Twenty thousand naval troops and thousands of warships transferred from the Yangtze River arrived in Weizhou.
There is no big ship with 10,000 stones, the largest one is only 5,000 stones, which is also the largest ship that can travel in Yongji Canal.
At this time, Li Ye received a message from Feiying in Weizhou, and more than 100,000 Huihe troops appeared in the clouds.
Time was running out, so Li Ye immediately ordered 200,000 troops to march north.
The army was divided into two groups. One group, with Guo Ziyi as the chief general and Ma Lin as the deputy general, led an army of 100,000 from Dezhou to Cangzhou. They carried 40,000 camels loaded with supplies and headed north.
The other route was led by Li Ye personally, and he appointed Lai Yi as his deputy general. He led an army of 120,000 people on land and water, and a thousand warships loaded with grain supplies and military supplies, and marched northward along the Yongji Canal.
The reason why more than 200,000 troops were mobilized to attack Cangzhou was mainly because Tian Chengsi was the strongest among the major vassal towns.
Not only did he have an army of 50,000, but also a combined army of 50,000. He also recruited more than 10,000 cavalry from Li Na. He was quite powerful. Li Ye would have to use more than 200,000 troops, twice as many as his opponent, to defeat Tian Cheng.
heir.
Moreover, time was tight. He had to annihilate Tian Chengsi before the Uighur army moved south from Youzhou, and he could not give Tian Chengsi a chance to become a fisherman.
Two days later, the army arrived in Beizhou.
In the night, the team did not stop to rest, but continued to march at night. The soldiers of the Tang army were basically on horseback, not all cavalry, but the infantry also had horses.
The speed was not very fast, and they walked slowly along the Yongji Canal. The powerful scouts ensured that there would be no enemy troops within a radius of 500 miles.
At the same time, the army requisitioned tens of thousands of civilians, who were mainly responsible for drawing fiber. Not all the ships were vehicles and boats.
Li Ye was in the largest five-thousand-stone warship. This warship was a building ship with three floors. Li Ye was on the second floor. The third floor was mainly for drawings, sand tables and the like.
Li Ye sent a total of 300,000 troops in this battle, which can be said to be unprecedented, and it was also because this battle was related to the future of the Tang Dynasty and his future.
If we look at the total military strength, the opponent's total military strength is 400,000, including the Uighur Army, the Fanzhen Army, the Khitan Army and the Goguryeo Army.
If these armies were united, the Tang army might not be able to defeat them. Even if they could defeat them, it would be a disastrous victory, and the Tang army would have to pay a heavy price.
But the good thing now is that they are not united, and the three vassals are fighting among themselves. Zhu Si does not allow Li Baochen and Tian Chengsi to enter Youzhou, fearing that they will turn away and annex him.
The three vassal towns all wanted to use Huihe to weaken themselves first and confront themselves head-on. They were fishermen behind and took advantage.
But are the Uighurs so stupid? Are they willing to be taken advantage of by the feudal town? The Uighurs also hope that they can fight hard with the feudal town and use the feudal town to weaken themselves, and then they can become fishermen and take advantage.
The same goes for the Khitan army. They have not yet entered Pingzhou. It is obvious that they want to take advantage in the end.
Everyone is talking about determination and strategy, which gives them every opportunity to defeat them.
Of course, this is only the outcome that Li Ye most hopes for, but it is difficult to say whether the development of the situation will follow the path he expected, especially for the Huihe people. It is difficult to figure out their routines. Maybe Dengli was eager to appease the morale of the army, so he decided
Let the army go south to grab it.
While he was deep in thought, there was a knock on the door, "Your Highness! The head of the Cui family in Qinghe is asking for an audience on the bank."
Li Ye was slightly startled. He remembered that Guo Ziyi had told him that Cui Ze was eager to see him.
Li Ye nodded, "Ask him to get on board and wait in the cabin!"
Li Ye didn't like these Hebei aristocratic families emotionally. These aristocratic families had lasted for thousands of years. Even in the dark era of the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they still lived a prosperous life. The fundamental reason was that they only had family in their hearts, but no family and country.
