Chapter 230: Outstanding
As for taking advantage of a defeat to seize power, history books will not tell you exactly how it was done.

For Wei Xiaoju, who was born in the Jingzhao Wei family, some things were lessons and experiences passed down by the elders in the family. They were not found in the classics, history, and literature, but they were often very useful.

For example, how to get along with superiors in the army, and what attitude to use towards different superiors. When to change one's ways, when to kick someone when he is down, when to stick together, and when to do something.

Wear shoes that fit the river you cross.

What surprised Wei Xiaoju was that Liang Chongli, a minor official from a humble family, actually had such insight into the military's internal affairs and prepared the entire plan so completely, which was already a rare feat.

However, although the plan was good, it was still a step too late in implementation.

After Murong Yang and Wei Xiaoju returned to the camp, they heard shocking news.

Tongguan has changed hands.

The commander stationed at Tongguan was named Yuwen Gu, Yuwen Chengye's cousin. So a large banner with the Chinese characters "Yuwen" was hung on the top of the city wall.

Now it’s replaced with a single word.

"plum".

It turned out that Li Erlang led three thousand cavalrymen, marched hundreds of miles, carrying letters from Yuwen She and Yuwen Chengye, as well as Yuwen Xiao himself, all the way to Tongguan and took over the city defense of Tongguan.

Duan Yihong did not expect the Li family to do this and directly took over the Tongguan Pass while Guanzhong was still unsettled.

What does this mean?
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Li family and the Yuwen family have reached an agreement.

Although they have not entered Chang'an yet, the entire Guanzhong is already in the Li family's pocket. In this case, the Li family can slowly digest the three states currently occupied and integrate the various forces in the Guanxi states.

When the time is right, we can go east through Qiaohan.

On the other hand, Luoyang is currently facing a difficult situation.

"The guard acted decisively, Yuwen Xiao admired him very much."

On the city wall of Tongguan, Yuwen Xiao and Li Er stood side by side. Whether in their eyes, words, or hearts, they showed the utmost respect for Li Er.

Yuwen Xiao prided himself on being brave and valiant, and had extraordinary courage, and he always looked down on others.

But he also had to admit that Li Jia Erlang's talent was far superior to his.

In the Battle of Fuhan, 500 cavalrymen attacked tens of thousands of elite troops of Tuyuhun at night and defeated them.

In the Battle of Taoxi, several thousand cavalrymen defeated tens of thousands of elite troops from Liang Province and captured over ten thousand enemies.

In the Battle of Pengyang, with an army of over 10,000 cavalrymen, they won victory after victory within a month, beheaded thousands of enemies, captured over 10,000 enemies, and made the 200,000 Turkic cavalrymen dare not fight and eventually fled in embarrassment.

During the negotiation process, he was impressed by Li Er's magnanimity. So when Li Er proposed to take over Tongguan, he agreed without a second thought and rushed to help Li Er take over Tongguan.

It was very risky for Li Er to come to Tongguan. Although the two sides reached an agreement, the areas east of Chang'an, including Linjin, Zhengxian and Huayin, were all under the control of the Yuwen family.

Li Er led a solitary army and could easily have been blocked in Tongguan.

But he came anyway.

Yuwen Xiao was impressed by his courage, bearing and decisiveness.

Li Erlang also liked Yuwen Xiao's bravery, so he treated him with sincerity and tried to make friends with him.

"General Yuwen, you are overpraising me. It was just luck. It was all thanks to General Yuwen's intervention. Otherwise, I'm afraid your uncle wouldn't have given me the pass."

Yuwen Xiao said: "The general's words are serious. The overall situation in Guanzhong has been decided. We also have Tongguan. As long as Prince Duan does not dare to attack the city immediately, Guanzhong will be safe."

Li Er nodded: "It depends on what Prince Duan decides. But if Prince Duan wants to attack and seize the city, does General Yuwen dare to fight with me outside the city?"

Yuwen Xiao was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Hahahaha, why not? If the guards go to war, I, Yuwen Xiao, will accompany them to the end and follow them."

Li Er also laughed proudly upon hearing this and said, "It is my honor to work with General Yuwen."

Duan Yihong, who was outside the city, looked at the word "Li" on the top of the city wall with a changing expression.

