Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 385 Oh my god, why is Li Ming so evil?
Wow~
Looking at the "confidential information" that was swept to the ground by the desktop cleaning master and dropped all over the floor, the generals of the Tang army remained silent.

His Majesty Li Shimin was so furious that everyone could relate to him.

Five thousand people, that’s five thousand elite soldiers!

Even if five thousand cows and five thousand horses were thrown into this thousand-mile mountain range, the Ming army would not be able to capture them all!
How come after transforming into cattle and horses, they surrendered so obediently and worked honestly and diligently for the Ming Dynasty?
I have been supporting you for such a long time, but I have never seen you work so hard on your own allocated land!
The generals even felt that His Majesty was a little too gentle.

If it were them, they would have wanted to take all those 5,000 cattle and horses, implicate all their family members, and confiscate all the land allocated to them and the permanent land.

This can't be blamed on them being too extreme, because the nature is really too bad -

The 5,000 soldiers sent out at great expense disguised themselves and infiltrated the enemy camp. If not like Sun Wukong making a fuss in the belly of Lady Tieshan, it should at least be like Lu Meng crossing the river in white clothes, right?

Even if we can't make the Ming army collapse, at least it will be on fire everywhere and it will be difficult to take care of both ends, right?

No matter how you look at it, the situation was very favorable, but how did it turn out like this?
The 5,000 spies sent out could not even think of cooperating with friendly forces or killing people behind enemy lines.

The only role it played was to provide some insignificant intelligence. Even this intelligence had no military value and was more like a diary than "intelligence".

But they played a significant role in the Ming Dynasty - they were all hardworking and diligent, earning a lot of work points, and were very capable!
At this critical moment of the Tang Dynasty's survival, in order to resist the overwhelming force of the Ming Dynasty's million-strong army, 5,000 Tiger Guards should be sent south. If Tiger Guards cannot be sent, 5,000 Jackals should be sent.

Why did they finally send 5,000 cattle and horses to contribute to the construction of the Ming Dynasty?
"At least our army's supply problem has been partially alleviated. Five thousand cattle and horses running over there means five thousand mouths to feed."

Li Shimin laughed in anger. But apart from being furious, he could only laugh at himself like this.

Five thousand fresh troops would be a considerable military force even in normal times.

For the remnants of the Tang Dynasty who were now trapped in half of Shanxi and whose deaths meant one less, the loss of 5,000 people was a heavy blow.

Although those five thousand people were still alive, in the hearts of the Tang Dynasty generals, they were actually dead... no, their death was worse than death!

Already surrendered to the enemy!
Although they did not go directly to the battlefield, they participated in the construction of the Ming Dynasty's rear in Shanxi and worked quite actively. What's the difference between this and surrendering to the enemy!
"The Ming thieves are so despicable and vulgar that they actually used chicken legs as bait to lure our soldiers into surrender! It's really..."

The deputy general swallowed his saliva subconsciously halfway through his condemnation, and then continued:

“It’s really despicable!”

Now the Tang army is trapped in the city of Jinyang, and supplies are extremely scarce. Even the Supreme Emperor himself has to live frugally, and the generals have not tasted meat for a long time and have to eat rice mixed with millet every day.

But according to the soldiers’ own confessions in their “diaries”, they can actually have chicken legs for every meal!

How despicable and shameless! Which cadre can withstand such a test?
Damn, why is Li Ming so bad!

"Alas...you don't need to say too much, and don't blame the soldiers.

"Shanxi is controlled by the other side in five and a half states, with 45 counties under its jurisdiction. Five thousand people were distributed to these counties like scattering sesame seeds. The organization has long been disbanded, and we can't expect them to play any role."

"In the final analysis, it was my mistake."

Li Shimin happily took the blame.

He had to admit defeat, otherwise he would have sent five thousand soldiers into the wolf's den.

They will not be disbanded or tempted by the colorful world on the other side, and will finally start earning work points with peace of mind.

"It is not your Majesty's fault, but the thief is cunning!" The generals excused your Majesty's self-blame and were not entirely flattering him.

Li Ming aggressively mobilized one million people from all over the country, making everyone in Jinyang City very nervous.

I thought the opponent wanted to use the bunker to hit our faces, so we were going to flatten Jinyang in one wave!
But who could have expected that Li Ming did not send millions of brave men to the construction site on the front line, but instead had the unique idea of ​​evacuating them to half of Shanxi!

It just so happened that the 5,000 spies sent in by the Tang Dynasty were absorbed internally, and a potential offensive from the rear was defused invisibly!

