: The army is at the city

Since Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde really surrendered, Li Chengqian immediately recruited Li Shiji, Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui to discuss some specific details about passing the test.

The three of them came to Li Chengqian's carriage and rode to Li Chengqian on their horses. Liu Kui handed Niu Yanfu's letter to the three of them. These three were all familiar with military tactics, temptations, and mutinies. You can tell at a glance.

The three of them looked at Xue Rengui and said first: "Report to the Crown Prince, Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde's background is indeed as stated in the letter. They both followed the last general to expedition to Yanran Mountain, and then returned to the army and stayed under the tent of Liu Rengui in Lingzhou to obey the order."

"Did General Xue have had letters with them later?" Su Dingfang asked immediately.

Xue Rengui shook his head and said, "No, if I hadn't seen this letter today, I would have been able to remember them."

Li Shiji next to him nodded after hearing this, and he admired Xue Rengui's caution very much.

Li Chengqian believed Xue Rengui's words. Xue Rengui was his most loyal confidant. If he knew that Hangu Pass was his old general, he would have said it to him long ago.

"What does the Duke of Britain think about this?" Li Chengqian asked, looking at Li Shiji who had been silent.

Li Shiji smiled bitterly in his heart. Li Chengqian had already had the answer, and Xue Rengui and the two of them next to him knew Li Chengqian, but they had to ask him first.

"Return to the Crown Prince, I think Niu and Zhu should truly submit." No matter how I thought about it, Li Shiji still answered Li Chengqian respectfully.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian continued to ask: "If the British Duke said so, how can the British Duke marches in the future?"

Li Shiji looked at Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui, and said humbly: "It happened suddenly, and I can't have a complete solution for a while. Why not ask General Su and General Xue to talk first."

Li Chengqian listened and saw Li Shiji said to Xue Rengui: "Rengui first said, and then ask the Duke of England and General Su to give advice."

Su Dingfang hurriedly said modestly: "I dare not."

Xue Rengui didn't think much and bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I finally thought we only need to set up camp earlier today and set up a military formation in front of Hangu Pass tomorrow morning."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but say in surprise: "That's so simple?"

Li Shiji smiled and said, "The simpler the battle is, the easier it is to fight."

Seeing that Li Chengqian had not been relieved for a moment, Su Dingfang hurriedly said, "Your Highness, at the speed of our original marching, we just walked to Hangu Pass when we set up camp today.

Now that I know that Changsun Chong has come to Hangu Pass, in order to prevent them from attacking at night, I need to set up camps in advance to make arrangements.”

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Then the three of you will go and arrange it."

As for the formation to attack the city early tomorrow morning, there is no need to ask, firstly, it is to put pressure on the soldiers in Hangu Pass, and secondly, if Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde have problems, they can directly attack.

The discussion has been decided that Li Shiji and his other two will return to their own camps, because the marching strategy has not changed much, so there is no need to convey this matter anymore. Until the army reached five miles away from Hangu Pass, Li Shiji ordered the army to stop and set up camp.

Because Hangu Pass is five miles away, many soldiers have more resentment towards the court not allowing them to return to Chang'an. They could have entered the pass directly and set up camp in the city. Now, camping on the road between the two mountains is like covering the stars to feed mosquitoes. The soldiers’ mood can be imagined.

...

Because he might have to attack the city tomorrow, Li Chengqian took his personal guards to patrol the camp in one day that night. He wanted all the soldiers to see him and let the soldiers know who they would work for tomorrow.

The next morning, Li Chengqian's camp just as the fish belly rose in the sky began to move. Tens of thousands of soldiers boiled water and prepared to eat when they were full and went to attack Hangu Pass.

Li Chengqian also got up early and put on his golden armor, and ordered people to remove the roof of the Siwang Car and turn it into a style similar to the pre-Qin chariot. In this way, Li Chengqian stood on the chariot and could see him on the entire battlefield.

"Woo--"

The red sun just rose from the northeast, and there was still white mist on the earth.

Amid the sound of whimpering horns, tens of thousands of helmets and bright armors, the Tang Dynasty warriors slowly started, like a huge wave rolling forward.

Li Chengqian's carriage was walking in the middle of the military formation, with colorful flags rising high in front, back, left and right, yellow umbrellas covered with brilliant and brilliant, and the grandeur of the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty was afraid to look at it directly.

The five-mile journey was very easy to walk, and the army came to Hangu Pass in a flash. As soon as they arrived at Hangu Pass, Li Chengqian immediately ordered the drums to be beaten and prepare to attack the city.

Dong-dong-dong...tong-tong-tong...rumble...rumble...

The huge war drums on the eighteen sides were beaten by the naked upper body force. The sound became louder and louder, and the soybean dots became denser and denser, and finally rumbled like thunder.

Such movement immediately alarmed Changsun Chong in Hangu Pass. He hurriedly led his generals to the top of the city. He saw that the Tang warriors in armored and held sharp heads were rushing towards Hangu Pass like an avalanche.

For a moment, he felt the earth shaking and the city tremble. He was like a small boat in the storm of the sea of ​​anger, and could be swallowed by huge waves at any time. Faced with such momentum, Changsun Chong felt a sense of powerlessness.

"Young Master, we are fooled." The family general standing behind Changsun Chong said angrily.

Changsun Chong was shocked by him and his mind was slightly restrained and he knew that he had been fooled.

Because Chang'an City is in constant condition, Changsun Chong led the Five Hundred Family Generals to come here until the afternoon of the previous day. Originally, he should have taken over the defense of Hangu Pass as soon as he arrived here.

