In the big tent, Yang Yuanqing was listening to the report of the chief of Hanoi County Yang Yi. Yang Yi was also a member of the Sui Dynasty and knew who he should be loyal to. He bowed and said, "The Empress Dowager is very satisfied with the various conditions in the palace and has settled down and has no objection. Thank you very much for your arrangement."

Yang Yuanqing pointed a little. In his impression, Empress Xiao was mean and narrow-minded, but after suffering a disaster, her temperament began to change. Even a county magistrate was very polite, which shows her change. This is a smart woman, and such a woman is easy to deal with in the future.

"How is Changsun?" Yang Yuanqing asked again.

"Changsun was very silent, and seemed to be in a low mood. He didn't say a word from beginning to end. The lower-ranking official ignored him and the queen mother even scolded him for being rude."

Yang's low mood was as expected by Yang Yuanqing. It is understandable that he is the eldest grandson and the responsibility he shoulders is much greater than that of others. I hope he can recognize the situation and not do stupid things.

At this time, Yang Yi said again: "The Empress Dowager asked me to tell Your Highness that she wanted to have a good talk with Your Highness."

Yang Yuanqing smiled, "I've arranged a palace these days, thank you for your hard work. If you see the Empress Dowager again, I will say that the Sui army will launch the Luoyang Battle these days. I am very busy. If I have time, I will go to see the Empress Dowager and pay my respects to her."

"The official understands, please say goodbye!"

"Go!"

Yang Yi said goodbye and left. Yang Yuanqing pondered for a moment. He sat back in his seat and picked up Li Mi's alliance agreement. He had already talked with Fang Xuanzao, and the two sides basically reached a consensus.

However, this so-called alliance had no practical significance. Li Mi refused the request to attack the Tang army with the Sui army, and he also refused the request of the Sui army not to enter the Central Plains. Both sides avoided substantive issues. It should be said that this was just a polite alliance agreement.

But this kind of etiquette alliance is also necessary. At least the two sides have ended the hostility. There are many things that can be discussed. The two sides have changed from rigid confrontation to flexible confrontation. It is beneficial to Sui and Wei. Many times, sitting down to talk can solve the problem. After all, war is just a continuation of diplomacy.

For example, if the Sui army occupied Dongjun, if there was no such alliance agreement, a battle between the two sides was very likely to break out. However, with this alliance agreement, Yang Yuanqing could give Li Mi a face and make excuses, such as relieving disaster victims, defending against Dou Jiande, etc. In fact, the Sui army occupied Dongjun, but Li Mi could also explain to the soldiers, which was a tacit understanding.

Just as the Tang and Wei also signed an alliance agreement. Therefore, the Tang army could use the excuse of dealing with the Sui army to blatantly send troops to Yingchuan County. Their real purpose was to occupy the Central Plains.

Yang Yuanqing looked at these terms carefully again. The last one was that the Sui army was not allowed to support Chen Len in Jiangdu. This clause was a bit funny and a bit concealed. It was equivalent to implying that the Wei army wanted to seize Jiangdu. I wonder if there was this agreement between Li Mi and Li Yuan?

At this time, a personal soldier outside the tent reported, "Report to the Chief Executive. The patrolman found a ship beside the river. The person on the ship claimed to be the envoy of Wang Shichong. He came to ask for the Chief Executive and was waiting outside the camp."

Yang Yuanqing frowned slightly and asked again: "What's the name of the messenger?"

"It seems that it's Wang Renze."

It turned out to be him. Yang Yuanqing laughed with understanding, "Take him to see me!"

.........

This was Wang Renze's fourth time to see Yang Yuanqing. But it was also the most nervous time he was in. He didn't know if he could save Zheng State. Wang Renze followed the soldiers into the camp and waited in front of the deputy tent for a while. A personal soldier came out and said, "My lord invites you in."

Wang Renze was dark-skinned and strong, but he wore a white Confucian robe and a flat scarf on his head, which seemed a little out of character. He sorted out his clothes and quickly walked into the big tent. Inside the tent, Yang Yuanqing was sitting in front of the case to review the memorials. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed and said, "Wang Renze met His Highness the King of Chu!"

Although Wang Renze was named King of Tang, he was not comparable to Yang Yuanqing's King of Chu. He himself did not even have the courage to recognize his title. Of course, Yang Yuanqing would not recognize his title, let alone Wang Shichong's Emperor of One City.

"General Wang, it's been a long time since we saw each other, please sit down!"

Yang Yuanqing politely invited Wang Renze to sit down, and then his personal soldiers served tea. Then he asked with concern: "I wonder what the current situation of Luoyang is in the battle?"

Wang Renze sighed, "Zheng army lost two battles and lost more than 20,000 people."

"Why is this?"

Yang Yuanqing was a little puzzled, "As far as I know, part of your army is an elite soldier trained by my master, and the other part is the strong Jianghuai Army. Its combat effectiveness is quite strong. Why did he lose both battles?"

Wang Renze smiled bitterly, "This is really hard to describe. I will not hide it from His Highness the King of Chu. It is because the royal family interfered in too many military forces."

"Oh!" Yang Yuanqing's face showed a sudden enlightenment, "So that's the case. It seems that there is something wrong with King Zheng's employment."

As more and more conversations with Yang Yuanqing, Wang Renze's inner tension gradually relaxed. Although he was a general, he was as cunning and agile as Wang Shichong. He had already smelled a glimmer of hope in his Yang Yuanqing's attitude and tone.

