When Yelu Abaoji ordered the battalion sergeants to gather in the west of the city, relying on the superiority of troops, most of them were able to go to the west of the city smoothly to gather, but the battalions inevitably still had a small number of sergeants trapped by the Youzhou and Bohai coalition forces, and it was difficult to get out.

Although the Khitan army gathered in the west of the city was still quite numerous, at least much more than the Youzhou and Bohai coalition armies inside and outside Zhengzhou, most of the sergeants lost their armor in the process of fleeing, their morale was low, and their combat strength was greatly weakened. Yelu Abaoji organized a counteroffensive for several days, but he was unable to break through the army formation of the Hundred Battles Army, and was confined to the camp west of the city. Similarly, the combined forces of Youzhou and Bohai were unable to encircle or completely defeat them, so the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war in the west of the city.

The Battle of Zhengzhou lasted until the third day, when Yelu Enemy Lie led the Khitan army on the Tongshui River Valley to come to the rescue, and arrived almost at the same time as the more than 10,000 Lulong army led by Li Yanchao. Li Congjing then ordered Li Yanchao to lead his troops to camp outside the city, and the other Youzhou and Bohai allied forces entered Zhengzhou City to defend it.

On the fourth day, Li Shaocheng led more than 3,000 troops to Zhengzhou City, further enriching the city's defense force.

The Khitan army and the Youzhou and Bohai coalition forces immediately confronted each other in Zhengzhou, and the battle entered a stalemate.

On the seventh day of the Battle of Zhengzhou, Huang Fulin delivered news from Hengzhou that the siege of Hengzhou had been lifted, and the Khitan army besieging the city had been repulsed.

On the eleventh day of the Battle of Zhengzhou, Yelu Abaoji gathered the military forces of all parties, and after temporary reorganization, with 100,000 elite troops, he fought again under the city of Zhengzhou.

On the same day, the first batch of logistical supplies from Youzhou, passing through Yingzhou, Boshan, and Hengzhou, arrived in Zhengzhou City under the personal escort of Huangfulin. The accompanying Youzhou officials reported to Li Congjing that Weidao had temporarily and urgently recruited 5,000 young men as a reserve force and was rushing to Zhengzhou.

On the twentieth day of the Battle of Jeongju, 5,000 reserve battalions formed by Lu Long's hot-blooded sons arrived at Jeongju City.

The next day, Mo Li, together with Li Siping, led nearly 10,000 reinforcements from Xijing to support Zhengzhou City.

On the twenty-fifth day of the battle, Daming'an sent a new army to help, and a hundred miles north of Zhengzhou City, encountered the Khitan army that came to intercept it, and fell into a melee. Due to the weakness of the new army, the battle did not take more than an hour before it appeared to retreat. Xingna Daming Xing led the Jeongju defenders to the rescue in time and was able to bring the new army into Jeongju City.

The Khitan city of Kou was repeatedly attacked, so that it lasted for a long time, the soldiers suffered heavy casualties and were defenseless, the army's heart was shaken, and the soldiers thought of returning.

Han Yanhui made a suggestion to Yelu Abaoji, persuading him to withdraw his troops and fight again in the coming days. It is said in the words: The Khitan should protect the land it has gained, send troops to defend Fuyu, Changling and other places, and return the main force to the west, in order to prepare for another eastward expedition in the coming day. Yelu Abaoji retreated.

On the third day of the third month of the fourth year of Tongguang, a messenger came from the northwest and entered the Khitan camp.

In the early morning of the fifth day of the third month of the fourth year of Tongguang, Li Congjing climbed the Zhengzhou city tower, looked at the Khitan camp for a long time, and then struck the festival and said: The Khitan army has retreated!

The scouts were sent close to the camp to see it, and sure enough, people had gone to the camp, and only the straw man was left in armor at the gate and corner tower, so as to confuse the real with the fake.

On the same day, the envoy sent by Guo Wei arrived at Zhengzhou City after hardships and dangers, and reported to Li Congjing: The Tatar Ministry and the gentlemen have attacked the West Building of the Khitan Capital!

Since September 18, the third year of Tongguang, the Khitan sent troops to the Bohai Sea, Yelu wanted to send elite cavalry to attack the northern military fort of Jizhou, opening the prelude to the Youzhou army's participation in the war, Li Congjing led the army to Yannan, Yingzhou, Liaodong, Fuyu, Changling, Yalufu and other places, marching tens of millions of miles, from the late autumn battle to the early spring, lasted half a year, killed tens of thousands of enemies, consumed countless armor and equipment, lost nearly 10,000 soldiers, and finally won a decisive victory in the battle of Khitan in the case of uniting the Bohai State and the Tatar Department.

