Chapter 426 Personal Expedition
More than 100,000 Tang troops were stationed in Liyang and Yanjin along the Yellow River. Li Yuanhui led the main force across the river from Yanjin, and let his brother-in-law Chai Rong lead the rest of the troops to cross the river from Liyang.

At this time, Li Yuanhui led a team including more than 10,000 soldiers from the Qiwang Mansion and Tiance Mansion. Liu Zongxun, Dou Cong, Zhai Sixun and Yang Xianguo led 20 left and right guards and 20,000 Zhechongfu.

The thirty Zhechoufu of the Left and Right Guards, led by General Huang Niujiao of the Left Guard, General Duan Xiong of the Right Guard, and General Pei Xingyan of the Left Guard, had more than 30,000 men.

There were also the original garrison troops, the five Zhechoufu under the command of General Liu Yuanqing of the Left Guard, and the 3,000 former troops of Zhao Da under the command of Shi Yanchao and Han Duo.

Including the troops from Fangtou, including Xiao Shizhi's Left and Right Weiwei's ten Zhechoufu with more than 10,000 people, and Xu Qiande's Left Wuwei's five Zhechoufu with 5,000 people, the total number is as high as 70,000 to 80,000 people. In the direction of Liyang, there are also about 50,000 troops.

After Li Yuanhui sent out his troops, the first reaction of the Yan army was that Wei Xiaoju led more than 10,000 Yan troops from Shangdang to withdraw from Huai County, but stationed in Chaoge which had been abandoned by the Tang army before, echoing Liu Xuanji of Dangyin.

At this time, Fangtou became the focus of the battle between the two sides. This place got its name from the time when Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shang and besieged Yecheng, he used large wooden beams to build a dam at the mouth of the Qi River into the Yellow River to stop the Qi River from entering Baigou, increasing the water volume to facilitate water transportation, so people at that time called it Fangtou.

Therefore, if the Tang army wanted to go north to attack Yecheng, Fangtou became an important node for water transportation, which could control the Qi River and Baigou.

After Li Yuanhui led his army across the Yellow River, Liu Xuanji did not fight with him in the Liyang area. Instead, he led his army to the north of Baigou and deployed defenses along Baigou.

Because of the presence of Liyang and Fangtou, it was difficult for the Yan army to stop the Tang army from crossing the river to the north, so Liu Xuanji simply let the Tang army cross the river, but guarded Baigou and Qishui.

Li Yuanhui used Fangtou as a stronghold, with high ravines and deep gullies, and engaged in a tug-of-war with the Yan army.

They held their ground during the day, and retreated if the enemy's offensive was too fierce, and then launched a night attack. Seeing that they could not gain an advantage, the Yan army stopped attacking, and the two sides entered a stalemate again.

Such consumption continued until June. Finally, the Yan army, which was relatively weak, could not bear it anymore. The generals and staff began to persuade Liu Xuanji to withdraw.

Li Yuanhui, who had previously been defending his position, began to plan to send troops.

This is what Liu Xuanji was worried about.

When playing against Li Yuanhui, don't think about a quick victory in the early stage, because he won't give you this opportunity. He will definitely attack you when you are exhausted, weak, or low on food and grass.

In fact, the Yan army was able to supply food and grass, but its military strength was not as strong as that of the Tang army. If they continued to consume the energy at Fangtou, they might suffer serious losses.

Previously, Liu Xuanji's staff all thought that Li Yuanhui would take back the river bridge before sending troops north, and the north city of the river bridge was in the hands of Fu Hongzhi, so it would take some time to delay. However, the Tang army simply ignored the river bridge and crossed the river from Yanjin, which made the Yan army's previous ideas all invalid. This move of giving up the near and seeking the far made it impossible for the Yan army to attack Liyang calmly.

But the counselor Ling Jing objected, "I have never heard of an army that could win a victory on the front line when the generals and the emperor were not on good terms. Now Li Yuan and Li Yuanhui are not on the same page, and Li Yuanhui is commanding the Weifu Army in Guanzhong, not his elite troops from Jianghuai. As long as we persist, the more disadvantaged we are, the more worried Li Yuan in Luoyang will be."

