Chapter 341 The war is coming
After receiving the emergency message from Jinyang, Li Xuanqing rejected the advice of all his generals and staff members to withdraw his troops. Instead, he selected 7,000 cavalrymen, each of whom was equipped with two horses.

He also ordered Xue Renmei, Yang Xianguo, Qin Bogui, Qin Zhongyu and other brave generals to accompany him and attack northward.

Then he ordered Xu Maogong to lead 10,000 troops to station in Shangdang to monitor the Yan troops in Tunliu and Zhangzi. He ordered Liu Zongxun and Dou Cong to lead the main army in the rear, and he led 7,000 cavalry in advance.

Before leaving, Li Xuanqing wrote two letters in person, one to Silang Li Yuanhui and the other to Li Yuan in Luoyang.

The letter explained my whereabouts and purpose, and the rest of the meaning was for you to decide.

The purpose of keeping Xu Maogong was to have him monitor the situation in Shangdang to prevent the Yan army in Shangdang from causing trouble and attacking the Tang army's logistics supply channels along the Fen River.

At the same time, it is also necessary to guard the passages between Tianjing Pass and Zixia Pass in the southern part of Shangdang and Hanoi.

The seven thousand cavalrymen marched almost day and night, resting only for a few hours a day, and marched more than a hundred miles a day.

Such a forced march naturally brought extremely considerable returns to the Tang army.

When they arrived at Qi County, the Tuoba cavalry, who were responsible for the defense south of Jinyang, were still leisurely watering their horses by the river. Because of the hot weather, they were not even on guard.

After the scouts from the front army reported back, Li Sanlang was overjoyed and immediately ordered his soldiers to change from walking horses to war horses, fully armed, and immediately launched an attack on the Tuoba cavalry.

Li Sanlang was wearing heavy armor, holding a spear and leading the way. Gathered behind him were his elite followers who had followed him for many years. Generals such as Yang Xianguo, Qin Bogui, and Qin Zhongyu also led their elite troops and launched a charge behind Li Sanlang.

Wearing two layers of heavy armor and riding a large Hexi horse, Li Sanlang brandished his spear and rushed into the enemy group like a tiger into a flock of sheep. No one was invincible under his command, and he was like a god descending to earth.

The Tuoba cavalry on the banks of the Fen River were so frightened that they were unable to fight back and were caught off guard. They immediately fled in all directions.

The Tang cavalry, however, took advantage of the situation and refused to let go of the Tuoba cavalry, nor did they give them a chance to regroup.

The most fatal thing was that most of the Tuoba cavalry gathered by the river because of the hot weather. After one part of them was defeated, a chain reaction occurred among the remaining parts. Even if the ones behind them managed to go into battle, they could not stop the Tang cavalry charge that had already begun.

Tuoba Tianbao, who was in Qi County, learned that most of the cavalry had been dispersed, and immediately led thousands of cavalry out of the city to fight with the Tang army.

However, they were defeated head-on by the black-armored cavalry led by Xue Renmei.

On the vast battlefield south of Jinyang and east of the Fen River, 7,000 Tang troops launched a surprise attack on tens of thousands of Yan troops, beheading thousands and seizing more than 10,000 war horses. The Daibei cavalry, led by the Tuoba tribe, was beaten so badly that they fled in all directions.

Fortunately, Liu Xuanji had anticipated this and dispatched brave generals such as Dongfang Di and Han Gui to lead the troops to support the enemy, thus stopping the defeat of the cavalry of Daibei.

However, the Tang army had traveled a long distance and did not have the energy to engage in a prolonged battle. After taking advantage of the situation to seize Qi County, they stopped their offensive momentum and the two sides fought to a halt.

After the battle, Tuoba Tianbao went to the central army camp, knelt on the ground and apologized to Liu Xuanji. However, Liu Xuanji comforted him that victory and defeat were common in the military, and warned him not to underestimate the enemy.

The battle of Qi County was a good start for the Tang army. Afterwards, the Tang army rested in Qi County for several days. The Yan army did not immediately launch a counterattack. It seemed that the 7,000 cavalrymen and the Yan army were in a standoff.

The truth is that the Yan army really couldn't counterattack. With 7,000 cavalrymen, they would run away if your army pressed forward, and even one person with more than one horse could not catch up.

