Chapter 145 Military Power
When Li Jiancheng was promoted, he naturally did not hesitate to reward and promote his subordinates. Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao were promoted three levels, while Luo Yi, who had just arrived, was promoted one level.

In addition, there were some brave and warlike people who came from poor backgrounds. He did not hesitate to promote and win over these people, trying his best to bind these 80,000 to 90,000 people into a single unit.

Then they deployed their troops outside the city of Luoyang. Soon Wei Wensheng and Zhou Fashang also arrived with their troops. They were also promoted, and the three of them were at the same level in official position.

As Li Jiancheng expected, Wei Wensheng was promoted despite so many impeachments. This shows how great an achievement it was to dig out Yang Su.

Minus the casualties from days of fighting, and adding in the soldiers from various places who had joined, Li Jiancheng still had a rough estimate of just over 90,000 troops. Zhou Fa still had more than 40,000 naval forces left, and Wei Wensheng and the forcibly conscripted civilians only made up a total of 10,000 people.

That is 150,000 soldiers and horses, which is already a lot. Even if you stand on the high platform and deploy them in battle formation, you can't see the end of them at a glance. But looking at the Luoyang City in front of you, from the outer city, the south wall is 7,290 meters long, the east wall is 7,312 meters long, the north wall is 6,138 meters long, and the southern end of the west wall is about 6,776 meters long.

The walls of the outer city are all built of rammed earth. The width of the walls is approximately between fifteen and twenty meters and the height is more than six meters.

At that moment, no one dared to say that they could capture such a strong city, let alone an army of 150,000, even if there were twice as many troops. What's more, among their 150,000 troops, there were many civilians who had just been forcibly conscripted into the army.

"Attack the city! The rebels entered the city only because of the civil unrest in the city. There must be many officials and generals loyal to our Great Sui and to Your Majesty. As long as we persevere, we will have the opportunity to cooperate with the inside and outside to recapture Luoyang City!"

Wei Wensheng expressed his ideas to the two people in a firm and resolute tone. It didn't sound like a discussion but more like an order.

Li Jiancheng looked calm, and so did Zhou Fashang. Having reached this position, no one except the emperor could suppress anyone else. Even if someone really had to make the decision, it would definitely be Li Jiancheng who had the most troops.

Wei Wensheng saw this and knew that he had offended Li Jiancheng too much, so he grabbed Li Jiancheng's hand and said, "You and I, old and young, are not as good as General Zhou in fighting on the battlefield. It would be better to put the military power in the hands of one person, so that we can advance and retreat in an orderly manner and it will be easier to defeat the enemy and put down the rebellion."

Zhou Fashang's expression changed slightly when he heard this. He had always been under Lai Huer, and it was not easy for him to lead the troops alone. Of course, he did not want to be under the command of a kid. Wei Wensheng's words were exactly what he wanted.

Li Jiancheng pulled his hand away with a half-smile: "I have no objection, but as I said before, it is not in the way of a minister to unite the troops privately. Please ask the Minister to ask for the emperor's order."

Wei Wensheng knew very well that the emperor would not deprive Li Jiancheng of his military power at this time, so he could only put down his face and bow to Li Jiancheng and beg: "Mr. Li, the grudge between you and me is my fault. I will give you an explanation in the future, but at this moment, the lifeblood of the country is at stake, and I cannot sacrifice public interests for personal interests."

Zhou Fashang also nodded and said, "It is a big taboo in the army to issue multiple orders. If Li Langjun can take a step back, then the credit will go to you, and the fault will be mine and Minister Wei's."

Li Jiancheng looked at the two and said, "It seems that we can't do anything today. We will discuss it tomorrow. Please go ahead."

"Mr. Li..."

"Shangshu, I am the general appointed by His Majesty himself. Please refer to my position in official matters."

After the two men left, Li Jiancheng's face became gloomy. This old man Wei Wensheng was really looking for death.

Perhaps to Yang Guang, Wei Wensheng could be said to be a loyal minister who was willing to sacrifice everything for him, but to Li Jiancheng, he was like a fly, buzzing and very annoying.

The next day, they parted unhappily again. Since Li Jiancheng had both fame and power, he certainly would not give up his due rights, so there was a stalemate for a while, but he was not in a hurry. Wei Wensheng saw that Li Jiancheng would not be persuaded, so for the sake of the overall situation, he had to help Li Jiancheng and persuade Zhou Fashang. Zhou Fashang was not prepared to give in.

But he knew that his military strength was inferior to Li Jiancheng's and their positions were the same. So, in the absence of a clear order from the court, he should give priority to the other party. If the matter was brought before the emperor, the two parties would impeach him together.

He did not have as strong a background as Li Jiancheng, nor did he have the emperor's trust by proving his absolute loyalty like Wei Wensheng. In the end, he was the one who took the blame for all the sins.

Therefore, in the end, the two of them respected Li Jiancheng as the chief general, and Wei Wensheng once again put forward his own opinion to attack Luoyang.

This time, Li Jiancheng nodded and agreed without hesitation, and even directly appointed Wei Wensheng to dispatch troops to attack the city. The naked malice in this was surprising, but Zhou Fashang also spoke in agreement.

Who made this old villain force me to serve under Li Jiancheng? If it weren't for this old villain, everyone would have led their own troops and everything would have been so comfortable. Now I'm reaping the consequences.

Wei Wensheng dug up Yang Su's grave, and he didn't want to live much longer, so he agreed.

You must know that Yang Xuangan is now in high spirits and is planning to continue to conquer the world. How could he hide in the city like Fan Zigai? Li Zixiong has already led his troops to set up a battle array under the city, ready to attack or defend, just waiting for the Sui army to fight.

Wei Wensheng led his troops to attack the city. They occasionally won small victories, but more often they suffered continuous defeats. However, he still insisted on letting the officials and people in the city know that the court had not given up on them.

As a result, Wei Wensheng did not die at the hands of the rebels. Instead, he was beheaded by the soldiers he brought from Chang'an during a camp roar at night. The group of people decided to go all out and fled to the outskirts of Luoyang at night and joined the rebels.

When Zhou Fashang was ordered to come for rectification, Li Zixiong led the cavalry in a surprise attack, and the front army was completely defeated. Li Jiancheng ordered Qin Shubao and Luo Yi to lead the left and right wing armies to rush to the rescue, but they only rescued Zhou Fashang.

As a last resort, they withdrew their troops again. In the blink of an eye, they lost tens of thousands of troops in the vanguard, most of whom were captured by Yang Xuangan. This time they didn't even have the capital to attack Luoyang.

Li Jiancheng visited Zhou Fashang who was seriously injured, then returned to his own camp and began to report the death to the Emperor and ask for help.

"I think it would be better if I delivered the letter myself."

Since Wei Wensheng was dead, naturally no one dared to restrict Duke Tang. Li Yuan sat by and cooked wine. After pouring himself a glass, he poured another glass for his son.

Li Jiancheng naturally hoped so, but speaking frankly would be too hurtful to the relationship between father and son.

"Not appropriate. His Majesty is suspicious and suspicious. Father will be detained if he goes there."

Li Yuan drank three cups in a row and said, "It makes no difference. It is only a matter of time. Your Majesty has already led the brave army here. When the time comes, I will be summoned to your side. Can I still disobey your order?
Besides, no matter how cleanly the death of Wei Wensheng was handled, the emperor will certainly have doubts in his heart. Only if you go there in person can he be assured and you can retain the military power in your hands."

………………

(End of this chapter)