Chapter 683: Battle Deployment

Thousands of cavalry surrounded Li Qing'an and galloped southeastward. The wind whistled in his ears and horses ran without stopping, running in the dark night. Thousands of cavalry finally arrived at the checkpoint about twenty miles away from Yangang. At this time, this place was no longer Yangang, and Yangang had moved to Jiangyang County.

Yan Port has been converted into a military port and is the first military port of the Tang Dynasty. Not only the port, but within a radius of twenty miles around the port, including Hudou Island, it has become a military base. Twenty checkpoints have been set up in a circle, and no non-military personnel are allowed to enter, including local officials, and Class A guard is implemented. This is also the reason why Li Qing'an refused to let Mingzhu go with him. The rules were set by him, so he could not violate them first.

Li Qing'an chose Yan Port as a military base and also saw that Yan Port was located in a barren land, with dozens of miles around it being saline-alkali land, without woods and villages, and deserted.

When they entered the checkpoint, they entered the military area, which was still endless saline-alkali land, but they could see patrolling cavalry from time to time. They were very alert. When they saw a large group of cavalry appear, they immediately shot a rocket into the sky and then stepped forward to interrogate.

After identifying the identity, the cavalry team continued to move forward and walked for more than ten miles. A huge dark warehouse group began to appear. This place was originally a salt warehouse, but now it has been changed to a military material warehouse and a grain and herb warehouse.

A team of cavalry came up, with general Li Baozhen, Zhao Chongjie and Ge Shu Yao also behind. After participating in the Battle of Jingxiang, they quickly returned to Yangzhou to prepare for the next battle.

"The last general will meet with the general!"

"Three generals are exempted from gifts."

Li Qing'an nodded and said, "How is the ship ready?"

Li Baozhen hurriedly said: "Report to General, 2,300 sea ships have been collected and parked at the port and Hudou Island. The maintenance was completed yesterday and you can go on the expedition at any time. We have blocked all the waters of Hudou Island in the northern part of Hudou Island according to General's order, and no ships are allowed to transit."

"Didn't you say 2,700 large ships? Why are there only 2,300?"

As early as after the King of Wu was wiped out, Li Qing'an ordered that all ships be collected from all over the country, and all ships that could go to sea should be collected temporarily. Even the Hu people and sea ships who came to the Tang Dynasty to do business were also collected together. Although there were not many ships everywhere, they were very impressive when gathered. Li Qing'an received information and collected a total of 2,700 large ships that could go to sea, but now they have become 2,300, which made him a little strange.

"Report to the general, four hundred large ships have gone to Cangzhou to carry out the task of picking up refugees and have not returned yet."

Li Qingan then remembered that Zhang Xun organized more than 60,000 people to evacuate Hebei by sea. He ordered 400 large ships to be sent to pick them up, but there was no news until now, which made him a little worried.

He was not worried about An Lushan. An Lushan's army was defeated by Shi Siming. The strategic center of the Yan army began to evacuate to the northeast. Shi Siming had occupied Youzhou, and tens of thousands of refugees in Mozhou were in danger. The roads to the west and south had been cut off by Shi Siming and Tian Bingsi. They had no choice but to go east to sea.

What Li Qingan was most worried about was Tian Chengsi. In order to hold Tian Chengsi down, he had ordered nearly 150,000 troops from Henan Road to gather in the direction of Jeju, and looked across the river with Tian Chengsi's Wei Bo army.

I don’t know if Zhang Xun can take advantage of this short-term opportunity to withdraw people from Cangzhou in time. Li Qingan sighed secretly. He really couldn’t get everything. These tens of thousands of refugees could only leave it to fate.

"What about General Li Chengshi?" Li Qingan asked again when he found out that he had not followed him.

Li Chengshi was originally the deputy commander of King Li Lin of Wu. He surrendered to the Northern Tang army because of his bad relationship with the prince of the King of Wu. He was an extremely rare naval general in the Tang army. Therefore, he was highly valued by Li Qing'an and appointed him as the governor of the Yangzhou naval army, responsible for commanding the 400 warships in Yangzhou. He would lead the navy to escort the next military operation, and Li Qing'an also paid special attention to him.

