Chapter 427: Mutual Disturbance
Li Yuanhui's tactics were extremely scoundrel. He used his superior military strength to advance steadily, bit by bit, and never sought quick success or advance rashly.

It was like pushing a solid wall forward. In June, the Tang army launched a large army on the west bank of the Qishui River and the south bank of the Baigou River at the same time, attacking on all fronts and crossing the river from multiple locations at the same time. The Tang army in Fangtou also took the initiative to attack.

Faced with the Tang army's unusually powerful offensive, Liu Xuanji chose to temporarily avoid the attack.

They retreated to Dangyin again and set up camp with their backs to the Baigou branch and Dangyin.

Li Yuanhui first led his army to recapture Chaoge, forced Wei Xiaoju's troops to retreat, and asked Xiao Shizhi to move from Fangtou to Chaoge to guard against Wei Xiaoju at Zixia Pass. Then he personally led the army northward.

He placed his main camp at the foot of Elephant Mountain, and the rest of the troops were intertwined and connected end to end, stretching for hundreds of miles, with a magnificent momentum.

Fu Hongzhi of the north city of Heqiao had already abandoned the city and fled back to Zixia Pass. Luoyang immediately ordered people to repair the river bridge.

Although the Tang army had established an advantage by using its military strength, Li Yuanhui, as the commander-in-chief, remained clear-headed and always maintained a high level of vigilance.
Because the person on the opposite side is Liu Xuanji, whose ability to use troops is almost comparable to that of the second brother.

Although the Yan army retreated, they were still capable of fighting.

However, this normal way of using troops looked completely different to Li Yuan in Luoyang.

Is this guy just relying on his own strength? He has already established an advantage, and has crossed Baigou and Qishui in one go, and is confronting the enemy on the plains. He should be able to send troops directly. Why is he not fighting?

As doubts arose and Pei Hongde, Li Xiaozheng and others fanned the flames, Li Yuan finally made up his mind to go to the battlefield in Hebei and lead the army in person.

After making this decision, Li Yuan ordered that everyone be kept silent and no one was allowed to disclose the fact that he was going to the front line, not even the people in Luoyang city knew about it.

Li Yuan left the city in the name of hunting, but did not take the river bridge. He only took hundreds of trusted guards with him. He ordered Prime Minister Pei Hongde to stay in Luoyang, and took Zhao Wang Li Cheng'an, Wei Wang Li Xiaozheng, Minister of Personnel Pei Ji, Minister of War Yuwen Chengye and others, as well as hundreds of guards, and took the water transport boats to the front line.

It was not until outside the gate of the central army camp that the emperor's flag was raised.

Even though Li Yuanhui's Qi cultivation skills were already very good, he was still very surprised when he heard the news. Is this a joke?
What are you doing here at this time? Li Yuanhui was very surprised and hurried to the camp gate to welcome him.

Li Yuan went straight into the camp, entered the central military tent, and met with the generals.

Not only Li Yuanhui, but all the generals were also surprised that Li Yuan suddenly appeared on the battlefield at this time. Leading the army in person was no small matter.

The emperor was in the army, so it was natural for him to take over the command.

The troops and positions in the original central army camp were given up to make room for Li Yuan and his personal guards.

Li Yuanhui took his guards, his personal troops, and the Beiwei cavalry and went directly to the southern foot of Xiangshan to set up camp.

Li Yuan did not say much about his behavior, thinking that he was just throwing a tantrum, so he just let him be. As for how to fight the battle, Li Yuan originally wanted to let Li Yuanhui command, and he would just watch, but Li Yuanhui directly retreated to the back, and Li Yuan didn't care. Without you, Zhang the butcher, wouldn't you still eat hairy pigs?

I can’t lead troops and fight a war?
The generals in the army were discussing whether the King of Qi had lost his sageliness or why His Majesty had suddenly arrived.
After all, the first person to seize power on the battlefield was Liu Bang, who rushed into the camp to seize Han Xin's military power. What a coincidence, Han Xin also served as the King of Qi.
After Li Yuan took over the command, he did not immediately change his approach. Although he had a quarrel with his son, he did not think that there must be something wrong with the fourth son's strategy and tactics.