In addition, Tuoba Jun still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Jinyang City. Once they know that reinforcements are coming, their morale will be high and they will go out of the city to fight.

So the Yan army was actually waiting for the main force of the Tang army to arrive.

The main force of the Tang army, led by Jin Wang Li Xuanqing, which had previously attacked Shangdang, was now marching along the Fen River.

On the other hand, Li Yuan in Luoyang and Li Yuanhui in Hanoi also took immediate action after receiving Li Sanlang's letter.

Li Yuanhui immediately withdrew his troops from Yecheng overnight, leaving 5,000 men in Dangyin, and more than 10,000 troops in Chaoge and Liyang, respectively, and Zhao Da was in charge of the overall defense. Then he led more than 60,000 troops and quickly rushed to Taihang Road to support the battlefield in Jinyang.

When Li Yuanhui's messenger arrived in Luoyang, the army of more than 10,000 sent by Li Yuan had just set out. In addition, Li Yuan also ordered the assembly of almost all the troops in Northern Yuzhou to march north, and Chai Rong's troops in Yanzhou also dispatched more than 10,000 troops.

This war was destined to break out in Jinyang, and Li Yuan had almost no choice but to almost emptied his family's wealth to provide support.

South of the Yellow River, in the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty only had Chai Rong, who left over 10,000 people in Puyang, as its mobile force. The rest of the troops had almost been withdrawn.

In addition, there is the Youwei Guard stationed in Xuzhou, with more than 20,000 people, who are responsible for shielding the Yangtze River and Huai River. However, the distance is too far and they cannot be deployed at all.

Two hundred thousand troops were dispatched from the Central Plains and Guanzhong.

In addition to the troops guarding key locations, the Tang Dynasty also put almost all of its mobile forces on the big table of Jinyang.

For the Tang Dynasty, this was undoubtedly a gamble.

Originally, this battle was a safe bet to capture Shangdang. But as the Yan army sent troops directly to Jinyang, the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to take the initiative.

The most critical turn was that Li Sanlang went directly from Shangdang to Jinyang.

After he decided to go down, Li Yuan and Li Si had no choice but to go down and fight with him.

After Li Sanlang, the first to arrive in Taiyuan County were naturally the army that followed him to attack Shangdang. There were a total of more than 70,000 people. Eight days after the battle of Qi County, they arrived in Jiexiu one after another.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xuanji left behind an army of 100,000 to besiege the city, and personally led all the rest of his troops, a total of more than 100,000 people, to the south to build fortresses and deploy defenses on the plains between the north of Qi County and the south of Jinyang.

After the army arrived, Li Sanlang personally led the elite troops to harass and test the defense of the Yan army many times. The Yan army also constantly fought back.

The elite cavalry of both sides were constantly fighting each other, and the war was carried out on a small scale but with high intensity.

By mid-August, with increasing rainfall, the plan of digging water to irrigate the city that the Yan army had previously arranged finally came in handy.

Standing on the city of Jinyang, looking out, you can see a vast swamp.

Fortunately, Tuoba Jun was well prepared and had already moved the food and grass in the city to high ground. Only when the food and grass were safe could the city continue to be defended.

People in Jinyang City already knew that reinforcements had arrived. After all, such a big commotion could not be concealed.

Therefore, some morale was restored in the city. Although they were not strong enough to fight outside the city, they had no problem defending the city.

And on the outskirts of Taiyuan County, the Tang army had basically assembled.

Li Yuan sent 50,000 reinforcements from Luoyang, and Li Yuanhui personally led an army of about 60,000 to the battlefield.

Together with the auxiliary troops from Northern Yuzhou and Luoyang, the Tang Dynasty mobilized more than 200,000 troops and several times as many civilians for this war.

Such a large-scale army, together with the civilian laborers, consumes an astronomical figure every day.

In order to support this war, the Tang Dynasty basically mobilized all the troops that could be mobilized in Guanzhong. A large amount of grain and fodder was also transferred from Luokou Warehouse near Luoyang, and went north along the Yellow River. After passing Sanmenxia, ​​they changed to land transportation. After passing the place where ships could not navigate, they took the water route and transported it to Jinyang via the Fen River.

After receiving the imperial edict, Li Erfeng, the Prince of Qin who had just recovered from a serious illness, quietly headed towards Jinyang with his guards from the Prince of Qin's Palace.

(End of this chapter)