Chapter 0042: Pursuit
At Tongguan, Yuwen Shu led a large army to guard the city. The heads of Yang Xuangan, Yang Jishan and others were clearly visible on the city walls. More than 100,000 troops gathered at Tongguan. Yuwen Shu, as the main general who came to eliminate Yang Xuangan, of course sat in the main seat. Below him, people like Wei Xuan, Yin Shishi and others sat down one after another.
"Your Majesty's carriage is about to return to Guanzhong. Your Majesty has agreed to our request to change Yang Xuangan's surname to Xiao. Yang Xuangan has become history, but if you think that this matter should be let go, it would be too simple. Yang Xuangan's son-in-law, Li Yu, the son of the rebel general Li Zixiong, has already escaped and captured generals along the way. Hongnong, Hancheng and other places have been captured by him. Three days ago, he even defeated the general who guards the palace. Now he has at least a thousand soldiers and a thousand cavalry. I believe you all know what kind of results will be brought about by such cavalry running rampant in the Central Plains. The people will suffer. These are all our faults." Yuwen Shu's face looked unhappy. He was defeated by Li Yu, and now his grandson was also defeated by Li Yu.
"Although Li Yu's 1,000 cavalrymen may seem numerous, they are just rootless duckweed. As long as the general issues an order to order the cities everywhere to defend themselves, they will first consume the enemy's food and grass, and will eventually be defeated by us." Yin Shishi said indifferently. He did not take the 1,000 cavalrymen seriously, let alone a small Li Yu.
"Even the general guarding the palace was defeated by him, which shows that Li Yu should not be underestimated. Such a man has the courage of a overlord. If he is given the opportunity, he may become another Yang Xuangan." Wei Xuan recalled the heroic appearance of Li Yu when he saw him on the battlefield, and he took him very seriously.
"Lord Wei is right. He is Yang Xuangan's son-in-law. Do you think such a person will surrender to the Tang Dynasty?" Yuwen Shu glanced at everyone and said, "In my opinion, Li Yu will probably flee to the south. The soldiers in the south are weak and have not been trained for a long time. If his soldiers enter the south, we will consume more strength. His Majesty is about to return to Guanzhong, and he does not want Yang Xuangan's power to exist in the Central Plains."
Yang Guang trusted Yang Guang very much, otherwise, he would not have entrusted him with the important task of grain and fodder. Unfortunately, Yang Xuangan rebelled, which was a big blow to Yang Guang, making him even more doubtful of the Guanlong family's loyalty to him.
" I am willing to lead my troops to encircle and suppress Li Yu." Yin Shishi stood up. Qu Tutong was guarding Hedong. Although Lai Huer's troops were here, his troops were not directly under Yuwen Shu's command, but belonged to the Eastern Expedition. Yin Shishi's troops became the only ones that could be mobilized.
"Well, since General Yin is willing to lead the army, that's the best thing." After hearing this, Yuwen Shu was overjoyed and said, "Yuwen Tianbao is still in Yichuan, and he has a thousand cavalrymen, who can also help the general."
"I obey your command." Yin Shishi was unhappy. His 30,000 troops were enough to destroy Li Yu, but Yuwen Shu still asked Yuwen Tianbao to help him at this time. It was obvious that he was trying to steal the credit. Although he was very depressed, he did not say it out loud.
"General, there is a letter from the General who guards the palace." At this time, a personal soldier rushed in from outside and handed over a letter with both hands.
Yuwen Shu suddenly had a bad feeling, so he reached out and grabbed it. After opening it, he said, "Li Yu attacked Luhun Pass and killed the guards of Luhun Pass. He also killed officials of all ranks in Luhun Pass, and even some local big families. Li Yu not only robbed a lot of money, but also distributed the land of these big families to the people. When Li Yu left, many people joined his team."
After hearing this, Wei Xuan and the others' faces changed drastically. He couldn't help but say, "He is more terrifying than Yang Xuangan. This boy must not be kept alive. General Yin, this man must be killed."
When Yang Xuangan raised his army, he only used food to recruit a lot of young and strong men to join the army, and did not touch the land. Food will always run out, but land is different. Land is the lifeblood of the family, how can it be given to others. Li Yu has already touched the interests of the family. It is conceivable that if this person continues to kill, who knows how many aristocratic families will follow him and suffer. Even Wei Xuan was a little worried.
"I understand. I will definitely take his head." Yin Shishi said quickly.
"General Yin, Li Yu is best at taking risks when employing his troops. Whether it was trampling on my central army camp, or taking Hongnong, attacking Hancheng, or even the current Luhun Pass, all of them were risky. The general must be careful." Yuwen Shu was a little worried. He was afraid that Yin Shishi would be fooled, so he warned him seriously.
"Use the normal to defeat the strange. Li Yu's success today is just luck. I have an army of 30,000, plus General Zhendian's 1,000 elite cavalry. Li Yu is definitely not my opponent." Yin Shishi did not take Li Yu seriously at all. No matter how powerful the opponent's troops were, they were just a little over a thousand cavalry, which was nothing at all.
"That's great. This general will allow you to mobilize the troops from the surrounding counties." Yuwen Shu stopped persuading him. He also believed that Yin Shishi's 30,000 troops plus 1,000 cavalry could definitely defeat Li Yu. After all, the difference in strength between the two was too great. Even if Li Yu had great abilities, he could not be Yin Shishi's opponent.
"General, you can let the cavalry of the general who guards the palace follow closely behind Li Yu. We don't need to attack, but just delay Li Yu's marching speed." Wei Xuan added: "Li Yu is mostly cavalry, so it is easy for him to escape. We can only wait until General Yin's troops arrive to encircle him."
Yuwen Shu nodded after hearing this. He knew that Wei Xuan was worried that Yuwen Tianbao would not be willing to accept defeat and would attack Li Yu again. By that time, not only would he not be able to defeat Li Yu, but he would also be able to weaken Yuwen Tianbao's power. He immediately wrote a letter in person to warn Yuwen Tianbao to be careful of Li Yu.
Yin Shishi listened to Yuwen Shu's words and led 30,000 troops to chase Li Yu. He was determined to kill Li Yu with his sword. Although Li Yu knew that Yuwen Shu would never accept defeat and would definitely send a large army to chase him, he never expected that it was Yin Shishi who was chasing him, and it was a 30,000-strong army and Yuwen Tianbao's former cavalry.
He was quite relaxed. He crossed the Yishui River in Huangzhuang and continued to fight southward. There were few cities along the way, mostly mountainous rural areas. Whenever he encountered a rural bully, Li Yu would order his men to kill him, confiscate his land, distribute it to the poor people, and collect food and grass for his own use. From Huangzhuang to the vicinity of Lu County, Li Yu had made a lot of money, and even increased his troops. Many young and old joined The number of troops reached 20,000, and there were as many as 1,500 soldiers who could fight. This was the result of Li Yu's selection of elite soldiers. Otherwise, Li Jing could get 5,000 people with a wave of his hand.
Of course, the pursuers behind him also caught up.
