Chapter 1122: Feng Xi comes to welcome

Chapter 1122: Feng Xi comes to welcome

It was not just Duan Shao who was somewhat confused. The generals of the Western Wei Dynasty were actually a little confused about Tang Gong's operation.

It stands to reason that the situation was the most critical when the Qi army invaded the Qinshui River Valley, because it was unclear whether the Qi army would launch a large-scale counterattack next. But at that time, Tang Gong was still able to remain calm and let his troops continue to be stationed in Tongdishui to continue to put pressure on the enemy.

However, as the negotiations between the two sides progressed, the Qi army withdrew from the Qinshui River Valley, which also showed that they did not have the determination, courage and plan to launch a large-scale counterattack. It stands to reason that the situation should be more stable, but Tang Gong ordered his troops to retreat again and again, and now he directly withdrew to Qinyuan and gave up continuing to launch an offensive against the Shangdang area.

Because Tang Gong did not discuss this series of decisions with the generals, and Tang Gong's prestige in the army has always been the final word, so although the generals were confused, they did not dare to question it.

Including He Ruodun, who was determined to lead his brothers to sweep Shangdang and attack Yecheng, he just sighed frequently during the withdrawal: "What a pity, the Eastern bandits rely on the grace of my lord and can survive for a while longer!"

Li Tai did not intend to explain the doubts of the generals, and could only wait for the subsequent development of the situation to explain. It's not that he wants to be mysterious, but because the elements he refers to, except for some of the reasons for foresight, the other logics are not self-consistent.

It is true that the current situation is very different from that in history, but some personnel behavior logic and key factors have not changed much. If the basic contradictions and conflicts do not change, then the development of things can be slightly deduced.

In history, the contradictions within the Northern Qi broke out after Gao Yang's death, but this time, because Gao Yang personally led the army to fight against the Wei army, but suffered a great defeat on the battlefield, this would inevitably directly affect Gao Yang's authority. After the authority is affected, some personnel conflicts that could be suppressed and covered up by their own prestige and tyrannical behavior in the past will inevitably breed and develop.

Li Tai can't make an accurate guess about what kind of chaos will happen in the Northern Qi Kingdom today, but he can be sure that there will be thunder, and this thunder may be more violent than the Qianming coup in history.

After all, the Qianming coup was just a play within the Northern Qi, and was not interfered by any external forces. But now Li Tai has gained a great initiative in the confrontation with the Northern Qi. Of course, he must join in as the No. 1 player and obtain some gains that are still difficult to obtain on the battlefield through other ways and means.

Withdrawing the main force of the army from Wusu City and actively burning Wusu City to show that the Wei army has no intention of continuing to attack in this direction in the short term may seem a little difficult to understand to outsiders, but from Li Tai's perspective, it is very reasonable.

The main reason for his doing so was to reduce his threat to Northern Qi. How could a few people fight together if a two-meter-tall man with a knife stood by and watched coldly?

Li Tai took the initiative to withdraw his troops, telling the powerful people in Northern Qi that you can fight as you like, and don't give me face, just treat me as if I don't exist. Not only will I not interfere, but I have to stand far away to avoid being affected and splashed with blood.

Of course, any military choices and actions are also undesirable if they are completely dependent on the enemy's reaction. The reason why Li Tai wanted to evacuate Wusu City was to make a systematic adjustment to the situation of offensive and defensive confrontation between each other.

Although he led the division and brigade to attack all the way and sang triumphantly, it did not mean that this marching route was suitable for the Western Wei to continue to attack. This route is full of gullies and ridges, and the mountain roads are rugged, which is very unfavorable for the army's march and supply replenishment, and it is also very difficult to defend.

Although Li Tai drove straight into the city, he also needed to constantly divide his troops to garrison the dangerous places along the way, because there were too many dangerous places along the way. And dangerous places everywhere mean loopholes everywhere, no focus and all are the focus, and a slight mistake in one link will affect the layout of the entire line.

This time, the Western Wei mobilized a relatively strong force, including Li Tai who successively transferred more than 80,000 people from Pingyang to the east, but because of the need to divide troops along the way, only more than 50,000 people finally arrived at the front line to fight the enemy. Even in the case of a great victory, due to the lack of caution of the generals guarding the rear road, the rear road was inevitably harassed.

Although this incident did not cause too much crisis to the Wei army on the front line, it also exposed that it was very difficult to absolutely safely defend this route, and the cost-effectiveness was too low. Every time the city of Wusu advances a certain distance, the cost of the war will increase by several times, which includes not only the cost of materials, but also the cost of risk.

Therefore, Li Tai's withdrawal this time was also intended to abandon the Wusu City route and choose a more convenient and safer route for the Wei army. Previously, because they had been advancing along the front line, now that they had occupied many territories and cities that originally belonged to Northern Qi, there were undoubtedly more routes to choose from, so naturally they had to choose a more suitable one again.

