There was a dead silence in the palace, and every official, from Li Shimin to Dugu Changsu, looked extremely ugly.
Because following the tragic defeat to Xu Shiji in the Zhixuan field battle on the west section, the fall of Tongguan in the east, the surrender of 100,000 elite troops to the enemy, and the loss of the two counties, news of even more disastrous defeats has just come from the south.
First, Luoyang City and two surrounding counties were lost, and the army suffered heavy losses. Then, the news that the entire army of 100,000 people in Upper Luo City and Lower Luo City was annihilated has just been sent to the palace.
"The three-pronged army lost eight counties and more than 100,000 horses in just two months, and even more than 100,000 horses surrendered to the enemy, hahaha..." Li Shimin said this with a tragic face, and suddenly
With a wild smile on his face, "Is that Wang Junlin really the son of destiny?"
All the civil and military officials below lowered their heads and did not dare to say a word. Many people's expressions changed, their eyes flashed, but they already had other ideas.
There is no way, everyone is seeking profit. Although Li Shimin has a strong personality and charm, he can always make people die for him, but most of them are military generals and middle- and lower-level officials, important ministers who can go to the palace, especially those civil servants who are some old foxes.
Maybe he is really loyal to Li Shimin.
The situation is now very clear. No matter what the reason is, the Tang army is obviously no match for the Da'an army, unless the Da'an army makes successive mistakes, or someone on the Tang army can turn the tide.
Otherwise, it will only be a matter of time before the Tang Dynasty collapses.
It's just that the emperor of Da'an Kingdom, Wang Junlin, is the most capable of creating miracles in the world. Over the years, the ten legions from the Far East Army to Da'an Kingdom have already proven their invincible combat power in war after war.
In short, if you want the king to come or make mistakes in Da'an's army, this is undoubtedly hoping for gold to fall from the sky - wishful thinking.
Under normal circumstances in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Shimin was actually a wise man and had the ability to turn the tide. Unfortunately, he had only given birth to the people, so how could Li Shimin turn the tide with the existence of Wang Junlin?
But Dugu Changsu was different, because he had a deadly feud with Wang Junlin, but he had no room for maneuver. At this time, he could only bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, we still have 100,000 elite soldiers in Chang'an City, plus the three sides
There are 400,000 elite soldiers to defend against the enemy army, and Black Wind Pass has not been lost."
"Your Majesty, we still have a chance to make a comeback!"
When Li Shimin heard this, he sighed, but he also calmed down. He glanced across the audience and saw the expressions on some people's faces. However, he already knew that some officials in the court could no longer be trusted, so he asked Dugu Changsu and a few other confidants.
The important ministers stayed behind and drove away the others.
At this time, a chamberlain came in to report that it was the Imperial Preceptor who wanted to see him. Li Shimin's expression perked up and he said, "Let the Imperial Preceptor come in quickly."
Puppet No. 1 wearing an iron mask entered the Tai Chi Hall. After taking his seat, Li Shimin said: "I just received the news that Wang Junlin has arrived in Luoyang in person. Imperial Master, I wonder if you can assassinate Wang Junlin. Da'an will be in chaos by then.
, our Tang State can not only retreat the enemy, but also take the opportunity to capture a large area of Da'an State's territory."
Puppet No. 1 pondered for a while, then shook his head and said: "Wang Junlin has Nie Xiaoyu following him all the time. Even I can't assassinate him."
Li Shimin looked disappointed, but he had already expected the answer to Puppet No. 1. After all, Puppet No. 1 had taken the initiative to assassinate Wang Junlin a few years ago, but he did not come back injured.
Li Shimin asked the question out of luck. After receiving the affirmative answer from Puppet No. 1, he gave up completely. Even with his state of mind, a look of despair appeared on his face at this time.
There is no way, facing Da'an's army and facing Wang Junlin, Li Shimin feels it is too difficult...
In his opinion, if he wanted to come back and win, he would have to die unless Wang Junlin died.
At this moment, Li Changfeng, the chief officer of the Tang State intelligence organization Dark Eagle Guard, strode in to report: "Your Majesty, there is news from Xiao Yu that he and Tiangu have led the 30,000 elite troops of the Huzhao tribe to pieces.
, sneaking all the way from the south and gathering in the deep mountains of the Qinling Mountains, ready to carry out sneak attacks on the enemy at any time according to His Majesty's orders."
Li Shimin perked up after hearing this. This was the only good news. Although these 30,000 elite soldiers were really too few, they were an ambush force that Wang Junlin didn't know about. If used well, maybe
It will have miraculous effects and may become a glimmer of hope for yourself.
Tongguan City, the east gate that can block foreign enemies, and Luoyang, the strongest city in the world, have both been conquered by the Da'an army. The Black Wind in the west
Guancheng was again bypassed by the army led by Xu Shiji.
