The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 803 Taking advantage of the situation
"Young leader, what you said makes sense. It seems that Jie Li wants to win over Ashina Simo."

Li Yan turned to Xue Rengui and said, "If everything goes well, Jie Li will probably send Ashina Simo to lead the way tomorrow. Before General Li Jing arrives, he will first capture a position of the Tang army and inflict heavy damage on our army."

"So when you go back, you must tell General Cheng to defend the upper reaches of the Hun River and be careful of Jie Li's troops crossing the river."

"The young leader and I have deduced many times, and our conclusion is the same. You can report to General Cheng and arrange the troops accordingly, and there should be no danger."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xue Rengui stood up immediately and said, "General Cheng is still waiting for news. In this case, there is no time to lose. I will take my leave now!"

"Well, I'll give it to you."

Li Yan stood up and sent Xue Rengui to the door.

When I pushed open the door of the tent, a biting chill hit me in the face. The north wind brought sand-like snow that hit my face, making it difficult for me to open my eyes.

The three of them were shocked by the cold air and shivered all over, and quickly wrapped themselves in their sheepskin coats.

"Why don't we wait until the wind and snow are a little lighter before leaving?" Li Yan asked hesitantly.

Xue Rengui had a resolute look on his face: "Although the wind and snow are strong, in such bad weather, Jie Li's men will not come out to patrol the camp, so it is safer. I will take my leave now. Take care, Your Highness."

"and many more!"

Li Yan quickly took off his woolen vest and handed it to Xue Rengui, saying with concern: "You are wearing too thin, put it on, it will keep you warmer."

"This..." Xue Rengui hesitated slightly.

Li Yan said decisively: "Put it on, this is an order!"

"All right!"

Xue Rengui's eyes flashed with emotion: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Take care, Your Highness. I will leave now."

"Well, you must tell General Cheng to deploy defenses according to military intelligence. If there is any mistake, all the consequences will be borne by this prince." Li Yan instructed with a serious look in his eyes.

Xue Rengui nodded resolutely: "Yes, Your Highness, Rengui will remember it."

Watching Xue Rengui disappear in the vast darkness of snow, Li Yan's eyes were still filled with reluctance. Yi Nan quickly pulled Li Yan back to the tent: "Your Highness, it's cold outside, but it's warm inside. I happen to have nothing to do today, so I'll accompany Your Highness for a drink tonight."

"Someone, call back the singing girls, let's continue our fun."

After this interruption, Li Yan came back to his senses from the sadness of parting and said with a smile: "Okay, young leader, the few Hu girls you brought here today are all first-class in figure and appearance. You know what, the taste of these grassland Hu girls is really different!"

"Hahaha, Your Highness, it seems that although you are not very old, you and Yi Nan are of the same kind!" The laughter of the two people was separated by thick wool felt. A curtain door separated the inside and outside into two different worlds.

It was warm as spring inside the tent, with birds singing and dancing, but outside the tent, it was snowing heavily and water was freezing!
Xue Rengui left Yinan's camp and rushed into the vast wilderness like a civet cat. After more than an hour's journey, he crossed mountains and ridges and arrived at the bank of the Hun River.

After getting in touch with the scout team that had been lying in ambush here, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat on a sheepskin shovel hidden in the grass on the shore.

Braving the wind and snow, they crossed the river and returned to Shuofang City.

The capital of Dingxiang Road was in Dingxiang City within the southern Great Wall, but the situation at the front became increasingly severe, especially after the arrival of Jie Li's main army. Cheng Yaojin felt that Dingxiang was still a little far from the front line, so he moved the deputy commander's camp to Shuofang City on the bank of Hunhe River to command nearby.

Shuofang City is not big, about the same size as Mayi.

However, because it is located on the front line, it was the place where Liang Shidu started his rebellion. After Liang Shidu started his rebellion, it was rebuilt and expanded, and it is very solid.

After it was conquered by the Tang Dynasty at the beginning of the year, several more sentry towers and arrow forts were built nearby, and the city walls were widened and raised, becoming like a thorn, as the most advanced outpost to resist the Turks. If the Turks wanted to conquer this place, it would be extremely difficult to succeed without the death of tens of thousands of people.

At this time, in the deputy commander's mansion in Shuofang City, Cheng Yaojin was waiting anxiously.

It was not until the beginning of midnight that someone came to report that Xue Rengui had returned. Cheng Yaojin relaxed and summoned him immediately.

"Your subordinate greets the deputy commander." Xue Rengui acted prudently. Although the situation was urgent, he did not forget etiquette.

"Captain Xue, there's no need to be so polite."

Cheng Yaojin didn't care about these things, and hurriedly asked: "Did you have a smooth journey? Did you have any problems? Did you see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Is he okay?" Seeing that Cheng Yaojin didn't ask about the military situation, but cared about himself and the Crown Prince first, Xue Rengui felt warm in his heart: "Thanks to the deputy commander, everything went well for me, and His Royal Highness is also doing well."

Afterwards, Xue Rengui described the meeting in detail, and then pulled out a wrinkled letter from the inner pocket of his woolen waistcoat and said, "However, Deputy Commander, I found this letter in the warm clothes that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave me before he left."