The situation in the Bohai Sea has now been settled

At night, the important figures of Youzhou and Bohai Allied Forces in Zhengzhou City gathered together to listen to the gentlemen come to explain the beginning and end of the Khitan Xilou Battle. In the lobby, Li Congjing was not allowed to sit on the top, the helmet and horizontal knife were placed on the case, and he looked intently at the envoy, on his left hand, Mo Li and Wang Pulian sat together, the former gently shook the folding fan and was graceful, the latter was horizontal at the knee, the long sword was unsheathed two inches, and the fingers flicked the sword body, and then down were Li Shaocheng, Meng San, Li Yanchao, Li Yanrao, Meng Ping, Shi Congda, Ding Mao and others, all sitting solemnly; On his right, there are Li Siping, Daming Xing and other Bohai civil officials and generals.

"After the commander led the main force of the army to highlight the encirclement between Shuangtong, Yizhi and Jiuyang, the main force of the Khitan army also withdrew, but left nearly 20,000 troops in the near division to encircle and chase the gentlemen. However, due to the strength of the Khitan army in Fuyu, and the fact that many local Bohai officials defected to the enemy, the battle of our department became more and more difficult, and we almost fell into a desperate situation several times. In view of this, General Guo saw that there was no hope of joining the army commander in the south, so he ordered the army to break through to the west and enter the territory of the Khitan, seeking to advance to the west building. ”

When the envoy said these words, his tone was quite calm, and when Li Siping and Daming Xing heard that "there are many Bohai officials who defect to the enemy", their faces were a little unnatural, and under the conscious or unintentional gaze of the generals in Youzhou, they were so ashamed that they wanted to burrow into the ground.

"Entering the territory of the Khitan, our troops captured a small tribe, and after getting food supplies, they did not act rashly until the scouts detected the movements of the Tatar department, and General Guo was ready to contact them in order to conspire with the West Building. However, the Tatar troops moved too fast, and before our troops joined forces with them, they had already stormed the West Building, but the battle was unfavorable, and they were attacked by the Khitan army and almost defeated. ”

Hearing this, Wang Pu said in surprise: "The Tatar Ministry also has twenty or thirty thousand elite combat power, and attacking the West Building, which is now weak, should have been captured. ”

"We'll learn more about this later." The envoy explained, "It turned out that when the Tatar Department was still hundreds of miles away from the West Tower, the whereabouts of the West Tower were known by the West Tower, and the Khitan Empress Shu Luping, who stayed in the West Tower, immediately organized military resistance, and when the Tatars attacked the city, she first pretended to be invincible, lured the Tatar forward into the city, and then suddenly ambushed the troops and repelled the Tatars in one fell swoop. When the Tatars retreated from the city, Shu Luping personally went into battle, led the troops to pursue the situation, and killed the Tatars with thousands of troops. At that time, if our troops had not arrived in time to break the Khitan army led by Shu Luping, the Tatar troops would have returned with fear. ”

Everyone in the audience looked at each other when they heard the words, although they only heard about it, they could also imagine the danger of this battle, Meng San said hesitantly: "Shu Luping, this girl is very powerful, if General Guo didn't arrive in time, the tens of thousands of people in the Tatar Department would want to recover their homeland, but they are foolish dreams!" ”

Li Congjing, he naturally knew how strong Shu Luping was, and thought that although Shu Luping was a character, he was unlucky enough to meet Guo Wei this time, and he was really helpless.

"What's going on after that?" Mo asked as a result.

"After the gentlemen participated in the war, Shu Luping had to retreat to the city, and was no longer able to fight back, so our troops combined with the Tatar troops to besiege the city, and when they left the West Tower, the Tatar army was storming the city." The messenger said.

"Okay, you go down and rest first." Li Congjing saw that the envoy had finished talking about the battle situation, so he let him go down and ran all the way, this person was full of wind and frost, and he was also very tired.

"No wonder Yelu Abaoji retreated so quickly, it turned out to be a fire in the backyard." Mo Li chuckled and looked at Li Congjing, "This is a good opportunity, how does the military commander plan to deal with it?" ”

Mo Li's words fell, and all the generals looked at Li Congjing with burning eyes, after all, this is a rare opportunity to hit the Khitan hard, and if it works well, not to mention the destruction of its country, at least it can shake its foundation. Li Congjing naturally didn't want to let go of such a good opportunity, and was about to speak, when Tao Yao came in the door, his face was a little unpleasant, and handed over a piece of information.

can make Tao Yaoyao, who always looks careless, look so different, Li Congjing can already feel the weight of intelligence, and immediately expand it.

After reading the information, Li Congjing's face was solemn, and he said to everyone in the hall: "You guys go back first, as for how to proceed with the next battle, the Japanese marshal has his own military orders." ”

The generals of Youzhou were ordered to retire, although Li Siping, Daming Xing and others still had something to say, but seeing Li Congjing's gloomy eyebrows, they didn't dare to be uninteresting, and they all retreated one after another.

