Li Jiancheng and the two brothers took the initiative to give up Daxing and march north. Although they were forced, it was also a very correct decision. At least they saved part of the army, allowing them to have some ability to fight back and replenish food and grass on the way north.

While walking, I took the

The grain depots in Huayuan, Tongguan and the three inner counties were looted, and the food needed for the journey was obtained. What could not be taken away was distributed to the people of the three counties under the banner of volunteers, so that the Sui army Qu Tutong who was pursuing them could pass through the troops.

Instead, they suffered from lack of food, which seriously affected their pursuit speed.

When Li Jing defeated Xue Renguo in Fufeng County, the Li family brothers, who were in a hurry like a frightened bird, also retreated to Hukou with the remaining defeated soldiers. Fortunately for the Li family rebels, the current Wencheng prefect Zheng Zeng across the Yellow River was the former prefect Zheng Yuanshou.

His son, Zheng Yuanshou, had been bombarded to death by Chen Sangliang with artillery. Zheng Zeng and Chen Sangliang could be considered guilty of killing their father.

At the same time, Zheng Zeng was also the cousin of Li Jiancheng's wife Zheng Guanyin. He was related to Li Jiancheng and had always had a good relationship. He did not hesitate to organize the Wencheng rebels to help the Li brothers cross the river. The Li brothers had been homeless for many days.

Only then did we have a relatively safe place to stay, and relying on the natural dangers of the Yellow River, we temporarily stopped Qu Tutong's pursuers.

Of the 100,000 rebels in Daxing City, less than 20,000 were able to escape across the Yellow River with the Li brothers in the end, and nearly half of them were wounded. The reason why so many defeated soldiers were left behind was because Li Yuan's rebels relied on the soldiers of Jinzhong

Mostly because of this, the Jin-intermediate-level soldiers refused to leave the team in order to return to their hometown and insisted on following the Li brothers. Otherwise, if there were thousands of people to protect the Li brothers across the river, Li Jiancheng and Li Er would have sang Amitabha.

The rebel civil and military officials also suffered heavy losses. Dozens of civil and military officials, including Liu Wenjing, Zheng Yuanshou, Wang Changxie, Dou Cong, Li Xiaogong, Li Xiaochang, Ma Yuangui and Xu Shixu, either died on the Daxing battlefield or fell on the way to escape. Old Li's family

When he raised the army in Taiyuan, most of his effective generals were lost. However, Chen Sangliang was

Zhu Can, who did not like him at all, was very lucky to follow Pei Ji and fled to Wencheng. Because Chen Sangliang would never forgive him, he was forgiven and forgiven by the Li family brothers and resumed his role in the Li family rebel army.

A general who can lead an army - no matter what, Zhu Can is indeed a general who can lead an army and fight.

Because Chai Shao was the first to betray the Daxing Palace, the Li family brothers could not bring back Li Yuan's corpse that was parked in the palace. Although it was clear that Chen Sangliang's hypocritical character would deliberately insult Li Yuan's corpse and destroy his reputation.

For this reason, after moving into Jichang City, the capital of Wencheng County,

Li Jiancheng and the second brother Li cried bitterly over this. They blamed themselves for being unfilial and failing to save their father's body. In fact, they were grateful that their brothers had escaped death and saved their lives. The remaining rebel soldiers also burst into tears.

, I am glad that I can return to my hometown in Hedong alive.

The older and weaker Qu Tutong gave the Li brothers a chance to breathe. Originally, the Yellow River was frozen in the middle of winter. Even if there was no ferry, they could cross the river on thick ice. However, they launched a strong attack and were defeated by the new force of the Wencheng rebels.

After the repulse, Qu Tutong, who was worried that the army was exhausted and short of food, actually stopped the attack and instead let the army rest and collect food, grass and tendons.

The exhausted Li Yuan rebels were able to rest and recuperate in Wencheng, regain their strength and regroup the scattered defeated troops. At the same time, an unexpected situation occurred - news that Li Mi and Zhai had allowed the coalition forces to break through Hulao Pass and Luokou Cang suddenly spread.

