The autumn weather was crisp, but Wang Shichong's mood was not very beautiful.
Longmen, the southern gate of Luoyang, has fallen, and the connection with Xiangfan and other places has been cut off, and reinforcements and food cannot come through.
To the north, the Tang army raided Hanoi with lightning speed.
Zheng's army was caught off guard. All the county towns were captured, and even the outskirts of the county towns were breached. Only some remnants of the army were left to defend the inner city.
The trouble doesn't end there.
Tang general Huang Junhan was stationed at Baiya. Today he harassed the three passes of Mengjin, the gateway to the north of Luoyang, and tomorrow he raided the important Heyang Floating Bridge.
Although they were unsuccessful, it also restrained Zheng Jun's energy and was unable to strongly reinforce Hanoi.
He had already asked Dou Jiande for urgent help, but if Hanoi fell, the Xia army would have to take a detour through Bianzhou if they wanted to send aid from the south of Hebei.
But the problem is that Xu Yuanlang and Meng Jiigong are entrenched in Shandong and have been canonized by the Tang Dynasty.
These two aggressive guys are threatening Xia Jun's flanks. If Xia Jun doesn't deal with these two guys, it's just a dream to send reinforcements from the south.
Xu Yuanlang and Meng Jiigong were absolutely determined to attack Xia Jun's food road.
If the situation really deteriorates to this point, Wang Shichong has no idea whether the Zheng army can hold out until the Xia army comes for reinforcements.
Just when Wang Shichong's head was so heavy, a guard came into the palace to report: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, Doctor Huan, General Shan, and General Yang would like to see you."
"Let them in quickly." Wang Shichong became energetic and was about to look for them.
"Your Majesty." Several people entered the palace to greet them.
"Your Majesty, please sit down quickly." Wang Shichong waved his hand and looked around everyone with a smile: "All the gentlemen are here today, but what's the big deal?"
Wang Xuanying and others looked at Huan Fahei.
Huan Fa Si hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, there is indeed a big matter, and it has been settled in Tang Ying!"
Wang Shichong was overjoyed: "What do you mean?"
"Looking for the prime minister, Zhang Wansui has made up his mind to surrender. I promised the two of them the position of general and the perks of leading an army alone."
"But the premise is that they must cooperate internally and externally to help me defeat the Tang camp."
Huan Fasi looked proud.
"Great! Just two generals, give them to them."
"But, how strong are they now, can they meet our requirements?"
Wang Shichong was overjoyed. Although he was stingy externally and generous internally, he couldn't be stingy now that he was in urgent need of help.
"Your Majesty, don't worry."
"These two people have contacted eight thousand Liu Wu and Zhou's old troops, all over the Tang camp. They have all made a secret agreement and are just waiting for His Majesty's call."
"What's even better is that in the past two days, Xue Ju's old generals and horses made mistakes and were beaten by Li Shimin, which made him complain."
"I was not pleased to see him when I was in Xunxiang, so I took the opportunity to win him over. This man also has a thousand Western Qin cavalry under his command, which will give him an added boost."
Huan Fasi smiled broadly and felt that God was really helping me.
"Wonderful!" Wang Shichong was ecstatic: "The Tang army only had about 60,000 soldiers, but nearly 10,000 people rebelled. Li Shimin's son is about to die!"
"My dear friends, Hanoi is in a critical situation. It is not advisable to delay the matter and defeat the Tang army as soon as possible."
"What my father said is true. However, how to send troops? How many troops to send? But we still need to discuss it." Wang Xuanying was also very happy.
"What do you think?" Wang Shichong asked.
"Your Majesty," Yang Gongqing shouted, "I believe that in order to defeat the Tang army, we must use night attacks to achieve surprising results."
"In addition, the troops must be powerful and fast so that the Tang army cannot react in time, so cavalry is used in the battle."
cavalry?
Night attack?
When everyone heard this, they all nodded. After all, Yang Gongqing was one of the most experienced generals in the Zheng army. This idea was very reliable.
"But," Shan Xiongxin suddenly frowned: "Our army only has five thousand cavalry left, is it enough?"
As soon as these words came out, the situation was a little awkward.
Originally, the Zheng army still had more than 10,000 cavalry, but in the battle of Hulu Valley a few days ago, 6,000 of the old Sui Xiaoguo Wei cavalry were lost.
