Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 201 The final madness
"Your Majesty, do you really want to do this? This is undoubtedly drinking poison to quench thirst."

Sun Simiao and Zhen Liyan, two doctors from the Imperial Hospital, looked at Li Shimin lying on the bed and asked worriedly.

As senior medical experts, how could they not know the consequences of doing so?

"Your Majesty, your current condition will recover if you just rest and recuperate. However, once the acupuncture stimulates your vitality, there will be no way to save you."

Zhen Liyan patiently advised that this approach was too radical.

"I have made up my mind. Let's proceed with the acupuncture."

Li Shimin remained unmoved and gave the order without denying it.

Sun Simiao, Yuan Tiangang and Zhen Liyan all couldn't help but secretly sigh, then they all pulled out their silver needles, and the three of them worked together to perform the acupuncture, trying to do their best.

Half a day later.

Sun Simiao and the other two looked exhausted and powerless.

On the contrary, Li Shimin became energetic and radiant.

But this was just a flash in the pan.

They all knew that this also meant that the Tang Emperor had entered the countdown of his life.

"All of you please leave and do not disclose any information about my condition."

Li Shimin felt that he was now full of unlimited energy, as if he had returned to his youth.

The next day, Li Shimin came to court in his prime and calmed down some powerful officials who were about to make moves.

"The Xueyantuo have repeatedly invaded our borders and massacred our people. Their crimes are extremely heinous. I have decided to lead the army in person."

Li Shimin announced his decision on the spot.

At this time, Li Shimin was very strong and no one would question him.

Many ministers could only keep their mouths shut.

Faced with the current crisis, perhaps only Li Shimin can solve it personally.

"I wish your majesty a successful start!"

Xu Jingzong bowed and said happily.

Subsequently, many ministers came to their senses and echoed the voice.

Li Shimin ignored it and spoke again:

"I will lead the army in person, and the crown prince will supervise the country. Because the crown prince is young, I will appoint Fang Xuanling as the crown prince's junior teacher, Chu Suiliang as the crown prince's junior tutor, and Ma Zhou as the crown prince's junior protector to assist the crown prince in governing the country."

The Prince's Junior Tutor, Junior Preceptor and Junior Guardian are the Prince's three junior officials. As of now, the power is distributed among these three people to assist Li Zhi in managing the government.

"We thank you!"

Ma Zhou and Chu Suiliang immediately stood out of the queue and bowed slightly.

For both of them, it was a little too sudden and they were flattered.

"Send the order to all the prefectures and roads along the way, and the soldiers and armor will be moved with the army. Three days later, the army will set out to attack Xueyantuo."

Time waits for no one, Li Shimin must try his best to keep the enemy troops north of the Yellow River.

Otherwise, the Central Plains will no longer have any strategic locations to defend.

Under Li Shimin's strict order, the entire Tang Dynasty started to operate again, as if to squeeze out the last bit of its strength.

The big moves in the past few years have overwhelmed the Tang Empire.

After arranging everything, Li Shimin was ready to embark on his journey.

In Chang'an city, the streets were empty for ten miles.

All the soldiers and civilians came out of the city to see him off, and at the same time they all prayed that their emperor would return triumphantly.

"Father, please take care of yourself."

Li Zhi personally put on armor for Li Shimin, with tears in his eyes.

This farewell may be forever.

"You are the one who is going to rule the world, but you are still crying. How can you be a ruler?"

Li Shimin spoke very easily, taking life and death lightly.

"Go back, everyone in the Tang Dynasty is still waiting for you."

Li Shimin patted Li Zhi's shoulder gently, and looked up at the colorful Chang'an city wall. This might be the last look.

Li Shimin did not linger too much, but turned around and got into the carriage.

The army then set out.

Although it was called a large army, it only had about five or six thousand people, and they were the last soldiers and armor that Chang'an could squeeze out.

Hokuriku Road, Ueno Province.

The plains were littered with corpses.

A great war broke out here.

Judging from the results of the battle, it would be more accurate to say that it was a massacre.

In Ueno Castle, veins bulged on Jushideduo's face, his anger was hard to dissipate, and a feeling of powerlessness grew from deep in his heart.

Ju Shide gathered an army of more than 100,000 and encircled Li Chengqian's army in an attempt to reverse the situation.

But the result was what he saw now, with corpses of the Japanese army scattered all over the ground, and they were no match for the Tang army.

If it weren't for Ueno Castle's interception, the consequences might have been even more serious.

Japan is not completely without cities; there are still several capital cities that protect the imperial capital.

Ueno Castle is the western gateway to the Japanese imperial capital, Bonan.

The army led by Li Chengqian was unstoppable and pushed forward.

