In the twelfth lunar month of winter, white snow falls one after another.
The celestial phenomenon in the Tang Dynasty meant that it would snow in winter, and even the land of Bashu was no exception.
Traveling through Sichuan is difficult and the mountain roads are winding.
In order to meet the supply of the army in front, the Tang army's rear support troops were miserable.
It snowed heavily for days and the food transportation channels were blocked. Li Jing's 50,000-strong army was temporarily without food, and the remaining food was only enough to last for ten days.
The situation was very critical, but Li Jing could only pretend to be calm, lest rumors spread and disturb the morale of the army.
In the Chinese army's large tent, Li Jingkuo sat in front of the tent, holding a pen and carefully thinking about how to write down military intelligence and battle reports from the front.
The chicken soup on the side has already cooled down.
Li Jing started writing several times and stopped writing several times.
There has been a stalemate with the rebels for three months now. The war situation has not made any progress, and no large-scale battles have broken out recently. This military situation is difficult to describe.
If the report is truthful, the court will definitely be dissatisfied.
However, if a forceful attack is to be carried out, not only will victory not be guaranteed, but the army will suffer heavy casualties.
Li Jing pays attention to stability when using troops. He will not use troops easily without absolute certainty.
The same is true when dealing with Turks.
However, now it seems the time has come to make a decision.
The rear supplies were cut off. If the mountain road was not opened within three days, Li Jing had to make a decision.
Either attack by force and fight to the death. There may be a 60% chance of winning, but the army will suffer heavy casualties, and then face the end of Shu. The defeated Holy Lotus cultists hid in the rivers and lakes, waiting for opportunities to prepare for the next outbreak.
Either withdraw directly, wait until winter, re-attack, and then try to annihilate them. However, after withdrawing, they will have to bear tremendous pressure from all forces in the court, and may even be held accountable by the emperor. However, in this way, the effective strength of the Tang Dynasty can be preserved.
"Hey!" Li Jing sighed heavily. At this moment, he was much older than when he attacked the Turks.
"Li Jing!" A rough voice came from outside, and the disheveled Cheng Yaojin opened the curtain and strode in, "The grain road is blocked, why didn't you tell me such an important thing? Do you want to be
Turtle Sun'er retreats?"
Cheng Yaojin seemed very angry, and he came forward and slapped the table heavily.
Li Jing didn't seem surprised to see him like this. He put down his pen gently and smiled slowly: "Please keep your voice down. This matter is confidential. If it gets out, it will disturb the morale of the army!"
"Then...then give me an explanation."
"Look, isn't this obvious? With your energy in making noises, who dares to tell you about this?"
"I..." Cheng Yaojin was speechless and his face softened, "Then what do you think we should do now? With the food and grass we have now, we must make a big move within three days, otherwise we will be in a dilemma and the army will be trapped here.
"
Li Jing hesitated for a moment, lowered his voice and said: "Even if I want to retreat at this moment, the old masters in the court will not let me retreat! The decisive battle is coming, you should go back and recharge your batteries!"
When Cheng Yaojin heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he patted Li Jing's shoulder heavily: "Well done, with your words, I feel relieved!"
"Shh... don't make any noise, wait until I arrange everything."
Cheng Yaojin also became more energetic and nodded seriously: "I understand!"
After saying that, Chen Yaojin turned around and wanted to leave.
Cheng Yaojin opened the door curtain and bumped into Li Miao who was coming. Cheng Yaojin quickly made a silence gesture to him: "Shh..."
Li Miao was confused, cupped her hands towards Cheng Yaojin, and then watched him leave.
After Cheng Yaojin left, Li Miao asked seriously: "The general is finally preparing for a general attack?"
"Who said I was going to launch a general attack?"
Li Miao was stunned for a moment, a little confused: "I was just talking to General Cheng..."
"General Cheng will not agree to withdraw the troops. This is also a helpless move."
"Withdraw the troops? Our troops have been out for three months. Wouldn't it be a waste of all our efforts to withdraw now? Grandpa, if you want to go back like this, how will you deal with the court?"
"Grandpa has fought for the Tang Dynasty all his life, how can he ignore the overall situation because of personal honor and disgrace? We have mastered the structure of the Holy Lotus Sect's crossbow, and it is only a matter of time before we can copy it. Fighting again next year will definitely be much easier than this year. I want to give the emperor
To keep these soldiers, to keep these soldiers is to keep the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. Li Miao, I'm afraid you will be the one to make the decision in the coming year."
"Grandpa, what do you mean by this?"
"After this withdrawal, only grandpa's resignation can appease the court officials. At that time, I will ask the emperor to hand over the general power to you."
Li Miao had a look of shock on his face. This news was too shocking and he couldn't digest it at all.
After being stunned for a long time, Li Miao finally remembered his own affairs and hurriedly sent military information.
"General, news came from Fuling City that a group of bandits attacked Fuling City at night and defeated all the two thousand garrison in Fuling City. They looted the city and then left."
"What? A group of bandits can capture Fuling City? When did this happen?"
"It should have been half a month ago."
"Half a month ago? This news was too late!"
"There is no way. The territory to the south is controlled by the Holy Lotus Sect. It is difficult for our detectives to pass on the news. After that, Ba County Guard Yu Wenji led five thousand elites out of the city to suppress the bandits."
"Since half a month has passed, it doesn't mean much anymore."
"General, do you remember what I told you last time?"
"What?"
"Martial Arts Conference! Those martial arts people!"
Speaking of this, Li Miao became excited, walked quickly to Li Jing, lowered his voice and said: "Bai Song said that he would win the trust of martial arts people and enter Yizhou to help us! The general didn't believe it before
, Looking at it now, apart from this team, who else can suddenly appear near Fuling City? Who else can capture Fuling City overnight? "
"Even so, so what?"
"Now that we have support, as long as we can contact them and ask them to hold off Bajun's troops when we attack Chengdu, don't we have a great chance of winning?"
"There are 30,000 troops stationed in Bajun and a team of only a hundred people. Even if each of them is a master of cultivating Yuanjing, it is impossible for them to become a threat. This method is too risky and we don't have that much time to prepare."
"But..." Li Miao wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Li Jing.
"This general has made up his mind and the withdrawal of troops cannot be delayed without delay."
"General, Bai Song and I made an appointment to meet in Chengdu. Now we are retreating. Isn't he a sheep entering a tiger's mouth?"
"What do you want? Is it possible that I, the general, would risk fifty thousand troops just for one person?"
Li Miao was stunned on the spot, not knowing what to say.
After a while, Li Miao asked: "When will the general prepare to withdraw his troops?"
"Something will happen within three days!" After Li Jing finished speaking, he saw Li Miao's gloomy expression and immediately felt bad, "What do you want to do? I tell you, this is a military camp, and you are not allowed to do anything random."
Li Miao shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Grandpa, Bai Song came here because of me. He risked his life and death to help us. I can never let him die alone! I leave the camp alone, Grandpa doesn't have to worry about me. Li Miao's life and death all depend on God's will.
, when I find Bai Song, I will definitely take him out of Shu."
