Chapter Seven hundred and thirteenth: Soldiers dispatched to Chang'an
"Li Shimin rebelled."
In Prince Liang's Mansion in Luoyang, Wan He was surprised to hear the news. Although this result was what Wan He had been pursuing, when it really happened, Wan He felt a certain fear. Li Shimin rebelled. And the rebellion was successful, which means that Datang will become Li Shimin's Datang. Datang controlled by Li Shimin will truly become Wanhe's biggest enemy.
"Yes." Qin Qiong also nodded and replied: "According to the intelligence, Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and forced Li Yuan to make him the crown prince. Now the military and political power of the Tang Dynasty belongs to Li Shimin."
Immediately afterwards, Qin Qiong told the whole story again. After Wan He came back, he specifically told Qin Qiong to pay close attention to the movements in Chang'an. Therefore, Qin Qiong also understood the situation in Chang'an. After listening, After Qin Qiong's narration, everyone present had different expressions. Li Jing, who had just returned from the class in Hebei, shook his head and said: "Li Jiancheng is really stupid. After being assassinated, he actually thought of running to the palace to report to Li Yuan. Could it be that He never thought that since Li Shimin dared to assassinate him, he had already turned against him. What's the use of looking for Li Yuan? The most important thing at this time is to gain military power in the shortest possible time."
"What General Li said is absolutely true." Veteran General Pei Renji also nodded and said: "Li Jiancheng is the prince of the Tang Dynasty after all. His status still has a high deterrent effect on the army. This is why Li Shimin mobilized Yin Kaishan's army. But he still had to ambush Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate. He could make Yin Kaishan's army obey his orders. But if any one of Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji and even Li Yuan appeared in front of the Tang army, the determination of Yin Kaishan and the Tang army generals will be shaken. Not to mention that the guard left behind in Chang'an City is Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong. Li Shentong will never allow Li Shimin to kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji."
Fang Xuanling, who had just assumed the post of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, also sighed deeply and said: "But Li Shimin still succeeded. In the name of suppressing the rebellion, he summoned Yin Kaishan and his son to lead troops to come to the rescue. At the same time, he asked his cronies Chai Shao and Shi Wanbao to hold Li Shimin back. The magical power took control of the Chang'an garrison. However, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were smart enough to go to the palace. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji died. Li Yuan was placed under house arrest by Li Shimin. The soldiers and horses gathered by Li Jiancheng were also charged with treason. Yuanbao With the death of He and Yuan Hongshan, the biggest obstacle to Li Shimin's ascension to the throne is gone. It won't take long. As long as this limelight is over, Li Shimin will force Li Yuan to give in. Then he will legitimately ascend the throne as emperor. Li Shimin will accurately calculate every move of his opponent. High. Really high."
Changsun Wuji, who was the imperial censor at the time, smiled and said: "Finally, Li Shimin was not fully prepared for this action. It was still a bit hasty. In order to eliminate the influence of his own brother-killing, he acted in the court and the army. Eliminate a large number of dissidents. Kill all those who used to support Li Jiancheng. Now Li Tang's strength has been greatly reduced. This is also a great opportunity for us to march into Li Tang. Your Majesty, this opportunity cannot be missed. The time will never come again."
After listening to Changsun Wuji's words, Wan He also understood the truth. This was when Li Tang was at his weakest. Although Wan He was still a little scared before, he also understood that if he didn't take action, he would wait until Li Shimin calmed down. That would be troublesome. Thinking of this, Wan He immediately shouted: "Mom, I want to take advantage of this moment to beat this kid Li Shimin to death. Li Jing, what is the current situation of our army?"
"Report to the prince." After hearing what Wan He said, Li Jing immediately stood up and clasped his fists and shouted: "Now that our army has annexed Xue Jiajun and Gao Kaidao, Dou Jiande's military strength has not been fully absorbed, but its strength has improved compared to before. . More importantly, after the previous battle in Hebei, the soldiers have gained combat experience and are no longer the new recruits before. As long as the prince gives the order, our army can fight more than 230,000 soldiers. Among them This does not include the soldiers and horses left in Hebei."
"Your Majesty." At this time, Liu Wenjing, the Sima of Prince Liang's palace who had just returned with Li Jing, also stood up, bowed his hands to Wan He, and said: "My subordinates thought that all the 230,000 troops could not rush to Chang'an. The previous battle in Hebei. There has been a gap between King Du Fuwei of Chu and our army. In view of Du Fuwei's unclear attitude, my subordinates suggested that the prince must keep a hundred thousand troops in Luoyang in case of emergency."
Hearing Liu Wenjing mention Du Fuwei, Wan He felt a headache. Ever since the Battle of Pingyuan, the general Wang Xiongxu sent by Du Fuwei died outside the city of Pingyuan. The general Kan Ling was defeated with the remaining troops. After returning to Jianghuai, there was no news at all about Du Fuwei. Wan He didn't know what Du Fuwei's attitude was now. Is he willing to continue to be an alliance with him? Or was he angry and wanted to settle the score with him? Speaking of which, for this Wan He really felt guilty. After all, in order to really deceive Li Mi, Dou Jiande and the others fell into this trap. Li Jing also had to hide it from Kan Ling and Xue Wanshu. And the next result was only Wan He's family benefiting. Not only did Du Fuwei lose his troops, but he also lost a godson whom he valued very much. With Du Fuwei's temper as a local emperor, it is not surprising that he got angry because of this.
