Su Dingfang said, "Your Majesty, I submitted to the Xia King. The reason is simple. Firstly, the Xia King is thirsty for talent. Secondly, Your Majesty made the wrong use of people. As the governor of Guazhou, I held military power. But from start to finish, Your Majesty had Hou Junji stay in Guazhou.
"Does Your Majesty not know what kind of idiot Hou Junji is and what kind of nature he has?
"There was clearly no war at the border, and the Tang dynasty and Xia Xia were doing well. But Hou Junji stubbornly sent people to assassinate the Xia King and stir up conflict between the two countries. I wrote to Your Majesty, but Hou Junji dared to send people to kill the messengers.
"When Hou Junji found out that I had sent two messengers and Your Majesty did not punish him, he openly led people into my office and demanded an explanation. Your Majesty, I am the governor of Guazhou, and Hou Junji is just a general stationed in the army. But he dared to attack me.
"Yes, Your Majesty, why did you send Hou Junji? If I was not in charge of the army, it would be fine with Hou Junji. The problem is that I am also in charge of the army. But Your Majesty sent Hou Junji to restrict me. "
Su Dingfang said, "There was also Gao Shilian, who also restricted me. Your Majesty said that you trust me and use me, but why did you send such a person to the Western Regions? "
These were Su Dingfang's heartfelt words.
He did not understand Li Shimin's arrangement because Hou Junji was useless in the Western Regions and was even a hindrance.
Su Dingfang continued, "Of course, it was Your Majesty's arrangement. As a subject, I have nothing to say. I just need to carry out my mission. But back to Hou Junji, when he was stationed in the city, I had him stationed in the city. His reason was that he was restricted in the city and did not like to be stationed in the city, so he became a lone army.
"Hou Junji was defeated, and I could not hold Guazhou, so I was defeated. I did submit to the Xia King, but my heart is clear to the heavens and earth, and even more so to Your Majesty. At least, before the city was destroyed, I, Su Dingfang, had never thought of surrendering. "
Su Dingfang said, "I, Su Dingfang, have never let Your Majesty down."
After hearing this, Li Shimin fell silent.
He knew what kind of person Su Dingfang was.
Su Dingfang had said that the city had been destroyed, and Su Dingfang had never betrayed the city in advance, so this must be the case.
However, Li Shimin would not admit defeat verbally. He sneered and said, "What a good Su Dingfang. You are really my loyal minister. I should be thanking you. "
Su Dingfang didn't say anything.
He only wanted to say the words in his heart, to say everything that was on his mind.
That was all.
When Li Shimin saw that Su Dingfang did not speak, he felt even more depressed. He looked at Du Qi and firmly said, "Du Qi, We will give you a choice. Release Hou Junji and withdraw from Guazhou, and We will let bygones be bygones."
Du Qi said, "Your Majesty, Xia Xia's army is not to be intimidated. Since His Majesty is here, let's fight first. My army is here to wait for His Majesty's army to arrive. Does His Majesty not want to take back Guazhou? What do we have to talk about? Let's fight first. After fighting a battle and calming down, we can talk about things properly. "
Li Shimin narrowed his eyes. Du Qi was determined to fight a battle! He didn't say anything else and returned to the army formation. In fact, Li Shimin also wanted to fight a battle. He looked at Li Jing and said, "Duke Wei, arrange for the army to attack. Even if Du Qi has powerful weapons, I want to see how powerful he can be. "
"Yes!"
Li Jing immediately agreed.
As he spoke, Li Jing raised his head to look in Su Dingfang's direction, and he sighed in his heart. Time and fate had created the current Su Dingfang. However, Li Jing was actually happy for Su Dingfang from the bottom of his heart.
The reason was simple. It wasn't easy for Su Dingfang to truly display his ambition in the Tang Dynasty because there were too many generals and capable ministers in the Tang Dynasty. In terms of seniority, Su Dingfang couldn't be ranked. In the Western Xia region, Du Qi didn't have many officials and generals under his command. Su Dingfang would definitely be able to display his strength if he worked for Du Qi.
Li Jing didn't waste any time and immediately arranged for the soldiers under his command to attack.
Li Jing's arrangement was extremely good.
Bows and catapults were aimed at the top of the city wall and launched a fierce attack to suppress Du Qi's strength. Then, there were battering rams that hit the city gate in an attempt to break it. Then, the soldiers in the army rushed forward, allowing the soldiers to get close to the city wall in the shortest time and start to climb up the city wall.
This attack was extremely powerful.
