When Li Xiuning saw Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin arriving on horseback, they subconsciously frowned, dropped these words, and rode away without hesitation.
When Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin arrived, only Li Xiuning's back was left, and he could only clearly see the dark horse and the hint of scarlet.
Li Jiancheng looked at Li Xiuning's leaving figure in the distance, his expression particularly complicated.
Li Shimin also watched Li Xiuning's leaving figure and let out a long sigh.
After being silent for a while, Li Shimin said in an erratic tone: "Sister, are you still angry with me?"
Li Yuanji glanced at Li Shimin and said calmly: "You asked for this..."
Li Shimin sighed again and said no more.
Among the brothers and sisters, Li Shimin and Li Xiuning have the best relationship.
If Li Xiuning ignores him, he will feel very uncomfortable.
In comparison, Li Jiancheng didn't feel so uncomfortable. After Li Xiuning's back disappeared completely, he snorted and said: "No matter how you say it, I am still her brother. She doesn't pay attention to me when she sees me. What does it look like?"
Li Yuanji chuckled and said: "You still know that you are her brother? When you divided up her subordinates and sent her to Weizeguan to be imprisoned with your father, did you ever think that she was your sister?
When you ignored her opposition and her feelings, and attempted to murder my second brother, and attempted to kill me and my second brother through mutiny, did you ever think that she was your sister?"
"you!"
Li Jiancheng was hit in a sore spot and felt ashamed and angry.
Li Yuanji sarcastically said: "You don't look like a brother, so don't blame her for not looking like a sister."
Li Jiancheng shouted angrily: "A brother is like a father! Even if I didn't treat her well, he shouldn't treat me like this!"
Li Yuanji said disdainfully: "You have the nerve to say such things, she is your sister from the same mother, not a concubine born from concubines.
My mother passed away early. As the eldest brother, you didn’t know how to protect her and take pity on her. You bullied her and acted like the eldest brother. I’m going to embarrass you."
Li Jiancheng became even more annoyed and angry, "Then I am also her eldest brother! I am qualified to discipline her!"
There is nothing wrong with what Li Jiancheng said if you listen to it from the perspective of a Tang Dynasty person.
As a younger sister, she has to be controlled by her eldest brother. If she is bullied by her eldest brother, she still has to reflect on where she went wrong, and she still has to be controlled by her eldest brother.
This is the thinking of the Tang people endowed by loyalty, filial piety and justice.
But Li Yuanji was not a pure Tang Dynasty person and would not agree with Li Jiancheng's words at all.
"Whose brother are you? When you raised the knife towards us, did you ever think that you were our brother?"
Li Yuanji smiled coldly, was too lazy to talk to Li Jiancheng, and rode back to where the carriage was.
After Li Yuanji left, Li Shimin looked at Li Jiancheng calmly and said calmly: "If you want to be our brother, you have to act like one first.
Think carefully, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty until now, have you behaved like an elder brother when facing us?"
Li Jiancheng roared angrily: "Are you acting like a younger brother?"
Li Shimin ignored Li Jiancheng and rode away.
Yu Wenbao had just watched a drama about human relations and was in a very good mood. He laughed and led the people to catch up with Li Shimin.
The knife-shooting generals gathered around Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng looked at a circle of big, round-waisted sword-slapping generals that were blocking all sides, and roared in despair and anger.
He was angry and aggrieved, but he had nowhere to vent, not even personal freedom.
"Let's go!"
Li Yuanji returned to the carriage and announced loudly.
The long procession of baggage passed through Kaiyuanmen and headed all the way to Xiaoguan.
Four days later.
The team arrived at Xiaoguan.
Xiaoguan has been occupied by tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
There are many flags on the city, fluttering in the wind, and whistling in the cold autumn wind, as if they are cheering for the soldiers in battle, and they also seem to declare that Xiaoguan is the territory of the Tang Dynasty and cannot be invaded.
There are huge crowds of people inside and outside Guancheng.
Since Xiao Pass, like Weize Pass, was built close to mountains and rivers, and most of the city walls in Xiao Pass were on cliffs, not many troops could be stationed in Xiao Pass.
Therefore, some soldiers were placed on the banks of the Jing River in the pass.
The long Jingshui River gurgled down without too many waves or rapids. From time to time, the muddy yellow river water spread to the shore, giving off a touch of lightness, and then was swallowed up by the muddy yellow river water.
The soldiers lived by the river, building ordnance, rinsing clothes, and sharpening swords and guns, row by row, which looked very spectacular.
"It's very pleasing to the eye..."
This is Cai Yungong's evaluation after seeing everything on the riverside.
Li Yuanji did not make any response, but was greeted respectfully by the captain in front of Liu Hongji's tent, and entered Guancheng with part of his luggage.
Liu Hongji did not rush to the city gate to respond. Hearing the shouts of killing from the gate, it was known that Liu Hongji was presiding over the war.
"How's the battle going?"
After instructing Chen Shuda, Cai Yungong and others to cooperate with Xiao Guan's Sima to put all the baggage into the warehouse, Li Yuanji stared at the captain in front of Liu Hongji's account and asked.
