Zhu Li took the lead, and Wang Chongying and Li Xiaochang followed suit and immediately began to collect prisoners. These prisoners would become their strength in the future, so they had no choice but to pay attention to them.
Although the coalition forces tried their best to surrender, Shang Rang still escaped with a large number of defeated soldiers. The direction in which the defeated soldiers fled was exactly the direction of Wei River where Meng Kai was defending.
After the coalition forces chased for dozens of miles and forced the Cao army guards they could catch up with to surrender, they stopped the pursuit. Everyone took the defeated soldiers back to Yiting. Zhu Li even chased them personally and forced a large number of Cao army guards to surrender. Only then did he reluctantly drive them back to Yiting.
The second year of Zhonghe, late January.
Zhu Li, Wang Chongying and Li Xiaochang burned down the camps under the city of Yiting and defeated tens of thousands of straw soldiers led by Wang Chongyin and Shang Rang. They completely lifted the siege on the south of Yiting and changed the situation where the coalition forces were passively beaten. The news spread quickly throughout Guanzhong and then to all parts of the Central Plains like wings.
From June of the second year of Guangming, when Li Sigong, Li Xiaochang and Zhu Li formed an alliance to defend the king, to the first month of the second year of Zhonghe, after seven months of fierce fighting, the coalition forces finally achieved a breakthrough victory.
Especially the fire set by Zhu Li that burned down the camp of the Cao army stationed outside the city of Yiting shocked the whole country. For a while, the calls from warlords all over the country to defend the king became louder and louder. Even Li Keyong, a Shatuo man who had just been pardoned, led his troops south to defend the king.
After the Battle of Yiting, Zhu Li, Wang Chongying and Li Xiaochang began to reorganize their troops in full swing.
Zhu Li captured more than 18,000 Cao army prisoners, the largest number of prisoners among the three military governors. This was expected by Zhu Li. After all, he had set his sights on the Cao army guards since he made his plan. In addition, the Shuozhou army knew exactly where Zhu Li's purpose was, so their actions were naturally much faster and more effective than those of the other two.
Shi Yan did not disappoint and also recruited two to three thousand men from nearby counties and prefectures. Zhu Li now had a very impressive army, with three thousand cavalry and more than twenty-four thousand infantry. His military strength exceeded that of Li Xiaochang and could be compared with Wang Chongying. Of course, this was only in terms of quantity, and the combat effectiveness was still slightly debatable.
In March, Wang Chongrong gathered the elite forces of the four military governors in Tongzhou and defeated Zhu Wen who intended to attack from the south, forcing Zhu Wen to cross the river far away and retreat to the north of the water to wait for help.
Upon hearing the news, Zhu Li immediately allocated 10,000 troops to Zhou Dewei, and gave Wang Zhongyin, who had surrendered reluctantly, to him as his deputy. He let him lead an army, intensify training, and deploy troops in the eastern part of Guanzhong to prevent Zhu Wen from fleeing westwards, completely blocking Zhu Wen's way back to the west and the retreat of Meng Kai and others.
In April, Li Keyong, then governor of Daizhou, led his troops into Guanzhong, entered Yiting City and joined the coalition forces; in mid-month, Song Wentong, the general of Boye Army in Zhenzhou, Dong Chang, the general of Shijing Army, and Yang Fuguang, the governor of Xuzhou, led their troops into Guanzhong, entered Yiting and joined the coalition forces.
In late April, Gao Pian sent his generals Feng Shou and Dong Jin to lead troops into Guanzhong to join the coalition forces and plan to attack Huang Chao together.
The coalition forces, together with other parties, prepared to cross the Wei River and attack Chang'an. For a while, countless warlords, big and small, arrived at Yiting one after another.
Of course, a lot of food and fodder were brought with them. Zhu Li gathered all the food and fodder in his hands on the grounds of unified management and rational deployment.
Warlords from all over the country arrived one after another. Zhu Li, the commander-in-chief, decided to move his camp southward and approach Chang'an after the arrival of two generals under Gao Pian.
Allied Camp
, in the central army tent.
Zhu Li sat high on the main seat in the middle, and the rest of the people were all sitting on both sides. There was no other way. In terms of position, Zhu Li, as the General of the Left Guard and the Commander-in-Chief of the Field Camp, had the highest position among everyone. In terms of military achievements, he won both battles in the Battle of Guanzhong. He was the only one in the loyalist camp who had such an achievement.
Even Li Keyong, who was a Shatuo man, had no objection, and no one else had any objection. Li Keyong knew Zhu Li. This man was in Weizhou and had killed several of his generals in battle. Even Xue Atan, a fierce general under Li Cunxiao, was no match for him. He was brave and resourceful, and was definitely not someone who could be easily provoked.
There is no need to say much about Li Xiaochang and Wang Chongying. The first seat on Zhu Li's right hand side was occupied by a mighty and sinister middle-aged man with drooping eyes and one eye. He was none other than Li Keyong, the Shatuo governor of Daizhou. Behind him stood three generals, one of whom was a short and thin general who kept staring at Zhu Li with an unfriendly look. On the left and right of this general stood two people, one of whom Zhu Li recognized, and it was Xue Atan, who had been defeated by him before.
The person who could make Xue Atan stand behind him with a respectful expression and his body half a step back, this person's name is obvious. There is no doubt that he should be Li Cunxiao, the most powerful general in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, who was no match for Li
Among the military generals of this era, there was one who was the best in the world, and he was even the only one at one time. Now with the existence of Wu Dao, it is unknown to what extent these two can fight; and the other fierce general beside Li Cunxiao must be An Xiuxiu.
