Chapter 485: North-South attack
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, various states began to harvest and at the same time accelerated the process of assembling troops.

Each county issued a special administrative order, asking grassroots officials to urge local governments to let able-bodied men from the same village and township take the lead in helping families with soldiers to complete the autumn harvest first, so as not to affect the autumn harvest and the army's assembly, allowing the two activities to proceed simultaneously.

The 8,000 troops of Qingzhou were gradually assembled and boarded ships in batches to set out from the Yellow River, preparing to gather by water to Huaibei and western Henan.

Li Yaoshi led 3,000 people all the way to Xingyang, where they replenished their weapons and food supplies. The team made a temporary rest, while Li Yaoshi continued to travel east, passed Hulao Pass, and rushed to Luoyang overnight.

Entering Changchun Hall in the palace, Li Yaoshi met the King of Qi whom he had not seen for four years.

In the eyes of Pharmacist Li, the thirty-year-old Li Yuanhui didn't seem to have changed much from a few years ago, and the first sight of him made people feel like spring breeze.

There was food on the table in the hall. Li Yuanhui said, "General Li has been very tired all the way. I'm sure he didn't have time to eat. Please share some with me."

It was almost noon. Pharmacist Li had been traveling all night and all morning, sleeping in the open air, and was indeed a little hungry. He knew that Li Yuanhui was a generous person, so he did not refuse. "Thank you, Your Majesty. In this case, I will not be polite."

After saying this, he waited for Li Yuanhui to sit down before sitting opposite him. A eunuch came over to add more food to Pharmacist Li.

As the lord of the seven states of Guandong, with tens of millions of people and hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, he was only one step away from the supreme position. However, Li Yuanhui's lunch was very simple, with four dishes and one soup, both meat and vegetarian. But they were all ordinary meals. Because of the arrival of Pharmacist Li, two more dishes were added later.

Pharmacist Li felt deeply moved that the King of Qi was so frugal despite his high position. When he heard that he wanted to add more dishes, he quickly refused and said it was not necessary.

Li Yuanhui smiled and said, "If we don't add more, these four dishes won't be enough for the two of us."

The two chatted while eating. Li Yuanhui asked about the situation of Li Pharmacist's family, and Li Pharmacist answered truthfully.

Li Yuanhui had two bowls of rice and had almost finished his dishes. Only then did Pharmacist Li realize that the King of Qi was not being polite to him. Four dishes were not enough as the portion on each plate was not that much.

After dinner, he followed Li Yuanhui to the study. Standing in front of the map, the two began to talk about business.

"More than two months ago, I returned to Chang'an and made a general plan with my two brothers, the Crown Prince and the King of Jin, to capture Jingzhou and destroy the Western Wei. To this day, Shuzhong, Guanzhong, including Luoyang and the Central Plains, the entire Tang Dynasty is preparing to conquer the Western Wei, striving to win the battle in one go."

"But I also know that a war to destroy a country is not easy. Cao Xuan of the Western Wei Dynasty is not simple. He has been entrenched in southern Jing for more than ten years and is quite popular. So this war may not end in the short term. We must be prepared for a protracted war. Therefore, I plan to appoint my fifth brother Zhiji as the governor of Qingzhou. I hope the pharmacist will not think too much about it."

Upon hearing this, Pharmacist Li immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. Although I have been guarding Qingzhou for several years, I dare not regard Qingzhou as my own. If the Executive Governor has any appointment, I will have no objection."

Li Yuanhui nodded, very satisfied with Li Yaoshi's attitude. Before, he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief, which showed his trust. Now that he is leading the army to fight, it is only natural to appoint a governor of Qingzhou. Speaking of this to him here is naturally to give him face.

"This battle is of great importance. In addition to the Zhenrong Army of Qingzhou, Yanzhou, South and North Yuzhou, and Xuzhou, there are 20 Zhechongfu in Luoyang. They are the troops I have just trained. You will be in charge of them. Xu Qiande, you also know that this time I want to know whether this new army can fight!"

Pharmacist Li understood immediately that this was telling him not to hesitate and to use it as it should be used.

"You will finally understand."

