Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 370: Prelude to the Father-Son Game

"Your Majesty, General Ashina successfully blocked Li Jing's Ming army from heading south on the Shuozhou-Daizhou line.

"It's a pity that we failed to encircle and annihilate them. They escaped and retreated to Shuozhou."

"In the south, the Ming army's pace heading north has also slowed down significantly, and they are still stuck in Jinzhou.

"Your Majesty's tactics of luring the enemy deep into our territory, blocking the river with iron chains, and conducting guerrilla attacks have yielded great results."

In the Jinyang Prefecture, which was oppressive to the point of suffocation, Guo Xiaoke reported in a muffled voice.

Although the news from the front line was all good news, it did not make the atmosphere in the mansion much more relaxed.

The air still seemed frozen and no one spoke.

In the air that was so heavy that it almost became a substance, only the retired Emperor Li Shimin was still half-lying on the couch in a carefree manner, gently stroking his beard with his left hand, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Very good."

"It's all thanks to your majesty's brilliant plan." Guo Xiaoke smiled very reluctantly.

The grassroots Tang army soldiers did not subscribe to the Chang'an Express and might not know what was happening outside.

But everyone in Jinyang Prefecture is well aware of the current situation in the world.

The Central Plains east of Luoyang was lost, and the southern area from Jiangnan to Bashu was out of control.

In addition, Liaodong, Hebei, Qi and Lu, which had long been out of the actual control of the Tang Dynasty...

Today, the actual territory of the Tang Dynasty is only an area from Luoyang to Longxi, and at most half of Lingnan, which has been cut off from the mainland and is being harassed by southern barbarians to the point of collapse.

The country is no longer a country!

Even the emperor was captured.

Under such circumstances, winning a few battles means nothing at all.

Even if we wipe out this Ming army, what will happen? In a few months, they can always show up again.

Given the ever-widening gap in national strength, any tactical victory is meaningless.

What's more, the Ming army's tactics were not bad either. The northern and southern troops had only suffered some setbacks, their organization was still intact, and the momentum of an all-out offensive had not changed.

As one side gained strength while the other lost strength, the strategic space of the Tang army was being increasingly squeezed.

Apart from Chang'an Guanzhong where the "monarch was offline" and the Lingnan region which had been offline for a long time, the only things Li Shimin could control were part of Jinzhou, Bingzhou where Jinyang was located, and Daizhou, Fenzhou and other states east of the Yellow River and west of Taihang Mountains.

The movement and logistics of an army of more than 100,000 were locked in this half of Shanxi Province, and their room for maneuver was obviously quite limited.

The Ming Dynasty doesn't even have to do anything. It only needs to block the water and land transportation here. It will take a year or two to drain the supply of the Tang army.

After all, the half of Hedong Road that they control alone cannot support such a large army!
However, in this desperate situation, His Majesty the Emperor was not discouraged at all, and he arranged his strategic and tactical arrangements with a relaxed mood.

Not only was there no sign of frustration or despair, but every move he made was filled with hope.

What on earth is your majesty expecting?

Li Shimin didn't say anything, but just leaned back in his chair calmly, as if waiting for something.

After a while, another figure hurried in from outside the door.

It’s Li Shiji.

The answer is revealed, he is the one your majesty has been waiting for.

But this answer did not eliminate everyone's doubts.

Can a general, especially a general who has been fooled by Li Ming, have any profound impact on the war situation?
Li Shiji lowered his head and walked forward, kneeling on the ground:
“I failed in my duty. I neither stopped the Ming army nor persuaded the Emperor to return, which led to the current situation.

"Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Li Shimin stood up and said majestically:
"You have betrayed me time and again. According to the Zhenguan Law, you should be beheaded and displayed to the public."

The temperature in the mansion seemed to have dropped by several degrees. The whole place was silent and you could hear a pin drop.

Li Shiji almost buried his head in the ground:
"The general will finally be convicted."

Being able to make the emperor lose himself twice, Lao Li is still alive and well now, all thanks to your majesty's magnanimity.

"But..." Li Shimin dragged out the last word and smiled bitterly:
"Given the current difficult situation, every single person is extremely valuable to our Tang Dynasty.

“Even sinners are no exception.”

Li Shiji's breathing suddenly became heavy.

Li Shimin made a statement with ease:
"Go south to Jinzhou and make meritorious contributions while serving your sentence."

Li Shiji kowtowed again and retreated quietly.

He will probably fight to the death this time... Everyone present watched Li Shiji leave, as if this was their final farewell.

When Li Shiji's footsteps disappeared, the mansion returned to silence, like a pool of stagnant water.

