Near evening, the sky was dark.
The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the horizon, making the whole horizon golden, as if the whole horizon was dyed.
Inside the city, in the military camp.
In the central tent.
Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Shentong were drinking. At this time, the three were a little dizzy from drinking. After all, they had been chatting and drinking during the day without stopping.
For Li Jiancheng, if he won this battle, he would certainly establish great prestige. Liu Heita was a veteran general. Such a person was not easy to deal with. Being able to defeat Liu Heita, or even take him down, was an extremely good thing.
Simply speaking, Li Jiancheng was a little arrogant now.
He felt that fighting a war was just like this.
If he had not been by Li Yuan's side in the early years, if he had fought on the battlefield, then by now, perhaps he would have had outstanding achievements and accumulated countless military merits. There would also be countless people in the army supporting him.
This was Li Jiancheng's current thought.
Li Shentong now completely leaned towards Li Jiancheng. Although he was a little tipsy, in fact, his mind was clear. For an old fox like him, this little bit of wine did not affect him at all.
Li Shentong said, "Congratulations to Your Highness the Crown Prince. Congratulations to Your Highness the Crown Prince. When Xue Che's triumphant return to Chang 'an, then Your Highness the Crown Prince can draft a report of victory and send it back to Chang' an to announce the good news. "
Li Yuanji said with a smile, "There is no need to wait for Xue Che's return. In my opinion, we can draft a report of victory now and send it back. As long as the report of victory is sent back, Father Emperor should reward us. "
Li Shentong nodded, stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Your Highness the Prince of Qi is right."
Li Jiancheng was even more elated.
His heart was filled with joy.
This feeling of being flattered, this feeling of being respected, was really too good.
"Report!"
At this time, a soldier came in and reported, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, a scout from the front line has returned."
"Send in!"
Li Jiancheng ordered.
The soldier went to inform. A moment later, the scout came in in a panic, kneeling on one knee and saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, things are not good. General Xue went to kill Liu Heita and was ambushed, losing soldiers and generals."
Boom!
Li Jiancheng's brain exploded.
There was a moment of blankness in front of his eyes.
Li Jiancheng thought that they would win this battle, and it was impossible to lose. But under such circumstances, how could they possibly be ambushed? Just like just now, he was already prepared to send a report of victory back.
Now that things had come to this, everything was over.
There was nothing left.
Not only that, but he had also lost.
Li Jiancheng couldn't accept it for the time being. The difference was too great for him to accept.
Li Shentong and Li Yuanji were also dumbfounded.
What's going on?
They were all defeated.
Li Yuanji asked impatiently, "What's going on? How many men did we lose? "
The scout shook his head and said, "The exact number of casualties is unknown for now. All we know is that we were ambushed by the Turks. At that time, General Xue ordered us to return at top speed to report the news, so for the time being, we do not know what happened afterwards. I expect that in another fifteen minutes at most, there will be new news. "
Li Jiancheng's face was ashen as he waved his hand and said, "You may leave!"
"Yes!"
The sentry turned around and left.
Li Jiancheng's gaze fell on Li Yuanji and Li Shentong. He said, "Liu Heita's army retreated, but they actually had the help of the Tujue cavalry outside. Furthermore, they were ambushing us. Damn it, to think that there would be Turkic cavalry. The pursuit this time will definitely cost us a lot. "
Li Shentong said, "The reason why I lost back then was because Liu Heita and the Tujue colluded. However, the Tujue had already left for a long time, but they actually came again. Sigh, what a miscalculation, what a miscalculation! "
Li Yuanji said, "I thought that we had to seize the opportunity this time. I didn't expect that we would go for wool and come home shorn. Li Shimin didn't do anything, and instead nothing happened. If I had known earlier, I would have let Li Shimin pursue. "
Li Jiancheng said, "There's no point in saying this now."
"Men, summon Wei Zheng."
Li Jiancheng immediately gave the order.