It was these words that made Liu Xuanji firm up his resolve. "I have made up my mind. If anyone talks about retreating again, he will be killed without mercy. My Great Yan army of 100,000 will fight Li Yuan and his son again! We will not withdraw until we win!"

Liu Xuanji was determined to continue fighting with the Tang army, and the Tang army did not disappoint him.

Although Li Yuanhui sent troops continuously and achieved certain results, the situation gradually shifted towards the Tang Dynasty. But some people could not sit still.

In the Taiji Hall, Li Yuan listened to the war report read by Yuwen Chengye, the Minister of War, with great interest, and his face was full of joy. The battle on the front line was going smoothly. The King of Qi always said what he meant in his war reports, so there was no doubt that the Yan army should have had the upper hand on the Fangtou battlefield.

If we can win this time, even if we can't capture Yecheng in one go, we can at least inflict serious damage on the Yan army, right?
Now that the battle is over, should we let the third brother try to retake Jinyang?
Li Yuan was still thinking about the post-war arrangements in his mind, but at this time Pei Hongde said something that quite disappointed him.

"If the King of Qi leads his troops to victory this time, his prestige will surely increase greatly, and by then the Kingdom of Qi alone may not be able to satisfy his appetite." Li Yuan frowned when he heard this, but did not say anything immediately. After listening to all the battle reports as usual, he dealt with the memorial sent by Li Yuanhui and granted all his requests.

After Pei Hongde and his men left, Li Yuan's expression gradually became serious.

He was now almost certain that the Heqiao incident was related to Li Si. The soldiers of Beiyan's Heqiao Beicheng had not yet withdrawn, but Li Yuanhui did not send troops to recapture the Heqiao. Instead, he went to Yanjin to cross the river and head north, obviously to get out of Luoyang's sight.

The most important thing is, if Silang really takes over Yecheng in one go, can he still be controlled?

In fact, if he only thought about the current composition of the troops on the front line, he would understand that there was no need to worry about Li Silang, as he would not pose any threat to him.

However, once this person begins to have doubts and starts to think in this direction, he will gradually ignore the reality.

How to deal with the second son is already a headache for him. If the fourth son shows up, it will be too difficult to deal with. Will there still be a place for him as the emperor?

But it seems impossible to ask Li Si to withdraw his troops at this time.
He also knew that when fighting the enemy on the front line, he could not afford to worry about food and fodder. If something happened outside, it would be a big deal.

While Li Yuan was hesitating, a eunuch reported: "Your Majesty, the King of Wei wants to see you."

Li Yuan was about to say no, but then he thought, maybe this guy could have some ideas? "Let him in."

Before Li Xiaozheng entered the palace, he had just come from the place of his father-in-law, Duke of Yue, Yang Sui, and he did come with an idea.

After the greetings, Li Xiaozheng began to offer advice.

"I think Your Majesty should lead the army in person at this time."

After hearing this, Li Yuan wanted to scold him immediately, but he stopped when the words came to his lips.

It was not that he had not thought about leading the army in person, but he was concerned about the outcome, face, and many other issues, so he did not go through with it.

But right now, the Tang army has already established an advantage on the battlefield. Going to the front line in person at this time would bring huge prestige and merit.

Just like the Battle of Jinyang and the Battle of Luoyang, he went there on time.

They already had the advantage, and his personal leadership would boost morale and solve another problem at the same time.

After I personally led the expedition, I can forget about the King of Qi's achievements. This victory was only possible because of my wisdom, bravery, talent, and strategic planning as an emperor.
Li Xiaozheng saw that Li Yuan was quite interested and felt relieved.

Only when the emperor personally led the army would he have the opportunity to achieve great things. Otherwise, Li Si would be in charge at the front line, and even if he went to the battlefield with the emperor, he would not be able to eat meat or even drink a sip of soup.

It would be different if he followed the emperor to the front. He would definitely have a chance to make merit.
But both of them overlooked one thing: on the battlefield, advantage does not equal victory.

(End of this chapter)