Chapter 22: I will issue a military order even if I die
This battle took place across the Qingqu River southwest of Chang'an City. The scale of the defeat at the Battle of Qingqu was almost comparable to Fang Guan's previous battle using the ancient oxcart tactics.
Ten thousand soldiers were killed or wounded, and a lot of our food, supplies, and weapons were taken away by the enemy.
Li Shimin couldn't help but wonder, as Guo Ziyi was the deputy marshal of the army, he was not Zhao Kuo who was only good at talking about war on paper, so how could he be defeated like this?
[I looked it up, and there was indeed a historical case of a defeat at Qingqu, and it seems the losses were even more severe than today's.]
[Oh, it seems that the record says that An Shouzhong and Li Guiren used 9,000 cavalry to encircle the enemy, while our infantry had just crossed the Qingqu Canal.
After crossing the river, their formation was unstable and they were defeated by the enemy's long snake formation, forcing them to abandon their armor and flee, jumping into the river.
"This isn't Guo Ziyi's first time leading an army. Why would he want his infantry to fight against the enemy's cavalry?"
Li Shimin was puzzled, but after careful consideration, he felt that there was something else going on.
At this time, Li Guangbi saw the detailed process of the battle report and slammed the table and cursed:
"Oh my God, this is like hitting a rock with an egg! Is Guo Ziyi crazy?"
I found it! There's very little historical analysis of the casualties and the course of this battle; even the number of casualties is vague.
Fortunately, Yan Zhenqing wrote this on the stele he gave to his brother: "He ordered a meal to be prepared in anticipation of the Emperor. The Emperor was greatly surprised and invited him to eat with him."
[Yan Zhenqing's younger brother Yan Yunzang was in the Battle of Qingqu that year. Yan Zhenqing wrote that everyone else was scared and wanted to flee, but his brother remained unmoved. When the current emperor saw this, he praised him highly and even had dinner with him.
The "Current Emperor" mentioned by Yan Zhenqing when he wrote the inscription is the current Crown Prince Li Yu!
[Li Yu was hesitant after the battle of Xiangji Temple. Li Guangbi repeatedly advised him against it, but Li Yu did not allow him to chase the deserters.
As a result, they failed to capture An Qingxu and others who had sneaked away overnight, and ended up letting the tiger return to the mountain.
It's easy to see that Li Yu is unsuitable for commanding a battle, completely incapable of adapting to changing circumstances. He also lacks the courage to act.
[Moreover, Guo Ziyi was a seasoned official. He would not contradict his superiors like others. He would just do whatever his superiors said.
Well, it looks a lot like me.
Li Shimin probably guessed the same thing, it was either Li Heng or Li Yu's fault.
In short, all the descendants of his Li family grew up in a crooked way!
Li Shimin felt heartbroken just thinking about it, and gnashed his teeth in anger. He wished he could whip his descendants eight hundred times every day!
Tell me, if you are not good at fighting, why don’t you delegate the military power to people like Guo Ziyi and Li Siye who are good at fighting?
Are people who have never fought in a war still dreaming of becoming the modern-day Huo Qubing? What on earth are you thinking?
Pig brains are more useful than you, at least they are edible!
[Perhaps our Er Feng defended Chang'an so brilliantly that Crown Prince Li Yu thought that if his third brother could do it, so could I, too, and so he acted impulsively!]
Fortunately, Er Feng had made arrangements in advance. With the support of 8,000 Huihe cavalry, the losses were much smaller than in history.
Moreover, in Chang'an City, the strategy that Li Shimin had arranged in advance came into play.
Even though Guo Ziyi was defeated and retreated to Shaanxi, Cheng Qianli, Gao Shi and others in the city fought to the death, and the people also joined the battlefield.
Even the eldest princess of Huo State came forward with a sword in hand to boost morale.
The defense of Chang'an was tense, but fortunately the An Lushan rebels were never allowed to enter the city.
However, this time was different from the time in history. An Lushan had not yet gone blind and been killed by his son. He personally went to Tongguan to boost morale. Chang'an City was indeed in danger.
But even if the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, Li Shimin was still able to calmly analyze the situation:
"After this defeat, Crown Prince Li Yu should know that he must completely hand over military power to Guo Ziyi.
