Almost when Liang Jun defeated the Tang Army not far from Renshou Palace, in the valley outside Longzhou's Longzhou County, Li Shan was still repeatedly weighing the pros and cons. Should we escape?
It is definitely safe to slip away. Not to mention going back to Chang'an directly, you can at least go to Renshou Palace. No one can find a reason, but Li Yuan's opinion of him will definitely decline, which is not good news for him.
After thinking about it again and again, Li Shan decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.
First of all, Liang Jun defeated the Lingzhou Army. Li Shenfu, the commander-in-chief of the Lingzhou Road March, and Duan Decao, the deputy commander-in-chief, were both defeated. They lost the territory of three states in a row. Guanzhong was shaken. Li Yuan would definitely send generals to lead the armies immediately.
Jingzhou and Longzhou, which border Yuanzhou, have become the front lines. When the generals who take over come, they will withdraw... It is justifiable.
Secondly, Li Shan suspected that if he rushed to Renshou Palace immediately, he might be tricked by that old fox Pei Shiju, who had already encouraged Li Yuan to appoint him as the marching director of Lingzhou Road.
Li Shan calculated with his fingers that Liang Shi had captured the three states in Guanzhong and his power had greatly increased. Li Shenfu and Duan Decao were defeated, and there were not many people with the qualifications and reputation to take over.
Li Jing and Li Daozong were far away in Hedong, Ren Gui was still in the Central Plains, Li Shan was serving as Secretary of Agriculture, and the unemployed King of Qin Li Shimin.
The Liang army defeated the Tang army, which was a tragedy for the Tang Dynasty itself, but objectively speaking, it was not necessarily a bad thing for Li Shimin.
Li Shan was not willing to mess with Li Shimin's affairs... In the plan, Li Shimin was planning to take action after the defeat of that good-for-nothing Li Shenfu.
Thirdly, Li Shan himself is really unwilling to take over. On the one hand, it is because Su Dingfang is not around this time. On the other hand, he has doubts about the combat effectiveness of Guanzhong's soldiers. Now that the empire has been decided, a considerable number of soldiers are still stationed.
Jianghuai and all over the Central Plains, those are the elites of the Tang Dynasty who conquered the world.
From what Li Shan has seen with his own eyes in the past few months, it is difficult for the Guanzhong Prefecture Army to compare with the Daizhou Army he formed two years ago. In terms of equipment, horses, ordnance, and morale, they all lag behind.
few.
The fourth thing that gives Li Shan the most headache is the Zhang Wenguan brothers.
A few days ago, Chang Da, the general manager of Longzhou, sent Zhang Shilong to lead his army northward. Huating County was now the front line, and Zhang Wenxi, as the commander of Huating, could not abandon the city and escape under any circumstances.
However, the relationship between the Zhang brothers and Li Shan was extremely close. Not to mention friendship, not to mention being in-laws. Even if Zhang Wenxi became an official, he should not be able to directly control a county. It was Li Shan who through his good friend Yang Siyi and his father Yang Gongren, who was the Secretary of the Zhongshu Ling and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
After saying hello, Zhang Wenxi was able to serve as an official in Huating.
To put it bluntly, Zhang Wenxi was almost sent to the sword by Li Shan... although he had good intentions.
On this day, the left and right Qianniu Guards suffered heavy losses outside Renshou Palace. When Su Dingfang, Hou Junji, and Niu Jinda were among the famous generals in history, Zhang Wenguan appeared in the valley.
"Brother Huairen, brother Huairen!"
Before his horse could stop, Zhang Wenguan had already rolled off his horse, staggered and almost pounced on Li Shan, "Huating is defeated!"
With a gloomy face, Li Shan used both hands to help Zhang Wenguan up, "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious!"
"Bring water."
Zhang Wenguan, whose head and face were covered with loess, took the cup and drank it all in one gulp, but he suddenly choked. The water flowing out of the corner of his mouth was mixed with loess, and his face was immediately covered with mud stains.