This does not include Zhu Can's thousands of miscellaneous soldiers.
In this way, no matter how good the method is, it will be useless if the troops are insufficient!
"Uh--" Yang Gongqing hesitated for a moment, then said cautiously: "Don't your Majesty still have five thousand flying tiger troops? Can you use them?"
Flying Tiger Army!
This is Wang Shichong's Royal Forest Army, with a strength of five thousand men. They are all warriors carefully selected from each army, and their equipment is also first-rate.
Speaking of which, the Flying Tiger Army and the Black Armor Soldiers have a close blood relationship.
In the past, Zhai Rang and Li Mi commanded Wagang, which was a powerful force in the world. They had an elite ace cavalry of 8,000 people under their command, known as the Nei Ma Army.
This inner horse army also has four generals - Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Luo Shixin, and Pei Xingyan, all of whom are super strong generals with the courage of thousands of men, which shows how terrifying it is!
At that time, the famous general Zhang Xutuo conquered Wagang in the late Sui Dynasty, but was defeated and died at the hands of the Neima Army, which made this heroic army famous in one fell swoop.
It's a pity that Li Mi had a short-circuit in his brain and got angry with Zhai Rang, causing Wagang to become centrifugal.
In the end, the Wagang Army was defeated by Wang Shichong, and the Neima Army also disappeared, but its military training method was favored by various princes.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty had the Xuanjia soldiers, and the Zheng State had the Feihu army.
Wang Shichong naturally cherished such a powerful army. Not only did he rely on the imperial army to lead it personally, but he also refused to use it easily.
But at this point, it is obviously impossible not to use the Flying Tiger Army.
Wang Shichong was worthy of being a hero. He gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I can't bear to let the child trap the wolf, so I will risk it."
Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this: With the help of the Flying Tiger Army, great things have been accomplished!
"Your Majesty, I don't know who will lead the army?" At this time, Huan Fasi asked.
"Of course I will take action personally." Wang Shichong was full of fighting spirit.
This current hero, even though he is already an emperor, is still not afraid of arrows and stones. He often goes to battle in person and is extremely brave.
"Absolutely not!" Huan Fasi became anxious upon hearing this: "Your Majesty is a man of ten thousand gold, how can you take risks? Please think twice!"
"Yes, Father," Wang Xuanying also urged: "There are many surprises in night attacks. It is better for you to sit in Luoyang and take precautions."
Shan Xiongxin and Yang Gongqing also echoed.
Everyone is afraid that if there is an accident, Zheng Guo will be doomed.
Seeing everyone's firm opposition, Wang Shichong had no choice but to say: "Come on! Come on! I won't go. Then who of you will lead the army?"
When Yang Gongqing heard this, he immediately took the initiative to ask for help: "Your Majesty, I am willing to make meritorious deeds and swear to the death to serve you!"
Shan Xiongxin was not to be outdone: "Your Majesty, I am also willing to lead the army to relieve the country's danger."
"Father," Wang Xuanying, young and energetic, was also unwilling to lag behind: "Let my son go. That Li Shimin is so arrogant and arrogant that my son has long wanted to meet him."
Wang Shichong began to ponder, looking around at Yang Gongqing, Shan Xiongxin, and Wang Xuanying, as if it was difficult to make a decision.
But in the end, the old habit of only trusting relatives took over.
"Let's see, the Flying Tiger Army is the Royal Forest Army. If anyone else is used, I'm afraid I won't accept it. Therefore, I prefer the prince to lead the army. Shan Xiongxin and Banye Ganger will be the deputy."
"Yang Aiqing is mature and prudent, so he is stationed in Luoyang to be prepared for any trouble."
"promise."
Wang Xuanying was very happy. If he could defeat the Tang army this time and even kill Li Shimin, he would become famous all over the world.
Although Shan Xiongxin was a little regretful, it was still acceptable to get a deputy.
Yang Gongqing was depressed. Since the last disastrous defeat, Wang Shichong had grown fond of him, and now he had no chance to show off.
"Okay, that's settled the matter. You will go back now and make your own preparations."
"Huan Aiqing," Wang Shichong warned again worriedly: "You and Xun Piang should contact each other as soon as possible and launch the plan as soon as possible. Remember: act cautiously and don't let the news slip!"
