On June 14th, the general manager of Bingzhou, Rencheng Wang Li Daozong, rode northward to Yanmen Pass. After the news of the battle in Guji Town came, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He even considered whether to lead the cavalry to follow him out of the fortress... It was a good opportunity to beat up the drowned dog.
, it’s simply a waste of credit!
But after thinking about it again and again, Li Daozong still didn't dare. Zhang Baoxiang led a thousand and five cavalry to support him. This was already the limit. The army crossed the border... After all, it was a taboo. As a member of the clan, he was once a general of the King of Qin. Now the East Palace has
If you are interested in recruiting, it is better not to look for trouble.
But when he heard the news from Yanmen Pass on June 13th that the King of Handan went north to pursue and returned with a great victory, Li Daozong could no longer bear it. The army did not move. He and the governor Shi Doujing only brought more than a hundred personal guards.
He ran towards Yanmen Pass, intending to come out of the gate to meet him.
But after Li Daozong and Dou Jing arrived at Yanmen Pass, they immediately felt a strange atmosphere. The weirdest thing was that, not to mention official positions, a county king and a relative arrived, and the only person who came to greet them was the Recorder and Counselor of Daizhou General Manager's Office.
Military Lu Chengji alone.
Before Li Daozong could react, the city gate opened wide, but only a thousand Tang cavalry came back.
Li Daozong saw Li Jing, the expressionless manager of Daizhou, and Zhang Gongjin, who looked embarrassed.
What happened?
While Li Daozong was confused, Dou Jing on the side saw something and pulled the former's sleeve, "Where is the prince washing his horse, Wei Xuancheng?"
Yes, Wei Zheng of the East Palace met him once on his way north. By the way, wasn't Daizhou Sima Zhu Yichen ordered to stay at Yanmen Pass?
Where did these two people go?
After chatting for a while, Li Daozong looked at Li Jing's face and didn't ask any questions... The latter smiled forcefully and disappeared after a few words, leaving Daizhou alone with Zhang Gongjin.
"Brother Hongshen?" Dou Jing asked curiously, "Where is the King of Handan?"
Zhang Gongjin hiccupped for a long time and whispered a few words. Li Daozong understood a little bit. He thought about it for a while and did not continue to ask. He only left the seclusion with Dou Jing and drove towards the northwest.
On June 13, the Tang cavalry returned slowly and arrived thirty miles outside Guji Town. Li Shan decided to set up an altar in Guji Town to commemorate the thousands of Tang soldiers who died in the battle. He also invited the prince Xi Ma Wei Zheng, who came to welcome him, to write a memorial memorial.
.
This memorial text... was written by Wei Zheng, but the meaning was basically determined by Li Shan.
On the second day, Li Shan ordered Zhang Gongjin to lead more than a thousand cavalrymen back to Yanmen Pass... This meaning is very clear. Li Shan did not want to drive Zhang Gongjin away. After all, he led the army north and followed him to pursue the Turks.
The key point is that Zhang Gongjin is the only general among the generals who has always relied on Li Jing, the general manager of Daizhou... To pay tribute to the soldiers who died because of Li Jing for his own selfish interests, Li Shan could not tolerate Li Jing's pretentious presence.
Without Zhang Gongjin as a fig leaf, Li Jing would have no shame to stay no matter how thick-skinned he was... Moreover, he "occasionally" saw the written memorial text, which contained the words "unjust death".
Therefore, when Li Daozong arrived at Yanmen Pass, he could not see anyone except Lu Chengji. Er Zhu Yichen, Wei Zheng and even Nao County Magistrate Li Yiyan had already rushed to Guji Town.
Li Daozong arrived in Guji Town in a hurry. Looking from a distance, he saw a large number of troops standing silently. An altar was built not far from the city gate. Headed by Li Shan, King of Handan, Liu Shirang, Zhang Shigui, and Xue Wanche all bowed solemnly. Wei Zheng on the platform was standing high.
Reciting rituals in a loud voice.
"In this battle, there were three thousand soldiers, but I don't know how many survived..." Dou Jing sighed sadly: "To be fair, Yongkang County Duke is too harsh."
"It is said that in the battle of Guji Town, Huairen fell off his horse but continued to attack. After being hit by an arrow, he drew the arrow with his backhand and opened his bow. If the oil and lamps were not exhausted, how could the bodyguard have allowed Huairen to return to danger." Li Daozong got off his horse, looked far away, and walked around the queue.
As I walked forward, I could faintly hear crying coming from the altar.
When he got closer, he saw Li Shan stood up with tears on his face and was about to fall. Li Daozong was shocked and there was a commotion around him. Su Dingfang and Zhang Zhongjian rushed to help Li Shan up.
