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

Chapter 220 Strategic Deployment
"I will be outside, and I will not accept your order."

Li Shimin spoke slowly, but the calm atmosphere made Su Dingfang feel tormented.

This sentence made cold sweat run down his back.

How could he not know that Li Shimin did not bring it up unintentionally, but did it on purpose.

Su Dingfang's thoughts raced, wondering if he had done something wrong again to deserve Li Shimin's criticism.

Is it because of the former crown prince Li Chengqian?

The reason why he was able to be employed was all due to Li Chengqian's support.

But now that Li Chengqian has been deposed, he is defined as a rebel.

The Li Shimin in front of him must have mistaken him for Li Chengqian's man.

Thinking of this, Su Dingfang felt mixed emotions.

It can be said that he and Li Chengqian have never met each other before.

But having received his favor and now being implicated by him, I can only say that it is fate and time.

And these words of Li Shimin were also the original words he said when he was impeached.

It was clearly Li Jing who gave the order, but he was made to take the blame, so that his military merits were terribly reduced and he could only be promoted to General of the Central Army.

When Li Shimin mentioned this, it was after he had saved Lingzhou City from danger and made a great contribution.

If this isn't knocking, then what is it?

It seems that the gap between him serving two masters and competing with Li Shimin has never been eliminated.

Su Dingfang couldn't help but feel that he had no way to serve his country. He didn't answer, and he didn't know how to answer.

You can only lower your head even lower and let them do whatever they want.

Whether it is a merit or a fault is really just a matter of a word from the superior.

This went on for half a quarter of an hour.

Li Shimin spoke again:

"Come up now. I have learned the whole story of the war from the prisoners of war. You acted decisively and expanded the victory. You burned the food and grass of the Xueyantuo army and cut off the Xueyantuo's retreat. You have made great contributions. There is no need to worry about anything else."

Li Shimin was trying to warn people, not to punish them, but to recruit them.

Looking around the Tang Dynasty today, there are indeed very few commanders in chief. They were all abducted by Li Shimin.

Now that Li Shimin has discovered Su Dingfang's ability as a commander, how could he not make use of him?

However, all horses need to be tamed.

When it comes to your subordinates, you must combine kindness with authority, so that they will be grateful and at the same time respect you.

This is the emperor's mind.

"Why don't you come up? The strategy you are implementing is similar to the one your majesty used to fight Dou Jiande and Liu Heita. Your majesty is very satisfied with it."

Yuchi Jingde said this in an urgent tone, but his words were full of warnings.

"Your Excellency is too kind. How can the strategy I have implemented be compared with that of Your Majesty?"

Su Dingfang walked forward slowly, looking extremely nervous.

"Su Lie, right? As early as the beginning of Wude, I noticed that you have the ability to lead the three armies."

Li Shimin glanced sideways and looked down at Su Dingfang, his eyes full of admiration.

"At the beginning of the Zhenguan period, I wanted to give you an important task, to have you follow Li Jing to fight the Eastern Turks, and to be promoted based on your merits."

"However, you were later impeached by all the ministers in the court. I had to consider the overall situation and exempt you from military merit. However, with your current military merit, you are enough to lead an army on your own."

"Before, you resented me for this."

It seems like an explanation, but in fact he is doing a favor to Su Dingfang.

"I dare not. I have not even had the chance to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. How could I possibly resent Your Majesty?"

Su Dingfang fell to his knees and kowtowed to Li Shimin to express his gratitude.

"If it weren't for your Majesty's extrajudicial mercy, I would have died long ago."

At the beginning, Tang Jian went there intending to kill him.

"Stand up and tell me what you think of the current Xueyantuo tactics?"

Li Shimin saw that Su Dingfang knew when to advance and retreat, so he did not continue to put pressure on him.

This is a smart man who won't do anything stupid.

If it can stand the test, it can be entrusted with important matters.

After all, he had too many surrendered generals under his command, so it didn't matter who he appointed.

"In front of Your Majesty, I am really just showing off my skills!"

Su Dingfang stood up and said respectfully.

He is indeed not being modest, in fact he is really not as good as Li Shimin.

Moreover, it was not just one or two times that he was defeated by Li Shimin.

"You should speak when I tell you to. You are no match for His Majesty. His Majesty wants to teach you a thing or two. Such opportunities are rare."

Yuchi Jingde said unhappily, and kicked Su Dingfang with his leg, looking as if he was disappointed in his son.

"Then I will make a fool of myself!"

This is a rare opportunity.

