Wei Zheng's arrival was just an interlude. Du Qi's army continued to move forward. While Du Qi's army was moving quickly, Wei Zheng returned to Anrong Pass first. The moment he entered the pass, he went straight to Anrong Pass's city gate tower. Standing in front of Li Shimin, Wei Zheng said with an ashamed expression, "Your Majesty, I did not order Du Qi to stop. Please punish me. I failed to ask for peace. "
Li Shimin sighed, shook his head and said, "This result is actually within Zhen's expectations. The difference between Xia Xia and the Tang dynasty is obvious. It's obvious that Xia Xia is strong and the Tang dynasty is weak. Especially the Tang dynasty, which is so weak that it has no power to solve its internal and border conflicts, let alone stop Du Qi's army. "
After a pause, Li Shimin continued, "If this matter were to happen to Zhen, if Zhen were to send out troops, Zhen would not agree to peace and would continue to send troops. So Du Qi's refusal is reasonable. "
Wei Zheng ignored Li Shimin's words and said, "Your Majesty, I failed to complete my mission. Please punish me. "
When he left, he made a military order.
But now, he did not complete it.
He had let down Li Shimin's trust.
Li Shimin shook his head and smiled, "Minister Wei, you have done your best. How can I punish you? Although I am in a difficult situation, I am not an incapable ruler. I will not punish people. There is no need for you to ask for forgiveness. The most important thing is to follow the original plan. We will defend Anrong Pass and delay Du Qi's attack. "
Wei Zheng said gratefully, "Your Majesty is wise!"
He had followed Li Shimin for many years and had been enemies with him for many years. He knew Li Shimin's character. He had tried to persuade him time and time again, and each time, he would poke at Li Shimin's heart. However, Li Shimin tolerated it.
Li Shimin was a wise ruler.
He was worth following.
Wei Zheng did not speak anymore. At this moment, Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty, since we have failed to ask for peace, we will defend Anrong Pass. Next, we will choose to set up a defensive line in An Rong Pass. As long as the defensive line in An Rong Pass can be defended, even if it can't be defended, as long as we can stall for time, we can wait for an opportunity. "
Li Shimin was quite appreciative of Wei Shuyu, because from the start of the war until now, Wei Shuyu had repeatedly made suggestions. Although sometimes Wei Shuyu's suggestions wouldn't be accepted, Wei Shuyu's suggestions were good.
Li Shimin said, "Shu Yu, do you have any suggestions?"
Wei Shuyu gritted his teeth and said, "Previously, when we attacked Du Qi's camp, we were blown up by Du Qi. The camp was turned upside down, and we lost countless soldiers, resulting in our defeat. Now, we will also adopt this plan and place gunpowder outside An Rong Pass. "
"Once Du Qi's army arrives, bombard them. No matter how many people were killed in the explosion, every death counted. When Du Qi attacks An Rong Pass, we will use An Rong Pass to block them. According to our previous plan, we will detonate An Rong Pass and kill Du Qi's soldiers. In short, we will continuously weaken Du Qi's forces. "
Wei Shuyu said, "As long as Du Qi doesn't have any troops left, it will be easy to stall for time."
In fact, this was similar to Wei Shuyu's previous plan.
It was to stop them midway.
Place gunpowder to stop Du Qi's army.
Li Shimin had never adopted this idea before, but this time, Wei Shuyu proposed it because he wanted to buy time for Fang Xuanling. Therefore, although this method could not affect Du Qi's advance, in fact, it could at least slow down the speed of Du Qi's advance.
Li Shimin had no other choice, so he nodded and said, "Let's follow Shuyu's plan. As long as we can stop Du Qi's army, as long as we can delay them, it's worth a try."
Pausing, Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng and ordered, "Prime Minister Wei, immediately make the arrangements. Du Qi's army is already on the way. According to the estimated time, Du Qi's army will arrive in at most two to four hours. We don't have much time to delay, so we need to make preparations. "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Wei Zheng immediately made the arrangements after receiving the order.
Along with the movement of the army, a part of the Tang army quickly moved. After the Tang army was ready, Li Shimin waited on the gate tower of Anrong Pass.
On the other side, Du Qi's army had begun to approach. The army was less than fifteen miles away from Anrong Pass. If they hurried, it would take less than two hours.
Du Qi's army now had 70,000 to 80,000 men. Including some of the reorganized Tang soldiers, he actually had more soldiers. However, these Tang soldiers were still under his control and were not included in the fighting order. Based on Du Qi's current military strength, while Li Shimin's military strength was few, even if Du Qi made a long and arduous journey to Anrong Pass, by relying on the might of the mortars, he would be able to achieve victory in one battle. Therefore, he did not stop and continued on his way.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!! "
Suddenly, a series of explosions came from the front. The sound of the explosions was deafening, and even Du Qi could feel it from far away. Moreover, looking from afar, he could see the smoke and dust in the distance.
Du Qi's heart sank, and he said coldly, "What's going on?"
The messenger immediately arranged for people to ask, and not long after, the news came. The soldier stood in front of Du Qi and reported, "Your Majesty, on the road ahead, there were suddenly gunpowder explosions. Countless gunpowder explosions caused many soldiers to be injured. "
Du Qi's eyes narrowed, and a cold light flashed across his eyes.
Obviously, this was Li Shimin's arrangement.
Li Shimin had arranged to stop them.
Du Qi immediately shook the reins and moved forward. However, when Du Qi moved forward, he was stopped by Ma Zhou. Ma Zhou shook his head, "Your Majesty, you can't go forward. There are explosions ahead, so it's extremely dangerous. If you personally go and encounter danger, then it won't be good. Therefore, you should stay here and let me personally go. "
"No need!"
Du Qi shook his head and refused.
He shook the reins, and the warhorse quickly moved forward. Seeing this, Ma Zhou and Shangguan Yi hurriedly followed Du Qi forward. Not long after, they arrived at the front line. At this moment, the ground on the official road in front was full of potholes, and it was a mess. It was obvious that only gunpowder could cause this.
Du Qi looked around and saw that there was a bush in the distance on both sides of the official road. It was precisely this kind of area that should be hiding people, causing Li Shimin's men to ambush in the distance and detonate the gunpowder.
Du Qi said in a deep voice, "Xue Rengui!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xue Rengui immediately replied.
Du Qi said, "Carefully investigate the sides of the official road, especially the areas with bushes, and sweep them carefully. The explosion this time was deliberately set up by Du Qi to stop us from moving forward. "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xue Rengui immediately complied.
After Xue Rengui retreated, Du Qi arranged for people to take the seriously injured soldiers to be treated and buried all the dead soldiers. After dealing with this matter, Du Qi ordered to continue the journey.
He couldn't stop just because Li Shimin wanted to stop them.
Attacking the Tang dynasty was imperative.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
