Inside Li Duozuo's temporary commander-in-chief's tent in Thousand Gold Smelting City. Li Duozuo looked at an official letter that had just been delivered by a soldier and slammed it heavily on the table. A trace of grief and anger uncontrollably surged between his brows. He really wanted to curse. If it wasn't for the identity of that person, he would have already started cursing.
On the day of the Yellow Deer Battle, he was responsible for escorting the rations. The Khitan cavalry first dealt with the vanguard of the Yellow Deer Valley and then launched a surprise attack, destroying the cavalry and infantry of the Zhou army. Soon after, they charged towards his supply camp.
Li Duozuo saw that the enemy was too powerful. If he continued to persevere, not only would he not be able to protect the rations, but he would also be completely annihilated. He set the rations on fire and led his troops to break out of the encirclement.
The Khitans were anxious to obtain the rations and did not split up their troops to chase after them. Therefore, his supply camp became the only group of troops in the first army to survive.
Li Duozuo's troops, other than the coachmen and workers who transported the rations, had 15,000 soldiers and horses guarding the rations. That night, more than 2,000 people died in battle. Most of them were killed while defending against the Khitans' surprise attack. The rest, about 13,000 people, escaped safely.
As soon as Li Duozuo stabilized his footing, he began to gather the disorganized troops. So far, he had gathered nearly 12,000 scattered troops. Among these people, other than those who were seriously injured and could not continue fighting, the remaining troops, including his own troops guarding the rations, numbered about 20,000 people.
The commander of the second army was Wu Youyi. Wu Youyi trembled with fear as he rushed to Hebei. He hurriedly chose a few big cities with thick walls and hid his troops in them, never to come out again. Soon after, the third army, Wang Xiaojie, suffered a crushing defeat.
Only after the Third Army's Deputy Marshal Su Honghui escaped did he realize that he had been tricked by the Khitans. But by this time, the vanguard troops had been completely annihilated. Later, news came that even Wang Xiaojie had fallen off a cliff and died in the chaos. Su Honghui's heart sank when he heard this.
He knew that cowering in the face of battle and retreating without permission was already a capital offense. He had also sent the Minister of War, the current Prime Minister, and the Chief of the Third Army, Wang Xiaojie to his grave. Once he returned to the imperial court, he would definitely be beheaded. Not only that, he would be cursed for all eternity, and his family would be made into officials' slaves.
Su Honghui, who was both shocked and scared, flew into a rage out of humiliation. Like a madman, he commanded the remnants of his troops to look for Khitans for a decisive battle. Although it was said to be a remnant force, he had taken more than eighty thousand of the one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers with him. The number of soldiers in this force had far exceeded the Khitans' military strength and was enough to fight them head-on.
Right now, Su Honghui only hoped to defeat the Khitan army. It would be best if he could completely annihilate the Khitans and use this great achievement to atone for his crimes. Even if he was defeated, as long as he could die in battle, the imperial court would remember his loyalty and would have the opportunity to punish him for his crimes and not implicate his family.
At this time, as the remnants of the Cao Renshi Corps of the first army, Li Duozuo did not know what to do. His troops were too few, and half of them were transport troops with limited combat strength. If he continued to fight the Khitans alone, it was very likely that this force would be buried. It would also be difficult to meet up with Su Honghui because he could not contact him at all.
As a result, Li Duozuo continued to gather the remnants of the defeated army while writing a letter to Wu Youyi, hoping to meet up with him. Unexpectedly, Wu Youyi refused with the reason that the provisions were limited and could not support more soldiers. He wanted him to meet up with the remnants of the Third Army, Su Honghui.
With one look, Li Duozuo understood Wu Youyi's sinister intentions.
Li Duozuo was from the Bi 'an. His father was a leader of the Bi' an tribe. After the Tang Empire was established, his father submitted to the Tang dynasty. Li Duozuo had been brave and good at fighting since he was young and had made many military achievements for the Tang dynasty. Coupled with his father's care, he became the General of the Right Yulin Royal Guards at a very young age and had been in charge of the Imperial Army and the North Gate for more than ten years.
With such an important position, he was naturally coveted.
Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi had tried to rope him in more than once, but Li Duozuo was unmoved. He had no intention of interfering in politics. He would be loyal to whoever was the Emperor. Wu Zetian had seen through his attitude, so when the generals of the various armed forces were eliminated, he did not touch him.
