Chapter 321 Report
Li Yuanhui arrived in Luoyang at the end of June. At that time, Liu Wenhui had already led 50,000 soldiers and horses from the two guards to cross the river and head north to station in Liyang. He ordered the Right Guard General Dugu Yan to lead 10,000 soldiers to garrison Chaoge. At the same time, he ordered the Left Guard General and Guanghan County Prince Li Xiaocha to lead 5,000 soldiers to station in Dangyin.

Dangyin City is located between Yecheng and Liyang, less than a hundred miles away.

The three armies formed a triangle, facing the direction of Yecheng.

In addition, Liu Wenhui also followed Li Yuanhui's orders and sent light cavalry to harass the Yan army near Yecheng many times.

One was to give courage to Zhao Da in Yecheng, and the other was to find out the strength of the Yan army.

At the same time, his brother-in-law Chai Rong also led an army of more than 10,000 and stationed in Puyang, ready to go north to support Liyang at any time.

The Yan cavalry and the Tang cavalry launched many tests and confrontations on the plain south of the Zhang River and north of the Wei River.

As a result, the Tang cavalry did not gain any advantage, and the two sides barely ended up with a 50-50 casualty ratio.

After Li Yuanhui arrived in Luoyang, he established the Dongdao Grand Secretariat within the imperial city of Luoyang, where the former Shangshu Province was located.

The location of the Daxingtai became the administrative power core and military command organization of the entire Tang Dynasty east of Shan County.

Li Yuanhui appointed his brother-in-law Chai Rong as the Minister of the Executive Yuan, the Chief Secretary Li Baishi as the Left Prime Minister of the Executive Yuan, and Li Qinglian as the Right Prime Minister of the Executive Yuan. All the staff were appointed.

Chai Rong's position as acting minister of the Chancellery was symbolic, and Li Qinglian, who specialized in strategic planning, was just there to make up the numbers. Basically, all the political pressure in Luoyang was on Li Baishi, and it was considered a promotion above his level.

With this qualification, Li Baishi could directly serve as a prefect or a governor without any problem.

After the army gathered northward, Li Yuanhui was still in no hurry to go to Hebei. As for Yecheng, except for the initial ten-day siege by Liu Xuanji, after the Tang army stationed in Liyang and Chaoge, the Northern Army also gave up the siege and began to besiege the city.

Zhao Da still had enough strength to fight outside the city, and he achieved some results in repeated night attacks, burning many siege equipment.

The two sides formed a stalemate, and the Yan army did not dare to attack with all their strength, giving the Tang army an opportunity to take advantage. But they were still able to besiege the city.

Yecheng is a big city in Hebei with high walls and thick population. In addition, the amount of food and fodder consumed by the army every day is definitely not small.

Behind Liu Xuanji are the resources of the entire Hebei Province. Food is continuously transported by water to feed an army of nearly 200,000.

So for a while, the two sides were in a stalemate, but if this continued, the food in Yecheng would not last long, at most half a year.

But half a year was long enough, so he did not rush to lead his army to Yecheng to fight a decisive battle with the Yan army.

Instead, the troops coming from the south were allowed to rest in Hanoi and Luoyang.

At the same time, he sent Sima Li Yaoshi, the guard of the Prince of Qi's palace Yuchi Gong, and the right general Chang Yanheng to the front line to observe the situation of the opponent Yan army, which was equivalent to a military observation group.

Of course, there was no need to mention Pharmacist Li. Although Chang Yanheng was known for his bravery, his insight and observation skills on the battlefield were also first-rate. He was not an ordinary reckless man, but one who could lead 100,000 soldiers to rule the world. As for Yuchi Gong, he was purely there to protect Pharmacist Li. The main reason was that this brave general had grown tired of staying in Luoyang, so he asked to go there on his own initiative.

Chang, Li, Yuchi and others led dozens of cavalrymen and almost reached the bank of the Zhang River. They sneaked along the way and encountered small groups of Yan army scouts, but they were no match for this elite cavalry.

Only after the Yan cavalry brigade was lured out of the camp did Chang Li and others lead their troops to gallop away, with the Yan cavalry chasing closely behind. At this time, Chang Yanheng, who was the vanguard when advancing and the rear guard when retreating, once again demonstrated his bravery and archery skills.

