When Zhou Tinggou led his troops to the east gate of Shouzhou City, the south of the city was in a fierce battle. As Li Yuan expected, the garrison in Shouzhou City was empty at this time, and there were very few rebel soldiers on the top of the East Gate City.

So Zhou Tinggou ordered to form an array to attack the city. The rebels on the city were not very large and remained a hundred steps away when they saw that the Tang army was not large, so the guard general was not panicked at all. He kept closing the city gates tightly, but just led a crossbow to shoot the site. The two sides were in a stalemate, and no one could take advantage.

Zhou Tinggou estimated the time that Li Yuan's troops and horses should fight with the rebels. He became more and more anxious and ordered people to return to Bagong Mountain to inform Lin Sichang and make the siege of the city full of the plot.

The rebels on the top of the city did not think so, but at this moment, the Tang army began to dig ditches and build soil quickly and advance step by step, and couldn't help but be alert. At this moment, a few melodious horns came from Bagong Mountain. The rebel soldiers saw from afar again in panic. A large number of Tang army flags were suddenly raised in the mountains and forests to the east. Perhaps it was dark and the sight was dim. There were a large number of Tang soldiers hiding where the wind was blowing.

Zhou Tinggou looked up and saw the rebels on the top of the city running back and forth. Even the guards turned around in panic and reported. After half an hour, he saw that the number of soldiers guarding the city on the top of the city increased significantly, which probably attracted many rebels to return to the city. The rebels seemed to have no intention of leaving the city to pursue them. Zhou Tinggou then ordered his retreat and then calmly returned to the Bagong Mountain Camp.

The doubt was resolved, and the generals were excited and excited. Especially Liu Renzhan praised Zhou Tinggou's quick decision next time. Zhou Tinggou was just a little polite and began to talk about some things before the war. The generals quickly understood his intention, so they praised Li Yuan's preparations and Lin Sichang received a lot of praise.

Time flies very quickly. Although Li Yuan, Liu Renzhan and others are tired, they are not sleepy at this moment. Now there is still a serious problem in front of everyone, that is, the choice of advance or retreat.

Shouzhou City is located on the south bank of the Huai River, located at the mouth of the Feishui River entering the Huai River, and the north-south traffic jungle. It has been a place that military strategists have fought for since ancient times. Li Jinquan rebelled based on this, and then joined Luzhou and Guangzhou. There was sufficient source of money, grain and soldiers. At this time, it was no longer a disease of mustard moss. If it was not restrained in time, once it echoed the Zhou Kingdom in the north, it could attack the northern expedition army to the north and threaten the hinterland of the Southern Tang Dynasty to the south, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Although the Qinghuai Army's turn against Li Jinquan made Li Jinquan lose his arm, in fact, there was no loss in the right wing of Li Jinquan's direct guards' Holy Army in the battle today. The rebels in Shouzhou still had less than 20,000, but it was comparable to the number of Tang soldiers on Bagong Mountain today.

Today's battle seems to have brought a lot of confidence to the generals, and the troops have added a lot, so most people agree that they should continue to attack the rebels and recover lost territory.

Especially the veteran Liu Renzhan, who was eager to serve the country, and the tragic death of his nephew Liu Chongjun obviously brought him a great impact. At this time, he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Li Jinquan, this thief, has been very kind to his Majesty, but he is so ungrateful! Now he is against the court, rebelling against Jiangbei, and slaughtering officials and the people. Since we are leading the army here, how can we sit idly?"

The Qinghuai generals who had just surrendered today did not dare to speak for a long time, but at this time they couldn't help but talk about Li Jinquan's atrocities, which made the generals indignate and kept shouting: "Two great generals, we must not spare Li Jinquan easily! We should send troops to attack Shouzhou as soon as possible..."

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits of fighting, Li Yuan frowned and said nothing. It was not because he was concerned about the wedding. He decided to go north at the beginning, but the war had reached this point. Now it is obvious that it is impossible to get rid of this stall.

But now the situation between the enemy and us seems to be balanced, but Li Jinquan is still the dominant one. With the three states in hand, the rebels can quickly replenish their troops. And the Shouzhou City in his hands is a huge problem. Back then, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong led elite troops to siege him, but Liu Renzhan defended for more than a year but had not yet broken the city.

Li Yuan raised his hand to attract the attention of the generals, and then said in a deep voice: "Everyone, Shouzhou is an important town on the border of my Tang Dynasty. The city is strong and the walls are high, and there is enough money and food. Our army is short of food and grass at this moment, and there are no siege equipment. It is really difficult to conquer the 20,000 to 30,000 troops in his hand! This matter needs to be discussed in the long run!"

Liu Renzhan kept rubbing his fists and said worriedly: "Master Li, my Liu family is from Shouzhou for three generations. How can we not know that Shouzhou is strong? But today's rebels' spirit is frustrated. If we don't try to attack the city as soon as possible and delay it for a while, I am worried that once the rebels can breathe and even join forces with Zhou Guo, it will probably be even more difficult at that time!"

When the generals saw the two generals having their own opinions, they seemed to make sense, and soon they fell into their own entanglements.

Zhou Tinggou frowned and suddenly spoke: "Master Li, General Li thought that our army could continue to take advantage of the deep forests of Bagong Mountain and dense grass to try to lure the rebels out..."

Li Yuan immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Today's plan was just a lucky plan, and our army then retreated and did not really attack the city. How could the rebels not see that the facts and sounds were actually bluffing on Bagong Mountain? Li Jinquan is not stupid. The elite soldiers in the city are in hand. Since he does not know the truth, he can hold the city gate and wait for work. With the lessons of the past, my general's plan of "all plants and trees" may not have much effect!"

Liu Renzhan nodded in recognition, and then said calmly: "Mr. Li's words are reasonable. Li Jinquan has always been cunning. However, the rebels cannot hold on. How can we just take time? Now our army is in a high position in Bagong Mountain, and we can move forward and retreat freely, and the traffic is no longer isolated. From here, we will be in Haozhou for a hundred miles east. It is better for me to set off tomorrow, rush back to raise food, fodder and supplies, and send a few quick horses to Jinling for help. Your Majesty must have a saint!"

Li Yuan agreed with this proposal. No matter what choice it is, the biggest supporter in this crisis may be Li Jing, who is far away in the capital. This country is still his. How could this emperor who wants to unify the world and claim to be a saint? So he calmly said: "Master Liu, please hurry back to Haozhou! In addition to the food, fodder and supplies required by the army, please bring all the siege equipment in the city. It is best to send a few more fast horses to Jinling!"

After arriving at Bagong Mountain, Liu Renzhan had already regarded Li Yuan as the backbone of the entire army. Hearing this, he immediately bowed and said, "I accept the order!"

Li Yuan thought for a moment and ordered Zhou Tinggou: "General Zhou, during the time when General Liu left the camp, he ordered you to lead your cavalry to gallop back and forth day and night at the foot of the mountain, raising more dust and erecting more flags to disturb the enemy's sight!"

"The other generals must be rectified and must not be slackened. After General Liu returns to the camp, he will arrange the siege matters!"
Chapter completed!