After fighting to the death for several times and thinking carefully about the future, Li Shan was not only injured in many places, exhausted to the extreme, but also mentally and physically exhausted. Today, he returned to Guji Town. He saw mountains of corpses and recalled the sounds and faces of the past. His heart ached, and his face was filled with tears. He will never see it again.
Unable to hold on, Wei Zheng fainted and fell to the ground while he finished reading the memorial inscription.
Friendship is always the most reliable emotion in the world. It can be entrusted with life and death, and there is nothing like it in the world... The generals almost swarmed up with such sincerity that Li Daozong couldn't help but be moved.
The reason why he was moved was not only that the generals supported Li Shan, but also that Li Daozong knew very well that Er Zhu Yichen, who shouted for the doctors to protect the troops, was the general of the East Palace, and Zhang Shigui, who brought the stretcher and lifted Li Shan up with Su Dingfang, was the confidant of the King of Qin.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Daozong watched as the doctors peeled off Li Shan's clothes and replaced his dressing. His back, shoulders, arms, thighs, and calves, except for the parts protected by thick armor... were covered in bruises.
Outside the house, Er Zhu Yichen looked ugly. He didn't expect Huairen to be so seriously injured. He glanced quietly, turned around and left, finding a remote corner.
After a while, a gloomy-looking Zhu Wei followed, "Sanlang-kun..."
Er Zhu Yichen grabbed Zhu Wei's collar with his hands and scolded him in a low voice: "It's such an injury, why didn't you give me advice?!"
Zhu Wei was silent for a while and then whispered: "How can I persuade you..."
Er Zhu Yichen couldn't help but loosen his grip, but then he said angrily: "Pharmacist Li... Pharmacist Li!"
"In the previous battle in Guji Town, apart from being hit by an arrow in the shoulder, the injuries were not serious." Zhu Wei whispered: "I have already questioned Wang Junhao and Su Dingfang carefully, and pursued them northward. They took the lead several times..."
Zhu Wei narrated in detail here, while Zhang Shigui and Su Dingfang slowly recounted the several battles in the northward pursuit, while Liu Shirang and Xue Wanche supplemented from time to time.
Li Daozong, Wei Zheng, Dou Jing, Li Yiyan and others heard that they saw Shenxuan, rushing into the battle on horseback, fighting bravely and sharply, defeating both sides, and then surrendering the flag. If the battle at Guji Town is not a great victory, but several battles in Yunzhou
, especially the battle at Cangtou River, was a great victory. Jieli Khan led his remaining troops to flee north in embarrassment after being defeated.
"Three thousand corpses were built to form a Jingguan?" Li Daozong blinked quickly, remembering that there was also one outside Yanmen Pass, but this was different... He was good at killing prisoners and built a Jingguan. He was indeed good at killing.
"Huairen is heartbroken and his subordinates have suffered so many casualties... It's not a cruel method." Wei Zheng said lightly: "What's more, Huairen didn't kill without permission, and those who beheaded were all from the Ashina clan."
Wei Zheng had already received a letter from Pei Shiju, and a letter from Prince Zhongyun Wang Gui. Although both letters were vague, this upright and famous official in history had his own considerations.
If we say that before taking office in Daizhou, although Li Shan was famous and trusted by saints, and had the support of Princess Pingyang, his weight was too low after all... In the end, he had no real power, let alone prestige in the army, and this
One thing is what Donggong values most.
But it is different now. In the battle of Guji Town, he defeated the enemy in a deadly battle, shot down the Khan flag, and led his army to pursue northward. He was as fast as thunder and defeated the enemy twice... Since the Battle of Hulao in Luoyang in the fourth year of Wude, military achievements have been flourishing.
Only Li Shimin, who won the great victory at Luoshui, Li Xiaogong, who suppressed the Jianghuai Rebellion, and Li Jing can compare.
However, Li Xiaogong was accused of treason. Although it was a false accusation, he no longer had military power and could only idle in the army. Li Jing's reputation in Yanmen plummeted this time. On the contrary, Li Shan's reputation in Hedong will be reached with the help of his military exploits.
At the peak, his prestige in the army must be unparalleled, and it is difficult for Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng, to compare with him.
In other words, Li Shan, who is now quite prestigious in the army, has enough weight and strength to truly enter the main battlefield of winning the throne.
How could Wei Zheng not recruit such a person for the prince?
Moreover, Wei Zheng believed that Li Shan was more likely to be recruited by Li Jing. Wei Zheng could not say how bad he felt about him, but he knew very well that Li Jing was unlikely to join the East Palace because the prince had been recruiting him for a long time.
, but Li Jing’s attitude was quite cold.
That's why Wei Zheng was so understated just now... He hoped to promote Li Shan to the position of General Manager of Daizhou. With such strong military support, the prince would be more confident.