When they arrived at Wencheng County, Li Yuan's rebels, who originally planned to withdraw all their troops to their base in Taiyuan, saw the dawn of a counterattack and decided to adjust their strategy.

But the hope of counterattack is also very slim. Even with the Wencheng rebels, the Li brothers only have more than 20,000 defeated troops with low morale. It is already difficult to defend the natural dangers of the Yellow River. Even if Chen Sangliang leads the Dong

The Sui army returned to rescue Luoyang, and the hope that the Li brothers could fight back to Daxing was extremely small. Therefore, both Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji gave up the idea after only a brief consideration.

Only Li Er refused to miss this slim hope. After careful consideration, Li Er privately found Li Shentong, Duan Zhixuan and Tang Xian, who were close to the civil and military forces, and discussed with them the plan to stay in Hedong, southern Shanxi, and wanted to ask Li Jiancheng and

Pei Ji volunteered to lead an army to stay in southern Shanxi to resist the Sui army's counterattack on Taiyuan, and also waited for an opportunity to counterattack Daxing.

Li Er's plan surprised Li Shentong and others. Li Er's clan uncle, Li Shentong, who had the best relationship with Li Er, even exclaimed: "Erlang, are you crazy? The dog thief Chen Yingliang has captured Daxing, and he may personally lead his army to attack us."

To launch an attack, Qu Tutong is on the other side of the Yellow River, and he may cross the river to kill him at any time. If you take the initiative to request that your army stay in the east of Hedong in southern Shanxi, are you seeking death?"

"Of course I'm not crazy, I thought about it carefully." Li Er shook his head and said in a deep voice: "I think it is very unlikely that the dog thief Chen Yingliang will personally lead his army to attack southern Shanxi. He now has Xue Ju and

Behind the direct danger of bandits like Bai Yupo are Li Mi and Zhai Rang.

The tiger's eye is still there, and Li Gui and the Western Turks may take the opportunity to attack Guanzhong further away. There is almost no possibility that he will personally lead his troops to march to southern Shanxi in a short period of time. So as long as we defeat Qu Tutong, we will have hope.

Stand firm in southern Shanxi and wait until the opportunity arises during the counterattack."

After shaking his head, Li Er raised three fingers and continued: "And I also think that there are three advantages for me to stay in Shannan. The first is to keep the communication with Li Mi and Zhai Rang open and take the opportunity to pass through.

We use various means to obtain their direct help, and use the soldiers, horses, food and grass in their hands to weaken the enemy for us."

"What about the other two advantages?" Duan Zhixuan, Li Er's confidant, asked quickly.

"The second advantage is to avoid conflicts between my brother and I." Li Er said: "After my father died, my brother and I jointly took charge of the military power. This situation is okay for a short time, but it will inevitably become worse as time goes by.

Contradictions intensify and conflicts expand. Rather than having such a situation in the future to benefit foreign enemies, it is better to part ways early and each take charge of an army to avoid fighting for power and gain, and to avoid fratricide and mutual destruction."

Duan Zhixuan and Tang Xian nodded together, both thinking that Li Er's words were quite reasonable. Li Shentong lowered his voice and said: "Erlang, of course your words are reasonable, but don't be stupid and stay in southern Shanxi? Your father is in Taiyuan.

It has been in business for many years, has a solid foundation, and abundant food and grass, which is ten times better than southern Shanxi. Are you willing to hand over such a good place to your brother? Pei Ji is actually facing you. It is not without hope for you to return to Taiyuan to take sole control of the military.

.”

"This is also the third advantage I want to talk about." Li Er said in a low voice: "I also know that Taiyuan is a good place, but Liu Wuzhou in the north and Liang Shidu in the west are all looking at Taiyuan.

