Chapter 552 Siege (4)

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(Looking at the front, it is indeed Chen Yuan and Li Nian guarding the north bank of the Yellow River. The errors in the article have been corrected, but they may not have been corrected completely. I hope everyone can point them out.)

Hancheng, also known as Xilongmen at that time, was originally under the rule of Feng Yi County. After Li Yuan became emperor, he removed the county and changed it to a state, and Feng Yi County became Tongzhou.

Later, because Li Po attacked Jinyang and quickly moved south to occupy Hedong, the Tang Dynasty established Shaanxi Daoxingtai to control Li Po.

The Qin King Li Shimin, who was originally the commander-in-chief of the army marching in Shaanxi Province, also served as the Shangshu Ling of Shaanxi Province. In this way, Li Shimin's power was infinitely magnified.

Almost the entire northern part of Chang'an and west of the Yellow River, the military and political power under Li Tang was concentrated in the hands of Qin King Li Shimin.

But having said that, this place is different from the northwest. Prince Li Jiancheng leads the army and holds hundreds of thousands of troops, so Li Shimin's power is also greatly restricted.

At this time, due to war needs, Li Shimin changed Hancheng County to the administrative seat of Hanzhou, separated it from Tongzhou, and administered three counties. Tang Jian's troops were stationed in Hancheng and guarded Pujin Bridge.

Li Po led his army to storm Puban. At Longmen Ferry, except for the vague sight of enemy scouts cruising back and forth on the east bank, there was no movement at all.

Li Shimin also learned that Li Po had divided his troops to guard Fengling Ferry, as if to prevent Li Jiancheng from leading his army northward.

In fact, up to this point, Li Shimin's various preparations for this battle have in turn put him in a dilemma.

Originally, according to the plan of Li Shimin and his subordinates, Li Po led his army south to attack Puzhou in early February. As expected, if the opponent moved south after the Yellow River thawed, then Li Shimin would have no other choice but to defend Puban.

.

But if we attack before the Yellow River thaws, Li Shimin will have more choices.

His ambition at that time was not just to consume Jin's troops on the beaches along the Yellow River. He carefully estimated Li Po's troops, which actually left some room for Li Jiancheng to lead his army northward from Tongguan to Hedong.

Is his brother Li Jiancheng eager to make great achievements? Will he seize the opportunity to cross the river and go north? Is there any need to ask?

The prince's military exploits have been far surpassed by his younger brother. Don't let alone the prince, even King Li Yuanji of Qi always wants to make military exploits in front of the battle? What's more, the prince...

If such a seemingly good opportunity was presented to the prince, would he still ignore it?

Of course, since the brothers have been fighting each other like enemies, Li Shimin will definitely not give up his military merits to the prince and help him consolidate his power.

What Li Shimin saw was that if the prince led his army across the river to the north, he would definitely divide his troops. Li Jiancheng had also been in the army for many years and would not do anything to empty Tongguan and let Wang Shichong take advantage.

In that case, the scene will be very wonderful.

Daizhou cavalry is the sharpest weapon in Li Po's hands. Whether it is at Pujin Bridge or at Longmen Ferry, it is unlikely to cross the river on a large scale to participate in the battle.

If the prince leads his army across the river, then he will most likely encounter a large group of cavalry...

If he were Li Po, he would definitely give the Tongguan defenders a chance to cross the river, lure the Tongguan defenders northward, and defeat them in one battle. And in that case, he would definitely give Li Shimin some opportunities.

No matter what happens to the prince when he falls, the King of Qin will always have merits and no faults.

This was Li Shimin's wishful thinking in private without telling anyone about it.

It can be seen that Qin King Li Shimin is not only a qualified military commander, but also a qualified king.

If Li Po knew what he was thinking, he would be very cooperative and would probably discuss with Li Shimin privately how much advantage we should all take without damaging our friendship.

Well, if the commander-in-chief of both sides of the war could be so calm and complacent, the kings might not live long.

Therefore, Li Po seemed extremely uncooperative.

First, they sent troops to seal the ferry on the north bank of the Yellow River, and then led their troops to storm Puban. It was quite possible to go down to Puban first and then cross the river to fight.

At this time, Li Shimin knew that the worst situation had occurred. The enemy had chosen a solid and conservative strategy and had the upper hand in this battle.

The biggest problem left for him is whether to save Pu Ban or not.

At this time, Li Shimin showed his decisive side. When Wen Dayou's coffin was returned to his hometown, he immediately led his people into Yongfeng Cangcheng and killed Dugu Huaien, thus eliminating a future trouble.

Then he left scribes and garrisoned in Yongfengcang, and purged Dugu Huaien's gang members and obtained evidence of crimes.

As for him, he led two thousand cavalry into Hancheng without stopping at night. At the same time, he sent orders to Duan Zhixuan, Hou Junji and others who were stationed in Feng Yi to immediately cut through the ice, eliminating the possibility of the enemy crossing the river at Longmen Ferry.