"I guess there are some things that His Royal Highness cannot say in front of Yi Nan, so he communicated through this secret method. Deputy Commander, can you see what His Royal Highness said?"

Cheng Yaojin was stunned. He took the letter, opened it puzzledly, glanced through it quickly, and then his expression became heavy and his face became extremely ugly.

"What happened to the deputy commander? But is there any change?"

Cheng Yaojin then frowned and said, "This barbarian is really cunning. He has already formed an alliance with our Tang Dynasty, but he still plays such tricks. He is really despicable and has evil intentions."

"Your Highness said in the letter that the Turks' massive bridge construction across the Hun River was just a bluff. Jie Li's main attack direction must be Eyang Ridge. Don't underestimate this earthen plug."

"But once the river freezes over after some time, this plug will become an important barrier in the otherwise flat Hunhe River."

"As long as we occupy this place, we can cut off the Tang army's eastern and western lines, making it impossible for us to take care of both ends. If we lose it, we will have to pay ten times the price to take it back. Otherwise, our army will surely be defeated in the battle of Dingxiang."

Cheng Yaojin gnashed his teeth and said, "Yinan also knows this, but he has ulterior motives. He wants to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the tigers. He wants to watch our army and Jie Li consume each other, and then he will conserve his strength to prepare for cleaning up the grassland situation and replacing Jie Li as the new Khan. He is really cunning!"

Xue Rengui suddenly realized, "Yes, it won't be long before the Hunhe River freezes over, and people can just walk across the river. Why would the Turks need to build boats and bridges?"

"Isn't this a waste of time?"

"It seems, Deputy Commander, we need to strengthen the defense of Evil Sheep Ridge. There are only a thousand people there now, which is too few. If Jie Li really sends people to attack, we will definitely not be able to hold out."

Cheng Yaojin shook his head and handed over the letter: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that Jie Li is determined to take Eyang Ridge, and he is willing to use his strongest force to take it down before our army can react."

"Your Highness told us not to just defend, but to take advantage of the enemy's tactics. We should deploy 5,000 troops on Evil Sheep Ridge, and then use 100,000 troops to ambush and try to defeat the invading enemy in one fell swoop."

Xue Rengui took the letter, glanced at it hastily, and then his expression brightened up, and he became excited all of a sudden: "Deputy Commander, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that Jie Li gave the most elite 30,000 troops directly under the Khan's tent to Ashina Simo to attack Eyangling. As long as I use internal and external forces, I can eat up these 30,000 people."

"If they fail to capture Eyang Ridge and lose these 30,000 troops, Jie Li will not be able to stay in Dingxiang any longer and will definitely retreat back to the Yellow River and Yinshan Mountains. Then, the situation will be very bad. If Yi Nan and Fu Biheli take advantage of the situation and attack again, Jie Li will definitely be defeated."

"In that case, we will deploy according to the arrangements made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Cheng Yaojin was not as excited as Xue Rengui. Instead, he walked back and forth in the hall, seeming very hesitant and undecided.

"Deputy Commander, are you in any trouble?" Xue Rengui asked tentatively when he saw Cheng Yaojin was hesitant.

Cheng Yaojin shook his head and said worriedly, "If Your Highness only wants us to strengthen the guard of Eyang Ridge, that's fine. It's also within my authority. But if you want to mobilize 100,000 troops to encircle and suppress Ashina Simo, that would be too much of a commotion."

"There are only a little over 100,000 troops on the Dingxiang front line, defending various key fortresses. The other 100,000 are led by Li Jingzheng, the commander-in-chief appointed by the emperor. On the way to Dingxiang, the emperor issued an order that the Dingxiang battle should be commanded by the commander-in-chief."

"Now that I have mobilized so many troops to encircle and suppress Evil Sheep Ridge without authorization, other places must be weak."

"This is like putting the victory or defeat on the line, just in case something goes wrong."

"Of course, I'm not doubting the Crown Prince's judgment, but I'm worried that Jie Li is cunning and will use a feint to the east to attack the west. He will transfer all our main forces to Eyang Ridge, but actually attack Shuofang City. Then this place will definitely be lost."

"Once Shuofang is lost, the entire front line of defense will be torn apart. If Jie Li attacks, it will directly affect the entire battle and the Tang Dynasty will be in danger. At that time, not only me, but also His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be implicated. How can I explain to the court?"

Xue Rengui was immediately puzzled when he heard Cheng Yaojin's analysis of the overall situation. Finally, he thought, "Deputy Commander, can we mobilize fewer troops, such as 50,000, to encircle and suppress Ashina Simo without weakening other places too much?"

"no!"

Cheng Yaojin said decisively: "The prince said that the 30,000 most brave men under Jie Li's direct command who attacked Eyangling were also the most capable and skilled general among the Turks. He is definitely not a mediocre person."

"The 30,000 elite troops led by him cannot be annihilated without 100,000 troops from the Tang Dynasty."

"So, either we give up and just strengthen the defense of Eyang Ridge to ensure that it is not lost before General Li arrives; or we go all out and fight to the death to eat up Ashina Simo and these 30,000 people, and determine the outcome of the Battle of Dingxiang in advance?"

"Your Highness, are you giving me a difficult question?"

"Either you win a great victory and become a hero to the entire Tang Dynasty, or you lose your reputation and become a criminal."

(End of this chapter)