"Everyone knows that General Zhang is brave and good at fighting. If you want to go into battle, it would be a good idea to take General Zhang as the vanguard... Haha, who makes us all cowards?"
There is no one else who can ridicule Zhang Shigui so face to face. It is none other than Huben Lang General Lu Chengda. The grudge between him and Zhang Shigui goes back more than a day or two.
Just because Lu Chengda was a subordinate of Qu Tutong at that time. He had marched into Henan to suppress bandits and was defeated by Zhang Shigui's army in Guozhou. Lu Chengda's two nephews and one son both died in the service. When he returned to Tongguan, Lu Cheng
I almost lost my head.
Such hatred is almost impossible to resolve. Now that Zhang Shigui is a toothless tiger, he naturally wants to be a tiger-fighting hero. In fact, if Zhang Shigui had not been famous in Henan, Prince Li Jiancheng would have needed Zhang Shigui if he wanted to invade Henan. Otherwise,
He would have killed this damn Henan thief long ago.
"The military is a major matter of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival. We must not ignore it. How can we act recklessly with a voice of righteousness and bravery? Who are you, speaking arrogant words in the military discussion, trying to mislead the prince? Why don't you give it to me?
I'll step back..."
The person who spoke this time was naturally Li Gang, a member of the East Palace. He had just arrived in Tongguan two days ago and had been working in Chang'an before. Zhang Shigui's name could only be heard a little bit, but he didn't recognize it at all.
At this time, Zhang Shigui was sternly reprimanded with righteous words, which was natural. However, people familiar with Li Gang's character knew that there was actually an intention to protect him, and he did not want the crowd to rise up and attack him.
Li Gang is a man of discernment. Those who are rejected by everyone are not arrogant or cowardly, but talented people. If you protect him a little and observe it again, there will be no doubts.
This is a serious way of employing people. It can be said that it is not unreasonable for the emperors of both dynasties to use Li Gang to teach the prince.
But Zhang Shigui ignored these and only said: "If you want to achieve special achievements, you must have courage and strategy. The soldiers of Tongguan are waiting in arms and want to die for your highness. Wang Shichong has done many unjust things and everyone is alienated. Now I use my elite army to fight against the mob.
If we can defeat them in one fell swoop, we will definitely be able to suppress Xiao Xian from the south and Li Ding'an from the north. This is the cause of an emperor..."
"The so-called opportunity cannot be missed, and the time will never come again. If we wait for the enemy's supplies to run out and delay, there may be changes. Li Ding'an and Xiao Mian are both watching, and it is easy for them to take advantage of them. Even if Wang Shichong is defeated and leaves,
, most of them can retreat to Luoyang to support me, but I cannot attack them with all my strength, how can I achieve full success?"
"If your highness has any doubts, the general is only willing to get three thousand cavalry to serve as the vanguard of the army. If he does not kill Wang Shichong, your highness can kill Wu An's head to correct military law."
At this point, many people were shocked. Even though they had no favorable impression of Zhang Shigui, they still secretly admired his courage...loyalty.
Since ancient times, there have been many stories of heroic men risking their fortunes and lives to decide the world in one battle. Is Zhang Shigui one of them?
Zhang Shigui's efforts were not in vain. Although the speaker was wrong, almost every word he said spoke to Li Jiancheng's thoughts.
The King of Qin used the power of Xue Rengao to defeat Xue Rengao and became the general of Tiance, almost standing alongside the East Palace. Now if he can defeat Wang Shichong outside Tongguan, his position as crown prince will surely become even more unshakable. His father and some people in the court...
...and I won’t think about what King Qin is doing every time there is a critical moment.
This is indeed a good opportunity, as long as he leads his troops out of seclusion in time...
Thinking of this, Li Jiancheng hesitated again. If he refused to defend a dangerous pass, but went out to fight with the enemy in the wild, the risk he would bear would be very great. What should he do if the war is delayed? What if he loses?
He did have a lot on his mind, which made the choice more difficult, but he would not show it in front of everyone. He patted the table and said with a smile: "General Zhang's loyalty is rare and his ambition is commendable. In this case,
How about taking General Zhang as the deputy general manager of the cavalry army and commanding three thousand cavalry?"
Zhang Shigui, who received the benefit, beat his chest and thanked everyone in the eyes of everyone, but no one knew that his heart was already full of disappointment. It was only because of years of lessons that he could still put a smile on his face.
It can be said that what Li Jiancheng said disappointed him. He was not a standard martial artist. He had read a lot of books since he was a child. It might not be easy to become a Jinshi, but if he got into the army, his talent and learning would definitely be first-rate.
One.
At this point, he is the same as Liu Wenjing. His arrogance is the reason for his support, not his unfounded arrogance.
Therefore, he understood that what he said must have been in vain...
There were not many generals in Tongguan who were capable of fighting. What was even more ridiculous was that the generals in the room were all princes, but most of the people here were deserters back then.
In other words, many of them were evaders from military service in Liaodong. After joining Li Yuan, they were stationed in Tongguan with Prince Li Jiancheng. In addition to eradicating banditry and experiencing some wars, few of them had experienced major battles.
.
On the other hand, Sang Xianhe, Lu Chengda and others had followed Qu Tutong to quell Yang Xuangan's rebellion, and fought with Li Yuan in Hedong when he went south. Most of their subordinates were officers and soldiers of the late Sui Dynasty and were very capable in fighting.