As the strategies of the two armies unfolded, the Tang army was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

This can be easily seen clearly. Li Po implemented his own strategic intentions, but the Tang army could only adjust its strategy as the war progressed. The pros and cons were almost clear at a glance.

At this moment, the offensive and defensive trends on the battlefield were clearly displayed.

………………………………

Puban, after two days of tentative attacks, the Puban city wall was stained with blood.

The flag of the Tang Army was still flying high above the city, but the two arrow towers at the city's head collapsed under the bombardment of cannons on the second day, leaving only jagged wreckage.

The idea of ​​capturing Puban City in the next two days had arisen in Li Po's mind, and the idea of ​​ending this meaningless war was equally clear.

But that evening, when Li Po returned to the camp and was about to summon the generals to urge them to lead a fierce attack, someone came from the other side.

Li Po was no longer surprised to see the enemy's envoys during the war. In his opinion, the Li family and his son were quite despicable. Li Shentong sent envoys just to provoke the generals. It would be better for you, father and son, to send them

The messengers also serve the purpose of creating a wedge between each other and detecting the enemy's situation.

Now you dare to send someone here, you think he, Li Popo, is easy to hide, right?

But what makes Li Po depressed is that this time the Li family and his son seem to have succeeded again.

Originally, it was said that Wen Dayou was dead and his coffin was to be sent back to his hometown. Please send someone to take care of it to avoid accidentally hurting innocent people. Li Po didn't pay much attention to it at first.

Even if Wen Dayou is Wen Yanbo's brother, he will die if he dies. Why don't you just stay in Jinyang and work for Li Yuanan? Why do you want me to treat you more politely now that you are dead? I recognize you Wen

Which one is Dayou?

But after thinking about it carefully, I really have to have a high-standard reception next...

The truth is actually not that profound. Wen Yanbo is now his long history and the order of Jinyang. Not only is he a confidant, but he is no less powerful than anyone else.

Although this man's words are not very pleasant, his talent is extremely rare and he is very easy to use. To this day, the Youzhou surrender has already passed the threshold of surrender and has become the most trusted and valued person under his command.

One of them.

If someone's brother dies, if you ignore it and deal with it hastily and let others see it, it will become an extremely chilling thing.

You know, Li Yuan has made a good show of his attitude. If you do the opposite, what will happen?

Thinking of this, Li Po couldn't help but curse in his heart. Li Yuan, this bastard, was extremely treacherous when he was in Jinyang. Now that he has become emperor, it seems that he has become even more treacherous, even using such despicable tricks.

So, on the third day, the battlefield suddenly calmed down. Li Po led his people to personally welcome Wen Dayou's coffin by the river. However, Li Po was angry and the people accompanying him, whether they were Tang soldiers, Wen's followers, or even those sent by Li Yuan to think about it,

The envoys who were going to Jinyang to see Empress Xiao were all driven away by Li Po.

It doesn't matter if you suffer a loss once or twice. If you allow your messenger to cross the river in the future... Damn it, I, Li Po, will write my name upside down.

Don't underestimate this period of buffering. It interrupts the progress of the war and gives the Tang army in the city a chance to breathe. It will also definitely affect the morale of the siege army.

Moreover, it is still to lead the spirits back home. Normally when people see them, they have to hide away to avoid getting bad luck. Now that they are walking through the army, what do you want the army officers to think? It will definitely not have the effect of mourning the soldiers.

It may very well make everyone feel that it is bad luck, which is very unlucky...

After that, Li Po had to be distracted and wrote two letters, one to Taiyuan County Governor Chen Xiaoyi to ask him to prepare for Wen's funeral, and the other to his wife Li Bi to comfort her.

Let’s talk about Wen Yanbo.

Li Po admitted that he was indeed disgusted by Li Yuan because he had to worry so much about someone he had never met, whose name he had never even heard, and who died in Chang'an.

After sending the coffin away, he still had to face Puban City. At this time, Li Po himself felt shaken and his morale dropped a lot, not to mention the soldiers under his command.

So Li Po simply rested for another day and summoned the generals in the evening to ask them to calm down the troops and boost their morale. Then the next day he had to personally inspect the four battalions, regardless of the "danger", and made the armor bright and shiny.

He rode high on his horse, trying to let as many soldiers see his appearance as possible, and put on a show for everyone to see.

Despite this, the army was still affected. The soldiers who had rested for two days only stormed the city twice during the day's siege battle. It seemed that they were still struggling, which made Li Po even more annoyed.

This is very similar to the original defensive battle under Liaodong City. This intermittent siege method is very stupid. It will shed a lot of blood and the frustration caused by it will trouble everyone in the army.

, and as time goes on, it will eventually lead to the most terrible consequences.

That night, Li Po had to summon the generals again, and used a very harsh tone and words to ridicule the generals' incompetence, and set a two-day deadline for the generals.

He was very patient before, but when he saw that the war was in danger of being delayed, based on his keen battlefield intuition, his patience was immediately replaced by nervousness. He wanted to capture Puban as soon as possible...


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