Not long after, Wei Zheng entered the tent and bowed to Li Jiancheng. Seeing Li Jiancheng's slightly drunk appearance, he was even angered and wanted to curse him out.
However, Wei Zheng gave up on that thought.
Persuasion was useless.
He could only walk down this path now.
Li Jiancheng quickly told him about Xue Wanche's defeat. After hearing it, Wei Zheng's face twitched. Previously, when Li Shimin attacked Mingshui County, he had a bad feeling. He kept feeling that Li Shimin might break Mingshui County. In the end, his worries came true. Li Shimin indeed broke Mingshui County.
Previously, when Xue Wanche led the army to pursue Liu Heita, Wei Zheng felt that something was wrong. However, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Shentong all had excited appearances. He did not open his mouth to persuade. He did not expect that his worries came true again.
Wei Zheng sighed in his heart.
Could it be that the heavens did not protect Crown Prince Li Jiancheng?
If not, how could he be defeated at the two most crucial times in a row?
While Wei Zheng was absent-minded, Li Jiancheng opened his mouth and said, "Xuancheng, now that Xue Wanche has failed, he will definitely suffer losses. How are we going to fight this battle? "
After Wei Zheng was momentarily absent-minded, he quickly regained his composure. He quickly thought for a while and said, "Your Highness Crown Prince, since the matter has already happened, it's useless to pursue responsibility. There are three things that need to be done right now. "
Li Jiancheng said, "Speak!"
Wei Zheng said, "First, appease Xue Wanche."
"Xue Wanche this person has strength. It's just that his strategy is a little lacking. It's not a bad idea to use him as a general. Moreover, Your Highness Crown Prince lacks a tiger general by your side. Therefore, when Xue Wanche returns, Your Highness Crown Prince can reprimand him, but more importantly, encourage him. Let him be courageous after knowing shame, and be able to wipe away the previous disgrace. "
"Second, encourage the officers and soldiers in the army."
"The reason why so many soldiers have died in this battle is not because of Liu Heita, but because of the Tujue. Therefore, make use of the Tujue to boost the morale, let the officers and soldiers be roused and cautious, let them be filled with hatred towards the Tujue, so that they can take revenge and wipe out a grudge. "
"In this way, there won't be any shadow in the hearts of the officers and soldiers in the army. On the contrary, their fighting spirit will be high. Otherwise, if we ignore it, it's very likely that the morale will be low, and the army will be completely lost. "
Wei Zheng's expression was solemn as he continued, "As for the third, it's because of the Qin King. After Xue Wanche's defeat in this battle, we'll pay close attention to the direction of Liu Heita's garrison. "
"After Liu Heita has set up camp in the next stronghold, we'll send the Qin King to attack again, let the Qin King face the Tujue and Liu Heita's forces. In this way, even if the Tujue are tyrannical, even if Liu Heita's strength is not weak. But in the face of the Qin King's forces, Liu Heita and the Tujue won't be able to gain any advantage. In the end, both sides will suffer. "
"To us, it's like reaping the benefits of the fisherman."
"After Liu Heita's strength is weakened, we'll attack Liu Heita again, and eliminate him in one spurt of energy."
"This is what we need to do now."
Wei Zheng said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, please think thrice."
After Li Jiancheng heard this, he carefully pondered for a while. His face revealed an expression of approval as he said, "Not bad, not bad. Xuancheng's analysis is very reasonable. Next, we'll do this. In short, we must stabilize the army's morale, stabilize the generals' hearts, and then borrow the Qin King's forces to attack Liu Heita. "
Wei Zheng said, "That's what I mean."
Li Jiancheng and Wei Zheng discussed the follow-up matters. Before long, a scout came in and reported, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, General Xue Wanche has returned with the army."
"Understood!"
Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "Tell Xue Wanche, after the soldiers in the army have been settled, this Crown Prince will wait for Xue Wanche's arrival."
"Yes!"
The soldier turned around to inform.
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