It can be said that, except for Chang'an City, the most difficult places in the Tang Kingdom have been swallowed up by Da'an Kingdom, and they have also been swallowed and digested into the stomach.
If nothing unexpected happens, there really won’t be much suspense about the upcoming battle.
And Li Shimin is worthy of being the son of destiny, with an extremely determined will. Even under such circumstances, he is still trying his best to find a chance to make a comeback.
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On October 15, Xu Shiji cut off the retreat at Heifeng Pass, the west gate of the Tang Dynasty. Shangguan Hu led the army to besiege it and turned it into an isolated city. Two and a half months later, the secret masters of the Ping An Mansion in Heifeng Pass sneaked into Liangcao
A fire set fire to the grain and grass in the warehouse, but the defenders failed to rescue and extinguish the fire. Most of the grain and grass were burned down, and the remaining grain was not enough for the army to last for half a month.
Shangguan Hu sent an envoy to persuade him to surrender, but the guard general was Li Shimin's closest confidant and refused to surrender.
However, a mutiny eventually broke out in Heifengguan City. The general and his close men were jointly killed by several subordinates. The city gate was opened from the inside of Heifengguan City. After the internal and external cooperation, Heifengguan was easily captured by Shangguan Hu.
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News of the Heifeng Pass mutiny and surrender reached Chang'an. Li Shimin was so angry that he vomited blood again. The Tang state, which had just been established less than three years ago, suddenly became even more shaky.
On November 1, Qin Qiong ordered Pei Yuanqing to lead 100,000 troops to besiege Shangluo County, where Chai Shao was defending. He and Luo Shixin personally led 100,000 troops to attack Jingzhao Mansion. They passed seven counties along the way and surrendered directly.
At the same time, Xu Shiji captured Xianyang City, and the defender Duan Zhixuan was killed at the top of the city. The forward of the army was less than a hundred miles away from Chang'an City.
In the south, the southern army led by Li Jing was even more successful, because Changsun Wuji had already buried the main elite troops outside Shangluo City, and there were no big cities or passes from Shangluo City to Chang'an City. Li Jing led the troops directly to the territory of Jingzhao Prefecture.
, but Changsun Wuji escaped very quickly, and finally fled directly into Chang'an City to plead guilty to Li Shimin.
On November 15, Li Shimin ordered Chai Shao to abandon Shangluo City and lead 150,000 elite troops to retreat to Chang'an City.
On November 17, except for some troops who wanted to stay behind to capture the city, Da'an's 200,000-strong army successfully met outside Chang'an City.
The four counties and cities in northern Shaanxi in the north of the Tang Dynasty did not wait for the Da'an army to attack. The generals and county guards directly declared their surrender and pledged their allegiance to Wang Junlin.
At this point, except for the city of Chang'an, all the territory of the Tang State became the territory of the Da'an State.
Chang'an City is one of the most famous cities in the world. It is the city with the most capitals of a country in all dynasties. It is also a fortified city that is extremely difficult to conquer from the outside in history.
Even in history, Chang'an City has never been conquered from outside the city. Every time it fell, it was because of internal problems.
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However, the fact that Da'an's three-pronged army was able to attack outside Chang'an City so quickly these days is also related to the fact that Li Shimin reduced many capable soldiers from various cities near Chang'an City to Chang'an City.
Today, there are as many as 300,000 defenders in Chang'an City. In the past two months, a lot of preparations have been made to defend the city. There are all kinds of city defense weapons and equipment. The most important thing is to stockpile a large number of weapons and equipment for the army.
years of food.
However, no matter how long it takes, it will come sooner or later. Given the current situation, if Xiao Yu, who has high hopes from Li Shimin and Puppet No. 1, cannot perform miraculous results, sooner or later the Chang'an City will be breached by the Da'an army. The only difference is how long it takes and how much it consumes.
The problem.
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On the second day after the army surrounded Chang'an City, the weather in Jingzhao Mansion was beautiful and cloudless.
After staying in Luoyang City for a few days, Wang Junlin came to the army camp of Da'an State outside Chang'an City.
Whether it was his last respect for Li Shimin, the destined son, or some final arrangements, or Wang Junlin was very restless and bored by reviewing memorials all day long, so Wang Junlin decided to take charge of the expedition himself.
The horns were long and the golden drums were sounding. Outside the gate of the camp, the senior generals of the Da'an Kingdom, led by Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Xu Shiji, Yuchi Jingde, Luo Shixin and others, put on brand-new official uniforms or armors and stood solemnly, waiting for the arrival of the royal chariot.
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"I'll see you, Your Majesty!" Qin Qiong, Li Jing and others pushed the golden mountain, turned the jade pillar and bowed to the ground. Behind them, the dark officers knelt on the ground.
The army was responsible for besieging Chang'an City. Wang Junlin had already sent people over in advance to give orders to the army, telling them what to do. Some officers from each legion came forward
Just come to meet him, and he is strictly ordered to meet him at the gate of the camp and not to go too far.
