also fight with him, and the sailor division will no longer form a separate army like last year's attack on the Jianghuai army. Instead, they are concentrated in Jiangxia Port, where the Yangtze River and the Han River meet, and are ready to be dispatched at any time to coordinate operations.

After more than a month of preparations, on the first day of the second year of Yongchang, Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin led an army of 150,000 to attack the Hetao first. The Zhou army attacked the city of Yulin on the day of the month. After five days and five nights of fierce attacks, the city of Yulin was breached, and the Zhou army opened the gateway to the Hetao region.

On the fifteenth day of the month, the Zhou army attacked the city of Fengzhou, which was the largest city in Hetao except Wuyuan County, where Tang Junwan was stationed, and the city was relatively strong. Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin were difficult to capture for a while. So they besieged the city.

The supreme general of the Tang army in the Hetao area was Xue Wanche, who was left behind in Wuyuan County, who led the army to rescue Fengzhou, but was defeated by Luo Cheng outside the city. Then Luo Cheng ordered his soldiers, put on the clothes of the Tang army, pretended to be the Tang army from Wuyuan County to help, defrauded the gate of Fengzhou City, and captured Fengzhou in one fell swoop.

Subsequently, Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin swept seven or eight county towns in the Hetao area and occupied half of the Hetao. It made Li Tang and the wild very shaken.

Xue Wanche did not hear clearly until this moment that the attacking strength of the Zhou army was as high as 150,000, so he also lost the confidence to rely on his own forces and drive away the Zhou army alone.

When Hetao's urgent distress report fell on Li Yuan's desk like snowflakes, he finally couldn't sit still, and summoned Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Pei Lian, Liu Jing and others to discuss countermeasures.

The opinion of everyone here is unanimous: that is, the Hetao must not be lost. Although the population of the place is small and the economy is backward, it is the choke point of Guanzhong into the prairie. Moreover, this place is located on the edge of the Yellow River, the water and grass are fertile, and it is a good place to raise horses. If it is lost to the Zhou army, then the Tang army will only have a place to raise horses in Longxi, and the supply of war horses will be greatly reduced, so that the combat effectiveness of the cavalry will decrease.

Moreover, the Hetao is also a strategically important place. From the Hetao south to Guanzhong, there are only more than six miles, and all of them are a horse and a flat river, and the cavalry can step on the outside of the horse pot pass within two days. And once the pot pass is broken, the north gate of the gate will be opened, and Chang'an will be seriously threatened.

Therefore, whether it is military or strategic, the Hetao is a battleground.

Li Jiancheng took advantage of the situation at the meeting and asked Li Yuan to send him to lead the troops again to rescue the Hetao. And his reasons are relatively sufficient: when the Hetao was in the hands of the Zhou army before, he led the army to recapture it, and he has rich experience in fighting in the Hetao, and he is also very familiar with the terrain and customs of the Hetao.

And the ministers belonging to Li Jiancheng's line, such as Pei Lian, Duan Zhixuan, Zhang Baode, etc., also immediately agreed.

However, Li Yuan took into account that he had just given the order and announced that Li Jiancheng would not be allowed to lead the troops within a year, and if Li Jiancheng was now allowed to lead the troops alone, it would seem to be a bit of a change of order. So, he still decided to let Li Shimin lead 200,000 troops to the rescue.

And Li Yuan's expectations for Li Shimin are also very high, requiring him not only to recapture the lost more than ten cities in Hetao, but also to take advantage of the situation to fight into Hedong, and strive to pocket the original place where Li Tang raised his army.

……

On the 27th of the month, Li Yuan held a swearing-in meeting for Li Shimin on the north bank of Weishui, and then the 200,000 Tang troops under the leadership of Li Shimin marched to the Hetao.

On April 5, the main force of the Tang army in the north had crossed the Yellow River and entered the territory of Wuyuan County, while Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin, who had received the news, led the Zhou army to retreat to Fengzhou, where they kept their infantry in the city and the cavalry roamed around the periphery, threatening the Tang army's grain routes.

Because the cavalry of the Zhou army was higher than that of the Tang army in terms of quantity and quality, and Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin arranged according to Yuming, after the main force of the Tang army arrived, they no longer launched an attack, and only launched a surprise attack on the small force of the Tang army that broke away from the brigade, making it difficult for the Tang army to annihilate the main force of the Zhou army for a while.

Although the Tang army recaptured Fengzhou on April 15, the vast area from Wuyuan to Yulin was still occupied by the cavalry of the Zhou army, so that Li Shimin did not dare to let go and march to the east of the river. He also knew very well: as long as his main force left the Hetao and entered Hedong, Luo Cheng and others would inevitably make a comeback, and all the cities in the Hetao would be difficult to protect. At that time, he will face the two-sided attack of the Hedong Zhou army and the Hetao Zhou army at the same time, and fall into an unfavorable situation.

Just when Li Shimin was thinking about how to lure Luo Cheng out and choose a favorable place to gather his main force to annihilate, the situation in the south changed abruptly. Yuming held a pledge meeting outside Luoyang City, announcing that the 150,000 Zhou army would move south in a big way to recover Jingxiang. Together with the Zhou troops that were originally in Jiangxia, Baling and other places, the total offensive force invested by Yuming reached 400,000. And Li Xiaogong, the supreme commander of the Tang Army in Jingxiang, has a total of less than 150,000 troops in his hands, how can he resist it?

