In May of the second year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang army in Jiangzhou moved northward with great strength, but the marching speed could not be said to be very fast. It took four days for the forward troops to reach Linfen and join up with the Linfen defenders.
When the army gathered in Linfen, it was already eight days later.
There are many reasons why the march was so delayed.
For one, the Tang Army had not long been established, and there was no tacit understanding among the various ministries. If the ministries had not been stationed in Jiangzhou for a period of time and conducted an internal integration, the march of the army would have been much slower.
Another thing is that the generals of the Bingdai army had never experienced such a battle, and the same was true for the Tang army.
Just like Li Shentong, the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou Road Marching Army, he very lacked the experience of leading a large army. In fact, the battle that made him famous was when he raised the army. As Li Xiuning quelled the banditry in the vicinity of Chang'an County, he then led the army to attack
Visit the old city of Chang'an.
He has not experienced too intense a war, otherwise, there would not be so many people recommending talented people to replace him.
In fact, neither Qu Tutong, nor Liu Wenjing, nor even Tang Jian, the internal historian, could compare with Li Shentong in terms of ability to lead an army in battle.
But having said that, if you look at the various leaders of the Tang army, you will know that Li Yuan cannot trust outsiders to lead the army.
In the middle of Shu, Li Yuan's nephew Li Xiaogong is leading the army, in the northwest is Li Shimin, and in Tongguan is Li Jiancheng. No matter how talented the others are, they will not take the lead, they are just assisting the Li clan.
But those who assist Li Shentong are Pei Ji, Jiang Baoyi and others. As long as these people don't cause trouble for Li Shentong, how can we expect them to have any constructive opinions and measures during the integration of more than 100,000 troops?
Furthermore, the Tang army was also on guard against harassment and attacks by the Bingdai cavalry. Li Shentong held the eight thousand cavalry tightly in his hands, waiting for the Bingdai cavalry to appear, so that he could see the right time and frustrate the rebel army.
These eight thousand cavalry were the treasure of the Tang army. They were pieced together from here and there and borrowed some from Tongguan to form an army of eight thousand.
This is not only a problem of lack of good horses, but also a lack of excellent cavalry. The main cavalry force of the Tang army is facing Xue Ju in the northwest. It is not easy for the Tang army in Jin to gather 8,000 cavalry.
This was also the most powerful weapon that Li Shentong planned to use against the Bingdai cavalry, so that these cavalry would not easily attack and cause unnecessary losses.
As a result, coupled with the inconvenience of logistics and transportation of large armies, it is reasonable for the Tang army to move slowly.
In fact, it can also be seen from here that the war in the late Sui Dynasty has severely damaged the vitality of the world. During the war period, many elite divisions have emerged in the world, and the combat effectiveness of ordinary armies is also unmatched in ordinary times.
Regardless of the manpower, material resources, or the quality and number of soldiers, they have lost the majesty of the Sui Dynasty in its heyday, and what is reflected in the outside is its weak nature.
Among the meandering army, under a big flag, Xu Shiji sat high on his horse and moved forward slowly with the rolling torrent.
This is a very young man, no more than thirty years old. His body looks a bit thin, but he is not short. His skin is dark and rough. With his serious and determined eyes, he looks much older than his actual age.
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He was a scholar back then, but looking back now, he no longer has the faintest scent of books. Seven or eight years of service in the army has completely changed his whole temperament.
The young man who put down his pen and resolutely went to Wagang Mountain to join a gang of thieves, full of passion just to keep his hometown safe, has long since disappeared.
Xu Shiji is now a general who has killed many people and his hands are stained with blood. After many years, how much kindness is left in his heart?
At this time, Xu Shiji trusted his horse and looked at the advancing army with some trance.
Having been a bandit in Wagang for many years, all I ever thought about was getting out of this quagmire and letting Zhai Rang, Li Mi and others go to hell.
But now that he had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he had finally achieved his wish, but he still felt uneasy in his heart. From Tongguan to Jin, the ubiquitous sense of rejection among the Tang army made him terrified. The soldiers under his command were also incompatible with the Tang army.
In general, neither Xu Shiji nor his generals were well prepared to integrate into the Tang army, and various discomforts were inevitable.
No one gave them a period of time to adapt and reorganize them to make them more compatible with the Tang army.
The Tongguan garrison from Prince Li Jiancheng was later put under the control of Li Shentong. It was like a dream. When they woke up, they had left their hometown in Henan where they had been stationed for many years and arrived in the unfamiliar land of Jin.
This gave everyone in Li Mi's surrender army a unique sense of loneliness.
What's even more frightening is that the whole army doesn't think much about making achievements. After several years of war, they have almost been lost in the brutal killings.
Their ambitions had long been exhausted in the blood and fighting on the ground in Henan. Even Xu Shiji himself was always grateful that he could still survive that series of wars.