"Speak slowly and carefully."
After a heartbreaking cough, Zhang Wenguan calmed down a little and said: "General manager, don't lead your troops to the north three days ago. We fought several times with each other winning or losing. Yesterday afternoon, the Liang army retreated. Don't lead Zhang Shilong."
He led his troops in pursuit and was ambushed. He was defeated and died. Liang Jun attacked Huating again."
"The general manager had no choice but to send his personal guards back to Qianyuan County to ask for help. My younger brother came with him and asked His Highness to send troops."
Zhang Wenguan was choked with sobs and suddenly knelt on the ground, "Your Highness!"
"Get up!" Li Shan shouted softly: "You and I, brothers, are best friends in this life, do we call each other this way?"
Zhang Wenguan tried his best to break away from Li Shan's hand, "How can I compare with Brother Demou?"
Among the children from aristocratic families who have the best friendship with Li Shan, Li Kai and Wang Renbiao both became friends with Li Shanshang when he was unknown, and both played a more or less role in Li Shan's rise.
.
Without Li Kai, it would have been difficult to say how Li Shan would have ended without Guo Pu and others to protect him in Shandong.
Last year, after Li Shansan defeated the Turks, became famous all over the world, and was crowned the county king, Li Kai once called Li Shan "Your Highness" because of his uncle Li Jing. Li Shan was angry because of this, and then retreated slightly, and hired the daughter of the Li family in Longxi for Su Dingfang.
, the two of them recovered as before, and their friendship became even stronger.
But Zhang Wenguan was different. Although they had a close friendship, he almost died in Wucheng. At the critical moment, Li Shan sent Su Dingfang to lead his troops to break through the city, and Zhang Wenguan survived.
Zhang Wenguan was not stupid. After all, decades later in history, he would reach the position of prime minister. He was vaguely aware that Li Kai knew more than him and had a deeper relationship. There were many factors involved in Li Shan's concession to Li Jing, but he and Li Kai had a deeper relationship.
The friendship between Li Kai and Li Kai obviously also plays a large role.
"Needless to say." Li Shan increased his strength again and pulled Zhang Wenguan up forcefully, "You and I have been friends for a long time, are you going to watch helplessly?"
"Wang Junhao, Zhang Zhongjian!"
"exist."
"exist."
"All troops, war horses, ordnance, and rations must be prepared." Li Shan's face was as cold as frost, "I will set off at any time as ordered."
Supporting Zhang Wenguan, who was about to bow down and express gratitude again, Li Shan asked in a low voice: "Tell me about the battle in detail... I asked, please tell me."
First pouring a glass of water for Zhang Wenguan, Li Shan slowly sat down and told himself in his heart that whenever there is a big event, he needs to calm down first.
Since you can't escape, you can only face the difficulty and retreat... It's always just a strategy.
Li Shan traveled to this era, but still maintained the nature of his previous life. When faced with difficulties, his first choice was never to retreat!
"Liang Jun's strength?"
The first question Li Shan asked was the most important. According to Li Shan's prediction, Liang Jun was unlikely to use all his strength to attack Longzhou.
"About two to three thousand, most of them are cavalry." Zhang Wenguan recalled: "There are also some Hu people among them, but they should not be Turks... because they all obey the orders of the Liang Army generals."
Li Shan nodded slightly. Master Liang was attached to the Turks. To put it bluntly, he was a dog raised by the Ashina clan. Only dogs have always relied on human power. The owner would not let the dog ride on his neck to dominate.
The Turkic civil strife should not be calmed down so soon. From this point of view, Liang Shidu's invasion this time was probably his own decision, not the Turks' plan... Li Shan felt relieved a little. If the Turks came, he would also
I can only run away.
"Is it possible for Huating County to hold on?"