After two defeats, Guo Ziyi should take it seriously, learn from his mistakes, and use his troops with caution."
After hearing this, Li Guangbi was not in a good mood. He kept banging his head on the table, wishing he could defeat Shi Siming and others as soon as possible and go south to support Chang'an.
Seeing him like this, Li Shimin said seriously:
"Don't be impatient and fight. We should remain unmoved and wait for the right opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!
Being impatient and impetuous is a great taboo in warfare."
"Your Highness is right. It is I who lost my patience."
After that, Li Shimin went out of the city more frequently to serve as a scout and personally investigate the enemy's military situation.
Perhaps because Erfeng's armor was too dazzling, the enemy discovered her tracks several times and immediately led thousands or even tens of thousands of people to chase her.
However, Li Shimin was good at flying kites to trick the enemy when he fought in previous battles, and he was no exception this time.
Relying on his familiarity with the terrain outside Taiyuan City, he continued to lead the troops of tens of thousands of people around.
Every time this happened, the sky was boiling with excitement, and everyone was randomly directing Li Shimin's escape route. The dog-headed military advisors were all giving random advice and it felt good.
Only Li Guangbi, Yan Zhenqing, Li Bai and others were extremely worried.
Every time we received an emergency battle report, it was His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and a few others leading tens of thousands of enemy cavalry to chase us. It was so scary!
Who can understand their feelings?
Each time, Li Guangbi was terrified and would quickly lead his troops out of the city to provide support. However, after the initial shock of hearing the news, they were able to push the enemy back each time.
Li Bai no longer wrote poetry because he was frightened by Li Shimin. He desperately tried to pull Li Shimin to persuade him:
“Your Highness, if you really can’t handle something as dangerous as scouting, just let me wait!
Your Highness, there is really no need to leave the city yourself; it is too dangerous!"
Yan Zhenqing also nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Highness, could you please not act like you are going hunting every time you go out of the city?"
There are tens of thousands of tigers on the opposite side, not little white rabbits!
Li Shimin smiled and waved his hands, showing no fear at all:
"Scouting may seem insignificant, but it is one of the most important ways to obtain accurate intelligence on the enemy.
I must personally serve as a scout to most accurately judge the timing of the battle. My Lords, please do not worry, I know what is going on."
Everyone: ...You counted but we didn’t!
If this happens a few more times, if His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan isn't dead, they will all be scared to death!
[Hahahaha, everyone's faces turned pale and green, wanting to curse but not daring to say it. It felt like I was constipated right now. I'm dying of laughter.]
[Erfeng, please don’t call me Erfeng. Call me Erha. I’m really letting you go!
When I was the King of Qin, I would often take a few soldiers with me as scouts, and then lure back a large wave of enemy troops to scare everyone, hahaha.]
[But you know what, every time Er Feng wins with fewer troops, it seems to be luck, but in fact, one of the secrets to victory is that she can always accurately judge the enemy situation and seize the best opportunity!
This is probably related to him personally going on a scout mission.]
[Erfeng, do you still need our help with anything?
Even though I don't know anything, I'll go over and help you scold the other person. Watch me scold Shi Siming to death!
These modern people are sometimes quite enthusiastic and cute.
Li Shimin was wearing armor at this time, sitting on the couch, wiping his sword with a bold gesture, and smiled confidently:
"I appreciate your kindness, but there is no need to do this.
When it comes to military operations, how many people throughout history can be my, Li Shimin's rivals?
Leave everything to me, and you just wait and see."
【Ahhhhhhhh, Erfeng's domineering aura is leaking out! 】
[His Majesty the Heavenly Khan is online! Erfeng is full of martial virtue, and this confidence is so domineering and Mary Sue-like! ]
[Wow, His Majesty Erfeng is so handsome! I'm losing my mind, please sleep!]
[Today is another day I want to sleep with Erfeng! Newcomers who joined Erfeng’s fan thread check in and sleep in every day! ]
Li Shimin: ...What's up with the situation where modern people want to do something bad to him anytime and anywhere?
Pay attention to the occasion! No, you can't just take advantage of his body without paying attention to the occasion!
Just as Li Shimin was feeling helpless, the imperial edict from Chang'an City came quickly.