Li Yuan, who came from a noble family, had very strong military qualities and strategies. The army he commanded was the central army of the Tang Dynasty, which made him even more adept at it.

And after he took over the military affairs, including viewing the archives of various military orders issued by Li Yuanhui, he could not help but admire in his heart. As far as handling these military affairs were concerned, he felt that he might not be able to do better than the fourth brother.

Each military order was concise and well-organized. Even an uneducated general would understand what the order meant after listening to it once.

In addition, Li Yuan also inspected the defense facilities of the army's garrison, the grain transportation routes and garrison locations, as well as measures to prevent grain from moisture, etc. These made him admit that in terms of military management, there were not many people who could surpass Silang.

Even Erlang, who was a master of military strategy and had never been defeated, might not be able to achieve this level. Li Yuan did not change these already perfect systems, but only let the two Shangshu, Pei Ji and Yuwen Chengye, take over the daily military affairs.

The change of commander in chief of the Tang army did not cause much disturbance. Even the Yan army did not notice that the Tang army had quietly completed a power transition.

As Li Yuan took over the command of the Tang army, the calls for battle grew louder and louder.

The generals at all levels of the Tang army felt that since they had superior military strength and had been fighting the enemy for such a long time, it was time to take the initiative, defeat the Yan army in one fell swoop, and drive straight to Yecheng.

This battle might just decide the outcome!

Among them, Li Xiaozheng shouted the loudest.

But Li Yuan was not confused after all. Even after taking back the military command, he felt some regret.

The first was that it was already summer and the weather was hot. At his age, it was stuffy sleeping in a tent every day. How could it be as comfortable as living in the palace in Luoyang?

You can enjoy delicacies and fresh fruits in the palace without restraint. It is normal to use ice in hot weather, right? There is also a tradition of storing ice in Luoyang Palace, but there is nothing on the front line of Hebei.

Although Li Yuanhui's expenses were quite good before, Li Yuan thought that life was a bit hard.

Li Yuan has been living a life of luxury in recent years, enjoying the comforts of the palace. The days in the camp can be considered as suffering for him.

Secondly, after taking over the military affairs, he found that all his previous doubts in Luoyang were groundless, and it was difficult to launch a head-on attack under the current circumstances.

The Yan army’s fighting spirit was not weak. He came to this conclusion after reading the detailed battle reports and the number of enemies killed and lost.

The Yan army’s camp was also strong enough.

If we fight a head-on decisive battle at this time, even if we win, it will be a pyrrhic victory.

Therefore, Li Yuan felt more and more that there was no problem with the fourth brother's strategy and tactics, including military management, and he was quite qualified as a commander-in-chief.

But after I intervened, the fourth kid ran directly to the southern foot of Xiangshan Mountain and gave up.

I can't bring myself to invite him back, so what can I do? Just keep doing it.
At this time, when the Yan army was in a standoff until July, they finally received accurate news that the Yan army had changed its commander. Emperor Li Yuan personally came to the front line.

Liu Xuanji was very excited after hearing the news. He felt that the opportunity for battle had finally arrived.

But soon he received bad news. Li Yaoshi, the governor of Qingzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and Huang Junhan, the general of the Right Guard, led an army of more than 10,000 people across the Yellow River, captured Pingyuan and Qinghe, and threatened the heartland of Northern Yan.

Although it was only a small force, this Tang army posed a great threat. It directly threatened Wei County from the flank and rear, causing the main force of the Northern Yan army to be attacked from both sides.

It can also cut off the connection between Weijun and Anping.

But after one piece of bad news, there came good news.

Tuoba Tianbao, who came to the rescue from Bingzhou, launched a surprise attack and burned the Tang army's grain transport fleet.

(End of this chapter)