Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 362: Learning Brother's Operation
“Hold on! Don’t take a step back, even if you die. Otherwise, you will die!”

Cheng Zhijie went to the front line in person, sword in hand, his eyes red as blood.

Shuozhou was in danger and the war was urgent, and his consciousness became blurred.

Several soldiers retreated from the front line in a panic, howling with sad faces:

"General, we are really desperate. Our men are almost wiped out..."

"Even if we are killed, we cannot retreat! Even if we become a ghost, we will defend the Tang Dynasty to the death!"

Cheng Zhijie was so angry that he kicked the soldier over, snatched his spear, and threw away the ceremonial dagger in his hand.

"No one? Am I not a human? Follow me!"

The commander personally took to the battlefield, and the morale of the remaining Tang army soldiers was immediately boosted.

"I will follow the general to the death!"

The army in despair will surely win. The Tang army was in high spirits and actually withstood the enemy's attack.

Deep in the mountains, there were bursts of sounds of trumpets.

The Ming army, which had already rushed to the gate of Shuozhou City, seemed to have pressed the pause button, and immediately withdrew its troops, changing from an offensive arrow-shaped formation to a defensive circular formation and retreating back into the vast mountains.

"Won!"

The Tang army cheered.

Although it was a miserable victory, everyone was beaten up and had bruises all over their bodies.

But just tell me whether we won and whether we expelled the Ming invaders.

Among the cheering soldiers, Cheng Zhijie looked at the direction where the Ming army was retreating. His expression did not relax at all, but became more and more tense.

Judging from the Ming army's well-planned advances and retreats, they were definitely not defeated by the Tang army. They left some strength in reserve, unlike the Tang army which stretched to its limit.

As long as they could muster up some strength, the Ming army could really have flattened Shuozhou City with that wave just now.

But they didn't do that. They just fought and ran away. If they didn't occupy the city, they would just let the Tang army go.

This is not the first time that the Ming army has done this; it has been happening recently.

The general process was that a Ming army unit suddenly emerged from the mountains, eliminated the Tang army's scouts, and then pushed to the foot of the city and began to bang on the doors with heavy machinery.

Unlike the Central Plains, Shuozhou City does not have as much time and resources to strengthen its defenses.

Even if Cheng Zhijie wanted to make up for his loss, huge rocks would fall from time to time, making all the reinforcement work in vain.

In order to prevent the city gates from being breached, the Tang army had to go out of the city to fight every time.

After a field battle, the Ming army always retreated on their own initiative.

However, the Tang army won each victory in a tragic way, with casualties far greater than those of the enemy.

Although the Ming army also abandoned a lot of heavy equipment almost every time, they had money and could afford to burn them. But the Tang army was really killing one less.

Moreover, the Ming army's offensive was like a frog in boiling water, becoming more and more fierce.

The Tang army found that it was becoming increasingly difficult to drive them out, and the casualties in the battle were steadily increasing.

Any general with a little experience can see at a glance what the other side is planning.

"The purpose is not to capture the city, but to weaken our troops and supplies..."

Cheng Zhijie gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

Because Shuozhou stands right here, like a target.

The Ming army could attack whenever they wanted and rest whenever they wanted.

But as the defender, the Tang army must always remain vigilant.

If the schedules of the two sides are out of sync, and Shuozhou is really exposed by the other side, it will be a lot of fun.

The Tang army cannot lose Shuozhou, just as the Tang Dynasty cannot lose Chang'an.

Now, tens of thousands of Tang army's main forces are compressed in the narrow territory of Shanxi. If they retreat any further, they will be surrounded.

What's more, Shuozhou was an important granary for the Tang army.

We also have to thank the wealthy Ming Dynasty.

Before Shuozhou fell, a lot of grain was stored here. Because the food supply was cut off at that time, it was impossible to support the Ming army that was fighting in Bingzhou, so all the grain was piled up here.

If the warehouse in Shuozhou was lost, not only Cheng Zhijie's troops, but also Jinyang would starve.

Because they had not received any supplies from the Guanzhong rear area for several days.

Although the supplies from the rear were not enough, at least we could still feed them from time to time.

But just a few days ago, the logistics line was suddenly cut off, and the entire Tang army depended on the stored grain in Shuozhou to survive.

This suddenly made the burden on Cheng Zhijie's shoulders heavier.

"What on earth is the rear doing?!"

…………

"Li Ming personally led the army to fight, and the Fen River dried up. Our army was cut off from supplies, Puzhou became an isolated city, and the emperor fled north with the crown prince...

"What the hell is this?!"