It turned out that Li Heng had already arrived in Fengxiang, not far from Chang'an, with the intention of boosting morale. However, when he saw that the battle situation was unfavorable to his side and An Lushan had arrived at Tongguan, he immediately panicked.
So he ordered Li Shimin to lead the 10,000 recruited troops south to support Chang'an.
When Li Shimin heard this, his eyelids twitched and he gritted his teeth in anger.
Li Heng, you are not my great-grandson, you are actually my biological father!
Moreover, this new father is much more capable of hindering his development than his old father Li Yuan.
Now in Taiyuan City, Li Guangbi is facing not only Cai Xide.
Since An Qingxu had not yet proclaimed himself emperor and Shi Siming had not returned to Luoyang for support, the situation in Taiyuan was far more severe than what Tianmu had said in history.
"Please forgive me for not being able to take orders for the time being! The situation in Taiyuan is dire. If I leave, the city will be empty and Taiyuan will be lost.
Once Taiyuan falls, the enemy's morale will be greatly boosted, and Chang'an will be left without support, vulnerable to attacks from both sides!"
Li Shimin was neither humble nor arrogant and analyzed each point one by one.
But what did the eunuch on the other side know? He just kept saying:
"Your Highness, Prince of Yan, please don't embarrass me. I can't report to you if you do this."
"Is the Prince of Yan planning to disobey the order?"
"Disobeying the order is tantamount to rebellion. Your Highness, Prince of Yan, please think carefully. I am also thinking about you. It is best to stop caring about Taiyuan and obey the order immediately."
Eunuchs don't care about the situation. They just follow orders and do their jobs. If they don't do it well, they will be punished.
Li Shimin only felt that he was facing a repeating robot. No, this thing's mind was far less clear than that of a robot.
Li Shimin took a deep breath and suppressed his desire to kill Li Heng:
"Then, let Lord Yan accompany you to Chang'an. I only need a few days to defeat the enemy and capture Shi Siming.
When I return, our morale will be greatly boosted, which will be more favorable for the situation in Chang'an. I only need a few days, and it is not against the emperor's will! "
This was equivalent to Li Shimin issuing a military order. If he failed to do so, he would be severely punished by Li Heng, and perhaps even his life would be in danger.
Li Guangbi felt very depressed after hearing this, but he didn't know what to do.
Yan Zhenqing felt helpless. Holding the letter written by Li Shimin himself, he decided that after returning, he must argue with the emperor and not let such a loyal minister and general be punished.
[Alas, this situation is exactly the same as Li Yuan's!
Li Yuan was unable to defeat Liu Wuzhou and abandoned Taiyuan. It was Li Shimin, who had been stripped of his military power at the time, who issued a military order and ultimately recaptured the entire Bingzhou.
Later, the same thing happened when Erfeng attacked Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in Luoyang. Li Yuan hesitated and asked him to leave, so Li Shimin returned to Chang'an overnight to explain the situation to him.
And then, when the Turks moved south, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng wanted to abandon Chang'an and retreat south, but Li Shimin argued against it. How could these emperors be so retarded?
[Not only is he a hindrance, but he is also shameless!
On the one hand, he relied on our Erfeng to conquer the world and seize the throne, but on the other hand, he resented it in his heart and was afraid that our Erfeng would be so skilled in war and so powerful that he would kill him.
Tianmu was absolutely right. As expected, when Li Heng learned that only Yan Zhenqing had returned and he couldn't even see any trace of Li Shimin and his army, he became furious.
He swept everything on the table to the ground.
"Prince Yan is disobeying the imperial order, is he planning a rebellion?
I gave him some military power and asked him to recover lost territory, but he dared to be so arrogant and disrespectful! He doesn't even take me seriously! "
So what if Li Shimin won every battle and defeated the enemy with fewer troops?
He does not respect himself as the emperor and does not obey orders, which is disobedient and unfilial!
Just like Prince Yong who disobeyed his orders in Huainan at this time, they all deserve to be killed!
Li Mi listened to Li Heng's complaints for a long time, until he felt that Li Heng's anger had subsided a little, then he spoke:
"Since His Majesty the Prince of Yan has already issued a military order, why don't you wait a few days before making a decision?
If Taiyuan can truly achieve a decisive victory, it will also be helpful for our army to recapture Chang'an later."
