Chapter 392 Getting angry
In this battle, the Tang Dynasty dispatched 16,000 troops. The 3,000 vanguard troops led by Liu Wenhui were completely wiped out, the 13,000 main force led by Wei Wang Li Xiaozheng was defeated, and the Yan army killed and captured more than 10,000 people.

Liu Wenhui, the general of the Right Guard of the Tang Dynasty, was trapped in a tight siege. He was unmoved by the persuasion to surrender and eventually died in battle. The 3,000 men under his command were trapped in a tight siege, of which more than 2,000 died in the battle and only a few hundred surrendered.

General Murong He of the Left Guard was killed in battle, and dozens of officers including the Governor Chang Pan, Ren Gui, and Liu Zuyin were either captured or killed in battle.

The commander Li Xiaozheng was able to escape after a fierce battle with the governor Xu Luoren and the general Zhang Gu. Only a few hundred cavalrymen fled to Hedong, because the road back to Jinyang was blocked. If they wanted to survive, they had to flee to Hedong. In fact, it was not because the Northern Yan was kind and did not set up an ambush in the direction of Hedong, but because the Yan army was actually short of manpower in this battle.

Almost at the same time, Liu Xuanji led the new emperor Murong Ju to personally lead 10,000 elite soldiers from Jingxing to Jinyang. That's right, there were only 10,000 people. But Liu Xuanji ordered people to set up more golden drums and flags, making the team extremely large and powerful.

That is to say, the number of people from Beiyan who participated in the war was no more than 30,000. Because this plan was launched temporarily, in order to avoid any more trouble, there was no time to mobilize various troops to participate in the war.

As for the Jinyang garrison, there were still several thousand people left. The person in charge was Han Bi, the chief secretary of King Wei. Han Bi had no military strategy and was a scholar who could not fight a war. He was good at giving advice, but facing the situation of the Northern Yan army approaching, he had no way to counterattack at all. He could not even defend the city.

Therefore, Han Bi, who originally only needed to hold the city and wait for reinforcements, chose to abandon the city and flee like his master. The defenders were leaderless and were all from Guanzhong. They had no intention of holding out. Seeing the Yan army outside the city in high spirits, with complete weapons and armor, and high morale, they all became frightened and fled south one after another.

The Yan army entered Jinyang without a fight, and only a few hundred local auxiliary soldiers were left in the city, who surrendered to the Yan army.

Afterwards, Liu Xuanji ordered Fu Hongzhi to lead his troops in pursuit, taking more than a thousand prisoners.

The Tang Dynasty mobilized an army of 200,000, and all the three kings and capable generals were present. Jinyang, which was captured after months of hard fighting and was stabbed in the back, was lost just like that.

This matter was very passive for the Tang Dynasty. Because Jinyang was the core of Bingzhou, Northern Yan originally controlled Jingxing and Shangdang areas. After Jinyang was in hand, it had a strategic initiative over Hedong and Guanzhong areas.

At this time, the person guarding Hedong was Wang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou and Duke of Qi. He was Li Yuan's nephew, born into the Wang family of Taiyuan, and his mother was Li Yuan's sister.

Putting aside his status as a royal relative, Wang Yi's title of Duke is also a reflection of his achievements in battles. He has been serving his uncle Li Yuan since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. Although he does not have brilliant abilities, because he was born into the Wang family of Taiyuan, he has been practicing literature and martial arts since childhood. He is a down-to-earth and steady person, and people can always be assured of the things assigned to him. He is like a jack of all trades. He can lead troops to fight, govern a region, and handle logistics. He is a compound talent.

Li Yuan appointed him as the governor of Bingzhou and also the prefect of Hedong.

There are two reasons for this. First, Hedong is a very important salt-producing area, so this position must be a lucrative job. No matter who sits in this position, he will make a lot of money and become rich.

So it is better to give this benefit to the nephew than to outsiders. This nephew is quite sensible. How can he forget his uncle when he can get his benefits?
Secondly, during the Battle of Jinyang in the second year of Wude, the Tang Dynasty's exploitation of Hedong was a little too harsh, so that many civil uprisings occurred. Li Cang, the Prince of Linhuai who was stationed in Hedong at the time, demanded 2,000 people from Li Yuan and the imperial guards and Li Silang's guards of the Prince of Qi's Palace to barely maintain the situation and not affect the transportation of grain and grass.

