Wei Shuyu saw that Li Shimin was so upset that he vomited blood. He wanted to say something to persuade Li Shimin. However, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. Now that he was here, he had news to report, and it wasn't just about Li Chengqian. Seeing Li Shimin like this, Wei Shuyu didn't say anything for the time being.
Fang Xuanling had been sitting aside.
When he saw Wei Shuyu's hesitant look, his heart skipped a beat, and his heart sank. Li Chengqian's death was probably just the beginning. It wasn't the worst news.
Fang Xuanling didn't say anything.
It wasn't a good time to interrupt.
After a long while, Li Shimin calmed down. He looked at Wei Shuyu and asked, "Shuyu, is there any more news?"
Wei Shuyu replied, "Your Majesty, our people haven't sent back any news. The army led by His Highness Li Tai and Li Ke has been defeated, and both of them have fallen into the hands of Xia Xia's soldiers. I'm afraid they're not in a good situation. "
Whoosh!
Li Shimin's expression suddenly changed.
He was grieving again.
Du Qi had killed Li Chengqian. It was obvious that Du Qi wouldn't let Li Ke and Li Tai live. Therefore, the two brothers were likely to be killed in the end.
Li Shimin was furious. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "Minister Fang, how many troops do we have now?"
Fang Xuanling said, "Your Majesty, we have about fifty thousand people."
Li Shimin had been recruiting troops since he went south to Shaozhou. At the same time, he also kept recruiting troops and food to strengthen his own strength. Today, Li Shimin's forces had increased a lot, and he had gathered nearly fifty thousand people. However, such a force was extremely weak in front of Du Qi. After all, Xia Xia had now formed the general trend.
If Li Shimin was in a calm state, he wouldn't send troops at will because he knew very well that he was no match for him.
However, Li Shimin was furious.
He couldn't wait to kill Du Qi to avenge his son.
Li Shimin flicked his sleeve and said, "Minister Fang, go gather all the troops. I'm going to fight Du Qi to the death. Even if I can't defeat Xia Xia now, I'll go all out. This time, when Du Qi goes south, we will not retreat. Even if I die, I'll let Du Qi see the power of the Tang dynasty. "
Fang Xuanling frowned and advised, "Your Majesty, please think twice. In the current situation, you can't be impulsive."
Li Shimin said, "Zhen has made up my mind."
Fang Xuanling said, "It is extremely inappropriate for His Majesty to fight Du Qi with all his strength. With our current military strength, although we have some strength, we can't fight Du Qi head on. When Du Qi goes south, the officials of the various regions will not resist and directly submit to him. This way, they can hide in the dark and provide us with convenience. "
"Only in this way can we cause trouble for Du Qi and have a chance of survival. Once he confronts Xia Xia directly, he may be crushed by Du Qi. "
Fang Xuanling said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please think twice before acting. Don't be impulsive."
Li Shimin was still furious.
His son was dead.
Even his other sons might be killed by Du Qi. Li Shimin opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw Fang Xuanling's earnest and worried look, he sighed and said, "I know. I can't be impulsive now."
Fang Xuanling was relieved.
As long as Li Shimin was not impulsive and hid in Jade Mountain and fought guerrilla warfare with Du Qi, the Tang dynasty still had a chance. If Li Shimin was impulsive and fought with Du Qi, Fang Xuanling believed that the Tang dynasty would not be able to hold on.
Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty, according to our estimation, Du Qi will go south to Shaozhou. At most, he will arrive in Shaozhou in half a month. If Du Qi rushes at full speed, it may be less than half a month. The road south from Jiangnan is actually quite smooth and not difficult to travel. The only thing that makes Du Qi difficult is the climate. "
Li Shimin said, "Du Qi has gone south. Blocking Du Qi is the key. Since we can't fight head-on, what do you think we should do to defeat Du Qi? If we can't stop Du Qi's offensive in this battle, we will be annihilated here even if we don't fight head-on. Only by blocking Du Qi can we have a chance to make a comeback. "
Fang Xuanling sighed in his heart but did not speak.
