Morning on the tenth day of the first lunar month.
The sun, which had been hanging in the sky for ten consecutive days, hid in the thick clouds at some point, and the biting north wind whistled and hung the flags that closed the Yanmen gate.
In the small room, Li Shan knelt down and sat at the top, looking at Zhao Da who was reporting outside the door.
"The Turks will behead again..." Zhao Da paused, as if he couldn't continue.
Li Shan said expressionlessly: "Send another letter. We will go out to fight today, but we need to keep thousands of Yunzhou people away from the battlefield."
"yes."
Previously, Li Shan had his men shoot arrows for three consecutive days. From scolding to making peace, from supporting the people of Yunzhou, to allowing the people to enter the pass and immediately go out to fight...it was nothing more than delaying time.
It sounds simple, but in practice it requires careful consideration... Li Shan was really afraid that he would not be able to get enough food and supplies, so he would withdraw his troops when it was impossible to capture Yanmen Pass.
But Yu Gushe felt that he had grasped Li Shan's weakness, and forced the people to die again and again, trying to force Li Shan to go out to fight... In his opinion, Li Shan has refused to fight so far, just because he can't win.
, but couldn’t bear to see the people die miserably.
Well, Yu Gushe is different from Ashina She'er. The latter admires Sinology, but the former only has a rough understanding of it. He was shocked by Li Shan's poetry after hearing it... maybe he regarded Li Shan as a great Confucian.
"Going to battle today?" Xue Zhong hesitated and said, "Two thousand cavalry..."
"We can't wait any longer." Li Shan shook his head and said: "There are more than two thousand cavalry. Yesterday, hundreds of young men from Yunzhou who moved to Dai County came with weapons and horses. Brother Dingfang selected 500 cavalry from them to join the army."
Su Dingfang nodded and said: "If we select troops according to Beifu's method, we will definitely go all out."
Hundreds of years ago, Xie Xuan selected soldiers from the refugees who fled from the north. Because the refugees lost their land and destroyed their homes, he deeply hated the Hu people. The Battle of Feishui was a brilliant one.
Li Shan asked the tired He Lou Xingshu to spread the map on the ground and called everyone closer, "The most critical thing in this battle is timing. If you choose the wrong timing, it will be easy to defeat the enemy, but it will be difficult to build the Beijing Pass!"
Li Shan had discussed it in detail with Su Dingfang last night, and they had already prepared a rough draft, and they were talking eloquently. Su Dingfang would add to it from time to time.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Shan pointed his finger on the map, and his eyes fell on Xue Zhong and Li Kai, "Brother Xue and Brother Demou are also requested to guard Yanmen Pass."
Xue Zhong nodded in agreement, but Li Kai raised his eyebrows, "Huairen has made extraordinary achievements many times, do you want to stop me as a brother today?"
Li Shan patiently advised: "If there is no brother Demou..."
Li Kai shook his head, "Xue Gong is enough to guard Yanmen Pass, so he should be fine."
At this time, Xue Zhong came to his senses and blurted out, "Huairen...you want to go into battle in person?"
Xue Zhong may be the one who knows Li Shan’s resume most clearly. From the Shandong War to Yanmen Mayi, he knows very well that whether it was the night battle at Liting, the great victory in Wei County, Yongji’s capture of Liu Heitai, or Yanmen
To repel the Turks and make surprise attacks on snowy nights in Mayi, Li Shan did not go into battle personally every time, and he was not good at leading the army.
A doctor always has a psychological barrier when it comes to killing someone with his own hands. After all, he is also holding a knife, but the doctor is doing the opposite.
It is difficult to say whether Li Shan has not participated in the battle personally and whether there are psychological factors in this regard.
But this time, with thousands of people dying tragically in front of his eyes, what reason did Li Shan have to convince himself that he was holding a knife to save people instead of killing them?
The silence and the indifferent look on Li Shan's face said everything. Xue Zhong glanced sideways at Su Dingfang and closed his mouth.
Li Shan slowly retracted his hand and turned to look at a handsome young man, "Brother Baoxiang, everyone in the world knows that a certain Li Huairen often takes an eccentric approach with his sword and puts himself in danger on the battlefield, but this is not the case."
This young man is Zhang Baoxiang, the leader of more than a thousand fine cavalry sent by Li Daozong the day before yesterday...the lucky man in history who captured Jieli Khan alive.