So, although the Zhou army had just set off from Luoyang, Li Xiaogong, who had a bad premonition, had already sent a letter of distress to Li Yuan's imperial study in the form of an emergency report in Bali.

Li Yuan was also taken aback when he learned that the main force of the Zhou army had appeared in the land of Jingxiang. Although there are still 100,000 Tang troops in Guanzhong, he does not dare to transfer all of them to Jingxiang. In that case, Guanzhong will inevitably be empty, and if Luoyang's Zhou army goes west again, Guanzhong may be difficult to protect.

But if he sent troops to support while ensuring the defensive strength of Guanzhong, he could only draw 150,000 troops.

And this 150,000 army seems to be a lot, but after being transferred to Jingxiang, plus the local Tang army, it is only 100,000. Compared with the Zhou army, the strength was not superior. Moreover, Li Yuan also knew that the Zhou army had a strong naval division, so it would be very difficult for the Tang army to achieve victory.

But if the land of Jingxiang was abandoned, the Zhou army could go straight to the city of Badong and threaten Li Tang's rear Bashu. And once Bashu loses, Li Tang will no longer have the possibility of dominating the world.

At this time, anyone could see that Li Tang, who was only concerned about Central China, could not have owned the Zhou Dynasty in Hedong, Hebei, Liaodong, Shandong, Henan, Jiangnan, Jingxiang and other places.

If this situation really occurs, I am afraid that at this time, the ministers and generals around me will contact Yuming privately to discuss how to betray themselves and then surrender to the Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, at a time when the Zhou Dynasty has gained the upper hand in terms of the size of its territory, the population of its jurisdiction, and the number of troops, how can Li Yuan maintain the confidence of his subordinates in him, he must not lose such a important place as Jingxiang.

However, under the current circumstances, even if the troops in Guanzhong are poured, it will be difficult to save Jingxiang, and it is impossible for Guanzhong not to leave heavy troops to defend.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan's head hurt again.

Although he can let Li Shimin lead the army back to Guanzhong and send troops to Jingxiang again. But in this way, I am afraid that the loop will be lost again. Moreover, the Hetao is more than 2,000 miles away from Jingxiang, and even if Li Shimin sets off from Wuyuan County immediately, it will be June when he arrives in Xiangyang. At this time, I am afraid that Jingxiang has already become Yuming's bag.

At this moment, the guards outside the door reported: "Your Majesty, Lord Pei and Lord Liu ask to meet!" ”

When Li Yuan heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Hurry up, please!" ”

After a while, Pei Lin and Liu Jingfang walked into the imperial study, then knelt down and kowtowed: "Weichen see Your Majesty!" ”

"Two Aiqing, please hurry up!" Li Yuan hurriedly motioned for the two of them to get up, and then instructed the superintendent: "Xiao An, quickly give the two adults a seat!" ”

After the supervisor answered, he brought over two chairs, asked Pei Lin and Liu Jing to sit down, and then poured two cups of hot tea for the two.

"Pei Aiqing, Liu Aiqing, since the original army, it has been a long time since we have been like this, we have personally discussed things together!" Li Yuan said with some emotion.

The two of them nodded yes, but their faces were a little embarrassed. They all knew that the reason for this was that they had chosen different allegiances.

Pei Lin bet on Li Jiancheng, believing that he was most likely to become the next emperor.

However, Liu Jing thinks that Li Shimin, the king of Qin, has the appearance of heaven, although he is not at present, but he will become the honor of the Ninety-Five in the future.

It is precisely because the two belong to the ****** and Qin Wang parties that they have become political enemies, so naturally they have less contact. This time, if it weren't for seeing Li Tang in a huge crisis, Pei Lin and Liu Jing would not have come together.

"By the way, Pei Aiqing and Liu Aiqing, you came to look for me, but because of the Jingxiang War?" Li Yuan saw that the two of them looked embarrassed, and he didn't ask any more, he had already heard about the fact that his two capable subordinates supported Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin respectively.

"Exactly! But I don't know if Your Majesty has any ideas about this? Pei Lin asked cautiously.

"I am also worried about this, relying on the strength of Guanzhong alone, I am afraid that it will be difficult to compete with Yuming's 400,000 Zhou army. But if you want to call back the people who are fighting in the Hetao, I am afraid that they will have lost Jingxiang while they are still in Shangjingxiang. And if the people of the world return, how can the loop be kept? Li Yuan said with a worried face.

Pei Lin and Liu Jing glanced at each other, then took a step forward and arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, it is the next step to transfer the King of Qin back, and if the Hetao is lost, even if Jingxiang is saved, I am afraid it may not be more advantageous." According to Pei, before the Zhou army Luo Chengbu of Hetao is eliminated, the King of Qin must not be transferred back! ”

Li Yuan nodded and said, "I also know this. However, if you don't transfer the people of the world back, I am afraid that the army in Guanzhong alone will not be able to save Jingxiang! ”

After Liu Jing heard this, he arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to keep Jingxiang, there are two ways, one is to defeat Yuming's 400,000 army; And the other way is to let the Zhou army take the initiative to retreat and return to Luoyang! ”

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "The first method is very difficult to do, and even if you really defeat Yuming's 400,000 army, I am afraid that the casualties paid by our army are not ordinarily heavy. Therefore, Weichen thought that it was a good idea to confront Yuming head-on in the Jingxiang area! ”

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