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Chapter eight hundred and forty seventh(1/2)

Outside the Zhao army's tent, the generals all started to talk happily.

More than a hundred generals gathered together, their voices were loud, and even when they sneeze, they were all piping and moving mountains and rivers. This is also the usual style of military men, and they looked a bit vulgar. Civil officials also stood aside to chat. Zhao State had no different paths of civil and military, so civil and military ministers were also standing together to chat. Outside the tent, the scene was called it, war generals were like clouds and counselors were like rain

And in the big tent, several generals and important counselors were also sitting there with smiles on their faces.

Wang Mahan dragged the muddy horse boots down and placed them beside the fire and roasted the fire: "From Hanoi all the way to Hedong, crossing the Yellow River again. Now it is only more than 200 miles away from Chang'an. Let's work harder and go home to hold the children."

Wang Mahan's optimistic mood led all the generals.

Xue Wanche looked around and smiled and said, "Now among the six major government troops of the Zhao army, the five units of the government troops crossed the Yellow River and met here. These are nearly 150,000 elite troops. Your Majesty, I will listen to you now when you are directly attacking Chang'an."

Hearing Xue Wanche say this, Xu Shiji immediately said: "General Xue, General Wang's words are too optimistic. We crossed the Yellow River, but there has been no news from the Western Route Army. I am uneasy in my heart. According to my opinion, we should send people to search in Hexi. After getting the news from the Western Route Army, we will make a decision."

"This is the safest view." Yu Shinan expressed his agreement.

The generals on both sides each had their own opinions. At this time, Li Chongjiu asked: "How are you doing when you are asked to investigate the trends of Li Tang's main force a few days ago?"

Zhang Xuansu said: "The Fengxin is already dealing with this matter. According to reports, the people who appeared by the Yellow River a few days ago were not Li Shimin's men, but the suspect soldiers he deliberately arranged. In fact, there were only a few thousand township brave men. The imperial flag of Emperor Li Tang was also a fake one, and Li Shimin was not here."

When Zhang Xuansu said this, all the generals were surprised. If the bank of the Yellow River was not Li Shimin's main force, then it was obvious that Li Shimin was not in Chang'an.

Wang Mahan said curiously: "Why is Li Shimin so mysterious? Is it just to cover up his absence from Chang'an?"

"Yes," Xue Wanche also sat upright at this moment and said, "Since Li Shimin is not in Chang'an, he must have gone to Hexi or Luoyang. So he deliberately set up a formation of suspicious troops, so that we dare not cross the Yellow River easily. In Jiangzhou, the blockade of Pujin Pass was also to delay our march."

Xue Wanche said this, and the joyful atmosphere in the tent was wiped out.

The generals couldn't help but wonder whether Li Shimin went to Luoyang or Hexi.

Yuchi Gong asked, "What is the news in Luoyang?"

Ji Chuan heard this and said, "Luoyang, we have waterways to contact and can detect the situation in Luoyang at any time. When we advanced, we asked the Water Post to report the news of the Tang army every six hours. The latest news is that in two days, Luoyang reported that the Tang army in Tongguan had no movement. About three hours later, yesterday's situation should have arrived."

After hearing what Ji Chuan said, everyone felt relieved that Luoyang should be fine.

"Since the Tang army has not gone to Luoyang, there is only one possibility, that is, to Hexi!" Shan Xiongxin said.

"Hexi? There is a 200,000 army of Great Zhao in Hexi? Li Shimin has such a good appetite, eat it in one bite? I don't believe it." Xue Wanche first objected.

"So how can I explain it? There is no news at all in Hexi until now?" Shan Xiongxin questioned.

Yu Shinan said immediately: "General Shan doesn't know anything. He heard from the information from the Ministry. Li Shimin, under the army of our Great Zhao, had plans to give up Chang'an and flee to Shuzhong."

Wang Mahan nodded and said, "I think this is possible."

