On the Tongji Canal, the river was flowing slowly.
The weather in March was getting warmer. The further south they went, the warmer the weather was. Under the golden sunlight, the whole Tongji Canal seemed to be covered with a layer of golden light. The waves were rippling, and the scenery was pleasant. On the surface of the river, one after another, warships were heading south at a high speed.
On all the warships, there were big banners flying. On these banners, there was a big "Tang" character, which represented the Tang dynasty.
These were the troops led by Li Shimin.
After leaving Chang 'an, Li Shimin didn't go south by land, but by water. Thanks to the connection of the Jinghang Grand Canal, after Li Shimin led his troops out of Chang 'an, he went into the water through the Guangtong Canal, and then turned into the Tongji Canal, and went all the way south.
Because the water was unblocked, Li Shimin's army had now entered the territory of Jiangnan, and was not far from Yangzhou and Jiangdu. At most, they would reach Jiangdu in one day's journey.
On the warship where Li Shimin was, he stood on the deck, looking at the moving scenery on both sides of the river, but he was quite worried about the rear. After all, Li Daozong led a small number of troops to guard Chang 'an, and it would be difficult to stop Du Qi. The only thing Li Daozong could do was to stall for time.
Wei Shuyu was also standing beside Li Shimin.
He quietly looked at the surrounding scenery.
This time, Wei Shuyu didn't know whether they could stop Xia's attack in the end. But Wei Shuyu believed that according to his plan, after the Tang dynasty's troops were scattered, Du Qi would need time to completely destroy the Tang dynasty. At this time, Li Shimin could make a comeback and fight Du Qi again.
Li Shimin suddenly said, "Shuyu, do you think there will be local rebels when we reach Jiangdu?"
This time, Li Shimin was worried that there would be local rebels.
They wouldn't obey Li Shimin's order.
A smile appeared on Wei Shuyu's slightly cold face, and he said, "Your Majesty, I think there is no need to worry. The reason is very simple. There is a garrison of the imperial court in Jiangdu to stabilize the situation there. Now, Your Majesty has 5,000 black armored cavalry, which are the most elite forces. "
"With this batch of troops and the accompanying 10,000 infantrymen, we will not be able to defeat them. We have more than fifteen thousand elites, so it's impossible for us to cause trouble in the local area. Of course, even if there are people causing trouble, they won't be able to pose a threat to us. "
"This subject hopes that they will jump out and cause trouble. Then, we will be able to deal with all of them in one go. In this way, the imperial court would be stable and would not have to spend too much energy dealing with these trivial matters. Now that His Majesty has arrived at Jiangdu, he wants to quickly develop his strength and restore local production. Then, he will gather his strength and once again wage war against Du Qi. "
Wei Shuyu appeared very calm.
Although they were retreating, Wei Shuyu was not flustered. That was because Li Shimin would have a chance to make a comeback once they reached Jiangdu.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "What Shuyu said is true, I hope we can return to Chang 'an soon."
Leaving Chang 'an was the pain in Li Shimin's heart.
He was the Emperor of the Tang dynasty.
However, he chose to move the capital. In order to allow the Tang dynasty to kill their way back, Li Shimin had no choice but to allocate his forces to various places. On one hand, he wanted to develop his strength, and on the other hand, he wanted to leave behind some sparks so that he would not be wiped out in one go after a single defeat.
Li Shimin placed his elbow on the side of the ship and suddenly said, "Shuyu, do you think we can kill our way back in the end?"
"Yes!"
Wei Shuyu nodded and said, "We definitely can."
Li Shimin did not say anything.
Wei Shuyu waited for a while before saying, "As long as Your Majesty does not give up, there will be a day when you kill your way back. As the heavens move, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. As long as Your Majesty persists, we will have hope. If Your Majesty gives up, then we will only be struggling at death's door. "
He was very clear about Li Shimin's mood. He was a little confused and even a little nervous.
The reason was actually very simple. He had suffered too many blows.
The deaths of Hou Junji, Li Ji, Duan Zhixuan, Liu Hongji, and the others were a blow to Li Shimin. Zhangsun Wuji's suicide and Li Yuan's death were also a blow. Zhangsun Wugou's death was also a blow …
A series of blows had already caused the mountains and rivers to fall and the country to fall. With all these problems piled up together, even though Li Shimin was a wise ruler, he was still facing enormous pressure. Li Shimin was the only one who could withstand it. If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to withstand it long ago. Their mentality might have collapsed long ago, and it would be impossible for them to fight Du Qi again.
