Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

After scolding Li Tai, Li Chengqian's anger subsided a little.

After calming down, he asked Du He in confusion: "Du He, why are you speaking for Zhang Jian?"

"He signed a military order before going into battle, and he also lost so many soldiers!"

"Are you being too soft-hearted?"

According to Li Chengqian's original idea, even if Zhang Jian was not dragged out and beheaded, he should at least be taken back to Chang'an to be punished.

Now that Du He and Hou Junji were both speaking for him, Li Chengqian had no choice but to let him go in order to save the faces of his two right-hand men.

Du He smiled and said, "Your Highness, do you think Zhang Jian can escape punishment?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?"

Du He went on to explain: "Zhang Jian's poor command resulted in heavy casualties among his soldiers. He will definitely be punished by His Majesty when he returns to the court!"

"Although the crime is not punishable by death, demotion is inevitable."

"We are short of soldiers and major generals right now and we need more people. Zhang Jian is a general who is loyal to the Tang Dynasty. It is better to keep him for the time being than to punish him."

Moreover, Zhang Jian's defeat this time was also to support Hou Junji in dividing his troops.

In addition, he fought bravely on the battlefield and did not make any major personal mistakes, so he did not deserve the death penalty.

Even if he is imprisoned now or removed from his post, what will happen?

It would be better to let him continue to shine and punish him after the war is over.

Du He paused and continued.

"Your Highness, Zhang Jian's younger brother is the current General of the Left Guard, Zhang Yanshi. He has led the Imperial Guards to guard the Imperial Palace for more than 20 years without a replacement, and is deeply trusted by Your Majesty."

"We can temporarily spare Zhang Jian's life and gain the favor of Master Zhang Yan."

"This will be of certain benefit to you, the Crown Prince, in the future when you inherit the throne."

There are many factions in the court. Prince Li Chengqian cannot rely on the support of just one or two important officials. He also needs the support of countless unknown and powerful generals like Zhang Yanshi.

As Li Chengqian's core aide, Du He not only had to give him advice, but also had to constantly win over supporters for Li Chengqian.

After hearing Du He's explanation, Li Chengqian nodded in understanding.

Two days later.

Hou Junji left 1000 soldiers to garrison Baiyan City and take care of 1505 wounded.

He led the remaining 1 troops, carrying food and fodder, and marched southwards to Anshi City.

...

Five days later.

The three armies of Hou Junji, Li Ji and Zhang Liang gathered outside the city of Anshi again.

Tens of thousands of elite Tang troops set up camp in a swaggering manner on the banks of the Pianling River outside the south city, while the tens of thousands of defenders in Anshi city could only stand on the city wall and watch.

They didn't dare to rush out and attack the camp.

Inside the commander's tent.

The atmosphere was extremely serious.

Li Chengqian sat in the main seat with a gloomy face.

Du He, Hou Junji, Li Ji, Zhang Liang, Li Daozon and Su Dingfang were on the left and right.

In the open space in the middle.

A tall and burly middle-aged general with a short beard on his chin bowed his head and knelt on the ground.

He is Zhang Junyi, the commander-in-chief of the army.

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian asked coldly: "Zhang Junyi, why did you flee from the battlefield?"

"Your Highness, I saw tens of thousands of enemy troops rushing out of Anshi City, and I was afraid that the food and grass would be lost, so I retreated to protect the food and grass."

"Then why were all the food supplies burned?"

"Your Highness, the enemy's number is several times greater than mine, and their combat power is extremely strong. I cannot resist them."

Zhang Junyi's answer was flawless.

In fact, Li Ji detained Zhang Junyi and interrogated him immediately after the war.

But Zhang Junyi dealt with them all one by one.

Hou Junji glared and shouted in a deep voice, "Zhang Junyi, before you led your troops to evacuate, did you receive any orders from the two marching generals, Li Ji and Zhang Liang?"