If our army is defeated, they will inevitably have the idea of ​​taking advantage of the situation. After our army withdraws to Taiyuan, they must first

Facing their direct threat is actually the same as if I stayed in southern Shanxi. I have the initiative to attack southward in southern Shanxi. I can legitimately ask my brother for food and weapons, and my brother can defend the north for me.

, isn’t it better than me and him returning to Taiyuan at the same time to fight for power and gain, and being beaten passively?”

After listening to what Li Er said, Li Shentong realized that this was indeed the case. Li Er volunteered to stay in southern Shanxi, which had many strategic benefits. In order for Li Er to resist the Sui army's counterattack for him, Li Jiancheng would not be stingy with food, grass and weapons.

With the support of Li Er, at the same time, most of the counties in southern Shanxi were liberated peacefully before and were destroyed by the war.

It was not big yet, and the population base was still there. As long as there were food and weapons, it would not be difficult to raise the army again. After thinking about this, Li Shentong nodded and said, "Erlang, if you are determined to stay in southern Shanxi,

Then I won't force you, and I can stay with you. It's great, but if we can't defend southern Shanxi, it won't be too late to withdraw to Taiyuan."

Li Er congratulated him greatly, and then said: "We must be able to defend it. My father brought hundreds of thousands of troops into Guanzhong, most of them were soldiers from southern Shanxi. It was impossible for them to be wiped out by the army. A large part of them must be just

After being dispersed, they will return to their hometowns one after another in a short time. As long as we recruit these stragglers back, our strength will soon surpass Qu Tutong again, and the geographical advantage is in our hands again. We can defeat Qu Tutong.

It’s not difficult to break through.”

Seeing that Li Er was so confident, Duan Zhixuan and Tang Xian thought that they could still escape back to Taiyuan even if they couldn't hold on, so they all expressed their willingness to stay with Li Er. Li Er was even more happy. After comforting them with kind words, they immediately

He ran to find Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji and asked them to lead an army to stay in southern Shanxi to resist the Sui army's counterattack.

After hearing Li Er's request, Pei Ji, who was secretly facing Li Er, was of course shocked, and quickly hinted to Li Er not to be stupid, but unfortunately Li Er pretended not to know. Li Jiancheng, on the other hand, was overjoyed, and after a few words of hypocritical persuasion, he happily

Accepted Li

Er's request, and then not only decided to leave most of the troops and horses to Li Er, but also promised to send Li Er food, grass and weapons as soon as he returned to Taiyuan to help Li Er station and rebuild the army for a long time. Li Er ignored Pei Ji's implicit objections and

I thanked my brother with a smile on my face.

Afterwards, Pei Ji naturally had to complain about Li Er's stupidity. Li Er could only nag Pei Ji about his plan again, and finally made Pei Ji accept his point of view. Then Li Er made another plea to Pei Ji:

: "Uncle, you and your brother have returned

After Taiyuan, please speak kindly to your brother and ask him to keep your promise and send me food, grass and weapons as soon as possible. Also, please take good care of my fourth brother Li Yuanji and let him continue to lead the army.

, I must never let my brother take away the military power in his hands."

"Don't worry about food, grass, ordnance. Your brother is quite kind-hearted. He shouldn't be able to break his promise and go back on his word." Pei Ji answered casually, then asked doubtfully: "But what's going on with your fourth brother? You

Why should he continue to lead the army?"

"My nephew is thinking about your safety, uncle." Li Er said with a smile: "When we were in Daxing before, uncle, you secretly looked at your nephew. My brother has long known this. Uncle, you followed him back to Taiyuan.

I'm just afraid that he will have revengeful thoughts. My fourth brother Li

Yuan Ji was ordered by his father to stay in Taiyuan and take control of the Taiyuan army. When his elder brother returns and wants to take back the military power, the fourth brother will definitely be dissatisfied. Uncle, as long as you stand by the fourth brother's side and help him control some of the troops, isn't it true that you are still in Taiyuan?

Can it be as stable as Mount Tai?"

After being stunned for a while, Pei Ji looked up and down Li Eryi as if he didn't recognize him, and then he handed over his hands and said, "The second young master is so smart that I admire him."

