Tang Dynasty

Li Shimin's army marched eastward all the way, and it was unexpectedly smooth.Because Wang Shichong was narrow-minded, belittled himself, and was unpopular, seven out of ten cities that the Tang army passed through were Kaesong and surrendered, and they went to the outside of Luoyang without spending many soldiers.

At this time, it is October of the third year of Wude.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Wang Shichong immediately dispatched envoys to invite Li Shimin to meet.Although Li Shimin had absolutely no intention of peace talks, he also responded with hypocrisy and arrogance, and only wanted to find out what he thought in his heart.

Three days later, the two met on both sides of Luoshui with their respective troops.

Li Shimin was wearing a strong armor, and the blue cloak fluttered behind him.Seeing the leader on the opposite side, he strode forward, pressed the hilt of the sword at his waist, but did not speak.

Seeing this, Wang Shichong from the other side stepped forward and said, "I think this is Li Shimin, the king of Qin?"

Li Shimin raised his jaw slightly and said, "Exactly."

Although Wang Shichong didn't care much about this yellow-haired boy, he was content with this position, but he really didn't want to waste money and people to fight a war.Therefore, at this time, she also ignored the arrogance of many other parties, so she continued: "Zheng is in Henan, and Tang lives in Guanzhong. I never robbed you of half an acre of land in Guanzhong, but why did you come to disturb me?" There was no mention of the invasion of the cities of Henan.

Li Shimin didn't want to argue with him, so he just sneered and said: "Father, the emperor's ambition is in the world, how can he settle in a mere place in Guanzhong? I am here to fight for the unification of the world."

Wang Shichong was unwilling to reconcile, but still said: "You and I each guard our own land. If the well water does not interfere with the river water, what's wrong?"

"Father has ordered me to attack Luoyang, unless Emperor Zheng is willing to surrender." Li Shimin still smiled, but said every word firmly, "Otherwise, this king has no right to agree."

Wang Shichong stood on the opposite bank and looked at him steadily, seeing the other side's hair flying on his temples and his expression stern, knowing that there was no chance of turning around, he snorted coldly and walked away in a huff.

Li Shimin watched his army leave without saying goodbye, turned around after a long time, and said to the people behind him: "Let's go. Go back... get the army ready for war!"

----

In the next few days, the Tang army repeatedly attacked the city, and Luoyang's Zheng army occasionally fought, but most of the time they just couldn't hold out.Li Shimin watched the battle for a few days, knowing that Luoyang's fortifications are not the same as the city he encountered before. Although the siege can be the same as in the past, it is difficult to guarantee that many people will not be injured.

For the sake of war, he has always been hands-on. At this time, he only wanted to find a breakthrough to break the deadlock. Soon he brought five hundred elite horses to Wei Xuanwu Mausoleum to explore the terrain.

It was already September, the season of late summer and early autumn.Li Shimin stood on a high ground with his horse, looking far away, a small school of horses stood beside him, holding a pen and paper, making notes from time to time as he said.Five hundred fine riders were waiting a few meters away, solemn and solemn.

"Let's go, go and have a look there." Li Shimin lifted the rein lightly, motioning for the painting school to follow.The two walked down from the high ground and walked slowly towards Pingye and the place below Pingye.

Walking down the plain, Li Shimin raised his eyes and looked around, taking a panoramic view of the surrounding terrain.Suddenly, he lifted the rein and stopped on the spot.

The little school stood still, and said doubtfully, "Your Highness, this..."

"Don't talk." Li Shimin frowned, his brows were extremely serious, he looked around again, and suddenly he lifted the rein hard and turned back, "There is an ambush! Get out!"

As soon as this remark came out, the five hundred elite riders behind them were all startled, and rushed over immediately.However, at the same time, countless people rushed down from the side of the high ground like a tide, besieging everyone in it.

There are more than ten thousand people watching.

"Quickly go to the camp to report and dispatch reinforcements!" Li Shimin shouted loudly, at the same time he drew out his sword, and with a flash of cold light in his hand, it pierced the chest of the person facing him.

The man fell down suddenly, but at the same moment, a cluster of red tassels behind him stretched forward at some point.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin was shocked, and turned sideways to evade, but in the end he was picked and injured his left shoulder.

The Tang army who were fighting around was shocked when they saw the situation, and they flocked to protect the lord.Taking advantage of the gap, Li Shimin tore off a piece of clothing and put it on his left shoulder, using both hands and mouth to tightly bind the wound.Fang let out a breath, and there was another commotion in front of him.Looking up, he saw a man sitting high on a horse, holding an eight-foot-long spear. He was extremely brave, and he overthrew several Tang soldiers one after another, and he was about to come close.

Knowing that ordinary soldiers are definitely no match for this person, Li Shimin gritted his teeth, and suddenly grabbed a spear from a person beside him, slapped his horse and rushed forward, pointing his spear at the person diagonally.

