Chapter 418 Reasonableness
In fact, on the Huaixian battlefield, the Yan army had twice as many troops as the Tang army.

Although Li Yuanhui personally led his troops to the battlefield, he was unable to change the situation of being at a disadvantage. If the Yan army continued to fight the Tang army, it would be hard to say whether the battle of Huai County would win or lose.

Although Liu Xuanji didn't come, he could guess what the situation was like on the battlefield. When it comes to using troops, Wei Xiaoju is a good hand, but he has no prestige. He has no connection with the generals of Northern Yan who were promoted from the bottom by Liu Xuanji. He is also the cousin of the late emperor, so it is difficult for him to convince the public. Even if you are right, I may not listen to you.

Another wise man is Hulu Mingyue, who is brave and good at fighting, and can judge the situation. But his disadvantage is that he is too young, his words carry little weight, and his prestige is not enough.

The remaining people like Dongfang Di, Xue Guyan, and Fu Hongzhi are all powerful generals, and it is no problem for them to lead an army alone.

But if they were to go to war together without a backbone, there would be chaos. Besides, Liu Xuanji didn't believe that these people could be a match for Li Yuanhui. In the whole world, when it comes to using troops to fight, the two brothers Li Yuanhui and Li Xuanqing are the ones Liu Xuanji fears the most.

Not even their elder brother Li Er, a brave man famous throughout the world.

If Wei Xiaoju could control the entire army, he would have a chance to win by using his troop advantage, but unfortunately, he couldn't control it, and he couldn't control it.

Therefore, Liu Xuanji saw that the future was uncertain and acted decisively. The chance of taking Huai County was already very small, and they had already lost the first battle. The morale of the Tang army was boosted, so this battle would be difficult to fight.

As for Li Yuanhui, after a few days of confrontation, he found that the Yan army was about to leave, and he did not agree to everyone's request to pursue them. "Although the Yan army was defeated, its main force was not damaged. Its troops are twice as strong as mine. Wei Xiaoju and Dongfang Di are all famous generals. If we pursue them, we may lose many soldiers and generals."

Although the siege of Huai County was lifted, the crisis was not resolved. The Yan army in the Henei area numbered about 80,000 and was still a huge threat to the Tang army.

However, Liu Xuanji did not make any unusual moves afterwards, but just retreated from Yongyu City to Dangyin.

After returning to Dangyin, a group of generals led by Wei Xiaoju apologized to Liu Xuanji.

Liu Xuanji laughed and helped them up, then said: "Victory and defeat are common in the military, and the defeat in this battle is also due to my poor command. What does it have to do with you? Don't worry, Emperor Tang Li Yuan is leading a large army here, and he may not necessarily attack us in the north. You still need to cheer up and contribute to the country."

Liu Xuanji's generosity made the generals feel a little ashamed, and they all secretly thought that if they had the chance, they would definitely regain this face.
After a stalemate of more than ten people, Liu Xuanji retreated from Dangyin to Yecheng. This abnormal behavior surprised the generals.

The troops from Liyang, Chaoge, Li Si and Chai Rong's reinforcements totaled only about 40,000 people, which was only half of the Yan army's strength.

The defeat on the Huai County battlefield was due to accidents, not because the Yan army could not defeat the Tang army. Now they are retreating again and again, and the generals at all levels of the Yan army are a little depressed, but Liu Xuanji's prestige in the army is something that no one dares to question.

On Li Yuanhui's side, after summarizing the situation of the war, he reported to Li Yuan and led his troops to Fangtou. He originally wanted to follow the advance route of the blockade leader Liu Xuanji, but he did not expect that Liu first retreated from Yongyu City to Dangyin, and then from Dangyin to Yecheng.

This behavior was somewhat abnormal. Was he trying to set a trap for Lao Li? To lure him into attacking Yecheng?

In the end, it was the intelligence sent by Li Yuan's messenger that made Li Yuanhui understand his intentions.

Longyou is the western gateway to Guanzhong, and it has a commanding position over Guanzhong. If there is a problem here, it will easily affect Guanzhong.

Now Li Yuan led the Guanzhong army out of Qiaohan in the east and ruled Luoyang, but the people in Guanzhong were in panic, so Li Yuan had to return as soon as possible.

Liu Xuanji's withdrawal of troops was actually more like a statement: whatever problems you, the father and son of the Li family, have, you can just resolve them and I will not interfere.

