Xue Bai held the newspaper in his hand, which was why he dared to kill Liu Zhi directly.

Du Jin said: "But look here, you can see Fang Guan's intention. Li Heng appointed Fang Guan as the chief commander to recruit soldiers and horses to conquer Xijing and defend Pu and Tong. He seems to be the commander-in-chief of this eastward march.

"

Xue Bai also saw that Fang Guan had indeed said this to Liu Zhi in the letter, saying that he would lead an army to attack Chang'an in the near future, so that Liu Zhi could confidently and boldly promote the imperial edict.

He couldn't help but frown, tapped his fingers on the desk, and murmured: "How could it be?"

"You don't believe it?"

"Why did Li Heng leave Guo Ziyi, Feng Changqing, Pugu Huai'en and other famous generals unused, and instead appointed Fang Guan as the commander? He has served as a civil servant, when did he have experience in fighting?"

"Are you worried that this is a trick?"

"Well, if Li Hengming takes Fang Guan as the commander-in-chief but secretly sends a general to take a detour, Chang'an will be in danger."

This matter cannot be judged based on Fang Guan's letter alone, so Xue Bai can only send sentries to inquire.

In just a few days, Li Heng and his army had arrived at Yong County, and changed Fufeng County to Fengxiang County and called it Xijing. In the eyes of the world, Li Cong named Xue Bai "King Yong" to make Xue Bai

Li Heng's intention was settled.

The battle with Cui Qianyou had just ended. The officers and soldiers were already very exhausted and had no time to recuperate. The surrendered rebels had no time to reorganize. Chang'an City's food reserves had not been restored at all.

Even Xue Bai hoped to defeat An Qingxu first, quell the war, and restore Jianghuai's supply to Chang'an.

He also thought of waiting for Fan Yang's rebellion to be put down before sending someone to Yangzhou to pick up Yan Yan.

As a result, they were about to face Li Heng, and their fatigue suddenly increased. It can be imagined that the soldiers and civilians of Chang'an were not very enthusiastic about this war.

Xue Bai had to admit that he had become one of the "two tigers fighting", while Li Heng sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, occupying more time.

~~

On the ninth day of June, the sentry horse reported the news.

At the Marshal's Mansion, Xue Bai discussed the military situation with the generals and learned that the enemy commander might be Fang Guan. Everyone had different reactions.

"The prime minister personally led the troops. It seems that Li Heng's side is determined to win this battle."

"I'm more afraid of Guo Ziyi and Feng Changqing."

"Fang Guan is not simple either. This person is famous and very strategic..."

After listening to this, Xue Bai walked to the sand table and silently laid out the war chess. After a while, Li Guangbi also came over.

Including the rebels who surrendered, they numbered 130,000, and they were quite elite. Their strength was not inferior to that of Li Heng. The problem was that there was far from enough logistical supplies.

"I'm not afraid that the enemy will spread out their troops and fight us in the wild." Xue Bai said slowly, "If Fang Guan is commanding, Li Jieshuai will be able to defeat him easily."

"It may not be easy." Li Guangbi said: "We should be able to defeat him before Chang'an runs out of food without losing too many troops."

Xue Bai picked up the long pole, moved the war chess, and said: "But if Li Heng sends a group of soldiers and horses to detour, threaten Huayin, and besiege Chang'an, then Chang'an will be undefendable in less than a month."

"good."

Li Heng was different from An Qingxu. Once Li Heng besieged Chang'an, it was very easy to make all parts of the world no longer support Li Cong. Then Xue Bai would almost definitely lose this battle.

"I have another worry." Xue Bai continued: "An Qingxu has now escaped across the Yellow River, and it is time to arrive near Xiangzhou. We will annihilate him within a short time. But if we concentrate our forces against Li Heng at this time, we will definitely

Give him a chance to breathe."

Li Guangbi said: "Although the main force of the Yan bandits is lost, they can recruit soldiers and horses at any time. If we let An Qingxu go this time, he will surely rise again."

"Yes, the task of eradicating evil is over." Xue Bai said: "I am determined to destroy An Qingxu in one go, frighten the generals of the various states, and restore the prestige of the imperial court."

This resulted in a two-front battle. Now that the small court in Chang'an had lost its nominal support, it had to face Li Heng's 200,000 border troops before it could gain a stable footing. A two-front battle was obviously difficult.

Li Guangbi understood Xue Bai's thinking very well.

He pointed at the sand table and said: "We need to send a large general to the east to coordinate the war situation in Henan, Hebei, and Jianghuai. Not only to completely annihilate An Qingxu, but also to reopen the grain road from Jianghuai to Chang'an."

"good."

Li Guangbi thought for a long time and said slowly: "If I guard Chang'an, 70,000 troops and horses will be enough. King Yong can send a large general to take over Hebei."

Xue Bai said: "Is it okay for Commander Li Jie to lead the troops to conquer An Qingxu?"

Li Guangbi was slightly startled.

Of course, he would rather lead his troops to fight An Qingxu than participate in an internal fight between the royal families. In this way, even if Li Heng wins, he will not be held accountable in the future, but will be rewarded for his contribution to pacifying Hu Ni.

But he didn't expect that Xue Bai would entrust such a major matter to him.

"Isn't King Yong afraid that I will rebel if I advance eastward?"

"In that case, there is nothing I can do." Xue Bai said, "Just from the fact that Li Heng appointed Fang Guan as the coach, we can see that he is definitely not a British leader. Can't Li Jieshuai not think of the reason why he did this?"