He could discuss military strategies with Li Shimin and also be within his sight.

"Now that the Xueyantuo's food and grass have been cut off, there are only two options left. One is to continue to invade the south and plunder our supplies."

"The second is to write to His Majesty and ask for surrender, which has saved our foundation."

"As for our dynasty, there are two ways to deal with it. First, we can take advantage of the fact that Xueyantuo is out of food and implement a policy of building fortifications and clearing the fields. We can firmly defend the city and wear down Xueyantuo and severely injure them, making them unable to invade again for decades."

"Second, we must persuade Xueyantuo to surrender and make them submit to our dynasty on their own initiative, thus saving them from the calamity of war."

Su Dingfang's thinking is extremely clear.

"So what do you think should be done?"

Li Shimin nodded slightly, agreeing very much.

"In my opinion, we should persuade them to surrender."

Su Dingfang replied without any hesitation.

"Why?"

Li Shimin continued to ask.

Every decision made by a commander affects the lives of thousands of soldiers and may even change the fate of a country.

Therefore, any decision requires weighing the pros and cons. It is impossible to do what you think is the case.

"The Xueyantuo is a trapped beast that has reached a desperate situation. Under the threat of death, it has become extremely dangerous. Anything can happen to it."

"Faced with our army's clearing of the countryside, the Xueyantuo leaders are likely to give up on attacking the city directly, and instead break up into smaller units, rushing through the mountainous areas and infiltrating into our hinterland. By then, the entire northern border will be affected by the flames of war."

In ancient times, cities were built on main roads to block large-scale attacks by enemy criminals.

But it cannot stop small infiltrations.

This is also the reason why, even though the North had built the Great Wall and fortified cities, it was still plundered from time to time.

Because of the small group of Xueyantuo soldiers, they did not take the main road, but crossed the mountains and entered from the mountainous area.

Without baggage and large siege equipment, there is no need to take the main road.

At that time, tens of thousands of Xueyantuo soldiers would invade Tang territory in this way.

If this happens, the entire northern border will be plunged into chaos and smoke will be everywhere.

It is also very difficult to expel them.

"For this reason, it is not the best strategy. Now that Xueyantuo is determined to die, they definitely want to fight to the death with our army. If we fight, we will suffer heavy losses. Therefore, the best strategy is to persuade them to surrender."

"It is also the fastest way to resolve the Xueyantuo threat, and it is also in line with the current situation."

"The rebel Zhang Liang is missing. Only by quickly pacifying the external threat can we turn to solving the internal troubles."

Su Ding spoke in a torrent of dialect, talking about the pros and cons.

Persuading the Xueyantuo to surrender is the most appropriate strategy.

His ideas were not much different from Li Shimin's.

"Although Duomi Khan is not very smart, he is very ambitious. He still has 100,000 men. It will be difficult to make him surrender."

The plan was feasible, but it was a bit self-directed and self-acted. The final situation might not be as natural as one might think.

"Persuading them to surrender is a necessary measure, but we must first wake up the Xueyantuo."

Li Shimin added further.

He won't give the enemy any chance to breathe.

It would be best if Duomi Khan could lead his people to surrender. If not, we can only suppress them by force.

"Your Majesty is right. It may not be that easy to capture Duomi Khan."

"However, the current Xueyantuo Khanate is formed by various tribes, and its internal structure is not a monolithic entity. In addition, with the recent defeat of Xueyantuo, Duomi Khan's prestige has been greatly reduced."

"Our army may try to sow discord among the tribes. We can send letters to the leaders of some tribes and persuade them to surrender."

In fact, Su Dingfang already had corresponding calculations in his mind.

"Good, keep the offensive of each tribe unchanged, send scouts to disrupt the Xueyantuo army, and deliver letters of surrender to the leaders of each tribe. As long as they lead their troops to surrender, I will forgive them for their past. If they resist stubbornly, I will kill them without mercy."

Li Shimin nodded and immediately issued the battle plan.

"Leave some troops behind to guard the prisoners and wait for Zhang Jian's arrangements. The rest of the troops will continue the pursuit!"

Li Shimin raised his whip and rode down the hill.

Yuchi Jingde and Su Dingfang followed closely behind.

The mighty Tang army's flags marched northward.

Raid operation.

We have entered into Li Shimin's strategic rhythm.

The army marched quickly and began to hunt down Datushe who had escaped.

Attack and defense are easy.

"Your Majesty, the Xueyantuo army has arrived. If we pursue them further, we may be ambushed."