Li Congjing handed the information to Mo Li, stretched out his hand and squeezed his eyebrows, feeling complicated.

Mo Li and Wang Pu quickly finished browsing the information together, they were very surprised, and when they put down the information, they couldn't help frowning with Mo Li's free and easy temperament, and their faces were unhappy, and they said: "These people are really crazy!" ”

What this information says is a military mutiny in the hinterland of the Central Plains that is serious in nature and has a huge impact.

Yang Ren, the commander of the Tianxiong army guarding Waqiao Pass, returned to Weizhou because of the change, but received an edict from Li Cunqiao halfway to let him stay in Tunbei Prefecture. At that time, there were false rumors in Weizhou, all saying that Guo Chongtao killed Li Jiqi and had claimed the king in Shu, because he was exterminated; Some people also said that Li Jiqi was killed by Guo Chongtao, and Empress Liu blamed Li Cunqiao for killing the emperor. Rumors spread everywhere, and the government could not refute them, causing panic in the hearts of the people.

The Tianxiong Army was reorganized from Wei Bojun, and most of the soldiers were from Weizhou, but because of Li Cunqiao's order, they stayed in Beizhou, and they couldn't return home, so they complained. Yang Ren personally guarded Huang Fuhui and lost the gambling, and in anger, he actually gathered his disciples to coerce Yang Ren to occupy Weizhou and rebel, but Yang Ren did not obey and was killed by Huang Fuhui. Huang Fuhui knew that his prestige was not enough to lead the army, so he coerced Zhao Zaili, the commander of the Beizhou Xiaojie Army, all night, and forced him to be the commander. Zhao Zaili was timid and afraid, so in order to avoid being poisoned, he had to respond.

The Tianxiong army then rebelled in Beizhou, burning, killing and looting all kinds of evil, and then ravaged Linqing, Yongji, Guantao and other counties all the way, and moved to Weizhou. The Weizhou defenders were dumb and incompetent, and they were attacked by Zhao Zaili, Huang Fuhui and others overnight, and the momentum of the rebellious army was greatly boosted.

Wang Pu picked up the military newspaper and read it softly: "My generation has served the country for more than ten years, and the first one has not left the body, and it has been annexed to the world. The garrison is far away, and after years of leaving the country, he has to return to his hometown, and he is close to his home, and he is not allowed to see his family. Now I heard that the queen was rebellious, Jingyi was in chaos, and the soldiers wanted to return to the palace and Ningqin, so please go with the public. Shaking his head, "Huang Fuhui's words are a lot of righteous and awe-inspiring words, but the latter sentence is the sincere words: the three armies are angry, they want to rebel, they don't listen, and they must be rude." ”

Putting down the letterhead, Wang Pu couldn't help but shake his head and said with emotion: "The arrogant soldiers and fierce generals have reached such a point, and if they are dissatisfied, the soldiers will dare to kill the generals, and the soldiers will dare to rebel, what is the use of this kind of army?" ”

Li Congjing was silent. The soldiers are arrogant and fierce, of course, but as Huang Fuhui said, if it weren't for Li Cunxuan's suspicion of heroes over the years and his little kindness to the soldiers, he would not have caused turmoil in the world because of Guo Chongtao's death.

Previously, there were repeated heavy floods in the north and south of the two rivers, but Li Cunmiao ignored the national politics, only cared about hunting around with the Liu family, eating and living luxuriously, and the guards often exceeded 10,000.

When there is no food in the treasury, the history of the Taishi plays, please dial the inner treasury to the military, Queen Liu refuses, the prime minister repeatedly plays, Queen Liu carries three young princes and three silver basins, to Li Cunmiao, in front of Li Cunqing, said to the prime minister: "Outsiders say that the inner palace has countless gold treasures, and the princes contribute to the gifts. That is: the tributes of the four sides have been rewarded, and there is no wealth in the treasury, so there are only these things left in the palace, and they will be distributed to the army and the people. The prime ministers were dumbfounded and had to retreat one after another.

"The situation in the Central Plains is so turbulent, how is Brother Li prepared?" Mo Li asked.

