Li Chengqian was originally filled with boundless rage, and Yang Gan had become the one to vent it on. But when he heard that Yang Gan and his men had fled, he felt even more dejected. Yang Gan had obviously noticed that the granary was on fire, so he immediately ran away.
Li Chengqian was even more flustered.
He looked at Yang Gan and asked in a low voice, "Sir, what should we do?"
At this moment, Li Chengqian looked at Lu Deming as if he was looking at a life-saving straw. Because Li Chengqian was already in a predicament. Even if Xia Xia's army wasn't outside the pass, his subordinates would still be in trouble.
Lu Deming gritted his teeth. "Your Highness, no matter what, you can't lose your footing. The burning of the granary isn't good for us. Even so, you can't panic. If Your Highness is at a loss, the morale of the army will be even more out of control. "
Li Chengqian said, "I know I can't panic, but the current situation is really bad. Without food, it'll be very difficult to stay in Sword Gate Pass. And if we stay here, we won't be able to hold on. If we give up on Sword Gate Pass, Xia Xia's army will march straight into Jiannan Road. In short, the current situation isn't good for us. Master Lu, what do you think we should do? "
Lu Deming said, "The only choice now is to stay here and defend. His Highness the Crown Prince gathered all the soldiers and announced that Du Qi's men had secretly attacked the granary and caused it to catch fire. After that, we will continue to defend as long as we can. At the very least, it won't be too late to retreat when we can't hold on any longer. "
Li Chengqian's heart was bitter.
He had to admit that he had no other choice but to follow Lu Deming's suggestion. Li Chengqian immediately passed down the order and gathered all his subordinates. All the soldiers gathered inside the pass. Li Chengqian stood on the city gate tower. He looked at the soldiers under his command and shouted, "Soldiers, I believe you all already know that our granary has been burned down by fire."
"This crown prince has investigated the burning of the granary. It was done by Xia Xia's men.
"Xia Xia's men infiltrated the pass and set the granary on fire.
"Xia Xia is shameless and treacherous. He wants to take this opportunity to seize the Sword Gate Pass. But what I want to say is, even if there is no food, we can still defend the Swords Gate Pass. "
Li Chengqian's voice rose and fell. He hoped to use this opportunity to stabilize the current situation. Li Chengqian looked around at the soldiers gathered at the checkpoint. Seeing that their morale was low, he said again, "Soldiers, your responsibility is to guard the checkpoint. As for this prince's responsibility, that is to gather food for you and provide soldiers for you, ensuring that you can hold on. "
"So, you don't have to worry about food."
"This Crown Prince will raise the funds."
"However, I'll have to trouble you for the next couple of days. Please believe me, I'll definitely gather enough food."
Li Chengqian shouted, "Defend the Swords Gate Pass to the death!"
He shouted.
The group of generals under his command also started to shout out for them to defend the Swords Gate Pass to the death. Even some of the soldiers started to chime in. It was just that the morale of the soldiers was affected and their morale was rather low. Their shouts were all over the place and it was a complete mess.
Seeing this, Li Chengqian sighed inwardly. He wanted to encourage the soldiers, but looking at the current situation, the actual effect was minuscule. After the news of the food shortage spread, the soldiers in the army started to discuss and their morale plummeted. When Li Chengqian finally said to defend, many of the soldiers didn't say anything on the surface, but in fact, they despised him in their hearts.
It would be difficult to defend against Xia Xia.
Li Chengqian didn't say anything else. He dismissed the soldiers and returned to their camps to rest. Li Chengqian walked around the Swords Gate Pass and looked at the defense on the city tower. Although Li Chengqian hadn't been attacked yet, Li Chengqian was speechless when he saw the listless soldiers.
The situation wasn't good!
The morale of the soldiers guarding the city had been greatly affected. It would be difficult for them to continue defending the Swords Gate Pass.
Li Chengqian returned to his tent after walking around. Although everything had been arranged, Li Chengqian really didn't know how long he could hold on under the current situation.
He was sure that Xia Xia's men would know about it too.
Xia Xia's men would definitely have a response.
Li Chengqian pondered for a while and arranged for someone to invite Lu Deming over. When Lu Deming entered, Li Chengqian said, "Master Lu, although I said to gather food in front of the soldiers. But where are we going to gather food now? "
Lu Deming said, "Have Wang Yuan go to Pu An County again."
