Li Xiuning frowned and stared at Luo Shixin for a long time.
She knew that Luo Shixin was a man who valued friendship and loyalty. Luo Shixin must feel very uncomfortable watching Li Yuanji in danger.
She thought it over again and again, and said to Luo Shixin: "I can take you back, but you must obey my orders."
Luo Shixin straightened his expression and said, "If anyone violates this order, Your Highness, please punish them by military law!"
Li Xiuning nodded and asked Luo Shixin to replace Zhang Shigui and follow her troops back to Weize Pass.
…
Li Xiuning, Li Shentong, Li Shiji and others all felt that the main force of the Turks had gone to Weize Pass, and Weize Pass should have fallen into an unprecedented dangerous situation.
But Li Yuanji, who was in Weize Pass, knew that Weize Pass could be even more dangerous.
Li Yuanji just slept peacefully in Weize Pass.
After waking up from a sleep, Weize Pass had changed a lot.
The peaceful and tranquil Weize Pass suddenly became chaotic.
The Turks appeared outside Weize Pass overnight. Hundreds of thousands of Turks set up camp outside the pass, stretching as far as the eye could see.
When the people on the city wall saw this, their scalps felt a little tingling.
The situation inside Weize Pass is not peaceful either.
Liu Heita, who escaped from Mingzhou, appeared in Weize Pass at some point and appeared behind Li Yuanji.
Weize Pass was suddenly attacked by the Turks and Liu Heita, and was caught in a dilemma, isolated and helpless.
Li Zhongwen's calves were trembling a little, Xie Shufang's breathing was a little rapid, and only Su Dingfang remained calm.
The reason why Li Zhongwen's calves were trembling was not because he was frightened by the display of power by the Turks and Liu Heita, but because he was frightened by Li Yuanji.
The sword that Li Yuanji carried with him was already placed on Li Zhongwen's neck.
Li Yuanji stared at Li Zhongwen with a dark face and asked, "Where are the scouts you sent out? Why didn't I know that the Turks and Liu Heita had sneaked into my sight?"
Li Yuanji wanted to kill Li Zhongwen. According to the "rules" for guarding the pass, during the war, any pass that could be affected must have scouts patrol dozens of miles away, day and night.
The purpose is to avoid enemy surprise attack and catch the enemy off guard.
But the Turks and Liu Heita appeared overnight, and he had not received any news before that.
This shows that Li Zhongwen failed in his duty.
Li Zhongwen dodged the blade in Li Yuanji's hand and said with a bitter face: "Since the Turks and Liu Heita appeared at Weize Pass at the same time, it means that they have secretly communicated with each other and had planned it in advance.
If they had planned it in advance, there is no way they would have revealed their whereabouts and been detected by us.
The scouts I sent out would have probably been killed by them long ago."
Li Yuanji stared at Li Zhongwen intently, "Is this an excuse or a reason?"
Li Zhongwen failed in his duty and that is it. No matter what we say, it will be of no use.
The scouts are there to spy on military intelligence, but they don't go out and never come back. They are usually rotated every few hours.
The purpose is to avoid being assassinated by the enemy.
Therefore, what Li Zhongwen said, whether it was or that the scouts fell under their swords, were all excuses and reasons.
It also does not reduce Li Zhongwen's crime of dereliction of duty.
"Your Highness, now that things have come to this, we should think about how to deal with it as soon as possible. Judging from the postures of the Turks and Liu Heita, they will launch an attack on Wei Ze Pass after they have reorganized themselves."
Xie Shufang said in a deep voice.
Li Yuanji took the sword and hit Li Zhongwen hard, knocking Li Zhongwen to the ground.
Li Zhongwen grimaced in pain but didn't dare to scream.
Li Yuanji dropped his sword and his eyes fell on Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang.
"Tell me, how should we deal with the current situation?"
Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang looked at each other and said nothing.
In their minds, there was only one option, and that was to defend Weize Pass to the death.
But in Li Yuanji's mind, there are two paths to choose from.
One option is to defend Weize Pass to the death, fight the Turks and Liu Heita to the death, and try to hold out until reinforcements arrive.
One option is to abandon Weize Pass and break out into the pass.
Liu Heita had only some remnants of defeated soldiers in his hands. With the troops in Li Yuanji's hands, it would be easy for him to break through.
But if Li Yuanji broke through, he would leave Weize Pass to the Turks and Liu Heita.
Then the Turks would surely march straight south through Weize Pass, and Liu Heita would rise again with the support of the Turks and wreak havoc on the Tang Dynasty once again.
At that time, not only the people of Hebei will suffer, but also many states such as Taiyuan, Shizhou, Fenzhou, Yizhou, Jinzhou, Jiangzhou, and Zezhou will suffer.
It is possible that it will also affect Luoyang, Henan Province and other places.
In other words, if Li Yuanji had broken through, there was a high possibility that millions of people in the Tang Dynasty would have been harmed by the Turks and Liu Heita.