As for Japan, which was only the size of a state, the attack soon reached the vicinity of its imperial capital.

It is also based on such circumstances.

The high-ranking officers of the Japanese pirates wanted to give it a try.

"General Jushi, the rebels are too strong. We can no longer go out to fight. We can only rely on the city to stop them."

Azumi Hirafu said that he had suffered a psychological trauma and no longer dared to fight head-on.

"If we leave the rebels alone, even if we can resist them, given Li Chengqian's cruelty, the residents in the south will definitely be massacred. The strength of our great country of Japan will be greatly reduced. I don't know how long it will take to recover."

Mao Yezhizi said with great sorrow.

"I can't care about that anymore. The country is about to be destroyed. The most important thing is to protect the country. No one is allowed to go to war without my order. In addition, we must strengthen the defense and make sure to keep the rebels out of Ueno Castle."

Jushi Dedo can only face the cruel reality. This is the last line of defense.

"General, why don't we write to the Emperor and ask our Great Japan to submit to Li Chengqian? Only in this way can we preserve the foundation of our Great Japan."

It is not shameful to surrender to a strong person.

This is how the weak survive.

"The rebels only have tens of thousands of troops. Once our reinforcements arrive, we may be able to annihilate them all at once."

With great power and virtue, he still had hope.

The rebels are powerful, but it is too much of a joke to ask them to surrender with only tens of thousands of soldiers.

Moreover, with the entire country mobilizing soldiers, Japan can now mobilize at least 200,000 troops.

The advantage is still mine.

"It is better to pretend to surrender first to stabilize the rebels and stop them from slaughtering our subjects in the southern border. When reinforcements arrive, we can launch a general attack on the rebels."

Azumi Hirafu saw a clue in this.

"This is inappropriate. I still think that we should sincerely surrender to the rebels. Don't forget that the rebels have Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla as their backers. Their source of troops is not just the tens of thousands of people in front of us."

"Their invasion once destroyed more than half of our national strength. How many times can Japan withstand such invasions?"

Mao Ye Zhizi has always maintained a relatively clear mind.

Upon hearing this, many generals realized the seriousness of the situation.

It seems that this is the only way out, to surrender.

It’s not that Japan doesn’t want to make peace, but rather it is worried that Li Chengqian is unwilling to reconcile.

As early as the very beginning, Emperor Kotoku had thought about surrendering and reconciling, and had a surrender plan, so now, they don't have to ask for instructions. If they can make Li Chengqian retreat, they will be a great contributor to Japan.

"General Maoye, you should go to the rebel army first and find out what conditions they want in order to withdraw."

Admittedly, Japan was too small and too poor to fight long battles and could only engage in petty theft.

"I will go on the mission immediately." Mao Ye Zhizi agreed without saying a word.

He was not afraid of death, so why should he be afraid of a trip to the rebel camp?

What they fear now is the destruction of their country and their race.

And Li Chengqian did indeed raise such a banner.

Afraid, the Japanese pirates were really afraid, afraid of being killed.

If we continue to slaughter them like this, they will really be wiped out.

For the sake of the people in the southern border and the future of Japan, Li Chengqian's chaos must be resolved as soon as possible.

The problem cannot be solved by force, so it can only be solved in a gentle way. As long as Li Shimin can retreat and the Japanese pirates can be given a chance to breathe, any conditions will be agreed to.

Mao Ye Zhizi walked out of the south gate holding the Japanese flag.

He rushed to Tang camp alone.

At the same time, the north gate of Ueno Castle was also opened, and rows of newly recruited soldiers entered one after another, continuously reinforcing the Yamano Castle.

This is the last hope of the Japanese pirates. If Ueno Castle is captured, Japan will be destroyed.

They cannot pin all their hopes on Mao Ye Zhizi.

In the imperial capital of Bonan, dozens of miles away, Emperor Kotoku looked at the battle report in his hand with empty eyes.

After a long while, he trembled and said, "We were defeated. More than half of our 100,000-man army was injured."

After saying this, he slumped down on the imperial chair.

The lofty ambitions when he came to power have now turned into bubbles.

The ambition in my heart is no longer easy to realize.

Today's Japan is in ruins.

The country will not be a country.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We can still fight. Now all the troops in the north have been mobilized. We still have 200,000 troops, which is enough to defeat the enemy."

Prince Hairen said that these were soldiers from all over the country, including men between the ages of twelve to sixty, and the whole country's strength.

Everyone in the hall was also very clear about it.

It is said that there are 200,000 soldiers, but no more than half of them are able to fight.

"Send them all to Ueno Castle. I will personally lead the troops to boost the morale of the entire army and fight against the enemy."

Emperor Kotoku was worthy of being called a great ruler. He strengthened his confidence and decided to fight a decisive battle.

