The Song army camp where Li Xia and Liu Yuanli attacked was on a hillside called "Changganling".
A few miles further to the west is the Jiutian Xuannv Cave. The mountains stretch north to the Han River, forming a natural encirclement.
The soldiers and horses in the Changganling camp were arranged by Lu Wende to prevent Li Xia from escaping westward.
The fight lasted until almost noon when Liu Yuanli finally heard a cheer.
"His Majesty!"
He quickly drove his horse up the low hillside and saw Li Xia's flag.
Finally we met, it took longer than expected.
Liu Yuanli seemed to have returned to the time when he followed Liu Heima to fight against Yu Ling, and experienced the stubbornness of the Song army when they defended the camp.
But he finally broke through the Song army's defense line. He passed through the still chaotic formation and saw Li Xia.
"My escort is late, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
This was the first time Liu Yuanli saw Li Xia after he proclaimed himself emperor. His eyes turned red, and he quickly said a few words without caring that he was still on the battlefield.
"More than thirty years after the fall of the Jin Dynasty, I finally... finally saw that the Central Plains has an orthodox emperor, and I am overjoyed!"
This may sound a bit pretentious, but Liu Yuanli means it sincerely.
Others say that he is the descendant of Yelu Deguang, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, but the Khitan emperor considers himself a descendant of Liu Bang, so Liu Heima is called Liu Heima instead of Yelu Heima.
Before Li Xia gained power, the Liu family had been the "Liu family" for two to three hundred years.
This is the feeling of a family named Liu from the Central Plains who finally regained their emperor after decades of loss.
On the hurried battlefield, Liu Yuanli got off his horse, knelt down and saluted.
"Your Majesty did not even give me a chance to come to Chang'an for an audience.
"Wu Lang is exempt from the gift. You have done a great job in rescuing the driver. You should be heavily rewarded."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Liu Yuanli wiped his eyes quickly, got up and mounted his horse, and soon returned to his usual calm and quiet demeanor.
Li Xia pointed to the east and said, "Did you see it?"
"The Song army has increased its troops?"
Liu Yuanli raised his telescope and looked at the billowing dust and smoke rising several miles away, his movements stagnant for a moment.
He put down his telescope and said, "Yuan army? How could it be?"
"The snipe and the clam are fighting, and here comes the fisherman."
Li Xia has been surrounded by the Song army. It is naturally impossible to know how the Song army allowed the Yuan army to cross the Han River outside the encirclement.
I can only make a rough guess, maybe it’s because of the Lumenshan building...
Liu Yuanli became increasingly surprised.
"I thought that Lu Wende dared to order the whole army to charge, so he had eliminated the possibility of being robbed by the Yuan army."
"Lian originally thought so and went to see Lu Wenhuan to make sure he was sane."
"..."
Liu Yuanli shook his head.
When Lu Wende became famous, he was only seven or eight years old. He once regarded Lu Wende as his great enemy. Today, he is inevitably a little disappointed.
"How could a famous general be so negligent? In a three-party confrontation, even a child should know that safety is the most important thing."
The three parties were fighting, and suddenly one party made a mistake that even a child should not make, which made Liu Yuanli feel very embarrassed.
He glanced around.
At this time, the flags of the Song generals on Changgan Ridge had been captured, and the Song soldiers were separated into two parts.
The part facing the mountain began to retreat, while the part facing the river mostly chose to surrender.
Further away, other Song troops were encircling them.
Liu Yuanli turned to look to the west, and could faintly see dust and smoke flying in the mountains and forests. It could be seen that Lu Wende was confused in terms of grand strategy, but he was still sophisticated in tactics and had arranged a larger encirclement.
There are only two paths right now.
The first is to retreat to the Han River, return to the ships, and use ships and artillery to defend, but there is insufficient food and grass. It is difficult to move up the tide river and retreat to Hanzhong when surrounded by heavy troops;
The second is to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, defeat Lu Wende's entire army, recruit his troops to surrender, and then defeat the Yuan army.