After listening to this, Li Heng thought about it carefully and felt that what Li Mi said made some sense, but he still snorted with a cold face:
"Let's see if he can win. If not...
snort! "
When Li Mi heard this, he knew that Li Heng wanted to kill Li Shimin.
He remained silent, but sighed in his heart.
His Majesty has already developed a rift with the Prince of Yan, and this rift will only grow wider. He can persuade him today, but he is afraid that he will be powerless in the future.
Even ministers whose achievements surpass their master's can retreat and hide in time, and perhaps they can save their lives.
However, the prince, whose achievements surpassed his master's, had no room for retreat. If he did not advance, he would die.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan is a smart man. He knew that this thing could not be done but he still did it. It would be a pity if such a courageous and strategic person died in the world.
I just hope that King Yan will really do as he said and take over Bingzhou in one battle!
Li Shimin issued a military order, but the pressure was inexplicably put on Li Guangbi, Li Bai, and Li Mi.
The three men were so worried that their hair was falling out. However, Li Shimin remained calm and composed. He personally polished his sword every day, climbed the city walls to observe the enemy, and even had modern technicians release robots to continue performing a two-person opera around the enemy.
Of course, now people are tired of Errenzhuan and have started to imitate the Nuo dance of the Tang Dynasty and previous dynasties.
[Nuo dance is an ancient sacrificial dance, commonly known as dancing for the gods.
A group of shamans, wearing somewhat terrifying masks, dance and pray for blessings, or of course, curse, but in short, they carry an aura of "divine power."
[Hahaha, robots performing the Nuo dance is truly eerie and aesthetically pleasing, especially at night, dancing around a fire. Do you really think the rebels are Japanese?]
The sky screen was still funny, as if the descendants a thousand years later had no worries at all. There would be no such huge trouble as the military order.
After Li Shimin came down from the city wall, he immediately ordered people to slaughter sheep and cattle to reward the soldiers and feed them. Then he summoned the three armies.
"Today, the rebels are approaching Chang'an. Chang'an is in danger!
Soldiers of Bingzhou, tomorrow you will go out of the city to kill the enemy and capture Shi Siming and Cai Xide in one fell swoop. It is time for us to repay the Tang Dynasty and make meritorious deeds!
Success or failure depends on this one move!"
After Li Shimin finished speaking, he drank the yellow wine in his cup and suddenly smashed the bowl. The soldiers also smashed their cups and raised their swords and guns:
"I swear to follow His Highness until death and defend the Tang Dynasty!"
Although the decisive battle was to be held the next day, Li Shimin had already led a thousand heavily armored cavalrymen in the dark of night and sneaked into the enemy's military camp outside Taiyuan City.
These days, the rebels have been forced to watch robots dance every day, and they are all numb from it.
Although we were very panicked and frightened at the beginning, after watching for nearly a month, we realized that even if we tried to escape, they would be caught up and continue dancing. We couldn't beat them or drive them away, so we just made do with the sound of dancing.
However, because they were often woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of square dancing and had to hastily gather some people for defense, after more than half a month, the rebels all had dark circles under their eyes, and woke up early in the morning full of resentment and exhausted.
When Li Shimin and others tied up their horses at a distance and quietly walked into the rebel camp, the other side thought they were robots trying to dance and ignored them.
Soon, Li Shimin took the lead and led dozens of elite soldiers with superb martial arts skills. He quietly sneaked into the enemy camp, covered the enemy's mouth, and killed each enemy with one sword.
After killing hundreds of people and dozens of captains, Li Shimin and others took off their armor and put on the enemy's clothes.
It was the middle of the night, and the enemy soldiers around them couldn't tell who was who, so they spent the entire night in peace. When it came time for roll call the next morning, even the leading officer didn't notice anything unusual.
"What's wrong with you guys? Why are you so slow in the back?
Look up, why don't you gather quickly! "
At this time, Li Shimin and others lowered their heads and lagged behind others by a few steps.
The soldiers in front were furious. When they saw that they did not step forward, they came down to attack them. However, Li Shimin and others suddenly surrounded them and killed them with swords. Even the captain next to them was killed with one sword.
Before the other party could react and report the news, they immediately rushed into the rebels again.
