After the Wu Zong Dynasty, the empire has never had a first-grade general. The second-grade general holding down the army already has the highest military honor.

And Tai Shihong has such qualifications.

The northern part of the empire maintained peace for a long time, and Taishi Hong made great contributions to it.

At that time, hundreds of thousands of troops from the grassland tribes went south, and the empire was in danger. It was Taishi Hong who stepped forward and led his army to repel the grassland cavalry and save the Tang Dynasty.

This old general has only been recuperating in Kyoto for several years, which is called recuperation. In fact, it is equivalent to being under house arrest as a hostage.

But the low-key life did not wash away the majesty of the old general.

He fought for decades and suffered many injuries. He suffered from many illnesses in his later years. Although he was less than seventy years old, he still looked very old and could no longer even wear heavy armor.

But there was still a sharp light in his eyes.

Hearing the admiration from the civil servant, the old general shook his head and said with emotion, "In such a war, we can win without force and lose with regret. I have been fighting with tribes on the grassland all my life, and I never thought that one day I would point my sword at the big army."

Tang’s own people.”

"Actually, the princess and the general also think so." The civil servant said, "They also think that the Tang army killing each other is the most unfortunate thing in the world. Therefore, the princess hopes that the matter can be resolved peacefully, and does not want the centuries-old capital to become a river of blood."

"I have some understanding of Xiahou's temperament." The old general said, "It is absolutely impossible for her to surrender in Kaicheng or even voluntarily abdicate. This person is obsessed with power. She has been in power for more than 20 years, and power is her life. If

Losing power will make her feel more uncomfortable than killing her." He raised his hand to stroke his beard, shook his head and said, "She will never give up on her own initiative."

The civil servant smiled and said, "So what the princess means is that Rouxuan's army only needs to besiege but not attack. The city is short of food and there are no reinforcements. The officials and people in Kyoto cannot hold out for long. If there is no need to attack, Kyoto will be in chaos. There will be hundreds of them."

With thousands of mouths open, if they are not fed enough, they will become hundreds of wolves with bared teeth, and they will devour Xiahou." He raised his finger and pointed at the "Li" flag fluttering in the night wind, and said, "This is embroidered by the princess herself.

Battle flag, if the old general has this battle flag, the Kyoto defenders will also know that we represent Li Tang. Over time, things will definitely change."

The middle-aged general beside Tai Shihong who had never spoken suddenly asked, "Luo joins the army. Princess, are you sure Pei Xiaogong will not lead the army north?"

The civil official was naturally the envoy sent by She Yue, who joined the army from Xuzhou and Luo Xiang.

Luo Xiang immediately said, "General Taishi, the princess did not say for sure. As the official said before, Pei Xiaogong never sent troops at the best time and always stood still. The princess speculated that this person may have disobeyed the will of Kyoto. Pei Xiaogong held seven

Thousands of soldiers and horses, at such a critical moment, it is impossible for Xiahou to let these troops stick to the south. He will definitely order to mobilize the southern army to go north. Pei Xiaogong's immobility shows that he and Kyoto may not be of the same mind. Moreover, the princess has already sent an envoy there.

After meeting Pei Xiaogong secretly, General Qin wrote a secret message and ordered the secret envoy to take him there."

<

br>The middle-aged general was Taishi Cunxu, the general of Zhenbei. He never smiled and just asked, "Do you know what was written in the letter?"

"I don't know, my official." Luo Xiang shook his head and said, "But my official thinks that since General Qin specially wrote a secret letter and sent it to him, it must not be simple."

Tai Shihong had already smiled and said, "Pei Xiaogong has always been cautious, but this person's sharp eyesight can often see situations that ordinary people cannot see. If the princess only had a small amount of power and could not compete with Kyoto, Pei Xiaogong's troops would have already entered.

Jiangnan." He glanced at Tai Shi Cunxu and said with a smile, "You should know that Pei Xiaogong was fond of gambling when he was young, but he was not an irrational gambler. He was always cautious on the gambling table and would only place his chips on the winning rate.

The highest place.”

