Chapter 1647 The story of Li Shimin and the substitute
"Yes, the north is worthy of our attack now, and the only places connected to Guanzhong are Luoyang and the two nearby counties." Li Shimin nodded slightly, expressing satisfaction that Duan Zhixuan could think of this so quickly.
"Sir, here in Hanzhong City, some troops led by humble officials are holding back Cheng Yaojin and Xu Shiji. You can free up your hands, sir, to raid Wang Shichong of Luoyang."
Li Shimin did not answer Duan Zhixuan's question, but asked himself: "How many troops do we still have in the city now, and how many troops are hidden outside the city?"
"There are still nearly 40,000 people in the city, and there are still 30,000 people hidden in the mountains of the Qinling Mountains. They are all the most skilled warriors and elite soldiers." Duan Zhixuan immediately replied.
Li Shimin gritted his teeth with a distressed look on his face and said: "I have laid out the plan for so many years, hiding troops and training everywhere. These 30,000 men and horses in the Qinling Mountains are the last ones. If we want more men and horses in the future, we can only get them from my father in Chang'an."
Duan Zhixuan immediately expressed his position: "Master, don't worry. After fighting this battle, I will seize the time to train new soldiers for you."
"Let's talk about this later." Li Shimin sighed: "Tomorrow I will lead 15,000 people out of the city and fight Xu Shiji outside the south gate of the city. At that time, I will attract the main force of Wagang camp. You seize the opportunity.
Lead the other troops to evacuate from the north, and after reuniting with the 30,000 troops in the Qinling Mountains, they will attack Luoyang as quickly as possible."
Duan Zhixuan hesitated for a moment, then said: "Sir, with only fifteen thousand troops left here, how can you possibly defeat Wagang Camp, let alone delay..."
Li Shimin didn't wait for him to finish speaking, waved his hand to interrupt him, and said solemnly: "For Xu Shiji, being here with me is equivalent to the decapitation of one hundred thousand people. Xu Shiji now only has 40,000 people outside the city."
There are more than 10,000 people, including more than 10,000 barbarian cavalry, so it is not difficult to hold them back."
"In short, if Xu Shiji wants to kill me and has made great achievements in front of Wang Junlin, I will send him to kill me. As long as you can capture Luoyang and the two surrounding counties, with Luoyang's importance and special status, I will have
I have enough confidence to go back to the Great Wall and do something, otherwise if I just escape from Sichuan and Sichuan back to Chang'an, I'm afraid it won't be possible."
When Li Shimin said these words, he seemed to be indifferent, but the pressure was actually not small, because if he lost again this time, he would not only lose troops and generals, but he would also lose a lot within the Li Yuan Group.
Duan Zhixuan did not give up and continued to persuade: "Master, this is too risky for you..."
"Don't worry, I'm not my eldest brother and Yuan Ji, who were captured alive or forced into a desperate situation. At the critical moment, I will let everyone stop me." Li Shimin said calmly but resolutely.
"But, Master..."
"I have made up my mind. You don't need to say any more. Go down and start preparations according to my instructions! Changsun Wuji will also follow you there. After you capture Luoyang, you will be in charge of military affairs. Changsun Wuji will be responsible for civil affairs."
"I know that I know you, sir. Please take care of yourself. I will conquer Luoyang and build momentum for you!"
Duan Zhixuan left with high fighting spirit and deep worry.
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Xu Shiji was greatly surprised that Li Shimin actually led his troops out to fight in the field. While he was wary, he naturally would not show weakness and let the nearly 20,000 Xi barbarian cavalry take charge of the other three directions. He led an army of more than 20,000 watts to fight with Li Shimin.
Do battle.
Xu Shiji saw very clearly through the telescope that Li Shimin was deep in the enemy's rear, but he was standing on the command tower. Under the platform, flag bearers and drummers were in position to convey Li Shimin's instructions, with his back to Hanzhong City. The troops were dispatched in a tense and orderly manner, waiting for the arrival of the Wagang Camp troops led by Xu Shiji.
Li Shimin knew that this would be a tough battle to deliver food. These fifteen thousand infantrymen were originally destined to die. Fortunately, after some encouragement from him, their morale was very good. Although they were not considered dead soldiers, they were almost there. .
Shen Guang was not with Xu Shiji. He led two hundred spies from the Military Intelligence Agency to watch the battle on a nearby hillside. When he looked down, he saw that the battlefield was a large open plain.
On the plain, two huge military formations were constantly being mobilized. Not far from the feet of Shen Guang and his party, there was a huge Wagang camp military formation.
In addition to the more than 10,000 Wagang camp infantry who also lined up in battle formation, Cheng Yaojin led a group of cavalry who were ready to charge at any time.
Under the command of Li Shimin, the 15,000 men of the Li Family Army were lined up with spearmen, almost all of them in iron armor, and lined up in infantry and spear formations.
War drums and horns sounded almost simultaneously on both sides.
Shen Guang saw arrows shooting across the sky, and the field battle between the two sides, mainly infantry, began.
