Li Yuan nodded, he groaned for a while, and suddenly asked with a smile: "Yuanji, if I let you be the crown prince, are you willing?" ”

Before he came, Cui Wenxiang said to him that the Son of Heaven would definitely ask this question today, which is a good thing, indicating that the doubt has been lifted, and if he answers well, he can take another step. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Li Yuanji suddenly pretended to be panicked and said, "Why did my father ask his son this question?" ”

Li Yuan saw that his face had changed color, so he smiled and said, "You don't have to be afraid, I just ask casually, and you can answer truthfully." ”

Li Yuanji lowered his head and whispered: "Erchen knows that he doesn't have this ability, but sometimes he is angry in his heart, and he also hopes that he can become the crown prince. ”

"What does this mean, why do you want to be the crown prince when you are angry in your heart?" Li Yuan asked puzzled.

"Erchen heard that the front was defeated, and when he heard that he had lost the state and county, Erchen hated the incompetence of the lord in his heart, especially when he heard that Taiyuan was lost, Erchen cried all night, and Erchen thought, if I am the prince and inherit the great cause of my father, I will make every effort to recapture Taiyuan and recapture the beautiful rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty, only then will Erchen hope that he will have the opportunity to become the prince."

This is planned by Cui Wenxiang for him, to admit that he has the idea of being a prince, the son of the Son of Heaven, it is impossible without this idea, but wanting to be a prince is not for power, not for the sake of dominating the world, but for the restoration of the Tang Dynasty and the recapture of the occupied Tang Dynasty, so that ambition becomes loyalty.

Li Yuan is a father after all, every father believes that his son has a good side, Li Yuan is no exception, he was moved by the impassioned enthusiasm of the fourth son, nodded and said: "My son has the heart to serve the country, it is commendable, although you do not have the talent of your brother, but your frankness and sincerity are the most admired qualities for your father, I hope you can continue to solve problems for your father." ”

Li Yuanji knelt down and cried: "My son is willing to smear his father's liver and brain, and then die!" ”

........

In June, the Hexi Corridor has entered the midsummer season, and the grassland has also reached the brightest and moving moment, the pasture is abundant, the breeze is light, there are herds of cattle and sheep everywhere, horses gallop on the endless grassland, and the river stretches into the distance like a jade belt.

In the afternoon of that day, a cavalry of more than 3,000 Zhou troops arrived at the junction of Zhangye County and Wuwei County, which is also the narrowest part of the Hexi Corridor, with Yanzhi Mountain in the northwest and Qilian Mountain in the southeast facing each other.

There is also an extremely important strategic passage here, that is, the Dadou Pull Valley connecting the Hexi Corridor and the Hehuang Valley, which is actually a gap in the Qilian Mountains, through this valley of more than 100 miles, you can reach the south of the Qilian Mountains, and it is the northernmost part of Xiping County, but here is also the high mountain valley vertical and horizontal, and it will continue to the south until it comes out of the Pipa Gorge, and then enters the Changning Valley, and finally arrives at the north bank of the Huangshui, and the opposite bank is today's Xining.

Due to its important strategic significance, the northern section is controlled by the Zhou army, with a garrison of 3,000 people, and the southern section is controlled by the Tang army, with a garrison of 2,000 people, and the two sides have confronted each other in the valley for nearly a year.

"General, we can get to the barracks tonight!" A Lang general asked in a loud voice.

This 3,000-strong cavalry is the internal guard of the Zhou Dynasty, and the main general who leads these 3,000 cavalry is Liu Lancheng, who is now the general of Long Xiang, ranking second among the twenty-four Long Xiang generals, second only to Luo Cheng, who ranked first.

This time Liu Lancheng was secretly ordered to lead 10,000 troops from Bingzhou to the Hexi Corridor, although it was still the armistice period, but the Zhou army's war preparations had been completed, Zhang Xuan decided to end the truce ahead of schedule, and their first target was the five counties of Hehuang.

Liu Lancheng looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance and said lightly: "Why do you want to go to the barracks, we are not here to visit the mountains and play in the mountains." ”

Liu Lancheng has a wealth of experience, the two sides have been facing each other for nearly a year, and each other is a little paralyzed, if they appear in the Zhou army camp at this time, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the Tang army, and they will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity to form a slack in a year.

And this slackness is precisely the key to their surprise.

Several generals understood what Liu Lancheng meant, so they didn't say more, the main general already had a plan, and they just had to implement the plan.

One hour, the army arrived at the entrance of the Great Dou Ba Valley, where Li Shike and fifty soldiers were already waiting, they were the vanguard, and they arrived at the Da Dou Ba Valley ten days earlier, and Li Shike was joined by two local Qiang people.

"Order the army to rest in place!"

