After saving Zhao King Li Xuanba, he broke through the siege, he went south and found Li Xiaogong's troops. Li Xuanba was sent back to Chang'an for recuperation due to serious injuries, while Qu Tutong stayed in Yingchuan County under Li Xiaogong's repeated attempts.

Qu Tutong is a steady and steady person. He knew very well that there were many mountains in the Tang army. In addition to the two major forces of Qin and the Crown Prince, there were many small forces, such as the Li Yuanji Sect, Li Xiaogong Sect, Li Shentong Sect and Chai Shao Sect.

Although Li Xiaogong supported Qin King Li Shimin, it did not mean that Li Xiaogong just obeyed Li Shimin's command, so Qu Tutong was very cautious, and he would not participate in Li Xiaogong's military affairs meetings.

However, Qu Tutong was a little nervous today. He found that the Tang army was already in an unfavorable situation strategically, and he could no longer bear it.

"See Your Highness with a humble position!"

Qu Tutong bowed to Li Xiaogong when he entered the tent. Li Xiaogong quickly stood up and returned the gift, "I dare not accept the gift of the old general, please sit down!"

Qu Tutong sat down and said worriedly: "Your Highness, the deployment of the Sui army is not good for us!"

Li Xiaogong was surprised, "What do the old general say?"

"Your Highness, the situation is very obvious now. The Sui and Tang armies took Hulao Pass as the boundary and fought on the east and west battlefields. The current trend has been seen. Whoever can support each other will be able to take the strategic initiative, and the Sui army has taken the lead."

Qu Tutong walked to the sand table, picked up the wooden pole and pointed at Xiangcheng County: "Now Xiangcheng County is the key to the entire battle. Yang Yuanqing was already aware of it and ordered Xu Shiji's troops to enter Xiangcheng County first. Xu Shiji's troops became the link between the Sui army of the east and west departments. In this way, Yang Yuanqing was in the west, Xu Shiji was in the middle, and Li Jing was in the east, and the whole front was alive."

Speaking of this, Qu Tutong sighed, "Relatively speaking, the two Tang corpses in the east and west are each in their own formation. They have no connection and are at a strategic disadvantage. Your Highness, I am very worried!"

Li Xiaogong's face turned pale. In fact, he realized something was wrong, but his consciousness was not clear. Qu Tutong's statement suddenly understood. He realized their unfavorable situation.

More importantly, if Yingchuan County is given up, the Sui army can march southward, posing a huge threat to Runan and Huaian counties. He had to consider this series of consequences.

Not only that, but he also has no right to make such strategic adjustments, and must be approved by the emperor before it can be implemented. Li Xiaogong sighed helplessly, "I appreciate the old general's suggestion, but it is not very realistic."

Qu Tutong was stunned. He understood a little and advised: "Your Highness, it's nothing more than the appointment and removal of officials. Your Highness doesn't have to consider this issue. As long as you defeat the Sui army, Yingchuan County will still belong to the Tang Dynasty. It's not too late to arrange these things calmly."

"The old general, not only for this issue, but also for such a major strategic adjustment, I must report to the emperor, and the Qin King, too. Both sides have obtained the approval of the emperor before they can be transferred to Xiangcheng County. I cannot do it without authorization."

"But this will miss the opportunity to fight. Your Highness will miss the big deal!" Qu Tutong became a little anxious.

Li Xiaogong was helpless, "If I make the decision without authorization, it would be easy to explain if I win. But if I lose, I really can't bear this responsibility. Please understand my difficulties."

Qu Tutong sighed long, "The Tang Dynasty is still a new dynasty, and it has become so old and rigid. How can we compete for the world?"

He was extremely depressed, stood up and sighed and left.

Li Xiaogong looked at his back and walked away, and he felt heavy in his heart. Even an old minister like Qu Tutong was not optimistic about the prospects. How should he fight this battle?

......

In Chenjia Village, Weishi County, a team of Tang army scouts rushed to the front of the Tang army camp and reported loudly, "If there is an emergency military situation, we must report to General Mao!"

The gate of the military camp opened, and several scouts rushed into the camp and ran towards the central army's tent. The general who led the 10,000 Tang troops was named Mao Wenli, a native of Shu County. His father was also a general. He was once the commander of Jianyang County. After Li Xiaogong took Bashu south, Mao Wenli followed him all the way and could be regarded as Li Xiaogong's confidant general.

Mao Wenli is about forty years old, with a medium figure and a pair of cunning eyes. He is an experienced soldier. Of course, he has rich experience in leading troops. However, there has been no war in Shu for decades and does not have much experience in war. Mao Wenli only participated in a battle to siege Jiangling County.

Mao Wenli was really worried about his march into the Central Plains this time. He also knew that the Sui army had sharp combat, and most of his army was Shu soldiers. Although they were well-trained, neatly equipped, and well-equipped, they lacked combat experience, especially the fierce killings on the opposite side, which they could support, and Mao Wenli was not sure about it.

At this moment, a soldier outside the tent reported: "Report to General Mao, the scout has emergency information!"

"Say! What happened?"

"The scout found a Sui cavalry of about three thousand men running towards us, only twenty-five miles away."

Mao Wenli was shocked. The thing he was most worried about finally came. He immediately ordered: "Order the entire army to prepare and go out to fight!"

