Chapter 332 Zhang Liang Returns to Han
After the victory, the morale of the Yan army was boosted and they launched several consecutive attacks on Liyang and Chaoge, but they were still unable to shake the Tang army's defense.

Li Yuanhui brought the guards of the Prince of Qi's palace and his personal troops, totaling more than 10,000 people, to Liyang, and together with Li Xiaocha, Zhao Yi and others, he consolidated Liyang's defense line.

After Zhao Yi broke through, most of the more than 20,000 soldiers under his command dispersed, leaving only seven or eight thousand people.

Most of these seven or eight thousand people were refugees recruited at the beginning and Zhao Yi's confidants brought from Yanzhou, while the people from Wei County were all dismissed by Zhao Yi.

The main reason why Zhao Yi chose to break out was that the food in the city was running out, which was the biggest factor.

Otherwise, relying on the defense of Yecheng and the army he built himself, it is really unknown how long he can hold out.

But once there is a shortage of food, the city cannot be defended.

So after learning about the battle between Tang and Yan, he immediately summoned all his soldiers to fight outside the city, because this was his only chance to break out.

He had originally thought that he could take this opportunity to defeat the Yan army and regain control of the area south of the Zhang River.

But he did not expect that the Tang army would be defeated, and he had to flee because he could not go back to the city. Before leaving, he had given orders to the old and weak who stayed behind that if they did not return by dark, they would open the city and surrender to keep Yecheng safe.

After all, what Liu Xuanji did all the way south was to win people's hearts and enforce strict military discipline, so Zhao Da was not worried that Liu Xuanji would do anything excessive to the people of Yecheng.

After arriving in Liyang with the Tang army, Zhao Da dismissed all the people from Yecheng under his command. After all, Yecheng had fallen into the hands of Liu Xuanji, and it was not appropriate for these people to follow him.

This behavior naturally made the Jizhou soldiers under Zhao Da cry bitterly and feel grateful for his kindness. Then they threw away their weapons and equipment and headed north to join Yan.

However, Li Yuanhui greatly admired Zhao Da's courage, and repeatedly praised General Zhao as the pillar of the country, saying that the general's coming here was like Zhang Liang's return to Han.

He also personally submitted a petition, requesting Li Yuan to grant the position of General of the Right Guard vacated by Liu Wenhui to Zhao Da.

The entire defense of Liyang was handed over to him, and he was appointed as the general manager to be in charge of rectifying the defeated army.

Although Zhao Da was a little uneasy when facing Li Yuanhui at first, he quickly put himself in the right position. Although Zhao Da had been appointed General of the Left Army in Luoyang for seven or eight years, commanding a new army temporarily formed by the sons of nobles, Li Si was just a squad leader.

Later, in the Battle of Beimang, Li Yuanhui shot and killed Yang Xi with one arrow, saving the defeat and becoming famous. From then on, he rose to prominence and even the entire Li family became prosperous.

Now he is one of the most powerful princes in the Tang Dynasty.

He once had the opportunity to become a powerful figure, but after winning the Battle of Zhangshui, he quickly fell to the bottom.

If he had been able to capture Jinyang before Liu Xuanji went south, who could have predicted how the situation would have developed?
But now, it's all gone.

After arriving in Liyang, Zhao Da naturally knew what was happening within the Tang army.

In his heart, he was even more impressed by the young man Li Yuanhui's extraordinary and sophisticated methods.

So the current attitude, although not humble, is still quite upright.

Li Yuanhui, on the other hand, was completely respectful to Zhao Da and his generals, and he also entrusted them with important tasks.

Not to mention that Zhao Da and his gang are completely devoted to the Tang Dynasty, but at least they have no second thoughts at the moment. At the same time, they also think that the young man Li Silang is worthy of their service, and there is nothing wrong in working for him.

As for factional struggles? This kind of thing is inevitable, so would you rather work with a boss who is very resourceful and treats his people very well, or work with a fool who can't tell the difference between the important and the unimportant, and the inside and the outside?
After the situation in Liyang was stabilized, Li Yuanhui handed over the military affairs to Zhao Da, with Yingchuan County Prince Li Xiaocha as his deputy, and led the Qi Wangfu Guards and his personal troops back to Chaoge.