The Li family can rebel, but they cannot be forced to do so by Duan Yihong. Otherwise, he will be at the center of the storm.

If Duan Yihong resorts to military action, it will inevitably lead to a complete break between the imperial court and the Li family. After the Li family takes Tongguan, they can attack or defend.

The most hateful thing is that the Li family can still pretend that Tongguan has not been recovered and isolate themselves from the news.

But once your court takes military action against Tongguan, the Li family will be able to stop pretending. Tongguan was just recaptured by me, why are you fighting me?

This is very troublesome.

So after thinking for a long time, Duan Yihong wrote a letter and sent it to the central government in Luoyang, which was equivalent to raising this issue.

The Li family has not yet shown any signs of rebellion. Even if they defended Tongguan to resist the imperial army, they did not come openly, but just hung a big banner with the word "Li" on it. At this time, unless the emperor issued an edict that the Li family had rebellious intentions, he would send troops to attack.

Apart from this, Duan Yihong didn't care about anything anyone hinted or said.

Anyway, you can't do anything that requires you to take the blame.

When Murong Yang saw the flag change, his expression became vague and his brows were furrowed.

The things that had just been planned were ruined in the blink of an eye.

What he didn't know was that if Li Er hadn't arrived so quickly, Yuwen Gu would really be ready to surrender the city.

After all, Tongguan had been defended for several months and the soldiers were exhausted.

But just on this day, after his father reached an agreement with Yuwen She, Li Er immediately traveled hundreds of miles day and night to seize Tongguan.

That's how it is, it's almost there.

God always favors the brave. Some people are not only strong and courageous, but also very lucky.

You can't refuse to accept it.

After a few days of confrontation, Duan Yihong no longer wanted to wait for news from Luoyang, so he led his troops to Hongnong for rest and recuperation. After all, the Tongguan Road was very narrow and was completely unsuitable for an army of 100,000 to launch a battle.

Retreating to Hongnong County would, firstly, reduce the logistical pressure, and secondly, there would be no need to worry about a surprise attack by the Western Army.

If "Yuwen" was still hanging on the wall, he would naturally not worry, but whether it was Li Er or Li San, they were not easy to deal with.

It is impossible to attack Tongguan in a short period of time. There is no point in wasting time on that narrow piece of land, and the morale of the army has been completely exhausted.

After Duan Yihong withdrew, Li Erlang and Yuwen Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief.

They led 3,000 cavalrymen to march hundreds of miles in less than three days, and they were already exhausted. If Duan Yihong launched an attack on the city, they might not be able to hold it.

Fortunately, Duan Yihong did not dare to take the first step.

In this way, Li Er, who had a chance to catch his breath, was able to stabilize the natural barrier of Tongguan.

From then on, we could attack or defend in the Heluo area and had complete strategic initiative.

If you want to go west to Guanzhong from Luoyang, in addition to the Xiaohan Road, another way is to go through Yuzhou, pass Nanyang, take the Wugu Pass Road, and enter Guanzhong from the south.

Another route was to follow Cao Cao's strategy of expelling Ma Chao from Puban in the Hedong area and send generals to cross the river from Hedong into Guanzhong.

But now that Hedong is in the hands of the Tuoba family, another powerful local separatist force has formed. In name, it is still a subordinate of Western Yan, but it secretly colludes with the court of Eastern Yan. In fact, it has become an independent warlord.

Therefore, the three directions are actually facing three independent forces at the moment, which is much better than the situation where the three directions face one force.

The Li family can safely and boldly digest Guanzhong, the foundation of the kingdom, in a short period of time.

With two years, it would be possible to form a large army mainly composed of warriors from Guanzhong, supplemented by elite troops from Yizhou and Liangzhou, and accumulate enough food and fodder.

By then, who will be the opponent among the mediocre people in the world?
Standing on the top of Tongguan City, Li Erlang looked towards the east with a bright look on his face.

Thousands of miles away in Jianghuai, he had another brother, who was appointed General Zhennan, Commander-in-Chief of Yangzhou Military Affairs, and Marquis of Ye County.

The best in the world.

Silang, how about second brother's achievements today?
(End of this chapter)