Li Shimin glanced at the silent ministers and said loudly, as if teasing them:

"If I were in Chang'an and I were to bend the law for personal gain, a minister would have stepped in to correct me.

"But in Jinyang, why don't you say anything?"

The Zhenguan generals, who always liked to speak out against the emperor, now lowered their heads one by one, like schoolchildren who were afraid of being called out.

"Lord Yangdi, tell me, what do you want to say? Or is your mind empty and you haven't thought about anything?" Li Shimin pointed casually to the seat below.

Guo Xiaoke's body trembled, and he groaned for a long time before saying:
"I have been thinking about how to sweep away the traitors and revive the Tang Dynasty.

"It's just that I'm stupid and I haven't gained anything."

Li Shimin laughed and looked at the others:
"So, what about you? Are you also thinking about how to revive?"

"That's right." Everyone agreed.

"Have you figured it out?" Li Shimin asked again.

Silence~
"Haha. Even you smart people can't figure it out. It seems that our Tang Dynasty is really hopeless."

The emperor's sarcasm made everyone present feel very uncomfortable.

Alas... Li Shimin sighed deeply and said:

"If any of you want to surrender, you may do so. I will not stop you. I am sure that Li Ming will not make things difficult for you when you get there.

"Isn't it better to keep your life and enjoy the wealth and glory for the rest of your life than to die in this deep mountain in a miserable way?"

Still no one spoke, but the generals' breathing suddenly became heavy.

Guo Xiaoke asked tentatively:

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is also the Prince of the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty...what are your plans?"

The "Ming thief" suddenly became the "Prince of the Tang Dynasty". To bring up family ties again at this time simply made it clear on his face that "why don't we all surrender together"

Li Shimin glanced at him, smiled and shook his head:
"I will live and die with the Tang Dynasty."

Now that General Tian Ce has made such a statement, what else do you have to say?

Those who wanted to flee had already gone to the other side, and those who are still holding on in Shanxi are all loyal fans of General Tiance.

The generals answered immediately:

"I am willing to live and die with the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin looked down at his old friends who were bowing their heads, feeling mixed emotions.

If it was just to seize the throne, Li Ming had countless choices.

Either option would be much easier and less labor-intensive than personally leading a large army to fight Shanxi.

Li Shimin’s actions were even more "irrational".

Why should we resist to the end when there is no possibility of winning or turning the tables?
Because this is the tacit understanding between father and son.

What Li Ming wanted was to defeat General Tian Ce head-on and use his extraordinary martial arts to establish supreme authority in the world without leaving any suspicion of "taking advantage of an opportunity".

Only with the authority of war could he implement his reforms throughout the world.

To give up the near for the far is to give up the far for the near.

"You want to step on my head to get to the top? If you have the guts, then step over my body. Let's have a good fight and shut up everyone."

Li Shimin talked to himself and looked at his generals with regret.

"It's just a pity for them..."…………

"Your Majesty, Bingzhou is just ahead."

Following Qibi Heli's finger, Li Ming looked forward.

There was no sign saying "Bingzhou Welcomes You", and the topography and customs were no different from those of Jinzhou, which they had left behind.

But he knew that Li Shimin's old nest, Jinyang, was in this state.

It’s almost over.

"Yawn~" Xue Wanche stretched lazily:
"This period of time has really made me wait... yawn... anxious."

Although the journey out of Jinzhou was a bit troublesome and slow, the Ming army did not encounter any real crisis.

Once the strategy was changed and the army advanced steadily by land and sea, the Tang army's harassment tactics became completely ineffective.

Are you launching a sneak attack in the mountains?
I'll just go by water and bypass you.

Did you block the iron chain in the water?

I directly covered the work boat on land while they cut the iron chains.

Li Ming's fancy operation of using the mothership to airdrop made Tang Junxiu's scalp numb.

Except for being a little slower, it's as steady as an old dog.

"How are Li Jing, Hou Junji and Li Daozon doing?" Li Ming asked.

Xue Wanche smacked his lips:

"What else can we do? The Northern Army is still stuck in Shuozhou, being tightly guarded by Ashina She'er and Cheng Zhijie..."

"How do you talk to His Majesty?" Qibi Heli, the imperial power licker, pushed the guy aside and said:

"Lord Li Wei is old and has been delayed for a long time on the road. He has just arrived in Shuozhou. With Lord Wei in charge, I believe that the northern route will soon make a breakthrough."

Li Ming nodded and looked ahead.