Li Shimin and Wei Shuyu chatted intermittently. Unknowingly, it was close to noon. At this time, all the warships were docked. The officers and soldiers of the army all disembarked from the ships to rest. At the same time, the accompanying cooks were also preparing for lunch.
This was the favorite time of the soldiers.
They could get some fresh air and rest.
At the same time, they could also get off the ship and feel more comfortable. After all, they were all soldiers of the north. Although the warships traveled smoothly on the river without any bumps, there were still some people who were not used to it. Now that they had disembarked, the soldiers could also recover a little.
Not long after Li Shimin's group disembarked, a scout rushed over.
This was an urgent message from eight hundred li away.
Most of Li Shimin's messages were sent by land. Moreover, the warhorses were constantly withering, rushing day and night. Therefore, many times, letters could be sent out in the shortest amount of time, which was actually faster than warships.
The scout arrived at Li Shimin's side and handed over the letter, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the battle report sent from Chang 'an."
Li Shimin took the letter and opened it. After reading it, a hint of helplessness appeared on his face. He looked at the civil officials and generals around him and sighed. "Chang 'an City has been breached, and Li Daozong died on the city walls. Chang 'an City has now fallen into Du Qi's hands. "
Hearing this, everyone's expression turned solemn. They had not been away from Chang 'an for long, and Du Qi had just arrived. In such a short time, the city had been breached. It was truly too fast.
Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Jiangxia has six thousand elites. Chang 'an City is incomparably sturdy, and the bombardment is ineffective. At most, it can only suppress the battle on the city walls. However, during the battle on the city walls, it is impossible to keep bombarding. Otherwise, it will be an indiscriminate bombardment, and Du Qi's people will also be killed. How exactly did they breach the city? "
Li Shimin said, "There is a merchant in the city, Han Yun. He organized the merchant's forces to cooperate with the outside and opened the city gates to let Du Qi's army in. In addition, Li Daozong's elder, Lan Changhe, also pledged allegiance to Du Qi and became Du Qi's man. As a result, all the gunpowder that Li Daozong had hidden in the city was stolen by Lan Changhe and his men. As a result, Li Daozong's backup plan was completely gone. These merchants in Chang 'an City are really despicable. This Lan Changhe is really despicable. Damn it, he really deserves to die! "
At this moment, Li Shimin was very angry.
Li Daozong's death was in vain.
When they were evacuating, Li Shimin asked Li Daozong to evacuate with them. However, Li Daozong insisted on staying behind to guard. Li Shimin's persuasion was fruitless, resulting in the current situation.
Wei Shuyu also let out a sigh.
They had lost another general.
Li Shimin sighed and ordered the entire army to wear mourning clothes to mourn the death of Li Daozong. At this moment, Li Shimin was no longer in the mood to eat. He did not even eat lunch. After boarding the ship, the army began to continue their journey south.
Wei Shuyu did not persuade him because he believed that Li Shimin could adjust. This was not the first time something like this happened. As time passed, Li Shimin would definitely be able to adjust.
Wei Shuyu also believed that Li Shimin's heart would be hurt and get used to it. Moreover, it would become stronger and stronger. Even if there were thousands of hardships, they would not be able to hit Li Shimin. This was what Wei Shuyu firmly believed.
Wei Shuyu did not speak, but Wei Zheng tried to persuade Li Shimin, hoping that he would pull himself together. As they were heading south at this time, once Li Shimin's spirit collapsed, the morale of the army would fall. As such, they had to pull themselves together.
After Li Shimin heard this, he quickly adjusted his state of mind. In the evening, when the warship docked, he gathered the soldiers and told them about Li Daozong. Then, he encouraged the soldiers and called them to take revenge.
For a gentleman to take revenge, ten years was not too late.
Li Shimin wanted his subordinates to remember this hatred and then prepare for revenge.
After a round of encouragement, the soldiers gradually recovered. After all, Li Shimin still had fighting spirit, so the morale of the soldiers would not directly collapse. After Li Shimin comforted the soldiers, he could only suppress all the sadness in his heart. This was because they were about to arrive at Yangzhou.
Next, Li Shimin needed to pull himself together.
He had to gather strength in Jiangdu as soon as possible.
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