Damn, why is Li Ming so bad!

Seeing the depressed looks of the generals, Li Shimin rubbed his eyes in distress and said with a wry smile:
"However, although this time I suffered a lot of losses, it was not completely without gain...

"The intelligence sent by the soldiers at least let us know what Li Ming is doing with the civilians."

Building bridges, paving roads, clearing wasteland, burning mountains...

Li Ming really didn't consider himself an outsider. He treated the war zone as his own territory and started to govern it seriously!
The main force of our Tang Dynasty has not been damaged and is still watching from the sidelines!
Damn it, I’m looked down upon!
The Tang army generals were very angry, but it was of no use.

If you have the guts, attack first, break away from the impregnable land and water defense system and attack!
But if we think about it calmly, Li Ming's arrogance is objectively beneficial to the Tang army.

“So… this means that the other side is not building a fortress?
"The Ming army didn't intend to use the fortress tactics to break through Jinyang City?"

The generals gradually reacted.

"Yes, that's right." Li Shimin smiled bitterly helplessly.

"The unlucky Li Shiji was deceived by Li Ming again and passed false information to our army."

Lao Li was also deceived badly. He thought that the Ming army had piled millions of brave men on the front line, planning to build fortresses all the way to Jinyang, trapping the Tang army and scaring everyone in Jinyang city.

It turned out that Li Ming sent people here not for attacking the city, but for development.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

Although I feel a little sad for losing 5,000 people...

"In short, you continue to consolidate your defenses.

"Tighten the iron chains on the river. Refuel the damp fireboats. The defenders on land are not allowed to leave the defense line without permission.

"No matter what kind of information comes from outside, don't listen to it. Just stay at your post!"

Li Shimin gave a few final instructions and then sent the generals away.

He was the only one left in the huge study room, looking at the "top secret information" on the floor with empty eyes, his mind flying somewhere else.

The servants didn't dare to clean up now, for fear of interrupting the emperor's train of thought.

"Building bridges and roads, clearing wasteland and burning mountains... Haha, if we only talk about governing the country, that guy is doing a pretty good job."

Li Shimin's expression softened.

He knew that although Li Ming seemed to have a wild imagination and was not very reliable, he was actually more calculating than anyone else.

Operations like building bunkers on one's core territory may sound reliable, but they are actually extremely costly. After pacifying the country, one still has to spend money and effort to demolish them to prevent them from being used by bandits or rebels, which is very troublesome.

With Li Ming's usual "mixing rice and millet" personality, he would never start such a one-time spectacle that would lose money on both ends.

Although Li Ming's operation of burning mountains and destroying forests while planting trees seems a bit abstract.

But Xiao Li is still very meticulous in what he does, and he must have his reasons for doing so.

Unlike some Emperor Yang of Sui who looked like normal people, each of them was extremely inhuman when doing things.

As a father, he is very pleased that the world has a capable and reliable successor.

"But he did deceive Li Shiji, and he also deceived me. Those were five thousand elite soldiers who had experienced many battles...

"If I had known that Li Ming was using the civilians in dispersed positions and away from the front lines, I would not have sent so many people to lurk and sabotage.

"If Li Shiji had not believed the one-sided words of the merchant, I would not have had such wild ideas...

"Alas, in the final analysis, it's all my fault.

"I still underestimated the extent of that guy's recklessness." Li Shimin sighed.

The loss of five thousand men was still very painful to him.

But he did not blame Li Shiji for this, even though the false information provided by that unlucky guy directly led to this misunderstanding.

From the perspective of hindsight, Li Shiji did make the mistake of being credulous.

But from the perspective of that time, Lao Li had done a very thorough job.

Gathering intelligence from traveling merchants is a method that has existed since ancient times, and Li Shimin himself often used it.

The Ming army had strict discipline and captured few prisoners. In a short period of time, Li Shiji could only use traveling merchants as a breakthrough.

He randomly captured a large number of businessmen for interrogation, trying desperately to circumvent the false information deliberately released by the enemy. This cannot be considered as believing in "one-sided words".

Li Shimin asked himself that if he was in Li's position at that time, he might not be able to do better than him.

In theory, there is nothing wrong with Li Shiji doing this.

unless……

"Are all the merchants surrounding our army Li Ming's spies?"

This realization made Li Shimin break out in a cold sweat.

If this is true, then the Ming Dynasty's intelligence system must be quite something!

Li Shimin naturally knew about the merchants who made a living near the army.

