Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 371 Father’s Love is Like a Landslide

After a day of absence, Li Jing became as deflated as a leaky sheep bladder.

Judging from the extent to which his stomach had shrunk, yesterday's fierce battle had obviously consumed a lot of his brain cells.

Seeing his boss's frustrated look, Hou Junji deliberately asked in surprise:
"Lord Li Wei, why did you come back so soon? Has Jinyang surrendered?"

Li Daozon shrank his hands, kept a stern face and said nothing.

Li Jing had completely lost the demeanor he had the day before, and said in a dull voice, his face covered in dirt:
"I am defeated, old man."

The old coach was still very honest and readily admitted his failure.

Lao Hou and Lao Li looked at each other, feeling both heavy and relieved.

The Ming Dynasty's plan to sweep across the world was delayed for a few days, which was certainly not a good thing.

But even the God of War fell into the trap, which at least proves that they are not the Dragon and the Phoenix.

"There is only one road to the south of Shuozhou, which is sandwiched between two mountains and a valley. It is easy to be ambushed. The terrain is indeed not suitable for marching." Li Daozon saved his leader's face.

Li Jing shook his head and sighed:

"Ambush is of course what the title implies, but the Tang army's capabilities are far more than that..."

His eyes were a little dazed, and the bloody battlefield of yesterday seemed to reappear before his eyes.

In terms of experience, the Tang army was not much stronger than the Ming army that fought from Liaodong to the Central Plains and then to Shanxi.

In terms of combat proficiency, the Tang army was slightly better than the Ming army which had undergone systematic training.

In terms of equipment and supplies, the Tang army was far behind the "rich" Ming army.

However, the Tang army fought to the death!

Since spears, arrows, swords, axes and halberds could not penetrate the Ming armor, they used stones and hammers to smash them, or even had several people pinning down one Ming soldier.

They tried every possible means to kill the enemy, but they never thought of surrendering.

Objectively speaking, Li Jing's command ability is indeed better than that of Hou Junji and Li Daozon. The Ming army was not passive on the scene, and its casualty ratio was much better than that of the Tang army.

Simply counting the number of heads, the Ming army even had a slight advantage, causing extremely heavy losses to the enemy.

However, in terms of momentum, the Ming army still lost.

"I have underestimated the enemy's will to resist and their combat capability...

"Why are they fighting like they don't care about their lives? What are they insisting on?"

Li Jing murmured, his tone showing three parts confusion and seven parts regret.

They are all great Chinese men...

Hou Junji snorted:
"What are they insisting on? It's nothing more than a clay pot that will break if it is not close to the well mouth. They swear to stand together with General Tiance."

The three of them were speechless for a moment.

This is the appeal of Li Shimin and the remaining power of General Tiance.

Even in a desperate situation with no hope of victory, he was still willing to go through fire and water and die for him.

This is also why His Majesty Li Ming's heavenly soldiers must use hard power to completely and unquestionably overthrow General Tian Ce.

Otherwise, the shadow of "Li Shimin" will forever shroud the land of China.

There will always be people who will challenge the absolute authority of Emperor Li Ming and interfere with the administration of the Ming Dynasty under the banner of Li Shimin.

"His Majesty has high expectations of us. Is this how we repay him?"

When it comes to His Majesty Li Ming, Hou Junji, who has always been unruly, becomes serious for once.

After initially gloating over Li Jing's misfortune, Lao Hou gradually realized the seriousness of the problem.

Even Li Jing, the military god who served as the "backup", was defeated, so how should this battle be fought?
If we cannot break through the Tang army's blockade of southern Shuozhou in a short period of time, what will Your Majesty do with his plan of unification?
"If you are worried about the time it will take for our army to advance, then you can rest assured that we will not delay your majesty's strategic planning for the north-south advance - although this is not good news."

Li Jing said in a muffled voice:

"Because your majesty's march northward was hindered to a certain extent and was stopped in Bingzhou."

Hou Junji and Li Daozon were not surprised by this result.

The Tang army risked their lives to attack the Ming army in the north in Shuozhou, far away from the Jinyang base camp.

Then in Bingzhou, which is closer to Jinyang and facing the more powerful Southern Army, wouldn't they have to try even harder to intercept the Southern Army?

"The Tang Dynasty is also a centipede, it is still alive even after its death." Li Daozon, a member of the Tang royal family, sighed.

Hou Junji clenched his fists angrily:

"Your Majesty has been blocked in the direction of Bingzhou, how can we not make an inch of progress in Shuozhou?

"We should keep moving forward! Let's see whether our armor is stronger or theirs is stronger!"