Liu Lancheng gave an order, the soldiers dismounted one after another to rest, and dozens of personal soldiers quickly set up a big tent, at this time, Li Shike urged him to step forward and salute: "See the general!" ”

"What's the catch?" Liu Lancheng asked with a smile.

"The harvest is not small, but it is not clear for a while."

"Then enter the account and speak slowly."

The two walked into the big tent, the carpet had not been laid for the time being, and the soldiers had already set up a very simple table with wooden strips, Li Keshi took out a map and spread it on the table and said with a smile: "The two Qiang brothers outside the tent are the guides recommended to me by the local tribe, who have been picking snow lotus on the Qilian Mountain all year round, and know the terrain around the Dadou Ba Valley well, this map was drawn by me and them, and we have brothers who have gone up to see it, and it is completely consistent with the map." ”

Liu Lancheng hurriedly instructed his soldiers to arrange for two guides to rest and eat, at this time, Li Keshi had already spread out the map and said to Liu Lancheng: "As the general inferred in advance, the Tang army's surveillance of our camp is very strict, as long as we enter the barracks, we will be immediately discovered by the Tang army sentries, the Tang army is the same, both sides monitor each other, it is almost impossible for us to sneak attack the enemy army from the Dadou Tu Valley, the only way is to climb over the Qilian Mountain and go around behind the enemy." ”

Liu Lancheng smiled: "It seems that you have found your way." ”

Li Keshi nodded, "The guide told us that there are indeed trails to cross, but it is very difficult and dangerous to climb over the snowy mountains, and we must be fully prepared, and there is only one month in a year that there is such an opportunity." ”

"When?"

"The guide said that in about ten days, Qilian Mountain will enter the middle of summer, and the snow in Heishekou will completely melt, and you can go up the mountain, but a month later, it will snow again in Qilian Mountain, and Heishekou will be blocked by heavy snow again, so it is only a short month, and the mountain is steep, you can only go down the mountain, and you can't come back if you go, you can only go down the mountain from the south and come back through the big bucket valley."

Liu Lancheng pondered for a moment and said: "We divide the army into two routes, I will lead three hundred elite soldiers up the mountain, and you will lead the rest of the soldiers to stay here and wait." ”

"General, I'd better go up the mountain!"

Liu Lancheng smiled and patted his arm, "This time it's still me, and you will attack Pipa Valley next!" ”

Li Keshi had no choice but to agree.

The Sui army immediately began to prepare, it will take at least ten days to cross the Qilian Mountain, the air on the mountain is thin, the temperature is very low, and it must be a very strong soldier to bear, Liu Lancheng selected three hundred of the strongest and elite soldiers from the three thousand internal guards, each wearing a thick old sheepskin jacket, wearing a relatively light steel wire fine scale armor, and then carrying seven days of dry food, ropes, war knives and short spears, in addition to the local Qiang people's unique sheepskin sleeping bags, can sleep at low temperatures.

After ten days of preparation, a special mountaineering team of three hundred people, led by two guides, set off.

At the foot of the Qilian Mountains is a large area of forest, the climate is relatively warm, the melting snow in the high mountains leads the abundant water resources, so that the forest at the foot of the mountain is extraordinarily lush, up to dozens of miles wide, all kinds of animals live in the forest, and even see clouded leopards, black bears and other large beasts infested.

After going up the mountain, the temperature dropped significantly, the trees gradually turned into coniferous forests, and then up the alpine meadow terrain, and the 300 soldiers walked for two days from entering the forest to the halfway up the mountainside, during which they tried not to eat dry food, but to hunt wild game and hunt for mushrooms and wild fruits to satisfy their hunger.

"General, let the brothers eat as much meat as possible, and only when there is enough oil and water can they resist the cold!" Liu Lancheng, a director who knew a little Chinese, suggested loudly.

Liu Lancheng pointed upward, "Can you still catch wild meat on it?" ”

"Further up, there are clouded leopards, rock sheep and alpine rabbits, but after the meadow area, there are almost none, and you should try to rest and maintain your strength!"

Liu Lancheng saw that the hour was already in the afternoon, so he ordered to rest in place, they are currently in the taiga forest belt, this area is all pine forests, the ground is piled up with pine needles for many years, stepping on the feet soft, but the bottom is also full of traps and killing machines, yesterday a soldier stepped on the air in the leaves, fell off the cliff, and died tragically on the spot.

The soldiers had gained experience and had to probe under the pine needles with their short spears before they could lie down and rest.

The guide took more than 20 soldiers to hunt, and in a moment they hunted dozens of pheasants and a large number of squirrels, washed and peeled them by the stream, directly set up pine strips for barbecue, sprinkled with salt and spices, and the soldiers fell asleep after a good meal.