Chapter 519 Battle of Pingyang
The 160,000 Han troops assembled near Jinyang and marched south along the Fen River.

In August, we arrived in Pingyang.

The Han army camped along the banks of the Fen River north of Pingyang, built several pontoon bridges across the river and set up wooden fences to prevent fire attacks.

And then launched a strong attack on Pingyang.

The Han army attacked the city fiercely, and the newly built 100 stone-throwing machines smashed the top of the city wall. When Liu Xuanji saw the huge stone cannon falling on the top of Pingyang City, he realized that the battle report about the Tang army's attack on Xiangyang that he had read before was true.

It was indeed loud and powerful.

Li Huaizhen, the Prince of Zhao and the governor of Bingzhou in the Tang Dynasty who was guarding Pingyang, could only order his men to hide everywhere and wait until the Han army attacked the city like ants, and then let the soldiers come out to resist the enemy.

Li Huaizhen was surprised that the enemy had such a powerful catapult. A general of his level naturally knew how the Tang Dynasty captured Xiangyang and pacified the Western Wei Dynasty, so he immediately wrote to Li Sanlang to inform him of the matter.

This kind of national treasure was stolen by the enemy, which means that the court must have the enemy's disc. And facing the intensity of the Han army's attack, the original plan to use Pingyang to consume the enemy for several months must be a bit inconsistent.

If we don't come up with a countermeasure quickly, Pingyang will definitely not be able to be defended.

As soon as he arrived in Hedong, Li Sanlang saw Li Huaizhen's memorial and his face immediately became solemn. Pingyang was of great strategic significance. If it fell into the hands of the enemy, the consequences would be disastrous.

Although the jade disk is still there, the Tang Dynasty is aiming to take over Bingzhou this time.

After a brief thought, Li Sanlang ordered the 80,000 troops that had already arrived in Hedong to assemble and head north to Pingyang.

If Pingyang fails to deplete the enemy's forces and is in danger of being lost, then we will abandon the original plan and engage in a decisive battle with the enemy outside the city of Pingyang.

In addition, Li Sanlang also wrote a letter to Li Si, hoping that Luoyang would send troops to Hebei as soon as possible to prevent the Northern Han from being able to take care of both ends.

Li Si had actually sent out troops. Although he was still in Luoyang, he had dispatched Li Heng and Huang Junhan to lead the army across the river to attack Liyang. He ordered Zhu Deyu and Xiao Shizhi to lead the Zuowu Guard as well as the Longjie Army and the Shence Army to attack the Qishui line.

The intensity of the battle was even not inferior to that of the Bingzhou battlefield.

Before August, the Han army had built thirteen garrisons between Fangtou and Chaoge, each garrisoning a thousand soldiers, forming a defense line along the Qi River.

Zhu Deyu led his army to force a crossing of the Qi River, and then built a pontoon bridge. He also ordered the Generals Hu Kuohai and Tang He to lead elite troops to attack the city. Within ten days, they captured seven garrisons.

And all the Han troops in the garrison were captured and killed.

Seeing this, Su Dingbian still stood firm in Fangtou. The defenders of other garrisons were all frightened and abandoned their garrisons and fled to Chaoge and Fangtou.

Zhu Deyu led a large army to besiege Fangtou, and then used the Shenji cannon to attack the Han army camp, cutting off the connection between Fangtou and Chaoge and Liyang, causing great panic to the Han army.

That is to say, Su Dingbian usually has the support of the soldiers and can still stabilize the situation at this time, but he also understands that Fangtou’s situation cannot be maintained for long.

Upon seeing this, Fu Hongzhi, the general stationed in Chaoge, led more than 10,000 elite soldiers out of the city, attempting to attack the flank of the Tang army and lift the siege of Fangtou.

However, they were blocked by the Tang army led by Xiao Shizhi after several attacks and had to retreat to Chaoge.

In the battle along the Qi River, the Tang army gained a great advantage.

Li Yuanhui was in Luoyang, but he never rushed to lead the main force to support, because he was also a little hesitant and hesitant.

"Although we have gained an advantage along the Qishui River, the Han army can still hold on. If we send out a large army, we can only gather at Yecheng. However, Yecheng is a strong city with high walls and tens of thousands of elite soldiers. Most importantly, the Han army can come back for support at any time through Fukou Pass, and can return in half a month at most. This will only lift the siege of Pingyang, and at most Your Majesty will go to attack Jinyang. Jinyang is also a strong city. If it cannot be conquered for a long time, the low morale will make it easier for the thieves to take advantage of it." After listening to Li Si's statement, Li Qinglian asked tentatively, "Does the king want to lead the main force of Luoyang to rush to the Pingyang battlefield and defeat the main force of the Northern Han in one fell swoop? Then, taking advantage of the great victory, cooperate with the Guanzhong army to take Jinyang?"