Although Lao Hou has many flaws in his character, his loyalty to Li Ming and his enthusiasm in fighting are impeccable.

However, after personally experiencing the fighting spirit of the Tang army, Li Jing had a different view on the subsequent development of the war.

"The Tang army has now set up a solid defense line, and the desperate army will surely win.

"It would be unwise for us to run headlong into the fortified defense line like headless flies and waste the lives of the Ming army soldiers."

Duke Wei shook his head.

Hou Junji immediately widened his eyes like copper bells:
"You mean, His Majesty is fighting fiercely, and we should stand still and watch the fire from the other side of the river?"

Li Jing looked at him and shook his head again:
"No. Of course we still have to fight, but our goal doesn't have to be how many miles we advance.

"But how many enemies were annihilated."

Abandon the north-south advance and instead annihilate the enemy's effective forces... Hou Junji and Li Daozon immediately understood the strategic shift implied in the new strategy.

Indeed, as long as the Ming army continued to fight in the north.

Even if it cannot break through the Tang army's defense line, it can still play a significant diversionary role, forcing the Tang army to divide its troops to support the Shuozhou direction.

This will indirectly reduce Li Ming's pressure in the south.

In order to withstand the pressure of the Ming army's southward advance from the north, the Tang army at its base in Jinyang had to continue to move northward for reinforcements, throwing precious soldiers into the meat grinder of Shuozhou.

In contrast, the Ming army did not have to leave the Shuozhou base camp too far, which not only allowed the soldiers to rest and wait for the enemy to arrive, but also greatly reduced the logistical pressure.

Soldiers can get sufficient rest, and new recruits from the rear can be replenished and rotated in time.

This allows for more efficient mincing of meat.

Mince the Tang army's meat.

Li Jing is worthy of being a military god listed among the Ten Sages of the Temple of Martial Arts. Once he encounters a setback, he immediately changes his tactics and never hangs himself on a tree.

"This method... is indeed an idea." Hou Junji tentatively acknowledged his superior's ability, but added:
"But in this case, the burden of the siege of Jinyang will fall entirely on Your Majesty."

Li Jing said:

"I will report this to Your Majesty, and everything will be subject to Your Majesty's judgment.

"Our troops continue to prepare and rest, and notify the rear to rotate in new soldiers who have completed training in a timely manner.

"Once your majesty approves, we will immediately march south to kill and injure the enemy."

Hou Junji and Li Daozon discussed it and nodded in agreement:

"Just follow the plan of Chief Li."

…………

Li Ming stood at the bow of the dragon boat, looking ahead.

The spring sun is shining and the sky is clear.

To the north of the fleet, at the end of the horizon, a tall city tower can be vaguely seen standing on the bank of the Fen River.

That is Jinyang Prefecture.

In the past, Emperor Gaozu of Tang Dynasty raised his army against Sui Dynasty here, so Jinyang is the well-deserved birthplace of the Tang Dynasty.

The crown prince Li Zhi was originally granted the title of Duke of Jin, and the most beloved princess Li Mingda was granted the title of Duke of Jinyang, which shows the importance of this city to the Tang Dynasty.

Ironically, this city where everything started was destined to become the city where everything ended. "Jinyang is the last important stronghold of the Tang army. As long as Jinyang is captured, the army will lose its support and fall apart..."

Qibi Heli was overwhelmed with emotions.

"In other words, as long as we capture that place, the Tang Dynasty will be destroyed and the war will be over." Xue Wanche was as direct as ever.

Li Ming listened to the duet of the two generals Heng and Ha, looked at the sparkling water of the Fen River, and grinned:

"Are they...going to cover the entire Fen River?"

There were countless iron chains across the Fen River, each as thick as an adult's arms could hold, and both ends of the chains were firmly nailed to the cliffs on both sides.

As far as the eye could see, it was nailed all the way to the city wall of Jinyang Prefecture.

"No wonder we didn't encounter any resistance after entering Bingzhou. It turns out they used all the iron chains here..."

The corner of Li Ming's mouth twitched.

If it was just an iron chain, it would be fine, the fleet would just have to wait a little longer.

What’s even more disgusting is that there are countless small boats moored between the iron chains.

These "boats" are very simple, consisting of a bamboo frame filled with "planks" woven from reeds.

Rather than calling it a "boat", it is more like a floating haystack.

It goes without saying what is inside these bulging "stacks of straw" -

Tung oil, grass, dry firewood, and raging fire.

The Tang army used this extremely low-cost fire ship to fill almost all the gaps between the iron chains.

This is disgusting.

As the fleet approached, the covering workboats cut the chains.