Yu Shinan and Wang Mahan had some wishful thinking. In the past, there was a war when one side fought to the enemy's capital and when the troops were at the city, the king of the country led his army to surrender. However, this did not apply to the current Li Tang. At least as we know, the main force of Li Tang's 100,000 elite troops had not been defeated yet, and it is impossible to surrender now.

All the generals had their own opinions and hesitated about where Li Shimin was.

Xue Wanche said at this time: "It is meaningless to guess where Li Shimin's power is. Chang'an is only two hundred miles away, and it is within reach. We have no reason to give up Chang'an and wait for news from the Western Route Army on the spot. If Li Shimin fought the Western Route Army in the west and the victory and defeat was not decided, then our army can take this opportunity to capture Chang'an City."

Xue Wanche's meaning was recognized by all the generals, because Zhang Xuansu and his team also had the same idea at the same time as Zhang Xuansu and his friends formulated their plans to advance.

Chang'an is the center of Guanzhong, and the significance of conquering Chang'an is self-evident.

Li Chongjiu also agreed to continue to march towards Chang'an. At this time, Ji Chuan whispered: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that this is Li Shimin's plan. If the Tang army lures our army into Chang'an alone, it is not impossible."

"Impossible! Even if Li Shimin defeated Wang Junkuo, there would be news leaking in a defeated battle for more than 200,000 troops." Xue Wanche explained.

Li Chongjiu nodded. He was still confident in Wang Junkuo. Li Shimin was not as good as the 200,000 elite grasslands. Now that the army has crossed the Yellow River, Chang'an is right in front of him. If he takes into account the news of the Western Route Army, he dare not enter Chang'an. Not to mention these generals, even the soldiers below will be more attentive.

What does it mean to have to be on the string? It's like this now. It's running thousands of miles and defeated the Tang army's several troops. Chang'an is right in front of you, but he is bound to his hands and feet. This is not his own general.

At that moment, Li Chongjiu stretched out his hand and pressed it, and all the generals stopped controversy. Li Chongjiu glanced at everyone and said affirmatively: "I have made up my mind. No matter what the main force of Li Tang's moves, I will march into Chang'an tomorrow!"

There was not much rest when crossing the Yellow River. Although there was no news about the Western Route Army, Li Chongjiu still decided to march towards Chang'an. Li Tang sent Shan Xi's general Qi A Shu of the Xi army of Shanxiong Xin's army to lead 3,000 cavalry to search west and find out about the Western Route Army.

Later, Li Chongjiu left another 20,000 troops to guard Pujin, guard the floating bridge and the grain road, and in addition, there were nearly 50,000 troops left by Hedong and Jiangzhou. Li Chongjiu adopted the steadily. Although he was sending troops to stay in the rear and would divide the attack power of the front army, in order to protect the thousand-mile grain road, this was a price that had to be paid.

In the end, Li Chongjiu led an army of 150,000 and marched towards Chang'an. Although the troops decreased from 200,000 to 150,000, they were all the most elite troops in Zhao State.

Before the march, a local Confucian scholar volunteered to come to Li Chongjiu and said, "Your Majesty's army is coming to the country, and the city of Chang'an is strong and not allowed to go at any time. Li Tang has a virtuous lord, his ancestors are descendants of Laozi, and he comes from the royal family of Xiliang, and he is also a royal emperor. Your Majesty raises troops to attack for his own selfish selfishness. Isn't it not that good or bad to be famous, and it is better to stop at the right time and stop the army. The two families have a good opinion."

When Li Chongjiu heard the Confucian scholar's words, he smiled at his left and right and said, "This is the view of corrupt scholars."

The Confucian scholar said: "I am not a corrupt scholar. Xiang Yu did not follow the views of Confucian scholars, and burned Xianyang and lost his hegemony. However, Liu Bang followed the words of Confucian scholars, but he won the world. Your Majesty must think twice."

Li Chongjiu shouted angrily: "Chang'an is right in front of you. You dare to discuss the situation in front of the army, and someone will kill him."