Under Li Shimin's command, Fang Xuanling could be considered to be an eloquent and resourceful person.
The problem was that the Tang dynasty was at a disadvantage in the current situation. Even if Fang Xuanling had a strategy, the problem was that he really could not find any way to resist Du Qi's army.
Xia Xia was too strong.
It was not only the gap in numbers, but also the gap in people's hearts and weapons.
There were even other gaps …
When Wei Shuyu heard Li Shimin's words, a strong sense of powerlessness rose in his heart. But no matter what, it was impossible to ignore it at the moment. Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, our only advantage is that we can take advantage of the terrain and the weather."
Li Shimin asked, "How?"
Wei Shuyu slowly said, "The terrain advantage is the climate of the Lingnan region. In fact, there are many mountainous areas in Shaozhou, and many places have deep mountains and old forests. Even if the road is not rugged, it won't be easy for Du Qi's army to go south after passing through such an area. We can stop them. "
"In addition, there are many rivers in the South, so there are many bridges. What we need to do now is to destroy these bridges in various places, so that Du Qi's road to the South will be difficult. "
"In addition, we can arrange soldiers to block some narrow roads with big stones so that Xia Xia's army can't move in a short time. Even if Du Qi's army can break through the bridges and mountain roads, it will at least delay the army's marching time. "
Wei Shuyu said, "As long as the time is delayed, Du Qi's time to go south will be delayed. In this way, the weather in the South will be hotter and the climate will be different. There are many mosquitoes in Lingnan. When the weather is hot, Du Qi's people will not be used to the weather in the South. Even the soldiers will be bitten by mosquitoes and feel more uncomfortable. That will be beneficial to us. After all, we have lived in Shaozhou for so long and are already used to the current environment. They are different. "
Li Shimin nodded.
Wei Shuyu's analysis was reasonable.
Wei Shuyu continued, "The second point is what Minister Fang mentioned just now. Arrange for the officials in various places to submit to Du Qi on the surface and not resist. But secretly, they will set up obstacles for Du Qi and block Du Qi's grain route. After all, these people who have submitted to Du Qi will be relatively easy to cut off the grain route. "
"In this way, we will have a chance."
"Our killing move is the climate. When the weather becomes hotter, even if Du Qi has a large army, it will not be easy for him to go south to suppress us. Hot weather is not the same as cold weather. When the weather is cold, they can wear thicker clothes. In hot weather, they will not be able to endure the mosquitoes if they wear less clothes. "
Wei Shuyu said, "This is our only chance, because in terms of military strength, fighting power, and weapons, we can't compare to Xia Xia's army. We can only rely on Shaozhou's climate."
After listening, Li Shimin's eyes showed a look of approval. He said, "Shuyu's suggestion is the most pertinent one. Our military strength is insufficient, so it's impossible to fight head-on. When the weather becomes hotter, we will hide in the mountains. It will be even more difficult for Du Qi to enter the mountains to wipe us out. The advantage of the army will be weakened by the mountains and forests. "
Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty is wise. This is what this minister is thinking. What we need to do is to fully utilize the geographical advantage. Only in this way can we achieve the final victory. The situation is indeed difficult, but in fact, compared to the situation we considered before, it's much easier now. We don't lack food, clothing, or supplies. This is already much better. "
Li Shimin nodded. "Shuyu is right. We are indeed much better than before. Originally, we only had a few thousand soldiers. Du Qi has not gone south for the time being, so we have rested for a while. The number of the army has recovered to tens of thousands. Although we still can't compete with Du Qi head-on, at least now, we are not as weak as before. "
Fang Xuanling heard Li Shimin's words, but he did not have much hope. It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in himself, or that he didn't have the will to fight. It was because every time he fought with Du Qi, his defeat proved one thing: Du Qi was invincible.
Destiny was in Xia Xia.
Not in the Tang dynasty.
Fang Xuanling now, even if he heard Wei Shuyu's words, he did not have much hope.
Let's take one step at a time.
Li Shimin did not notice Fang Xuanling's strangeness. He still had not given up, so he directly ordered Wei Shuyu and Fang Xuanling to make arrangements for the next battle.
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