But this is more difficult to achieve. The Tang army has been besieged for a long time and is already exhausted. With the Yuan army likely to attack at any time, there is no time or opportunity to defeat an enemy five times larger.
Liu Yuanli felt anxious and licked his lips because his mouth was so dry. He looked at the dust and smoke getting closer and closer to the east and finally said: "I thought... we should return to the river boat to rest."
He has a calm personality and chose a more conservative approach.
"After all, Ezhou is in our hands, and the Song army's retreat has been cut off. As long as we hold on, they may collapse first." Liu Yuanli added: "The confrontation between the three parties is not only in trouble for us."
Li Xia shook his head.
He stayed here in order to hold back the main force of the Song Army and create an opportunity for Shi Jun to attack Ezhou.
Now that the reinforcements have arrived, if they do not break through, the soldiers will become more and more tired and the food and grass will become less and less. Even if Lu Wende is dragged to death, the Yuan army will continue to come over.
When it breaks, it breaks.
Lu Wende is confused, then let him pay the price for his confusion.
"If you retreat, your death will be delayed, but if you advance, you may have a chance to survive. I don't want to retreat, but Wulang is willing to join forces to defeat the enemy?"
Liu Yuanli looked at the endless Song army formation in the east and felt the pressure.
He wanted to persuade Li Xia to think about it again. But he had tears in his eyes just now. How could he back down now?
"I will go through fire and water and swear to kill the foolish Lu Wende for Your Majesty!"
On the watchtower of Longzhong Mountain, the Song army could see four or five miles away with the watch tube.
I saw that the Yuan army was only two miles away from the Song army.
The flags on the watchtower were constantly waving, reminding the generals on the battlefield to pay attention.
In fact, there was no need to look at the flags on the watchtower, just the dust and smoke in the east. The generals of the Song Army were also very nervous when they saw it.
After hearing Lu Wende's self-condemnation, the civil servants rushed forward to comfort him.
"Young guard is defending the country. This battle has not yet been defeated. How can you claim to be harming the country?"
"Young guard, don't be alarmed. The Yuan people have sent envoys to say that they have no intention of starting a war. Just because our army has been unable to annihilate Li Xia, the Yuan people's general manager can't wait any longer, so he came here."
"But he also said that if our army does not have the strength, they can do it."
"After all, the Song Dynasty has an alliance with the Yuan Dynasty. Send someone to talk to the Yuan army. We will surely annihilate Li Ni quickly.
"That's right, don't fall into the crime of being provocative."
Lu Wende was stunned when he heard what they said, and seemed to be even more confused.
Seeing this situation, Qiu Tongfu was extremely anxious.
"That's enough!" He raised his hand and pointed, "You...do you still care about the rise and fall of the world in your eyes?!"
He believed that the people around his father-in-law were not stupid, but bad. He said this in order to follow his father-in-law's long desire to get rid of Li Xia.
The Song Dynasty had an alliance with the Yuan Dynasty, but why did the Yuan Dynasty negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty?
Because of Li Xia.
If Li Xia is destroyed, what is the use of the covenant?
In other words, if Li Xia dies today, the Yuan army will turn around and attack the Song army.
Even he, a doctor, could understand such a simple truth, but he didn't believe that these civil servants, who were well versed in the ways of power and conspiracy, couldn't understand it.
His heart can be killed!
Qiu Tongfu remembered that it was not like this a long time ago. In the past, everyone under Marshal Lu made plans just to drive away the Mongolian army.
I don’t know when it started. The discussion was about how to replace Pu Zezhi, how to exclude Liu Zheng, how to exclude Xiang Shibi, how to please Jia Sidao, and then how to get rid of Li Xia and Li Xia.
Because Lu Shaobao wanted to be rich and powerful and wanted to get rid of Li Xia too much, everyone around him also changed...
This change made Qiu Tongfu even more heartbroken.