Du Qi's defensive arrangement on the city wall was also very adequate. Even if there were bows and arrows, large stones, and even Tang Dynasty soldiers on siege vehicles, the defense on the city wall didn't fall behind at all. Especially when the Tang soldiers got close, wave after wave of grenades were thrown down, rumbling and blowing up the Tang soldiers one by one.
In addition, gunpowder was also thrown from the city wall, directly to the Tang army's catapult camp outside the city. The explosion of gunpowder not only killed the Tang soldiers, but also caused the Tang army's catapults to suffer heavy losses.
The attack and defense of both sides was extremely fierce.
Although there were Tang soldiers who climbed up the city wall, the counterattack of the soldiers on the city wall killed them in the blink of an eye. So, the Tang army started attacking from the afternoon until night fell, and it was almost midnight, but they still hadn't made any progress.
Li Shimin frowned when he saw this.
Du Qi's army was very resilient. Even if Li Jing coordinated the attack, they were stopped outside Guazhou City and couldn't move an inch. Now that the sky had darkened, Li Shimin knew that it wasn't good to continue fighting, so he ordered the army to retreat.
The army retreated a full six miles and then set up camp.
The camp of close to two hundred thousand soldiers stretched for several miles, and the camp was even wider and wider. It was already late at night, but the soldiers in the army were tired from the day, so the soldiers in charge of the kitchen started cooking.
While the soldiers were waiting to eat, Li Shimin, Li Yuan, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Jing, Wei Zheng and the others were in the main tent to discuss how to deal with Guazhou City.
Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "During the attack on Guazhou City during the day, you all saw Du Qi's defense. Tell me, what should we do now? "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, Guazhou City is very strong, and there is Du Qi's army, so it won't be easy to break through. But Du Qi's Xia Xia has a very big weakness. "
Li Shimin said, "What weakness?"
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Du Qi doesn't have enough troops, so we can leave a portion to defend Guazhou City and block Du Qi in the city. Then, we can arrange an army to charge into Yizhou from Guazhou. This way, we can definitely attack Xia Xia's confidants. Or maybe, we can just surround the city and not attack, and then secretly split up and arrange for an army to sneak into Yizhou. "
"Difficult, difficult, difficult!"
Li Shimin said the word 'difficult' three times consecutively, "Du Qi led a hundred thousand men to sneak in because Hou Junji was careless and the situation was special. If we send a small number of people to sneak into Xia Xia, we might be able to do it. But it doesn't matter if we send a large number of troops, we will definitely be discovered. So, if we want to split up, we have to openly attack Yizhou. Let's see how Du Qi will deal with it. "
A bright light flashed across Li Shimin's eyes.
This was a chance.
He wanted to see how Du Qi would deal with it. After Li Shimin split up, it was very likely that Du Qi would go out of the city to fight. And if Du Qi led his army out of the city, he would lose the solid shell that was Guazhou.
Li Jing said seriously, "Your Majesty, if I were Du Qi, under the premise that we openly split up our troops to go to Xia Xia, I would definitely not stay in Guazhou. I would choose to go out of the city to fight. At that time, we will face two choices. "
Li Shimin said, "What are the two choices?"
Li Jing said, "The first choice is that the troops we sent to Xia Xia quietly return and encircle Du Qi's army. As long as Du Qi's army comes out and we encircle them, we will have a high chance of winning. "
"Of course, Du Qi may not let us encircle them, and he will arrange for people to stop us."
"At that time, when our people are stopped, whether we can quickly break through Du Qi's line of defense and kill our way back is the key. As long as our army comes back, we will have a chance to encircle Du Qi's army. "
"That is the first choice."
Li Jing said with assurance, "Even with this choice, we will face a problem. That is, the army we left here in Guazhou can withstand Du Qi's fierce attack. If the army here can't withstand the fierce attack of Du Qi's army, in fact, our plan will fail. "
Li Shimin waved his sleeves and said, "No matter what, we must resist. In a confrontation on the battlefield, we must use all our strength. And we have more troops, so there is no reason we can't resist. "
Li Jing paused for a moment and continued, "Your Majesty, the second choice is actually simpler. The army we left outside Guazhou will resist Du Qi's army, or rather, delay Du Qi's army, and let the army that broke into Xia Xia continue to advance and attack the capital of Xia Xia. As long as this step of the plan is achieved, Du Qi will lose his foundation. At that time, the army that had taken down the capital of the Xia Kingdom could come back and attack Du Qi again. Two choices, two different plans. "
Li Shimin pondered after hearing this.
Li Jing's plan focused on different things.
The first plan focused on encircling and suppressing Du Qi and eliminating Du Qi's forces. The second plan focused on attacking Xia Xia and destroying Xia Xia, and finally encircling and suppressing Du Qi.