In Jinyang Prefecture, Li Shimin was reading an urgent letter sent by Li Shiji from Puzhou. He didn't want to read any further halfway through, and angrily crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it aside.

He has already had a cerebral infarction and doesn't want to have another one.

Under his seat, Ashina She'er and Guo Xiaoke were whispering to each other:
"The Fen River is the river outside our window, right? Has it dried up? Was it fine when we went out today?"

"..." Guo Xiaoke nodded his head:

"That's a metaphor. Our army's supply route on the Fen River was cut off by the Ming fleet."

Ashina She'er suddenly realized:
"No wonder our army can only eat millet from Shuozhou during this period... Oh, it's really abominable, why are the Ming army so bad!"

"Is this bad? Ha, Li Ming's conspiracy goes far beyond this!"

Li Shimin glanced at his men and threw out another battle report.

"News from Cheng Yaojin, Shuozhou is in urgent need of reinforcements."

"Why do we need reinforcements again?" Li Daliang couldn't help but mutter.

"They request reinforcements every three days and demand soldiers and weapons at every turn."

"What is he doing in Shuozhou? What does he think of Jinyang? There are no unlimited sources of troops for him here." Other generals were also whispering.

Li Shimin pressed his palm down, signaling the generals to be quiet:

"This is not Duke Lu's fault. The key is what his enemy, Li Ming, is planning in Shuozhou."

Ashina She'er seemed to be thinking:
"Could it be that the Ming army is using Shuozhou as a point of entry to continuously consume our army's strength?"

Li Shimin nodded and said:

"That's right. The enemy has anticipated that our army's Fenhe supply line has been cut off and we can only rely on the granary in Shuozhou. We must defend Shuozhou to the death. They are trying to make us bleed there."

"From the perspective of combat style, the main generals of the Ming army in the Shuozhou direction should be Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui, right?
"Those two are good at small-scale mountain warfare. They constantly harassed and exhausted our army in the mountains of Shuozhou. This is their strength, and it is also the strength of the Ming army that was transformed from the Red Scarf Bandits."

The generals looked gloomy when they heard this, and cursed angrily:

"The Ming army is despicable, full of conspiracies and tricks!"

"Oh, what a conspiracy." Li Shimin couldn't help but shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"This is a conspiracy."

The Fen River waterway was cut off, and the Ming army aimed at the dilemma that the Tang army could not afford to lose the Shuozhou warehouse again, and constantly harassed the area with small forces.

Small-scale mountain warfare was the Ming army's comfort zone. Moreover, the army was small in size and could keep up with supplies by crossing the Taihang Mountains.

The Tang army naturally knew this, but still had to throw its precious main forces into this meat grinder.

The conspiracy has no solution!

"Great Khan, there is Li Jing in the north and Li Ming in the south. How can we...resist them?"

Ashina She'er was a little confused.

The other generals were also at a loss. This time it was the Tang army's turn to be cut off from food.

As for the Ming army, they recuperated in Hebei and ate as much as they could in Fen River, so they didn't have to worry about supply problems at all.

If the Tang army continued to waste time in Shanxi and exhausted all the resources, it would undoubtedly be a disastrous situation and a doomed fate.

However, if the Tang army withdrew from Shanxi, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and lost the largest barrier in northern China, it would be a disaster for the Tang Dynasty and it would be doomed immediately.

It's not possible to retreat or not to retreat. This battle has become a one-sided battle that has ended up with a blockage in both ends.

"Come one by one. We can still let Cheng Yaojin take over Li Jing in the north. Let's start by solving the most pressing crisis.

"That is, Li Ming's large army has already invaded the Central Plains and is coming from the south."

The corners of Li Shimin's mouth curled up in an arc without a smile.

This remark made the faces of the generals below change drastically.

Yes, Li Ming has personally taken action, so what he did is definitely not just as simple as cutting off the supply line.

That is the main force of the Ming army!

They came from the south, and together with Li Jing, they wanted to give the Tang Dynasty's last hope a double cheese sandwich!

The supply problem was solved, because with such a wave of attacks, the Tang army might not be able to hold out until the day when the supplies were exhausted.

"Heh... Li Shiji probably didn't listen to me and didn't use iron chains to block the Fen River, allowing the Ming army's warships to pass unimpeded...

"Oh, that's all."

Li Shimin patted his head helplessly:
"Guo Xiaoke."

"I am here." Old Guo trembled with fear.

“Gather the ironware in the city and make 81 iron chains. Lay them out in sequence on the Fen River south of the city to block the Ming army’s warships.

