Chapter 377 Strategic Showdown
Li Heng said this, but in his heart he fully affirmed Wei Xianyi's abilities.

The Jingzhao Wei family has always been a prominent family in Guanzhong. In early years, there was a saying that "The Jingzhao Wei and Du are five feet away from the sky." Later, Du Fu quoted this saying in his poem. From this, we can see the influence of the Jingzhao Wei family in Guanzhong.

The Wei family has been passed down to the present day, and there are more than a dozen branches. Wei Xianyi is a descendant of Wei Xiaokuan. Because Wei Xiaokuan was granted the title of Duke of Yun in the Sui Dynasty, their branch is called the Duke of Yun branch.

Wei Xianyi persuaded Wei Zhaoxun to mobilize several other families to cooperate with him in promoting the implementation of the Two Tax Law, which indeed saved him a lot of trouble.

But where there is joy there is sorrow.

Shi Siming was too cunning and stayed in Raoyang the whole time, making Guo Ziyi think that he cared very much about the gain and loss of a city or a place, which led to Guo Ziyi's mistake in dividing his troops.

Shi Siming then took advantage of Guo Ziyi's mistake in dividing the troops, handed over the burdensome An Lushan and his son to the government troops, and led his own troops to consume the government troops' manpower.

Then, he led his troops to retreat to Mozhou, using Mancheng as a bridgehead and building a defense line along Mozhou and Yizhou.

This was just Shi Siming's military action. Politically, Shi Siming acted in three steps.

In the first step, he focused on stabilizing the internal situation of Fan Yang and Ping Lu and winning the hearts of the people.

The second step was to have the imperial court capture An Lushan and An Qingxu to clear the way for him to completely control Fan Yang and Ping Lu.

The third step was to use the gold and silver that An Lushan had previously taken back from Fanyang to spend a lot of money to regain cooperation with the Xi, Khitan, Tongluo, and Shiwei. These forces had been beaten by the Tang Dynasty before, and now that An Lushan was rebelling, they were happy to let An Lushan act as a buffer and gain some benefits.

After this series of combined attacks, Shi Siming managed to gain a foothold in Fan Yang and Ping Lu, but Li Heng had a headache.

Since Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Liao Kingdom in the late Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty had not been able to control Youzhou (i.e. the area around Fan Yang) for a long time. The Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom fought more than a dozen battles, with mixed wins and losses, but neither was able to take back Youzhou.

The famous battle of Zhao Guangyi, the famous god of war and chariot god of Gaoliang River, took place in Youzhou.

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that Zhu Yuanzhang reincorporated various parts of Youzhou into the Central Plains.

Then, Zhu Di used Youzhou as a corner to drive his nephew Zhu Yunwen out of power.

If we really want to compare Shi Siming's situation to that of the Liao Kingdom and Zhu Di, Shi Siming should be in the middle, worse than the Liao Kingdom, but better than when Zhu Di first started his rebellion.

Based on Shi Siming's actions, Li Heng could roughly guess Shi Siming's next three strategies.

The first step was to resist the attack of the imperial court, and at the same time go out of Juyongguan to compete with the imperial court for Yunzhou and other places, and block the gate to the northeast of Hedong.

The second step is to maintain a strategic stalemate. As long as the imperial court cannot capture Youzhou for a while, Shi Siming will be able to free up his hands and head north to recover a large area of ​​power in the northeast.

The third step is counterattack.

Li Heng's response to Shi Siming's three-step strategy was very simple, which was to make Shi Siming unable to withstand the first step.

Based on this, Li Heng planned the military deployment of the Tang army in response to Shi Siming's first strategy, and divided it into three routes.

The first route, led by Guo Ziyi, marched northward from the front. The second route, led by Li Guangbi, left Yunzhou from Hedong, passed Juyongguan, and approached Youzhou. The third route, led by Yan Zhenqing, crossed the Bohai Sea and marched back to Pinglu.

Li Heng already had an idea, so he discussed it with Feng Changqing and at the same time sent a letter to the front line to ask for the opinions of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi.

……

A few days later, Yan Zhenqing brought An Lushan and An Qingxu to Beijing. At the same time, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi also sent a memorial stating that Li Heng's strategy was very feasible.