The person responsible for observing Du Fuwei's intelligence was Du Ruhui, who returned from Chang'an with Wan He and took up the post of Minister of Dali Temple upon his return. When Wan He frowned and looked at Du Ruhui, Du Ruhui immediately understood Wan He. What did he want to ask? He immediately replied: "Your Majesty, my subordinates have not received any information about Du Fuwei's unusual movements."
Headache. This was Wan He's first feeling after listening to Du Ruhui's answer. If Du Fuwei did something, even if he fell out with Wan He immediately, that would be good. At least Wan He could act according to Du Fuwei's actions. He responded, but he didn't do anything. However, it gave Wan He a headache more than anything he had done. He took a deep breath. Wan He gritted his teeth and hummed: "No. You must not miss such a good opportunity. Li Jing, Liu Wenjing, Changsun Heng'an, Pei Xingyan, and Cheng Yaojin."
Hearing Wan He call out his name, Li Jing and the other five people stood up immediately. They cupped their fists and shouted at Wan He. Wan He stared at the five people closely and shouted in a deep voice: "I am very close to you." Fifty thousand troops and horses. Send troops to Chang'an. Regardless of victory or defeat, at least don't let Li Shimin get too comfortable."
As soon as Wan He's order was finished, it immediately aroused everyone's consternation. Liu Wenjing, who had just reminded Wan He, immediately shouted: "Your Majesty, no, send troops to Chang'an for 150,000, and those who stay in Luoyang, aren't they? There are only 80,000 soldiers and horses. If Du Fuwei has any different intentions, then Luoyang will be in danger. Please think again, my lord."
If it were the previous Wan He who was persuaded like this by Liu Wenjing, he would definitely be heartbroken. Maybe he would listen to Liu Wenjing's advice. However, Wan He, who already has the temperament of a superior, is no longer the dandy in Luoyang City back then. Now he is more like a decision-maker. Wan He shouted in a deep voice: "Although Li Tang's strength is greatly damaged, his military strength is definitely not less than 70,000. Since we want to send troops, we must use the force of thunder. Otherwise, I have some scruples about Du Fuwei. I just want to send out all the 230,000 troops. Needless to say, I have made up my mind. Your mission is to fight a good war for me and let Li Shimin sit on the throne. Not stable."
As soon as Wan He said these words, his eyes widened. He was like a desperate gambler. And seeing Wan He's appearance, Liu Wenjing, who originally wanted to persuade Wan He, couldn't help but close his eyes. Mouth. As for Changsun Wuji and others, they have no intention of persuading Wan He.
After making this arrangement, it was considered settled. Then Wan He took a deep breath to calm down his excitement a little bit. However, he carefully glanced at the subordinates who were sitting down. Mommy's .That was the legendary domineering aura just now. But I don’t know if these people will be suppressed by his domineering aura. Wan He muttered a few words in his heart. But from the faces of everyone, it turned out that There was no change. This also made Wan He secretly disappointed. Then, Wan He's face turned serious again. He coughed lightly and asked, "How is Luo Yi's situation now?"
Luo Yi conspired with Dou Jiande, Li Mi, and Gao Kaidao to scheme against Wan He. However, he was plotted against by Li Jing and Liu Wenjing in turn. His brother Luo Shou died in Qi County, and his think tank Wen Yanbo was captured. Together with Dou Jiande, Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao, they are all in prison together in Luoyang Prison. It can be said that this time Luo Yi lost his wife and lost his troops. The loss was huge. If this guy hadn't seen the opportunity quickly, . He returned to Youzhou early. Otherwise, he might have to pay for it himself.
Since the war in Hebei was decided, Luo Yi had been staying in Youzhou without any movement. He originally thought that he would send someone to beg for mercy, but in the end there was no response at all. On the contrary, the Xue brothers in Wuyang sent people to ask Wanhe for war every day. He wanted to go to Youzhou and avenge Xue Wanshu who died in the battle.
Hearing Wan He's question, Pang Yu, the general in charge of monitoring intelligence in the north, immediately stood up and clasped his fists at Wan He and replied: "Report to the prince. After Luo Yi retreated to Youzhou, he guarded all the passages in Youzhou. I It is difficult for the army's spies to enter Youzhou to collect information. Now we can only reluctantly know that Luo Yi seems to have been recruiting troops, but we don't know what the specific trends are."
"Recruit troops." Hearing this answer, Wan He's brows that had just been relaxed frowned again. He said in a deep voice: "Damn it, Luo Yi is still stubborn. It seems that he wants to fight us to the end. .Hmph. After taking care of Li Shimin, let’s take our time to deal with this guy.”