Zhao Chongjie next to him smiled and said, "General Li Chengshi went to Hudou Island. We have informed him that he should have arrived at the harbor. Not only him, but General Li Fei Yuanli is also there."

Li Qingan held the war horse and laughed in silence: "Why is this bastard here too? Haven't you left yet?"

Li Fei Yuanli was named Governor of Xinde by Li Qing'an. After the Luzhou Battle, he should have taken office. Li Qing'an ignored him. He thought he had left long ago, but he didn't expect that he was still here. Although he was not anxious to take office, he always delayed here, which was not a big deal!

Li Qingan asked again: "Is he here alone, or is his two thousand troops here?"

"Report to the general, he and two thousand tribes are here. He said he was going to Xinde by boat, but Xinde's grain ship encountered wind and waves halfway. He had just arrived at Jiangyang Port yesterday to unload grain, so he would have to go a day or two before he set out."

Li Qing'an guessed that this is the reason. Because of Li Fei Yuanli's anxiousness, he generally would not delay. It must be because there were no ships, so he could only wait in the military port. Li Qing'an smiled and said, "Let him come to see me together!"

Everyone continued to run towards the dock. After a moment, the cavalry brigade arrived at the dock. To the west of the dock was a vast military camp. There were 100,000 elite troops stationed here to carry out his Bohai Battle. After the Luzhou Battle, these 100,000 troops were secretly transferred from Hedong and Guanzhong. The food and grass required by the 100,000 troops were also secretly transported from sea to sea, which was very hidden. At present, the 100,000 troops were stationed in the military restricted area, and even the local government did not know about it. The commander was led by generals Li Baozhen, Zhao Chongjie and Ge Shu Yao.

Instead of going to the military camp, Li Qing'an came to the water army camp on the dock and boarded a large ship. On the deck, Li Chengshi and Li Fei Yuanli had been waiting for a long time.

Li Qing'an walked onto the deck surrounded by everyone. Li Chengshi was excited. He immediately stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "I am not good at Li Chengshi meeting with the general."

This is the first time they met. Li Qing'an did not see him when he was in Yangzhou last time. Li Qing'an quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "I have long admired Governor Li's reputation on the water. After the war in the north has subsided, our Tang Dynasty will gradually expand its borders and overseas. That is the time when Governor Li will show his talents."

Li Chengshi also sighed: "I am looking forward to that day."

"Okay!" Li Qing'an smiled and said, "We will discuss the Bohai Plan in detail later. Governor Li will also participate. Governor Li's mission will also be held in the Bohai Battle."

"I look forward to it!"

Li Qing'an's eyes turned to Li Fei Yuanli again, and he smiled and joked, "I thought you should marry your second concubine in Xinde now."

Li Qing'an's humor made a laugh on the boat. Li Fei Yuanli touched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly: "I have never taken a boat to sea. I want to taste something fresh, but I didn't expect that I would have rode a horse until now."

Li Qingan gently punched him on the shoulder, "You guy dare say you haven't taken a boat out of the sea? When I was taking a boat to Longju Island in Qinghai, I still remember you were so seasick that you cried and cried. Now I want to go to sea again, aren't you afraid?"

Li Fei Yuanli was stunned. He scratched his head blankly. It seemed that he had really forgotten the incident of taking a boat out of Qinghai. His wife Shi Sanniang knew him at that time.

Li Qingan ignored him and walked directly into the main cabin of the big ship. It had been converted into a temporary combat convention hall. The cabin was very spacious and bright. There was a huge wooden platform in the middle of the cabin, covered by a piece of black cloth. Li Baozhen quickly stepped forward and slowly lifted the black curtain cloth. It was a huge sand table, including the entire Hebei Road, the Andong Protectorate and the Silla Peninsula.

Everyone surrounded him, and Li Qing'an took the wooden pole and said to everyone: "Except for Li Fei Yuanli, the rest here is related to this battle."