However, although the war was agreed, the people of Hedong still had hostility towards the Tang Dynasty. Wang Yi was born into a family of Taiyuan King. Although he was not a famous surname in Hedong, he was a native of Bingzhou and also of Taiyuan County. Li Yuan hoped that Wang Yi could pacify Hedong and prevent any trouble from arising there.

Wang Yi did not disappoint the expectations of his uncle the emperor. The salt produced in Hedong was sufficient to supply Luoyang and Chang'an. The income from the salt tax benefited the court, and Wang Yi's private filial piety made Li Yuan very satisfied.

At the same time, Hedong was relatively peaceful this year. With the exemption of taxes, the people did not cause trouble again, and the country was basically stable.

Who would have thought that King Wei, Li Xiaozheng, could cause such a big mess?
As soon as Li Xiaozheng arrived in Hedong, he immediately asked Wang Yi to give him military power. He wanted to take the 10,000 Tang troops stationed in Hedong to get back his revenge.

Wang Yi's head was buzzing at the time, so he just played the tactic of procrastination with Li Xiaozheng.

In name, Li Xiaozheng was the governor of Bingzhou and had the right to command the Tang army in Bingzhou, but the reason why Li Yuan placed Wang Yi in Hedong was to guard against external threats.

Because he knew that Wang Yi was a steady and prudent person. Hedong was the springboard for Bingzhou to enter Guanzhong. Cao Cao sent Xu Huang to cross the Yellow River from Hedong to Guanzhong to fight against Ma Chao. So he was not thinking about cleaning up his unlucky cousin's mess, but about ensuring that there would be no problems in Hedong under his rule. After Wang Yi learned that Li Xiaozheng had ruined the whole army, he had a bad feeling.

Jinyang is definitely gone.

So he quickly sent the news to Chang'an, and at the same time sent a messenger to inform Luoyang.

After all, Henei and Hedong can echo each other from a distance, and the situation in Bingzhou is also inseparable from the direction of Luoyang and Henei.

The loss of Jinyang has had a subversive impact on the entire Tang Dynasty’s strategic advantage, so we must be on guard against unexpected events.

The news arrived in Chang'an and Luoyang almost at the same time.

It was the middle of March in the fourth year of Wude. Li Yuanhui had just returned to Luoyang a few days ago when he received such news and was immediately furious.

"I should have asked Yuchi to kill this slave in Chang'an! What the hell? He can lead troops in such a state? And he even deserts the battlefield?"

Li Yuanhui knew very well how important Jinyang's strategic location was. With just Jinyang alone, the Northern Han could outlast Emperor Song until the God of Ches defeated them completely.

Li Tang, Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han all started from Jinyang and conquered the world from the south.

Such a strategic location was captured by the Tang Dynasty with huge investment of manpower and material resources, and with the help of external enemies. You said you would lose it?

Now Li Yuanhui really wanted to kill him. He was now in a complete strategic disadvantage in Luoyang.

From Jinyang to Luoyang, the cavalry can arrive in fifteen days!

At the same time, Li Yuanhui was also very dissatisfied with Li Yuan. Why did you let the third brother stay in Chang'an?

You sent a fool to guard this important place! This is a loss of the country! A waste of money! The three of us brothers led 200,000 people to fight for half a year! How many people died? How much food was wasted?

Li Yuanhui was furious in the lobby of the Xingtai. The civil and military officials had almost never seen the King of Qi in this state. This situation had never been seen before.

Because in their eyes, the King of Qi is always calm and composed, with the composure to remain calm even when faced with a mountain collapse.

But today's rage let all the ministers know that the King of Qi also has a temper and can lose his temper like this.

But everyone understands that almost everyone who can enter this hall, whether civil or military, knows the value of Jinyang.

Even if you don't know, you can tell by seeing the King of Qi is so angry.

(End of this chapter)