Chapter 448 Don’t give up day and night
Although Northern Yan looked aggressive and had mobilized an army of nearly 200,000, it needed to guard against not only Luoyang and Hedong, but also Qingzhou and Yanzhou, which could both attack Northern Yan's hinterland through the long lower reaches of the Yellow River.

For example, during the Battle of Baigou, Northern Yan was unable to pursue the victory because Li Yaoshi, the governor of Qingzhou of the Tang Dynasty, and Murong Sanzang, the general of the Right Guard, led their troops into Jizhou, even threatening Yecheng and Xindu, and burned the Yan army's stored food.

Therefore, in addition to mobilizing 180,000 troops from Henei, Liu Xuanji also ordered the General of Chariots and Cavalry, Wei Xiaoju, to lead an army of 20,000 to garrison in Pingyuan and Hejian areas to guard against the elusive Qingzhou Tang army led by Li Yaoshi.

He also ordered the governor of Jizhou, Wang Xiong, to station in Liyang, also to keep an eye on the Tang army in Bai Ma.

Li Yuanhui also understood that mobilizing an army of more than 200,000 with the strength of the three states of Hebei to carry out the conquest itself showed that Liu Xuanji had formed a deeper degree of bond and control over the three states, and a large number of aristocratic families and powerful people began to provide full support.

This was the greatest asset Liu Xuanji had acquired after the Battle of Baigou. He had beheaded tens of thousands of people, captured tens of thousands of enemies, and even seized the ceremonial guards of the Tang emperor.

The huge increase in prestige made the people of Hebei begin to believe that Liu Xuanji was capable of unifying the world, or at least able to hold on to Hebei for a long time.

But the sudden doubling of the army's size was also a test for Northern Yan's military command system.

Before sending out troops, Liu Xuanji expanded the Northern Army's 6,000-man army into an army of 10,000.

At the same time, the Han Kingdom set up front, back, left and right generals, with Zhu Chaoshi, Liu Zhi, Cui Huaidao and Xue Andu in charge, to lead the troops of these powerful families and the new army.

In terms of the deployment of the Northern Yan army this time, Liu Xuanji himself led a team of as many as 100,000 people, but in fact most of them were powerful troops and new recruits. The team that crossed the river and stationed in Mangshan was actually composed of the main force of the Northern Palace Army.

But now he was caught off guard by Li Yuanhui in the first battle at Mangshan, which made him sigh that it was indeed Li Si.

He seems to be as steady as a rock at ordinary times, but he never hesitates when it comes to getting ruthless.

Just like in Jinyang, Li Si led their one hundred cavalrymen into the city to capture the king without blinking an eye. How decisive was that?
Thinking of this, Liu Xuanji began to doubt whether his strategic arrangement was correct. Perhaps he should personally lead his army across the river to confront Li Si? But he knew that if he dared to move, Li San would definitely lead the Tang army in Hedong to attack Henei through the Chen Pass and cut off the food supply of the Yan army.

In this kind of large-scale battle, there was no one who was powerful, capable, and trustworthy enough to guard Hanoi, so he had to do it alone. The victory or defeat in the Luoyang battlefield was just a victory or defeat, but the battle in Hanoi was about survival.

As for the Tang army, after achieving its first victory at Mangshan, morale was greatly boosted. Li Yuanhui ordered Lou Jun, Duan Wuxuan, Pei Xingyan, and Xue Wanche to lead hundreds of cavalry to Mangshan to capture and kill Yan army scouts, and also to provoke and shout at the enemy's camp.

This made all the generals of Northern Yan very angry, but the siege equipment was not ready yet, and the Yan army was still mainly composed of infantry. Finally, Dongfang Di could no longer hold back, and personally led thousands of cavalry out of the camp to fight.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the team leader Lou Jun immediately turned westward towards Mangshan according to the plan.

Dongfang Di was also a little excited and led his troops in pursuit, but he happened to break into the ambush position set up by the Tang army. Hundreds of crossbowmen suddenly appeared in the woods, and hundreds of arrows were shot densely like locusts, directly turning dozens of the vanguard Northern Yan cavalry into hedgehogs.

The Left Grand Commander Dongfang Di was also among them, but thanks to his excellent armor, his injuries were not fatal. However, his mount could no longer be ridden, and the cavalrymen behind him hurried forward to help him up, holding up their shields to withstand the arrows of the Tang army, and then found a warhorse for Dongfang Di to ride.