Wu Youyi, Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi were both distant and distant. He knew that with his prestige in the family, it was impossible for him to become the Crown Prince. However, he was already a prince and was in charge of the most important Imperial Army, the Yulin Royal Guards. There was no benefit for him to take the risk of getting involved in the battle between the two.
Thus, he had always maintained a neutral position, waiting for the right price. Under such circumstances, he had always hoped to be able to grasp the entire Yulin Guard in his hands. This way, regardless of whether Wu Chengsi or Wu Sansi won, if they wanted to sit firmly on the throne, they would have to rely heavily on him. In this way, Li Duozuo of the Right Yulin Guard would become a thorn in his side.
Li Duozuo was brave and skilled in battle, and had always been popular in the army. Moreover, he was unwilling to accept any party's enticement, including Wu Youyi. The Yulin Guard was divided into the Left and Right Yulin Guards. In this way, Li Duozuo was equivalent to taking away half of his military power, causing the bargaining chips in his hands to be greatly discounted. Thus, he had always viewed Li Duozuo as a thorn in his side.
However, Wu Youyi had always appeared to be loyal and devoted to Wu Zetian, obediently obeying her orders. He had never had the intention to establish his own force, so he could not slander and exclude Li Duozuo in front of Wu Zetian. With Wu Zetian's shrewdness, his thoughts might not necessarily be hidden from her. Moreover, the Empress trusted Li Duozuo very much, so his slander might not be effective.
Thus, Wu Youyi could only look on helplessly as Li Duozuo, this thorn in his side, could not be removed.
Now, the opportunity had come. Li Duozuo had less than 20,000 troops in his hands, and half of them were supply troops, so their battle prowess was limited.
In Wu Youyi's calculations, since the Khitans were so vicious, as long as Li Duozuo's 20,000 troops encountered the Khitans, they would be no different from delivering themselves to the Khitans. They would definitely not return. He had tactfully refused Li Duozuo's approach because he wanted to borrow the Khitans' knife to remove this thorn in his side.
However, he had never thought that even if he was Wu Zetian's nephew, Wu Zetian would not be at ease to completely hand over the most important and core armed forces that protected the Imperial Palace and her safety to his hands.
The Emperor needed balance. Even if he brought down Li Duozuo, Wu Zetian would definitely arrange for someone who was unwilling to bow down to him to be the Great General of the Right Yulin Guard.
Li Duozuo did not think that the Imperial Court was in such a difficult situation. At such a critical moment, Wu Youyi still wanted to get rid of dissidents. He was full of resentment. Just as he was thinking hard about what to do with his remaining army, a soldier came to report, "General, Commander Ma of the Brigade wants to see you. Also with him is Commandant Yang Fan, who has just been found!"
"Yang Fan? Yang Fan is still alive? Quick, quick, quick, call them in! "
Li Duozuo was so surprised that he forgot himself and stood up. His son-in-law, Yehuli, and Yang Fan were good friends. When the two of them were dating, Yang Fan had met this Great General Li Duozuo. After Li Duozuo learned about Yang Fan's performance in the Western Regions, he greatly appreciated his bravery and resourcefulness.
Moreover, the old general, Lou Shide, was very fond of Yang Fan. Lou Shide and he were both of the neutral faction in the army. Due to Lou Shide's influence, Li Duozuo had a favorable impression of Yang Fan.
During the time when Yang Fan's life and death were unknown, the various forces related to him had inquired about him at the frontlines through all kinds of connections. Li Duozuo was currently gathering the remaining troops, so all these inquiries were sent to him. Thus, as soon as the personal guard mentioned it, he immediately remembered Yang Fan's identity.
Maqiao brought Yang Fan into the commander's tent and saluted Li Duozuo. Li Duozuo was full of smiles. He left the commander's desk and helped Yang Fan up. Looking him up and down, he saw that he was not missing an arm or a leg and was full of vigor. He was even more pleased. "Good, good, good. This general is very relieved that Colonel Yang is safe and sound. Where has Commandant Yang been all this time? "
Without waiting for Yang Fan to answer, Li Duozuo said, "Come, come, come. Sit down and talk. Maqiao, you sit as well."
"Thank you, General!"
Yang Fan bowed in thanks and sat down on a seat to the side. He recounted everything that had happened since he was captured, only skipping the part where he was assassinated in Zhuolu City and A 'Nu had traveled thousands of miles to search for her husband.
