Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 146: Goguryeo is a bit too urbanized
"Tsk, Goguryeo is a bit difficult to defeat."

Li Ming sat in Hou Junji's arms, riding a horse, leading the Red Turban cavalry without helmets, howling and chasing the Goguryeo people who were more than ten times their number.

It turns out that the Goguryeo people are a little more difficult to deal with than pigs.

Because they will hide in the bunker.

The Goguryeo people built a thousand-mile Great Wall from Buyeo City in the north (now Kaiyuan City, Liaoning Province) to Jian'an City in the south (now Yingkou City, Liaoning Province) specifically to defend against their southern neighbors.

Relying on a series of mountain cities such as Xincheng, Gaimu and Wugu, this Great Wall has built a large joint defense zone consisting of mountain cities, rivers and fortresses.

To say that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack is conservative.

When Li Ming and his party reached the Wall of Sighs, they could only stop in their tracks helplessly and sigh at the sight of the river.

Although the Red Turban Army was capable of fighting guerrilla warfare, field battles and defensive battles, they were somewhat unable to cope with a common military problem throughout history, both in China and abroad - siege warfare.

Damn it, it would be great if we could fire a cannon and blow him up... Li Ming bared his teeth at the rammed earth wall across the river.

"Ahem, Your Highness." Hou Junji coughed dryly and reminded:

"The purpose of our trip is to pick up Yuchi Xunyu and his group who sneaked into Pyongyang City, not to annihilate the enemy."

"Oh, I forgot. I couldn't help myself when I saw the Goguryeo people." Li Ming patted his forehead.

However, it would be a big loss if we could not kill as many people as possible while the morale of Goguryeo was collapsing. It would cause great hidden dangers when we annex them in two years...

Li Ming was furious about the Great Wall fortress defense line, but there was nothing he could do.

Pingzhou’s foundation was still too weak. The Red Turban Army lacked the corresponding siege equipment and training, and its manpower was seriously insufficient.

No matter how weak the Goguryeo people are now, he must not act rashly and rush into the wall.

It is easy to lose all the elite light infantry in your hands, and waste the advantages that you have accumulated with great difficulty.

No wonder even a powerful country like the Tang Dynasty, with a suitable climate, still could not completely take over the Northeast. After destroying Goguryeo, the Bohai Kingdom came.

It is so unethical to urbanize and shoot bunkers in this place with mountains and water.

The Tang Dynasty might be able to gather an army and defeat Goguryeo.

But to take down the fortress group and completely occupy this place, we can only take one step at a time and nibble away at it step by step.

This requires persistent logistics.

And this is exactly what the Tang army, which came from afar and had difficulty in supply, lacked.

"When I govern Liaodong in the future, how should I solve this problem..."

Li Ming was thinking about how to use fanatics to solve the eternal problem of urbanization when he heard a familiar voice.

"Brother Ming! We are back!"

Yuchi Xunyu, Aunt Wu, Mr. Cui and other spies who had sneaked into Goguryeo, all stepped out of the Goguryeo border, rode their horses across the river that had bloomed in early spring, and met up with Li Ming and his party.

"Brother Ming!" Yuchi Xunyu waved to Li Ming and the others happily:
"Goguryeo is in chaos. We can come and go freely. Haha!"

"Thank you for your hard work. You have done a great job!" Li Ming warmly received the three Yu Zechengs.

At the same time, his eyes turned curiously to their side, looking at the Goguryeo surrendered soldiers who were covering for the three of them.

Yes, that’s right, all of these old brothers followed back to Li Ming.

This is not rigorous enough.

They were accompanied by several women and children.

"Hey, why are you back? I remember you were allowed to return to your hometown..." Li Ming looked confused.

"Your Highness..." The Goguryeo prisoners of war said respectfully in stiff Chinese:

"My hometown...is unviable. I am willing to go to Pingzhou and be a slave."

You guys are trying to take over our Tang Dynasty... Li Ming saw through the thoughts of the first generation of runners at once, and complained fiercely in his heart.

"Brother Ming..." Yuchi Xunyu looked at his elder brother eagerly with his bright eyes flashing, his meaning could not be more obvious.

Although these prisoners of war were role players, they also made their own contributions to overthrowing Gao Jianwu and lifting the siege of Pingzhou.

