Tibet

Twenty thousand naval troops and thousands of warships transferred from the Yangtze River arrived in Weizhou.

There is no big ship with 10,000 stones, the largest one is only 5,000 stones, which is also the largest ship that can travel in Yongji Canal.

At this time, Li Ye received a message from Feiying in Weizhou, and more than ten thousand Huihe troops appeared in the clouds.

Time was running out, so Li Ye immediately ordered 200,000 troops to march north.

The army was divided into two groups, with Guo Ziyi as the main general and Ma Lin as the deputy general. They led an army of 100,000 from Dezhou to Cangzhou. They carried 40,000 camels loaded with supplies and headed north.

The other route was led by Li Ye personally, and Lai Yi was appointed as his deputy general. He led an army of 120,000 people on land and water, and thousands of warships loaded with grain supplies and military supplies, and marched northward along the Yongji Canal.

The reason why more than 200,000 troops were mobilized to attack Cangzhou was mainly because Tian Chengsi was the strongest among the major vassal towns.

Not only did he have an army of 50,000, but also a combined army of 50,000. He also recruited more than 10,000 cavalry from Li Na. He was quite powerful. Li Ye would have to use more than 200,000 troops, twice as many as his opponent, to defeat Tian Cheng. Heir.

Moreover, time was tight. He had to annihilate Tian Chengsi before the Uighur army moved south from Youzhou, and he could not give Tian Chengsi a chance to become a fisherman.

Two days later, the army arrived in Beizhou.

In the night, the team did not stop to rest, but continued to march at night. The soldiers of the Tang army were basically on horseback, not all cavalry, but the infantry also had horses.

The speed was not fast, and they walked slowly along the Yongji Canal. The powerful scouts ensured that there would be no enemy troops within a radius of 500 miles.

At the same time, the army requisitioned tens of thousands of civilians, who were mainly responsible for drawing fiber. Not all the ships were cars and boats.

Li Ye is in the largest five thousand stone warship. This warship is a building ship with three floors. Li Ye is on the second floor. The third floor is mainly for drawings, sand tables and the like.

Li Ye sent a total of 300,000 troops in this battle, which can be said to be unprecedented, and it was also because this battle was related to the future of the Tang Dynasty and his future.

If we look at the total military strength, the opponent's total military strength is 400,000, including the Uighur Army, the Fanzhen Army, the Khitan Army and the Goguryeo Army.

If these armies were united, the Tang army might not be able to defeat them. Even if they could defeat them, it would be a tragic victory, and the Tang army would have to pay a heavy price.

But the good thing now is that they are not united, and the three vassals are fighting among themselves. Zhu Si does not allow Li Baochen and Tian Chengsi to enter Youzhou, fearing that they will turn against the guests and annex him.

The three vassal towns all wanted to use Huihe to weaken themselves first and confront themselves head-on. They were fishermen behind and took advantage.

But would the Uighurs be so stupid? Are you willing to be taken advantage of by the feudal town? The Uighurs also hope that they can fight head-on with the feudal town and use the feudal town to weaken themselves, and then they can become fishermen and take advantage.

The same goes for the Khitan army. They have not yet entered Pingzhou. It is obvious that they want to take advantage in the end.

Everyone is talking about determination and strategy, which gives them every opportunity to defeat them.

Of course, this is only the outcome that Li Ye most hopes for, but it is difficult to say whether the situation will develop along the path he expected. Especially for the Huihe people, it is difficult to figure out their routines. Maybe Dengli was eager to appease the morale of the army, so he decided Let the army go south to grab it.

While he was deep in thought, there was a knock on the door outside, "Your Highness! The head of the Cui family in Qinghe is asking for an audience on the bank."

Li Ye was slightly startled. He remembered that Guo Ziyi had told him that Cui Ze was eager to see him.

Li Ye nodded, "Ask him to get on the ship and wait in the cabin!"

