Chapter 442: Li Si has no weak soldiers

A piece of information from Luoyang was delivered to Yecheng, giving the hesitant Liu Xuanji the answer.

Or maybe he already knew the answer. It was not the first day he met Li Yuanhui. They had known each other for several years and they knew each other very well.

This intelligence summarizes everything that has happened in Luoyang recently.

This included Li Yuanhui summoning Li Er and Li San to force the emperor to abdicate and seize power. The three brothers worked together to basically sideline the Tang Emperor Li Yuan, and reached a delicate balance. They also signed an alliance whose binding force was unknown.

Secondly, the King of Wei was impeached by the King of Qi. He was first demoted to the Duke of Wei County. The next day, the King of Qi remembered that he had been the Marquis of Ye, and Yecheng was the seat of Wei County, so he was ashamed to have anything to do with it. So he was changed to the Duke of Guanghan County and was directly sent to Shu.

In addition, Li Yuanhui wanted to kill Yang Kan's son, but was persuaded by his guard Xie Shufang. Therefore, Li Yuanhui rewarded Xie Shufang with ten pieces of brocade and told his guards that if they made any mistakes in the future, they could persuade him.

Before he gives the order to kill someone, he will ask again and again to make sure he does not kill indiscriminately.
After gathering his confidants to read and circulate the intelligence, Liu Xuanji sighed, "Li Si is truly benevolent and generous. He was able to show leniency to the family members of the enemy generals who were chasing him on the battlefield. This is something that even a saint would find difficult to do."

When Wang Sizheng, Li Yuanzhong, Ling Jing, Liu Dao and several advisers heard this, they all knew that Liu Xuanji had finally given up Tuoba Tianbao's suggestion.

Liu Xuanji continued, "I originally thought that if I pursued them too hastily, the Li brothers would unite as one, and because of the problem of military rations, they did not immediately send troops to Luoyang. Now it seems that the Li brothers have reached an agreement, and at least for the short term, they will not fight against each other. So after releasing the captives, we must send troops to Luoyang as soon as possible."

Zhang Shiwu said immediately after hearing this: "Your Majesty, you can let the Tang army take prisoners in front and lead the army behind. The Tang army will certainly be suspicious about this. Perhaps you can take advantage of the opportunity to release the prisoners and launch a surprise attack on Luoyang."

Wang Sizheng said, "Li Yuanhui has always been cautious and will definitely not give us this opportunity. He will definitely take the captives to the Yellow River crossing and then return south after careful screening. It is nothing but a fool's dream to take this opportunity to attack Luoyang."

Liu Xuanji glanced at Zhang Shiwu with a complicated look, which meant that you should stop trying to imitate others and just listen to what is happening in this situation.

"If the king releases the captives, the Tang army can exchange them for food to replenish our military supplies."

Liu Daohe's proposal was agreed by everyone.

Liu Xuanji also nodded, and then said: "Then select 10,000 strong men from the 50,000 Tang army prisoners to replace the casualties of each army. If the rest are willing to stay in Hebei, they can be granted land. Then select one of the captured Tang army officials to go to Luoyang to deliver a letter, asking Li Yuanhui to provide food in exchange for prisoners."

The letter from Hebei was quickly delivered to Luoyang, and Li Yuanhui's answer was very simple: it was possible to talk.

He was not really enthusiastic about this matter, because these prisoners were not his subordinates, but all of Li Er and Li Yuan's men.

Even if I change it back, it won't work for him.

But he had to trade with the grain from Luoyang. It was so frustrating to think about it.

But we can't say no to change.

Because these people are working for your Li family, and they were captured in the war for your Li family. Now if there is a chance, you must redeem them.

Otherwise, the entire foundation of Li Tang's rule would be shaken, and everyone in Guandong would be disappointed.

Reluctantly, he sent envoys to Yu Zhining and his cousin Dou Shi, both of whom were Li Yuanhui's confidants and important staff members of the Tiance Mansion. This was also a sign of their importance to this matter.

As for Liu Xuanji, after sending someone to convey the message to Luoyang, he first asked Emperor Murong Ju to promote him to the position of Grand Tutor and Chief of the Hundred Ministers.