Li Ming felt that he could not be like a certain big country and discard the guides after using them.

"Alas... considering your loyalty and contributions to the country, I will allow you to live and work in peace in Pingzhou."

The Goguryeo prisoners of war almost cried for joy.

…………

The group set out to return to Wuli Township, and Yu Zecheng and others reported along the way the process of instigating Yeon Gaesomun to revolt and the current situation in Goguryeo.

"After Yeon Gaesomun killed the king, he supported the former king's brother as a puppet king, proclaimed himself the Great Mok Rikji, and took over the power as regent."

Yuchi Xunyu narrated:

“But this has not been able to quell domestic opposition, the five major tribes hate each other and conflicts continue.

“In addition, in order to launch a full-scale war with Pingzhou, the previous king exploited the people’s power, causing the people to suffer and civil unrest.

"The Goguryeo front collapsed just like that."

Li Ming listened carefully to the enemy's intelligence.

It seems that Goguryeo's war potential is smaller than he expected, and the country has long been stretched to the limit of concentrated outbreak of internal conflicts.

Yeon Gaesomun's regicide only brought this process forward.

It can even be said that the fact that Yeon Gaesomun was so smoothly provoked and his king was a manifestation of intensified conflicts.

Its king, Gao Jianwu, became angry and humiliated because of the unfavorable local war situation in Pingzhou. He blindly increased his bets, and finally lost the big picture for the small one. He died and his country was in chaos. It was a sad and lamentable situation.

This scene seemed like a repeat of history. Just a few decades ago, Emperor Yang of Sui also launched three expeditions to Goguryeo in order to gain a measure of satisfaction, which triggered domestic conflicts. In the end, he also died at the hands of powerful ministers, and his country was destroyed.

Ironically, this time Goguryeo's roles were reversed, and it became the mirror image of the "Great Sui Dynasty".

"A single wrong thought by the ruler of a country can lead to the destruction of the country, the family and the society..."

Li Ming remembered the lessons learned from the Sui Dynasty and the Goguryeo rulers in his heart, which might be useful in the future, and then asked:

"What kind of person is the new enemy chief Yeon Gaesomun?"

"He is naturally stupid and greedy." Aunt Wu commented bluntly:

"Before he killed the king and usurped the throne, many people in Goguryeo, even those in his own tribe, were very unhappy with him."

Aunt Wu is quite good at judging people.

Yuchi Xunyu added:

"People were dissatisfied with Yeon Gaesomun as the regent, which was one of the important reasons for the civil unrest in Goguryeo."

It can only be said that the rough men of Goguryeo did learn the Confucianism taught by Cui, but they did not learn it completely.

He only knows a little bit, and knows how to clear out the emperor's side.

However, he did not have the benevolence or ability to deal with domestic opposition forces, and ended up in trouble.

“There is a solid wall defense outside, which is difficult to break through by force.

"But there are many internal contradictions and people's hearts are not united..."

Li Ming suddenly felt that the script looked familiar.

Leaving aside the balance of power, isn’t this just like the disintegration of some unnamed Big Brother?

Got it!

Li Ming probably had a way to easily destroy Goguryeo in his mind.

In the Tang Dynasty, destroying a country was a very simple matter.

If you see someone you don't like, you can either endure it or do it.

But Li Ming, who was tainted by modern civilization, had many more tricks at that time.

He can draw strength from the "history" of the future, replicate the industry's successful experience, and benchmark against outstanding cases in the industry.

Give the simple seventh century a little twenty-first century shock.

For example, to deal with Goguryeo, which was like an egg, hard on the outside but soft on the inside, he could simply apply the four-character formula:
“Peaceful evolution.”

When he read out these four words, Li Ming felt vaguely that he had grasped the password to quickly pass through Goguryeo.

His eyes softened instantly as he looked at the prisoners of war around him.

These Run people may be the key to solving the Goguryeo issue once and for all...

"Pingzhou has limited arable land. Before a new batch of wasteland is reclaimed, you probably won't be able to get any land." Li Ming said bluntly.

The prisoners immediately expressed their loyalty:
"No, I'm willing to be a slave..."

