Lin Zhengtai's boat slowly docked at Wuchang Wharf. A boatman boarded the boat board. Lin Zhengtai walked out of the cabin. Changsun Wuji, who had been waiting on the shore, hurriedly greeted him, "Welcome the eldest son to come. Changsun Wuji, under the order of His Highness Qin, come to welcome the eldest son."

"So it's Changsun Changshi, I've been revered for a long time!"

The two exchanged a few greetings, and Changsun Wuji asked Lin Zhengtai to get on the carriage. The carriage quickly drove into the city. In the carriage, Changsun Wuji saw that Lin Zhengtai was worried, so he asked with concern: "But the Sui army has started attacking?"

Lin Zhengtai shook his head, "The Sui army has not yet moved, but there are some troubles at home, so it's better not to mention it!"

"When the enemy is in front of a great enemy, external troubles often trigger internal troubles, so internal troubles and external troubles always occur at the same time. For this reason, don't take it too seriously. If external troubles disappear, internal troubles will naturally disappear."

Lin Zhengtai smiled bitterly. His father had decided to destroy himself. This could not be eliminated by eliminating external troubles. However, he could not tell outsiders such family affairs, so he could only smile bitterly, "Thank you for your concern."

Soon, the carriage entered Wuchang City and came to Li Shimin's temporary residence. Li Shimin had been waiting at the gate for a long time and came to the gate to greet Lin Zhengtai as Li Shimin. This was undoubtedly a low-key attitude, but there must be something in the wrong way. This old saying applies to Li Shimin. Li Shimin had long taken a fancy to a major resource of Lin Shihong.

The King of Qin personally went out to greet Lin Zhengtai a little flattered. He followed Li Shimin into the lobby with a smirk, and didn't even know where his hands should be placed.

Li Shimin asked Lin Zhengtai to sit down and had someone come to tea again. He asked with concern: "Young Master is safe on the road!"

"The road was very smooth, thank you for your concern."

Lin Zhengtai didn't have much greeting, so he went straight to the topic, "The Sui army has destroyed Meng Haigong and is about to attack Chu State in large quantities. His Highness had promised to send troops to help us fight against the Sui army together, but the Tang army has not been moved so far. My father asked me to ask the reason, has your Highness changed his mind again?"

Li Shimin smiled slightly, "Although I am not a wise word, I will at least not be untrustworthy. Frankly speaking, we are waiting for the arrival of Bashu fleet, otherwise my army will not be able to cross the river. I am also very anxious. Once the Sui army destroys you, it will seriously affect our plan to fight Xiao Xian in the east. Please rest assured that our interests are completely consistent."

"I wonder when the Bashu fleet will arrive?"

"I can't tell you this, but there is no news of the fleet leaving Yiling yet. I estimate that it will take at least ten days. If the fleet is still transporting grain in Bashu, it will take a month later."

Lin Zhengtai's heart suddenly became cold. A month later, the Chu State had long been destroyed. At this time, he had a plan in his mind. If it really didn't work, let the Chu State fleet transport the Tang army. However, this was not a decision he could make. He had to ask his father. Lin Zhengtai pondered for a moment, then turned around and asked, "Is there any other difficulties in your superiors besides the ship?"

Li Shimin pretended to be distressed and said, "There is also insufficient food. Jiangxia's grain storage can only last for us for one month. If you can provide us with 50,000 stones of grain, then things will be much easier. Of course, if the eldest son is in a dilemma, I will pretend that I didn't say this."

It turned out to be for food. Lin Zhengtai breathed a sigh of relief. Although they didn't have much food, they could still take out 50,000 stones of food. He could make the decision on this matter. He was about to agree, but suddenly remembered the news he heard before leaving. His father was about to abolish his identity as a prince, and the fire of pain in Lin Zhengtai's heart began to burn again.

He restrained his inner anxiety and nodded, "I'll go back to report to my father now. I think it's not a big problem if there is 50,000 shi of grain. We will definitely answer as soon as possible."

Lin Zhengtai said goodbye and walked over. Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji came to the top of the city. Looking at the ships moving far away from the river, Changsun Wuji asked in a low voice: "Do your highness think they will agree?"

