In order not to "scare" Wang Shichong, Li Po also specially ordered people to send a message to Wang Shichong. He had no intention of competing with him for credit, but only built a pontoon bridge to make it easier to transport ordnance and armor.
Wang Shichong didn't know whether he was frightened or not, but the pontoon bridge was built anyway. Behind the camp, craftsmen who came all the way from Jinyang were also directing the soldiers to cut wood and build ships.
The right time required Li Po to stay focused, so he had quietly arrived on the north bank of the Yellow River, ready to make difficult choices at any time.
In Longmen and Puban, more and more flags were floating in the sky, which obviously made the Tang army nervous. Along the way from Tongguan to Hancheng, the Tang army's cavalry were constantly coming and going. In addition, they were transporting grain and grass, and mobilizing troops.
Soldiers and horses made the roads along the Yellow River in Kansai extremely busy.
It is said that if you know yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles, but with the wars these days, it is difficult for generals to know their enemies. Many times they have to rely on guesswork to make decisions.
This is undoubtedly the charm of war. It is like playing chess. Both sides compete for victory or defeat, but what the bystanders see is the process. Therefore, many people talk about war, but those generals who actually participated in the war
What they will never forget is the difficult and dangerous judgment they made during this period.
Whether it was Li Jiancheng, Li Shenfu, Li Po, or Wang Shichong, they were all waiting at this time, especially Wang Shichong. The news he wanted to hear most was undoubtedly that the Tang army came out to fight.
He was confident that with the unprecedented army in his hands, he could crush any enemy on the plains. Even if Li Mi was reborn, he would definitely bow to him when he saw such a huge army.
So of course he hoped that the Tang army could come out of the border to fight with him instead of defending the border with all their strength.
Of course, he also had the confidence to break through and capture Li Jiancheng's son, because most of the Henan army had experienced the offensive and defensive battle of Luoyang, which was obviously the source of his overwhelming confidence.
In fact, no matter how confident Wang Shichong is, this is the first time he has commanded such a large army. Only he himself knows where he is in a hurry.
When he set off from Luoyang, Wang Shichong was already a little worried. He made a memorial to the world, and the generals' shouts of long live resounded throughout the world, which made the dizzy Wang Shichong regain his sense of pride.
Just like when Yang Guang faced a million-strong army, he believed that wherever he went, he would be able to defeat those damn enemies with overwhelming force.
As the army continued to march westward, the unknown front and rear of the army gave Wang Shichong a headache again. Sometimes he would even have strange thoughts. If this thick and long dragon could be made thinner, it would be shorter.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a little?
But he never thought about it. Looking at it from afar, Cao Cao conquered Sun Quan, claiming to have an army of one million, but was defeated in the end. Looking at it more closely, Yang Guang's three campaigns in Liaodong, with the smallest number of three or four hundred thousand people, but each time he did it more ugly.
, eventually died and the country was destroyed, leaving behind countless infamy.
Even if we don’t talk about them, let’s talk about Li Mi and Li Shentong. At his peak, Li Mi claimed to have an army of 500,000 men. What was the result? Li Shentong raised more than 200,000 troops to attack Li Po. What was the result?
In fact, there is no need to go too far. Since the war in the late Sui Dynasty, there have been countless examples of defeating more with less. Therefore, war is different from what Han Xin talked about. Once the number of people reaches a limit, the effect will be
It makes people feel extremely uncomfortable, but it cannot be summed up in one sentence: The more the better.
The limit value that Wang Shichong can accommodate is actually much lower than the previous examples, but he so blindly mobilized his army to fight westward. In fact, it can only mean one thing. Wang Shichong's military strategy is only as good as his political ability.
, are extremely mediocre.
He and Li Mi rose up at the right time. They are typical heroes made by the times. If the world is at peace, these two people will not only be kings and hegemons, but even if they are generals and prime ministers, they will only look up to them. In the end, they will also
They are both equally crazy, but they are together again. From this point of view, the world is really wonderful, isn't it?
Of course, this seems to be a bit biased. Look at the princes in the world today, only Li Yuan is decent. Who among the others has not climbed up from the bottom? Compared with Wang Shichong and Li Mi, they are more important
Almost meaningless.
Now, Wang Shichong's subordinates were no less thoughtful than the emperor. In fact, from the time when the army gradually gathered in Luoyang, the eastern capital, Wang Shichong had gradually lost control of the army.
The people of Henan are undoubtedly the most rebellious group during this period, and Henan has become the home of bandits after Shandong and Hebei.
In fact, no matter whether people in Henan admit it or not, they cannot change the fact that it is just a random word. Needless to say, the people will gather wherever there is a bite to eat. Once hometown is mentioned, in the eyes of the people of Henan
It has become a luxury.