Do you think these fire ships will attack the fleet?

"Disgusting. Disgusting."

Li Ming's eyes followed the floating fire boat, just like a first-generation rich man driving a luxury car keeping watch on the mud trucks filling the streets.

No matter how wealthy the Ming Dynasty was, it couldn't afford to exchange a proper warship for a ship of straw.

This loss-making business is really a rip-off.

"what?"

Li Ming was grinning when he heard Xue Wanche's puzzled voice in his ears.

"Are those haystacks moving?"

what?
As soon as these words were spoken, half of the people on the boat ran to the bow, their eyes wide open.

"It seems to be really moving, floating towards us." Xue Wanche opened his eyes as big as copper bells.

Li Ming's teeth rubbed even louder.

"I rely on!"

There were several fire ships moored before the first iron chain.

While the Ming fleet was hesitating for a moment, the Tang army lurking on the ship quietly released the mooring rope of the arson ship.

Under the influence of the water flow, piles of large "straw" slowly floated towards the Ming fleet downstream, at an increasingly faster speed.

Whoosh!
There was a flash of fire in the air.

A rocket accurately hit the incendiary ship, which immediately started a raging fire and quickly moved towards the Ming army.

"Turn the rudder! Dodge!"

The ships immediately began to maneuver skillfully.

On the way north, the Ming ships suffered several waves of suicide attacks by fireboats, so the steering was quite skilled.

But the problem was that the Tang army's improvement of the fire ships greatly reduced the cost, so the number of attacking ships increased a lot.

Moreover, the Fen River became narrower the further north and upstream it went, causing the Ming ships to be squeezed into narrow waters, with their maneuvering space being even more limited than before.

It is almost impossible to pass the level without any damage.

"Put down the rod!"

Bangs were heard one after another, and the ships released their poles one after another to knock the approaching incendiary ships to the bottom of the water.

The problem is that the pole is limited and it takes a lot of time for the sailors to reset it.

But the Tang army had too many camp-style fireboats.

The dragon boat where Li Ming was located was the first to be hit and encountered concentrated fire from the enemy.

The crowded water surface made it impossible for the dragon boat to move. All the poles had been released and were being "reloaded".

Not far from the bow, a fire ship was approaching quickly!
It looks like it’s about to hit the Holy Chariot!
"Aim and fire!"

At the captain's command, the catapult started moving.

The huge stone drew a graceful parabola in the air and hit the hull accurately.

How could the straw boat withstand such a powerful blow and was smashed into pieces on the spot.

"That was close! What a rock!" Qibi Heli was still in shock.

Xue Wanche yelled:

"What a fart! Look behind!"

Behind the dragon boat, flames were burning everywhere in the Ming fleet.

It seems that some ships still failed to avoid the numerous fire ships and were hit.

The tung oil used to set the ship on fire was like mud, firmly sticking to the hull and drawing the flames all the way to the body of the ship.

Although the Ming ship was wrapped in a layer of iron sheet, it would not catch fire easily.

But it is still inevitable to suffer certain losses.

The crew members were so busy putting out fires and rescuing people that the entire fleet's formation was out of control.

Fortunately, this wave of arson ship attacks has finally come to an end.

There are only so many ships outside the iron chains. The other ships are moored behind the iron chains, staring at the Ming fleet covetously.

It is obvious that the water route is blocked in the face of this water Great Wall made of iron chains, straw and tung oil.

What else?
"Get off the boat, and we'll go around the shore."

Li Ming rubbed his eyes and said helplessly.

…………

At His Majesty's command, the Ming army naturally acted quickly and immediately lined up to disembark.

This is the advantage of amphibious operations. If going to the sea is impossible, go ashore. This has been the routine operation of the Ming army during this period, and they are very skilled at it.

Fortunately, it is not the flood season and the water flow of the Fen River is not turbulent. Therefore, although the two banks are rugged, it is still easy to dock and unload goods.

The Ming army was busy lowering landing boats and building temporary piers, and the banks of the Fen River immediately became busy.

That is, when the ships were hesitant and the army had just landed and was still organizing its formation.

Suddenly, arrows rained down from the dense forests on both sides of the river, shooting fiercely at the people approaching the shore.

"Damn it, there's an ambush?!"

Li Ming's heart sank suddenly.

It was neglected, especially at this critical time!
Boom!Boom!Boom!
Among the mountains, drums and trumpets sounded and the cry of killing was heard.

A group of troops rushed out from the side and headed straight for the Tang army, which had not yet established a firm foothold.

A brave general, armed with powerful weapons, leads the way.

Li Shiji!
(End of this chapter)