After Dou Jiande arrived in Xingyang, he sent envoys to the Tang army camp to persuade Li Shimin to withdraw his troops and give up the siege of Luoyang.

As a result, Li Shimin detained the envoy and ignored it.

After not seeing the envoy return for several days, and hearing the news that the envoy was detained by Li Shimin, Dou Jiande was angry in his heart and ignited a raging fighting spirit.

He led more than 100,000 soldiers into the Tiger Pass, claiming that there were more than 300,000 people, stationed on the riverbank plain east of the Tiger Pass, and then built a camp.

and sent someone to find a way to sneak into Luoyang and report to Wang Shichong, wanting Wang Shichong to cooperate with him inside and outside and attack the Tang army.

Regarding the menacing arrival of the Xia army, Li Shimin convened the military generals of Wenchen to discuss countermeasures.

Li Yuanji took the lead in saying: "Although we have isolated Luoyang, Luoyang's defense is still tight, and we have attacked Luoyang day and night, and we have not captured it for more than ten days.

"Now Wang Shichong's foreign aid has arrived again, and the Xia army has more than 300,000 soldiers and horses, while we only have 100,000 people, the disparity in strength is huge, and it is impossible to fight.

"It's better for us to withdraw our troops back to Chang'an, anyway, we have captured a lot of cities, and we can be regarded as gaining."

Next, Liu Dewei, Xie Shufang and other generals of the Qi Palace's palace all echoed Li Yuanji's proposal.

Most other generals, including Qu Tutong, also approved the withdrawal.

However, a number of fierce generals led by Li Shiyun objected: "We have cut off Luoyang's food supply and firmly surrounded Luoyang, as long as there is more time, Luoyang will naturally fall into the bag."

"You're only one last step away from victory, so why give up?"

Not long ago, Wang Shichong's son, that is, the crown prince Wang Xuanying, escorted grain and grass back to Luoyang, and was intercepted by Li Junxian, the deputy head of the Ma Army, who captured Wang Xuanying's grain and army.

Wang Xuanying fled alone under the cover of his own guards, which made Luoyang's situation worse.

"But Zheng Jun now has the assistance of Xia Jun, and we can't wait for the moment of victory." Xie Shufang retorted.

"Why can't you wait?" Guo Xiaoke argued: "Although Luoyang City is strong, the Zheng army's hearts have been scattered, and Wang Shichong has reached the end of his rope and will surrender in the blink of an eye."

"For today's plan, we should wait for the opportunity to move according to the danger of the tiger prison to prevent the Xia army from advancing to rescue Luoyang."

Li Shiyun also said: "If we withdraw our troops, the grain and grass transported by the Xia army will enter Luoyang."

"Wang Shichong relieved himself and regrouped, if we want to attack again in the future, it will be even more difficult, and the unification of the world is far away.

"Therefore, we should leave a part of our troops to continue to besiege Luoyang, with deep ditches and high fortifications. If Wang Shichong sends troops, we will respond cautiously.

"At the same time, the marshal will lead the elite to attack the Tiger Pass, as long as we take the Tiger Pass, we will be able to break through the Xia army with ease.

"At that time, Wang Shichong will not be rescued, and he will naturally surrender to us."

"That's a nice thing to say." Li Yuanji looked at Li Shiyun with disdain: "Don't forget, the other side has 300,000 people, and we only have 100,000 people, and we have even fewer troops to besiege Luoyang."

"With such a small number of troops, how can you beat the Xia army?"

After a pause, he emphasized again: "This time, Dou Jiande is all elite. ”

"Win more with less, do we fight less?" Cheng Zhijie's tone was light, but he made Li Yuanji speechless.

Zhang Da, the general of the Qi Palace, saw that Li Yuanji was deflated, and immediately retorted: "You can't win a war by relying on a lonely bravery, we must recognize the situation.

"In today's situation, Zheng Jun and Xia Jun are united, and it is not something we can resist."

