It was the beginning of December in Anrong Pass and the weather was even colder. It was snowing in many places and the wind was bone-chilling. It was extremely difficult for the army to march and fight in such weather. After all, it was inconvenient to travel in the cold weather. The soldiers were also inconvenienced by their thick clothes.
Fortunately, the soldiers in Du Qi's army were all wearing the best military coats. All the military coats were made of the best cotton and were incomparably warm. Therefore, even though it was winter, it did not have much of an impact on the soldiers of the Xia Kingdom.
Du Qi rarely went out except for his daily patrols. He spent most of his time in his tent. Du Qi's army was sweeping through Li Shimin's army in Longzhou. Even though Li Shimin was still hiding, the area where he could hide was getting smaller and smaller. He had been forced to the east of Longzhou.
Most of Longzhou was under Du Qi's control.
This was especially true in the current Great Tang, where countless people were rebelling. Countless people had already declared themselves kings, and some had even declared themselves emperors with just a little bit of military power. A county could be called a king and a small town could be called an emperor. This was the situation in the Tang Dynasty. As for the border, it was even more chaotic. However, Li Shimin had no time to care about it. He could only stall for time.
Du Qi knew about the situation in the Tang Dynasty, but he could not do anything about it for the time being. Only after he killed his way into the Tang Dynasty and destroyed Li Shimin could he sweep away the chaos in the Tang Dynasty.
On this day, when Du Qi was reading, Shangguan Yi came in.
Shangguan Yi's face was full of joy.
When he saw Du Qi, he bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, the latest news from the Imperial Capital is that Fang Xuanling secretly came to the Imperial Capital and hoped to persuade the Retired Emperor to come out and persuade Your Majesty to stop the war. After the Retired Emperor refused, Fang Xuanling was about to leave. However, Zheng Yu, a bad man planted in the Imperial Capital by the Tang Dynasty, tried to coerce the Retired Emperor. In the end, they were all annihilated by Yu Deshui, and Fang Xuanling is now under our control. "
Du Qi smiled and said, "This time, Li Shimin suffered a big loss again. You just said that Fang Xuanling was coerced by Zheng Yu. Could it be that this matter was not Fang Xuanling's doing, but Zheng Yu's willful actions? "
Shangguan Yi said, "Your Majesty is wise. Zheng Yu asked Fang Xuanling to make an appointment with Retired Emperor, hoping to directly take down Retired Emperor. However, Fang Xuanling refused. In the end, Zheng Yu chose to capture Fang Xuanling to threaten the Retired Emperor. "
Du Qi said, "In that case, detaining Fang Xuanling is also justified."
Shangguan Yi said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Du Qi said in a low voice, "In this way, Li Shimin's last chance to survive is gone. According to our previous plan, we'll continue to wipe out Li Shimin. Once Li Shimin is unable to establish a foothold in the Long Province, we'll take over the entire Long Province. Now that the weather is cold and the ground is frozen, it's not suitable for marching and fighting. We'll fight steadily and steadily and nibble away at him step by step. "
Shangguan Yi said, "This subject will pass on Your Majesty's orders. At present, General Xiao and General Xue's subordinates have troops outside. They're gradually encircling Li Shimin. In half a month at most, Li Shimin will have to leave the Long Province and will no longer be able to establish a foothold in the Long Province. "
Du Qi said, "The most important reason why we can achieve this result is the will of the people. Therefore, the next step is still to attack the hearts of the people. We must win over the hearts of the people. The hearts of the people are the irresistible trend. As long as we have the upper hand and seize the initiative, we'll be invincible in attacking Li Shimin. "
Shangguan Yi nodded and said, "On this point, this subject has already made arrangements for General Xue and General Xiao. All troops outside are not allowed to take a needle or a piece of thread from the people, nor are they allowed to harass the local people. Once discovered, they'll be severely punished. "
Du Qi said, "That's how it should be."
"Reporting!"
At this moment, a soldier's report was heard from outside the tent. Immediately after, a soldier lifted his robe and entered. After standing still, the soldier cupped his fist and bowed to Du Qi, saying, "Your Majesty, there's an urgent report from General Xue."
As he spoke, the soldier handed over the letter.
Du Qi took the letter and waved his hand to dismiss the soldier. He then opened the letter and read it.
After reading the letter, Du Qi said with a smile, "Xue Rengui from the front line has sent back a message. He and Xiao Yuanqi have encircled Li Shimin and annihilated 4,000 troops under his command. This time, they almost caught Li Shimin, but unfortunately, he still managed to escape. Even so, they still managed to capture an old minister under Li Shimin. This man's name is Yu Shinan. "
Shangguan Yi was also overjoyed. He said with a straight face, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. At this time, Li Shimin's troops have been routed again. Including the troops that were annihilated before, I'm afraid Li Shimin's current forces are less than 2,000. It's impossible for Li Shimin to resist them with guerilla warfare. "
After a pause, Shangguan Yi continued, "Li Shimin's forces can't stay here any longer. He can only withdraw to Chang 'an. Even if he returns to Chang 'an, his forces won't be enough. Therefore, it's very likely that Li Shimin will choose to withdraw from Chang 'an. "
Du Qi nodded and said, "That's a possibility."
Shangguan Yi continued, "Your Majesty, now that Li Shimin has withdrawn, there's no force in the entire Gyeonggi Province that can resist us. Especially in Gyeonggi Province, many officials have sent letters expressing their willingness to pledge allegiance to us. That being the case, we can go east step by step until we reach Chang 'an. Even though we're now in December and the weather is cold, we're just marching and not fighting, so it won't affect us at all. "
Now that Xia Xia had unified the world, it was an irresistible trend that could not be stopped.
Wherever Xia Xia's army passed, it was invincible. In fact, this was like a rolling snowball. It was difficult in the beginning, but it got easier as time went on. Because in the face of the general trend, any individual's strength was negligible. At most, they could stop it slightly, but it was impossible to completely stop it.
Du Qi said, "There's no time like the present. Since the Long Province is already under our control, let's set off. Pass down the order, the army is to set out for Longzhou's eastern border. Xue Rengui and Xiao Yuanqi's army are leading the way. We just need to follow behind. "
Shangguan Yi said, "Your Majesty, in addition to setting out, I suggest we spread the news about Fang Xuanling. Yu Shinan was captured and Fang Xuanling was also captured for infiltrating the Imperial Capital. Once the news spreads, it will be a great blow to the Li Tang. Therefore, I think it will be beneficial for our operation after the news spreads. "
Du Qi said, "That's fine!"
Shangguan Yi immediately made the arrangements. The camp in Anrong Pass set out for the east in an hour. While Du Qi was heading east, Xue Rengui and Xiao Yuanqi's army continued to attack. They started from Longzhou's eastern border and directly entered Qizhou's eastern border. Qizhou's land was extremely important to the capital. It was a barrier to Chang 'an's west.
Originally, there was a large number of troops here.
Unfortunately, there was no one in Qizhou who could resist Xia Xia's army. There were even some who led the way and directly submitted to Xia Xia without any resistance. Therefore, in a short time, Xiao Yuanqi and Xue Rengui swept through Qizhou. Du Qi's army also followed closely behind. They were very close to the capital governor's mansion.
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