The captain clasped his fists and said solemnly: "The Turks' offensive was very rapid. In five days, they launched sixteen attacks day and night. The soldiers in the pass were greatly damaged, with more than 3,000 casualties.
.”
Li Yuanji frowned subconsciously, and the faces of the people accompanying him also became serious.
In five days, more than 3,000 people were killed or injured, which is not a small amount of casualties.
This also confirms the brutality of the Xiaoguan War.
It is certain that Jie Li came with the determination to defeat Xiao Pass and go to Chang'an.
"What were the casualties of the Turks outside the city? Were the troops divided? When were they divided? Where did they go?"
Li Shimin asked solemnly when everyone was silent.
The captain clasped his fists again and said in a deep voice: "The Turks suffered over 10,000 casualties. They started to divide their forces two days ago. Some went west, some went east, and a small number are missing."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Shimin looked around everyone and said: "It seems that Jieli is planning to divide his troops into four groups, bypassing Lingzhou all the way, attacking Huizhou directly, attacking Yanqing all the way, and coming from Yanzhou
Down.
If I guessed correctly the rest of the way, I should have gone to Yinsui."
Xiaoguan is in the middle of Lingzhou, Huizhou is to the southwest of Xiaoguan, Yanzhou and Qingzhou are to the east of Xiaoguan, and Yinzhou and Suizhou are further east.
Yinzhou and Suizhou are also adjacent to Shizhou and Lanzhou where Li Xiaogong and others are located.
Cai Yungong couldn't help but asked: "What does Jie Li mean? He has troops all over Lingzhou to Weizeguan. Isn't he afraid that we will defeat them one by one?"
The Turks have strong military strength, which is indeed their advantage.
But if the divisions are too scattered and the battle line is stretched too long, the advantage will turn into a disadvantage.
If the Tang Dynasty, while holding on to the border, sent out elite cavalry to attack and defeat them one by one, the Turks would be completely defeated.
So Cai Yungong didn't understand why Xie Li turned his advantage into a disadvantage. Was he seeking death?
Some other people who did not understand military affairs also thought so. After hearing Cai Yungong's words, they nodded their heads.
Li Shimin glanced at Cai Yungong and said in a deep voice: "Since Jie Li dares to do this, he must have his intentions."
Cai Yungong asked: "What's the purpose?"
Li Shimin ignored him, but looked at Li Yuanji and said, "I need to lead a team of elite cavalry to walk along the border from Lingzhou to Shizhou in order to judge Jieli's intentions."
Li Yuanji also ignored Li Shimin.
Li Shimin wanted to observe the enemy's situation. Li Shimin wanted to take the opportunity to run away and contact his old troops.
In the past, when Li Shimin led troops to fight, he had never heard of personally taking the cavalry to walk around the areas bordering the enemy and ourselves in order to observe the enemy's situation.
This kind of thing is usually done by scouts. The next level is to send a school captain to do it, and there is no need for Li Shimin to go there himself.
"Go meet Liu Hongji and see what he says."
Li Yuanji spoke slowly and walked up to Guancheng.
The others' eyes lingered on Li Shimin and Li Yuanji before quickly following them.
When Li Jiancheng passed by Li Shimin, he gave Li Shimin a joking look.
Li Shimin just frowned and didn't react much.
Li Yuanji took two steps, suddenly stopped, turned his head and said to Yu Wenbao: "My eldest brother and second brother are tired from the journey. They must be tired. Please escort them down to rest."
Everyone behind him was stunned.
Li Jiancheng's expression suddenly changed.
Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "I have no selfish motives, I just want to help Datang get through this difficult time!"
Li Yuanji ignored him and said to Yu Wenbao, who was still stunned: "What are you doing here? Why don't you go quickly?"
"oh!"
Yu Wenbao came back to his senses and quickly bowed and said, "I obey!"
With that said, he walked towards Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.
Li Jiancheng's face was so gloomy that he could shed tears, and Li Shimin's face also became quite ugly.
They all knew why Li Yuanji suddenly asked someone to take them down to rest.
Li Yuanji didn't want them to see Liu Hongji.
I don't want them to know too much about the military situation, lest they take advantage of the situation.
For them, during the war, the forefront of the battlefield was indeed the best place to exploit loopholes.
Once both sides started a battle involving tens of thousands of people, fighting day and night, no one would have time to pay attention to them.
They can do many things while taking the opportunity.
For example, granting official posts and wishes to the people who guard them, or finding opportunities to deceive the guards and contact their old subordinates and some people who can be persuaded by them.
But this time they really have no selfish motives and really want to help Datang overcome this difficulty.
After all, as an important part of the Tang Dynasty, if any major changes occurred in the Tang Dynasty, they would also suffer.
Even if they took the opportunity to regain power, they would still have to face the Turks' attack.
And when they seize power, the Turks will definitely take advantage of the situation and break through Xiao Pass. What they will have to face then is a mess that is so bad that it will give them a headache.
They don't want this.
"please!"
Yu Wenbao led the people to Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin and said with a smile.
Li Jiancheng shook his sleeves and walked away angrily. Li Shimin hesitated again and again, and finally followed him with a frown.