Among all Li Yuan's sons-in-law, the person who Li Yuan trusted the most was Chai Shao, not only did Chai Shao follow him for the longest time and was loyal to Li Yuan, but also in the process of Li Yuan's army, Chai Shao and his wife Princess Pingyang Zhao also made great contributions.

Therefore, Chai Shao was able to lead the army alone for the first time and had his own army power, and he served as the general of Zuo Yiwei and led 20,000 troops to defend the capital.

Among the factions of the Tang Dynasty, Chai Shao belonged to the Conglong faction, that is, loyal to the emperor Li Yuan, and in the brotherly dispute between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, he was in a neutral position and tried not to participate in their brotherly dispute.

However, because Chai Shao's wife, Princess Pingyang Zhao, Li Xiuning, has a very good relationship with Li Shentong, and Li Shentong is a complete family, so because of his wife, Chai Shao is more or less branded as a prince.

This time the troops were dispatched, that is, Li Shentong's Guannei army sent 20,000 troops, Chai Shao sent 10,000 troops, and Li Yuan avoided Li Shimin's army power, which shows that Li Yuan also acquiesced in the relationship between Chai Shao and the prince.

Despite this, Chai Shao still tried his best to maintain friendship with Li Shimin, and before sending troops, he specially went to the Qin Palace, and borrowed Qiu Xinggong, Li Shimin's subordinate, as his forward general.

This is also Chai Shao's shrewdness, allowing his wife to communicate with the prince through the bridge of his uncle Li Shentong, and he himself deliberately maintained his relationship with Qin Wang Shimin.

In this way, both Jiancheng and the people will not be offended, and then he will have his own power, and in the end, no matter who ascends the throne, he will be able to maintain his high position.

And Li Shentong is a key figure for Li Jiancheng, as early as when Li Yuan was still a minister of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng had a very good relationship with Li Shentong.

And Li Shentong pays special attention to the relationship between blood relatives and families, Li Shimin's arrow that killed Li Zhiyun also shot Li Shentong's heart, and it was from then on that he began to fully support the crown prince.

Li Shentong ranked fourth among the most powerful figures in the Tang Dynasty's major armies, second only to Li Xiaogong, and his military power mainly came from the bandits who surrendered from all walks of life in Guanzhong, and it was he and Li Xiuning who persuaded these bandits to surrender to Li Yuan.

In the end, these bandit forces were split in two. Part of the army under Li Xiuning became the force of Chai Shao, and the other part was led by Li Shentong, who selected 30,000 troops to garrison the pass.

Coupled with the 30,000 garrisons in Hexi, Li Shentong's army had more than 60,000 people, and its sphere of influence included the two major regions of Guannei and Hexi.

This time, Li Yuan appointed Li Shentong as the main general to recover Huining County, which was forcibly occupied by the Sui army, also because Huining originally belonged to Li Shentong's sphere of influence. He has a responsibility.

On the official road from Pingliang County to Hoeryeong-gun. The 30,000 Tang troops were marching in a mighty formation, waving flags and waving the sky. Li Shentong wore a golden helmet and gold armor, and immediately crossed a big lance, looking majestic.

But there was some worry in his eyes. He was very worried that this time he would not be able to defeat the Sui army in Huining County, and in the end the whole army would be annihilated, in fact, Li Shentong was also a appeasement faction in his bones, he knew that he was not good at fighting, and he only commanded the heavy army because he won the trust of the saint.

If he really wants to compete with the Sui army alone, he has no certainty in his heart, and even a little weak-hearted, the main general of the Sui army is Pei Xingyan, the fifth fierce general in the world, and he has the courage of ten thousand people. There are also Fengzhou elite cavalry, what will he use to fight against the Sui army?

But the matter has come to this point, he can't fight this battle, Huining County is his sphere of influence, if he doesn't fight, he won't be able to keep the power of Guannei Dao, and Li Shimin is watching coldly from behind.

Li Shentong was entangled in his heart. His henchman Shi Wanbao persuaded in a low voice on the side: "Now that we are in the limelight, the prince might as well make a gesture, press but not fight, the Sui army is mining in the north of Huining County, and we are stationed in the south of Huining County." Keep a passage to Wuwei County, so that you can give an explanation to the court and the saint. After a long time, this matter is over. ”

Shi Wanbao was originally a hero of Chang'an, and he also raised the flag to rebel in the last years of the great cause, and there were seventy or eighty thousand righteous troops under his command, and he was later incorporated by Li Shentong to welcome the Tang army into the customs, and was named the former Guogong, and was the third person under Li Shentong after his brother Li Shenfu.

Shi Wanbao is about forty years old, shrewd and smooth, and understands the world very well, and he can accurately figure out Li Shentong's inner contradictions.

Li Shentong pondered for a moment, Shi Wanbao's words really reached his heart, and he said again: "It's just pressing but not fighting, I'm worried that it will be difficult for the saint to explain." ”

Shi Wanbao squinted and smiled, "Doesn't the prince still understand the heart of the saint?" The Central Plains has just been defeated, what confidence does the Holy Shang have to defeat the Sui army, if Huining County is defeated again, how can the Holy Shang explain to the people of Guanlong, will the Holy Shang not be able to consider it? Lord Wang, in fact, the saint is also very contradictory. ”

Li Shentong was moved by the words in his heart, if this was the case, he still had to discuss it with Chai Shao, and he immediately ordered left and right: "Quickly invite the horse to come." ”

After a while, Chai Shao rode at a gallop, and said with a smile: "Is there something wrong with Uncle Huang looking for me?" ”

Chai Shao, like his wife, called Li Shentong his uncle, and Li Shentong often went to Chai Shao's house to chat, and they had a very close relationship.