"I don't agree with what you say." Duan Zhixuan immediately retorted: "Before you start fighting, you admit defeat, it's too spineless." ”

A heated argument ensued between the two dissenting sides.

Until the end, everything that should be said was said, and there was no argument, and they all set their sights on the marshal - Li Shimin.

They can only put forward their opinions, and the final decision is still in the hands of Li Shimin.

From the moment Li Shimin set off from Chang'an, he vowed in his heart that this time he would capture Luoyang no matter what.

and then conscripted Dou Jiande to help his father unify the world.

Now that Dou Jiande is not staying in Hebei well, but he came to help Wang Shichong, Li Shimin can't help but sigh that this is fate.

God is helping him, wanting him to eliminate the Zheng and Xia regimes at once.

As long as Zheng and Xia are eliminated, the Tang Dynasty will unify the world, and it will be just around the corner.

Therefore, Li Shimin agreed with the opinions of Li Shichang and others, he said: "Luoyang is already an isolated city, victory is in sight, how can you give up?"

"Li Shiyun and Guo Xiaoke are right, we should divide our troops into two routes, continue to besiege Luoyang on the one hand, and attack the Xia army on the other."

Hearing Li Shimin's decision, Liu Dewei and others immediately objected.

Qu Tutong also said: "Our army has been fighting for a long time, and it has long been tired, and Luoyang has not been able to attack for a long time, and its morale is not as good as before.

"And the Xia army is waiting for work, the army is strong, and it has the aftermath of a new victory.

"In contrast, our army is fighting on two fronts, and there is a huge disparity in strength, and there is really no certainty of victory.

"It's better to temporarily retreat to Xin'an, wait for the enemy soldiers to get tired, and then wait for the opportunity to fight."

Li Shimin was silent.

After the Xia army defeated the Tang army led by Li Shentong the year before last, he had to admit that Hebei has many heroes since ancient times, and the strength of the Xia army should definitely not be underestimated.

And this time, Dou Jiande dispatched almost all of his elites, so most of the generals of the Tang Army felt uneasy and even panicked.

If it fails, then these months of hard work will be in vain, and the fruits of victory will be plucked.

Li Shimin knew very well in his heart that under the opposition of most of the generals and officials, he retreated to Xin'an, and his father would never blame him.

However, if he wins, then he will lay a solid foundation for the unification of the four seas as soon as he pacifies Hebei and Henan, and will also add a brilliant stroke to his military career, and at the same time, his prestige and status will be further consolidated......

The result of the victory was so tempting that Li Shimin had to be moved.

He looked at everyone firmly, and said loudly: "The food in Luoyang City is running out, the non-commissioned officers and the people are separated, Wang Shichong is like a trapped beast, our army no longer has to fight to attack the city, and it can win by sitting firmly under the city."

"If we capture the Tiger Prison Pass first, we will be able to resist the Xia army, and within ten months, Wang Shichong will definitely surrender. At that time, the morale of our army will be greatly increased, and we will be able to conquer the Xia army in one fell swoop.

"So it's very important to occupy the Tiger Prison, and we must act now to seize the Tiger Prison."

Seeing that Li Shimin still insisted on attacking the Xia army, Qu Tutong immediately persuaded: "Marshal, please think twice......"

"I have made up my mind, so I don't need to say more." Li Shimin interrupted him.

Li Yuanji was not afraid of the marshal's majesty, and when Qu Tutong didn't dare to speak, he still opened his mouth: "Second brother, don't go your own way, in case of failure, you can't afford this responsibility." ”

Li Shimin looked at him with a solemn expression: "If it fails, I will bear it." ”

Seeing that Li Yuanji opened his mouth and wanted to speak, Li Shimin said coldly: "Luoyang is not broken, and he will never return to the teacher, and whoever dares to say that the class teacher will return to the dynasty will be beheaded." ”

Li Yuanji: "......"