Taishi Cunxu seemed to be quite disdainful of Pei Xiaogong, and said lightly, "It's just speculation!"

"It is indeed speculation." Taishi Hong said seriously, "But this kind of people often have extraordinary insight, can see the situation clearly, and even have the ability to influence victory or defeat."

Taishi Cunxu obviously admired the old general, but he nodded slightly when he heard this.

"Since he has stood still, it means that he has seen that Xiahou's defeat has been decided." Taishi Hongdao, "In fact, he knows very well that our Taishi family must be loyal to Li Tang. If that is the case, he may not stand still. But General Qin is loyal to Li Tang.

In the Tang Dynasty, the army and people in the Northeast became the key to victory or defeat. Since Pei Xiaogong knew that General Qin was loyal to the princess, he had already seen the general trend, and it was natural for him to wait and see what happened."

Taishi Cunxu naturally understood what Taishi Hong said.

In fact, the current situation is greatly beneficial to Princess Sheyue. In the final analysis, it is precisely because of Qin Xiao's attitude.

Pei Xiaogong held 70,000 troops and horses. Even if the Taishi family swore allegiance to She Yue, Pei Xiaogong would never care.

The four towns in the north are not monolithic. Once the Taishi family pledges allegiance to the princess, Wuchuan Town will definitely not be able to follow, and the possibility of Huaishuo Town is not high. The most likely one is Woye Town.

The total number of soldiers and horses in the two towns is only 50,000. Once the troops are raised, they will inevitably be restrained by Wuchuan Town. As a result, they will not even be able to directly support Sheyue.

Pei Xiaogong could naturally lead his troops northward without any pressure and carry out a pincer attack on Xuzhou with Kyoto's troops from the north and south.

All this did not become a reality precisely because of Qin Xiao.

It was impossible for Pei Xiaogong not to pay attention to the Northeast War.

And many people know that Qin Xiao protected the princess during the Jiangnan Incident and put down the rebellion, so he was already considered a princess party.

So when the princess raised the flag in Xuzhou, Qin Xiao's attitude became

Extraordinarily critical.

If Qin Xiao was loyal to Kyoto, Pei Xiaogong would of course send troops north to attack Jiangnan without hesitation. But once Qin Xiao supported She Yue, the outcome of the war would become unpredictable.

Long Rui's army completely wiped out the Liaodong Army, which shows the strength of this army.

From all the troops in the Tang Dynasty, apart from the Kyoto Shence, the four northern towns and the southern legion, the most powerful one must be the Northeastern legion.

Qin Xiao's Long Rui Army replaced the Liaodong Army. Not only did it completely eliminate the name of the Liaodong Army, it even brought many Liaodong cavalry under its command. After the reorganization of the Long Rui Army and the Liaodong Army, both in terms of the number of troops and horses and their combat effectiveness, they have become able to control the situation.

A powerful army in the world situation.

In this case, the Northeastern Army's allegiance to Musk Moon has already tilted the balance of victory to Musk Moon.

Taishi Cunxu knew full well that Pei Xiaogong stood still because Qin Xiao was loyal to the princess.

If Tantai Xuanye wins the Battle of Xuzhou and the balance of victory tilts towards Kyoto, then Pei Xiaogong is likely to immediately send troops to attack Jiangnan. This is also Xiahou's only chance to win.

But in the battle of Xuzhou, the Shence Army was not only defeated, but even their heads were hung on the city walls. Xiahou's last big gamble failed miserably. Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible for Xiahou to turn defeat into victory.

In recent days, all states in the world have begun to gradually express their stance. More and more states and counties are raising flags in response to the princess. Especially when they just received news that Ma Yan, the governor of Yongzhou, has also raised flags in response to the princess. Under such a situation, Taishi Cunxu knew

The possibility of Pei Xiaogong obeying orders from Kyoto is getting smaller and smaller.

"Luo joins the army, you have worked hard these days." Tai Shihong was already old and looked a little tired. He smiled at Luo Xiang and said, "The conditions in the army are difficult. I have sent people to Xuzhou to meet the princess, so you don't need to

I am anxious to return to Xuzhou. I will rest in the army for a few days and it will not be too late to return to Xuzhou after I regain my energy."