Before leaving, Zhao Da, Li Xiaocha, Han Duo, Shi Yanchao and other generals gathered to see him off.

After Li Yuanhui got on his horse, he said, "General Zhao, Liyang is extremely important. I will leave this place to you. Brother Xiaocha, you must do your best to assist General Zhao in guarding this place."

The two of them clasped their fists together.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. If Li Yang is lost, Zhao will bring his head to you." "Your Highness, rest assured."

Seeing this, Li Yuanhui left with peace of mind.

Zhao Da is essentially a newly-surrendered force, with more than 20,000 defeated soldiers gathered in Liyang, 5,000 troops under Li Xiaocha, and more than 7,000 troops under Zhao Da's current headquarters, the total force exceeds 30,000.

In terms of military strength, they were enough to form a pincer attack with Chaoge and resist the Wei army. Moreover, the foreign generals and defeated soldiers also put an end to the previous mess.

With the Li family members in charge, Li Yang doesn't have to worry.

As for Chaoge, it was his old Jianghuai Army. Compared with patience and defensive warfare, it was undoubtedly the most experienced army in the world.

There may not even be one.

The Yan army attacked more than a dozen times in succession and lost more than a thousand soldiers. Seeing this, the leading general Tian Hongsi had no choice but to retreat.

Liu Xuanji personally led his troops to the scene and looked towards Chaoge. He saw that the Tang army had set up camp in Lingchuan in the Taihang Mountains. The defensive fortifications were extremely well built and were almost impeccable.

He couldn't help but sigh twice: "Although the Tang army was defeated, the Li family should not be underestimated."

He then led his troops back to Yecheng.

After Yecheng surrendered, Liu Xuanji ordered the troops entering the city to strictly observe military discipline and anyone who harassed the civilians would be executed immediately.

Strict military discipline is often the best way for the occupier to disintegrate resistance. Although many people in Yecheng still miss the kindness of the Zhao brothers, they will not resist the Yan army for this reason.

Afterwards, Liu Xuanji accepted more than 10,000 surrendered soldiers from Zhao Da's army heading north. In addition to selecting the strongest among them to serve as his own personal army, he also allowed the remaining men to guard Yecheng.

After quickly completing the acceptance of Yecheng, Liu Xuanji also received a letter asking for help from Shangdang.

At present, Shangdang is under fierce attack by the Tang army, led by Li Sixing, the general of the Right Guard of the Tang Dynasty, who is leading nearly 50,000 troops to attack Changzi and Tunliu respectively.

At the same time, Tuoba Jun of Jinyang also responded to the military order and dispatched more than 10,000 cavalry to join the battle.

Lou Daiwen led more than 5,000 soldiers and horses to garrison in Changzi, and Zhang Shiwu led 5,000 people to garrison in Tunliu. Facing the fierce attack of the Tang army, the two men could barely hold on, but because they were well prepared, they could still hold on for a while.

However, faced with the Tang army's superior forces, the two could only resist with all their might while asking Liu Xuanji for help.

On the other hand, in Jizhou, after receiving the emergency document, Liu Xuanji left tens of thousands of soldiers to garrison Yecheng and personally led an army of 100,000 through Fukou Pass to Shangdang.

After the Tang army received the news, Li Sixing summoned all the generals to discuss. Whether it was Li Yaoshi, Zhu Deyu, or Murong Sanzang, they all suggested retreating.

"Our army has been attacking the city for more than ten days but has not been able to conquer it. Now our soldiers are exhausted, while the Yan army is victorious and has high morale. It is disadvantageous to fight them now. We should retreat slowly. There are many mountains and rivers in Hedong, and there are many valleys and rivers. We can set up ambushes. If the Yan army pursues us, we will surely be able to defeat them."

Pharmacist Li made suggestions based on many factors including morale, enemy and ourselves, terrain, etc.

This was immediately recognized by everyone. The Tang army then broke camp, burned the siege equipment, and slowly retreated towards Chenguan.

By the time Liu Xuanji arrived at Shangdang, the Tang army had already pursued him for more than a hundred miles. Everyone around him wanted to pursue him, but after hearing the report from the scouts, Liu Xuanji flatly refused.

"Our army is also exhausted and cannot fight for long."

Then he looked to the west and thought to himself, it’s time for Chang’an to react, right?

(End of this chapter)