Cheng Mingzhen's face was ashen. He was the one who wanted to pursue him most, but Li Daoxuan's cavalry had gone through two battles and suffered a lot of losses. However, his own cavalry had no armor and even incomplete weapons. They were still wet all over. When the cold wind blew, they would inevitably Cold air enters the body.
As the horse rushed to the infantry formation, Cheng Mingzhen's eyes fell on Tian Liu'an, "Maybe Guantao City is blocking it?"
Tian Liuan did not expect that the war would go so smoothly. He only thought about how to win and did not arrange an ambush in Guantao. He could only shake his head in shock.
Cheng Minzhen gritted his teeth and ordered his personal guards to go to Wei County to immediately get clothes, armor, and weapons, and prepare to continue the pursuit with his men.
Li Daoxuan over there was even more so. Even if it was Su Dingfang, Liu Jun refused to give up the pursuit despite repeated admonitions.
"If we don't cut the grass and get rid of the root, the thieves will rise again one day, what can we do?!"
The long sword in Li Daoxuan's hand came out and was nailed to the enemy general whose thigh was pinned down by the war horse.
Su Dingfang lowered his head and saw that this person was Liu Heitai's younger brother Liu Shishan.
Liu Shishan groaned in pain several times, and stretched out his hand as if to catch the tip of the stick. Li Daoxuan ignored it and pulled out the stick sideways, and blood rushed out along with the tip of the stick.
At this moment, the marching commander Shi Xuezhong, who had just arrived, shouted sternly: "Has Your Highness forgotten Li Huairen's words?"
Li Dao Nearly a thousand cavalry under Hu's command fled north..."
"That's what Dingfang said." Xue Zhong nodded and said, "Li Huairen once said that defeating the enemy with sharpness is a beautiful word, but if you are not careful, it will be headstrong."
Liu Jun also advised: "The King of Qin has ordered that Manager Tian will be in charge of the war here..."
Halfway through his words, Liu Jun stopped talking and looked at Cheng Mingzhen warily.
On the surface, Xiabo was defeated, and the government did not deal with it. Li Daoxuan was still the commander-in-chief of the march in Hebei Province, and Tian Liuan was supposed to be his subordinate... at least in the army.
But just now Liu Jun said that Tian Liuan would be in charge of the war... This was the order of Qin King Li Shimin.
Everyone present, Li Daoxuan, Xue Zhong, Tian Liuan, Su Dingfang, Liu Jun and Qi Shanxing, who had just arrived, were either from the Prince of Qin's palace or from the lineage of the Prince of Qin. Only Cheng Mingzhen was not.
Many people even know that after the great victory at Luoshui at the beginning of the year, Li Shimin did not allow Cheng Mingzhen to pursue Liu Heitai, who was fleeing north. Later, the King of Qi hosted a banquet for the generals. Among them, only Cheng Mingzhen, who was regarded as a member of the King of Qin, attended the banquet happily.
If not for the death of his mother, wife and children at the hands of Liu Heita, Tian Liuan and Li Daoxuan would not have dared to risk Ma Zhou to convince him to send troops... Judging from various signs, Cheng Mingzhen is likely to attach himself to the East Palace.
Tian Liuan looked at the battle situation outside Wei County City. It was already a tragic situation. Wang Junkuo led his cavalry to attack westward. A large number of enemy soldiers were forced to fall into the Yongji Canal. Those who drowned were okay, but those who could not drown were in the cold and biting river water. The longer it lasts... the worse it will be.
The two thousand Tang army infantry on the other side of the river had already crossed the river, and they attacked in an orderly manner. Under the command of the general, they defeated any small groups of enemy troops that dared to gather in large numbers.
The Tang army in Wei County has also left the city to accept surrender. A large number of soldiers abandoned their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy. Today's battle has been a great victory.
The only problem now is Liu Heitai.
"I and Brother Shanxing led the infantry to stay and clean up the battle." Tian Liu'an said loudly: "In Xiangzhou, all the Weizhou cavalry came out and joined the Weizhou cavalry. From..."
Cheng Mingzhen was still wondering in his mind, who is this Li Huairen?
It could make Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan endure his anger for a while and stop asking for pursuit... Cheng Mingzhen experienced a similar thing at the beginning of the year. At that time, he was so angry that he almost killed prisoners to vent his anger and hatred.
Tian Liuan hesitated for a moment. He must stay in Wei County to take charge of the overall situation. This time Wei County defeated Liu Heitai. No matter from which aspect, he was the leader of the war... although he was not able to go to the battlefield in person.
, the knife is not yet stained with blood.
Under such circumstances, Tian Liuan was unwilling to pursue Liu Heitai... The trees that are beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.