"The Qiqing people want to form an alliance with the Turks?"
Li Duozuo was alarmed.
Li Duozuo was not a martial artist who only had the courage of an ordinary man. After Yang Fan told him about the matter, he immediately realized the great danger contained in it. Li Duozuo immediately said, "Commandant Yang, for you to be able to bring back such important news, you have done a great service to the nation and the people! This matter is too important. Let's talk about it in detail later. I need to immediately write a memorial and report it to the imperial court as fast as possible! "
Yang Fan stood up and said, "This general understands. This general and Brigade Commander Ma will wait outside the tent."
Li Duozuo said, "There's no need. Have a seat!"
Li Duozuo ordered someone to bring ink, paper, and inkstone.
The paper used to write the memorial had to be specially made and printed. It was not something that could be written on any random piece of paper. Even though the matter was urgent, he could not be careless when writing to the Emperor. Li Duozuo first wrote a memorial on an ordinary piece of paper, hurriedly scanned it, made some changes, and handed it to Yang Fan, saying, "Colonel Yang, please take a look and see if there are any omissions."
There were a few smears on the letter, but the wording was inappropriate. As for the matter described, it was naturally clear and did not miss anything. Yang Fan also knew that Li Duozuo wanted him to read it first to let him know that Li Duozuo did not want to covet his credit. The source of the information and how to obtain it were all written very clearly.
Yang Fan finished reading and nodded. Li Duozuo took it and made a new copy of the memorial. After this copy was finished, he had to read it again in case there were any mistakes. After confirming that there were no mistakes, he immediately sealed it with a seal, sealed it with wax, and pressed a secret command. In a loud voice, he called, "Come!"
A guard walked into the commander's tent and stood with his hands folded. Li Duozuo handed over the secret memorial and said in a low voice, "Send it to the capital on a fast horse eight hundred li away! Send it to the capital immediately! "
In Wucheng Hall, Wan 'er was anxiously reading through the memorials in her hands. Fu Qingqing was at another table, helping Wan' er sort through the memorials she had finished reading so that they could be sent to different yamens by the little servant. As for those that were sent to the inner court and approved by the Emperor, she had to read them again.
Suddenly, she found a mistake on a memorial that needed to be sent to the inner court. Wu Zetian was very strict with these things. If there was a mistake or a smear, she would think that they were not serious. With Wan 'er's strictness, she rarely made these kinds of mistakes.
Fu Qingqing raised her head and was about to speak, but seeing Wan 'er's listless appearance, she swallowed her words. After thinking carefully for a while, she picked up a small knife and carefully scraped away the wrong stroke. She then applied some ointment and smoothed it. Then, she pressed down a correct stroke.
When it was done, Fu Qingqing looked at it carefully. If one didn't pay attention, they wouldn't be able to see it. With the Empress's current eyes, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to see it. Fu Qingqing smiled proudly and said to Wan 'er, "Sister is a bit tired. Let's rest first before we review."
Wan 'er shook her head and said lightly, "No matter. Right now, there are many things to do in the court. There are frequent wars. Moving troops, pressing for food, transporting salaries. Any mistake in any of these is a major matter. We can't slack off."
Fu Qingqing sighed and lowered her head to continue reviewing. It was true that the state affairs had been too busy recently, but Wan 'er's state had persisted for a long time. Ever since Cao Renshi's army had been completely annihilated, Wan' er had often been absent-minded. As a result, she kept making mistakes in her memorials. After being reprimanded by the Emperor, he had no choice but to find her for help.
Although Wan 'er had never admitted it, Fu Qingqing, as her most trusted person, had long guessed that her heart belonged to someone else. She had even guessed who the person she liked was. There was still no news of that person. He was most likely dead. No wonder Wan' er …
Fu Qingqing sighed inwardly. Just as she was sighing in her heart, she heard Wan 'er cry out in surprise. She jumped up. Fu Qingqing was startled and raised her head to look. Perhaps because Wan 'er had jumped too quickly, her knee had hit the leg of the table. It hurt so much that tears glistened in her eyes. But strangely, her face was full of smiles and revealed endless joy.
Fu Qingqing was surprised and said, "Sister, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine! I'll leave for a moment! " Shanghai Wan 'er held onto the memorials like they were treasures. She limped quickly into the side hall, leaving Fu Qingqing standing there in a daze. Her head was full of question marks.
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