Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 426 The Eighth Route Army
In late April, the sun shone brightly and the spring breeze was warm.

When Yuchi Gong arrived at the back garden of the Cheng residence, he saw Cheng Zhijie wearing a short-sleeved undershirt, comfortably resting on a long bench.

Three little children circled around him, giggling and calling out "Wang wang" incessantly, thoroughly enjoying themselves!
Yuchi Gong pushed aside the servant leading the way, strode over, and roared, "Still lying there sleeping? Do you know what happened?"

His large, dark face was already frightening, and when he roared, he immediately scared the three children into tears.

Cheng Zhijie was furious. While trying to comfort his grandchildren, he glared at Yuchi Gong and said, "Are you sick? Why are you scaring my precious grandson?"

Yuchi Gong sneered, "Then you can continue enjoying your family life. You won't be involved in the Liaodong campaign, so don't blame me later!"

Upon hearing the words "Liaodong," Cheng Zhijie jumped up immediately, ordered someone to take his grandson away, and urgently asked him, "What Liaodong War?"

Yuchi Gong snorted, "The Ministry of War just sent word that Quan Gaisuwen is dying. His Majesty immediately summoned Li Ji and Xue Rengui upon learning this. Why is that?"

Cheng Zhijie exclaimed with delight, "Is His Majesty going to attack Goguryeo?"

Yuchi Gong said, "That's right! And we probably won't get a share of this."

Cheng Zhijie ordered someone to bring over another chair, pulled him to sit down, and hurriedly asked, "How did you know?"

Yuchi Gong glared at him and said, "You old codger, you've been living a life of ease lately and have lost all your senses. For the past year or so, Li Ji has been getting up early every day to practice martial arts. Why is that?"

Cheng Zhijie was startled and said, "Could it be because of the war against Goguryeo?"

Yuchi Gong continued, "Recently, he suddenly started frequently going to the Forbidden Garden to inspect the Imperial Guards, and he also frequently visited Xue Rengui's residence. Why is that?"

Cheng Zhijie took a deep breath and said, "I understand. His Majesty may have made an agreement with him a long time ago that if there is a war in Goguryeo, he and Xue Rengui will be sent. That's why they did these things!"

Yuchi Gong snorted and said, "At least you're not completely slow-witted."

Cheng Zhijie was humiliated by this scoundrel, but he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Hei Lang, His Majesty usually discusses important military and political matters with the four of us. But now he only consults Xue Rengui and Li Ji. This means that His Majesty doesn't intend for us to participate in the Liaodong War!"

Yuchi Gong said with a stern face, "I came to find you about this matter! You're full of clever ideas, think of a way to get us involved too!"

"Disaster!"

Cheng Zhijie sighed and said, "When the late emperor attacked Goguryeo, I stayed in Chang'an. Although you went with him, you were not given important positions because you advised the late emperor against it. Neither of us has experience fighting Goguryeo, and we are not as young as Xue Rengui. How can we compete with the two of them?"

When Li Shimin was preparing to personally lead an expedition against Goguryeo, Yuchi Gong expressed his opposition, not wanting the emperor to personally lead the expedition, and was therefore neglected.

During the attack on Goguryeo, Yuchi Gong stayed by Li Shimin's side and never had the opportunity to lead troops into battle independently.

Therefore, although he participated in the war against Goguryeo, he was actually just a spectator.

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong said in a deep voice, "I know I can't compete with Li Ji and Xue Rengui, but it's not unreasonable for them to be appointed as Grand Commander and Deputy Grand Commander, while we become the Army Commanders."

Cheng Zhijie pondered for a moment and said, "That depends on how His Majesty fights."

Yuchi Gong's thick eyebrows twitched, and he asked, "What do you mean?"

Cheng Zhijie said, "If Your Majesty intends to use the same method as when fighting the Tibetans, with the Yingzhou army as the main force, advancing slowly and maintaining a stalemate with Goguryeo, and then using the Xiongjin army as a surprise force to directly attack Pyongyang, then only Li Ji and Xue Rengui are needed; it won't be our turn!"