"Li Shimin has suffered defeat at the hands of our Far Eastern Army not once or twice. It is impossible not to know that our Far Eastern Army's infantry battle formation is unrivaled in the world. So he has only one purpose, and that is to escape."
"So, we stand in this place, with the best view, and our mission is one, to stare at Li Shimin."
Shen Guang gave an order, and two hundred and one people, including him, picked up their telescopes and stared at Li Shimin's figure.
Not long after Shen Guang finished speaking these words, sure enough, the infantry phalanx of the Li Family Army was clearly at a disadvantage in the battle with the infantry phalanx of the Far East Army.
The Far Eastern Army infantry phalanx, under the command of Xu Shiji, began to advance step by step after the first round of fighting, suppressing the infantry phalanx of the Li family army and constantly retreating.
However, this marching speed is very slow. The infantry of the Wagang Battalion must maintain a dense formation of spears during the slow march in order to always maintain the absolute advantage and upper hand on the battlefield.
Fortunately, the right wing of the Li Jiajun, that is, the front half of the side where Shen Guang and his party are currently located, has a very steep slope. So far, the infantry square formation of the Wagang Camp has only relied on the vanguard gun formation in the front, and has nothing to do with the Li Jiajun. The contact area of the infantry battle formation is limited, otherwise if someone is killed on the side and causes trouble, the Li family's army will soon be defeated.
With the fierce fighting, the range of the battle formations of both sides became larger and larger, and the battlefield began to expand. Only arrows were seen in the sky, fighting shook the sky, and the ranks surged like a surging tide. Although it seemed Chaos, but actually everything has its own rules and regulations.
At this moment, Li Shimin showed extremely excellent ability in arranging troops and commanding the battle.
But at this time, Li Shimin saw that his men and horses were at a disadvantage from the beginning, and were pushed back while fighting. He couldn't help but reach out and pat his forehead, and sighed.
Of course he knew that it was extremely stupid to leave the camp to fight in the field with the Far Eastern Army. Facing the Far Eastern Army, only defending the city could ensure fewer casualties than the Far Eastern Army.
But there is no other way. Who told him to escape from Hanzhong City? In his opinion,
Everyone can die, but you can never die.
Only by pulling people out of the city could he break the siege and escape in the chaos.
"Young Master, General Duan has led nearly 30,000 cavalry out of the north city gate, leaving behind 5,000 dead men to entangle the barbarian cavalry to intercept and lead the main force to evacuate smoothly." A man with a dirty face could not even see. The handsome soldiers came from the city and reported to Li Shimin in a low voice.
"Very good." When Li Shimin said this, he raised his right hand and made a very obscure gesture.
Then more than a dozen messengers around him stepped forward, waving flags, and carried out various orders.
And coincidentally, these dozen order soldiers just blocked Li Shimin and the soldier next to him with a dirty face.
On the hillside in the distance, Shen Guang and his group of more than 200 people suddenly couldn't see Li Shimin clearly through the binoculars.
And behind the Wagang camp battle formation, Xu Shiji's telescope on the command platform could not see Li Shimin clearly.
However, whether it was Shen Guang or Xu Shiji, they immediately arranged for people to keep an eye on the wooden stairs on both sides of the command tower where Li Shimin was. As long as they saw that Li Shimin did not come down from the command tower, there would be no problem.
Li Shimin looked at the messengers standing around him who were standing at their predetermined positions and waving flags. He twisted his neck and stretched his body. Then he looked at the only soldier left with a dirty face. He ordered: "The time is up, let's get started."
Without saying a word, the soldier immediately knelt down and began to take off his clothes.
Li Shimin also began to squat down and began to take off his clothes.
The soldiers of the Li Army who were fighting below would never know that on the command tower behind them, their commander-in-chief, the Second Young Master of the Tang Dynasty, was secretly taking off his clothes with a male soldier.
"Young Master, the villain has been waiting for this day for four years. When the villain was rescued by the young master, the young master discovered that the villain and the young master looked 60 or 70% similar, so the villain was taken by the young master with him. It's delicious. It's delicious to keep. I know that I am a substitute for the young master, but my substitute has never worked. Today it finally worked. I am very happy." The soldier put Li Shimin's clothes on himself. Wearing it, he said excitedly.
"As long as you are happy, I am afraid that you will die and be unhappy." Li Shimin said with a smile.
"Sir, the black mud and dirt on the villain's face will be smeared on your face. Please bear with me, sir."
"It's okay, just apply it!"
"Ugh...what's smeared on your face? Why does it smell so bad? Your clothes haven't been washed for a long time. I can feel the lice beating."
"Sir, please be patient. You have a foul odor and lice. If something unexpected happens, no one will doubt your identity."
"You're right, kid, so take off your underwear too!"
"Sir, the villain's inner lining is really dirty, and it's close-fitting, so this isn't good!"
"If there's anything wrong, take it off quickly! Your young master, I'm not a person who can't bear hardships. Besides, I can't do it without changing my lining! Have you ever seen an ordinary soldier whose lining is still made of fine silk? If If I accidentally fall down or if my outer armor is worn, the silk lining inside will leak out, I will be exposed and my work will be defeated."