Luo Xiang naturally noticed the old general's fatigue, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Old General, you have been tired recently. Please take a rest early."

Tai Shihong ordered Luo Xiang to take Luo Xiang to a tent to rest, and then returned to the big tent next to the battle flag.

The battle flag was given by the princess and brought by Luo Xiang.

Taishi Cunxu and Rouxuanjun also fell into confusion for a time.

Li Chengqing secretly reached an agreement with Taishi Cunxu. Li Chengqing used Xuzhou Governor Ye Chaoxuan to raise troops in Xuzhou, forcing Kyoto to dispatch the Shence Army to Xuzhou. In this way, Kyoto's garrison force would be very weak, and Taishi Cunxu would take the opportunity to lead the troops.

Heading straight to Kyoto.

This was a desperate attempt by the Taishi family to secure the family's future. Once successful and support Li Chengqing as the throne, the Taishi family would naturally become the first to contribute.

But the changes in Xuzhou were beyond Taishi Cunxu's expectation. Li Chengqing was actually killed by Qin Xiao

Overthrown, She Yue regained control of Xuzhou with the help of Qin Xiao.

Taishi Cunxu's side actually went smoother than planned. Kyoto issued an order to mobilize troops, so that Rouxuan's border troops could go south openly. Everything was going smoothly at first, but after the news came that Li Chengqing was tripped, Taishi

Cunxu was shocked.

At that time, he had already led troops into the capital and was labeled as a rebel by Kyoto. In this case, if he turned around and returned to Rouxuan Town, he would have no choice but to wait for death.

The only option is to continue advancing towards Kyoto.

But without Li Chengqing, there would be no honorable banner.

If Li Chengqing usurps She Yue's military power, he will inevitably break up with She Yue, and if the Rouxuan Army cooperates with Li Chengqing, it will definitely offend the princess. When She Yue regains power, Taishi Cunxu is really not sure whether he will forgive the Rouxuan Army.

He knew that if She Yue refused to forgive the Rouxuan Army because of Li Chengqing, then the Rouxuan Army would no longer be able to carry out the banner of Li Tang and would become a lone army with a dangerous future.

At the most difficult moment, the princess's envoy Luo Xiang arrived day and night and presented a flag with the character "Li" made by the princess himself. At that moment, Taishi Cunxu felt relieved, knowing that just because of the battle flag, Rouxuan Town was

Escape from death.

The tens of thousands of Rouxuan soldiers immediately became the regular army to restore Li Tang. That battle flag was equivalent to saving the lives of these tens of thousands of people. Taishi Cunxu knew the benefits and was naturally extremely grateful to She Yue.

Now the army is camped outside the city of Kyoto, and the battle flag is erected outside the commander's tent, fluttering in the night wind.

"Father, rest early." Taishi Cunxu helped Taishi Hong sit down in the commander's tent and said respectfully, "My son is going to inspect the camp."

Tai Shi Hong nodded slightly and said, "Don't be afraid to go to Xiying in person. There are surrendered soldiers from Luokou Cang. They are worried. If you go there in person to comfort them, they will admire your courage and be grateful for your tolerance!"

In the Battle of Luokou, Tai Shihong appeared at the fiercest moment of the battle. When the defenders of Luokou Cang saw the flag with the word "Li" and saw the general of the town army, they immediately lost their fighting spirit. Tai Shihong's decades of prestige finally came to an end.

At that moment, he exerted unparalleled power.

After surrendering the Luokou garrison and reorganizing it, they rested briefly in Luokou Cang. Taishi Hong left a thousand Rouxuan troops to guard Luokou Cang and led the Luokou surrender troops, including the reorganized troops, to march day and night and arrive at the gates of Kyoto.

Tai Shihong did not disrupt the Luokou surrendered troops and organize them into the Rouxuan Army. This would cause chaos in the original organization of the Rouxuan Army. Instead, he directly organized the Luokou surrendered troops into a battalion. After the troops arrived at the city today,

The main army camped on the left wing, located to the west of the central army.
Chapter completed!