"I know Lin Shihong's principle is to never use warships to carry other people's troops, but if it is critical, he should not care about these principles. Let's wait patiently!"

"That's all."

At this time, Li Shimin frowned and said, "Send another letter to Xiangyang and ask the old general Qu to send someone to Yiling to see, why has the Bashu army not come out yet?"

There was an unconcealable worry in Li Shimin's eyes. He knew Li Xiaogong and never delayed the fighter plane. It was probably because he encountered something unexpected. Could it be—

Li Shimin remembered the fire in Junyang County

Li Shimin's concern was not redundant. Li Xiaogong's army had been blocked in Zigui County for thirteen days. Zigui County was the last pass of the Three Gorges. On the left is a cliff, and on the right is still a cliff a hundred feet deep. Below is the surging Yangtze River, with rapid water flows. Zigui County is the only way to guard this cliff. The official road on the cliff is only 300 steps wide, and the city wall is tall and solid. It is a veritable dangerous pass, and one man can't open it.

Liu Lancheng led 900 warriors to stick to this dangerous city. Thirteen days have passed. After more than twenty fierce sieges and defense battles, the Sui army suffered nearly 300 casualties, but Zigui City still stood firm, making it difficult for the Tang army to overcome.

"Dong!Dong!Dong!"

The sound of the Tang army's war drums sounded again on the Three Gorges Ancient Road. Li Xiaogong waved his sword and said, "Roar up!"

The city is narrow and long, with a short three hundred steps of the city wall that can only allow two thousand people to attack. This is also the place where Li Xiaogong hates it to the core. He has an army of 50,000, but he cannot use his strong military strength. He was blocked by hundreds of Sui troops for thirteen days, which has become a great humiliation for him. If it is spread, wouldn’t it make people all over the world laugh at it?

Two thousand elite Tang troops rushed up like a tide. Their siege ladders were very rough and were temporarily made from woods. The 50,000 Tang troops were just elite troops, and all the food, grass and supplies were transported out of the Yangtze River by boat. But what made Li Xiaogong even more worried was that they had been in Zigui County for more than ten days and did not seem to have seen the fleet of Yiling County return. Did something happen to the fleet?

If this is the case, then things will be troublesome. They only transported 80,000 stones of grain, and a large amount of weapons and supplies had not yet been transported. Moreover, it took him nearly half a year to obtain the hundreds of large ships from the major ships in Shu. It was the key logistical support for his southern expedition. He did not want any problems with these ships.

Li Xiaogong was anxious. He wanted to put on his wings and flew to Yiling County to take a look, but he couldn't get through this Zigui County. Li Xiaogong was so anxious that he was so angry that he might have lost his fighting opportunity. How could he explain to the emperor?

"If you can't get the city, no one is allowed to come back. The second batch of crossbowmen will come to me!"

Li Xiaogong was ruthless. He had already killed 6,000 soldiers in order to capture the county town, but he did not feel sorry for him. He decided to attack day and night, but he did not believe that the hundreds of people on the other side were iron-clad.

Two thousand soldiers rushed to the city wall with shouts. The Sui army's arrows fell like raindrops and defended the city for more than ten consecutive days. The Sui army's own arrows had been exhausted, but they obtained a large number of arrows from the bodies of the soldiers who fell outside the city, which enabled them to maintain strong defense capabilities.

There were only 600 Sui troops on the top of the city, 220 people had been killed and more than 70 people were injured. This was also the most severe battle since the establishment of the Fenglei Army, but they were much better than the other party's 6,000 casualties.

The Sui army used military arrows, with heavy arrows, and they shot out with parabola, using their own gravity to fall, with extremely strong penetration and lethality, and ordinary shields could not reach them.

Rounds of soldiers and arrows shot out from the city. At this time, Liu Lancheng saw that the Tang army's arrow formation was ready, and immediately shouted: "Do not!"

Six hundred Tang troops hid under battlements. At this time, three thousand Tang troops arched and crossbowmen attacked the city, and arrows shot towards the city like rain. This tactic has been experienced countless times and is well aware of each other. The Sui army has already hid behind the wall. The arrow rain at the city has no killing effect, but it is different for the soldiers who attack the city. This is their chance to attack the city.
Chapter completed!