Chapter 453: Two Tigers Must Stay Away from Each Other

In Luoyang City, because Li Yuanhui strictly blocked the news, the palace knew nothing about the battle situation on the front line.

All I know is that some time ago, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi led his army to defeat the Yan army in Mangshan, killed the Northern Yan governor Lou Daiwen in battle, beheaded thousands of people, and won a great victory.

During these days, the Yan army was attacking Jinyong City, but it seems that they have retreated.

As for the specific situation, not to mention the common people drinking mutton soup and eating sesame cakes on the streets, even the officials in the office were not clear about it.

But Luoyang was still there, and no Yan army appeared in the surrounding areas, which meant that the citadels around Luoyang such as Jinyong, Gongxian, and Yanshi were still under the control of the Tang army.

Luoyang would naturally be temporarily safe. As for the city gates of Luoyang, they were still open for a limited time every day to allow ships and vehicles carrying necessary supplies such as firewood, coal, and food to pass through.

Therefore, although there were some unrest inside and outside the city, and even occasionally heard all kinds of true and false news, in fact, life was not affected too much, and even the prices of official salt and grain, including cloth, did not rise significantly. Only firewood and charcoal did not rise, but now it was the New Year, and prices would rise a little at this time every year.

If the prices of these things do not increase, people will be too lazy to stock up. On the contrary, the more the prices increase, the more they buy.

In the palace, Li Yuan often sent people to the Xingtai to inquire about the war situation on the front line at the beginning, but the Xingtai Pushe Li Baishi who stayed behind always found ways to evade the envoys every time he faced them.

The general situation is, Your Majesty, please rest assured, the situation on the front line is relatively stable now, how is the people's livelihood in Luoyang, how many cases have been reported recently, and what military affairs are there? How can I know about military affairs?
Li Yuan even doubted whether Li Baishi really didn't know.

So he could only summon Zheng Guo, Gao Huang, Pei Ji and others to ask them about their opinions on the situation in Luoyang.

He was really worried.

After all, the Tang army lost miserably in the Battle of Baigou in Hebei. With hundreds of thousands of troops killed, why would they still want to do this?
He is now worried that Li Si can't handle it.

So he was very eager to know the military intelligence. In case Jinyong City could not be defended, he would just run back to Guanzhong.

If the fourth child can’t handle it, there are always the second and third children.

But the fourth brother didn't know if it was to guard against him, but there was no news at all. In order to feel at ease, he could only ask Gao Huang and Zheng Guo, two famous generals of the previous dynasty and generals with rich combat experience, to come and analyze the battle situation. This way he could at least feel at ease.

Although Zheng Guo and Gao Huang had never seen the military newspaper, they were both famous generals with rich experience in leading troops in battles and could hear something from the slightest rumor.

The two of them concluded in unison that Jinyong City was safe at the moment, and even with the arrival of reinforcements, they should be able to launch a counterattack in the next few days.

And His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi must have made preparations in advance, and asked His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to send troops from Hedong to contain the Yan army.
Li Yuan was skeptical, but after listening to the analysis of these two people, he felt much more at ease.

As for the King of Qi's family living in Changchun Hall, everything was normal.

The princess spent the whole day in the Buddhist temple, probably praying for the king. Concubine Zhang still lived in seclusion, occasionally went to visit her cousin Madam Zhang, but most of the time she came back with a bad face. Madam Cao did needlework every day, or summoned Madam Guo from the Left Guard General's family to talk. Madam Duan, who was pregnant, often ate snacks on the streets of Luoyang. The new Concubine Zheng often sent people out to buy rouge and powder. There was no disturbance in the Qi Wang Mansion. This invisibly reassured many people.

By the 13th day of the first lunar month, the festive season had already arrived. In previous years, there was no curfew on the 14th, 15th and 16th days in Luoyang, and the streets were filled with lanterns.

But this year, the nobles in Luoyang had no time to display lanterns as they were all waiting to see the battle situation in the north.

On this day, the Anxi Gate in the north of Luoyang suddenly opened, and then a rider with a flag shouted: "Great victory, great victory at Mangshan, the Yan army retreated"

Then the whole city began to get lively.