Thinking of this, Li Yuanhui couldn't help but laugh. Is Liu Xuanji showing weakness?
And after the battle in Huai County, it seems that the Yan army is quite easy to deal with? This is what makes many people think, I can do it too! Or, he can do it, you can do it too.

Li Yuanhui had been mentally prepared for this, and even laughed at himself, saying that he might as well be a Tang brick. He then left Xiao Shizhi to lead 10,000 people to guard Fangtou, and returned to Luoyang with his brother-in-law Chai Rong.

In early March, Li Yuan arrived in Luoyang, and King of Qi Li Yuanhui, Duke of Qiao Chai Rong, and Northern Yuzhou Governor Zhao Wenke went out of the city to welcome him.

The King of Qi granted him the right to ride in the same carriage. Father and son had not seen each other for more than a year. Li Yuan did not look much older and was in good spirits. When he saw Li Yuanhui, he sighed, "You have lost a lot of weight, but have you been fighting outside for so long? Are you too tired?"

Li Yuanhui said, "Fortunately, I have not had much free time since last year. I first went to Qingzhou, and then returned to Luoyang. Then I spent half a year with Liu Xuanji in Liyang. I thought I could relax a little this year, but who knew that Zixia Pass went wrong again. Huai County was almost lost. This is because I was not thoughtful enough. Fortunately, it is not too late to make up for the loss."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "No one is perfect. Who can do things perfectly?"

Li Yuanhui asked again: "Aye, are you doing well these days?"

Li Yuan nodded and said: "Not bad, but my physical strength is not as good as before."

After hearing this, Li Yuanhui almost cursed. "You, Li, gave birth to seven or eight princes and five or six princesses in the years since you entered Chang'an and became emperor. The number of newborns in the Eastern Palace, the Prince of Jin's Mansion, and the Prince of Qi's Mansion is not as many as in the palace. You call this lack of physical strength?"
What else do you want? I'm too embarrassed to expose you.
The father and son chatted all the way, basically not touching on government affairs or military affairs. Li Yuan basically talked to him about the gossip in Chang'an, how your brothers are doing, how your uncle's family is doing, and how your second brother's side is doing.

Li Yuanhui just listened and replied by talking about his sons.

Outside the carriage, King of Chu Li Zhiji and King of Wei Li Xiaozheng were riding side by side. They could even hear the laughter of the emperor and the King of Qi and his son in the carriage.

They have never been treated like this before.

Li Xiaozheng whispered to Li Zhiji: "Brother, you see, not to mention the Crown Prince, even Brother Jin and Brother Qi are not comparable to us!"

Li Zhiji glanced at him and said, "Liu Lang, how can you and I compare with the third and fourth brothers?"

Although Concubine Wan, the mother of King Li Zhiji of Chu, was not very favored, she was the highest-ranking concubine in the harem and was in charge of the palace affairs.

Even the unpredictable Prince of Jin, Li Sanlang, would respectfully address Concubine Wan as Lady Wan, because after Empress Dou Taimu passed away, it was Concubine Wan and her eldest sister-in-law Zheng who took care of the legitimate sons of Li San and Li Si.

Therefore, he was also kind to this illegitimate brother and never called him a "house slave".

Li Zhiji was also very aware of the current situation. He knew that compared with his second, third and fourth brothers, he was just a younger brother.

He is the legitimate son of Empress Taimu and has been personally raised by his father Li Yuan since childhood. Even though his fourth brother Li Yuanhui acted inappropriately during those few years, he was still qualified.

How dare you, a bastard, go out and cause trouble? You think the family law is a joke, right?

A mother who knows the times can also raise a son who knows the times.

However, Li Xiaozheng sneered at the words and snorted coldly. He even cursed a few words in his heart.

This old man is just a nerd. How can he not be compared? They are all sons of the emperor, and I still don't believe it. When I have achievements and a team, I will be worse than them?
Li Zhiji, the Prince of Chu, was a relatively stable prince. He was very sensible and liked to read books. This was greatly influenced by his elder brother Li Xiaoyan. When Li Xiaoyan was still alive, he often advised Li Zhiji to read more, saying that Erlang, Sanlang, and Silang all chose military careers, and asked Li Zhiji to read more and not be like the others. After conquering the world with military careers, it would still be necessary to govern the country with culture.

Li Zhiji believed in his elder brother's words without a doubt. He had read many books over the years and understood many truths.

This is not your thing, so it's best not to touch it.

As the saying goes, if one's virtue does not match his position, he will suffer disaster.

(End of this chapter)