Chapter 576: Li Tang is in a desperate situation

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The sky was snowing heavily, and the mountains, rivers and plains were covered with snow.

In the northern triangle where the Yellow River and Fenshui meet in the southeast of the river, Li Tang's 80,000 soldiers and horses have been blocked here for more than a month, and they cannot get close.

was forced to be stationed here for more than a month in the cold winter, and Li Shimin's ambition and fighting spirit were almost collapsed.

Early in the morning, he rode his war horse as usual and inspected the military camps stationed on the north bank of Fenshui before returning to the Chinese army's tent with a burning furnace. As soon as he entered the account, the civil and military personnel in the army were already waiting for him.

The chief of the army, Pei Lian, said to him with a worried face: "Qin Guogong, stationed here for more than a month, he can't enter, the weather is cold, and the soldiers have frostbite. According to yesterday's statistics, hundreds of brothers suffered severe frostbite, and even could not carry weapons to fight in a short period of time. In total, there are more than 1,000 people in the army who suffer from severe frostbite. Moreover, this winter is colder than usual, and the logistics food, grass and warm clothing of the 80,000-strong army have gradually become inavailable. Even the firewood and charcoal used in the army every day to keep out the cold are becoming more and more insufficient, and if this continues, I am afraid that the army will have no fighting spirit and its morale will be reduced. ”

Father Li Yuan did not appear in the tent today, not even with his eldest brother Li Jiancheng. All the affairs of the army had to be handled by Li Shimin, sitting in the position of his father in the past, Li Shimin tried his best to be calm.

The blazing fire light from the stove in the tent was reflected on his face, which reflected his face a little blurred, especially under the light of the fire, Li Shimin's shadow was reflected on the tent behind him, which looked extremely dark and tall, as if it was like a demon guarding behind him.

Although he tried his best to be very calm on the surface, after Pei Lin finished speaking for a long time, Li Shimin still dragged his chin with that one-arm, staring straight at the burning fire in the tent.

In fact, his heart was full of worry at this time.

Giving up Hedong and fighting with all his might was originally to avoid the enemy who was waiting on all sides, hoping to win Guanzhong, so as to accumulate strength with all his strength in order to follow. At the beginning, after his father knew that Yang Yin had invaded Hedong County, he and most of his subordinates decided to withdraw to Taiyuan and stick to Hedong. It was himself who demanded to go south and west to fight for Guanzhong.

But he didn't expect that now it would be such a situation, Yang Yan came too quickly, blocking them between the angle of the Yellow River and Fenshui, and they couldn't advance or retreat. There is even a Jianghuai army of Wang Shichong on one side, if it weren't for them, they Li Tang had 80,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, and he would not be afraid of Yang Xuan's 50,000 soldiers and horses. However, there is Wang Xuanying in the east, and Yu Wenhua in the west, these two damn ones are obviously here for the purpose of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, and the fisherman profits.

He asked his father several times for orders, preparing to cross the river and fight Yang Xuan to the death, but his father refused every time.

Today, it is New Year's Day, and they have spent more than a month with Yang Jian here.

Now the soldiers were tired and haggard, and they had to sleep in the wilderness in such a cold weather, and the soldiers shrank and shivered one by one in their tents against the campfire, and they could not bear it. This year's winter was much colder than usual, dripping into ice. If it goes on like this, before it can fight with Yang Yun, the team will collapse first.

"It's time to make a decision, either take a desperate gamble and move forward bravely to defeat Yang Yongxi to fight for Guanzhong. Either retreat to Jiangxian County, avoid this cold winter in the city first, and then fight Yang Yong after the beginning of spring. Li Shimin clenched his fists tightly in his hands, the scars on his face were extremely hideous, and he gritted his teeth and said it unconsciously. …,

All the civil and military officers in the tent also frowned, it was Li Yuan who could make a decision at the moment, but he neither agreed to attack nor retreat, in this icy and snowy field, they had been confronting Yang Yuan across the river for more than a month. No one knows what Li Yuan is thinking, and no one knows how long this confrontation will last in the imperial court. They didn't care about Li Shimin's words.

Pei Lin said worriedly, "King Tang's intentions, even I, an old subordinate, can't guess half of it." However, we have been confronting Yang Jun for more than a month, if Tang Wang really has the heart to cross the river for a decisive battle, or retreat, I am afraid that a decision has already been made, but until now, we have only ordered to confront Yang Jun's soldiers and horses across the river, neither attacking nor withdrawing, but I am afraid that there are some other deep meanings. ”

Li Shimin stood up, "At the beginning, I forced my father to go south, but now the military horses are trapped here, and they can't advance or retreat, which is not the best policy." I heard about the previous civil strife in Hebei, and my father must have felt that Chen Pojun could not pacify the civil strife in Hebei for a while, and the threat to our north could be eliminated. But now there is news that Chen Pojun has exhausted the civil strife in Hebei, and he is afraid that they will be next. The target is about to be aimed at our east of the river. Now we can no longer enter the west to take the pass, then when the foundation of Hedong is lost, we will be scattered outside, and it will not be far away, Pei Changshi, where is the Tang King, I will go to see him and make it clear. ”

Pei Lin sighed, "King Tang took Da Lang there again early in the morning. ”

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, "I'm going there again, what does my father mean by this?" ”

With doubts, Li Shimin left the big account and galloped towards the west with dozens of cavalry guards.