"Although you and Lu Zhennan are both detachments this time, don't have any doubts. Everything comes first. My third brother and I have also told you that Xiangyang is a strong city and is protected by the Han River. It will take years to capture Xiangyang. But if you can break the deadlock here and make the people of Xiangyang waver, maybe you can end the war early. In short, don't have too many concerns. When you are on the battlefield, how the battle is conducted is up to you. I know that your Li Yaoshi is good at using troops. He can be compared with Han Bai, Wei Huo and others."

Upon hearing this, Pharmacist Li bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will never fail you in your trust."

"Hahaha, there's no need to be like that. General, you've been working hard for a long time. Go back and have a good rest. We'll set off tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting for General Li's victory report in Luoyang."

"I obey your command." After saying this, he bowed again, then stood up and left.

Li Yuanhui had high hopes for his own detachment. In the north, his third brother led a large army to tie down the main force of the Western Wei Dynasty. The two routes in the east could actually be regarded as one route. It was not difficult for him to achieve success.

Li Yaoshi, Xu Qiande, Fu Weixue, and a number of other potential famous generals, if they fail to produce any results, it means that the destiny is not with the Li Tang.

Here, Pharmacist Li had just left the main hall and had not yet walked out of the gate of Changchun Hall when he ran into Li Qinglian.

The two of them had worked together in the Tiance Mansion and were both from the Longxi Li family, so they had a pretty good relationship and therefore greeted each other.

But Pharmacist Li could clearly see that Li Qinglian had something urgent to do, so the two of them just exchanged a few words and Li Qinglian hurried away.

Pharmacist Li had some guesses in his mind, thinking that the Northern Han Dynasty must be taking some action.

It was probably that Liu Xuanji wanted to take advantage of the Tang Dynasty's conquest of Western Wei to march south.

The guess is correct, but not complete.

Seeing Li Qinglian hurriedly coming over with a few letters, Li Yuanhui sighed and said, "Qinglian, don't be anxious, sit down and talk. If I'm right, both the Eastern Wei and Northern Han will send troops, right? Although the Central Plains and the Huai River are rich, this is the most troublesome thing, a place of war on all sides."

Li Qinglian also smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty is really good at predicting things. Jiangdong is buying large quantities of food and grass, and has ordered that farmland should not be used to grow mulberry trees. Liu Xuanji of the Northern Han has ordered the army to assemble in Yecheng, but has not yet sent food and grass to Henei. This time the direction of the march may be to cross the river from Liyang and attack Yanzhou."

Li Yuanhui looked up and glanced at the map, then said: "The Northern Han used troops in Henei twice, but both were in vain, and the battle of Mangshan also resulted in heavy casualties. Liu Xuanji has figured it out, and wants to use troops in the heart of the Central Plains. This way, not only can he give full play to his military advantage, but it will also be more conducive to the cavalry's driving. It's a good plan..."

Li Qinglian said: "There are only a few places in the Yellow River where it is easy to cross. Why not send a large number of troops to garrison there to prevent them from crossing the river?"

Li Yuanhui shook his head and said, "The Yellow River is frozen for too long in winter. It's impossible to dig through such a long river, right? They will eventually find a place to cross the river. Rather than not knowing where to go, it's better to let them cross the river at Baima so that they can make some preparations in advance. The war is coming!"

Li Yuanhui had actually anticipated the Northern Han's military action when he and his two brothers were planning to take Jingzhou in Chang'an.

Therefore, the main forces of the Weifu Army in Luoyang and the surrounding areas, as well as the six Tiance armies, have all assembled.

Yanzhou Governor Li Xuandao also soon received a military order from the Tiance Palace, telling him three things.

First, collect food, second, recruit militia, and third, build fortifications and clear the fields.

During these years, Li Yuanhui relocated people from Yanzhou and Qingzhou along the Yellow River inland one after another, and then exchanged the land of military settlements for fields near the Yellow River.

Nowadays, there are military settlements and garrisons everywhere along the Yellow River, as if it were a border town. There are more than a dozen cities built along the Yanzhou line alone.

The Tang army could not see the Qiang and Hu people on the Yellow River, but they could see the Northern Han cavalry.

One of them is a minor illness, the other is a serious concern.

(End of this chapter)