The Chu king's army arrived at Jingxing in Hengzhou within three days, and began to cross the mountains one after another and enter Taiyuan, Bingzhou.
The last time Liu Wuzhou went south, the King of Qin supported Taiyuan and took the same route.
For Datang, Hebei can be lost, but Taiyuan must not be lost.
The reason is very simple, Bingzhou is equivalent to the northern wing of the Tang Dynasty, just like Bashu in Hanzhong is the southern wing of the Tang Dynasty.
By keeping Bingzhou, the Tang army could march from Taihang Baxing at any time to attack Hanoi and Hebei. From a strategic perspective, sending troops from Bingzhou to attack Hebei could be both offensive and defensive.
On the contrary, if the Hedong Road is lost, it means losing the northern flank. Even if Hebei is captured, it will not be able to hold it. This is determined by the terrain.
In the same way, the reason why Li Xiaogong and Li Jing were able to wipe out Xiao Mian so quickly was partly because of their terrain advantage.
Bashu Hanzhong is in the hands of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang army can leave Bashu at any time, go down the river and attack Jiangling.
In addition, Bingzhou Taiyuan was the place where Li Tang flourished, and its political status was equivalent to that of the Northern Capital of the Tang Dynasty. Losing Taiyuan would be a huge blow to the Tang court officials and would have extremely bad effects.
More importantly, Taiyuan is an important town in northern Xinjiang. Once Taiyuan is lost, Turkic troops will march straight in and directly threaten Guanzhong.
By that time, the battlefield of the Tang army would have to be placed in the Sanfu area within the pass. This was unacceptable to Li Yuan and the Tang officials.
Therefore, Taiyuan cannot be lost no matter what.
Even if Li Zhiyun did not defeat Shi Bobi this time, Li Yuan would definitely ask him to abandon Hebei and support Taiyuan.
Since Li Zhiyun decided to seize the throne, he naturally wanted to open up the situation. Not only did he have to support Taiyuan, he also had to find ways to maintain stability in Hebei.
So far, he's doing pretty well.
But he also knew very well that if Jieli won this time, Hebei Road, Hedong Road, the two areas, and most of the north would all fall.
In addition, King Qin died in battle, and the burden on his shoulders was heavy.
After reining in his horse, Xue Yuanjing stood on the low slope, silently watching the soldiers of the Tang army entering the mountain road in an orderly manner.
"What are you thinking about?" Xue Shou came to him on horseback.
Xue Yuanjing said: "I'm wondering why the king doesn't learn from the prince and the king of Qi."
"What's the meaning?"
"If the king slows down his march, can he use Jie Li's help to get rid of the prince and the king of Qi?"
Hearing this, Xue Shou was surprised and immediately shook his head and said: "It's unrealistic."
"Isn't it realistic?" Xue Yuanjing was stunned, and immediately said: "Even the King of Qin can't stop Jie Li, let alone the Crown Prince and the King of Qi."
Xue Shou said: "That's not what I mean. You have to understand that King Qin did not lose to Jie Li, he lost to his own people. And the prince and King Qi are not King Qin. They do not have King Qin's mind and magnanimity.
According to what you said, it is impossible for the king to slow down the march and wait for Jieli to kill the prince and the king of Qi. You must know that the prince and the king of Qi are not the kings of Qin, and they will not continue to defend when there is no hope of victory.
Taiyuan.
If the king's support is slow, the prince and the king of Qi will probably abandon Taiyuan directly and flee back to Chang'an if they see that something is wrong. By that time, we will be left alone in Bingzhou and will put ourselves in danger.
Moreover, it is very likely that we will follow the old path of King Qin. Once the Crown Prince and King Qi abandon Taiyuan and retreat, our logistics and food supplies will be cut off directly."
Having said this, Xue Shou collected his thoughts and continued: "What's more important is that even if Jieli can really kill the prince and the king of Qi, and the king defeats Jieli, things will not be easy to deal with after returning to Beijing. Because by that time
At that time, the object of everyone's suspicion will become the king.
The saint has already lost the King of Qin. If he loses the Crown Prince and the King of Qi again, do you think he will feel that the King is behind all this?