Regardless of the force, as long as the interests of their family are guaranteed, they will cooperate well.
Li Ye believed that Tian Chengsi had the support of the Cui family of Qinghe and the Cui family of Boling, otherwise Tian Chengsi would not have become the most powerful family in the feudal town.
Of course, this has something to do with Tian Chengsi's attempt to win over aristocratic families. In comparison, Li Baochen's methods were much weaker, so there were not many aristocratic families supporting him, which also resulted in Li Baochen's Chengde Army being the weakest among the several vassals.
Although he didn't like it, Li Ye still wanted to see Cui Ze. If he wanted to govern Hebei, he had to rely on the support of these aristocratic families.
Li Ye immediately came to the reception cabin on the first floor, where Cui Ze was already waiting.
Cui Ze quickly stood up and saluted, "See you, Your Highness!"
Li Ye smiled and waved his hand, "Master Cui, please sit down!"
The two sat down as guests and hosts, and Li Ye said slowly: "A few days ago, General Guo told me about the family master's worries. Originally, I planned to visit the family master when passing through Beizhou, but the Huihe army has already reached the border of Datang.
The situation is quite tense, I believe the owner of the family has also seen it, and we have to march even at night."
Cui Ze was startled and asked quickly: "How many troops will Huihe send?"
"They claim to have an army of 300,000, but I estimate it is at most 110,000 or 20,000. This is their ultimate."
But even an army of 112,000 people made Cui Ze's face change color. Rebels like Tian Chengsi are always easy to deal with, but the Uighurs are different. They don't want land, but plunder property and women and return to Mobei. They
They don't care what aristocratic family you are. On the contrary, if the aristocratic family has a lot of wealth and beautiful women, they will rob it even harder.
Li Ye saw Cui Ze's nervousness, so he smiled and reassured: "I have sent an army of 300,000 troops with powerful firearms and a well-trained army. The head of the family does not need to worry. We will never let the Uighur cavalry ravage Hebei. We will definitely
Will defeat them in Youzhou."
Cui Ze felt a little relieved and quickly bowed and said: "His Royal Highness controls the overall situation of the court, which is a blessing for the people of Hebei!"
What he said was true. If the late emperor Li Heng and the eunuchs were in power, how could they withstand the hundreds of thousands of Huihe troops marching south to loot? The Cui family was completely ruined.
Li Ye added: "The top priority is to completely annihilate Tian Chengsi's tribe and Li Baochen's tribe to prevent them from cooperating with the Uighur army. In this regard, I also hope that the head of the family can provide help!"
Cui Ze blushed and was about to explain when Li Ye waved his hand and said with a smile: "The head of the family does not need to explain, the country is based on the people. I annihilated Tian Chengsi to protect the people. The head of the family and Tian Chengsi also fought with the snake to protect the people. We use all possible means to protect the people."
Different, but the purpose is the same.”
Li Ye said this, which made Cui Ze feel much better, and he quickly climbed up the pole, "The Anshi Rebellion caused huge losses to Hebei, and more than half of the people died. As a township party, in order to protect the people, sometimes we have to do things that are against our will."
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "I completely understand. The head of the family does not need to blame himself."
At this point, Cui Ze had to express himself. He thought for a moment and said: "Tian Chengsi's chief aide, Wang Lun, is a disciple of the Cui family. I will send someone to surrender him and let him be the internal correspondent. He will stand up for His Highness at the critical moment."
Wonderful feat."
Li Ye's heart moved. He happened to need an envoy from Tian Chengsi to return to Hehe. This was really "I was dozing off, but the pillow was delivered."
Li Ye immediately wrote a short message and gave it to Cui Ze, "I hope the head of the family will send someone to deliver this letter to Wang Lun as soon as possible, and then persuade him to serve the court. If he has made great achievements, I will pardon him."
Cui Ze took the letter and said solemnly: "Your Highness, please rest assured, I will make arrangements right away!"