Li Fei Yuanli's eyes were wide open beside him. My goodness, it turns out that there is a big battle! He didn't know at all. If the ship hadn't arrived later, he would have missed this opportunity.

He was anxious for a moment and blurted out: "General, I want to participate in this battle!"

Li Qing'an glared at him fiercely, he didn't dare to speak anymore. Li Qing'an is not Li Qing'an when he was General Anxi. He was even deeper, he was far-sighted in everything, and his words could cause chaos in the world. Li Qing'an's dissatisfied gaze made Li Fei Yuanli a little chill. Now he can't joke with Li Qing'an like he used to.

In fact, Li Fei Yuanli also saw that from the gathering of thousands of large ships, the silent arrival of 100,000 troops, the mountain of food and military supplies accumulated in the warehouse, we can know that Li Qingan has been preparing for a long time.

He was far-sighted in the transfer of the army and the arrangement of the generals, and had already arranged it. Even Li Siye could not participate. How could he agree to join the war at will?

Li Fei Yuanli didn't dare to talk anymore. He would definitely not have a chance in this battle, but he cursed in his heart: "Damn it, if I don't give me a chance, I will start a battle myself."

As soon as this thought came to his mind, he became very eager to set up a battle like Li Qing'an, and he longed to fly to Faith.

Li Fei Yuanli was thinking about it, but Li Qing'an continued: "I think everyone has read my instructions for this battle. The name remains unchanged, and it is still called the Bohai Battle.

The Battle of Bohai was a plan that Li Qing'an had long been established. As early as when Yang Huahua led the King of Bohai County to visit him, Li Qing'an had this idea, landed in the Bohai Kingdom and destroyed the two major backstages of An Lushan.

But the conditions were not yet ripe at that time. With the victory of the Luzhou Battle, An Lushan and Shi Siming had been completely blocked in Hebei, and most of the people in Hebei Road had fled. The remaining little population was unable to afford the hundreds of thousands of troops of An Lushan and Shi Siming, as well as Tian Bingsi's 60,000 troops.

Judging from the information Li Qing'an has received now, the reason why An Lushan and Shi Siming's army has persisted until now has not collapsed is that they have foreign aid. Shi Siming has obtained foreign aid from the Uighurs, while An Lushan has obtained foreign aid from Xi and Khitan.

Half a month ago, An Lushan and Shi Siming broke out in Yi County with 300,000 people participating in a battle. Shi Siming sent 160,000 troops and An Lushan sent 140,000 troops. Both sides were in full swing. After three days and three nights of battle, An Lushan was defeated by exhausting the cavalry and horses. In this battle, An Lushan lost his underwear. Youzhou was occupied by Shi Siming. An Lushan led less than 70,000 remaining troops to retreat to Pingzhou and Yingzhou, and was connected with the Khitan.

The time to launch the Bohai Battle is ripe.

Li Qing'an pointed at Youzhou with a wooden pole and said, "Let me tell you something about it first. An Lushan was defeated by Shi Siming. His old nest Youzhou has been lost. Youzhou is now Shi Siming's new home."

The news caused an uproar in the cabin. Everyone looked at each other and couldn't believe it was true. Such an arrogant Yan army could not even keep their nests. Li Fei Yuanli asked, "General, has the Yan army perished?"

"No, he still has about 70,000 troops."

Li Qing'an pointed the wooden pole at Yingzhou again and said, "An Lushan has retreated to Yingzhou and is one with the Khitan and the Xi people. Now that An Lushan is defeated, he needs time to rectify the defeated troops. If An Lushan's army is rectified, he will inevitably join the Khitan and the Xi people to attack the Bohai Kingdom in order to obtain the population and food they urgently need. Once the Bohai Sea is destroyed, Silla will be doomed. If Bohai and Silla are destroyed, An Lushan will obtain a steady stream of troops and food. With the Khitan war horses, he will regain his vitality. If he defeats Shi Siming again, then An Lushan's rebellion will have the conditions to expand to the Central Plains, and all the efforts we have made before will be wasted.

Everyone was silent. For a moment, Li Baozhen asked: "General, why did the Khitan not attack the Bohai Kingdom before, but now he is going to attack?"