The population of the Tang Dynasty was originally small. If it were to be troubled by the Turks and Liu Heita again, it would take who knows how many years it would take to recover.
Hebei Province in particular had been turbulent for several times during this chaotic time, with starving people everywhere and bandits rampant.
If Liu Heita were to trouble Hebei Province again, there would probably be no one left alive except those from wealthy families.
Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang both felt that they could not break out.
But if Li Yuanji insisted on breaking out, they had no choice but to obey his orders.
Although they had their own ideas, they were more clear that they were Li Yuanji's subordinates and must follow Li Yuanji's lead.
Seeing that Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang were looking at him without saying anything, Li Yuanji could guess what they were thinking.
Li Yuanji was struggling and confused in his heart.
It was really difficult for him to decide whether to break through or defend.
If he broke out, he would have to watch millions of people being slaughtered by the Turks and Liu Heita.
If he didn't break out, he would most likely be bullied by the Turks and Liu Heita.
He wanted to save his own life and also protect the people.
But now there is no way to have the best of both worlds.
He couldn't follow his previous strategy in Mingshui City and let Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang defend Weize Pass while he broke out and stood in the safest position.
He is now the biggest head in Weizeguan at that moment, and everyone in Weizeguan is staring at him.
If he runs away, the army will be in chaos.
Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang had no way of winning over the hearts of the troops.
Otherwise, Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang would have asked him to break out long ago.
He must now advance and retreat together with the people of Weize Pass, and he can only advance and retreat together with the people of Weize Pass.
"Pass the order down, defend Weize Pass to the death!"
Li Yuanji hesitated and struggled for a long time, and finally spoke with gritted teeth.
A hint of smile appeared on Su Dingfang's face.
Xie Shufang breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot more relaxed.
They were different from Li Yuanji. The moment they went to the battlefield, they were prepared to die on the battlefield.
Therefore, dying in battle is never a sad thing for them, but rather a very heroic thing.
They never thought of running away, they were just worried that Li Yuanji would run away.
If Li Yuanji ran away, they would have to run with him and bear the blame together.
"Send a message to the craftsmen in the forge, asking them to temporarily put aside the task of making armor for the soldiers and focus on making armor for the war horses. The style should be based on the style of the Black Armor Army."
Li Yuanji spoke again.
Although he decided to defend Weize Pass to the death, he did not intend to die in Weize Pass.
Now that the battle has reached the last moment and there are only a group of guards left by his side, he will definitely lead the guards to fight a bloody path and break out.
Although a breakout was still a breakout at that time, he had already tried his best at Weize Pass at that time and had already lived up to his conscience. If Weize Pass was really undefendable, there was no need for him to sacrifice his life at the pass.
As for asking the craftsmen to forge the same equipment as that of the Black Armor Army under Li Shimin, it was also to prepare for a breakout.
The Black Armor Army under Li Shimin were heavily armored cavalry.
Heavy cavalry is best suited for unexpected assaults.
The heavy cavalry attacked unexpectedly, and the enemy was completely unprepared and could not stop the charge.
Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang didn't understand why Li Yuanji suddenly asked the craftsmen to make armor for the war horses. Was it to assemble heavy armored cavalry to fight the enemy or to prepare for the subsequent breakout, so they couldn't express any objections.
"I will send someone to instruct the craftsmen in a moment."
Xie Shufang bowed and said.
Li Yuanji nodded and said in a deep voice: "Tell me, how should we defend it?"
Su Dingfang had been waiting for Li Yuanji to say this. He had already made some plans in his mind, so after hearing what Li Yuanji said, he bowed without hesitation and said, "The Turks have many soldiers and generals, and we are no match for them. We can only defend the city to resist the Turks. But the soldiers under Liu Heita are all remnants of defeated generals, and now they are not firmly established. If we can suddenly attack and kill them by surprise, we may be able to wipe them out.
This way, we can avoid being attacked from both sides.”
Xie Shufang was slightly stunned and carefully considered the feasibility of what Su Dingfang said.
After a moment, he nodded and said, "I think it is feasible. After Liu Heita was defeated by the Tang Dynasty, he only had more than a thousand soldiers and horses under his command, and he did not have much food and grass.
After rushing here from Mingzhou, everyone must be exhausted and hungry.
He should now send people to plunder the people inside the pass and take food from them.
If we lead our men out at this time, we will have a chance to wipe out Liu Heita in one fell swoop."
Liu Heita also took advantage of the power of the Turks and came to Weize Pass to show off his military power.
If there were no Turks, he would have to take a detour when he saw Weize Pass.
There are now nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses inside Weize Pass, most of whom are elite soldiers and strong generals, which is far beyond the ability of the few people under Liu Heita to deal with.
Li Yuanji nodded thoughtfully and said solemnly: "Our strength is far superior to Liu Heita's. Liu Heita dared to appear in front of us openly. He might be trying to lure us out of the city to fight.
So we have to be on guard.”