Chapter 493 As expected

The thief Liang Wu had a meal with Li Yuanhui and exchanged a few words with him, then he accepted the appointment as General Liyi without hesitation.

He also said, "If the king has anything to say, just tell us. If Liang Wu frowns, he is not a hero."

Murong Sanzang was very surprised by his change. After he left the room, he asked, "You were so reluctant to come here before, why are you so happy to see His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?"

Liang Wu said, "Back then, Lord Zhai was loyal and came to Juye Lake to find me, saying that he wanted to do something big, so I was willing to burn dragon boats with him and cause trouble for the old emperor. Now the King of Qi is more famous than Lord Zhai in the past, and he is willing to eat at the same table with me. What else can I refuse?"

Liang Wu returned to Juye Lake to gather troops. In fact, it was still a long way before he could attack the Hebei fleet.

Even Li Yuanhui did not force him to order when to attack, but asked him to act according to the circumstances. In the overall situation, he was just a spare piece, and no one expected him to play any role.

In the battle between the Northern Han and the Tang Dynasty, which had a total of hundreds of thousands of troops, if he hoped to rely on such an unconventional tactic, it can only be said that he had already lost at the temple planning level.

Li Qinglian's plan was fine. He avoided the enemy's sharp edge, lured the enemy deep into his territory, and waited for an opportunity to cut off their food supply. Regardless of whether it could be accomplished or not, the plan was to put himself in an invincible position first. This was what the Art of War said: Those who were good at fighting in the past first made themselves invincible, waiting for the enemy to be defeated. The invincibility lies in oneself, and the victory lies in the enemy.

It means that a person who is good at using troops to fight a war must first ensure that he will not be defeated by the enemy, and then wait for the opportunity to defeat the enemy. Not being defeated by the enemy depends on oneself, while defeating the enemy depends on the enemy's opportunity to take advantage of.

But war cannot be judged only by victory or defeat, but also by the pros and cons.

If the Han army was defeated and Yanzhou, Qingzhou and other places were devastated, even if the Northern Han army retreated, the Tang army would suffer a huge loss in overall national strength.

So although he tacitly agreed to the strategic concept proposed by Li Qinglian and his staff based on his usual military thinking at the military meeting at that time, he had been thinking about it in the past few days and how to implement this strategy.

Completely allowing the Han army to cross the river, and then withdrawing to the area around Xingyang and Hulao, stretching the enemy's front line and supply lines, and engaging in a war of attrition with the enemy.

The Han army had superior military strength and could easily send an army of about 100,000 to 80,000 to attack the vast areas of Qingzhou and Yanzhou.

In winter, the Tang navy could not play its role, and the rivers that could have been used as a defense support were all frozen, which made it easy for the Northern Han cavalry to gallop around.

Yanzhou, Qingzhou and even Yuzhou would be exposed to the Han army's horses, so Li Yuanhui made an unusual decision after discussing with Zhu Deyu, Chang Yanheng and a group of staff and after careful consideration.

It's better to fight at your house than at my house.

The war had caused such devastation to the local area that if they were allowed to come to Yanzhou, it would take at least three to five years for the area to recover.

The Central Plains region is destined to have no strategic location to defend, so you can only pile up heavy troops.

Although some of his orders were changed every day, which threw into doubt the previously decided combat plan, and even his usual combat style.

But Li Yuanhui felt it was worth it.

Everyone in the world probably thought that he would adopt a strategic retreat and clear the countryside.

But this time he chose to take the initiative and catch the opponent off guard.

Liang Wu's arrival and conversation with him did not actually involve strategic issues, but it indirectly prompted Li Yuanhui to make a decision.

When he returned to the hall again, Zhu Deyu and important civil and military officials including Chang Yanheng, Li Qinglian, Zhang Zhen'e, Zhao Jiong, Yu Zhongheng, Zheng Shandao, Huang Junhan, Chen Zhen, Liu Yuanqing and Jiang Yi were all there.