Pushing a "strong army chariot", he shuttled inside and outside the military camp like a little bee.

If these people were all Ming spies...

Then wouldn't the Tang army be one-way transparent to the enemy? !
Every move of the Tang Dynasty was under Li Ming's eyes? !
Not only Li Shiji, but also Li Shimin may be like this...

"In other words, our dispatch of 5,000 spies was also under the control of Li Ming?"

This is really terrifying when you think about it.

Was Li Ming's bold move to disperse and resettle millions of civilians an accident or a deliberate act?

"Or should we say, both? We have developed Shanxi, and solved the problem of five thousand spies at the same time..."

Li Shimin stroked his beard and his expression changed.

Adults all know that “having both” is unrealistic.

But Li Ming is not an adult, he is not restricted by this rule, he wants them all!
I have to say that the fourteenth child in the family is indeed quite capable.

It’s a pity that this strength was used without reservation to beat up his father.

The corners of Li Shimin's mouth twitched, and he didn't know what expression he should make.

…………

"How are our friends from Guanzhong doing?"

"He works very hard, almost as hard as a qualified Ming Dynasty worker."

"That's right. The soldiers have been hungry for months. As long as they can have a full meal, they will naturally not cause trouble. But we must always pay attention to those officers and not let them collude privately. If necessary, take decisive measures to purge them."

"Okay Mingge, no problem Mingge."

The weather is getting hotter day by day, and it is early summer in the blink of an eye.

Inside the Ming army tent, Li Ming was having a conversation with a burly man covered in black. The relationship between the monarch and his subject was peaceful and intimate, with no restraint at all.

The strong man was one of his personal intelligence chiefs, Yuchi Xunyu.

Last spring, Yuchi Xunyu grew up like bamboo shoots after the spring. He had become quite majestic, with a thick throat and the demeanor of an old man.

Black Charcoal has grown up and has reached puberty. We can no longer call him Little Black Charcoal. He has to be upgraded to Medium Black Charcoal... Li Ming couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"Brother Ming, how should we deal with these Tang army spies? Although they are generally quite honest now, they are still a hidden worry. And among those 5,000 people, there are also some who are ready to make trouble."

Yuchi Xunyu asked worriedly.

Li Ming pulled his thoughts back from the middle-aged man's life experience and shrugged casually:

"They are just ordinary people. There is no need to make things difficult for them. Just keep an eye on those unstable factors."

Li Shimin guessed correctly.

The Ming Dynasty had already obtained the inside information about the 5,000 spies sent by the Tang Dynasty through Zhi Shi Buzhen's "Chamber of Commerce" spy agency.

However, no one dared to believe this information at first, including Li Ming.

This idea is so out-of-the-box that even Li Ming, who is usually calm and conservative, doesn't dare to adopt it easily.

However, in line with the principle of believing it is true, Li Ming, while rectifying the internal situation and taking strict precautions, quickly sent people to the Pingzhou base.

Here comes Yuchi Xunyu who is more professional in counterintelligence.

When he checked the results, younger brother Xun Yu was also shocked.

The people of the Tang Dynasty are really sincere. They really sent a large group of people with suspicious accents. They were not kidding. Five thousand people, not one less.

This made little brother Li Ming break out in a cold sweat.

If he really used the "fortress tactics" and concentrated a large number of civilians near the front line, it would be exactly what the Tang army wanted!

If these five thousand spies really cause trouble and throw millions of civilians into chaos, they may even cause the Ming army's main camp to collapse!

As expected of Li Shimin, his moves were steady, accurate and ruthless!
Yuchi Xunyu had bold ideas about the performance that came to his doorstep.

However, he was dissuaded by the benevolent Emperor Li Ming.

They are all ordinary people, why should we kill them all?

Besides, there are 5,000 people there. Can we kill them all?
Wouldn't it be good to squeeze out their surplus value?

So, we have this now——

Pretend that those 5,000 spies did not exist, and throw all these 15,000 people into the vigorous construction of Shanxi.

This can kill three birds with one stone.

Firstly, developing large-scale infrastructure has always been the basic national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Excavation will have to start sooner or later anyway, and ten thousand years is too long, so we must seize the day.

Secondly, the spies were submerged in the vast sea of ​​the people, solving the problems they brought at a low cost and high return. The enemy had 5,000 fewer soldiers while the spies had 5,000 more. This was a win-win situation.

Third, and most importantly -

This is in preparation for the final expedition to Jinyang.

(End of this chapter)