The opponent leaned back, barely avoiding it.He beat his horse and walked to the side, looked at Li Shimin and said, "I think this is Li Shimin, the king of Qin. I am ordering Shan Xiongxin, and I am here today to take your life!" No one can stop the Tang army.

Li Shimin knew that the number of the enemy and us was far apart, even if he fought recklessly, he would not be able to consume the large number of others, so at this time he only hoped to kill the general and make his troops scattered.

"This king wishes to meet the general!" Because of this, he didn't back away, instead he clamped his horse's belly and waved his spear to meet him.

The guns of the two sides collided in the air, making a piercing sound.As soon as Li Shimin deflected his strength, the tip of the gun slid down along the opponent's spear, straight for the heart.Shan Xiongxin took his time, leaned back, and avoided it again.Li Shimin's shot missed, and he retracted it immediately. The second shot missed, his left shoulder hurt, and he couldn't help but hesitated a little.At this moment, Shan Xiongxin's spear stabbed towards his eyebrows.

Li Shimin tried his best to hold back the pain, and swung the opponent's spearhead away with a strong force, but under the blow, his left shoulder felt even more torn.I know that I am carrying this injury, I am afraid that it is not this person's opponent, but in this situation, before the reinforcements arrive, there is always no way to escape, but what should I do?

After thinking about it for a while, I knew there was no other way.Li Shimin only wanted to fight quickly, captured the leader of the enemy, without thinking too much, he gripped his spear tightly, and immediately slapped his horse and attacked again.Shan Xiongxin responded calmly, turned sideways to avoid the blow to the chest, but turned around with his backhand, and the spear reached Li Shimin's back.

Li Shimin has already realized that he was eager to win, and that attack just now was too reckless.He hastily retracted his gun, intending to regain his senses, but he could almost feel a gust of wind rushing behind him.

"Your Highness, the future is late!" At this moment, there was only a loud shout, accompanied by a crisp sound of "bang".Li Shimin hurriedly turned his horse and turned around, and saw that a person had already stopped in front of him, but it was Yu Chigong.

Yu Chigong was originally under Li Mi's tent, not long after Li Mi's death, when Li Shimin was recruiting talents, he surrendered to him.During the melee just now, he was blocked by Zheng Jun on the other side, and he couldn't get close for a long time. Fortunately, he rushed out at a critical moment and saved Li Shimin's life.

Seeing this, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, stepped back a few steps and said: "Then there will be General Lao Weichi, it is important to evacuate at this time, and we must not love to fight."

This Yuchi Gong was tall and mighty, seemed to have infinite divine power, he was also holding a spear in his hand, when he heard the words, he shouted "obey" and rushed out with his men and horses.

Turning his head to see that the cloth wrapped around his left shoulder was almost completely blood-colored, Li Shimin stepped back a few steps, and several Tang soldiers were already close to his body to protect him.He held the spear tightly with his good right hand, while he was wary of the endless melee around him, he looked in the direction of the camp. Even if there are ten Wei Chigongs, they are invincible.

The sound of the collision of swords, guns, swords and halberds could not be heard until the sound of high-spirited horseshoes came from afar.

Li Shimin followed the prestige, but saw a group of horses and horses galloping towards him, with waves of dust flying up behind them.The person headed by it is Yuwen Shiji.Yuwen Shiji glanced this way, and immediately ordered to rescue King Qin.As soon as the order came down, Tang Jun rushed down like a wolf like a tiger, and soon fought with Zheng Jun.

Seeing this, Li Shimin turned around to look at Yu Chigong, just when he was about to speak to persuade him not to love fighting, but saw Shan Xiongxin being knocked off his horse with a wave of his spear, he couldn't help shouting: "Okay!"

Seeing Zheng Jun rushing up behind Shan Xiongxin, Li Shimin said again: "The reinforcements have arrived, we can't stay here for long, the general will follow me and kill quickly!"

When Yuchi Gong heard the words, he immediately turned his horse and turned around, saying: "The final general will protect Your Highness well!" After saying that, he vigorously knocked down the Zheng army around him, and rode out with Li Shimin.

After meeting with the reinforcements, Yuwen Shiji pulled out his sword and said: "Your Highness, go quickly, the minister leads the army to break the rear!"

Li Shimin nodded, held the rein in his right hand, and ran away under Yu Chigong's protection.

----

The tent door was opened, and Yuwen Shiji walked in, before taking off his military uniform.

The military doctor in the tent bandaged Li Shimin's wound, bowed when he saw Yu Wenshi, and then retreated.

Yuwen Shiji walked into the tent, looked down at Li Shimin's wound, and said, "How is your highness injured?"

"It's just a bruise, it's not a problem." Li Shimin said calmly, "How is Zheng Jun?"

"Return to Your Highness," Yuwen Shiji said, "General Zheng Jun fell off his horse, and there is no one in the army to give orders, so naturally there is no way to pursue him."

Li Shimin nodded slowly, and sighed: "This time... it was really my negligence that gave the enemy an opportunity."