As long as they could become honorable Tang people and escape the chaos of Goguryeo, they would be happy to be treated like slaves! How could they dare to ask for any land?
Li Ming waved his hand:
"We in Pingzhou have abolished the hierarchy, and there are no slaves anymore.

"However, your livelihood issues must also be resolved."

Under the anxious gazes of the prisoners and their families, Li Ming crossed his arms and pretended to be distressed. Finally, he said slowly:
"How about this, you should first study Chinese well, not only speaking it, but also writing it.

"During this period, rations will be distributed as usual to ensure that your family will have enough food and clothing."

The prisoners could hardly believe their ears.

In Goguryeo, reading and writing Chinese characters was a privilege for the nobility.

The vast majority of ordinary people are illiterate and cannot even write their own names.

And as prisoners of war, they were able to read and write?

And it’s not a privilege, it’s a job?

In other words, they can enjoy the privileges of the nobility in the past while still getting paid?
What kind of paradise is this?!

The prisoners were filled with gratitude and fear, and they wanted to jump off their horses and kowtow to the living Buddha. Otherwise, they would not feel at ease eating the rice.

Just as they were celebrating, Li Ming waved to Yuchi Xunyu and whispered:
“These people will follow you from now on.

"Take them to learn more, see more, and walk around more, so that they can feel the positive and progressive atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty and identify with us from the bottom of their hearts."

Yuchi Xunyu was somewhat puzzled:

"Brother Ming, this is..."

"They are the key to the next strategy to deal with Goguryeo." Li Ming whispered without going into too much detail.

After a period of training on the underground front, Yuchi Xunyu learned the essence of "guessing less about the leadership's intentions and completing the leadership's tasks."

He immediately changed his laughing attitude and nodded seriously:

"I see."

…………

Li Ming and his party returned to Wuli Township, and just at the entrance of the main road, they encountered a strange cavalry.

They all wore Tang armor, but today, armor has lost its function of identifying friend or foe.

To distinguish friend from foe, we must first look at the hairstyle.

Hmm... can't see the hairstyle clearly.

Because these wimps are wearing helmets.

So rare, what kind of cavalry is this?

"Who are they? Are there drills arranged on this route? Which tribe are they wearing helmets to imitate?"

Li Ming blinked his big eyes with curiosity, looked up and asked Hou Junji who was holding him while riding a horse.

Hou Junji suppressed the twitching of his mouth:

"Is it possible that the helmet and armor are actually a set?"

"Oh, that's right." Li Ming suddenly realized, and then his eyes focused:
"Then who are they?"

Hou Junji did not answer. He stared ahead with a frown and subconsciously slowed down the pace of the queue.

A general suddenly jumped out from the unfamiliar cavalry team, holding his sword in hand, and shouted at Li Ming and his entourage:
"I am Li Shiji, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Road Army!"

Li Shiji: Holy shit, they are the regular army of the Tang Dynasty! ... Li Ming's heart skipped a beat.

Although he felt that he was the number one loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty.

But he also had to admit that some of his... less conservative practices could easily be understood as rebellion by the court.

This can be confirmed by information from Xue Rengui, Cui Mingan and other sources.

Therefore, before Changsun Yan reported back, he had no idea what Li Er and the court's true attitude towards him was.

To be on the safe side, he whispered to Hou Junji:

"Can you beat him?"

Hou Junji asked back: "Then can you beat Yuchi Xunyu?"

"I am not yet strong, but when I grow strong, things will change."

"me too."

"So you can't beat him now?"

Hou Junji couldn't hold back his smile anymore, and felt that there was no point in continuing the conversation today, so he changed the subject:
"In our Pingzhou territory, I am the butcher and he is the meat. I can win."

Li Ming just replied with one word:

"Ah."

Hou Junji made a prompt decision and made a gesture with his right hand behind his back.

The accompanying Red Turban cavalry were already extremely nervous. They immediately adjusted the pace of their horses according to hand gestures, lined up in a horizontal line, and pressed towards the Tang army like a moving wall.

They were really thinking the opposite, setting up an offensive formation against the Heavenly Soldiers?! ... Li Shiji on the opposite side was stunned by this posture.

How could he provoke such a fierce reaction from Pingzhou just by announcing his family name and showing off?
He made a prompt decision and immediately——

He dismounted, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands together, admitting defeat three times in a row, all in one smooth motion.