Li Shentong smiled and said: "I came to find a virtuous nephew to discuss a strategy to deal with the Sui army. ”

He pointed to a hill in the distance, "Beyond that mountain is Huining County, the Sui army is dominated by cavalry, we will encounter the Sui army at any time, take precautions, some things must be considered in front." ”

Chai Shao groaned slightly and asked, "What plan does Uncle Huang have?" ”

In terms of combat experience, Li Shentong participated in the battle to exterminate Li Rail, while Chai Shao participated in the battle with the Western Qin State, and the experience of both sides is similar, but Li Shentong is an elder and the main general of this attack on Huining County, Chai Shao must obey his arrangement.

Li Shentong already had a plan in his heart, so he said unhurriedly: "The art of war, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, can survive a hundred battles, but we know very little about the Sui army, this battle is fought, there is no certainty of victory, so I plan to focus on stability, do not rush forward, let alone rush, and have to be prepared for long-term combat." ”

Chai Shao was so shrewd, when he heard that Li Shentong was going to fight for a long time, he understood in his heart that Li Shentong didn't want to fight the Sui army at all.

A look of embarrassment appeared on his face, "Uncle Huang's idea is also reasonable, but the Holy Lord has asked us to recapture the mine first, and if it is delayed for too long, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the Holy Lord to explain." ”

Li Shentong's face immediately sank, Chai Shao's answer made him unhappy, he immediately turned his face and denied it, and said coldly: "Then please ask General Chai to work hard, lead the headquarters to recapture the mine first, I wish General Chai success." ”

After speaking, he no longer paid attention to Chai Shao, urged the horse to run forward, and shouted loudly: "The whole army slows down and advances steadily!" ”

Chai Shao looked at Li Shentong's figure and walked away, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, before he saw the Sui army, the Tang army began to be chaotic, how should this battle be fought? ……

On the west bank of Zuli River, a 10,000-strong cavalry roared to the ground, the overwhelming cavalry covered the field, the sound of horses' hooves made the earth shake, the head of the general Pei Xingyan raised his lance high, and the 10,000 cavalry quickly slowed down the march, and began to form a whole team, lined up in two long columns.

This Sui cavalry was from Fengzhou to the south, to support the battle of Huining County, at this time the Sui army in Huining County a total of 20,000 troops, all cavalry, under the unified command of the general Pei Xingyan, Pei Xingyan distributed two roads, one led by the deputy general He Sheng, stationed in the mine and Liangchuan County, the other road was personally led by him, waiting for the opportunity to find the traces of the Tang army.

Pei Xingyan had been running for three hours with his army, and when he saw that the soldiers of the Sui army were tired, he ordered: "Rest on the spot for half an hour!" ”

As soon as he gave the order, the soldiers dismounted, led the horses to the river to drink, and led the horses to the grass, and let the horses graze, while they themselves spread sheepskins, drank water cross-legged and had lunch, talking and laughing, and the riverside suddenly became lively.

Pei Xingyan sat on a big rock, spread out the map, he received a quick letter from the king of Chu in Taiyuan, the Tang army sent 30,000 troops, the main will be Li Shentong, the deputy will be Chai Shao, Pei Xingyan also knows a little about the distribution of military forces in the Tang Dynasty, if Li Shimin's army comes to Huining County, the route is likely to be from Longxi County to the north.

But now that Li Shentong and Chai Shao are leading the army, then their army can only come from Pingliang County, and Li Shimin's forces are on the side of Longxi, without Li Shentong's army, the army led by Li Shentong is very likely to be the Tang army deployed in Guannei Province.

The army of Guannei Dao is not the main force of the Tang Army, the main force of the Tang Army is the 100,000 army in the hands of Li Shimin, of which 30,000 Xuanjia cavalry are particularly sharp, and the Tang Army of Guannei Dao is mainly defense-oriented, with more infantry, and its predecessor is the rebel army in Guanzhong, and its combat effectiveness is inferior.

Pei Xingyan is more proud by nature, he is very confident that he can defeat the Tang army in one battle, and now the question is where is the Tang army? There are four roads from Pingliang County to Huining County, which way will the Tang Army come from?

Not long ago, the Central Plains War shocked the world, but Pei Xingyan did not have the opportunity to participate, this incident has always made him sullen, especially in the Central Plains War, Luo Shixin made a great effort, and fought with Li Xuanba, the world's first fierce general, and the army was talking about Luo Shixin's bravery, which made Pei Xingyan have a sour feeling in his heart.

One of the things Pei Xingyan hopes to happen most now is to meet Li Xuanba, and he also hopes to have a battle with Li Xuanba and feel the bravery of the world's number one general, but this time it is Li Shentong, which means that Li Xuanba will not appear.

At this time, a scout cavalry rushed to the front, and shouted from afar: "Where is General Pei?" ”

Pei Xingyan stood up, "I'm here!" ”

The scout cavalry turned over and dismounted, stepped forward quickly, turned over and knelt down, "General Pei, we have found traces of the Tang Army." ”

Pei Xingyan was overjoyed and asked urgently: "Where is Tang Jun now?" ”

"General Qiyu, the 30,000 Tang army has entered Huining County, but they have divided their troops into two routes, one to the south, and the other to camp in the same place."

Pei Xingyan's brows furrowed, "What kind of strategy is this, actually going south, avoiding yourself without fighting?" ”

He asked again: "How many Tang troops are stationed in the same place, and where are they stationed?" ”

"General Hui, they are stationed in Yuntian City, a hundred miles away, about 10,000 people."