Since everyone was wearing the same clothes, it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe. For a while, the rebels were in chaos and soon they were fighting among themselves.
At this time, Shi Siming and Cai Xide, who had hurriedly gotten up, arrived and realized that it was the other party's plan. They immediately began to maintain order and soon found the traces of Li Shimin and others among the crowd.
"The thief is here! Kill the King of Yan and you'll get a reward of 100,000!"
[This is fucked! How come Shi Siming's eyesight is so good? Is he farsighted? He can even detect this!]
It's over, our Erfeng is truly surrounded by a hundred thousand enemy troops! 】
[Ahhh, help! Erfeng, run away!
Oh my god, it looks so scary, I can’t bear to watch it anymore! 】
Just as everyone was besieging Li Shimin, the personal guards quickly protected Li Shimin inside, and everyone fought and retreated.
Soon, a thousand heavily armored cavalrymen from the rear also rode fast horses to cover Li Shimin's retreat.
Li Shimin rode his horse across the river and fled towards Taiyuan City. Shi Siming and Cai Xide immediately ordered a large number of cavalry to chase him, determined to capture Li Shimin alive!
At this moment, Li Shimin and his men suddenly turned their horses around and fled towards the nearby valley. The cavalrymen chasing behind them were unable to dodge and were directly hit by the spurs that had been set in ambush, and they all fell off their horses.
At the same time, Li Guangbi's ambushed infantrymen quickly rushed out and joined the battle.
Seeing that he was ambushed ahead, Shi Siming was not panicked. After all, he had an army of 100,000 against the enemy's 20,000 troops, so the advantage was on his side!
"Since the enemy has completely left the city, today is the best time for us to capture Taiyuan!"
Cai Xide also made the same judgment. After all, no matter how lucky Li Shimin was, how could he always defeat the enemy with a smaller force?
"I'm afraid the King of Yan is shameless and will hide in the city!
Li Neng, your luck is over today! Watch as this general captures you alive and swiftly!"
[Oh my, here comes another one of those talkative people! According to modern classic law, villains die because they talk too much!
Can't you just say less? Otherwise, the slap in the face will be so loud and ugly later!]
[Where's Erfeng? Why is Erfeng gone? ]
At this time, Li Shimin had led 3,000 light cavalry and 1,000 heavy armored cavalry from Taiyuan City, and went around the mountains and forests to the rear of the enemy.
No one was more familiar with the terrain of Bingzhou than him. At this time, the enemy army had 70,000 to 80,000 people, and Li Guangbi had less than 20,000 troops in front of him. If he confronted them head-on, he would definitely be defeated after a long time.
So Li Shimin ordered all the cavalry to go around the center and rear of the enemy's main force.
There was a narrow path in the valley on this side, so Li Shimin ordered the cavalry to form a long snake formation of two people in a row, go out from the mouth of the valley, and go around the side of the enemy army to the rear of the enemy.
[Isn't it a long snake formation? Why are there two people in a row? It looks like the horses are so crowded.]
[This is so funny! Even modern people like us can’t be so honest! The word “yi” is just an imaginary number, it doesn’t mean there is only one person!]
The two of them were probably covering each other? If they went out together, back to back, they would form a small group.
Li Shimin ordered that they did not need to try their best to kill the enemy for the time being, but just go around to the rear, so all the cavalry did not fight head-on with all their strength.
The rebel infantry in the rear were frightened when they saw a group of two enemies suddenly emerge from the valley next to them. They immediately fought with them.
But later, seeing that neither party was going to hurt him, he let them go.
[…??? What's going on? I'm confused. Why isn't the other team fighting?]
[This is hilarious! This is what happens when the soldiers in the front fight desperately while the ones in the back do nothing, right? Hahahaha]
You won't hit me? Then I won't hit you either!
They are quite nice people! 】
[The most important thing is that Shi Siming and others in the front can't see what is happening in the back at all!
The workers behind me really just slacked off.]
[If it were me, I'd slack off too. It doesn't require any risk and won't kill me, so of course I'd turn a blind eye.]
[Aaaaaahahahahahaha, I'm laughing so hard I'm looking for my head on the floor! But what on earth is this for?
I don't understand what Er Feng's style is? Are you just trying to make me laugh to death?
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