PFC Chapter 162: Taiyuan Wang's Plan
Chapter 162: Taiyuan Wang's Plan
"This is easy, Hou Junji!"
"Chen is here!"
"I order you to bring a hundred black-armored soldiers into Taiyuan City and guard the city gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."
Pei Xingjian quickly stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that the Wang family of Taiyuan will turn against you?"
Li Chengqian sneered: "What we want is for them to turn against each other, but do they dare?"
Li Jing added: "In addition to Taiyuan City, Your Highness must also send people to guard the Wang Family Castle outside the city. That is their base camp!"
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yuchi Gong, you take one hundred black armored soldiers with you."
"Yes!"
Two hundred Black Armored Soldiers were divided into groups and acted accordingly.
The remaining troops continued to move north.
Along the way, they killed more than a dozen Xueyantuo marauding troops, killing more than 500 enemies in total.
We also learned from these soldiers that the Xueyantuo army had received the news in advance and retreated north to a pass eighty miles north of Taiyuan City called Shiling Pass.
Shiling Pass is adjacent to Xiao Wutai Mountain in the east and connected to Guanmao Mountain in the west.
The mountains are steep and the passes are majestic, making it a place of contention for military strategists throughout the ages.
It is a key transportation hub connecting Taiyuan to Dai, Yun, Ning and Shuo, and is known as the gateway to and from Taiyuan and Xinding.
This is the gateway to Taiyuan City after going south from Yanmen Pass. It is almost impossible to capture it without siege equipment.
But Shiling Pass was in the hands of the Xueyantuo cavalry at that time. It was obvious that the Wang family of Taiyuan took the initiative to give it up, leaving the retreat route in the hands of the Xueyantuo, allowing them to roam freely in the Taiyuan Basin with peace of mind and test the reaction of the court.
If the imperial court turned a blind eye or was slow to send troops, Wang family of Taiyuan could turn the tide and "expel the foreign enemies" as saviors, further consolidating Wang family's reputation in Taiyuan area.
If the imperial court sent troops in time, they could also follow behind the imperial army and gain some credit.
It can also be used to demonstrate to the court the Wang family's control over Taiyuan and to warn Li Shimin and Li Chengqian.
Aren’t they afraid that the imperial court will turn against them?
Wang of Taiyuan was naturally afraid, but he had a backup plan.
As soon as the imperial court turns against them, the Shandong noble families will follow suit and war will break out across the Tang Dynasty.
Just ask Li Tang if you dare! !
This is the current situation in the Tang Dynasty where the emperor and the aristocratic families rule the world together.
The emperor controlled the Guanzhong and Longxi areas, while the aristocratic families controlled the vast Central Plains area east of the Taihang Mountains.
We can form a stable balanced situation. If you, the emperor, stay in Guanzhong honestly, we can all make money together.
But if the emperor dares to leave Luoyang to the east and endanger the interests of the Shandong families, when war breaks out, can the emperor withstand it?
Does Li Shimin dare?
Tian Khan was very powerful. He conquered most of the Tang Dynasty.
But that was also achieved with the assistance and recognition of the aristocratic families.
If the aristocratic families had not cooperated, the Tang Dynasty would probably still be in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty.
This is the confidence of the aristocratic family. Population, food, knowledge hegemony, local government officials, and local armies are all in their hands.
Unless Li Shimin wants to follow Li Guang's old path again, he can only cooperate with the aristocratic families to stabilize the situation in the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Li Shimin never dared to turn against the aristocratic families throughout his entire life and maintained superficial prosperity.
This is the Zhenguan Reign...
But now Li Chengqian has come, not only has he unified the entire Guanlong forces, but he also has the assistance of gunpowder.
The strength of the royal family has gradually surpassed that of the Shandong family.
Since you, the Wang family of Taiyuan, are willing to step forward, I will start with you.
The group went straight past the heavily defended city of Taiyuan and headed north under the watchful eyes of some people on the city wall.
"Father, it's the Crown Prince himself who is leading the army!!"
Wang Cheng, the patriarch of the Wang family of Taiyuan, watched the imperial army gradually move away.
"So what if the Crown Prince leads the army in person? They may be able to defeat the Xueyantuo army heading south. What happens after that?"
"Should we send troops to assist?"
Wang Cheng shook his head: "The time has not come yet. Send scouts to accompany us later. If the war is beneficial to the court, report immediately."
"But several city gates are controlled by Hou Junji's men, they won't let us leave the city!"
Wang Cheng sneered and said, "Let's go through the secret door first, and as for our army leaving the city...
We are fighting for our country, I wonder who dares to stop us!"
On the other side, the scouts sent by Li Jing and the Xueyantuo light cavalry finally met.
Neither side engaged in battle, but instead reported the situation to the army in the rear as soon as possible.
"Thirty miles to go, everyone enter combat mode, control speed to conserve energy, and advance slowly!" Li Jing ordered.
Li Chengqian asked: "How many troops do you think the other side has?"
Li Jing thought for a moment and said, "According to the report from the scouts, the enemy's light cavalry scouts are all in teams of ten. Adding the Xueyantuo raiding team we encountered on the road earlier, we can infer that the enemy army is about 10,000 strong."
"Is ten thousand people a lot?"
Li Jing replied: "Given the current strength of Xueyantuo, 10,000 people is definitely a large-scale deployment.
Your Highness, don't worry. In foreign wars, the Tang Dynasty has always won with fewer troops, and the Black Armor Army is the elite among the elite of the Tang Dynasty. It will be no problem for them to deal with these mere 10,000 cavalry."
Li Chengqian nodded: "I am worried about whether our heavy cavalry can catch up with Xueyantuo's light cavalry."
"Your Highness is right to be worried, but our primary mission this time is not to kill the enemy, but to drive them away and take Yanmen Pass. Then, Your Majesty will send the direct troops from Guanzhong to control the passes north of Taiyuan, and then threaten Taiyuan City, or even completely take over Taiyuan City."
Li Chengqian didn't say anything more because he thought so too.
Since the Wang family of Taiyuan dares to challenge the royal family, I will use you as a sacrifice first.
I want to see if it will cause chaos in the world! !
On the other hand, when the Xueyantuo army learned that the Black Armor Army was fighting this time, they immediately withdrew without any hesitation.
The speed was so fast that some of the looted resources were even discarded.
When the Tang Dynasty's Black Armor Army arrived at Shiling Pass, they were faced with a devastated and burning Shiling Pass fortress.
Li Jing did not delay. It was impossible to put out the fire and he had to continue the pursuit.
Even if they couldn't catch up, they had to chase the Xueyantuo cavalry back to the grassland.
In this way, the two armies began a thousand-mile raid one after the other.
Because the Black Armor Army was a heavily armored cavalry, they could not catch up with the Xueyantuo's light cavalry in speed, so they could only follow them from a distance, like driving a flock of sheep, all the way to Yanmen Pass.
Yanmen Pass is a majestic pass in the world and a city, not a smaller and dangerous pass like Shiling Pass.
The key point is that the defenders of Yanmen Pass, under the instructions of Wang of Taiyuan, have all headed north under the pretext of clearing out the Xueyantuo herdsmen who came south to forage for food.
Today, Yanmen Pass has become a deserted city.
The Xueyantuo cavalry did not stop and continued northward after passing through Yanmen Pass.
The Black Armor Army captured Yanmen Pass without bloodshed and stopped pursuing.
Leaving behind a thousand Black Armored Soldiers to temporarily guard Yanmen Pass, Li Chengqian led the rest of the troops back south.
The real struggle begins now.