"Replying to General Manager Hou, no!" Zhang Junyi answered loudly, and then explained: "Because the defenders in Anshi City suddenly rushed out, and the two general managers were fighting fiercely in the distance."

"Therefore, I can only make corresponding adjustments based on the situation on the battlefield."

Next, facing the repeated questioning from Li Chengqian and Hou Junji, Zhang Junyi responded one by one.

He is now determined to make adjustments based on the situation on the battlefield to protect the army's food and supplies from being destroyed.

According to this judgment, he was not considered to have escaped from the battlefield, but he could only be judged to have fought at a disadvantage.

The crime does not warrant the death penalty, at most he will be demoted.

Although Li Ji, Hou Junji and others were successful in leading troops in battle, they were outsiders when it came to interrogation.

The tent gradually fell into silence.

At this time, Du He slowly said: "The east, west and north sides of Anshi City are all steep mountains, and only the south side is flat."

"That is to say, the defenders of Anshi City can only leave through the South Gate."

"I want to ask General Zhang, if your troops don't retreat, how can the defenders of Anshi City burn food and grass and raid our rear army?"

Hearing Du He's question, Zhang Junyi's expression froze.

The other people in the tent also raised their heads.

Because the south of Anshi City was blocked by the Pianling River, they automatically ignored this point when interrogating Zhang Junyi.

Now that Du He brought it up again, they discovered this big loophole.

Zhang Junyi stammered, "Du... Deputy Chief Du, I only have 6000 soldiers under my command. How can I resist the attack of tens of thousands of enemy troops?"

"Haha." Du He sneered twice, then said: "But I heard that you didn't resist and led your troops to flee in the direction of food and grass."

"Did you intentionally lead the Anshi City defenders to our food and fodder?"

what!

Li Ji, Zhang Liang and Li Daozon stood up suddenly.

If Zhang Junyi really did as Du He said and deliberately led the defenders of Anshi City to the food and grass area, then he deserves to be put to death.

Li Daozon, who had herbs applied on his body, shouted to the outside of the tent.

"Cao Sanliang, go and interrogate the soldiers under Zhang Junyi to find out how long they fought before retreating and in which direction they retreated!"

"promise!"

A heavy voice was heard outside the tent, and soon the sound of weapons colliding was heard.

Zhang Junyi's face turned pale, and there was a hint of fear in the depths of his eyes.

Half an hour later.

Cao Sanliang's deep voice sounded outside the tent again.

"Your Highness, I am here to report."

Li Chengqian said loudly: "Come in."

After Cao Sanliang walked in, he glanced at Zhang Junyi with disgust, and then reported in a deep voice.

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, I have interrogated more than 100 soldiers under Zhang Junyi."

"After some questioning, they all said that they had fought with the Anshi City defenders for less than a minute, and when they were not showing any signs of defeat, the marching commander Zhang Junyi ordered a retreat without reason."

"And they are retreating in the direction of the army's food and supplies!"

The truth is revealed!

Everyone in the tent looked at Zhang Junyi with murderous intent.

Li Chengqian asked in a deep voice: "Zhang Junyi, who ordered you to escape from the battlefield? Tell the truth and I will spare your life!"

Zhang Junyi kowtowed and knelt, saying sadly, "Your Highness, everything I said just now is true, not a single word is false!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Cao Sanliang, take him away and torture him severely!"

"promise!"

Cao Sanliang took Zhang Junyi away with a serious face.

Another half hour passed.

Cao Sanliang came back to report: "Your Highness, I have tried every possible means, but Zhang Junyi was very stubborn and didn't say a word!"

Li Chengqian's face turned pale, and he turned to Du He and asked, "Du He, do you have any solution?"

"No."

Du He shook his head helplessly.

He is not a detective, and his methods of extracting confessions are not even as ruthless as those of Cao Sanliang.

Li Chengqian frowned and gave the order directly.

"Take Zhang Junyi out and chop him down as a sacrifice!"