In fact, when he was crossing the Yellow River, he saw a large ship covering the sky on the north bank. He knew that the Sui army would definitely send troops and would definitely not allow the Tang army to occupy Luoyang. So when will the Sui army send troops? This is the key to the entire battle situation, and this is what Wang Renze asked to go on an envoy to the Sui Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Wang Renze said in a very sincere tone: "Your Highness, the State of Zheng has always followed the Sui Dynasty with the leader of the Sui Dynasty and has always been loyal to the Great Sui Dynasty. Now the Tang army is coming in a large-scale attack, and Luoyang is in danger. I beg your Highness to save Luoyang in view of the fact that we have always followed loyally in the past. Otherwise, we are forced to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, which will make Luoyang a major concern for the Great Sui Dynasty."

Wang Renze's words of pleading clearly showed threats. If the Sui Dynasty refused to support Luoyang, they would surrender to the Tang Dynasty and make Luoyang a confidant of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Yuanqing's face changed and he said angrily: "Are you threatening me?"

Wang Renze was actually anxious and regretful after he said that. He immediately knelt down on his knees, cried and said, "Wang Nu would never dare to threaten Your Highness at all. The situation in Luoyang is really critical. We hope that the Sui army will be like a baby and hope for their parents. If Your Highness does not save each other, Luoyang will be over. I beg your Highness to send troops!"

Wang Renze begged hard, and his face was already full of tears. Yang Yuanqing's face calmed a little, and then he said: "It's not that I refuse to save King Zheng. The court opposes it very much. The ministers of the court all said that since ancient times, there is only one emperor in the world, and there has never been one emperor to save another emperor. This is my dilemma. As long as King Zheng can solve this problem for me, I will send troops immediately!"

This is the condition issued by Yang Yuanqing, requiring Wang Shichong to remove the emperor's title and restore Zheng Wang. Wang Renze sighed in his heart. Yang Yuanqing's condition is really not easy!

He wanted to say something, but when he saw Yang Yuanqing's sharp gaze and the uncontroversial decision, the last glimmer of hope in his heart was shattered. He had no choice but to agree: "I will immediately rush back to Luoyang and persuade the lord to remove the imperial title and submit to the Great Sui Dynasty. I only hope that Your Highness can keep his promise and send troops as soon as possible."

Yang Yuanqing said lightly: "If this is true, I will never go back on my word!"

.........

Wang Shichong received accurate information. King Li Shimin of Qin was in the camp next to Qingcheng Palace at the foot of Beim Mountain. The barriers of the Tang army had not been built yet. There were only 20,000 troops in the camp, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Wang Shichong finally failed to withstand this temptation and personally led a 50,000 army out in full swing. They crossed the Gushui River and entered the Qingcheng Palace Camp, launching a fierce attack on the Tang Army Camp.

At this time, the bonfire in Beimang Mountain was lit and the Tang army chiefs were seeking help from dozens of miles away. At the same time, Li Shimin arranged 5,000 crossbowmen in the camp, and then arranged 10,000 Xuan-armored light cavalry at the foot of Beimang Mountain. In addition, Yuchi Gong led 5,000 cavalry to cross the valley water and attack Wang Shichong's rear army.

After a full hour of war, Wang Shichong's army attacked the Tang army camp frantically, and encountered the tenacious resistance of the bow and crossbow army and the continuous attacks from the Tang army cavalry on both sides. There were corpses everywhere, but Wang Shichong seemed to be determined. No matter how heavy the casualties were, he must take down the Tang army camp. He had already seen Li Shimin in the military camp.

After paying the price of thousands of deaths, the Zheng army finally opened a gap and rushed into the Tang army camp. At this moment, ten thousand cavalry led by Tang general Zhai Changsun and Tang general Hou Junji suddenly arrived and galloped in scattered areas. Balls of dust were raised under the horse's hooves. They slashed with swords and spears, and started a fierce battle with Wang Shichong's elite Jianghuai army outside the camp.

This time, under the leadership of Wang Shichong, the Jianghuai Army had no longer the chaos of the previous two times. They advanced and retreated in a well-organized manner, fought bravely, and had a very sharp attack. The Zheng army took the lead in defeating Hou Junji's 5,000 cavalry, forcing Yuchi Gong's troops to give up the attack on the rear army and lead 5,000 cavalry to replace Hou Junji's defeated army.

The casualties between the two sides continued to increase. Due to the huge gap in force, Li Shimin's army could no longer resist and the army was dispersed. There were only a dozen cavalrymen behind Li Shimin, and the general Qiu Xinggong followed.

More than a hundred Wang Shichong's cavalry chased him closely. The fewer and fewer personal soldiers around Li Shimin's side were left, with only the general Qiu Xinggong. At this time, a burst of arrows shot, Li Shimin's mount was shot dead by arrows, Qiu Xinggong dismounted and knelt down, shooting dozens of people, and the arrows were shot without silence. The pursuers retreated in panic.

Qiu Xinggong then gave his horse to Li Shimin. He fought on foot and killed more than a dozen people in a row. At this moment, a burst of intense trumpet sounds came from afar. The main force of the Tang army came back. Sixty thousand main forces rushed over and overwhelmed, covering the sky and with great momentum. Seeing that Wang Shichong could no longer win this battle, he had to order the withdrawal of his troops.

The Tang army chased after him and fought to the city. Both sides suffered heavy casualties in this battle. The Tang army suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and Wang Shichong lost nearly 20,000 people, leaving only 30,000 Zheng's army. Li Shimin immediately surrounded Luoyang and led a large army to attack the city day and night. Wang Shichong led his army to fight to the death. Luoyang City was extremely critical.
Chapter completed!