At this time, the Tang army that had fled earlier led its army back to fight. Lou Jun was the son of the famous general Lou Jushi of the Former Yan Dynasty. He was good at riding and shooting, and was familiar with military strategies. The Shenwu Army under his command was also composed of the sons of the noble families of the Xianbei in Luoyang and their followers. They were all skilled in archery and horse riding. Therefore, when Li Yuanhui formed his army, he told Lou Jun to make full use of the fact that the soldiers were good at riding and shooting, and formulate reasonable tactics.

Therefore, the soldiers of the Shenwu Army followed the governor Lou Jun in drawing their bows and arrows, and coordinated with the intensive shooting of the archers, causing considerable casualties to the Yan army. Seeing this, Dongfang Di also knew that this was an ambush set by the Tang army, and that the area near the foot of the mountain was not suitable for a large cavalry battle, so he immediately led his troops back.

Lou Jun continued to lead his troops in pursuit and shooting, which made the Yan army very angry. They were about to turn around and fight the Tang army, but Dongfang Di insisted on retreating.

Because this tactic of back and forth charging and shooting by cavalry is exactly what the nomadic cavalry in the northern border are best at.

If his guess was correct, there were several cavalry teams of the same size nearby. If he competed with them, they would take turns to consume his physical strength and patience, and then launch a fatal attack when his men and horses were exhausted.

Although more than a hundred men were killed, Dongfang Di became more sober and chose to swallow his loss and retreat back to the camp to continue to supervise the construction of siege equipment.

Liu Xuanji also began to give orders, urging Yang Kan and Dongfang Di to speed up the attack on the city.

At the end of December, the equipment was finally built, and Dongfang Di Yangkan began to lead his army to attack Jinyong. Li Yuanhui took 4,000 people to defend the city, and sent a large number of cavalry outside, letting them wait for an opportunity to attack the Yan army.

The Yan army invested a large number of troops to attack the city. Dongfang Di personally supervised the battle in front of the battlefield. He watched as teams of Yan soldiers stared at the rain of arrows, rolling stones, and battering rams from the top of the city wall and attacked the city day and night.

The Tang army had sufficient defensive equipment, and the commander Li Yuanhui personally fought with a bow on the top of the main city, shooting and killing Yan army soldiers one after another. As a result, the morale of the Tang army was greatly boosted, and they repelled the Yan army's attacks one after another.

The most dangerous time was when a large number of Yan army soldiers climbed up the battlements and rushed into Jinyong City, only a few dozen steps away from the main city tower where Li Yuanhui was.

Seeing this, Li Yuanhui dropped his bow and drew his sword, shouting, "Follow me to kill the bandits!"

He then led dozens of personal guards to charge towards the Yan army attacking the city and killed several Yan soldiers in succession. Wang Fobao held a shield in his left hand and a vajra in his right hand, guarding Li Yuanhui's side and smashing the heads of more than a dozen Yan soldiers in succession, like a demon.

Another guard who stayed with Li Yuanhui, Duan Wuda, was wearing double armor and holding a long-handled bone whip in each hand. He looked like a bear or a tiger, and rushed towards the Yan army with a roar. No one could stop him.

When the cavalry outside saw the critical situation in the city, they attacked the Yan army's formation several times, trying to create chaos.

Yang Kan personally led thousands of elite cavalry as guards to intercept the Tang cavalry.

The two sides fought fiercely on the vast battlefield north of Jinyong City and south of Mangshan.

Liu Xuanji in the north kept one eye on Jinyong City in the south and the other on Chenguan Pass in the north.

Although it seemed that they were standing still, they did not dare to slack off at all.

As expected, Li Sanlang led 20,000 troops out of Chenguan and stationed in Yewang.

Threaten Northern Yan from the side and rear.

Judging from the comparison of troop strength, Li Sanlang's team has only 20,000 people, while Liu Xuanji has an army of 100,000. This comparison of troop strength seems to suggest that he should lead his troops directly to attack.

But one's own family knows one's own business, and he is the one who knows best the quality of Liu Xuanji's 100,000 troops.

Nearly 70,000 of them were newly joined powerful troops and new recruits, and only about 30,000 were former Northern Army soldiers who had fought with him.

If he led 30,000 men, he would definitely go to war with Li Sanlang without hesitation.

But with the extra 70,000 troops, they can only defend Wen County and hold out against the enemy, because it is only for show but not for use.

Sometimes having more people is not necessarily an advantage.

However, you cannot turn away these people who come to join you with great enthusiasm, because they will be an important force for him to rule Hebei and even dominate the world in the future.

However, he cannot fully master this power yet. It takes time to integrate and strengthen control.

It was not until the first month of the sixth year of Wude that the Yan army, which had besieged Jinyong City day and night for twenty days, finally stopped the siege when a heavy snow fell.

The stop was not because of the snow, but because reinforcements from the Tang army had arrived.

(End of this chapter)