It's okay if he can't catch him. Once Liu Heitai is captured, such a great achievement... Tian Liu'an really doesn't want it.
The war in Hebei has become the battlefield for the East Palace and the King of Qin to seize the throne, and Tian Liuan suppressed all these with one hand... What does the East Palace think of Tian Liuan?
But who will lead the cavalry going north?
In terms of title and official position, Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan was the most suitable candidate, but he was too straightforward and bent on revenge, so he was not a suitable candidate.
Cheng Mingzhen was proficient in the art of war and a veteran on the battlefield, but his qualifications in the Tang Dynasty were too short, and he was not as committed to the Qin Palace as Qi Shanxing... Of course, the most important thing is that, except for Cheng Mingzhen, everyone else is from the Qin family.
Tian Liuan hesitated for a long time, then his eyes fell on Su Dingfang.
An hour later, outside Guantao City, Li Shan was so angry that he jumped up and down, secretly scolding Tian Liuan for being unkind... He finally persuaded Li Daoxuan to come forward, but Tian Liuan insisted on lifting Su Dingfang.
There were about 2,000 cavalrymen from the Three Prefectures, several Tang army generals, and figures like Cheng Mingzhen, the general manager of Weizhou, and Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang... but it turned out that the unknown Su Dingfang was leading the army.
Su Dingfang was able to lead the battle independently in Weizhou. This was the result of his prestige and military exploits gained from his numerous victories in Beizhou and Weizhou. But how could the generals in Weizhou and Xiangzhou be convinced?
Tian Liuan was confused... Li Shan thought about it in his mind, and immediately thought of a scapegoat, "Wang Junkuo has led the army north?"
Xue Zhong nodded, "We will pursue first and let Wang Junkuo follow."
"No hurry, no rush!" Li Shan snorted coldly.
The face of Mr. Wang Junkuo in history is a bit unclear, but now he secretly followed the order of King Qin to cross the river and come to the north to help... but he was a wall blocking the wind.
Seeing that Li Shan remained silent, Li Daoxuan couldn't help shouting: "Huairen, you have great military speed!"
"There's no rush." Li Shan replied briefly and turned to look south.
Just as he was thinking about it, Wang Junkuo had already arrived with his troops... The war had not started before, the enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered, with few wins and many defeats, so the flying general possessed him.
Now that the victory has been decided, the bandits fled north, so the current Wang Junkuo... looks like Wei Huo.
Li Shan greeted him with a smile. Under Xue Zhong's introduction, he whispered a few words to Wang Junkuo, who was meeting him for the first time. The latter hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Let Li Daoxuan lead the army...Tian Liuan is not at ease, and Li Shan is not at ease either. If the King of Huaiyang is killed in the battle at the end, the weight of the credit will be discounted, at least for Li Shimin.
Let Su Dingfang lead the troops... Others can rest assured, but Li Shan is worried. After all, this person is now Li Shan's direct descendant. He himself may not be involved in the battle for the direct descendant of King Qin in the East Palace. How can he hand over Su Dingfang like this?
?
Once handed over, Li Shan could no longer control Su Dingfang.
Therefore, Li Shan chose Wang Junkuo, who was a wall blocking the wind... and this person was assigned by the King of Qin to come to the rescue and lead the pursuit, so he was the most suitable.
It's hard to say whether Li Shimin's handling was right or wrong. After all, there was no real-time communication and there were no telegrams, so it was difficult to command accurately.
But one thing is necessary. After the defeat of Xiabo, it was Li Daoxuan, King of Huaiyang, the commander-in-chief of the march in Hebei Province, who presided over the victory in Wei County and personally led the troops to pursue the fleeing Liu Heitai.
This is related to who has the power to pacify Hebei Province after the war... Therefore, Li Shimin asked Tian Liu'an to be the leader, which was out of war considerations, while Li Shan insisted on pushing Li Daoxuan out, which was out of political considerations.
The pursuit of Liu Heitai was led by Wang Junkuo, but in name, it must be led by Li Daoxuan... That was all Li Shan had to explain.
Regarding the familiar name Wang Junkuo, Li Shan was as wary as a time traveler should be.
Yuchi Baolin had already put on his helmet and armor, and followed closely behind Li Daoxuan with a horse in his hand. It looked like he couldn't be driven away.
Li Kai had no intention of going into battle in person. His eyes fell on his friend and he just sighed why Li Shan's surname was Li... Otherwise, he would have to persuade his father and uncle to marry as the legitimate daughter of the Li family in Longxi.
Within a month of arriving in Hebei Province, from Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, to Tian Liuan, the general manager of Weizhou, to the elite cavalry and ordinary soldiers in the army... Li Shan just selected the generals, and almost no one raised any objections.