More importantly, by that time, the king will be the only adult prince with military power in the court, and his every move will be noticed by the courtiers.
But now, the king's layout in the court has not been perfected, and he hastily ascended the throne, which will cause endless troubles."
Hearing this, sweat poured down Xue Yuanjing's forehead. He realized that he had thought of things too simply.
"Perhaps, by that time, the saint will feel that he can only rely on the king to stabilize the court. That's not possible." Xue Yuanjing put forward another guess.
Xue Shou smiled and said, "It's not impossible, but you have to understand that as things have developed now, the king can't afford to lose, and we can't afford to lose either. The attitude of betting on saints is too unwise."
Li Zhiyun had proposed this plan as early as the beginning, but Du Ruhui and Xue Shou objected immediately, so they gave up.
The reasons given by Du Ruhui are very convincing.
If the prince, the king of Qin, and the king of Qi all die, the king of Chu can indeed seize the opportunity to seize most of the military power.
But the problem is that the foundation is unstable.
There is only one Yang Gongren in the DPRK who expresses his support, which is not enough. If Li Zhiyun has the advantage of Li Shimin, it may be okay for him to do this.
But Li Zhiyun didn't.
Without the support of aristocratic families, more than half of the courtiers would not be loyal to Li Zhiyun. Even if he ascends the throne in the future, the officials below him will do so in an overt and covert manner. This is a terrible thing. What's more important is that Emperor Li Yuan will not have a good time.
So, this is a whimsical plan.
Xue Yuanjing was not stupid. He quickly figured it out and gave up the idea.
"You're right. It's not easy for us to get to this point. We really should be careful."
Xue Cheng smiled and said: "It's good that you think so, but don't worry too much. Now that King Qin is dead, the prince and King Qi are the biggest suspects. Moreover, King Qi himself has ambitions. We just need to follow the plan step by step.
, the king will eventually reach the top."
Xue Yuanjing nodded heavily, "I understand."
Xue Shou said with emotion: "One day, you and I will assist Mingjun, revitalize the Xue family lintel, and be famous in history."
Having said this, Xue Yuanjing grinned.
They tied their heads to their belts to help the King of Chu seize the direct heir. Isn't that what they want and get?
Victory is already very close.
On the other side, Li Zhiyun rode a war horse and led the army through Jingxing without saying a word.
He knew very well that after entering Taiyuan, it would be the end of the whole 'game'. Whether he could complete this game well or not was all up to him.
In mid-July, the King of Chu's army entered Taiyuan. Within three days, they defeated Shouyang and Yuci, killing more than 10,000 Turkic soldiers and horses. Then the army entered Yangqu, directly threatening the Turkic flanks.
Because of the arrival of the King of Chu's army, Jieli became very angry.
He felt that Shi Bobi was a waste, because he failed to defeat Li Zhiyun, and even let Li Zhiyun lead his army into Taiyuan, ruining his good situation.
Facing Li Zhiyun, Jieli did not sit still and wait for death, nor did he retreat. He immediately led an army to counterattack Yangqu.
Li Zhiyun was not stupid, so he would not rely on the small town of Yangqu to hold on. When he entered Taiyuan, he got in touch with Li Jiancheng as soon as possible.
Facing the attack of the Turkic army, Li Zhiyun led his troops to maintain the frontal battlefield, while Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji led their troops to conduct sneak attacks and harassment.
Within half a month, the Tang army attacked Yanmen, Tianmen and Baijing Pass several times, annihilating thousands of Turkic soldiers and horses, causing panic among the Turks.
At this time, Jie Li encountered Li Zhiyun, a tough opponent on the front battlefield, and his heart was filled with hatred.
He never expected that besides Li Shimin, Li Tang would also have Li Zhiyun who was so difficult to deal with.
When he entered Taiyuan, he never thought that Shi Bobi would withdraw his troops from Hebei, let alone that Li Zhiyun would come to support Taiyuan.
Since his soldiers and horses were dispersed and stationed at various passes, he was unable to defeat Li Zhiyun on the frontal battlefield for a while. Instead, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji repeatedly succeeded in sneak attacks from the rear.
Chapter 31 Why doesn’t the king imitate the prince?