Li Ye didn't like these Hebei aristocratic families emotionally. These aristocratic families had lasted for thousands of years. Even in the dark era of the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they still lived a prosperous life. The fundamental reason was that they only had family in their hearts, but no family and country.

Regardless of the force, as long as the interests of their family are guaranteed, they will cooperate well.

Li Ye believed that Tian Chengsi had the support of the Qinghe Cui family and the Boling Cui family, otherwise Tian Chengsi would not have become the most powerful family in the feudal town.

Of course, this has something to do with Tian Chengsi's attempt to win over aristocratic families. In comparison, Li Baochen's methods are much weaker, so there are not many aristocratic families who support him, which also results in Li Baochen's Chengde Army being the weakest among the several vassals.

Although he doesn't like it, Li Ye still wants to see Cui Ze. If he wants to govern Hebei, he must rely on the support of these aristocratic families.

Li Ye immediately came to the reception cabin on the first floor, where Cui Ze was already waiting.

Cui Ze quickly stood up and saluted, "See you, Your Highness!"

Li Ye smiled and waved his hand, "Master Cui, please sit down!"

The two sat down as guests and hosts, and Li Ye said slowly: "A few days ago, General Guo told me about the family master's worries. Originally, I planned to visit the family master when passing through Beizhou, but the Huihe army has already reached the border of Datang. The situation is quite tense, I believe the owner of the house has seen it, and we have to march even at night. "

Cui Ze was startled and asked quickly: "How many troops will Huihe send?"

"They claim to have an army of 300,000, but I estimate it is at most 110,000 or 20,000. This is their ultimate."

But even an army of 112,000 people made Cui Ze's face change color. Rebels like Tian Chengsi are always easy to deal with, but the Uighurs are different. They don't want land, but plunder property and women and return to Mobei. They They don't care what kind of family you are. On the contrary, if the family has a lot of wealth and beautiful women, they will rob it even harder.

Li Ye saw Cui Ze's nervousness, so he smiled and reassured: "I have sent an army of 300,000 troops with powerful firearms and well-trained troops. The head of the family does not have to worry. We will never let the Uighur cavalry ravage Hebei. We will definitely Will defeat them in Youzhou.”

Cui Ze breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head, saying, "Your Highness is in control of the court, which is a blessing for the people of Hebei!"

He was speaking from the heart. If the late Emperor Li Heng and the eunuch party were in power, how could they withstand the looting of hundreds of thousands of Huihe troops from the south? The Cui family was completely finished.

Li Ye added, "The most urgent task is to completely annihilate the Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen tribes to prevent them from colluding with the Huihe army. In this regard, I also hope that the head of the family can provide help!"

Cui Ze's old face turned red, and just as he was about to explain, Li Ye waved his hand and smiled, "The head of the family does not need to explain. The country is based on the people. I annihilated Tian Chengsi to protect the people. The head of the family and Tian Chengsi pretended to be in harmony to protect the people. Our methods are different, but the purpose is the same."

Li Ye's words made Cui Ze feel much more comfortable, and he quickly followed the lead, "The Anshi Rebellion caused Hebei to lose a lot of money. The loss was huge, and more than half of the people died. As a fellow villager, in order to protect the people, sometimes you have to do something against your will. "

Li Ye smiled slightly, "I fully understand, the head of the family does not need to blame himself."

At this point, Cui Ze also had to express something. He pondered for a moment and said, "Wang Lun, the chief aide of Tian Chengsi, is a disciple of Cui. I will send someone to persuade him to surrender and let him be an insider to make great contributions to Your Highness at the critical moment."

Li Ye's heart moved. He just needed an envoy of Tian Chengsi to go to Huihe. This is really 'sleeping, the pillow is delivered.'

Li Ye immediately wrote a short message and handed it to Cui Ze, "I hope the head of the family will send someone to deliver this letter to Wang Lun as soon as possible, and then persuade him to serve the court. If he makes great contributions, I will pardon him. "

Cui Ze took the letter and said solemnly: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will arrange it immediately!"