There was a quarrel in the political hall about who would lead the troops for a while, but they couldn't come up with an outcome.
Liu Wenjing favored the prince, but Dou Wei, Dou Kang, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda opposed the prince's involvement in danger.
So Li Yuan asked Dou Wei, "Who does Prime Minister Dou think can lead the troops to rescue Bingzhou?"
"The old minister thought that Changsun Shunde could lead the troops to rescue."
Changsun Shunde...
Li Yuan remained silent. In fact, it was okay to let Changsun Shunde lead the army. After all, he was the hero of Taiyuan Yuan Cong. But when these words came from Dou Wei's mouth, Li Yuan became more vigilant.
He thought about it again and again, but still rejected Dou Wei's proposal.
Dou Wei was not surprised by this, because the eldest grandson Shunde was also from the Guanlong family, so it was not surprising that Li Yuan denied him.
But this time, Dou Wei was not disappointed, because now the king of Qin, the king of Qi, the king of Chu, the king of Huai'an, the king of Yong'an and other famous generals have been sent out. It is not that easy for Li Yuan to find people from the clan.
What's more important is that Li Yuan can't find a loser this time. Because there is no room for loss in Bingzhou, it must be taken back. Therefore, Dou Wei is certain that Li Yuan has no one left.
Unless, Li Yuan sends the prince there.
If this is the case, he will never agree.
As for Li Yuan, he was originally very moved by Li Jiancheng's request for help, but he felt that Chen Shuda was right. Liu Wuzhou was coming this time with great force. If the prince had someone in Bingzhou, it would be more terrifying than losing Bingzhou.
Therefore, he looked at Li Jiancheng and said: "I already know the emperor's heart. As several prime ministers have said, you are the prince and you should not take risks easily."
Hearing this, Li Jiancheng insisted again: "Father, I am the crown prince, but I am the son of my father and the elder brother of King Qi. Now that the Tang Dynasty is in trouble and my younger brother is trapped, how can I just sit back and ignore it?
I sincerely ask my father to allow me to lead my troops to help merge the state!"
This is a good opportunity for him to make meritorious service and seize military power, and he will never give up.
Li Jiancheng's persistence was beyond Li Yuan's expectations.
Li Yuan thought for a while, then shook his head and refused, "Your Majesty, there is no need to say more, I already have a candidate in mind."
Li Jiancheng was stunned and asked in confusion: "Who does the emperor want to send to help Bingzhou?"
There are not many clan generals left in Chang'an, who can still take on such an important task.
"Prince of Xiangyi County." Li Yuan said with a serious face.
Li Shenfu?
Everyone was shocked.
Dou Wei secretly screamed in his heart that it was terrible, he actually forgot about Li Shenfu.
Although Li Shenfu is not as famous as his brother Li Shentong, he is also a clan minister who responded to Chang'an and has made outstanding achievements.
Without waiting for anyone to speak, Li Yuan followed up and said, "There is also Pei Ji."
Pei Ji:(?ー?〃)
He never expected that even though he had not spoken a word, he would still be called upon by the emperor.
Immediately, his eyes met Li Yuan's.
Pei Ji: "..."
Li Yuan: "..."
Okay, I understand. Pei Ji raised his hand and said, "I obey."
Li Yuan was very pleased that his good friend was obedient and ordered: "Appoint the king of Xiangyi County as the general manager of Jinzhou Road March, Pei Ji as the general manager of the camp, Taichang Shaoqing Li Zhongwen, and Zuowei General Jiang Baoyi to accompany the army to Bingzhou."
Seeing that Li Yuan had made up his mind, everyone looked at each other in shock, cupped their hands and said, "I obey the order."
The soldiers were very fast. After receiving the order, Li Shenfu immediately led an infantry of 30,000 horses and entered Puzhou via Pujing Pass.
At this time, Song Jingang and Yuchi Gong had already led their troops and marched straight in, approaching Baibi of Jiangzhou.
After learning the news, Li Shenfu immediately led the cavalry to support Baibi and curb Song Jingang's advance.
The two sides fought two battles in Baibi. Yuchi Gong was brave and invincible and killed two Tang generals alone in the battle. However, due to the lack of troops and horses, he could not defeat Li Shenfu.
In the Battle of Baibi, the Tang army barely won, forcing Song Jingang to retreat temporarily.
Taipingguan camp.
Song Jingang and Yuchi Gong went all the way south from Taiyuan and rushed thousands of miles to Jiangzhou. It was difficult to maintain their troops, horses and food. It is understandable that they suffered a small defeat against Li Shenfu.
Therefore, Song Jingang did not find it difficult to accept. What he was worried about now was that the Tang army had 30,000 troops, but he only had 10,000 troops. How could he defeat Li Shenfu?
Originally, he had 50,000 troops going south this time, but Liu Wuzhou saw that it was so easy to attack Bingzhou, and there were Turks assisting him. Therefore, he ordered Xun Xiang to lead his army back to Taiyuan and cooperate with him to encircle Jinyang.