"All the best troops in Jinghu are here, the commander is seriously ill, Ezhou has been lost, and the way back is cut off. You are still thinking about getting rid of the serious troubles for the Yuan army first. Can the crumbling Song Dynasty be saved?!"
The words "Great Song Dynasty" came into his ears. Lu Wende turned his head and opened his mouth, but what he said was not how to deal with the Yuan army.
"That little pawn, how dare he call me stupid?"
"Father-in-law, don't ever be like that vulgar Qiu. Even the enemy is disappointed in me?" Lu Wende didn't know where he was looking, and muttered to himself in a low voice, "Thirty years of military service, Lu Laoliu proposed again and again.
, but you can’t even see this situation?”
Only Qiu Tongfu, who was standing closest, heard this sentence. After thinking about it for a while, he vaguely understood his father-in-law's mood.
What kind of low-level mistake could make even his enemies who had least hope for him feel disappointed?
As far as Qiu Tongfu knows, this father-in-law has never been scolded by others.
In fact, too many people accuse Lu Wende of being jealous and greedy, and his reputation for corruption is reviled by everyone.
But maybe he felt that he deserved it for having made so much contribution to the Song Dynasty and that the Lu family's "treasures filled the house, their products spread all over the Yangtze and Huaihe River, and they were extremely rich." He didn't care if he was scolded for these things.
However, no one has ever dared to criticize his illustrious military exploits and abilities.
It doesn't matter if one's personal morality falls short, but one's reputation cannot be ruined for a lifetime.
Although you are greedy and jealous, you cannot be stupid...
Qiu Tongfu looked around and saw that Lu Wende's face had become uglier in this short period of time. Because he had fainted and woke up, his hair was a little scattered and fell from his helmet.
I didn't realize that his hair was already gray in the past, so he looked very old.
He is indeed old, confused...stupid.
"Father-in-law." Qiu Tongfu stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Many soldiers have been lost today. If one hundred thousand elite soldiers from Jinghu were left here, the consequences would be disastrous.
He understood what Lu Wende meant when he said, "Those who harm the country, I will do the same." After persuading him, he added euphemistically.
"Besides, my father is not feeling well, so it is better to withdraw his troops and recover before fighting again."
I thought I could persuade Lu Wende like this...
However.
Another shout exploded in my ears.
"Shut up!"
Lu Wende pushed Qiu Tongfu away and cursed: "What do you stupid scholar know? Don't bother me!"
I don’t know where this seriously ill man got the strength to stand up and give orders again, with a loud voice like a bell.
And he is stubborn and unrepentant.
"Go, bring those damn rebel soldiers! Then send someone to tell the Yuan generals that I will be able to annihilate Li Xia immediately without their help. Ask them again, how can they dare to enter if the Song-Yuan alliance is still there?
Within the Song Dynasty? Retreat quickly.
When Qiu Tongfu heard this, he saw that Lu Wen Dejing still stubbornly wanted to destroy Li Xia. He couldn't help but feel anxious and wanted to persuade him.
——Father-in-law, how can you be so stubborn?
The next moment, Lu Wende turned around and glared at him coldly.
The look in his eyes was sharp and determined, killing and decisive.
Qiu Tongfu was startled and felt a chill on his back.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of war drums being beaten again on Changgan Ridge to the west. The rebels seemed to have a tragic feeling of being surrounded by the allied forces of Song and Yuan Dynasties, and they also seemed to be determined to win.
Lu Wende here is stubborn, and Li Xia is also fierce. They actually want to defeat the Song and Yuan forces in one battle.
Qiu Tongfu believed that Li Xia could not win and should take a step back... Even if Lu Wende was confused, he thought that Li Xia should take a step back.
But at the same time, he was frightened by this determination.
From this, he began to think about whether Li Xia had the slightest chance of winning. His eyes turned and fell on Lu Wende's back, and he became even more frightened when he thought about the possibility that Lu Wende's back would become gangrenous during the war...
"No!" Qiu Tongfu finally uttered a trembling sound of fear from his throat, "We will be destroyed together... just in case... just in case..."