However, the soldiers at Hangu Pass were determined to surrender to Li Chengqian and were very resistant to Changsun Chong's gang. More than a thousand soldiers were furious that night. Changsun Chong had no choice but to stay with Niu Yannian and Zhu Shunde for three days. When he did not fully control the Hangu Pass, he did not dare to send his generals out of the pass to patrol. All the news came from Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde.

Niu Yanfu told him that Li Chengqian was still in Luoyang without any movement. Although he didn't believe it, he still breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and no longer rushed to control the Hangu Pass.

I never expected that Li Chengqian would come so quickly and even set up such a large formation to attack the world with several powerful passes!

Changsun Chong was silent and asked, "What should we do now Uncle San?"

The Changsun family came from the Northern Wei royal family for generations and had military generals. Changsun Wuji's uncle Changsun Shunde was a powerful general. Moreover, Changsun Wuji had led troops to the expedition with Li Shimin many times, which was indeed a literary and military force.

However, during the Zhenguan period, General Star Brilliant Changsun Wuji had limited martial arts skills and could not be compared with generals of his contemporaries, so he often showed himself as a civil servant.

In fact, the Changsun family's generals are more powerful than ordinary military generals. This time, the leader of the family was named Changsun Sanhe with Changsun. He has been slaves of the Changsun family for several generations. Changsun Sanhe was given the surname Changsun as early as his grandfather. Changsun Sanhe was more valued by Changsun Wuji because of his outstanding force and was promoted to the leader of the Changsun family and promised: If he could make meritorious service on the battlefield, please ask His Majesty to give him a title.

Therefore, Changsun Sanhe was loyal to the Changsun family, and he had long realized that Changsun Wuji was intending to usurp the throne.

"Young Master, it would not be difficult to defend Hangu Pass if the three thousand soldiers in Hangu Pass were used by me." Changsun Sanhe said nonsense.

Changsun Chong looked at the attacking army formation below and frowned and refused to speak, waiting for his next sentence.

Changsun Sanhe sighed and continued, "Now everyone in Hangu Pass cares about His Royal Highness, and we can't defend it by relying on our five hundred families."

"What should I do?" Changsun Chong couldn't help but question.

As Changsun Wuji's eldest son, Changsun Chong was the eldest daughter of Li Shimin and Empress Changsun. He was more respectful than ordinary princes in front of Li Shimin. Even Li Chengqian, the former brother-in-law, also valued his brother-in-law very much.

He even became the Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple at a young age. It was natural to inherit his father's title in the future.

However, Li Shimin later was angry with Princess Changle's death. His position had not been promoted for several years. The brothers had already vaguely fought for favor in front of their father. Even if he didn't care about these things, he would still fight for his son Changsun Yan. Changsun Yan was not only the eldest grandson but also the bloodline of Princess Changle. If he had no title, how could he fight against the dead Changle Princess Changle?

This time, Changsun Wuji sent Changsun Chong to guard Hangu Pass and asked him to prove that he had the strength to be the eldest brother, so as not to kill each other like the Li family in the future.

Changsun Chong, who knew Changsun Wuji's intentions and needed a big victory, knew that he could not defend Hangu Pass with his current strength, but he was still unwilling to retreat.

Changsun Sanhe knew Changsun Chong's situation better than Changsun Chong, and understood Changsun Chong's mood at this time, but he still advised: "Young Master, the person outside the pass is not someone else, but the crown prince who returned from the country. Even if His Majesty has no suitable reason here, he cannot be rejected from the pass."

"I have the will of Your Majesty." Changsun Chong said stubbornly.

Changsun Sanhe pointed at the Hangu Pass soldiers who were outside their surroundings and said, "None of these soldiers will obey His Majesty's will."

Changsun Chong looked at the soldiers of Hangu Pass and his eyes darkened, but he was silent for a moment and said with hope: "Can you guard for three days first? I will send someone to Chang'an to deliver a letter immediately."

"Yes--" Changsun Sanhe pondered and did not dare to speak.

Changsun Chong was completely anxious and shouted: "We are guarding the Hundred and Two Passes. Can't we even keep guarding for three days? We only guard for three days, and after three days, I will retreat regardless of the situation of the war."

After all, Changsun Sanhe was a family slave and was used to obedience. Although he knew it would be difficult to stay for three days, he finally nodded in agreement.

Seeing Changsun Sanhe agree, Changsun Chong hurriedly bowed to him deeply and said, "Then it will be arranged by Uncle San."

When Changsun Sanhe saw this, he was quite moved and clasped his fists at Changsun Chong solemnly and said, "Please rest assured, my subordinates do their best."

Changsun straightened his waist and said, "I'll try to delay one or two first. It would be better if Li Chengqian could not attack or attack late."

"Young master, you have to hit these people. Even if they don't work hard to defend the city, they can't let them make trouble." Changsun Sanhe reminded Changsun Chong again.

"Well—" Changsun Chong looked at Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde when he heard this and then looked cold and said, "Call them to see me."

A general of a family immediately walked out of the crowd and called Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde. At a moment, the general of a family came back alone.

"Report to the young master, they said they wanted to deploy soldiers to defend the city and refused to come." The general of the family said angrily.

"Defend the city!"

Changsun Chong was so angry that his eyes widened, and he watched Niu Yanfu and Zhu Shunde standing not far away squeeze out two words from his teeth, and then walked towards Niu Yanfu with great strides.
Chapter completed!