Yuchi Gong thought for a moment and said, "Goguryeo is different from Tibet. It has many mountains and cities, and the Liao River serves as a barrier. It is also densely populated, making it difficult to launch a surprise attack."

Goguryeo's territory was much smaller than Tibet's, but its population was much larger, making it difficult to find a route for a surprise attack. In the end, the army from Xiongjin Port would have no choice but to honestly attack cities and fortresses and advance slowly!

Cheng Zhijie nodded and said, "That's right, so His Majesty and Li Ji are likely to adopt a different strategy. If they do, then our opportunity will come!"

Yuchi Gong's eyes lit up, and he said, "Multiple armies advancing simultaneously?"

Cheng Zhijie said, "That's right. Goguryeo has a vast territory and the Liaoze River serves as a natural barrier, making our army's logistics extremely difficult. If we are bogged down by the Goguryeo army and unable to quickly conquer Pyongyang, then we will be forced to retreat, just like we were back then."

Yuchi Gong understood his meaning and said, "Advance from multiple directions. As long as one route breaks through the defense line, we can force them to retreat across the entire front!"

Cheng Zhi said with a gleam in his eye, "Li Ji is cautious in his military tactics, and he will definitely use this method this time. Let's go, we need to go to the palace immediately."

Yuchi Gong chuckled and said, "Now you know you're in a hurry?"

Cheng Zhijie said irritably, "Don't forget, we're not the only veteran generals in the court. Qibi Heli and others have experience attacking Goguryeo. What do you think they'll do when they hear about this?"

Yuchi Gong was extremely anxious and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't let those old bastards get there first!"

The two immediately left the Cheng residence and went to the palace together.

Upon arriving outside Chengtian Gate, I saw several elderly generals with white hair standing outside the palace gate, clearly also there for the war against Goguryeo.

Cheng Zhi glanced at the program and thought to himself, "Good heavens, not only are Qibi Heli, Zheng Rentai, Wang Wendu, and Ren Yaxiang here, but even Ashina Misha and Ashina Buzhen are here."

These people were all quite old and rarely went in and out of the palace anymore, but now, because of the upcoming great battle in Liaodong, their hearts were filled with excitement.

Cheng Zhijie and his companion greeted the others with forced smiles and then waited outside the door.

Unfortunately, he did not receive an audience with the emperor for a long time.

Li Zhi was listening to Li Ji's analysis of the tactics for attacking Goguryeo, so he naturally had no time to see them.

Over the years, Li Ji had spent countless days and nights devising a complete battle plan to attack Goguryeo.

Moreover, his plan has been constantly changing and being adjusted.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has destroyed Baekje, Li Ji believes that the conditions for destroying Goguryeo are far better than during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

However, he dared not be careless, because this might be the last battle of his military career.

He explained to Li Zhi and Xue Rengui in detail the terrain features and defensive strategies of Goguryeo, and what tactics should be used to deal with it.

After listening for a while, Li Zhi's expression gradually became serious. He said, "In your opinion, we should not use the same methods we used to attack Tibet to attack Goguryeo?"

Li Ji solemnly replied, "That's exactly right. Goguryeo will never engage in open battle with us. They will only defend their cities. If they can hold them, they will send reinforcements. If they can't hold them, they will abandon the city and retreat to defend the next one."

"The road to Liaoze is treacherous, and our army's logistics are extremely difficult. If we cannot conquer Goguryeo within a year, we may have no choice but to withdraw."

Li Zhi looked up and gazed at the map of Goguryeo.

Liaoze was like an invisible barrier, stretching for hundreds of miles from south to north, protecting Goguryeo.

It appears that the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo shared a large border, but due to the existence of the Liaoze River, there were only a few narrow roads that were actually passable.

From another perspective, Liaoze can be seen as a majestic mountain range, and those narrow paths are the canyons that run through the mountain range.