Li Si nodded, "Yes, I think this Pingyang battle is likely to determine the fate of our Tang Dynasty and Northern Han."

The Zhonglang official said: "We can gather the best troops from Guanzhong and Luoyang to fight the Northern Han in Pingyang. It's a bit..."

Li Si smiled and said, "Go for broke?"

Gao Kan didn't say anything, but nodded.

"What you said makes sense, but there is no perfect plan. Whether the elite troops of Luoyang go to Pingyang or not, this battle will change the situation. At this time, if we still want to hold back, wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse? If we don't go all out at this time, are we still waiting for Liu Xuanji to lead the army to the city of Luoyang and then fight him to the death?"

After these words, no one could refute whether the decision to send troops to Pingyang was correct.

But the Central Protector Zhao Jiong said: "Your Majesty wants to rush to Pingyang to help, of course, but His Majesty may not agree with your idea, it is better to report it first."

Li Yuanhui raised his eyebrows when he heard this, thinking that Zhao Er was indeed a master of politics and understood people's hearts very well.

But what he said was really correct. It can be said that he had a good grasp of people's hearts. He couldn't just lead the army there directly, because that would be a mess. It might even cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

So Li Yuanhui immediately wrote a letter to Li Sanlang, telling him his thoughts and expressing his willingness to lead 50,000 elite troops to rush to Pingyang battlefield to defeat the Northern Han in one fell swoop. Then he ordered someone to quickly send it to the emperor's residence in Bingzhou.

Li Sanlang has led his troops to Pingyang, and Pingyang has finally turned from danger to safety.

The Han army retreated ten miles, dug trenches, and built camps to confront the Tang army.

"The Han army has dug deep trenches and high ravines. It seems that they are prepared for a long-term confrontation. I see that Liu Xuanji's method of setting up camp is somewhat similar to Silang's arrangement."

Li Sanlang personally led a group of generals to observe the battle. They saw that the Han army's camp was almost impeccable, and there was almost no room for maneuver in attacking. The construction specifications and the distribution of various defensive fortifications were very similar to the Tang army's camping method.

The Tang army's method of building camps and fortifications was almost entirely devised by Li Yuanhui, the master of mobile defense.

Zhongshu Shilang Zu Junyan said: "Han Lord Liu Xuanji and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi are old friends. I have heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi once taught Han Lord the art of war. Now that I see it, I think the rumors are true."

Although these words did not express an explicit accusation, their implications were so sinister that Li Sanlang even frowned when he heard them.

Zhao Jun Wang Li Huaizhen asked, "Minister Zu, do you want to say that Liu Xuanji was taught by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?"

Zu Junyan smiled and said, "That's not a bad idea."

Li Huaizhen said angrily, "This is ridiculous. Liu Xuanji, the ruler of Han, was friends with the King of Qi in the past, and he also performed the etiquette of a junior in front of the emperor. Emperor Taizong once said that Liu Xuanji was a man of great talent, and Your Majesty also said that Liu Xuanji's military skills were as good as Guangwu's. Liu Xuanji once served as a general under my father, and he married my daughter. According to Minister Zu, this Liu Xuanji is a member of the royal family of the Li Tang Dynasty who is being used to embarrass the Tang Dynasty?"

Zu Junyan's face changed color when he heard this. "Your Majesty, you are too serious. I have no such intention. I just heard that the King of Qi and the Lord of Han had a deep friendship in the past, so I must understand his character and how he uses troops. If the situation is at a stalemate now, it would be better to ask for advice from His Majesty the King of Qi."

Although Zu Junyan is usually trusted by Li Sanlang, he still has to avoid the edge of Li Huaizhen, an important member of the royal family.

Li Huaizhen did not pursue the matter further after hearing this. He actually had no intention of confronting the emperor's favorite. But the implication of Zu Junyan's words was indeed somewhat sinister. If this rumor was allowed to spread, then Li Huaizhen's uncle was Liu Xuanji's father-in-law, the Queen of Northern Han was Li Huaizhen's cousin, and even his cousin Li Xiaochang surrendered to Northern Han during the Battle of Baigou, and now he holds a high position in Yecheng. If even the status of King Qi Li Yuanhui was questioned for his old friendship with Liu Xuanji, how should Li Huaizhen's clan deal with it?

And in Li Huaizhen's opinion, you, an outsider, are really rebelling against the Heavenly Gang by using this to accuse the King of Qi.

(End of this chapter)