Chapter 516: North First, South Later
On the city wall of Jinyang, Liu Xuanji suddenly stood up, facing south, with a very firm tone.

The Han Dynasty wanted to unify the Central Plains, but it faced powerful enemies both in Luoyang and Chang'an.

Compared with the Han Dynasty, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was much higher, especially after the conquest of Jingzhou.

Even if we give the Tang Dynasty another three or two years, after completely digesting Jingzhou, they will go straight down the Yangtze River to Jiangdong.

By then, the Northern Han Dynasty, which occupied the three states of Hebei, would not be able to catch up with the Tang Dynasty in terms of national strength. So Liu Xuanji now felt a sense of urgency. Time was not on his side. He had to break the deadlock as soon as possible, otherwise the Northern Han Dynasty would have no chance.

At the same time, Li Er, who was a dozen years younger than him, passed away, which was still a shock and a touch to him. Things are unpredictable, who knows how long he can live?

Is it necessary to leave such tough opponents as the Li brothers to his son Liu Chengyou to deal with?

The reason why Luoyang in the Central Plains was not chosen as the place to break the deadlock was because the Han Dynasty had never gained any advantage in the years after its founding, and all it had been were defeats.

The aftermath of the Battle of Baigou had long since dissipated, and now the soldiers of the Northern Han felt their calves cramping when they heard place names like Heqiao, Mangshan, and Luoyang.

Because I lost too much.

Liu Xuanji and Li Yuanhui had discussed this issue a long time ago when they were discussing military affairs. But if you lose too many battles in one place, the army will have a psychological shadow, which will lead to a loss of momentum before the battle.

So this time, no matter how difficult it was to capture the two strong cities of Pingyang and Yubi, Liu Xuanji decided to focus his main attack on Bingzhou.

On the second day, Liu Xuanji convened everyone to discuss the matter again. This time, he made a direct decision and directly clarified the strategic direction, which was to attack Hedong.

Seeing that the emperor was so determined, everyone knew that there was no need to persuade him and they should just prepare to send troops.

After the emperor left, Wang Sizheng and Liu Changmin surrounded Yang Kan. They all knew that His Majesty had talked to Yang Kan for a long time yesterday, and they must have been related to this decision.

However, Yang Kan shook his head repeatedly and talked about the general situation of yesterday. There was no need to hide it from anyone, because there was a record of what the emperor said.

After hearing this, Wang Sizheng said, "Under the current circumstances, it is indeed not easy to go to Hedong and Henei. Since His Majesty has made the decision, we can only do our best."

Of course, Liu Xuanji was only a vanguard this time and did not directly lead the main army to fight in person.

But the next task left for Liu Changmin, Wang Sizheng, Yang Kan and others is heavier. From now on, Jinyang has to collect food and fodder, prepare supplies, plan the marching route, and prepare the garrisons for the troops when they arrive in Taiyuan County, among other heavy tasks.

The intelligence master Wei Xiaoju, after asking for permission to go to Huguan, returned to Jinyang and brought a generous gift to Liu Xuanji.

"Is this the blueprint of the Shenji Cannon?" Liu Xuanji said with great surprise.

He had read the battle report and knew that the Tang army used a new type of catapult to smash the defenses of Xiangyang, Fancheng, Jiangling and other strong cities one after another. It had a long range and great power.

Liu Xuanji had always entrusted the intelligence work on the Tang Dynasty to Wei Xiaoju, and Wei Xiaoju's intelligence was always timely and critical.

This time, they even got a great gift, including the manufacturing drawings of the Shenji Cannon. This meant that the Han army had more confidence when facing the Tang army's strong city.

Liu Xuanji immediately ordered Wei Xiaoju to lead his men to Jiexiu, south of Jinyang, to secretly start trial production. He himself returned to Hebei after giving instructions on military affairs. The main force of the Han army, the Weifu Army, was almost all stationed in Hebei, and it was necessary to gather troops before using them.

The troops in Hebei began to gather, with Hanoi being the first to be hit, and Li Yuanhui in Luoyang city soon found out.

After resolving internal adjustments and personnel appointments, Li Yuanhui has recently been discussing strategies against the Eastern Wei with his generals and subordinates.

This doesn't mean that we have to launch an expedition immediately, but we should always have a plan.

If anything unexpected happens in Eastern Wei, maybe we can seize the opportunity and defeat it in one battle.