Sitting below Li Keyong was Song Wentong, the general of Boye Town in Zhenzhou. This man had a fair complexion and was very handsome. If he took off his armor, he would definitely be an elegant and handsome young man. Song Wentong might seem unfamiliar to people, but if it was said that he was Li Maozhen, the warlord leader who later ruled Fengxiang, then everyone would be familiar with him. Li Maozhen's original name was Song Wentong.
Now he has not been appreciated by Emperor Xizong, so he is still called Song Wentong. The person Song Wentong takes action against is Dong Chang, the general of Shijing Town. In history, Dong Chang once proclaimed himself emperor in Liangzhe and was also a heavyweight warlord in the late Tang Dynasty.
There was a man standing behind Dong Chang. He was his trusted and beloved general Qian. Anyone who knew a little about the Five Dynasties would know who this person was. Yes, he was the founder of the Wuyue Kingdom.
On Zhu Li's left, the first person sitting is neither Wang Chongying nor Li Xiaochang. This person has a feminine face. His name is Yang Fuguang, the adopted son of Yang Xuanjia, a powerful eunuch in the Tang court. He is currently the governor of Xuzhou. The Yang family was a remarkable family in the late Tang Dynasty, a family of powerful eunuchs. In the late Tang Dynasty, there were powerful eunuchs who held important positions in the palace for generations.
The two people behind Yang Fuguang were generals appointed by him personally, one was named Wang Jian and the other was named Lu Yanhong. Lu Yanhong was the warlord in the late Tang Dynasty who later drove out Niu Cong, the governor of Shannan West Road, and took over the post of governor himself. Wang Jian was even more remarkable, he was the founder of Former Shu and the king of Sichuan.
Even under Gao Pian, there was also a person who caught Zhu Li's attention through an introduction. This person was Yang Xingmi. Yang Xingmi, who founded the Wu Kingdom, was now just a subordinate of Gao Pian.
In this small camp, there are actually several heroes who will be the heroes of the future. It can be said that many heroes have emerged and are competing with each other. However, although these people are remarkable, they are all things for the future after all. Zhu Li will not be polite now.
"Shang Rangjun is stationed at Liangtianpo, Huang Ye is stationed at Shiti Valley, and Meng Kai is defending the Weishui River. Do you have any suggestions regarding the Cao army's defensive posture?" Zhu Li looked around at everyone and asked directly.
Everyone present looked at each other, but no one spoke.
Zhu Li narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Li Keyong, and directly asked, "Envoy Li, do you have any suggestions?"
Among so many people present, Zhu Li was the first to ask him a question, which made Li Keyong feel uncomfortable. In addition, the Shatuo people and Zhu Li had been enemies before, and they had suffered losses. Li Keyong bowed his hands and said stiffly: "General, I am just a general. Wherever the general points, I will fight. Everything is up to the general's decision."
"Does anyone else think so too?" Zhu Li asked calmly, looking at everyone.
"We all rely on the commander-in-chief's decision." Upon hearing this, everyone responded loudly.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li laughed inwardly. Who do these guys think he is? A god? They all want to follow him and get money. If he really had such great abilities, he wouldn't have to work so hard.
Since coming to this world, he ran all the way from Tanzhou to Hongzhou, and from Hongzhou to Fanyang, and then went to Danzhou. Before he could even get comfortable in his little nest in Danzhou, he led his troops to guard Weizhou, and then moved to Shuozhou.
Just when he was about to make a big move in Shuozhou, Li Keju issued a transfer order and he had to rush to Guanzhong to serve the king. He had traveled all over half of the Tang Dynasty and had just managed to gain some merit. These warlords swarmed in like vicious dogs seeing meat bones. Wasn't it just to gain merit in the war to retake Chang'an
"Okay, in that case, Lord Li." Zhu Li looked at Li Keyong with disdain in his heart but expressionless.
"I am here."
"Shang Rang and Zhao Zhang have deployed their troops at Liangtianpo. I order you to go and attack. Defeat Shang Rang as soon as possible and eliminate the threat to our army's left side." Zhu Li instructed expressionlessly.
"Yes," Li Keyong responded with the same expressionless face. He had already said it before and would certainly not refute it now. If he did, wouldn't it be like slapping himself in the face
"General Manager Li, Commander Wang, the two of you should unite your forces and defeat Huang Ye as soon as possible to prevent him from launching a surprise attack on Fuping and cutting off our retreat." Zhu Li turned to look at Li Xiaochang and Wang Chongying and gave the order directly.
"Yes," the two of them gladly accepted the order. With Zhu Li's record of two wins in two battles, the two of them no longer dared to take Zhu Li lightly as before.
The location of Huang Ye's garrison was just to the north of the Weishui River, sandwiched between Zhu Wen and Zhu Li. He threatened Fuping and Liyang, making the coalition forces led by Zhu Li feel like a thorn in their throats and they would not be happy until they were eliminated.
"The rest of you, come with me to confront Meng Kai and provide support for the three of them." Zhu Li looked around at everyone and instructed.
"promise"
The reason why Zhu Li made such arrangements was because he vaguely remembered that Li Keyong in history had also led troops to defeat Shang Rang.
Although Shang Rang was badly defeated in the Battle of Yiting, he took away most of the defeated soldiers. With the support of Huang Chao, Shang Rang's troops were the strongest among the three armies of Cao's army. If they wanted to attack Weishui in the south, they had to defeat Shang Rang first.
Among these Jiedushi who came to support, Li Keyong had the strongest force, and the Shatuo people were known for their bravery in battle, which was just the right amount to restrain Shang Rang. Doesn't Shang Rang love to charge into battle the most? So let him fight Li Keyong head-on.
As for Huang Ye, he is Huang Chao's nephew, and his ability to command troops is even worse than Shang Rang. It is enough to let Li Xiaochang and Wang Chongying go to deal with him. Even if the two of them cannot defeat Huang Ye in a short time, there should be no problem in delaying him.