"You won't bargain with me for this mission, right?"

Guo Xiaoke was shocked and answered immediately:

"I will not disgrace my life!"

Now no one dared to privately discuss the Emperor's wild imagination, as he actually wanted to block the main river transportation routes.

Because their opponent, Li Ming, has a bigger imagination.

"It's not that exaggerated. It's just a few nails on both sides of the river."

Li Shimin calmly said a few words to comfort him, and then said:
“Li Daliang, you lead a group of elite soldiers south to meet the emperor and his entourage and escort them across the Yellow River to the west.

"They are like headless flies. I am worried that they will scare my concubines."

"Yes!" Li Daliang kowtowed solemnly.

Then other tasks were arranged and the meeting was adjourned.

The Tang army generals left with heavy hearts.

Li Shimin sat alone on the dragon throne, breathing deeply.

His mood gradually calmed down, and the corners of his mouth curved into an arc.

"Li Ming, his strategy and tactics are well arranged, a good north-south attack.

"The south uses warships to cut off the supply lines, and the north harasses the logistics warehouses. What a great coordination!"

His tone was a mixture of anger, helplessness and relief, extremely complicated.

"That guy's strategy has always been good. He first tricked our main force into Shanxi, where the journey is inconvenient, and used Li Jing's troops to hold them back. Then he swept across the Central Plains himself, attacking from both sides and winning the world in one fell swoop...

"I have wrongly blamed Li Shiji. My strategic vision is too narrow. I only saw Shanxi and did not look at the whole country.

"Li Ming is the one who has a far-sighted vision!

"Has he been planning today's events since he requested the title of Lord of Liaodong?"

Li Shimin talked to himself, and the smile on his face turned bitter.

The disciple is better than the master, although he really doesn't want to admit it.

…………

“What brilliant strategy is there?

“Is it because of strategy that our army has been able to make such progress on the battlefield?”

Li Ming squatted beside the casserole of stewing soup and shook his finger at Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli.

Xue Wanche was not convinced:
"According to your instructions, we tricked the Tang army into a loop, cut off their supplies, and surrounded them.

"How does this not prove that you are a strategic genius?"

Qibi Heli chimed in:
"Lure the tiger away from the mountain, remove the fuel from under the cauldron, and attack from both sides."

Li Ming asked back:

“Does the above strategic deployment depend on creative ideas?

"Or is it that we have far more soldiers and warships than the Tang army?"

When asked this question, Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick began to scratch their heads.

Xue Wanche had to be quick to react:
"After hearing what you said, it seems that if I had so many soldiers, I think I could defeat General Tian Ce."

Qibi Heli covered his face silently.

It's because your brother is thick-skinned enough.

"Right. So you see, even if I take you two with me, I can still march north unimpeded, unstoppable, and defeat the most elite Tang army.

"It's not certain that Lord Li Wei will be able to fight so smoothly in the north, right?"

Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli felt that Emperor Li Ming was implying that they were incompetent, but they had no evidence.

"Well, not bad, the wild duck is ready."

Li Ming stood up and used chopsticks to stir the duck in the casserole.

"Okay, stop thinking about it. After eating fish for so many days, we can finally eat wild game."

He stabbed the duck with chopsticks and tore off a leg.

Yes, after eating fish for several days in a row, Li Ming no longer needs to eat fish.

Because he and the Ming army he brought with him had already landed.

He and two of his trusted generals stood on a small hill.

At the foot of the mountain, several Ming army soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, taking in captured Tang army soldiers, collecting spoils, and burying the dead.

"Eat quickly, we have to catch up after eating." Li Ming gnawed on a duck leg while greeting his two subordinates.

At this time, a capable soldier reported:
“Your Majesty, the battlefield has been cleaned up, and the results and damages have been counted.

"In this battle, our army annihilated 3,000 enemies, including more than 1,000 killed and 2,000 captured. Our army suffered 600 wounded and 150 dead, and won a great victory."

The inventory was completed in a short period of time after the war, with the count accurate to the single digit.

If Li Shimin saw it, he would sigh again.

But in the Ming army camp, this is basic practice and you must not slip up.

"Well, hard work."

Li Ming waved the soldier away and wiped the oil from his mouth.

Further in the background, the large Ming army was lined up in neat rows, like a winding dragon, marching northward.

Accompanying these infantrymen were ships as tall as hills.

A large and well-trained army, advanced and complete equipment, and massive material supplies.

And behind all this lies the strong national strength.

Is this an advantage that can be accumulated through mere "strategy"?
This is momentum!
(End of this chapter)