Leaving the city and then returning to Yizhou is the most correct choice now!

Li Chengqian was so nervous that he wanted to fight against the Turkic army because he knew very well that if he was really caught by the Turkic army or the body was taken by the Turkic army, it would be a huge blow to Li Jing, the 200,000 troops of the Western Expedition, the entire Western Expedition strategy, and even the entire Tang Dynasty!

"Is it still time to leave the city now?"

"It's still time! The Turkic army is still fifty miles away from Yancheng. Even if it's all cavalry, it will take some time to get here, which is enough for Your Highness to leave the city... Moreover, I am sure they don't know that we already know that they are coming for you. After arriving here, I will not search outside the city as soon as possible. If I lead the army to defend the city, I can delay the time..."

"Uncle Shi, you..." Li Chengqian looked at Shi Wannian with shock. He had no idea that Shi Wannian was going to stay and defend the city instead of leaving with him!

Shi Wannian saw the meaning in Li Chengqian's eyes and smiled indifferently: "I cannot leave for the time being, I need to take charge of the overall situation here!"

Looking at Shi Wannian, Li Chengqian didn't know what to say. He knew that Shi Wannian was right. Even if he left the city now, he couldn't run far. Once the Turkic army found that he was not in the city, it would not be difficult to catch up with him.

With Shi Wannian here, on the one hand, he can better organize city defense and delay the time when the Turks conquered Yancheng. On the other hand, if the Turks knew that he was the prince in Yancheng, there was no reason not to know that he was staying in the city lord's mansion and being with Shi Wannian. If Shi Wannian did not show up, it would be easy to guess that the prince had already escaped!

So, Shi Wannian's choice to stay is correct... Compared to his safety, Shi Wannian's decision is very correct!

but……

In later generations, novels, film and television dramas, Li Chengqian has read and heard too many stories about loyalty and righteousness, but... perhaps it was because later generations were influenced by the current situation of life. At that time, Li Chengqian had never had any special thoughts about these stories, and even for a long time, he firmly believed that these stories were just stories and could not exist in reality!

Indeed, although modern society is not as short of food and clothing as in ancient times, they will not be starved to death, under various pressures such as school, employment, housing, marriage, children, parents, etc., few people will be willing to sacrifice their own interests for so-called loyalty and righteousness, let alone sacrifice their lives! It fully verified a sentence - everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own houses, regardless of the frost on others!

But……

Shi Wannian knew that he was lucky enough to stay, but there was no hesitation on his face, but instead he was extremely calm... And this calmness just showed his inner firmness, and he exchanged his own danger for Li Chengqian's safety!

Li Chengqian really wanted to explain the theory of "interest priority" in the future to explain Shi Wannian's willingness to stay, but he couldn't even think of what kind of benefits he had left behind, which could be more important than his own life!

He could completely choose to leave the city with him and leave Yanqi. After all, he was just here to appease the forces in Yanqi as His Majesty Li Er's special envoy. He had no responsibility to defend the city, nor did he have the power to defend the city. He could not say anything when he left!

Moreover, although he could buy time for Li Chengqian to leave,... the Turkic army came for Li Chengqian until now, and everything was just his own guess! Even if it was true, how long could this fragile Yancheng resist? How long could it be delayed for Li Chengqian?

For a little possibility, a little possibility of Li Chengqian being safer, he was able to make this decision without hesitation...

After being stunned for a long time, Li Chengqian discovered that only two words could explain Shi Wannian's behavior and attitude - Zhongyi!

This word is only spoken by people in later generations but rarely put into practice!

...

Confucius said: Become benevolence; Meng Yue: Take righteousness!

Only then did Li Chengqian understand the true meaning of this sentence, and for the first time he truly realized that his identity, the crown prince of the Tang Empire and the crown prince, had a heavy responsibility in addition to supreme glory and honor!

"Uncle Shi, how many defenders are there in Yancheng now?"

"Three thousand...well? What does your Highness mean?"

"Three thousand...50,000..." Li Chengqian ignored Shi Wannian's face full of surprise, but frowned deeply and began to think about how to survive this crisis!

The first thing he thought of was naturally the killing weapon of gunpowder! But, not to mention whether the materials for making gunpowder can be found in the Western Regions, even if there are ready-made materials, there is no time to make gunpowder, and then arrange them to deal with the Turkic cavalry!

The second thing that comes to mind is naturally the battle examples in history where there are fewer ones, such as burning Bowangpo, flooding the seven armies, empty city schemes, etc., but... Li Jing has told him clearly that unless the opponent's chief general is pretending to be a big poop, there is no possibility of being trapped at all!

...

Unfortunately, the moment of impulse aroused by Shi Wannian's behavior was splashed with cold water by reality, dissipating without a trace, and the feverish mind woke up again!

Looking at Li Ke who was coming in a hurry and guards, as well as the unexpected Ashina Ai, Li Chengqian had to admit that even though he had the knowledge advantage of the previous year, he was helpless in the face of absolute strength and urgent time!

"Your Highness, leave the city quickly, don't worry about anything afterwards, and return to Yizhou as soon as possible! I believe that General Li will send a large army to support him after knowing the situation!"

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and suppressed himself the strong impulse to stay in his heart and live and die with everyone. He bowed to Shi Wannian and said, "Gao Ming thanked Uncle Shi!"

After saying that, he stopped looking at Shi Wannian's reaction, turned around and walked out of the back door, and quickly led everyone to the city gate!

...

About three hundred miles north of Yancheng, Niu Jinda led 30,000 elite cavalry of the Tang Dynasty to speed up within the valley between the mountains and ridges!

As planned, he led 30,000 elite cavalry and 20,000 infantrymen to bypass Langshan, cooperated with Hou Junji's troops to block the retreat of the Turkic army, and completely annihilate the Turkic army.

But before he could reach the designated position, he received a military order issued by Li Jing.

Others may not understand why Li Jing asked him to support Yancheng, but he knew very well, because he was one of the few people in the entire army who knew that Li Chengqian existed!

Therefore, without any delay, he threw down the slow-moving infantry and took 30,000 elite cavalry to Yancheng!
Chapter completed!