"Don't let Zhang Shilong lead 3,000 Tang troops in pursuit. The ambush troops were defeated and killed. The remaining soldiers who escaped were only three or four hundred. Including the defenders in the city, the total was more than a thousand." Zhang Wenguan sighed: "But the morale is low and the strength of the troops is greatly reduced.
At the end of the day, we can only defend the city while Liang Jun attacks with all his strength..."
Obviously, Zhang Wenguan is not very optimistic about how long Huating County can hold on.
Li Shan repeatedly calculated in his mind that Liang Jun only had two or three thousand men, which was not a large number. If there were no follow-up troops, it should be just a tentative attack. It's a pity that Chang Da and Zhang Shilong are two losers!
Yang Ze mentioned before that Zhang Shilong served as General Ying Yanglang in the Sui Dynasty before Zhang Shilong. Liang Shidu raised an army that year, and the first Sui Dynasty general he defeated was Zhang Shilong... This time, not only was he defeated again, he even lost his life.
Filled in.
Although his bodyguard only has 300 cavalry, they are all absolutely elite. Most of them have experienced last year's war. There is no shortage of armor, good horses, and Tang crossbows. Zhang Shigui once mentioned that the combat power of these bodyguards is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty.
What is the difference between the black armor cavalry of Tiance Mansion?
Zhang Zhongjian selected 400 elites from the young men who came to surrender from Hou Chen. Most of them were veterans who had been on the battlefield. They were equipped with war horses and ordnance, but not much armor. After all, ordinary soldiers may not have them, even if they did.
It has been passed down from generation to generation. A few months ago, these people were refugees.
Of course it is impossible.
There were quite a few leather armors, but among the invading Liang army there were many barbarians who were good at riding and shooting, so the defensive power of the leather armor might not be enough.
But after all, the seven hundred cavalry are not a weak force in Longzhou today. As long as Liang Jun does not invade in large numbers, Li Shan feels that as long as they do not advance rashly, they can at least break the siege of Huating. After all, in terms of cavalry strength,
Liang Jun did not have much superior strength and could not compete with Tang Qi.
But if Huating falls... Li Shan glanced at Zhang Wenguan and tried to snatch Zhang Wenxi out if possible, but if he didn't have the chance, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops to Liyuan County and wait for reinforcements.
Just as he was thinking of this, Zhu Ba quietly came in from outside the door and said, "Mr. Lang, Chief Shi Yang Ze is here to visit."
"Let him come in." Li Shan raised his eyebrows. The army was defeated, and Yang Ze couldn't sit still... After all, unlike himself, Yang Ze had the responsibility to defend the territory.
Yang Ze came in a hurry, and his first words were, "Your Highness wants to lead his troops north?"
"That's right." Li Shan nodded and said, "Sinong Qing went out to inspect Longzhou and only brought his bodyguard to the north. He doesn't need your permission, right?"
Yang Ze was stunned, and then he saluted and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"I have already made it clear that I am doing things for the public and not for personal gain." Li Shan sighed, "But this time I went north, one for Huating and the other for my friends, but in fact I took advantage of my own interests."
Yang Ze glanced at Zhang Wenguan on the side, guessing in his mind who this person was.
After the report of Liang Jun's defeat of Lingzhou came, Chang Da summoned an army of government troops in Longzhou, totaling more than 5,000 people, of which 1,000 were stationed in Huating County, the northern gateway of Longzhou. Changda and Zhang Shilong then went north with 3,000 troops.
Now there are only more than a thousand troops left in Liyuan County.
These troops may not be able to defend the city. If the entire army goes north and is defeated by Liang Jun, the entire Longzhou is likely to fall quickly, and by then it will be a big deal.
Yang Ze knew this, and Li Shan also understood it, so he never thought of taking Yang Ze with him to the north.
But in Yang Ze's opinion, as far as the current situation is concerned, the safest choice is to stick to Qianyuan County. Even if Huating is lost, it can delay Liang Jun's speed, and reinforcements from Qizhou, Jingzhao and other places should arrive soon.