"General Li Baozhen asked this question very well. I have been thinking about this before. It was not until the last time Bohai King Dawuyi visited me in Chang'an that I understood the reason."

Li Qingan pointed at the Khitan with a wooden pole, "In fact, the Khitan did not want to swallow Bohai, but he did not have this strength. He and Bohai had fought for many years, and each other won and lost. Even the Khitan's strength was slightly weaker than the Bohai. The Khitan once wanted to jointly attack Bohai with Xi, but they did not trust each other, so it was difficult for them to achieve unity. Similarly, Bohai also wanted to destroy the Khitan, but Bohai was a feud with Silla. He was worried that when a war with the Khitan, Silla would take the opportunity to attack Bohai and make him suffer from both sides. In this way, they maintained a delicate balance. Now, when An Lushan retreated to Yingzhou, he broke this balance. He was like a button, uniting the Khitan and the Xi people. With An Lushan's own strength, Bohai was no longer their opponent, and the country was destroyed, so we must send troops to rescue Bohai and destroy the Khitan and the Xi people at the same time."

Li Baozhen suddenly realized when he heard this. He clasped his fists and said, "I understand!"

At this time, Li Qing'an's eyes swept around the crowd and said slowly: "In fact, An Lushan and Shi Siming have become two chess pieces. One of the chess players is Khitan and the other is Uighur. Both of these powerful enemies in the north want to occupy Hebei, and then use Hebei as a springboard to plunder the Central Plains. Otherwise, the Khitan and Uighurs will send people and food to give up all their support to An Lushan and Shi Siming's fierce battle. It would be a bit of a loss. They must have had some plans. The plot is Hebei Road. Now Shi Siming has the upper hand, which means that the Uighurs have occupied Hebei Road. We cannot stand by and watch all the chaos. This is the fundamental reason why I consider launching this Bohai Battle. Using the Bohai Sea as the entry point, we will start to solve the problems in the north."

Under the gaze of Li Qing'an, everyone bowed together, "Please give orders to the general!"

Li Fei Yuanli quickly got away and complained in his heart, "His grandma's, I don't have the share!"

Li Qing'an's sharp eyes shot at him, scaring Li Fei Yuanli to tremble and quickly turned around. At this time, Li Qing'an said to everyone: "Raising troops for a thousand days, using troops for a while, there is no need to wait for the civilian ships from Cangzhou to come back. From tonight, we can prepare for combat. I have already had an order, General Li Baozhen is the main general, General Zhao Chongjie and General Ge Shu Yao are the left and right deputy generals, and Li Chengshi is the navy guard. According to the plan I formulated in advance, three days later, a hundred thousand troops will take a boat north!"

The four generals bowed together to receive the order, "Abide by the orders with humble duties!"

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Several generals rushed back to the barracks and prepared to go. Li Qing'an was still standing in front of the sand table and pondering for a long time, touching his whole body. He could not only consider An Lushan, but ignore Shi Siming.

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"Tell me my order!" Li Qingan gave a slowly order.

A personal soldier bowed and obeyed the order.

"I ordered Li Siye to gather a large army to enter Taiyuan immediately and ordered Li Guangbi to lead his army back to Xiangzhou. This order is a 100,000 urgent order, and it must not be delayed for a moment!"

The order was issued, and Li Qing'an's heart was slightly relieved. He glanced at him and saw Li Fei Yuanli who was hesitating at the door. He smiled and said, "What's the matter? I'm sneaking there."

Li Fei Yuanli walked in slowly and bowed and said, "I will lead my troops to Jiangyang County tomorrow to board the boat. I wonder what the general has to give to I Yi."

"I figured it out, won't go to Bohai Country?"

"I figured it out, Li Siye has no chance, and I have no chance."

"What do you think about it?"

Li Qingan was both angry and funny, and pointed to the chair, "Sit down first!"

Li Fei Yuanli sat down while rubbing the edge, put his hands on his knees, looking very nervous. Li Qingan smiled and asked him, "How are Sanniang and the children all right?"
To be continued...