The speed of Tang Dynasty's support was somewhat beyond Song Jingang's expectation.
"King Song, what should we do next?" Yuchi Gong, a black-faced man, asked dully.
Since going south from Mayi, he has never encountered a decent opponent. He has been almost invincible against the Tang army all the way, and the master is lonely.
Although Song Jingang came from a rough background, he was cunning.
He pointed to the map and said: "Now the Tang army is stationed in Baibi, with 30,000 troops. It will definitely not work with our 10,000 troops. I plan to unite with the Turks to attack Li Shenfu."
"Turk?" Yuchi Gong frowned, looking unhappy.
"What's wrong? What's the problem?"
"Don't you know, those dogs are looting everywhere."
Hearing this, Song Jingang patted Yuchi Gong on the shoulder, "Actually, I don't like these Turkic dogs either, but now the king must rely on the Turks to defeat Li Yuan."
Yuchi Gong remained silent. He was very disgusted with the banditry of the Turks, but this did not stop Liu Wuzhou from uniting with the Turks.
The next day, Song Jingang sent someone to send a message to Ao Sheshe who was in Quwo, inviting him to attack the Tang army in Baibi.
Although the Turks agreed to help Liu Wuzhou, they did not directly hand over the troops and horses to Liu Wuzhou's control. Instead, Ao Sheshe personally commanded them.
This can be regarded as a lesson learned. When Li Yuan raised his army, Khan initially asked Kang Sheoli to obey Li Yuan's orders, but in the end, Li Yuan ruthlessly abandoned the Turks who had sacrificed so much.
This time, Chu Luo learned his lesson and repeatedly told Ao Sheshe to control his troops.
Ao Sheshe went all the way south, plundering all the cities along the way and looting a lot of money. He readily agreed to Song Jingang's request for help and was willing to fight with him against the Tang army.
The next day, Song Jingang ordered Wei Chigong to lead his army to attack Baibi.
Li Shenfu did not hesitate and immediately led his army to meet the enemy. The two sides fought a fierce battle. Yuchi Gong followed Song Jingang's arrangement and retreated all the way to Quwo.
Seeing this opportunity, Li Shenfu was naturally unwilling to give up and immediately organized troops to pursue him.
But at this time, Pei Ji tried to dissuade him: "Prince, I heard that there are Turkic soldiers and horses in Quwo. This is probably Song Jingang's conspiracy. We can't be fooled."
"Bullshit." Li Shenfu said disdainfully: "I am here to rescue Bingzhou. Even if there are Turkic dogs in Quwo, I will kill them. Otherwise, Taiyuan will be lost. Can you bear the responsibility for this crime, Xiangguo Pei?
?”
"That's not what I meant!" Pei Ji said anxiously: "Now that we have defeated Song Jingang, we can plan to defeat him slowly. We don't know anything about the situation of the Turkic soldiers and horses in Quwo. How can we underestimate the enemy and advance rashly!"
"If you are afraid, just stay. I can go alone!"
Pushing Pei Ji away, Li Shenfu got on his horse and led his troops to pursue Yuchi Gong.
Seeing this, Pei Ji stamped his feet angrily, mentally cursing Li Shenfu for being a fool.
Li Shenfu led his army to pursue and fight fiercely. When approaching Quwo, they encountered a large Turkic army led by Ao Sheshe.
Thirty thousand cavalry attacked the Tang army from the front, and Song Jingang led more than a thousand men to attack from the rear. Li Shenfu immediately fell into a fierce battle.
Yuchi Gong held his horse in hand and rode a black shadow into the Tang army's formation, heading straight for Li Shenfu.
The battle situation gradually became tense, but the Turkic cavalry was obviously superior. They divided into groups and attacked the Tang army from all directions.
An hour passed, and the Tang army gradually entered a desperate situation and retreated all the way.
At this time, Li Shenfu was confused and led his army to retreat quickly. However, Yu Chigong and Song Jingang were in hot pursuit.
The two sides chased and fled, spanning dozens of miles overnight. During the pursuit, Yuchi Gong killed Li Zhongwen in the formation, which made Li Shenfu tremble in his heart.
Finally, Pei Ji, who was in Baibi, learned about Li Shenfu's escape and ordered Jiang Baoyi to lead the troops to rescue him, and then he rescued Li Shenfu.
However, after this battle, there were not many soldiers and horses left to support Li Shenfu. In desperation, Pei Ji could only persuade Li Shenfu to temporarily retreat to Puzhou, stick to the east of the river, and ask for help from Chang'an.
Seeing that the Tang army was retreating, Song Jingang did not rush to pursue him. Instead, he sent people to ask Liu Wuzhou for food and grass while integrating his troops and horses on the spot.
As for Ao Sheshe, he wanted to kill Li Shenfu in one go. But facing the strong city, he could only give up temporarily and prepare to wait for Song Jingang's food and grass to be in place before defeating the enemy. But he was not idle either.