"In all the battles in Liting, Wei County, and Yongji, we are all sure of the plans we have made. Even if we returned to Mayi more than a month ago to attack the camp on a snowy night, we are still 70% sure."
"But this time is different." Li Shan said sincerely: "Even if you choose the right opportunity, you are only 40% sure."
It had only been two days since Zhang Baoxiang arrived at Yanmen Pass, but everyone could see that this man was cautious and steady and rarely spoke. But at this time, he said vigorously: "It is only right to go out to attack the Hu. The Turks are tyrannical. I am willing to fight with the county magistrate."
!”
After a pause, Zhang Baoxiang continued: "Before leaving, King Rencheng told me that in this battle, we will only obey the orders of the Duke of Guantao County."
The order before and after the two paragraphs shows that it was Zhang Baoxiang's own wish to attack Hu, and not just because of Li Daozong's order.
Li Shan nodded slightly. He had already inquired about Zhang Baoxiang's background and resume through Xue Zhong and Li Kai.
This man is from Hexi. He joined the army in the first year of Wude and was selected by Li Daozong as the leader of the personal guard. He successively participated in the battles of Qianshuiyuan, Xiaxian, Baibi, Luoyang, and Hulaoguan. He gradually made meritorious deeds and was appointed as the general manager of Lingzhou by Li Daozong.
At that time, he was promoted to Lingzhou Recorder and joined the military.
In other words, this person has the shadow of Prince Qin's palace... But there is nothing to be done about it. Anyone who can stand out from the army can basically be regarded as Li Shimin's old subordinates.
"The leader of this battle will be Brother Dingfang, and we will obey his orders whether we advance or retreat." Li Shan continued: "But it is divided into two armies. The left army is led by Brother Dingfang himself, and the Yanmen Army, together with Brother Dingfang, Demou
Brother Baoxiang will lead the army on the right and merge with the state army."
Li Shan glanced at Guo Pu and said, "I have to leave this battle to Uncle Guo again."
Guo Pu lowered his head slightly. Last year, when he went south from Xiabo, if he encountered an enemy, Su Dingfang would lead the army, and he would stay with Li Shan to protect him.
Seeing Li Shan allocating his troops, Li Kai became a little anxious. He was appointed acting county magistrate this time just to get gold. To put it bluntly, he was taking advantage of his friendship with Li Shan to gain glory. Finally, he met someone who could show off his skills.
opportunity, but couldn't fight.
Looking at Li Kai's appearance, Li Shan was a little amused. In fact, there would be no problem if his friends went to fight... The reason why Li Kai was summoned to Yanmen Pass was largely because of the Rencheng King Li Daozong behind him.
Although we hit it off like old friends, and although they both wanted to avoid direct marriage, Li Shan treated others as his own and did not dare to fully trust Li Daozong... Although the later King of Jiangxia was rated as a famous general by Li Shimin during the Zhenguan period.
But now that the court situation is complicated, who knows what Li Daozong’s position is... Xue Wanche, the confidant of the East Palace, was still a famous general during the Zhenguan period, and Wang Gui and Wei Zheng, the staff of the East Palace, were still famous prime ministers during the Zhenguan period!
But now, Li Daozong sent Zhang Baoxiang and more than a thousand elite cavalry to come to the rescue... Basically, the problem is not big, otherwise Li Daozong himself would be involved.
You must know that although this battle may not be a complete victory, it should not be defeated, let alone a big defeat. Li Daozong will not be so stupid... Li Shan opened his mouth to test Zhang Baoxiang before, also to confirm Li Daozong's position.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Shan saw a figure flashing outside the door. Zhao Da reported from outside, "Mr. Lang, please see me on behalf of Sima Zhou."
"Sima?" Li Shan was startled, "Er Zhu Yichen?"
"yes."
"It came so fast!" Li Shan rolled his eyes and looked at Li Kai with a smile, "It seems Brother Demou has to go into battle."
Everyone present except Zhang Baoxiang understands this sentence. Er Zhu Yichen is a direct descendant of the East Palace. Li Shan, who has personally experienced many affairs, cannot leave him at Yanmen Pass.
Since we want to take Zhu Yichen with us to fight, we must take Li Kai, whose father serves as an official in the Tiance Mansion.