Minister Ji Chuan couldn't bear to see it and said, "Your Majesty, don't be punished for words."

Li Chongjiu said; "This person shakes our army's morale, and it is not enough to calm my anger if he does not kill him."

After saying that, this Confucian scholar was dragged out and beheaded like the Confucian scholar who advised Xiang Yu in history. In the end, Li Chongjiu did not listen to the Confucian scholar, but led his army to Chang'an.

Although it is more than 200 miles away from Chang'an, as a political center, Chang'an has a large range. For example, Tongzhou in the front was called Zuo Fengyi during the Han Dynasty. In the past, it was called Sanfu together with Jingzhao Yin and You Fufeng. During the Han Dynasty, it was managed by three officials who managed Jifu.

Zuo Fengyi’s jurisdiction today is in Tongzhou and Heyang.

The vanguard of Li Chongjiu's army arrived in Tongzhou. Tongzhou City was already an empty city. All the residents in the city went away, and there was no food or fodder. The nearest Heyang was also average. After the Zhao army vanguard arrived, he found that it was also an empty city. Li Shimin did not defend Heyang and Tongzhou, and obviously wanted to give up the two cities.

"This is to strengthen the walls and clear the fields!"

The generals of the Zhao army were also experienced for a long time and recognized Li Tang's routine.

"Does Li Shimin really have to stay in Chang'an and wait for us to fight to the decisive battle?"

At this time, many generals of the Zhao army were also shaken and advised Li Chongjiu that they would wait for the whereabouts of the Western Route Army and make a decision, otherwise they would have gone deeper. Of course, more generals believed that Li Shimin had no spare energy to defeat the Western Route Army. If he was afraid, he would lose the opportunity to seize Chang'an.

Li Chongjiu did not stop marching at the moment, but led his troops to continue moving forward.

One day later, the Zhao army's vanguard arrived in Jingyang, which was only forty miles from Chang'an.

There were no villages along the way, but the seedlings in the fields were placed there, but no one was able to cultivate them. Li Shimin actually emptied all the people of more than ten counties south of the Yellow River. This was a real solid wall and cleared the fields. After the Zhao army crossed the Yellow River, any supplies would come to aid.

General Shan Xiongxin proposed to send another army to defend Tongzhou to strengthen the protection of the food route. Otherwise, once the food route is cut off, the 150,000 Zhao army will be in a situation where the ammunition and food are exhausted in less than five days. After hearing this, Li Chongjiu agreed to send Shan Xiongxin to lead 25,000 troops to guard Tongzhou and Sanyuan County to ensure the safety of the rear.

However, after the army arrived in Jingyang, they finally saw the troops stationed by the Tang army. The horses were garrisoned in front of them and the city of Jingyang was closely guarded and could not be investigated.

After Li Chongjiu learned about it, he sent general Ke Mulun to lead two thousand troops to pass through Zhongwei Bridge on the Wei River and investigate under Chang'an City.

But half a day later, Ke Mulun returned to the tent.

When Li Chongjiu saw Ke Mulun, he asked, "Have you fought with the Tang army?"

Ke Mulun clasped his fists and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

It turned out that Ke Mulun's two thousand cavalry crossed the Zhongwei Bridge from the Wei River and walked around to Hengmen west of Chang'an.

As soon as he arrived at the city, he was ambushed by the Tang cavalry. The Tang cavalry had 3,000 people, but in just one fight, Ke Mulun repelled the Tang cavalry and retreated. At the same time, Ke Mulun reported to the head of Chang'an city, with countless flags and soldiers wearing armor to protect them.

When the generals of the Zhao army were relieved when they heard the news of Ke Mulun's return, they immediately felt at ease. It turned out that the main force of the Tang army had not gone anywhere and was guarding Chang'an.

"What a Li Shimin, do you really want to defend Chang'an and fight us?"

