Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 733 Military Simulation of the Attack on Chang'an

"Your Majesty, please take note. Divide the troops: Wang Rui is ordered to control Tongguan to block the reinforcements from Guandong; Zhou Xingzhi is ordered to block the reinforcements from Shu at Dasanguan, effectively trapping the defenders of Chang'an. The main force of the new army, led by Xia Daosheng, will advance in three parts: Qiu Wen from Jingyang, Zhang Tao from Lantian, and He Zhiyuan from Xianyang, avoiding a direct assault on the main gate and dispersing the defenders' forces. Cut off the post roads leading out of Chang'an, spread false information that the main attack is on Luoyang, and order Chen Zhi to lead the reinforcements from Longcheng towards Luoyang. Concentrate the Shenji Battalion in the south of the city and bombard Yanxing Gate day and night." Send engineers to dig tunnels to the city walls, and use explosives or firewood to burn the foundation, creating a breach. Order Huo Zhenjiang's troops to ambush the city in narrow passages, blocking the roads with rolling logs and stones. Have archers take turns firing to slow down scattered reinforcements, and use light cavalry to harass supply lines, forcing them into disorganized positions. Order Shang Wenzong to control the Wei River wharves, ensuring the supply of the besieging troops at all costs. We only have twelve hours. In twelve hours, the enemy's Longcheng forces will be able to react immediately. If enemy reinforcements arrive, our troops will be attacked from both sides.

At Li Shimin's invitation, they were playing war games at a post station in a nearby town while it was raining heavily outside. However, the two sides were different this time. One side was Xia Daosheng and Li Shimin, while the other side was Zhang Zhongchun and Emperor Jingtai.

What role does Emperor Jingtai play here? Mainly, he serves to boost morale...

In other words, Lao Zhang had to fight against Xia Daosheng and Li Shimin, who were defending the city, in a blind push. The difficulty was unimaginable, but Lao Zhang did not seem to be afraid. He deployed quickly and steadily, and in the first round, he caught Li Shimin's troops and Xia Daosheng's support troops off guard. It seemed that the battle for Chang'an had already begun.

Meanwhile, Li Shimin rested his hands on the sand table, while Xia Lin beside him naged, "I told you he would besiege the city and attack reinforcements, but you wouldn't believe me! You insisted on being reckless! By going out recklessly, we lost 70,000 soldiers, but only inflicted less than 20,000 casualties on the enemy. What were you doing, being so reckless?!"

"Stop talking... Wait, are all your civil officials so good at fighting?" Li Shimin frowned. "Even if I didn't listen to you last time, how are you going to plan this time?"

Xia Lin, arms crossed and brows furrowed, said, "Based on my understanding of him, he won't launch a full-scale attack. Therefore, we should abandon defenses outside the main city gate, adopt a 'turtle formation' strategy, lure the enemy in, and then close the gates, using a 'turtle in a jar' tactic to continuously wear down their manpower. We should construct fortifications at the attached city of Shabei, utilizing the cliffs to set up rolling logs and boulder traps, leaving only a single path for an ambush, forcing the enemy to endure continuous fire. As the saying goes, 'high ground attacks low ground attacks fools,' they'll definitely anticipate this, so the battle of Shabei will be a tough one. Afterwards, we should spread rumors that the granaries are empty and reinforcements are delayed, luring the enemy into a rash advance, and do everything possible to send messages to..." The Longcheng reinforcements, ignoring all interference, headed straight for Chang'an. Knowing the enemy's habits, they would certainly obstruct our reinforcements and harass our supply lines, so let's just all perish. Build a dam upstream, flooding the Wei River wharf, and send the main cavalry force to attack their reinforcements. Leave explosives within a range of ten to thirty zhang behind the city walls, detonating them after the enemy breaches the walls and enters. The overall strategy is to leverage the terrain of Shabei City, launch a counter-attack with Lingzhou cavalry, ambush with the Mo Dao formation at Xiangji Temple, and engage in street fighting within Chang'an, turning the enemy's advantage into a disadvantage. They only have twelve hours; after twelve hours, they can sound the counter-offensive horn.

After making minor adjustments, Li Shimin issued the order. A very difficult situation arose on the sand table outside, as both sides were avoiding conflict with each other's strengths. Ultimately, it escalated into a large-scale bloody battle at Xiangji Temple.

Ultimately, Chang'an was not captured, and the Wei army suffered heavy losses. However, the four Tang reinforcements were almost completely wiped out, and half of Chang'an was reduced to ruins with its walls in ruins, leaving it completely unable to withstand a second attack.

Seeing the results of the battle, Li Shimin and Emperor Jingtai both fell silent. Old Zhang rested his hands on the edge of the sand table, looking at the battle situation with a furrowed brow. Xia Lin paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

"Without a doubt, at this point, the Northern Han only needs less than 100,000 men to fight from north to south and from west to east. Burn Chang'an and massacre Jinling." Xia Lin suddenly turned around and said, "Take Chang'an and capture Li Shimin alive."

"Impossible, I will never let them capture me alive." Even the arrogant Li Shimin knew that this was a situation he was destined to lose, so he couldn't help but take a deep breath: "It seems that we really can't fight."

After saying that, he looked up at Old Zhang and asked, "No... you're a civil servant?"