And the soldiers were not much better. They had not eaten enough, and soldiers in ragged clothes could be seen in various counties and counties. Most of them survived the last winter entirely because they absorbed the vitality of the people.
As for the leading generals, they can have enough food and clothing, but the fear of losing military power is growing day by day, and military rations have become a problem that many generals cannot solve.
The Henan army gathered so quickly. In fact, the generals felt that they could not survive any longer. As usual, they needed to fight for a way out with swords and guns.
In any case, the troops led by Wang Shichong were actually walking on the edge of the cliff. Whether they would see the light of day or fall headlong off the cliff depended on their own choices and efforts, as well as God's will.
Anyway, in the middle of June, Wang Shichong left Qi Wang Shiyun, Changsun Anshi and others to guard Luoyang.
Wang Shiwei, king of Chu, led an army of 50,000 men as the vanguard, leading the middle army himself, and Chen Guogong Duan Da led the rear army, assisted by his nephews Wang Renze and Wang Xingben.
When everything was arranged, the army broke out of camp and headed westward one after another.
……………………
At this time, Li Po was standing on the bank of the Yellow River, looking at the rushing river and thinking wildly.
In June, the Yellow River has entered the flood season. The two floating bridges that have been built are like two long snakes, shaking their bodies constantly. This is definitely not the right time to cross the river.
At this time, because the soil and water conservation in the upper reaches was pretty good, the water of the Yellow River was still very clear and very deep. Unlike later, when the dry season came, many sand channels would be exposed in places where the flow of water was slow.
The wind from the river was strong, and the cloak on Li Po's body was blowing fiercely. Li Po pressed the handle of the knife at his waist, motionless like a sculpture, and it looked like a perfect scene.
But at this moment, Li Po was neither grieving for spring nor regretting autumn, nor was he looking back on the past and the present. He was just weighing how many people would appear on the other side and what the number of casualties would be if he had to forcibly cross Fengling Ferry.
, what will be the result?
This place is obviously not as dangerous as Pujin Bridge, but this time it is not as simple as facing Li Tang. The situation is very complicated, and it is very likely that the chicken will be stolen but the rice will be lost.
Countless news came back from the scouts who crossed the river, gathered on the bank of the Yellow River, and entered his ears. As expected, the army led by Wang Shichong was in a mess, more like a group of peasant troops with considerable combat effectiveness.
It seemed to Li Po that it was a joke for such a mob to attack the key pass of Tongguan. If it were him to guard Tongguan... he would definitely gather more troops, advance with elite troops, and strive to defeat Wang Shichong as quickly as possible.
?
Who knows, anyway, Li Jiancheng retreated into a turtle shell, so Wang Shichong should not have any chance. The remaining question is very simple, who will clean up the mess, and how to do it.
What makes Li Po feel more at ease is that Jinyang is very stable, even too stable, which even makes him have the illusion that those people don't care much about him, the king of Han, who has three advantages and two disadvantages.
Of course this is just an illusion, but in fact, without him as the King of Han, Jinyang City seems to be much calmer than when he was there.
Bu Qun and others have already led their troops to arrive one after another, and the grain and grass have also entered Jiangjun's warehouse and are being continuously transported to the bank of the Yellow River. Everything is in order and there is no need for him to worry too much.
This was the first time that he had noticed this smooth feeling, and it was undoubtedly a compliment for his years of hard work. Everyone under his command knew what to do and what to do would satisfy him.
Habits cannot be developed overnight. Over the years, many people have gained his trust and reuse. Similarly, many people have blind faith in him, so the habit has gradually transformed into a kind of habit.
atmosphere……
Therefore, his rule is the most stable. Although there are fewer talents, the loyalty is very high, which affects him personally, and there are fewer suspicious and fickle things.
So today, many things have become much simpler. Just like the preliminary preparations for this war, it went on with almost no setbacks. This was almost unimaginable a few years ago.
The only thing that worries Li Po is that the wars are too frequent. The troops that have come to the Yellow River can all be said to be elite divisions. However, Yuchi Gong, Li Nian, Chen Yuan, and Yuchi Kai's subordinates have been fighting for two years.
Not returned to his hometown.
However, most of the troops led by Bu Qun and others had returned to Bingdai and Liangzhou a few months ago, but now they were called back. Those coming and going may not be as good as those stationed on the river bank.
All the generals said that with His Highness the King of Han in charge, there was no need to consider morale at all, but Li Po didn't think so, so these days, he continued to patrol among various ministries, and also constantly emphasized to the generals about the food, clothing, housing and transportation of his soldiers.
The effect is unknown, because it requires a fierce battle to test. Well, there were no deserters anyway, Li Po thought optimistically.
But what he didn't know was that many deserters were about to appear in front of him. What made him even more unexpected was that the role of the two pontoon bridges he built was far more than just forcibly crossing the Yellow River...