"The enemy has crossed the river and the force is very strong. Li Shenfu formed a formation by the river. After a slight setback, he has retreated to Feng Yi... Regardless of the strength of the troops and the talents of everyone, they are not equipped to fight for a long time. We hope to send reinforcements as soon as possible.
Otherwise...there may be something unexpected."
"Feng Yi is the gateway to Guanzhong. If he loses it, Guanzhong will be shaken. There is the worry of losing everything. Don't take risks... I will send a message to Chang'an, Tongguan, and Hancheng, asking for a large number of troops to meet the enemy. I hope everyone will be worthy."
At this critical moment of life and death, we must take state affairs as our top priority and we will go through difficult times together."
Returning to Yongfengcang, Li Xiuning immediately wrote a letter and handed it to Chu Suiliang, and sternly warned: "You have sent this letter to Changsun Wuji. If this battle is defeated and the nest is overthrown, all members of the Li clan will be dead."
Come on, don’t take chances and treat him lightly.”
Chu Suiliang kept saying Nuonuo. When he left Yongfengcang, he felt a little reluctant but also a little more relaxed. The reluctant part was that after this farewell, he didn't know when he would see the princess again.
And it's easy to understand. The Jin army has already crossed the river, and the enemy's trace appears in Yongfengcang in just a moment. If he takes one step first, he will be one step away from danger. He doesn't want to be caught again.
Live and present it to others like a gift.
As for the outcome of this battle, he was a bit more pessimistic than Li Xiuning, because he had stayed by the river for a long time and was a confidant of the King of Qin. He knew a lot about the situation everywhere. Just as Zhang Shigui said at the beginning, all the tribes along the river
It is difficult to work together if there is no unity and everyone has their own concerns.
He admired Her Royal Highness Princess Pingyang very much. In such a short period of time, she was not only able to lead her troops to the enemy, but she was also able to discern the enemy's situation clearly and wanted to persuade all the ministries to jointly defend against the powerful enemy. Unfortunately, the Yongfengcang defenders were all ministries along the river.
The weakest part is that without soldiers or generals, how many people can listen to what you say?
If it weren't for the huge difference in status between the two of them, and if Her Royal Highness the Princess was extremely opinionated, he would definitely have given her some advice and advised her to go back to Chang'an to avoid danger.
Not to mention Chu Suiliang's little thoughts, Li Xiuning was uneasy and panicked at this time, but she greatly failed to live up to Chu Suiliang's evaluation of her.
"Go and summon Li Sima to come see me."
After being stunned in the hall for a long time, Li Xiuning gave an order. Of course, the Li Sima she summoned was not the Li Sima from Princess Pingyang's Mansion.
After a while, a person came to Li Xiuning and bowed to salute.
The visitor was in his thirties, with a rather weathered complexion, and a short beard, so he looked very much like his old self. His figure had grown up, and there were heavy traces of military service.
This man's name is Li Daliang, who is famous for his words. He is currently the Sima of Jinzhou and concurrently serves as the warden of Yongfeng. They are two positions that cannot be achieved by eight poles.
Li Daliang was from Longxi, a serious member of the Li family, but he was a little far away from Li Yuan. As the population was not prosperous, he gradually drifted away, and did not have much influence from Tang Gong.
However, Li Daliang is indeed a member of the Guanxi clan, but he is not very lucky. First, he served under the former Sui prison gate Zhige and now the Zuowuwei general Pang Yu, and then followed Wang Shichong to suppress bandits in Henan.
, captured by Li Mi.
The people who were captured with him were all slaughtered, maybe because he behaved strangely and was relatively calm, or because of his family background, he didn't die anyway, but became an aide to Zhang Bi, Li Mi's general.
Later, Li Mi was poor and came to the west to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. Li Daliang followed him. Because he was from the Li family in Longxi, he was well looked after and was not as jealous as others. He immediately became the magistrate of Tumen County.
Anyone who escaped from that hellish place in Henan must have some evil spirit. Within two years, his reputation spread to the ears of the King of Qin who was thirsty for talents, and he was subsequently transferred to the Sima of Jinzhou.
Jinzhou is an important place for transshipment of grain and grass, and it needs the supervision of relatives of the Li family like Li Daliang. So Li Daliang's future gradually improved. Last year, he escorted grain and grass to Yongfeng warehouse. It happened that Li Xiuning had just arrived and had no confidants.
This Jinzhou Sima's speech and behavior were satisfactory, so he stayed in Yongfengcang and served as the guardian of Yongfengcang.
"sit."
After he sat down, Li Xiuning asked, "I believe you already know that the enemy has crossed the river. In a short time, we may be able to see the sun, moon, stars and flags."
Li Daliang, who had dark and rough skin and didn't look like a nobleman at all, raised his head and glanced at Her Royal Highness, feeling admiration in his heart.
The enemy is close at hand. There are no soldiers or generals in a place like Yongfengcang, and there is no danger to defend. In such a situation, you can still be calm and deal with it. Not to mention a woman, even a man should think about the situation in the warehouse.
Which horse is faster? Instead of leading hundreds of people out to kill the enemy queen for that Xiangyi County Prince.
It's not an exaggeration to say that she is a "heroine among girls" on the road, and now she can still joke a few words, tsk tsk... she is indeed a daughter of Kansai.
As for the damn flag of the sun, moon and stars, how many enemies were coming, whether it was the Han king Li Ding'an himself or someone else, Li Daliang thought it didn't matter.