"Your Majesty, the whole country is united and will surely win."

The ministers were encouraged.

"There is no constant in war. Although we are confident that we can defeat the invading enemy, Li Chengqian is too vicious. We have no choice but to do what we can. If we make a mistake, it will be a sign of the destruction of the country and the race. We should select young and intelligent men from the army and prepare ships to prevent any unforeseen events. Then we can go out to sea to avoid disaster and preserve the fire."

After repeated defeats and no victory, how could Emperor Kotoku not prepare for the worst?

Neither morale nor equipment has an advantage.

Although there are many people, they are just a mob.

The real elite had been defeated by Azumi Hirafu and Maono Chiko.

Emperor Kotoku knew very well that his chances of winning were slim and defeat was inevitable.

There is no justice in a real war. Li Chengqian's current behavior is no different from that of a devil.

"Follow the order!"

Faced with the crisis of national destruction, Japan no longer had any factional strife and was truly united from top to bottom to resist foreign enemies.

In fact, there were some who wanted to defect, but the Tang army refused to accept their offer and continued to advance.

"Your Highness, the Japanese pirates are resisting stubbornly. In the previous battle, the front army lost more than 3,000 soldiers. We may need to make other plans."

For the Tang army, such results were still hard to accept.

"Your Highness, although we suffered heavy losses, the Japanese pirates suffered even greater losses. In my opinion, they can no longer fight. It is better to persuade them to surrender and then slowly make plans later."

Futu Daochen made a gesture of wiping his neck.

The time is indeed ripe for Dao Chen's plan to be implemented.

First trick them into surrendering, then kill them.

Li Chengqian did not answer. In fact, before this, he could have succeeded by persuading the Japanese to surrender.

However, Li Chengqian did not want the Japanese pirates to surrender temporarily.

After persuading them to surrender, they would all be killed in a pit, which would once again set a new low in military history.

There have also been many cases of people defrauding the army and killing people.

But there has never been a massacre of a country.

If Li Chengqian goes back on his word in Japan, his future path will be much more difficult.

He wanted to conquer not just one place, but all nations.

This is not the way to start.

Slaughtering the Japanese pirates across the country would not only eliminate hidden dangers, but also deter other countries and make them surrender without a fight.

Now, you have killed all the surrendered Japanese pirates. Who would dare to surrender after this?

Although this plan seems to be able to achieve the goal without bloodshed, it has great hidden dangers.

Not worth the candle.

"When starting a war, casualties are inevitable. Inform Liu Rengui that the plan remains the same. Have him continue sailing and attack from the north, from both sides."

Li Chengqian shook his head and rejected Futu Daochen's proposal again.

This is a vicious plan, so damaging.

Even if it was just a daily life, Li Chengqian didn't dare to adopt it, otherwise it would be even more immoral than a daily life.

"But."

Futu Daochen wanted to persuade him further.

"General Daochen, your Highness's words are as good as gold. How can you go back on your word?"

Heichi Changzhi, who was standing aside, guessed what Li Chengqian was worried about.

He also felt that Futu Daochen had no moral principles at all.

"Your Highness, please leave the matter of accepting the surrender to me."

Dao Chen also took the risk. Li Chengqian was careful about his reputation, but he was different and always played the role of the bad guy.

If this matter was his own decision, then Li Chengqian cannot be blamed.

"Do you know the consequences? After the incident, the lightest punishment is immediate execution."

Li Chengqian also directly stated that he would no longer be able to protect Futu Daochen.

"It's worth using my life to exchange for the survival of tens of millions of soldiers!"

Daochen did not hesitate at all and was ready to die.

A loyal minister is loyal to the country and the people, while a treacherous minister is loyal to the monarch.

This is why treacherous ministers are more favored by the emperor.

Daochen is also loyal to Li Chengqian.

It was said that it was for the soldiers of the three armies, but in fact it was to help Li Chengqian solve his problems.

"No need to do that. Our army is strong and it will be easy to defeat the Japanese pirates. It is easy to get thousands of soldiers, but it is hard to get a general."

Li Chengqian nodded. Maybe Daochen had other plans, but to be able to do this, he was indeed gambling with his life.

"Your Highness, my body is not worth mentioning. The Japanese pirates are fighting desperately and it is very difficult to advance. If the stalemate continues, the logistics and food will be difficult to sustain."

Futu Daochen still insisted.

Since ancient times, food and fodder have always been sent before troops move out.

Since the transportation was by ship, the amount of food and fodder brought along by the army was originally small.

Originally, they could have fought to support the war, but after Li Chengqian's actions were exposed.

When the Japanese pirates retreated, they took away all the food and fodder or burned them.

This has led to the current predicament.

(End of this chapter)