Chai Zhewei stood in the cold wind and bitter snow, still unable to accept the current defeat, and he was a little lost. He knew what consequences he would face if he was defeated. Not only was he likely to be buried here, but most importantly, "Duke Qiao"
His title will also be taken away by the imperial court with his defeat.
Because no matter whether the final winner is the crown prince or Guan Long, it will definitely not be King Jing Li Yuanjing. And he will be destined to be classified as a "rebellion", and even the fiefdom passed down by his mother will be recovered and taken away by the court...
…
Li Yuanjing led the defeated soldiers to Chai Zhewei in embarrassment. When he saw Chai Zhewei sitting on his horse with a confused look on his face, he didn't know how to adjust the army to cope with the upcoming enemy charge. He immediately became angry and shouted: "The enemy
The charge is imminent, shouldn't Duke Qiao follow the example of Marquis Huaiyin and fight against the odds, turning defeat into victory?"
Although he lacked military strategy, he had read several military books and knew the examples of "a last-ditch battle". He felt that there was a strong enemy in front of him and the situation with the Weishui River at his back was very suitable. Since the Marquis of Huaiyin was able to form a formation with his back against the water and risk his death.
Later generations, with more than 10,000 Han troops, defeated King Zhao's 200,000 soldiers and horses, then it may not be possible to imitate the ancients and turn defeat into victory.
At the very least, although the army is defeated now, there are still tens of thousands of troops, which are on par with the Youtun Guards. If they are well organized and defended, there is a great chance...
Chai Zhewei looked at Li Yuanjing as if he was an idiot, and said coldly: "Does the prince think that the Youtun Guards are not as good as the 200,000 rabble of King Zhao back then, or does he think that the final general can be compared to the Marquis of Huaiyin who determined the country?"
He felt so regretful now that he wished he could go back in time and make a new decision to join Guan Long. Even being a loyal minister and guarding the Xuanwu Gate honestly was a meritorious service. How could he have reached the current desperate situation? Therefore, he hated Li Yuanjing.
Full of satisfaction, I felt that it was Li Yuanjing's bewitchment that made him take this step, but the result was a complete failure.
I thought of taking a chance, but ended up losing everything. The anger in my heart is evident...
Li Yuanjing was stunned for a moment. When he saw the fierce light in Chai Zhewei's eyes, his heart trembled. He knew that Chai Zhewei had become timid and couldn't do anything at the moment. He hurriedly said: "Victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. Although it was a failure this time, it is not possible."
There is no need to worry, you can forcefully cross the Wei River to gather troops. As long as I ask for help from the princes and princes of the clan, I will surely be able to gather tens of thousands of soldiers and horses again, and the outcome of the comeback is unknown!"
Although Zuo Tunwei is defeated now, there are still tens of thousands of soldiers left, and their strength is still good. Without the help of Zuo Tunwei, it is absolutely impossible to capture Xuanwu Gate and achieve great things with the strength of the royal family kings alone. At this point, not only
Not only did he have no way to retreat, but also the princes and princes in the clan who supported him had no way to retreat. Otherwise, no matter which side wins, the prince or Guan Long, they will be attacked.
In the past, those princes and princes still reserved their strength and refused to lend him more troops and horses, but now that they have reached this stage, they can no longer help him.
There are many remnants of the Zuotun Guard, plus the royal troops and horses. After reorganizing the army and waiting for an opportunity to fight again, it may not be impossible to turn defeat into victory. After all, the main battlefield is still outside the imperial city. The sixth rate of the East Palace is fighting fiercely with the Guanlong rebels.
He may not be able to tell the winner for a while, but as long as he can spot the right opportunity, he still has a lot to do.
But if Chai Zhewei backs off and completely retreats due to fear in his heart, that will be troublesome...
Chai Zhewei's eyes flashed and his thoughts whirled.
At this point, he has no retreat. A charge of treason is enough to cause him to be dismissed from office and seize the title. His body will be in a different place. The most unacceptable thing is that his title will be taken away. Then he will become a sinner of the Chai family, and future generations will complain about it.
cast aside!
It's just that if he runs away in embarrassment now, he may escape with his life, but the loss of his troops will greatly weaken his strength. If he wants to help King Jing to seize military power after he ascends the throne, as he had imagined before, it is absolutely impossible, because he will support King Jing
After ascending to the throne, he becomes a supporter, his status is completely different, and his power will naturally be withheld.
But then I thought about it, even if he couldn't seize more power, there was still some hope of achieving something. Otherwise, no matter whether he went to the Crown Prince or Guan Long at the moment, no one would care...
After weighing the trade-offs, he could only swallow his complaints and nodded slowly, saying: "What the prince said is true. This defeat is really unprepared. In the end, there will be chaos. I am willing to obey the prince's dispatch."