He was used to fighting in Henan, and his thinking was almost the same as that of the grass-head kings in Henan. If he could fight, he would fight. If he couldn't fight, he would escape. If he couldn't escape, he would surrender. The worst he could do was to be caught. Based on his experience,
, for a small person like him and a noble from Kansai, no one would chop off his head without asking questions.
However, once Her Royal Highness the Princess is captured, the situation may be a bit embarrassing. Well, I heard... I don't know if it is true.
Li Xiuning didn't know that in her eyes, he was a confidant who was taciturn but had something to say. His mental activity was always active, but he was not as honest as he seemed.
"You have also been in the army for many years and know a lot about military matters. Why don't you tell me how we should deal with the urgent matter today?"
Li Daliang is naturally different from Chu Suiliang. He has no foundation in Guanxi. He is neither a subordinate of the King of Qin nor a member of the prince's party. To be more serious, he only received a little favor from the King of Qin, so he has no scruples in speaking.
.
"In my humble opinion, Your Highness, with his wealth of gold, should not venture into danger lightly. He should return to the capital as soon as possible. The last general is incompetent. I would like to defend Yongfeng and fight the incoming enemy."
Li Xiuning smiled, such suggestions were not beyond her expectation. Although she was a little disappointed, she couldn't help but think about it, what kind of words would Medicine Master Li use if he were here?
"I am Princess Pingyang, leading the Qianniu Guards on my left and right. I came out of Dacang, Yongfeng Town, and went back to the capital to take refuge before going into battle. After everyone heard this, who is still willing to fight to the death with the enemy?"
When Li Daliang heard the words, his tone was very wrong. He couldn't help but think of the faces of those ancestors in Henan who frequently killed people, and his heart trembled.
"Your Highness, please calm down... Your Highness is well versed in military affairs. He should know how to surround key points and wait for reinforcements. Now there are soldiers gathering by the river. Feng Yi is the first to bear the brunt. If there is food and grass in Yongfeng Warehouse, they will be more powerful than Feng Yi. But now Yongfeng Warehouse has run out of food."
, abandoning it will not harm the overall situation.”
"But if Her Royal Highness is here, the enemy troops will surely come upon hearing the news. If they surround the princess here, Feng Yi, Tongguan, or Chang'an will all be in a dilemma... I have long heard that the northern Shanxi frontier army is the most elite in the world. I
Although the Qinchuan soldiers are not afraid, since they can defend the city and defeat their power, why bother to fight with them in the wild?"
"When the general was in Henan, Wang Shichong was sitting in the fortified city of Luoyang. From time to time, he would lead his troops out of the city to fight with Li Mi. Almost every battle was bound to be defeated, and the general suffered greatly."
Now what he said was interesting. Li Xiuning said: "What you said makes sense, but Li Dingan is not Li Mi, and there is no Wang Shichong here."
"I am just making a metaphor, I have no other intention."
Li Xiuning smiled and pondered silently. She was still hesitating. In fact, she knew better than anyone else that there were only two choices she faced now, stay or return to Chang'an. There was no third way.
Just as Li Daliang said, returning to Chang'an is the first choice, and it is extremely safe. No one will find fault with Princess Pingyang at this time. What she said before is just an excuse.
So, her choice is actually more inclined to stay, because in her opinion, Yongfeng Warehouse seems to be in danger. There is no food here. Feng Yi, Tongguan, and even Hancheng have enough military rations for several months.
Fengcang is no longer a battleground for military strategists.
As for besieging the city and calling for reinforcements, hey, the prince, the King of Qin, the King of Xiangyi County, or even Chang'an, at this time of life and death, who would care about a mere princess?
On the other hand, the flag of Princess Pingyang is flying over Yongfengcang, which may make the attacking Jin army have a taboo in advance and dare not let go.
In this case, why should she return to Chang'an? Her father might be furious and ask her to take the heads of Li Jing and others. How should she respond then?
Of course, Princess Pingyang was not an ordinary person after all. After much hesitation, she made a decision before dark and ordered Li Daliang to go to Tongguan to report the news to Prince Li Jiancheng.
There is no need to say anything more. I just follow the usual practice of talking about the battle by the river, because in Li Xiuning's opinion, in the battle last year, the people of Tongguan and Tongguan might have been frightened by the Jin people. Yu Gong privately asked the prince to send troops to assist Feng.
Yi is a difficult person, but the eldest grandson might be able to count on him.
As for herself, she led her army back to Chang'an in a hurry, completely abandoning Yongfengcang there.
After all, at such a time of year, how could the idea of hiding in a small place in Yongfengcang and leaving her own safety completely in the hands of others suit her?
And Chang'an...
When Li Yuan led his army southward from Jinyang, he had less than 30,000 soldiers. He engaged the Sui army in several battles. When he arrived at the river, his force had not decreased but increased, and there were already 100,000 soldiers.
After crossing the Yellow River, the number of troops doubled in a few days, reaching 300,000. It can be said that the scenery is unique everywhere.
It only took more than ten days from crossing the river to entering Chang'an. Now Li Po, the king of Han Dynasty, came along Li Yuan's old road south. Although it was more bumpy and the time was not comparable to that of Li Yuan, he did copy Li Yuan's old road.
, the military power was even greater than that of Li Yuan back then.
Therefore, when the urgent report from Li Shenfu, the king of Xiangyi County, was delivered to Li Yuan's case, one can imagine the shock to Li Yuan and his close officials.
Almost as soon as the envoys were dispatched, they were already facing each other with swords and swords. The natural danger of the Yellow River was gone, and Chang'an was within easy reach. The feeling that the situation was over had already lingered in everyone's hearts in an instant.