Li Congjing asked Mo Li rhetorically, "What do you think should be?" ”

Mo Li said: "Since Guo Chongtao died in Liangchuan, there was Kang Yanxiao's rebellion first, and now Zhao Zaili's rebellion, the Central Plains is in chaos, is it a coincidence that something happened here?" Wang Shi pacified Shudi, so that the world shook, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, such as the scorching sun, the princes all thought that the Tang Dynasty wanted to clear the universe, and until Guo Chongtao died, those who had aspirations did not beat their chests. However, from the point of view, the chaos of the court has already been demonstrated, the monarch is unkind, the traitorous ministers are in charge, the heroes are avoided, and the government is abandoned My Tang Dynasty has only been in charge of the Central Plains for a few years, how can it withstand such a toss? Now the towns are in rebellion, if the king can thunder it, there is still room for it, if not" Speaking of this, Mo Li straightened up, looked at Li Congjing seriously, and said solemnly: "I'm afraid that the hinterland of the Central Plains will rise again, and then the land of Shenzhou will sink, and it is not impossible for the sun and the moon to shift!" ”

Seeing that Li Congjing was still silent, and there were no outsiders in the hall, Mo Li simply let go and said, "Today, tens of thousands of troops in Youzhou are fighting outside, and with the strength of several years of life, it is not easy to win the victory in the Bohai Sea with great hardship!" However, once the Central Plains sinks and the backyard catches fire, how can we be different from rootless duckweed, and the situation is not the same as that of Yelu Abaoji? At this time, the Youzhou army should immediately return to Lulong, sit in the north for the Tang Dynasty, and look south to the Central Plains to respond to the changes of the times, so as to protect themselves and the Tang Dynasty! ”

Wang Pu slapped the case fiercely, and said indignantly: "In order to reject the Khitan, how much effort did the people of Lulong pay, how much blood did the children of Youzhou pay, and now the Tatar Ministry and the gentlemen are all surrounding the West Building, and the big thing is about to be accomplished, but the court is so incompetent, and the town army is so wolfish and ambitious, it is necessary to destroy Lu Long's achievements for several years!" Hateful, pathetic, lamentable! Although he was unwilling, he also agreed with Mo Li's immediate class teacher's opinion.

Sitting on the side with his head bowed and holding a wooden cup to absorb water, Tao Yaoyao glanced at Li Congjing, but saw that he was still frowning and pondering, looking at his serious and tangled appearance, his heart was soft for no reason, thinking that he was willing to live in the north for the Tang Dynasty and the Central Plains, and he tried his best to strengthen the army and enrich the people, and took on the burden of resisting the Khitan with his own strength. He didn't know how uncomfortable it was in his heart, but he didn't show it in the middle, and it was not even as angry as Mo Li and Wang Pu, and his heart was really difficult for him. Thinking of this, Tao Xiaoyao felt a slight pain in his heart, and he couldn't drink the water in the cup anymore.

After Mo Li and Wang Pu looked at it for a long time, Li Congjing finally spoke, and he still said calmly: "The Tatar Ministry and the Gentlemen are besieging the West Tower, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hit the Khitan, and it cannot be missed." Although Yelu Abaoji lost in the Bohai Sea, and the Khitan army suffered a lot of losses, it was not enough to break the bones, so the battle ended, and the Khitan only needed a few years to recover its strength, and we paid such a big price, we can't just achieve this result. Our Italian army rested in Zhengzhou for two days, and then sent troops to the West Building. ”

"The Khitan can recover after a few years, and it is also a distant disaster, but the rebellion in the Central Plains is a near-term worry!" Wang Pu said eagerly, "Besides, in this battle, first defeat Yelu wants to hide, then defeat Yelu Abaoji, and thwart the Khitan's intention to destroy the Bohai Sea, how can it be said that the results of the battle are small." ”

"The results could be even greater." Li Congjing looked at Wang Pu and said undoubtedly.

Touching Li Congjing's resolute eyes, Wang Pu opened his mouth and was speechless.

Mo Li was silent for a moment and said, "If the imperial court can immediately use the old general, it may be able to quell the rebellion in Weizhou and minimize the impact of the rebellion of the Tianxiong Army." ”

"I hope so." Li Congjing sighed and didn't want to say more.

In fact, he knew that Li Cunmiao would not use Li Siyuan so quickly, and at this time, for Li Cunmiao, I am afraid that it would be better to use Li Siyuan as the commander. However, the world is like chess, in retrospect, life is really often dramatic, and full of many astonishing coincidences, if it were not for Li Cunqing's choice, I am afraid that there would be no matter of Li Siyuan ascending the throne and becoming emperor afterwards.

As a person who understands this period of history, Li Congjing is not worried that the rebellion in the Central Plains will affect Lu Long, or it will be out of control and develop into a situation where the heroes rise together, he knows that the wheel of history is just creaking forward according to the established track, and as the only variable in this history, Li Congjing knows that this is not the time for him to return to Lu Long, he must finish what is in front of him, and all kinds of unknown or known opportunities can also allow him to finish what is in front of him.

But Li Congjing couldn't tell Mo Li, Wang Pu, Tao Yaoyao and others about these words, so he could only block these news with a tough posture and order the army to march towards the West Tower.