Li Yuanhui said, "We have discussed for several days the strategy of avoiding the enemy's sharp edge and luring the enemy deep into our territory, as Sima Li said before, and have already made some arrangements. But I just thought about it again. It is safer to retreat to Xingyang and Hugang, but in this way, Yanzhou, Qingzhou and other places will be exposed to the Northern Han army, and all the cultural governance since the Tang Dynasty recovered the Central Plains will be in vain."

"That's why I think it's better to fight the Northern Han in Hebei and keep the enemy out of the gate!"

"I have made up my mind. All the troops are preparing boats to cross the river and will march north today!"

It was so sudden that everyone was stunned when they heard it. But they all reacted quickly and responded one after another: "I will obey your orders."

Then everyone filed out, each going out to arrange tasks, prepare supplies for crossing the river, and replenish food and weapons.

Only a few aides remained in the hall.

Li Qinglian did not feel any dissatisfaction or shame because his strategic plan was overturned. Instead, he stepped forward and asked, "We will cross the river to the north to fight against the Han army. I wonder where the king plans to cross the river and where he plans to attack."

Li Yuanhui pointed directly at the map beside him and said: "The army will set out from Xingyang, board the ship from the Bian River, enter the Yellow River, and take Wude and Huaixian along the Qin River!"

"Also, order General Zhang Jian of the Right Guard to lead his 10,000 men to march north to the river bridge to intimidate the enemy in Hanoi."

Li Chunfeng, the secretary of the army, immediately began to draft the military order.

After confirming that Li Yuanhui had thought it through, the staff immediately began to re-formulate strategies.

The order of march, the marching plan, and where to replenish food and grass all needed to be worked out from scratch. In addition, ships needed to be urgently mobilized from all over. The Tang army had no shortage of ships, but it still took time to mobilize them.

At this time, Liu Xuanji's letter was also sent from Bai Ma by Li Xuandao.

After reading the letter, Li Yuanhui burst into laughter and then passed the letter to everyone to circulate.

The content of the letter was that Liu Xuanji invited Li Yuanhui to lead his army to Yanzhou, and the two sides had a battle to decide the winner. The letter also said, "But I also know that you, Li Si, like to stay in the fortress, but if you are unwilling to fight this time, then I will directly take your Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and you will guard Hulao and Xingyang."
Even if the main force of the Tang army did not send out troops, it would be impossible for the Han army to capture Yanzhou and Qingzhou in a short period of time.

This is the territory of two states, and there are an unknown number of Tang troops guarding it.

In recent years, the people under the Tang Dynasty have been relatively stable because of its benevolent policies. It can even be said that the people are on the side of the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, the Han army also had to divide more than half of its troops to confront and guard the Tang army.

So these are big words, but whether they can actually be achieved is another matter.

But what is certain is that even if the Han army was forced to retreat because its main force was unable to defeat the Tang army, all that would be left for the Tang would be a devastated Central Plains.

This was definitely unacceptable to Li Yuanhui. He now had nearly 200,000 soldiers, which was based on the fact that agriculture and economy in the Guandong states had returned to normal and there had been bumper harvests year after year. The previously devastated Central Plains could not support him in raising so many soldiers.

In a battlefield, tactics may determine the outcome in the short term, while in the medium term, strategy and whether the key steps are taken correctly are the key factors.

As for the long term, it depends on the country's strength, economy, and ability to generate revenue.

Liu Xuanji also calculated this accurately, so he wanted to force the Tang army to fight a decisive battle with him.

If the Tang army refused, he would directly start to consume the war potential of the Tang Dynasty. If the war started directly now, it would definitely be in the favor of the side with the advantage in military strength.

But as time goes on, we have to consider whether the resources accumulated by both sides are sufficient for long-term consumption.

After all, the Han army had nearly 200,000 soldiers, and the daily consumption was enormous.

However, Liu Xuanji did not expect that Li Yuanhui had decided to actively seek battle with the Han army before his letter arrived.

This wave has been installed again, which is definitely foresight.

(End of this chapter)