The Goguryeo army numbered over 300,000, had abundant iron ore resources, and had an armor coverage rate of over 30%.

They were very strong, skilled in archery and horsemanship, had plenty of horses, and possessed heavily armored cavalry that struck fear into the hearts of nomadic peoples.

As regional tyrants, the Mohe people always ended up getting beaten up when they fought against Goguryeo, so they should never be underestimated.

What's even more infuriating is that the Goguryeo army was extremely cowardly when facing the Tang Dynasty, refusing to engage in open battle and adopting a defensive posture.

The region is also home to numerous mountains; Li Ji knew the names of over a hundred of them. Many cities were built against the mountains, similar to Songzhou in the Tang Dynasty, making them extremely difficult to conquer.

Therefore, if the Tang army wanted to destroy Goguryeo, it needed a large army. However, if the army was too large, the logistical supply would be insufficient.

Moreover, Goguryeo was extremely shrewd; they knew how to utilize their advantages. Whether attacked by the Sui or Tang dynasties, their battle strategy consisted of one word: delay!
They knew very well that as long as they could hold off the invading enemy, when the time came, the enemy would have no choice but to retreat, and they could then launch a counterattack.

Emperor Taizong of Tang conquered more than a dozen cities in Goguryeo, but as soon as he withdrew, they were all recovered by Goguryeo.

This is why Goguryeo was so difficult to defeat.

After gaining a deeper understanding of these matters, Li Zhi finally realized the importance of Baekje.

When Baekje attacked, Goguryeo's defenses, such as the Liao River and mountain fortresses, became ineffective. They had to expend a great deal of effort to deal with the Tang army's defenses.

This reduced the opportunities for the Tang army on the northern front.

Li Zhi stared at the map for a long time before slowly saying, "Minister Li, I now understand the situation of Goguryeo. Tell me about your battle tactics."

Li Ji said, "My strategy of warfare consists of only eight words."

"Which eight characters?"

"A multi-pronged attack, advancing by both land and sea!"

Li Zhi looked at the map and said, "When you say 'multiple routes,' do you mean a pincer attack from the north and south?"

Li Ji said, "Relying solely on the northern and southern routes is insufficient to break through the Goguryeo people's strong defenses. After careful analysis and deduction, I believe that we need to divide our forces into eight routes to eliminate Goguryeo as quickly as possible!"

Li Zhi was slightly startled: "The Eighth Route Army?"

Li Ji said, "Yes, there are four routes in Yingzhou, three routes in Baekje, and another waterway that starts from Laizhou!"

Li Zhi glanced at Xue Rengui and said, "Minister Xue, what do you think?"

Xue Rengui said, "I am not familiar with Goguryeo, but in my opinion, it may not be a good thing if the troops are too dispersed."

Seeing that Xue Rengui seemed to object, Li Ji patiently explained, "General Xue, you also participated in the war against Goguryeo. What impressed you the most?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Rengui frowned and hesitated.

At the time, he was just a low-ranking general. Although he had shown some outstanding performance, he had no decision-making power and simply followed orders without much personal reflection.

He thought for a while before saying, "In my memory, many of the cities of Goguryeo were built on mountains, which made them difficult to attack."

Li Ji said, "The biggest characteristic of Goguryeo is that they mainly focus on defense. The victory in this war is different from that of traditional wars. Even if our army wins battle after battle, if we cannot reach Pyongyang within a year, then we will lose!"

"On the contrary, even if our forces are scattered and some troops suffer defeats, as long as other troops can break through the defenses and enter Pyongyang, then we will win!"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "I understand. What you mean is that this battle is about speed, and we don't need to worry about the gain or loss of a single city or the outcome of a single battle."

Li Ji said, "That's exactly right."

Seeing that Xue Rengui no longer objected, Li Zhi asked, "What are the specific attack routes for the Eighth Route Army, and how should we attack?"