"Impossible. Although Chang'an City is tall and strong, it has a circumference of more than 30 miles. Even if the Tang soldiers stationed three thousand people in one mile, they would not be able to guard it."

"What do you mean? The Tang army may just be able to defend the imperial city. Wang Shichen was not like this when he guarded Luoyang. Li Tang had been besieging him for half a year but did not take it down."

"So you said that the Tang army wants to defend Chang'an and fight with us?"

"Yes, but I'm not afraid. Although our army's food supply is long, if we divide our troops to break through Tongguan, it will be much more convenient to transport food from Luoyang."

The generals said everything, and they told the military situation of the Tang army in Chang'an.

Li Shimin learned from Wang Shichong and defended Chang'an? Li Chongjiu was 10,000 people who did not believe it. Since ancient times, without foreign aid, there was no city that had to be defended. When Wang Shichong defended Luoyang, he believed that Li Chongjiu led his army from Hebei to Luoyang to rescue him, so he gritted his teeth and persevered for half a year.

Today, Li Shimin is trapped in Chang'an and is looking for someone from where to save him?

As for military ration consumption, it is enough to siege 200,000 troops in Chang'an City. With Zhao's current grain and grass reserves, it is absolutely no problem to transport grain from Luoyang and siege Chang'an City for a year.

Li Chongjiu said: "No need to argue, I will come to the city in person to explore the virtual reality of Chang'an."

All the generals were surprised when they heard this, and then said together: "The last general is willing to lead his troops to join His Majesty."

Li Chongjiu waved his hand and said, "No need to have so many people, just my court guards will work with me."

"How can this be done?"

"Your Majesty has too few troops. What if the main force of the Tang army in Chang'an attacks?"

Li Chongjiu shook his head and rejected his subordinates' suggestions.

The next day, Li Chongjiu led 5,000 court guards to the city of Chang'an.

The majestic city wall of Chang'an City is erected in front of it. Historical records show that Chang'an City is 9,721 meters long from east to west and 8,651 meters wide from north to south. It was the largest city in the world at that time. In comparison, Constantinople, which the Eastern Roman Empire was proud of, was only worthy of being the acropolis of Chang'an City.

in the country, Chang'an is far better than Luoyang City where Wang Shichong was stationed. At that time, Luoyang City was only about ten kilometers away.

So Li Chongjiu believed that it was impossible for Li Shimin to defend Chang'an City and fight the Zhao army to a decisive battle under the city. How could he defend the 36-kilometer city wall?

However, when Li Chongjiu comes today, he will explore the reality of Chang'an City.

Li Chongjiu first led his troops across the Wei River from Zhongwei Bridge and wandered around the north of Chang'an. He and Ji Chuan, Zhang Xuansu, and Yu Shinan pointed at the city walls of Chang'an City, and looked like they were giving guidance to the country. The bright yellow dragon flag behind Li Chongjiu had already made the Tang soldiers on Chang'an City know that it was the Emperor Zhao who arrived in person.

Suddenly, flags danced on the top of the city, and a large number of Tang soldiers wearing armor moved on the city walls and set up bows and crossbows to prepare for the battle.

When Li Chongjiu first saw that there were many Tang soldiers on the city, he couldn't help but be surprised. There were so many people on the city wall alone. If this were the case everywhere in Chang'an City, then Li Shimin's main force would really be stationed in Chang'an City.

Although Li Chongjiu was suspicious in his heart, he was free to talk and laugh, and then rode around the city with his subordinates. Li Chongjiu rode from the north of Chang'an City to the east of Chang'an City.

To the east of the city is the Ba River, the Jing River and Wei River cross the river. The rumored Ba Bridge is across the Ba River in front.

Li Chongjiu rode his horse and Zhang Xuansu and others to come to Ba Bridge, pointing at the top of the city with a horse whip and chatting and laughing, while observing the movements of the Tang army on the city. But soon, teams of Tang soldiers from the city wall were transferred from a distance.
To be continued...
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