After shooting and killing more than ten cavalrymen in succession, the Yan cavalry dared not pursue. After returning to Dangyin, Li Yaoshi could not help but praise: "General, you are very courageous and have excellent archery skills. You are a real hero. No wonder the army calls you a remarkable man. It is true."

Yuchi Gong also looked at Chang Yanheng with interest, because he also recalled that in the Battle of Yingchuan, he was ordered by Lou Jushi to rescue Pu Gusu, but his helmet tassel was shot off by an arrow. Now he thought that it was Chang Yanheng's work.

Chang Yanheng heard this and said modestly: "Sir Li, you are overpraising me. That is nothing but a trifling skill. In the Battle of Yingchuan, I once fought in the battles with the two princes, the King of Qin and the King of Qi. These two princes were the ones who never missed their target."

At this time, Yuchi Gong was surprised and said, "Your Highnesses' great names have long been known throughout the world. Your Highness the Prince of Qin often braves arrows and stones and enters the battle as if there is no one there. He is brave and resolute. But since I followed the Prince of Qi, I have rarely seen him hunting or practicing archery."

At this time, Pharmacist Li reminded him, "Have you forgotten why His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is so famous? His Royal Highness once shot and killed the rebel general Yang Xi in the midst of thousands of troops, turning the tide and leading to the victory of Beimang."

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong immediately stroked his forehead and said, "Hey, I actually forgot about this. What a sin, what a sin."

Chang Yanheng smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the long battle at Mangshan. In the battle of Yingchuan last year, Your Highness led our cavalry to fight against Prince Duan. Your Highness went forward to observe the battle. When the enemy cavalry attacked, more than ten arrows were fired in a row, and all the enemy cavalry fell off their horses. The scene at that time is still vivid in my mind!"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong said: "I never thought that Your Highness has such a skill."

Chang Yanheng said: "Your Highness is the general, so you should be in charge. The matter of charging into battle should be left to us. If Your Highness still wants you to charge into battle, what use are we to do?"

Yuchi Gong also nodded, "Indeed."

After chatting for a while, Li Jing got down to business: "This pseudo-Yan army is harmonious in the camp, well-organized, and has great morale, but it is impossible to defeat it. No wonder the King of Qi often said that Liu Xuanji is a hero and told the generals not to underestimate the enemy. He is indeed an extraordinary person."

Chang Yanheng also said: "The Northern Army has been fighting with the Hu cavalry for many years. They are good at riding and shooting, and are very difficult to deal with. They have a lot of cavalry. No wonder Your Highness wants to waste time with them. The chances of winning are really not high if we fight them now."

Pharmacist Li nodded and said, "That's true. I've also planned before that we could send out cavalry to cut off their food and grass, and then force the pseudo-Yan army to retreat. Now looking at the advantage of their cavalry, I'm afraid it won't work."

The few of them summarized what they saw, heard, thought and imagined in a letter and sent it to Luoyang by express horse.

When Li Yuanhui, who was in Luoyang, saw the letter, he looked surprised and then showed it to everyone to read.

Li Sixing said: "Your Highness is right. The Northern Army is winning. We cannot fight them now. The only thing we are worried about is the food and grass in Yecheng. I don't know how long they can hold out."

Li Qinglian said: "The gains and losses of Yecheng are not important to our Tang Dynasty, but Governor Zhao has just joined the Tang Dynasty, so we must save him. Your Highness might as well send a message to General Chai to feint an attack on Pingyuan and Qinghe to force the Yan army to split up and respond to Governor Zhao in Yecheng."

After listening to this, Li Yuanhui was silent for a moment before speaking: "It's feasible, but the people in Chang'an have been sending edicts to urge me to march in the past few days. His Majesty must be a little anxious. Qinglian, you will go to Chang'an on my behalf, meet His Majesty, explain the pros and cons, and present the military situation here and our army's preparations to His Majesty."

Li Qinglian was a little surprised to hear this, and then immediately said, "I will follow your orders, Your Highness."

Chang'an was not satisfied with the situation here, and Li Yuan even issued an edict ordering Li Yuanhui to march into Hebei when the opportunity was right.

It seems that there are more than 100,000 troops here, and Li Yuanhui is still lingering in Luoyang. Does he want to keep his troops in place?

After all, people were hundreds of miles away, and Chang'an could not know some situations very clearly. In addition, those old ministers of the Yuan Dynasty around Li Yuan were bound to make trouble for him.

You still have to report frequently.

(End of this chapter)