In the Purple Palace.

Yan Zhenqing walked into the hall in a hurry, and when he arrived at the hall, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Li Heng went down the steps and helped Yan Zhenqing up. Seeing that Yan Zhenqing's eyes were full of tears, Li Heng was also quite affected and said with emotion, "Since we parted in Hexi, I have never seen a Qing minister again."

Qingchen is the pen name of Yan Zhenqing.

Yan Zhenqing said excitedly: "I have long wanted to see Your Majesty, but Hebei is in turmoil, so I can only express my thoughts from afar."

"You are a loyal and upright official and have suffered!" Li Ying held Yan Zhenqing's hand, deeply moved.

Yan Zhenqing said: "I have lived up to your majesty and the Tang Dynasty, and I have no regrets!"

Li Ying said, "I have prepared a banquet to welcome you, Qing minister."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yan Zhenqing was not polite and went to the banquet with Li Heng.

When he arrived at the banquet, Yan Zhenqing saw a familiar person.

This person was Yan Gaoqing’s son, Yan Quanming.

Yan Quanming had been detained by Wang Chengye before. After Li Guangbi succeeded Wang Chengye, he sent Yan Quanming back to Chang'an. Li Heng commended Yan Quanming and gave him an official title.

When Yan Quanming saw Yan Zhenqing, he stepped forward and knelt down.

Yan Zhenqing helped Yan Quanming up, speechless and choked with emotion.

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but shed tears.

Li Ying came forward and invited the two to take their seats, but nothing was said that day.

The next day, in the Government Affairs Hall.

Li Heng told Yan Zhenqing about his strategy of dividing his troops into three routes, and hoped that Yan Zhenqing would lead his troops to Pinglu.

Yan Zhenqing replied: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Pinglu to quell the rebellion, but would it be more appropriate for Wang Zhengxuan, the governor of Pinglu, to be the commander-in-chief?"

Li Ying said, "I'll be honest with Qingchen."

Yan Zhenqing said: "Your Majesty, please enlighten me."

Li Heng said: "Although Wang Zhengxuan is the governor of Pinglu, there are three reasons why he cannot be the commander-in-chief. First, he has withdrawn from Pinglu and temporarily lives in Pingyuan. The soldiers of Pinglu also have complaints about him. Second, the internal forces of Pinglu are complicated and Wang Zhengxuan is just a representative. If he is the commander, the other loyal Tang forces in Pinglu may feel uneasy and cause civil strife. Third, the death of Liu Zhengchen is still a mystery. I am willing to believe that it was not done by Wang Zhengxuan, but others may not believe it. Based on these three points, Wang Zhengxuan can only be the deputy commander-in-chief, not the commander-in-chief."

Yan Zhenqing felt that what Li Heng said made sense. After thinking for a while, he said, "Your Majesty is right. However, the Tang Dynasty now has countless famous generals. Your Majesty can also send someone else to serve as the commander-in-chief."

Li Heng shook his head and said, "Compared to others, Qingchen, you are more suitable to be the commander-in-chief in two ways. First, when Liu Zhengchen raised an army to suppress the rebellion, he secretly contacted you, which shows that you are deeply loved and trusted by the people in Hebei."

When Yan Zhenqing heard this, he was shocked, because this was exactly the reason why he didn't want to be the head coach.

However, when he looked up and saw Li Heng's calm expression, he was instantly relieved.

He knew that he was overthinking it. Li Heng was not afraid of his prominent reputation in Hebei and his position as the leader of the alliance.

Li Heng continued, "Second, Wang Zhengxuan gave up Pinglu and came to Pingyuan, where he stayed for a long time. He is most familiar with you and trusts you the most. Only if you are the commander-in-chief will he be willing to obey your orders."

There is a premise behind what Li Heng said, that is, Wang Zhengxuan must be there for the trip to Pinglu this time. Firstly, Wang Zhengxuan has old subordinates in Pinglu and has a certain appeal if he goes there. Secondly, Wang Zhengxuan and his Pinglu troops are very familiar with Pinglu and are familiar with crossing the Bohai Sea. Only with Wang Zhengxuan leading the way can the government troops have the strength to fight in Pinglu.

(End of this chapter)