After three refusals, he accepted it.

He originally wanted to accept it the first time, but the princess, Liu Daohe and others advised him that this process should be followed and that some things should not be rushed.

Liu Xuanji also readily accepted the advice. After accepting the official position, Liu Xuanji devoted all his energy to the army.

His personal guards, the Youzhou cavalry, originally numbered 3,000, lost nearly 1,000 men after this great battle, a loss that was enough to make him feel painful.

Therefore, he had to select elite veteran soldiers from the Youzhou Iron Cavalry Team to replenish the team.

In addition, as heavy cavalry, the Youzhou Tuqi were not suitable to serve as the royal army.

Because the training tasks of heavy cavalry are heavy, it would be a bit excessive if they were also required to perform guard duties, stand guard, and perform ceremonial patrols.

Although it is honorable enough to serve as the commander-in-chief's personal soldiers, the special characteristics of heavy cavalry also need to be taken into consideration.

Then he thought about forming a team of personal soldiers again. After communicating with everyone, Liu Xuanji came up with a selection method that he thought was excellent.

His personal soldiers must be able to fight one against a hundred. This is not an adjective, but the standard: one can beat a hundred.

So it was announced in Yecheng that throughout the entire Hebei Province, no matter what ethnicity you were from, whether Han, Xianbei, or mixed Hu.

It doesn't matter whether you are a slave or an officer, a noble or a commoner, including prisoners of the Tang army.

You can come to Yecheng to fight in the ring, with bare hands and fighting against hundreds of people. If you can survive for one stick of incense, you will be rewarded and accept the direct leadership of the King of Han.

As the saying goes, where there is a great reward, there will always be brave men. The people of Yan and Zhao were originally martial, with many generous and tragic men. There were also many mixed Hu and Xianbei people and other ethnic groups living together, and the people were tough. There were also many brave men in the army who thought they were very capable fighters.

So Yecheng became very lively.

Liu Xuanji watched the battle in person every day, and heroes from all walks of life gathered in Yecheng.

On the martial arts field, the soldiers watching were screaming loudly. They saw a strong man grab a man and throw him out, knocking down several people who were ready to rush over. Then he grabbed a man who attacked from behind and threw him out. The strong man was so powerful that the people around him were frightened by the huge impact and didn't even dare to move forward.
Dou Shi and Yu Zhining watched this scene with Liu Xuanji on the city wall.

"Am I a man of Yan and Zhao, brave or not?"

Liu Xuanji boasted proudly.

Yu Zhining did not say anything, but Dou Shi asked, "Are you talking about the tall and brave warriors in the middle of the encirclement, or the hundred men? If the people in the middle are indeed brave and can even be called the enemy of a thousand men, are those hundred men also from Yan and Zhao?"

Liu Xuanji was choked by this question. Seeing that Dou Shi was young, handsome, and well-dressed, he laughed and said, "Hahahaha, good, good, good, Li Si's men are really not easy to deal with. Your name is Dou Shi, right? Li Si is your cousin? Then Dou Fengjie and Dou Xianjun are both your brothers?"

Dou Shi said: "To reply to the King of Han, that's right. Xianjun and Fengjie are both my cousins."

Liu Xuanji nodded: "I have worked with them. Dou Xianjun doesn't have any great ability, but he is steady and prudent. Dou Fengjie is strong-willed and courageous. You are a sharp-tongued kid. By the way, your Dou family also has Dou Cong. It seems that not only the Li family, but your Dou family is also full of talents."

Dou Shi said: "My Fufeng Dou family has always been a great family in Guanzhong, with many branches and leaves. The talents that the King of Han has seen are all because of their association with the powerful, the legacy of Empress Taimu, and their royal family in-laws. I wonder how many of the former Han King's followers are now generals?"

This question stumped Liu Xuanji again. Thinking of his old brothers in the same team, except for those who died in battle, the lowest rank now was a General of the Central Army, while Zhao Xiang, Zhang Shiwu and others were directly promoted to the position of military governor.
Thinking of this, Liu Xuanji looked at Dou Shi and felt that this boy was really knowledgeable.

"You can become a prime minister in the future."

(End of this chapter)