So, with everyone happy, on November 11, Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji returned to Taiyuan with three thousand troops, leaving behind Li Er who volunteered and led his troops to stay in Wencheng, supplemented by Li Shentong, Duan

Zhixuan, Tang Xian, Zhu Can and other civil and military officials resisted Qu Tutong's pursuit. At the same time, Li Er was also placed in charge of Jiangjun, Longquan and Linfen counties. The rebel Lu Shao clan, which was withdrawing from Hedong to Wencheng, was also placed under

Li Er commanded.

Immediately afterwards, Li Er, who was finally in charge of his own affairs, after Li Jiancheng and others left, the first thing he did was to order all his efforts to gather the defeated rebels who were escaping from Guanzhong. The second thing was to send people eastward to Hanoi to fight with them.

Zhai Li Lianjun Lian

Li Yuan contacted Li Mi and requested to form an alliance with Zhai Rang and Li Mi, and expressed his willingness to accept Li Mi as the alliance leader. This is not a disgrace to Li Er. In fact, Li Yuan also expressed his willingness to accept Li Mi as the alliance leader in his letter to Li Mi in exchange for temporary friendship with Li Mi.

get along.

In addition, Li Er not only took the opportunity to ask Li Mi Zhairang for assistance in terms of troops and grain, but also offered Li Mi advice, suggesting that Li Mi divide a force to advance westward and attack the Xiaohan Road west of Dongdu, thus cutting off Chen Sangliang's return.

To aid the Eastern Capital, Li Er was willing to send an army to cross the river in Shaanxi County, join forces with Li Mi's army to capture Changpingcang next to Shaanxi County, and jointly establish a bridgehead for Li Mi's army to take Guanzhong from the west.

Next, of course, Li Er will have to face a heart-wrenching battle with Qu Tutong, but fortunately, Qu Tutong's army has been running around inside and outside Guanzhong over the years, fighting continuously, and his soldiers are exhausted and war-weary.

, the situation is no better than that of Li Er's soldiers and horses, Li Er, who is talented and resourceful, is confident that he can still hold on.

Jiangjun was basically still under the control of Li Yuan's rebels. After he recovered, Pei Renji, a professional cheater, took advantage of Wang Shichong's return to the east to aid the eastern capital Luoyang, and once again led his army into the hinterland of Hanoi County, and won the honor in Huojia.

Yu Jianli quickly beat away his former colleague Huang Tao.

Tree, went straight to Hanoi to threaten the county government, which greatly facilitated the contact between Li Er and Li Mi. On November 18th, the envoy sent by Li Er established a line with Pei Renji, and then with the help of Pei Renji's army

He quickly crossed the Yellow River and made contact with the main force of Li Mi's army.

When Jin Xiaomo, the envoy sent by Li Er, saw Li Mi, Li Mi and Zhai Rang had already fought outside Huiluocang. Wang Shichong's army was exhausted from the battle and could only defend Cang City without attacking. The reinforcements sent to Wang Shichong from Dongdu were also at peace.

Le Yuan was defeated by the coalition forces of Zhai and Li. General Liu Xu was captured and surrendered. The total strength of the coalition forces of Zhai and Li exceeded 250,000.

, they deployed 200,000 troops outside Luocang alone, and the momentum was extremely huge. Under such circumstances, it was already known that Li Yuan was dead. The Li brothers were defeated and fled north. The Zhai Rang family, who was born as a country bumpkin, attacked Jin Xiaomo sent by Li Er.

Of course, he didn't look good. He didn't even bother to arrange a seat for Jin Xiaomo, which made Jin Xiaomo very embarrassed and depressed.

Fortunately, Li Mi, who came from a well-known family, was very personable and did not despise Jin Xiaomo because the momentum of Li Yuan's rebels suddenly declined. In order to understand the specific situation of the Hedong battlefield in Guanzhong, Li Mi warmly received Jin Xiaomo.
To be continued...