"The Yan army retreated? Well, I told you that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi would definitely defeat the northerners." Of course, there were many people who were wise after the event, whether they were common people or high-ranking officials, but more people simply cheered for this victory.

The news spread everywhere, including in the streets, alleys, government offices, and even the palace.

Murong Jiayin, who was chanting in the Buddhist temple, did not stop chanting when she heard the maid's report outside. Even though her hands began to tremble, she continued until she finished chanting. Then she let out a long breath and put her hands together, "Buddha bless you." Li Yuan, who was talking to Gao Huang, Zheng Guo, Pei Ji, and Dugu Huaiyi in the palace, was the first to see the battle report. He then let out a long breath and said to Gao Huang and Zheng Guo, "The two generals are really as good as gods. Silang held on to Jinyong City, and the northern barbarians attacked day and night for more than 20 days without being able to shake it. Sanlang personally led the army out of Chenguan, and Liu Xuanji did not cross the river. After the reinforcements arrived, Silang immediately sent out troops and defeated the northern barbarians. Now they have retreated, hahaha."

Li Yuan was very happy after hearing the news of victory. The thing he had been worrying about had finally been resolved.

After Zheng Guo and Gao Huang read the battle report one after another, they looked at each other and saw a hint of relief in each other's eyes.

Although the two have not held actual positions yet, their families are highly tied to the Tang Dynasty, especially the Zheng family, which has just established a marriage relationship with the Prince of Qi's Palace.

As for the Gao family of Bohai, although their ancestral home is in Jizhou, family members have already taken root in Luoyang and Chang'an for decades and have purchased properties there. Most of their family members are also in the two capitals, while Bohai only has side branches and members from other houses.

Therefore, the Gao family also hoped that the Tang Dynasty would win, especially since Gao Huang and Li Yuanhui actually had a very good relationship.

He had previously expressed his desire to have him take up a government post.

But he also knew that this possibility would only come after Li Yuanhui came to power, but now it seems that hope is growing.

After Li Yuan felt happy, he felt a little disappointed because he led an army of over 100,000 and was unable to defeat the enemy with twice the number of troops, including 70,000 or 80,000.

Sanlang and Silang together have only 70,000 to 80,000 men, which are enough to force back Liu Xuanji's 200,000 troops.

Although it is easy to attack and defend, the difference is obvious.

This made Li Yuan begin to doubt his own military skills. Was he really not as good as his sons, or even much worse?
The more I think about this, the more uncomfortable I feel. So I'll just stop thinking about it.

Li Yuan immediately announced that he would celebrate the Lantern Festival with the victorious soldiers and hold a banquet in the palace.

Naturally, no one would want to offend him in this matter.

After Li Baishi learned of Li Yuan's intention, he immediately said that he would arrange it right away and would make His Majesty satisfied.

This made Li Yuan very happy. After fighting for half his life, couldn't he enjoy himself at this age?
The residents of Luoyang, whether they were commoners or nobles, immediately began to prepare for the upcoming festival.

They even started preparing lanterns overnight, which made the lantern-making craftsmen complain bitterly, as the time was too tight. But when they saw the reward money given by the nobles, they knew it was okay and they would ensure that the lights at the door of your house would be lit on the Lantern Festival.

After cleaning up the situation on the battlefield, Li Yuanhui wrote a letter and asked someone to pass it to his third brother, inviting him to cross the river from Heyang and come to Luoyang to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

Li Sanlang asked a few of his trusted men to lead the army back to Hedong, and he himself came at the invitation and met Li Yuanhui in Mangshan.

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the two brothers entered the city together and went to the Taiji Palace to pay a visit to Li Yuan.

The father and his two sons feasted until late at night, when brothers Li San and Li Si said goodbye and left Taiji Palace.

The two walked side by side. The moon was very round and bright, making their shadows very long.

The majestic Luoyang Palace glowed brightly under the moon at night, and for a moment it gave off a sense of coldness and loneliness, making the two people in the palace feel as if they were in the White Jade Capital in heaven.

Li San looked at the scene in front of him and sighed: "Silang, you are really lucky. You can live in this place."

Li Silang said, "If Third Brother is willing, you can stay for a few more days, or you can move directly to Luoyang."

Li San laughed when he heard this, "Forget it, there can't be two tigers in one mountain, let alone a dragon."

(End of this chapter)