The main senior officials of the Da'an Kingdom who came with Wang Jun's arrival include Du Ruhui, the left prime minister, Shen Guoer, the commander-in-chief of the An'an Prefecture, and Cheng Yaojin, the commander-in-chief of the Tianwei Army.
At this time, Du Ruhui, Shen Guoer, Cheng Yaojin and others who were following Wang Junlin quickly dismounted and stepped aside. Wang Junlin rode forward on a blood-maned horse, followed by a tall silver lynx, a sacred horse, slowly
He slowly arrived in front of everyone.
Wang Junlin glanced at everyone, and finally stopped at Li Jing, Qin Qiong and Xu Shiji, with a look of gentle satisfaction on his face, and said: "My love for your love for the war against Tang Dynasty is very much my heart."
Although because of cheating, he had long known that these three people were the three most powerful people in commanding troops and fighting in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Wang Junlin did not expect that it would take three months for these three people to lead an army to attack the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty was almost destroyed, and only a lonely city in Chang'an was left to survive.
With such results and efficiency, how could Wang Junlin be dissatisfied.
It can be said that in Wang Junlin's view, these three people are artifacts like nuclear weapons. An ordinary country can have any of these three people. As long as the emperor can reuse them, don't be suspicious, and it will be difficult to defeat the war.
Although they had known for a long time that they had done a good job in the battle against the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Xu Shiji and others were completely relieved after hearing His Majesty the Emperor's praise, and they were all extremely happy.
"My dear friends, thank you for your hard work, please get up!" Wang Junlin said with a smile.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Everyone shouted in unison, then quickly stood up and stood upright.
"Your Majesty, I have prepared the royal tent. Please move it." Li Jing was the commander-in-chief of the army attacking the Tang Dynasty and the highest-ranking general among the generals. At this time, he came to Wang Junlin and bowed to lead the way.
A group of people came to the imperial tent, and everyone else went down to assume their positions. Only Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Xu Shiji, Yuchi Jingde, Pei Yuanqing, Luo Shixin, Lu Han, Shangguan Hu and Du Ruhui who followed Wang Junlin were left in the imperial tent. Shen Guoer and Cheng Yaojin.
Before Wang Junlin could speak, Li Jing came out of the squad, clasped his fists and said loudly: "Your Majesty, in a month at most, I will lead the army to capture Chang'an City and completely destroy the Tang Dynasty for your Majesty."
Xu Shiji, Luo Shixin, Pei Yuanqing and other corps commanders quickly followed suit and asked for orders, saying in unison: "I am willing to lead the troops to take the lead, please Your Majesty."
Wang Junlin smiled and waved his hand and said: "Everyone, get up! I know that Chang'an City will be captured by you sooner or later. But I came here in person. On the one hand, I don't want our soldiers to suffer too many casualties. On the other hand, I want to destroy the Tang Dynasty. After that, some follow-up arrangements for Li Shimin."
Everyone looked at each other. Except for Shen Guoer and Du Ruhui, everyone had doubts on their faces, but they still thanked En and stood aside.
Wang Junlin said: "I have brought a large number of craftsmen. I believe all of you dear friends have seen it..."
Everyone's body trembled slightly, and they quickly raised their ears and listened solemnly.
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What happened next outside Chang'an City was beyond the expectations of the defenders inside the city and the Da'an Army outside the city.
Wang Junlin did not order an attack on the city, but instead had people start building a wall outside Chang'an City.
The red bricks and cement from Da'an Kingdom are used.
However, there was no need to go to Fanyang County to transport red bricks and cement. Wang Junlin directly transferred a large number of craftsmen from Fanyang County's red brick workshops and cement workshops, and built two large-scale workshops outside Chang'an City.
The people who built the wall were of course the captured Tang troops or surrendered troops these days. These people totaled nearly 300,000 people. It would be impossible for the Da'an Kingdom to raise so many troops after it unified the world. These people could not be killed, nor could they be killed. It may be possible to let go immediately, but it is not enough to just eat and drink for free all day long. It is just a matter of building a wall to get food.
Wang Junlin's purpose was very simple. He did not want his soldiers to attack Chang'an City, which had a wall of seven or eight feet high that could not be blown up by solid explosives, and had 300,000 defenders. What's more, there were also a large number of defenders in the city. Gunpowder weapons.
The most important thing is that Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji, and Chai Shao are in the city. With the minds and methods of these three people, it is absolutely impossible for Da'an to break the city from the inside.
In short, Wang Junlin knew very well that although Li Jing and others had spoken beautifully before and were full of fighting spirit, everyone knew that it was impossible to capture Chang'an City without at least fifty or sixty thousand people dying.
Wang Junlin obviously didn't want so many of his soldiers to die. He would rather trap the defenders in Chang'an City to death.