"Just move all the way to the city of Jinyang, then seize the city in one fell swoop, stepping on Old Li's head to take the throne...

"Well, in this way, the world is in my hands.

"With the remaining power of war, I can do whatever I want...

"Huh? What are you doing?"

In front of him, the navy and the army stopped marching at the same time.

"Why aren't you leaving? Is there an enemy ahead?"

Xue Wanche said:

"On the contrary, according to the scouts' report, there is no enemy ahead.

"So we plan to take a boat north and get off the boat if we encounter any problems."

Li Ming was stunned:
"No enemy? In Bingzhou?"

If you go further beyond Bingzhou, you will reach Jinyang.

Is the Tang Dynasty just going to give up like this?

Or have they given up resistance?
However, judging from the fighting spirit demonstrated by the Tang army on the two fronts of Shuozhou and Jinzhou.

They have no intention of surrendering at all.

"What are they plotting?" Li Ming said subconsciously.

Xue Wanche's mouth twitched, and he patted Li Ming's shoulder, then pointed to the open water:

“Your Majesty, we may be ambushed if we take the land route, but who can ambush us on the water?
"Can the Tang army still hide under the water?"

Indeed, the navy does not have to worry about being ambushed.

Moreover, unlike infantry, the Ming army's warships were invincible on the water, and they didn't have to move their own legs.

Therefore, as long as there were no annoying iron chains, the troops would never have to walk as long as they could take a boat.

Save time, effort and supplies.

"Of course it's not an ambush. It's..."

But the outcome of a war is ultimately decided on land. The opponent's posture clearly shows that he is clenching his fists together, preparing to launch a powerful attack...

Li Ming swallowed the second half of his sentence and said hurriedly:
"Nothing, let's get on the boat quickly."

…………

The voyage northward was smoother than we had imagined.

There were no annoying iron chains blocking the surface of the Fen River.

The Ming army fleet advanced as if in an empty land, and advanced smoothly all the way to Jinyang City, north of Bingzhou.

The journey was extremely smooth. Not only were there no enemy ships in the river, but the Ming army did not even encounter a civilian ship or a small sampan.

This is quite unusual.

The river is an important transportation lifeline, so how could there be no one sailing on it?
And there was not even a single Tang soldier on either side of the river, and no one shot a single arrow at the fleet.

It was so peaceful that one could forget that this was still a war zone. They had just passed Jinzhou with great difficulty.

"This is very unusual."

Li Ming stood at the bow, with his hands on his back, looking ahead with a worried look on his face.

Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli exchanged glances and shrugged helplessly.

It's a good thing that the march is going smoothly, but why is Your Majesty worried about it?
Xue Wanche's thoughts were as direct as ever:
"Your Majesty, are you overthinking this?
"The Tang army didn't resist. Doesn't this just prove that they have given up resistance?"

Li Ming ignored him.

Qibi Heli also advised:
"There is an old Chinese saying that a man who knows the times is a hero. If the Tang Dynasty can know the times and give up the meaningless resistance sooner, and let the world return to peace sooner... that would be good."

Li Ming ignored him and just pointed ahead:

"See what that is?"

Generals Heng and Ha looked in the direction of the finger, and their relaxed expressions suddenly fell.

"So, they left the defenses empty along this route in order to concentrate their forces on this matter..."

Li Ming sighed lightly and curled the corners of his mouth.

All right, let’s have a good fight!

…………

Shuozhou.

Li Jing inspected the troops that had been beaten to a pulp by the ambushed troops and barely managed to escape, and seriously questioned the two commanders:

"I just arrived a few days late, and you guys caused such a disaster!
"Such an obvious trap, and you actually stepped on it!
"Your Majesty and I have specifically instructed you to be careful and cautious. Have you taken it to heart?"

Li Daozon lowered his head, Hou Junji moved his lips but ultimately did not retort.

Li Jing now exudes a dangerous aura and is completely different from the good guy he usually is, which makes him afraid to talk back.

"According to the latest news, your Majesty's fleet has already sailed into Bingzhou and will soon be approaching the city of Jinyang.

"You guys are still hiding in the same place. If you miss the opportunity to fight, you will be held accountable!"

Li Jing's throat was making a clanging sound.

Hou Junji moved his lips:

"Your Majesty said that progress doesn't matter, safety comes first..."

"That's just for you half-baked people! If I lead the troops personally, I can soon conquer Jinyang and drink water from the Fen River with Your Majesty!" Li Jing was full of confidence.

…………

The next day, Li Jing led his army out in a heroic manner.

The next day, he returned with his army covered in dust and looking much thinner.

(End of this chapter)