Many of the old faces from back then have long since disappeared, and all that remain are the bloody devil kings.
They no longer talk about loyalty, because loyal people have died in internal strife. They no longer talk about orthodoxy, because they have long been on the opposite side of orthodoxy. They no longer talk about how to enter Luoyang. How, because they never had any hope of getting in there.
They no longer talk about high-ranking officials and generous salaries, because no matter how high-ranking they are, they can only eat corn now. They also no longer talk about the future, because no one knows whether they will die tomorrow.
They only know how to hold on to their military power and never give anyone a chance to spy on them. They only know how to hold on to their food and grass and never allow others to snatch it away, because they only have these two visible and tangible things left.
Just like now, Xu Shiji's eyes and brows were filled with worry, but he was still glad in his heart that the military power of more than 20,000 soldiers and horses was still in his hands.
Regarding this battle, he didn't feel any sense of danger. After fighting for so many years, he had seen all kinds of dangers. He also felt that any opponent who wanted to swallow his 20,000 troops would be vulnerable. I had to chip my teeth.
This is undoubtedly where he is very confident. The warriors who have fought a hundred battles are no joke. They once robbed canal ships, defeated the encirclement and suppression of the army, and even besieged and killed the famous general Zhang Xutuo. They interacted with Wang Shichong's elite troops. They have been fighting for many years, and not long ago, they defeated Yu Wenhuaji's Kansai Xiaoguo.
They never proudly told the generals of the Tang Army that they who fought from the ground in Henan were the most powerful in the world, and that no opponent under his command could easily defeat them, because that was unnecessary and very offensive, but he Think that is actually the case.
The strongest army in the world should be led by the troops from Henan.
This is the self-confidence that emerges from the battle formation. Needless to say.
In this battle, more than 100,000 troops gathered. Although the combat power of each unit was uneven, he did not think that Li Ding'an in northern Shanxi could stop it.
In fact, he had heard of this person's name before. It seemed that this was the person who killed Luo Yi, the manager of Youzhou, and Song Jingang, the Hebei gangster.
But what do Luo Yi and Song Jingang and their ilk mean?
Not long after arriving at Tongguan, he heard that this person had occupied Jinyang and became a local prince. He didn't pay much attention to it. He just thought that this person had little reputation and was just one of those who took advantage of the chaos in the world.
one of.
This time, as long as he and his men are not allowed to attack Jinyang Jiancheng, there is nothing else to say.
To be honest, after fighting in Luoyang for so many years, he had developed a problem. His legs felt a little weak when he saw Jiancheng Dayi. There was nothing he could do. It is estimated that the men and horses under Li Mi's command had such a psychological shadow from top to bottom.
As for the Daizhou Cavalry, well, he had neither participated in the Battle of Liaodong nor left Henan, and had never seen what a large-scale cavalry battle was like.
What he thought was that with the big shield and spear, it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with the cavalry charge. Just like Wang Shichong's cavalry and the charge of Kansai Xiaoguo, there was not much they could do against them.
In fact, this kind of self-confidence of sitting in a well and looking at the sky is a bit fatal. His road to becoming a famous general is still far away. Now he has no idea what the words elite frontier army and Daizhou cavalry mean.
He was thinking in a mess, and even thought that after this battle, he should go to Chang'an to express his loyalty to the emperor.
How to show loyalty? You still have to make a fuss about your old master. Li Mi is at the end of his rope. If he can send someone to persuade him to surrender, maybe he won't have to worry about his future path.
"General, General"
Xu Shiji woke up and looked down. A sweaty man was looking at him timidly. His Jin accent made him feel awkward.
Seeing this man, Xu Shiji's head ached again. This guy's name was Zhang Man, the crony of the white-faced thief.
Well, the name "white-faced thief" is the derogatory name given to Jiang Baoyi by his subordinates.
Since arriving at Xu Shiji's place, this aristocratic son of Guanxi Province has rectified the name of military law and assumed the responsibility of supervising the army. However, this person is very unpopular regardless of his status, style, or even his position.
When I arrived at his place, I first wanted to kill someone to establish my authority.
Xu Shiji persuaded him with kind words, not because Xu Shiji was protective of others, but because he also knew that the soldiers under his command were somewhat undisciplined, and he often hated those who hurt innocent people.
The more you see it, the more you get used to it. Moreover, he knows better that the soldiers under his command must not be deterred by killing people.
That is simply a useless move. They are not afraid of this at all because of their precarious situation. On the contrary, it can easily arouse the dissatisfaction of the soldiers. What will they do if they are dissatisfied?
If it's too easy, they'll sneak away and join other generals; if it's too hard, they'll rebel, come in groups, cut off the general's heads, and establish themselves as kings.
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