"General Li Shiji, following the order of His Majesty, is here to reinforce His Highness Li Ming!
"Fortunately, God blesses the Tang Dynasty. Your Highness is safe and Pingzhou is safe!"

The accompanying cavalry also immediately dismounted and knelt.

Li Ming didn't believe it completely and glanced towards Li Shiji.

It was Chang Sun Yan, who was also in the ranks of the Tang army. He rode his horse slowly to the kneeling Li Shiji, and did not dismount. He just waved lightly to Li Ming.

Li Ming then confirmed:

"It's not a false surrender. These Tang troops are reinforcements brought by Chang Sun Yan."

The tense formation immediately relaxed, and they slowly approached the Tang army that was kneeling on the ground and dared not move.

Li Ming jumped off his horse and helped Li Shiji up with a smile:

"Oh, I'm sorry, General Li. We have been fighting against Goguryeo's 200,000-strong army. We are so nervous. I am sorry to have frightened you."

"I am stupid. I was late and left Your Highness to fight alone. I hope Your Highness will forgive me." Li Shiji answered respectfully.

He was weak to begin with, and after being given this bluff, he would never dare to show off even if he was beaten to death.

"No, no, the fact that the general is here means that the court still cares about us, Liaodong. We are already grateful."

Li Ming said politely with a hint of sarcasm:

"I heard there's a heavy snow in Hebei? You guys must have worked hard to come all the way here despite the snow and wind.

"Where are you from? Just this group of light cavalry?"

The tone of his voice sounded as if he was Li Shiji's immediate superior.

Theoretically, the Liaodong Road Chief of Army and the Liaodong Jiedushi were parallel and independent of each other.

Logically, as reinforcements from the central government, local princes should treat them better.

Li Shiji could have simply ignored him.

However, Li Ming is obviously an outsider.

"Your Highness, I am mobilizing the troops from the Weizhou Governor's Office. In addition to the cavalry, the infantry is also on the way to reinforce.

"Since Pingzhou is safe, according to your Highness, should we let the infantry return along the same route..."

It's a completely humble attitude of asking for instructions from the leader.

Li Shiji has a high emotional intelligence and is always polite to ordinary princes and nobles.

But his attitude towards Li Ming is different.

That's not just politeness, it's respect.

Because soldiers are absolute materialists.

Whoever can win the battle will be respected.

And facing His Highness Li Ming, who used his meager strength to defeat 200,000... bah, 150,000 regular troops.

This one of the Ten Sages of the Temple of Martial Arts could only admit defeat.

In front of this boy with a straight back, Li Shiji naturally felt half a head shorter and didn't even dare to speak loudly.

"You make the decision on the matter of the march road." Li Ming waved his hand generously:
"Come to Pingzhou, we welcome you with open arms. Return to Weizhou, we also send you off with open arms.

"Where is the main force? They haven't reached Youzhou yet, right? The snow and wind there are terrible."

Li Shiji shook his head slightly and confessed honestly:

"We should be close to the border of Pingzhou."

Li Ming was startled:
"So fast?!"

The Weizhou Military Governor's Office is at least several hundred miles away from Pingzhou.

And it was only half a month ago that Chang Sun Yan called for help.

How did these infantrymen manage to brave the wind and snow and reach their doorsteps in just twenty days?

The fold jump is open?
Chang Sunyan explained:

"When I came back from Chang'an and caught up with General Li, they were already in Youzhou."

We have arrived in Youzhou a long time ago... Li Ming's breathing suddenly became rapid.

But it was only a moment, and he immediately regained his composure and asked casually:
"When did you leave Weizhou?"

Li Shiji did not dare to hide anything and told the whole story:

“At the end of last year, I was appointed as the general commander of the army and temporarily led the troops of Weizhou.

"At the beginning of January this year, I was ordered by Your Majesty to go on the expedition."

Oh, build the marching road in December, march in early January...

In other words, it was long before I asked for help and long before Goguryeo's intentions became clear.

Even before most of the court suspected me of treason...

Has my father, Emperor Li Shimin, already prepared to fight back against me?
The person who first suspected and was on guard against my rebellion turned out to be my father?!

(End of this chapter)