Li Yuanjing was very worried. He was afraid that after Chai Zhewei's defeat, in order to seek forgiveness from the prince or Guan Longzhi, he would suddenly use his own head to plead guilty. At present, Chai Zhewei's attitude had obviously lost control. He changed his previous strong attitude and was willing to
To depend on oneself is to lose something and gain something in the east.
After all, Zuotunwei still has 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers. After reorganizing, its combat strength cannot be underestimated...
In the distance, the Youtun Guards have been assembled, and the armored cavalry are also taking a rest, and they are about to launch an offensive. Li Yuanjing said: "Without further delay, please also ask the Duke of Qiao to mobilize the army quickly. Let us forcefully cross the Weishui River and regroup."
.”
Chai Zhewei was speechless.
Although the Wei River is not frozen, it is just because of its rapid flow and the water temperature is definitely not low. If the soldiers were allowed to swim across the water in such a cold weather, they would probably get cramps from the cold and would not be able to swim normally if they entered the water.
They will exhaust their strength and be swept away by the current. Only one person out of ten who successfully crosses the river will survive...
He had no intention of looking down on Li Yuanjing, and pointed to the upstream direction and said: "After the last general leads his army, the prince can go upstream first and reach the Zhongwei Bridge to cross the river. The last general will arrive soon after."
Li Yuanjing couldn't help but frown.
Above the Wei River, there are three large bridges, usually called the East Wei Bridge, the Middle Wei Bridge, and the West Wei Bridge. The most famous of them is the West Wei Bridge. When His Majesty Li Er ascended the throne, Jieli Khan led the wolf cavalry and drove straight across.
After arriving in Guanzhong, His Majesty Li Er was forced to make an alliance with Jieli Khan here, leaving behind the allusion of the "Wei River Alliance". The Zhongwei Bridge is located on the Wei River in the north of Chang'an City. The bridge is six feet wide and three hundred and eighty feet from north to south.
It has ten steps, sixty-eight bays, seven hundred and fifty columns, and one hundred and twenty-two beams. It is very majestic and strong. However, it is currently under the control of the Guanlong rebels. There must be guards guarding the bridge.
If you want to cross the river from now on, you will have to fight hand to hand with the rebels, which may not be any easier than staying behind.
However, since Chai Zhewei expressed his willingness to lead the army to the rear, this was more dangerous after all. Li Yuanjing thought that he couldn't just snatch the rear from Chai Zhewei, right?
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "That's very good!"
Immediately he led his royal troops and horses, reorganized them, and went upstream along the banks of the Weishui River, heading straight for the Zhongwei Bridge.
Chai Zhewei also gathered his troops and slowly retreated towards the Zhongwei Bridge, while trying to resist the imminent charge from the Right Guards.
*****
In the Shujing Hall, the bronze incense burner on the carved lacquer table is bright in color and simple in shape. A wisp of sandalwood rises and slowly disperses. The light fragrance fills the hall, making people meditate, relax and happy.
Outside the bright glass window, a thin dead branch stretched out diagonally from the corner of the wall, with clusters of pale pink plum blossoms dotting it, blooming in the cold weather.
Princess Changle put on a crimson palace dress, her hair was neatly tied into a bun, her long and snow-white neck was shining brightly, her pretty face was calm and peaceful, and she was sitting on her knees
In front of a coffee table, he was making tea with an elegant posture.
He just moved his eyes away from the tea set in his hand and focused on a pair of snow-white and delicate feet under the coffee table opposite. He was immediately unhappy and scolded softly: "It's freezing out here, why don't you always wear socks? There are no rules.
That’s all, it’s said that all diseases arise from the soles of the feet. If they go up to the meridians and organs and cause diseases all over the body, you may cry!”
Princess Jinyang, who was sitting obediently on her knees opposite her, disagreed. She moved her slender joints playfully twice and raised her graceful eyebrows slightly: "You and I are the only two sisters here, so what rules do we need? Naturally, it is best to be more comfortable.
Besides, this burning earth dragon will cause you to get cold."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hands to take the tea cup handed by Princess Changle, held it up to his lips, blew in the hot air, and took a shallow sip. The hot tea went down his throat and into his stomach, leaving a fragrant aroma on his teeth and cheeks.
Then he smiled and praised: "The tea brewed by my sister is delicious!"
Princess Changle glared at her angrily, took a sip from her teacup, and asked curiously: "There are people fighting to death outside, and the imperial city is besieged. Why are you not afraid at all?"
The rebels besieged the imperial city, and the roar of firearms was endless. Not only the chamberlains in the palace, but also the maids were panicking and trembling. Even the concubines were nervous and fearful, fearing that the imperial city would be lost and the rebels would swarm in.
.
The war is in chaos, and it is difficult to restrain the rebels. If they become violent after attacking the imperial city, it will be an irreversible disaster...