Yuwen Shiji said with relief: "Your Highness has always fought openly and aboveboard, how could you expect Wang Shichong to do such a despicable move?"

"Soldiers never tire of cheating," Li Shimin shook his head and said, moving his left shoulder very slowly, "This time... let's take it as a warning."

Yu Wenshi was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer.Fortunately, I suddenly remembered something, and said: "Your Highness, there is news from Chang'an that our army is attacking Luoyang, and the Turks moved south after hearing the news. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, led the army to leave Beijing three days ago and went to Puzhou."

Li Shimin's expression changed slightly when he heard the words.Even if they are well aware of Turkic harassment going south, if they are not stopped, they will be suspected of being attacked by the enemy.It's just that he never thought that it would be Li Jiancheng who went there.

Based on his understanding of his father, Emperor Li Yuan, he adhered to the tradition of "the heir of the king should not be handsome", and would not let the prince leave the capital easily. From this point of view, it must be Li Jiancheng who took the initiative to ask for Ying, or insisted on asking for his order.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin frowned slightly, and an indescribably complicated look flashed across his expression.In the end, it finally turned into a low, inaudible sigh.

—Brother, you really don’t know how to sit idly by.

——Because, is the opponent aggressive?

----

Located in the east of the river, Puzhou runs through Chang'an in the west, Luoyang in the east, and Jinyang in the north. It has been an important military town since ancient times.If the Turkic cavalry wants to go south, this is the place they must pass through.

After Li Jiancheng arrived in Puzhou, he immediately investigated the current situation and learned that the suburbs of the city had been looted many times, and most of the refugees were young and middle-aged people who were taken away as laborers.He immediately wrote a letter and sent envoys to the Turkic camp to ask for a meeting with his Khan.

However, after receiving the letter, Duo Bi sent back the envoy, saying that there was no need for a meeting.Seeing this, Li Jiancheng sent three revisions in a row, and the other party replied without exception.

After hearing the same result for the third time, Li Jiancheng waved off the messengers who had returned in vain, walked to the table and sat down.

Wei Zhengli stood aside, saw that he hadn't said a word for a long time, so he stepped forward and said: "That Jie Li Khan, His Highness has been kind to him, but he doesn't want to see His Highness, isn't it really an ungrateful person? ?”

"That's not the case." Li Jiancheng shook his head, his expression calm and somewhat helpless, "He was afraid that if he met, I might shake his original intention."

Wei Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the words, and said, "If we really met, how sure is the crown prince?"

Li Jiancheng looked up at him, and after a while, said: "Very."

Wei Zheng smiled unsurprisingly, and said: "I have a plan, I wonder if Your Highness would like to hear it?"

Li Jiancheng laughed, and said: "Sir, you don't know what I have in mind, so why did you come up with a plan?"

Wei Zheng said with a smile: "With my large number of troops and the Puzhou city defense, even if we fight against the Turks, we will never be inferior. And your Highness came to Puzhou not to destroy the Turks, but to relieve the army of the King of Qin." Worry about the future, so instead of confronting with force, it is better to choose a less expensive way to solve it. I dare to guess that in His Highness's view, this way is to meet with Jieli Khan and persuade him to delay the army, or delay as much as possible. .”

Li Jiancheng nodded slightly, and smiled after a while, "Mr. is the only one in the world who can see me so clearly."

"Don't dare." Wei Zheng cupped his hands.

Li Jiancheng said: "I don't know what the strategy Mr. just said is?"

Wei Zheng said: "Although this plan can solve His Highness's worries, I think it is very inappropriate."

"Even if it's not right, sir, he knows that Jiancheng will definitely follow his word." Li Jiancheng looked at him with raised eyebrows, and said, "Is that so?"

Wei Zheng sighed, and said, "Your Highness is probably the only one in the world who can see the subject so thoroughly."

Li Jiancheng laughed when he heard the words, and said: "Since Mr. Wang has a good plan, please come quickly!"

Under Li Jiancheng's signal, Wei Zheng stepped forward and whispered what he was thinking into his ear.Looking at Li Jiancheng from the corner of the eye, the other party lowered his eyes and looked calm, making it impossible to see what was going on in his heart.Wei Zheng looked away, but suddenly saw a neck that was close at hand. The skin was as white as jade, and the lines were slender and graceful.It seems to be born with a kind of temptation, teaching people to want to be close, to want...to have.

At this time, Li Jiancheng's voice sounded in his ears: "Sir?"

"If this strategy puts His Highness in danger, the minister deserves death!" Suddenly regaining his senses, Wei Zheng took a step back, cupping his hands and bowing, his sleeves concealing the panic in his eyes.

When Li Jiancheng heard the words, he smiled lightly and said, "Although this strategy is a slant, from Jiancheng's point of view, it is very clever!"

Wei Zheng looked up at him, then lowered his eyes again, cupped his hands and said, "Then...please take care, Your Highness."