"Playing blindly."

Li Shimin was taken aback by the remark "a reckless attack." He knew Emperor Jingtai's capabilities; at best, he was only a minor general. The military prowess displayed in this battle was far beyond what an ordinary civil official could achieve. Judging from the strategy just now, Xia Lin hadn't held back. A civil official had single-handedly led two renowned military generals, not only avoiding defeat but also calmly managing a siege to the point where both sides were almost unable to mount an effective attack. This level of skill was simply too exaggerated.

"Do you know that your 'random attack' makes us both look stupid?" Li Shimin said, pointing at Lao Zhang. "And what kind of attack is this?"

"I just came up with it by guesswork." Old Zhang scratched his chin. "How could you guys do something like flooding the dock? You son of a bitch, Xia Daosheng, weren't you?"

"It's me, so what?"

"Again! Switch sides!" Li Shimin said defiantly, "The Tang army is attacking Jinling!"

This time, Li Shimin and Lao Zhang were paired up, while Xia Lin and Emperor Jingtai were paired up, and the two sides once again engaged in a sand table duel.

This battle was far more painful than the siege of Chang'an, because the natural barrier of the Yangtze River was no joke. The majority of the Tang army's main force was stuck on the outskirts of Jingzhou. They had to dig trenches to avoid the continuous artillery fire from the defending troops. Moreover, the area had a wide field of vision, making it impossible to carry out flanking maneuvers or earthworks.

Even so, Jingzhou was eventually lost, its rear seized by a surprise attacking army from Shu. The two sides fought for about three years on this small piece of land...

By the time the Tang army reached Jinling, the Northern Han army had already occupied Chang'an. At this point, Li Shimin was still desperately attacking the city, attempting a strategy of exchanging territory. The final result was quite tragic: the Tang army completely collapsed, and the Wei dynasty fared no better. The Northern Han once again unified the Central Plains...

"That's not right, why does the Northern Han always come out on top?" Li Shimin threw down the flag in his hand: "I'm not playing anymore, damn it."

"How about this, we split into three groups and bring the Northern Han in?" Old Zhang suggested.

“Then I am Tang, you are Wei, and Xia Daosheng is Northern Han.” Emperor Jingtai then pointed to himself: “And me?”

"Do as you please." Li Shimin glanced at him. "Why don't you go to the southwest and establish a small regime?"

"Damn it!"

However, when the two became three, things changed completely. If the Northern Han advanced a little, the Tang and Wei would launch a pincer attack. If the Tang army marched north, the Tian Wei would advance west. If the Tian Wei moved upwards, the Tang would push downwards. No one could do anything to the others, and no one dared to make any rash moves, resulting in a fairly stable situation.

"We've been here for forty years now. What have we been doing all this time?" Li Shimin asked, pointing to the sand table. "Our Tang army ran from Anxi to Shandong, didn't fight a single battle, and ran back. Were we just walking the dogs?"

The other two sides helplessly spread their hands. Xia Lin said, "That's how the Three Kingdoms stand: whoever strikes first dies first."

"Then why can't the two sides join forces to eliminate one of them first?" Emperor Jingtai suddenly asked, "Wouldn't that be simpler?"

An eerie silence fell over everyone present. Finally, Li Shimin spoke up, saying, "You don't understand the Three Kingdoms? Haven't you read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by the guy next to you?"

Another eerie silence fell over the room.

When adults break down, it doesn't necessarily mean yelling and screaming. Sometimes, they simply stop talking and everyone happily goes out to find something to eat.

At this point, there's absolutely no need to think about those upsetting things. Every cause has its future effect, and whoever's turn it will be their turn.

They were now very close to Ningbo Prefecture, but the situation there was not good. The surrounding people were quite impoverished, and the scattered pedestrians on the road and the tightly closed gates all indicated that something must have happened.

They arrived at a small restaurant that was still open. There wasn't even a waiter inside; the owner's son was dozing off. Upon seeing customers, he immediately perked up and asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like?"

What do you have here?

"Our shop only has some rice and flour left. Once we sell these, we'll move to Ningbo Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingtai became curious: "Tell me, why is this place so desolate? I don't see any people left along the way."

"My lord, to be honest, this is all because of those damned Japanese pirates. Sometimes there are three or five of them, sometimes there are hundreds, and they plunder everywhere. People from small places like ours have all gone to Ningbo Prefecture to seek refuge. Only there can we live a peaceful life. It's really impossible here."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingtai asked curiously, "Have no troops been dispatched from the surrounding areas to suppress the Japanese pirates?"

"They came out, but it was no use. There weren't many Japanese pirates. Every time we wiped them out, they would run away and come out again after a few days. The government didn't have any good solutions."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "They're just like those mountain bandits and horse bandits, scattered and without any organization. They just come out for a stroll every now and then."

Emperor Jingtai narrowed his eyes and licked his lips: "It seems we made the right decision to come to Ningbo Prefecture. Go, prepare some rice and flour."

After the young man went to prepare, Emperor Jingtai said to Old Zhang, "After you go back, summon the Japanese envoys and tell them that since they can't handle it, then Great Wei will take care of it for them."

"Hmm." Old Zhang nodded and said, "Are you planning to suppress the Japanese pirates here?"

"It's all here."

(End of this chapter)