Half a day later, the Tang army that had advanced ahead and the army led by Duomi Khan were staring at each other across the mountain.

No one took the lead in launching the charge.

When the enemy and ourselves are unclear, anyone who acts rashly will be in a passive position.

"Da Tushe, I asked you to chase the enemy, how did it turn out like this?"

The successive defeats made Duomi Khan very angry.

Now, looking at the embarrassed Datushe, he could no longer suppress his anger.

Why were they set up by the Tang army one after another?

Is it because the generals under his command are too incompetent?
Any general from the Tang army could beat them so badly that they couldn't tell east from west, south from north.

On the other hand, all the generals here are defeated.

"The reinforcements from the Tang army have arrived, and the leader is Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty."

Dadushe replied in panic.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the generals from all departments became abnormal.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

For the tribes on the grassland, Li Shimin's name is still intimidating.

"Li Shimin's arrival is just in time, saving us from having to go to Chang'an to capture him."

"Listen up, my men. The Tang Emperor Li Shimin is right across the way. If we capture him, we will get countless money."

What was revealed in Duomi Khan's eyes was not fear, but naked desire.

This is indeed a way to defeat the enemy.

As long as they can break through the Tang army's formation and capture Li Shimin alive.

Then all the difficulties faced by Xueyantuo now will be easily solved.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

The unique cries of the northern nomadic peoples were heard from within the army.

For a moment, the soldiers were very excited.

Completely forgetting the predicament at hand.

He admired Li Shimin, but there was no one who did not want to be Li Shimin.

This is related to the tradition of the grassland.

You can challenge the strong, become strong, and then surpass the strong.

They admire and respect the strong, but never fear the strong.

Those who are capable will occupy it.

Therefore, all these soldiers wanted to be the one who captured the Heavenly Khan Li Shimin alive.

This is glory.

"Khan, the Tang people are always cunning and scheming. If we march now, we may be ambushed."

Seeing the morale rising, Mu Ke Na still persuaded calmly.

"Morale is high now, how can we not fight? The opportunity for battle is fleeting. The Tang army is chasing us all the way, so there will definitely be no ambush."

Duomi Khan said very confidently. Looking at the aggressive army of 100,000, how could he not feel heroic?

These incompetent generals all failed in commanding the battles, so he had to take action himself.

"That being said, Khan, have you forgotten that the army has not eaten for a day since it arrived here? How can a tired army fight?"

Mu Ke Na was still very cautious.

And this time the opponent is still Li Shimin.

No one knew where the main force of the Tang army was, nor how many soldiers it had.

Charging in right away is no different from committing suicide.

Duomi Khan frowned and looked at the Tang army in the distance with reluctance.

"However, let the soldiers rest and replenish their strength first, and I will lead the army to test the strength of the Tang army. It won't be too late to formulate tactics later."

Mu Ke Na still advised very patiently.

Anyone would choose this safe approach.

"Okay, order the entire army to rest on the spot, kill horses to satisfy hunger, and then attack the Tang army and capture Emperor Li Shimin alive."

Duomi Khan waved his hand and followed Mukena's advice.

When two armies face off, both need to make arrangements.

In the Tang army, Yuchi Jingde and Su Dingfang also advised Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the enemy army has arrived. We should temporarily avoid the front line. If the Xueyantuo army rushes in, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Your Majesty to take care of it."

Yuchi Jingde looked solemn.

Whenever it came to Li Shimin's safety, he was always very careful.

What Li Shimin is facing now is not only the entire army, but also the entire Tang Dynasty.

There is no chance of the slightest mistake.

The cavalry team that advanced only had a few thousand men.

How can we withstand the charge of an army of one hundred thousand?

"General Yuchi, this is not the first time we have faced hundreds of thousands of enemy troops. There is no need to rush."

Li Shimin smiled slightly, looking very comfortable.

"Does this scene resemble the time when the two of us went to spy on Wang Shichong's military intelligence?"

Li Shimin recalled the glorious days of the past.

"The present is different from the past. Your Majesty is now the emperor. You don't need to charge into battle here and there. You should sit in the center of the army and make plans."

Yuchi Jingde smiled apologetically.

"How can it be different? You, Yuchi Jingde, hold a spear, and I hold a bow. We can also fight our way in and out of the midst of thousands of troops."

Li Shimin patted the bow and crossbow on the saddle and said with great heroism.

The eyes looking towards the Xueyantuo camp were full of aggression.

(End of this chapter)