Of course Li Guangbi could see that Li Heng's appointment was either to confuse the enemy or to make him a relative and fear the general. In comparison, King Yong dared to let him lead the troops to put down the rebellion at this juncture, which seemed much more courageous.

~~

Feng Xiang.

Li Heng left the palace and went to the Marshal's Mansion in person. He saw Li Chu, Li Mi and others dealing with various complicated state affairs.

Although Li Mi refused to be awarded an official position and still wore the feathered robe, the operation of the new court these days could not be separated from him. Whether it was formulating strategies, raising money and food, or even solving Li Heng's personal doubts, whether it was big or small affairs,

They are all counseled by him.

But in some matters, Li Heng did not follow Li Mi's advice.

For example, Li Mi proposed to send troops to support Chang'an, but Li Heng did not agree. Li Mi then asked Li Guangbi to enter the city first to eliminate the rebels for him, and Li Heng was tempted. Unexpectedly, Li Guangbi turned to Li Cong. In response, Li Heng

Heng didn't say anything on the surface, but he had other thoughts in his heart.

Now that Li Cong has surrendered Tian Chengsi, the situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable. Li Heng is worried, but Li Mi proposes that there is no need to rush to capture Chang'an, but that the general should be sent to pacify Hebei first and capture Fan Yang. After the rebellion of An's father and son is completely resolved,

After that, if Henan is occupied, Chang'an will be cut off from food and grass and will be destroyed without attack.

This time, Li Bi's attitude was very firm. He believed that Li Heng had the support of the Supreme Emperor and was the legitimate emperor of the Tang Dynasty. As long as the bandits were put down first and the world was at peace, there would be no reason why Henan and Jianghuai should not return. There is no need at all.

Raise a large army to attack Chang'an.

Li Heng refused to listen at all.

First, it took a long detour to Hebei to put down the rebellion first, and then take Henan and Jianghuai. It took too long, with long nights and many dreams. No one knew what would happen during this period. For example, Li Longji's attitude changed again; second, although Li Cong surrendered

The rebels, but Chang'an City had just emerged from the flames of war, and they could not be given a chance to breathe again, otherwise Li Cong would definitely win over people with his great achievements.

He desperately wanted to regain Chang'an, get rid of Li Cong and Xue Bai, and even invited Huihe soldiers. How could he go in the opposite direction at this time?

Therefore, he came today to appease Li Mi.

"Chang Yuan, are you still blaming me for not listening to you?" Li Heng said with a smile, "I have my own considerations."

The emperor came to explain in person, and Li Bi couldn't say anything else. He sighed slightly and gave another suggestion.

"Fang Gong has the talent of a king's assistant. He is upright and kind and has great virtues. If after the recovery, your Majesty uses him to calm down the curtains and calm the temple, he will definitely become a famous prime minister. Using soldiers is not his strong point. Because your Majesty hired him to do great things and hope that he will succeed, I'm afraid that he will succeed."

Inappropriate. Why not use King Guangping as the commander-in-chief and Guo Ziyi as his deputy?"

Now Xue Bai has been named Prince Yong, but Li Chu is still just the Prince of Guangping County.

In fact, Li Heng wanted to make his sons princes and Zhang Ting queen. He discussed this matter with Li Mi more than once, but Li Mi politely reminded him several times that he could not, saying that His Majesty's accession to the throne was for official purposes.

, rushing to reward your wife and children will only misunderstand the world.

Because of this, Zhang Ting was quite dissatisfied and complained to Li Heng several times that Li Mi had selfish motives. Li Heng often listened to such gossips and no longer believed in Li Mi's suggestions as he used to.

"Don't worry, Fang Cong takes the world as his own responsibility, knows everything he knows, and participates in the decision-making of machine affairs." Li Heng said: "We will definitely regain Chang'an in one battle."

Li Heng did have his own considerations in using Fang Guan.

Because of Li Guangbi's defection to Li Cong, Li Heng had some doubts about generals such as Chang Qing and Guo Ziyi. In addition, these generals had already arrived at a vassal town, and if they made great contributions to regaining Chang'an, they would inevitably be unrewarded in the future.

Of course, he did trust Fang Guan.

~~

On June 20, Fang Guan sent out troops.

In fact, including the Huihe reinforcements, Li Heng only raised 150,000 troops, known as an army of 200,000.

Fang Guan divided his troops into three armies. Yang Xiwen led the southern army and marched from Zhouzhi County; Liu Cao led the Chinese army and marched from Wugong County; Li Guangjin led the northern army and marched from Qian County.

Now the Jiannan reinforcements guarding the west of Chang'an have returned to Shu under the leadership of Yan Wu. Therefore, the 200,000-strong army made good progress and arrived at Xianyang Bridge on the bank of the Wei River on the first day of July.

Soon, the sentry horse reported that a few days ago, Li Guangbi had led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to the east, and actually left Tongguan.

Fang Guan was doubtful about this, and frowned at the map and thought for a long time, fearing that King Qing's rebels would take a detour to attack him. With this worry, he waited for two days to make sure there was no ambush, and then ordered to cross the Xianyang Bridge.

Soon, an array of King Qing's rebels appeared in front, and King Naiwang was in the vanguard.

The horn sounded, and both sides set up their formations, carefully testing each other and eagerly preparing for a fierce battle.
Chapter completed!