Chapter 4426 King Jin cherishes his life
The news that Li and Liu were defeated reached the Tai Chi Palace. Although the Wude Palace cheered and celebrated, the Zhaode Palace panic spread as if they had been struck by thunder.
Everyone knows that the ownership of the Xuanwu Sect means the final victory or defeat. Now that Li and Liu have returned in defeat, the Xuanwu Sect is firmly in the hands of the emperor. The emperor can naturally advance and attack, retreat and defend, and even in the worst case, he can lead Wude. The ministers, princes, etc. in the palace withdrew from Chang'an, and then plotted and made a comeback.
The most important thing is that Li and Liu were defeated, and An Yuanshou was dragged tightly at Xianyang Bridge, unable to advance even an inch, causing all parties in Guanzhong to suffer another severe blow. Under such a situation, who would dare to brazenly raise troops to take Chang'an?
Even if you dare to come, I'm afraid you will end up with the fate of An, Li, and Liu...
In this way, Li Jing outside Chunming Gate and Xue Wanche outside Mingde Gate can put aside all scruples and lead the army into the city to reinforce Wude Hall.
Not even a single Youtun Guard could bite down, which showed that although the rebels were outnumbered, they were all a mob. When the Sixth Army of the East Palace and the Youwu Guards entered the city one after another, how could the rebels still have half a chance of winning?
……
"Get my king's armor and come here!"
In the Zhaode Hall, Li Zhi was silent for a long time after hearing the news from the Xuanwu Gate, and then stood up suddenly. There was a strong wind and rain outside the window, and Li Zhi's face was full of determination.
"Your Highness, you can't do this!"
"How can His Highness, with his body of a thousand pieces of gold, be able to walk in battle formations and be willing to take extraordinary risks?"
Xiao Yu and others were shocked when they saw Li Zhi's expression, and quickly got up and tried to persuade him. His Highness has grown up with Emperor Taizong since he was a child. Although a gentleman has dabbled in all six arts, he is not incapable of tying a chicken, but he is only limited to showing off on horseback and archery in the school field. How can he lead the charge and lead the charge?
Li Zhi sighed and said in a sonorous tone: "The matter has come to this. Only by capturing Wude Palace before Li Jing and Xue Wanche enter the city can we have a chance of victory. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to wait until these two people lead their troops into the city to reinforce Wude Palace. They were completely defeated! The soldiers were exhausted from the long battle, so they were deeply disrupted by Fang Jun's army. Only I, the king, could personally go into battle to boost the morale of the soldiers and inspire the soldiers. Don't be angry, otherwise you just sit there and wait for death. You don't need to persuade me anymore. Even if you die in the army, it is better than being a prisoner and having to escape three feet of white silk and a glass of poisonous wine. The late emperor is a great hero and an emperor throughout the ages. The blood of the late emperor, even if he dies, he will be anointed and vigorous, and he will never die in a dark place, leaving the world to laugh at him!"
It's just that he talks about being impassioned and looking forward to death, but his heart is full of helplessness and sadness.
Who would want to die if he could live?
Once the army is defeated, even if Li Chengqian is hypocritical or sincere, he will definitely pardon his crimes, but his existence has endangered the imperial power. Even if Li Chengqian does not kill him for a while, how can he live a long life?
If nothing is done, the future outcome is almost foreseeable: after he was captured, the crowd was furious and wanted to punish him with death, and then Li Chengqian defied everyone's opinions to show his deep brotherhood, and then chose a place to imprison him, and finally he accidentally became involved again. Died violently...
Everyone is dead, so why not give it a try?
Xiao Yu took Li Zhi's hand and tried to dissuade her with earnest words: "Why are you so eager, Your Highness? Even if Li Jing and Xue Wanche come to the city for reinforcements, they must first capture Chengtianmen. There are still tens of thousands of Shandong private troops under Cui Gong. With the help of Chengtianmen, Convenient location It is enough to survive for a while, leaving plenty of time for the Prince of Jiangxia and the Duke of E to capture the Wude Palace. If anything happens to His Highness among the rebels, the morale of the army will be lost and morale will collapse in an instant, and it will be difficult to recover!"
During the Zhenguan Dynasty, Emperor Taizong treated him well. In the era when Changsun Wuji was dominating the world, Emperor Taizong consulted Xiao Yu on almost everything. He used the Jiangnan gentry as the basis for resisting the Guanlong clan, and the government vigorously tilted toward Jiangnan. , the development of Yunmengze and Wuyue areas benefited the Jiangnan gentry a lot.
Now that Emperor Taizong has passed away, Xiao Yu never wants to see Emperor Taizong's son die in the rebellion due to his injuries. This is his last act of conduct.
As for whether he was finally given death by Li Chengqian, that is another matter...
Li Zhi suddenly hesitated, his determination wavered, and felt that Xiao Yu's words were true. After all, before reaching the desperate situation, if he made another mistake and the army was defeated like a mountain, wouldn't it be extremely stupid?
Then he nodded and said: "The Duke of Song is calm and solid, which I cannot match. Just as the Duke of Song said, I am ready to go into battle at any time!"
Although his political talent is first-rate and he was praised by Emperor Taizong more than once and he was once wanted to be given important responsibilities, he grew up in the palace and has never experienced the hardships of killing and killing. Faced with the current chaos, he is really panicking.
The numbers of casualties were presented at every moment. In the past, these numbers were not worth mentioning in his eyes. All he cared about was victory or defeat. But now, countless living soldiers were lying dead in rivers of blood in an instant. Human lives were like a piece of grass. The cruelty made him tremble all over.