Li Chengqian sighed, "That's the only way."
Li Chengqian immediately called Wang Yuan over and had him go to Pu An County to gather food. Although Wang Yuan agreed, he looked like he was in a difficult position. In the end, he left unwillingly.
After Wang Yuan left, Li Chengqian said, "Master Lu, I think it's very likely that we can't hold on anymore. Therefore, I want to retreat from the Swords Gate Pass. Although it's not a good thing for us to give Swords Gate Pass to Xia Xia's army, it will give us a chance to breathe. After our army retreats, we can replenish food along the way and won't be short of food. "
Lu Deming's expression turned serious when he heard this.
A solemn look appeared on his face.
Lu Deming said, "Your Highness, I don't agree with the retreat strategy. Once we retreat from Swords Gate Pass, we'll lose this impregnable pass. As long as we control this impregnable pass, we can keep Xia Xia's army out. On the other hand, if our army retreats, Xia Xia's army will be able to gallop straight down south. When that time comes, what will we use to resist Xia Xia? Your Highness, the current situation is difficult. But no matter how difficult it is, as long as we can endure it, the sky will clear up after the storm. If we can't endure it, the consequences will be unimaginable. "
Li Chengqian frowned.
Lu Deming didn't agree. Moreover, Lu Deming's suggestion was reasonable.
Li Chengqian said, "The morale of the army is unstable. It won't be easy to hold on! Earlier, when I gathered all the soldiers and gave them encouragement, you also saw it. The current situation is rather bad. "
Lu Deming sighed, "Your Highness, I suggest that we hold on for as long as we can. In short, we hold on for now. It won't be too late to retreat if we really can't hold on. What do you think? After all, Wang Yuan has gone to collect food. "
Li Chengqian saw the sincerity in Lu Deming's eyes and finally nodded, "No problem. We'll follow Master Lu's arrangement. Master Lu, you arrange it. "
"Yes!"
Lu Deming let out a sigh of relief.
He immediately went to arrange, temporarily stabilizing the army and stabilizing their morale.
While Lu Deming and Li Chengqian were working hard to stabilize the internal situation, the scouts outside Swords Gate Pass also discovered the billowing smoke inside the pass. The scouts quickly sent back the news. When Xiao Yuanqi heard the news, he immediately became excited.
After waiting for such a long time, it was finally here.
Li Chengqian's food was destroyed.
Xiao Yuanqi couldn't do anything about Swords Gate Pass, but now the Tang army inside the pass had their own problems. It would be easy for Xiao Yuanqi to break through Swords Gate Pass. Xiao Yuanqi immediately called all the generals under his command to gather in the tent.
He looked around and said in a deep voice, "Our army has been stationed here for a while. During this period of time, we haven't attacked. Many people have some complaints in their hearts, thinking that I'm avoiding the battle. Let me tell you, the reason why we haven't attacked is not because we're afraid or scared, but because we already have a plan. "
Then Xiao Yuanqi continued, "Military Advisor Ma has now sneaked into Swords Gate Pass, instigated the people of Jiannan Path, and arranged people to attack Li Chengqian's granary. Now, the smoke is billowing inside the pass. His granary has been burned down. Brace yourselves, we'll officially attack Swords Gate Pass in two days. Tell your soldiers to get ready for the battle. "
"Yes!"
All the soldiers answered in unison.
Starting the war in two days was not a difficult matter for all the soldiers.
They had plenty of time to prepare.
But some people also suggested that since the granary of the Tang dynasty was burned down, and the people of the Tang dynasty were not calm, why not immediately attack and take Swords Gate Pass of the Tang dynasty? As long as they took Swords Gate Pass, it would be easy to defeat Li Chengqian.
After Xiao Yuanqi agreed, he shook his head and refused, then said, "If we attack the Tang army now, it will only make the panicked Tang army gather together and fight with us to the death. If we delay for two more days, we can let the panic ferment, and when all the Tang army is panicking, and there are even deserters, Swords Gate Pass will collapse on its own. You don't have to worry about Li Chengqian's food supply. Right now, Li Chengqian's supplies have been cut off, and it's impossible for him to get any more. "
After hearing this, the generals didn't say anything more.
They all nodded in agreement.
Xiao Yuanqi didn't say anything more. He waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to do their own things.
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.