The battlefield could not be set up in the basin, and ten thousand Tang troops left Sanlonggang, and set up their formations with their backs against the hills. They had just formed the formations when they saw dust flying in the distance, and a row of small black dots appeared at the end of the plain.

As the opponent got closer, the row of black spots became wider and wider, with thousands of people, with great momentum, but the speed gradually slowed down. It stopped three miles away from the Tang army and did not launch an attack immediately.

The Tang army had 10,000 people including 8,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Considering that the Shu army was not good at cavalry and shooting, Li Xiaogong also matched some Longyou cavalry in the Shu army. Among these 10,000 Tang army, the two thousand cavalry came from Longyou.

Among the eight thousand infantry, there are three thousand crossbowmen and three thousand spearmen. The other two thousand are sword and shield soldiers. Their formations are arranged quite neatly, with one thousand cavalry guards on both wings. There are three thousand crossbowmen on the front, with the crossbow in front and three thousand spearmen behind, and the final formation is two thousand sword and shield soldiers.

Three miles away, the dust gradually returned to the ground, making people's vision clear. A Sui army with the same powerful lineup appeared, with only three thousand people, but they were tall, bright in helmets and bright armors, sharp spears, and a war horse as strong as a dragon. Each cavalry was a warrior. They gathered together and formed a steel-like front line, invincible.

Wang Jungu held the Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his hand and looked at the Tang army in the distance coldly. Judging from the formation, this Tang army was well-trained and had neat lineup, but they lacked a murderous aura, just like a group of statues, and a sword that had not been quenched. Although the appearance was exquisite, it did not have enough hardness.

A sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of Wang Jungu's mouth. He looked up at the scorching sun and did not order an attack. Instead, he gave an order, "Drop off the horse and rest on the spot!"

Three thousand cavalry dismounted together, sat cross-legged in the shadow of the war horses, maintaining their strength. They were prepared. Each brought two water bags, fed the water bags to their beloved horses from time to time, and sprinkled clean water on the war horses to remove the heat of the heat.

The scorching sun was scorching the earth. Under the scorching sun, it was a huge test for all soldiers. The Tang army crossbowmen put down the bows and arrows and hard crossbows, squatted on the ground, and the spearmen also squatted down, wiping the rolling sweat on their foreheads. The infantry had no water bags, and they were all thirsty. The hot earth was like a steamer, which was so suffocating that it was breathless.

At this time, the Sui army cavalry slowly walked, leading the horse forward step by step. The Tang army immediately stood up one after another, picked up the crossbow again, raised the spear, and watched the Sui army approaching nervously, but the Sui army walked a mile away, stopped again, and sat cross-legged again.

Mao Wenli, the chief general of the Tang army, became a little nervous. He also saw the Sui army's intentions. It was obvious that the Tang army would be exhausted under the scorching sun and use fatigue tactics.

After about half an hour, some soldiers finally couldn't support the exposure to the sun and fainted. The Tang army's physical strength and morale dropped to a low point. At this moment, Wang Junguo raised a horn and blew it to the sky.

"Woo--"

Then a hundred horns were blown at the same time, "Woo--"

The low horn sound echoed on the plain, which was a signal of battle. Three thousand Sui cavalry, at the same time, rolled over the horses and poured the last clear water on their heads and bodies, allowing the war horses to bathe in the clear water. They burst out with a loud roar.

Three thousand cavalry launched at the same time, and the fierce sound of horse hooves hit the earth, and murderous aura burst out from them, like the long black sand rolled up by the strong wind, sweeping towards the Tang army overwhelmingly, like the storm waves breaking the dam, destroying everything, and rushing towards the Tang army with the momentum of rushing everything.

The Tang army's crossbow army also cheered up, raised their bows and arrows, aiming at the Sui army that was rushing towards them. However, the long-term exposure made them overdraw their physical strength and they lost the fighting spirit of tenacious resistance. Many people were dizzy and exhausted.

The Sui army cavalry rushed to a hundred steps away in an instant. The drum sounded, and three thousand crossbowmen fired arrows at the same time. The dense arrows shot towards the Sui army. The Sui army soldiers raised their shields to greet them, protecting themselves and the war horses, and the crackling arrows shot on the shields.

War horses kept neighing and slamming to the ground. This kind of arrow formation was very lethal to the nomadic peoples, but not to the well-trained Central Plains cavalry.

No matter the bow and crossbow, they shoot at an elevation angle, and the arrows are shot at the Sui army. In response to such arrows, the cavalry will raise the shield forward and high against the angle of the arrow, blocking the soldier's body and horse head, and can only pose a threat to the front chest and forelimbs of the war horse, but the threat has also been much weakened.

The arrows could not stop the attack of the Sui cavalry. After another round of bows and arrows, the Sui army lost nearly 200 people, but at this time the Sui army's front line had moved to thirty steps away from the Tang army, with horses galloping and murderous intent soaring into the sky.

The formation of the Tang army also began to change. The crossbows retreated one after another, and three thousand spearmen came out. At this time, the Sui army's cavalry had already arrived and crashed into the enemy group. The huge impact force caused the Tang army to fall one after another. Many soldiers were knocked out and flew out. The war horses rushed into the enemy group. The horses were still fast, and they slashed the spears all the way, opening a bloody road.

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