Li Shimin pondered and found it difficult to choose, because both plans were actually reasonable.
They both had their own advantages.
Li Shimin didn't choose for the time being, but looked at Li Jing and said, "Duke Wei, if you choose this matter, how do you plan to choose this matter?"
Li Jing shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I can't make a decision at the moment. Because different decisions have different advantages. "
He didn't give a choice.
Because in the current war, the Tang dynasty wasn't sure to win. Giving a choice was tantamount to declaring his position.
This was something Li Jing didn't want to do.
Li Shimin glanced at Li Jing, then looked at Zhangsun Wuji and the others, saying, "Regarding Duke Wei's analysis, if you have any thoughts, speak freely. Don't have any scruples. The more thorough our consideration, the more confident we will be when fighting Du Qi. "
Zhangsun Wuji suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think there's no need to go to Xia Xia's capital."
Li Shimin said, "What's the reason?"
Zhangsun Wuji said seriously, "The reason is actually very simple. Although Xia Xia's main forces are in Du Qi's hands and have been transferred over by Du Qi. But it's not like there's no army in Xia Xia's territory. So, I think the focus should be on attacking Du Qi and destroying Du Qi's army. As long as we take down Du Qi, it'll be easy to destroy Xia Xia. On the other hand, if we can't take down Du Qi, it might affect us instead. "
Li Shimin nodded and said, "I understand what you mean."
Wei Zheng said, "Your Majesty, I agree with the plan to focus on attacking Du Qi. The reason for my consideration is very simple. It's not about whether our army will be stopped when we enter Xia Xia. The crux of my consideration is that Du Qi's forces aren't weak. Once we split up, we might not be able to defend it with just our army. So, we need to split up the army to come back and attack Du Qi from both sides. "
Following Wei Zheng's words, the other civil and military officials like Duan Zhixuan, Liu Hongji, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and the other generals all spoke up. They all agreed to deal with Du Qi.
There were only two reasons for their consideration.
One was that Xia Xia's territory definitely still had forces to resist. It would be very difficult to directly attack Xia Xia's capital, and it might even be impossible. The other was that after splitting up the army, it wouldn't be easy to defend against Du Qi's attack.
After Li Shimin listened to everyone's opinions, especially when everyone's opinion was the same, he already made a decision. However, Li Shimin didn't immediately make a decision. He looked at Li Yuan and asked, "Imperial Father, what do you think?"
Li Yuan said, "How to fight the war is your business. After you discuss it, you can decide. I'm not very proficient in the layout and planning of war, so I can't give any suggestions. So, you don't need to ask my opinion right now. Fight the way it should be fought. I came here to prepare to meet Du Qi. It's just that the current time isn't suitable yet. I'll think about it after your battle is over. "
After Li Shimin finished listening, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
In fact, what he was worried about was that Li Yuan wanted to blindly meddle. At that time, it would be very difficult for him.
Li Shimin said, "Since the decision has been made, then execute it. Follow this plan."
"Yes!"
Everyone got up and left.
In the end, only Li Yuan and Li Shimin, father and son, were left.
Li Yuan had a hint of worry on his face. He said, "Emperor, once the war starts, there's no medicine for regret. After this battle starts, especially proceeding according to Li Jing's plan, although there are many benefits, he also mentioned before that once our army can't stop, the consequences will be too ghastly to contemplate. Have you ever considered the escape route here? "
"Never!"
Li Shimin shook his head.
Li Yuan said, "Before calculating victory, but first considering defeat, this is a military matter. The reason why I didn't say it previously was because saying such words in front of everyone was inauspicious and inappropriate. There's no one right now, that's why I'm telling you. If you don't consider a backup plan, that's extremely inappropriate. You should always consider the most extreme case. "
Hearing that, Li Shimin fell silent.
Although Li Shimin was also a veteran of the Jianghu and a veteran general on the battlefield, he was clear that Li Yuan's words were not wrong. If the worst case scenario was not considered in this battle, the consequences would be quite terrifying.
Li Yuan continued, "I've already said what should be said. You consider it yourself, you arrange it yourself. In short, I said not to meddle in the war, then I won't meddle. "
After saying that, Li Yuan got up and left.
Li Shimin sat alone in the tent. After thinking for a while, the expression on his face changed several times. In the end, Li Shimin still followed Li Yuan's advice and made certain arrangements. After Li Shimin made the arrangements, Zhangsun Wuji returned once again and supplemented the strategy for this battle. After Li Shimin heard it, he directly adopted it.
Because Zhangsun Wuji's strategy was also extremely crucial.
Perhaps it was the breakthrough to turn the situation around.
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