Although he mustered up his bloody courage and wanted to fight to the death, but at this moment he changed his mind, the bloody courage quickly dissipated, and he gradually became afraid. If he rushed out impulsively, the consequences would be extremely unpredictable. If he rushed into the enemy's formation, At that time, he fell deeply into it, and then he was brutally attacked by axes and knives, and his body was cut into pieces with random blades. He was even trampled on by people and horses, leaving no trace of his body...
Li Zhi shivered and broke into a cold sweat.
After calming down, he took a deep breath and said to Chu Suiliang: "Quickly go and summon the King of Jiangxia County and the Duke of E. We must capture the Wude Palace at all costs before Li Jing and Xue Wanche enter the city!"
He was also a little unbelievable about the current battle situation. The Youtun Guards currently had less than 20,000 soldiers and horses, but they actually blocked Li Daozong and Yuchi Gong, who were many times more powerful, and defended the Wude Hall impregnably. What kind of combat power is this?
This is because the firearms lost their power due to heavy rain. If the firearms can be used normally, wouldn't the right guard be able to equal ten with one?
"Here!" Chu Suiliang agreed, and hurried out the door to convey the order of the King of Jin to the captain. The captain then rushed to the battlefield. Chu Suiliang then turned back and sat back down, looking calm on the face, but actually worried.
He was coerced by Xiao Yu to write that "confession", which was tantamount to renunciation of His Majesty. If King Jin was defeated and he fell into His Majesty's hands, how could he survive? But the current situation is extremely unfavorable to King Jin. Maybe the army will be defeated in an instant. What should I do then?
The only hope for returning to His Majesty's camp and getting forgiveness is for Xiao Yu to tear up the "confession". However, Xiao Yu is also a guilty person on His Majesty's side. What if this old thief wants to protect himself? What if we throw him out and take credit?
He was described as a traitor who helped the tyrants commit crimes, smearing His Majesty's reputation to gain an opportunity to get close to the King of Jin. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, worked as a thief with good intentions and was loyal to find the opportunity to obtain the "Confession" and return to His Majesty...
This is not Chu Suiliang's evil intention. In fact, with that "confession", he can be sure of Li Zhi's crime and clear His Majesty's innocence. This is an extremely important step for Xiao Yu to restore his status with Your Majesty. In comparison, what does it mean in Xiao Yu's eyes?
Chu Sui's conscience was in turmoil, and he looked up at Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu also turned back to look at him. The two looked at each other, and they both understood each other's concerns and worries.
However, Xiao Yu had no expression on his face and turned to discuss the current situation with Li Zhi in a low voice.
Chu Suiliang's heart slowly sank like an abyss, and his whole body was cold...
*****
Under the leadership of Fang Jun, the armored cavalry rushed left and right, going back and forth in circuitous ways, attacking the rebel positions arbitrarily, never stopping at a certain place. Such a torrent of armor brought huge psychological pressure to the rebels even more than the casualties. more deadly, especially in When roaming the battlefield, they will never be too far away from the heavily armored infantry. Whenever the rebels mobilize their forces to surround the heavily armored infantry, the armored cavalry will charge in and defeat the gathered rebels. They surrounded the heavily armored infantry and then walked away.
This kind of guerrilla tactics is flexible and can advance and retreat freely. Although it cannot defeat the main force of the rebels, it has a huge impact on the situation of the entire battlefield.
Yuchi Gong looked at the armored cavalry who once again defeated him in besieging the heavy armored infantry and then walked away. His eyes were red and he cursed angrily: "Mother!"
Fang Jun did not give him a chance to fight to the death, and rushed away. Not only was he unable to mobilize heavy troops to continue the attack on Wudemen, but he also had to pay attention to the main force of the Chinese army not to be penetrated by its surprise attack and threaten Zhaode Palace. It’s really a helpless situation and a dilemma.
"Come here, give me the order, ignore the heavy armored infantry, gather your troops and storm Wude Palace!"
This means ignoring the raid and intrusion of the armored cavalry and using human lives to fill in the Wude Palace. If the armored cavalry dares to stop and kill the soldiers, then swarm them and surround them, and they will be exhausted; if they still make a surprise attack, If the wave is gone, then let it come and go and continue to storm Wude Palace.
At this point in the war, it no longer mattered whether the casualties were serious or not. As long as there was still one soldier left, Wude Palace must be captured. Otherwise, when Li Jing and Xue Wanche entered the city, they would only face disaster.
The armored cavalry is well-armed, and its strong defense also means a load far beyond the normal level. Even if each cavalry is carefully selected and strong, it is impossible to guarantee a long-term combat status. It's like landslides sweeping the world, but when both men and horses are exhausted, they must conserve their strength after each charge.
Fang Jun's strategy of cruising and raiding indeed suppressed the battlefield situation, but this strategy could not last long. It still depends on whether Li Jing and Xue Wanche can enter Chang'an before the fall of Wude Palace.
As for the heavily armored infantry, although they are brave and unparalleled, their mobility is too poor after all, and they need to be protected by armored cavalry, otherwise they will easily fall into the siege.
Yuchi Gong personally led his troops to the damaged Wudemen gate, and while preparing for another raid by the armored cavalry, he continued to attack fiercely.
The defenders of Wudemen had long been exhausted and seriously attrited. Now facing the strong attack of the main force of Yuchi Gong's Chinese army, they were suddenly surrounded by dangers and precarious situations. (End of chapter)