With such a composition of soldiers, if you want to adopt Zhang Shigui's suggestion, you need a wise and decisive commander. You are hesitant and dare not make a decision on the spot. How can you unite the people and move forward in war?
If Wang Shichong cannot be defeated in one blow, then fighting outside the border is seeking death. Zhang Shigui knows very well what the Henan Army is good at. The more it falls into chaos, the stronger the Henan Army's combat effectiveness. And there are Li Ding'an and Xiao Mian watching on the side...
…
Well, Zhang Shigui felt that people like Li Jiancheng were unreliable in critical moments. In today's time, without the courage to make a desperate move, what big things could be accomplished?
If three thousand cavalry, without a large army behind them, charge forward to kill each other, should I lead these three thousand people to die?
At this point, Zhang Shigui was disheartened and unwilling to say another word.
After the military meeting, Zhang Shigui turned around and left. No one paid much attention to him. They all expected to be summoned by the prince alone to talk about what they were thinking.
However, Li Gang still wanted to talk to the general who made bold remarks just now, but after looking around, Zhang Shigui was nowhere to be seen, so he gave up. After all, he had just arrived in Tongguan not long ago, and the war was imminent, so he needed to be familiar with the ups and downs of Tongguan.
, getting too close to an unpopular guy can easily lead to criticism.
When Li Jiancheng returned to the back house, he unexpectedly held a small meeting in the study room. At this time, he was surrounded by the subordinates of the East Palace.
In addition to Li Gang, the host of the East Palace, there are also the hussars of the East Palace left guard, Wei Ting, the inspector of the left wing, Xie Shufang, the chariot general, Ren Can, the tiger benlang general, and Wei Zheng, the horse washer of the East Palace.
As Zhang Shigui expected, the confidants in the East Palace were not confident enough and preferred to defend the city. However, Xie Shufang and Ren Can advocated taking advantage of Wang Shichong's arrival and unsteady footing to fight first to test the situation.
No one had any intention of going out on a large scale. Although Li Jiancheng was unwilling to do so, he also felt that it would be too risky to take a bold attack. It would be better to choose the opportunity to fight with Wang Shichong under Tongguan, and he would be able to achieve success.
In fact, Wang Shichong is quite miserable. He thinks he is the only one in the world, but now, others see him as a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. The only difference lies in how to use the knife appropriately.
Zhang Shigui's ideas were almost all right. There were several reasons why the confidants in the East Palace persuaded Li Jiancheng. Wang Shichong had a strong army and could not be taken lightly. In addition, most of the Tongguan defenders had not experienced many battles and might be at a loss when facing the battle. The last one was fear.
It was ridden by Xiao Xian and Li Ding'an.
What they said makes sense, but they all ignored one point intentionally or unintentionally. The Henan army was in a mess, with disorganized troops, low morale, and lack of food and grass. It was very likely that they could hit the target with one blow. In a quick battle, how many chances would others have?
Come to take advantage of the situation?
This is a God-given opportunity to open up the situation. It can even be said to be the best opportunity that has appeared since Li Yuan became emperor. At the same time, it will also be a good medicine for Li Tang who is gradually declining. Its significance is even greater than when Li Shimin defeated Xue Rengao.
One battle.
With so many benefits, if you don't have the will to fight hard, how can you talk about leveling the world? If Li Shimin and Li Po had been replaced, the situation would definitely be very different.
But the person in charge of Tongguan was Li Jiancheng, who was good at accepting people's opinions. His strategies and tactics were completely different. He was more conservative and a qualified successor to the throne, but he was not destined to be called a famous general. He had never been associated with being able to win and dare to give up.
By mid-June, when Wang Shichong raised his troops, the strategy formulated by Tongguan and his subordinates had been roughly decided. At this time, everyone from Li Jiancheng down was a little lucky that they were well prepared, because when Wang Shichong raised his troops, he claimed to have 500,000 troops, but in fact
, 500,000 people are definitely not that many, but there are still 200,000 to 300,000 people.
The forward number alone numbered 50,000, which was almost as strong as the Tongguan garrison.
At this time, Xiao Mian had gathered many soldiers and horses in Nanyang and other places, especially in Jin on the north bank of the Yellow River. He began to build a large number of camps from the beginning of June. When all the Tang troops retreated to Tongguan, they built a camp at Fengling Ferry.
The pontoon was set up.
Fenglingdu is the most important and largest ferry on the Yellow River.
A line of water separates the north and the south, and the Central Plains is full of energy. The clouds and mountains connect to the soil of Jin, and the smoke trees enter Qinchuan. This is the poem that later generations used to describe Fengling Ferry. It is beautiful, but it cannot change his position in the cruel war.
The Yellow River turned a corner here, and the water flow slowed down. The narrowest point on both sides of the river, where Fengling Ferry is located, is only seven or eight hundred steps away. There is still a period of ice, so it is the easiest place to cross the Yellow River.
.
This place is different from Shangdang and Changping. It connects the north and south, crosses the Qin and Jin Dynasties, and is a must-win place for serious military strategists.
Not to mention that Li Po wanted to set up a garrison on the north bank, Li Tang also had a garrison stationed at Fenglingdu. However, Wang Shichong came west in large numbers, and Fenglingdu opened his arms to Li Po for a while.
The opportunity was not good, but it was rare, so two pontoon bridges slowly appeared on the water of the Yellow River. They looked a bit unstable when they were shaking, so Li Po ordered his people to speed up shipbuilding.
This chapter has been completed!