Just arrived.
Of course, the most advantageous thing is to quickly go north to relieve Huating and repel the Liang army, but this is also the most risky choice. The King of Handan led his guards to go north. Although he said it was for his friends, if he didn't have the courage, how could he dare to do it?
Of?
Thinking of this, Yang Ze saluted again, "But please give me your orders, Your Highness."
"Since we are not going to fight, try to send us as many armors as possible." Li Shan thought for a while, "Please prepare more horses, spears, crossbows, and war horses."
Try to give the personal guards an extra layer of defense, more spare ordnance, and even more horses, which may be used at critical moments. This is Li Shan's habit. Try to think more before the war and be more prepared.
Last year, we were able to hold on to Guji Town in the battle. The crossbows and crossbows played a big role, and the barbican city also played a key role. After that, Li Shan seized the army and went north. The horses gathered in the previous year or two also played a decisive role.
Yang Ze agreed one by one and immediately sent his men back to the city to prepare.
"Lingzhou, Huizhou, and Yuanzhou have fallen, and the king of Xiangyi and the princes of Pingyuan County do not know whether they are alive or dead. Your Majesty should send generals to lead the war, and troops from Qizhou, Jingzhao, and other states will quickly come to rescue." Li Shan instructed:
"There is no need to go to war, just stick to Qianyuan. If the Liang army attacks, just gather the villagers into the city and wait for reinforcements."
Yang Ze nodded, "Your Majesty is at Renshou Palace... He may use His Majesty to control the armies. I would like to ask Your Majesty not to take any risks when heading north this time."
Yang Ze was really worried. This young prince became famous all over the world in just a few years, but looking at his resume, he defeated the enemy in Hebei, attacked the camp on a snowy night, recruited Yuan Junzhang, pursued overnight, defeated the Turks three times, and even rode alone.
When charging into battle, every time it is a desperate attempt to survive.
Li Shanchang smiled and said: "That day in the Liangyi Palace, Gu Zeng told the Turkic envoy that he wanted to see how much better Jieli was than his son!"
"Let's see if Master Liang is better than Liu Heita and Yuan Junzhang this time!"
"Liu Heitai swept through Hebei twice, Yuan Junzhang held Mayi for several years, and Liang Shi was just one of a kind. How can we compare with these two people?" Zhang Wenguan, who had calmed down, said loudly: "Your Highness's military power.
At first he appeared in Shandong, and later he conquered Shuo Dynasty. The whole country of Jieli Khan came to attack Shang and fled in embarrassment. The name of the King of Handan resounded throughout the grassland, and he will definitely defeat the enemy!"
"Zhigui is right!" Li Shan said this, but he was complaining in his heart, he is so good at bragging for me!
So many times before, each time I only focused on the general strategy, and the specific leader was Su Dingfang, but this time...
By three quarters in the afternoon, all the guards were well fed, and armor, weapons, crossbows, and dry food were all ready. Yang Ze personally brought more than a hundred spare war horses and various kinds of ordnance.
Turning on the horse, Li Shan's eyes swept from the faces of Zhao Da and Zhu Ba beside him, and then to Zhang Zhongjian, Wang Junhao, Qu Silang, Hou Chen, He Fang and others. The combat effectiveness and loyalty of the three hundred personal guards were not needed.
Doubtful, the key is whether the four hundred young men Hou Chen has can be used.
"This time when we go north, I will lead the troops myself."
Li Shan loudly said: "Zhang Sanlang and Wang Junhao are the two leaders. No matter who disobeys military orders or is timid before the battle, they will be beheaded!"
Although Zhang Zhongjian and Wang Junhao are nominally the commander-in-chief, in fact Zhang Zhongjian is the commander-in-chief.
Li Shan thought to himself, this time we have to see what the leader of the Three Fengchen Heroes is like!