But the Northern Han was ready to make a move, so Li Yuanhui had to put all current affairs aside. The Eastern Wei was a minor problem, while the Northern Han was the real threat.

Every move in the north must be taken seriously. After reading the intelligence, Li Yaoshi said, "Your Majesty, the Northern Han is gathering troops now, probably to attack Hedong."

Li Yuanhui asked: "Why do you think so?"

Pharmacist Li said, "On the way to the palace today, I heard several foreign merchants say that the price of grain in Bingzhou has increased by 30%."

Dugu Ying also echoed: "In the past few days, several merchants who wanted to sell silk cloth to Bingzhou were arrested along the Yellow River."

Li Yuanhui was surprised when he heard this. Bingzhou? Is Liu Xuanji going to attack Hedong?
With a wave of his hand, an attendant immediately brought over the high stand with the map hanging on it. Li Yuanhui looked at the Fen River in Jinyang, Pingyang, Yubi and then Hedong. How many people would have to die before the Northern Han could retreat to Hedong?
If they did not take the Fenshui River, they would have to take the rugged Wenxi Road to enter Hedong. Transporting food by land was very costly and the road was rugged and difficult to travel.

So taking the water route is definitely the first choice.

The defense of Hedong had little to do with him. It was the jurisdiction of Zhaojun Wang Li Huaizhen, so he didn't need to worry about it.

What Li Yuanhui needs to consider is whether he can take this opportunity to launch a northern expedition, which is closely related to him.

However, as for the Northern Expedition, everyone still prefers the Southern Expedition in their hearts, because it may be easier.
Of course, what they said was: "Where the king's military orders are directed, we, the warriors, will lead our troops."

Li Yuanhui did not intend to send out troops immediately. He still wanted to rest and recuperate this year. But if there was a real opportunity, he would not let it go.

As for the Guanzhong direction, Chang'an also received some intelligence belatedly that troops were gathering in Hebei and grain was gathering in Bingzhou, which meant that troops were about to be dispatched.

Li Sanlang had never thought of sending troops in the first year of his reign as emperor.

The entire Guanzhong Weifu Army has just completed its reorganization and reorganization, and the six current Weifu in Guanzhong have been completely controlled.

The private letter written to him by the King of Qi arrived at almost the same time as the military intelligence from Hedong. All the circumstances indicated that the Northern Han was preparing to use military force against the Tang Dynasty for two consecutive years.

This is urgent.

In Taiji Hall, Li Sanlang also looked at the map, muttering: "Pingyang, Yubi"

Right now, he is a little hesitant.

As the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, every move he made needed to be carefully considered. This relationship was not just about the gains and losses of a city or a place.

Although Li Sanlang integrated all the eighteen scholars of the past into the court, as well as a group of Jin Wangfu's hidden staff, he actually preferred to make decisions on his own most of the time.

What Li Sanlang was struggling with and hesitant about was the issue of whether the Tang Dynasty would move south or north next.

Last year's attack on the Western Wei Dynasty now seems like a gamble. If it were not for his brother and younger brother who respectively withstood the pressure from three directions, maintained the general stability, and fully supported his military operations, it would have been impossible for the Western Wei regime, which had existed for more than a decade, to be destroyed in March.

Now, the remaining powerful enemies of the Tang Dynasty are one in the south and one in the north, Northern Han and Eastern Wei.

Needless to say, the Northern Han Dynasty dominated Hebei. The Eastern Wei Dynasty also ruled Jiangdong for more than ten years. Neither of them could be destroyed overnight.

At the beginning of the year, the fourth brother, the King of Qi, entered Chang'an, and the two brothers discussed the question of whether to go south first and then north, or north first and then south.

But the two brothers did not reach an agreement. It was not that the two had too big a disagreement, but they both felt that it was not appropriate to act rashly in the face of the current situation, and wanted to stabilize the situation before making any plans.

Now that the Northern Han was preparing to attack the Tang, this was an opportunity. Should we attack from both sides and defeat the Northern Han at once? Or should we just hold on in the north, defend the various strategic points to maintain the current situation, and first defeat the Eastern Wei in the south?

If you want to pacify the Northern Han, advancing from Luoyang is an upward attack, and you have to be careful about Shangdang. A better strategy is to take Jinyang first and gain a commanding position over Hebei.

Li Sanlang seemed to have made some kind of decision. He stood up, took a pen and walked to the map, circling Jinyang.

(End of this chapter)