The war horse galloped on the snow, and it didn't take long to arrive at the old place that Pei Lin said, close to the Longmen Mountain of the Yellow River.

The sound of the rushing water of the Yellow River was heard from a distance, and Li Shimin and the guards had already seen that at the foot of the low Longmen Mountain, there was a team of his father's guards guarding the mountain. After abandoning the horse under his hand, he reached the top of the mountain in a short time, and his father and eldest brother were standing on the mountain overlooking the Yellow River Dragon Gate.

"Father!"

Li Yuan looked back at Li Shimin, "Erlang is also here, just to take a look at the scenery of the Yellow River Dragon Gate." ”

The Yellow River Longmen is the throat of the Yellow River, located at the outlet of the Yellow River Gorge at the junction of Hedong Longmen and Guanzhong Hancheng.

Li Yuan pointed to the rushing Yellow River below, "Erlang, you see, there are mountains on both sides here, the Yellow River is sandwiched, the river is not more than ten zhang wide, the river rushes out through the "door", and the yellow waves are rolling, pouring for thousands of miles. Legend has it that this is the place where Yu controls the water, so it is also called Yumen. The so-called "carp jumping over the dragon gate" refers to this place. The Yellow River flows through this place, breaks the mountains and runs out, pours thousands of miles and flows eastward, according to the "Famous Mountain Record": the Yellow River comes here, goes straight down a thousand thousands, the water waves rise and fall, such as the mountains and boiling. Both sides of the strait are cliffs and broken walls, only the "divine dragon" can be crossed, so it is called "dragon gate". How, the scene here is atmospheric, and it makes people feel refreshed. ”

All Li Shimin thought about was the predicament faced by the Li family, and he was not in the mood to watch this Longmen scene. However, I still looked at it patiently, the Yellow River here is narrow and urgent, the width is not more than twelve or thirteen zhang, the water flow is extremely turbulent, and there is a tendency to discharge thousands of miles. Standing on the top of this Longmen Mountain, you can see Xu Yuan opposite at a glance.

"Erlang, do you see, across the river is Guanzhong. A river is separated, but more than ten zhang, but it is like a moat, obviously close in front of you, but it is always out of reach. Li Yuan looked at the other side, his eyes full of endless loneliness. With the current predicament of the Li family, guarding Hedong can only be a corner of the hegemony at most, and it will be swept away by other heroes at the latest. Only by jumping out of Hedong and capturing Guanzhong can the Li family break this dilemma. But now, they are trapped on the other side of the Yellow River, which is just a stone's throw away, as if they are within reach, but they are out of reach.

Li Shimin also sighed, "If only there was a pontoon bridge here, it would not only allow us to cross the Yellow River, but also directly bypass Tongguan and go directly into Guanzhong." ”…,

Li Jiancheng, who was behind Li Yuan, said, "There is a bridge on the Yellow River, but the bridge is in Pusaka downstream, and now it is occupied by Yang Yuan, and we can't go down at all." And even if you grab Pusaka, there are two cities and one pass on the other side of the bridge, and the two cities of Pujin and Zhongyu are the gateways to the customs, and the Xiguan City is a pontoon bridge on the river. Now Yang Yin and Yuwen Chengdu occupy one side, and we can't cross this bridge at all. ”

"Father, eldest brother, my Hedong army has been here for more than a month, but it has been confronting Yang Jun's soldiers and horses across the river. For example, if it is freezing in the cold today, many officers and men in the army have frostbite, and the morale of the army is constantly declining. Therefore, the child asked his father for an order, and the son was willing to lead the 20,000 horses of the right army of the headquarters as the front to defeat Yang Xuan's department. ”

Li Yuan didn't seem to have the slightest interest in Li Shimin's words, and shook his head, "Now the time has not come, so there is no need to mention this matter." ”

Li Shimin was disappointed for a while, and wanted to argue again, but seeing that his father was not interested, he finally did not say anything.

After being silent for a while, Li Shimin turned to say, "Father, if you don't fight at this time, it is better to temporarily retreat to Jiangxian County, spend this cold winter in the city, and wait until the weather is warm, and then wave your troops to attack Yang Jun, what does my father think?" ”

Li Yuan retracted his gaze with nostalgia and looked at the other side.

With a long sigh, Li Yuan said lonely, "We can't go back." ”

Li Jiancheng looked at Li Shimin with a shocked look on his face, and said heavily, "Father hasn't come before me and told Erlang that just the day before yesterday, Wang Shichong's eldest son Wang Xuanying had already led 20,000 Jianghuai troops to cross the Yiguan Pass, from Hanoi County, through Taihang and Wangwu Mountain, and entered the Jiang County behind us. And in this way, our retreat has also been cut off by Wang Xuanying. My father has not yet told the officers and soldiers of the army about this news, and he is also worried that the soldiers will cause confusion if they find out. ”

In front, Yang Xuan's 50,000 soldiers and horses blocked their way south, and Wang Xuanying had already cut off their way back. And as soon as the back road is cut off, the grain route of the 80,000 army has also been completely cut off, is it that the Li family is going to die!