In addition to these military considerations, Li Tai also had a personal reason, that is, a letter from home said that his father's health was getting worse, which made Li Tai feel a little uneasy.

When he went to war, his father's health was already worrying. Now, after more than two months of fighting, the staged results have been achieved, and it is difficult to make a greater breakthrough in the short term. He also hopes to return to visit his father as soon as possible.

Therefore, after the army withdrew to Qinyuan, he did not stay there any longer, and first arranged Gao Le to stay in Guyuan City and continue to negotiate with the Qi army. The rest of the divisions continued to retreat westward and returned to Baima City, Jinzhou, which had already belonged to the Western Wei.

At this time, Wei Xiaokuan, Liang Shiyan and others in the north also heard the news and rushed to greet them, and introduced Houmochen Xiang, who surrendered from the Northern Qi, to Li Tai.

Although Gao Zhongmi, Sima Ziru and others surrendered to the Western Wei in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, it was the first time that a person who had the title of king and was also a representative of Jinyang nobles was there.

Li Tai was also very happy about the arrival of Hou Mochen Xiang. Seeing Hou Mochen Xiang, who was already gray-haired and old, coming forward to pay his respects, he took two steps forward to help him up and said with a smile: "Hou Mochen, you don't have to be so polite. I have heard of your reputation for a long time. Now I meet you and I think your reputation is well-deserved."

"I am a stubborn and stupid thief who only realized it when I was old. I really don't deserve Tang Gong's praise. I have committed many crimes in the past. Now I have changed my ways. I only hope that I can contribute to the Bafu with my remaining time to repay Tang Gong's kindness of taking me in!"

Hou Mochen Xiang hurriedly bowed and said, his posture was very respectful.

After hearing this, Li Tai patted him on the shoulder to comfort him. In fact, according to common sense, Hou Mochen Xiang is now nearly 70 years old. Even if he is treated harshly, there is no need to gamble his life's fame and deeds to betray Northern Qi and join the enemy country.

Li Tai learned from the letter sent by Wei Xiaokuan that Houmochenxiang came to surrender this time, not only because he was angry that Qi Lord Gao Yang killed his son, but also to seek a chance for his grandson. After his son was killed, a family servant escorted his grandson to escape from Jinyang and came to the front line of Jiexiu to meet Houmochenxiang. If not, even if Houmochenxiang was extremely angry, he would have chosen to bear it silently.

After all, his other son died in the battle with Western Wei, and they also had a paternal hatred.

Although Houmochenxiang's arrival did not bring direct benefits to Western Wei, he himself was a very rare living signboard. Li Tai was also about to strengthen the united front and alienation against the Jinyang soldiers, and Houmochenxiang's arrival was just in time.

So he told Houmochenxiang to follow him back to the court to be conferred a title for the time being, and directly summoned his grandson, who he had given up most of his life's achievements to protect, to serve as a personal soldier in the account. After learning about the special role of the Three Guards in the Western Wei military system, Houmo Chenxiang could not help but thank them repeatedly.

At present, Li Tai temporarily entrusted the military affairs in the north of Pingyang to Wei Xiaokuan. In fact, with Wei Xiaokuan's qualifications and military achievements, it is no longer suitable for him to stay in the local area, especially after this battle, he is sure to be promoted to the position of pillar state, but Li Tai has not yet found a suitable person to replace him, so he can only discuss it after returning to the court.

After staying in Baima City for a few days, Li Tai continued to go south along the Fen River. Along the way, he saw that the situation in the newly occupied areas of the Western Wei was basically stable, and there was no major turmoil, which also made Li Tai quite satisfied.

When the army marched all the way to Fenqu, Li Tai temporarily separated from the main force. The main force that withdrew with him temporarily went to the Hedong area to garrison and rest, and to recuperate for the next further battle, while Li Tai went west along the Fen River and directly crossed the river from Longmen to return to Guanzhong.

When Li Tai crossed the river from Longmen and stepped on the land of Guanzhong again, the remaining personnel of the Bafu and the court had already been waiting here. Before Li Tai could speak, the welcoming crowd had already burst into cheers: "Welcome the triumphant return of Lord Tang! Lord Tang is mighty and invincible!"

Accompanied by the cheers of the crowd, Li Tai nodded to the welcoming crowd one by one. When his eyes fell on the face of Guangping Gongzan, who represented the court, Yuanzan whispered that there was something important to report and asked him to come into the tent to discuss in detail.

So Li Tai stepped into a tent that had been set up here. Yuanzan and several court officials followed him in. Then he took a jade seal from an envoy beside him and held it over his head, saying loudly: "Lord Tang went on this expedition and defeated the Eastern Bandits and shocked the world. His Majesty in the country also deeply felt that the destiny had come and was obsessed with ominous things, so he ordered me to bring the seal to welcome him. I respectfully ask Lord Tang to accept it with a smile to comply with the will of heaven!"