Li Ji took out a rolled-up piece of paper from his sleeve.

Upon unfolding it, it turned out to be a simple map with Li Ji's planned attack route marked on it.

The four armies of Yingzhou advanced simultaneously, attacking Xincheng, Yincheng, Jian'ancheng, and Gaimucheng respectively, heading towards Fuyucheng along four routes.

The navy crossed the sea from Laizhou to attack Beisha City.

The three armies of Baekje attacked Mahu Fortress, Mokak Fortress, and Hansan Fortress respectively, and finally joined forces in Seoul.

Seoul was the largest city in southern Goguryeo. If the southern army captured Seoul, it would directly threaten Pyongyang.

Goguryeo will surely shrink its defenses and defend its capital. In this way, the pressure on the four northern armies will be greatly reduced, and the offensive will be more successful.

Next to each route, the terrain features of each city and the methods of attack are also marked.

This shows how much effort Li Ji put into this battle plan.

After reviewing the plan, Li Zhi had no objections and said, "The battle plan is fine, but the eight armies are rather troublesome. We need to select eight commanders. Minister Li, do you have any good candidates?"

Li Ji cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's will be obeyed in everything."

Everyone wants to participate in such a major battle. If the decision is left to him, he may be glorious, but he will definitely offend a lot of people.

In his twilight years, Li Ji only wished to win this battle peacefully and steadily, so naturally he would not take on such a task again.

Li Zhi sighed and said, "Alright then, I will give it some thought about the selection of the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army. If you have any suitable candidates, you may recommend them to me."

The two replied in unison, "Yes."

At this moment, Wang Fusheng saw that Li Zhi had finished speaking and stepped forward to remind him, "Your Majesty, the generals are still waiting to see you outside Chengtian Gate."

Li Zhi was immediately troubled, as these generals had clearly come for the war against Goguryeo.

"Li Qing, convene a military meeting later and discuss the battle plan with the generals." Li Zhi passed the buck to Li Ji.

Li Ji had no choice but to agree, unable to refuse.

After leaving the Divine Dragon Palace, Li Ji and Xue Rengui walked side by side. After exiting Chengtian Gate, they were immediately surrounded by a group of generals.

Led by Yuchi Gong and supported by Cheng Zhijie, they pressed them for details of their conversation with the emperor, their demeanor menacing!

Li Ji looked at Xue Rengui, signaling him to speak.

Xue Rengui had no choice but to say, "Gentlemen, it is not convenient to talk here. His Majesty has decreed that Lord Li should convene a meeting to discuss this matter with everyone."

The generals exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and escorted the two men toward the Left Guard Headquarters, as if they were escorting two prisoners.

Upon arriving at the assembly hall, all the generals of the fourth rank and above were gathered there. Yuchi Gong glared and said, "Now you can speak!"

Li Ji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled, "Duke of Liang, why don't you tell us?"

Xue Rengui was an honest man and didn't think too much about it, so he told Li Ji about the plan for the Eighth Route Army to attack Goguryeo.

The generals' eyes lit up after hearing this.

Since it was the Eighth Route Army, with many commanders, they all had a chance, so they immediately asked who the commanders of the Eighth Route Army were.

Xue Rengui could only say that the emperor was considering it and asked everyone to remain calm.

However, the crowd was not so easily fooled. Qibi Heli said, "Since His Majesty has summoned you two for questioning, he will definitely ask for your opinions."

The others chimed in, "That's right! What did you all say?"

Xue Rengui said, "His Majesty did ask, but neither Li Gong nor I made any suggestions."

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken up. Once he admitted it, the generals were no longer willing to let him off the hook. They all surrounded him and urged him to recommend himself to the emperor!
Although these veteran generals did not hold higher ranks than Xue Rengui, their seniority and stubbornness made it difficult for Xue Rengui to deal with them.

Just as he was about to ask Li Ji for help, he turned around and saw that Li Ji had already disappeared without him noticing.

(End of this chapter)