Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 434 Li Zhong's Self-Doubt
After the carriage left Hulao Pass, it came to a flat and wide plain.

Although there are plains in Guanzhong, it is surrounded by the Qinling Mountains and the Loess Plateau.

This was the first time Li Yong and the others had ever seen such a vast plain. They all leaned most of their bodies out of the carriage, their faces full of excitement.

After passing through the pass, their speed increased several times over. The three changed horses and rode eastward. Five days later, they arrived in Shandong Province.

As they approached Laizhou, the initial excitement in the three men was replaced by a new emotion.

Looking around, one could see that the wide official road was filled with people pushing wheelbarrows; this was a grain transport team that had come from Sizhou.

Upon seeing this grain transport team, Li Yong and his two companions realized for the first time that war was not far away.

They came here to help Li Zhong with logistics, so the three of them got off the carriage and asked the grain-carrying people about the situation.

The grain transport team was accompanied by a hundred soldiers as guards. They originally wanted to step forward to stop them, but were stopped by the Qianniu Guards who were protecting the three of them.

After the Thousand Bull Guards revealed their identities, they did not stop them anymore.

The person in charge of negotiating with the people was Li Lian, who had the best speaking skills. He came to a man who looked rather honest and asked him, "Young master, are you transporting grain to Laizhou?"

The man looked honest, but was actually quite wary. He asked, "Who are you?"

Li Lian said, "We are messengers under the deputy commissioner of grain transport in Laizhou, responsible for investigating the specific situation of grain transport in various prefectures and counties."

The man's gaze swept over the three men in turn, and he asked suspiciously, "You're so young, yet you've already become a commander?"

Li Lian smiled and said, "Do you know who the deputy envoy for this shipment is?"

The man shook his head.

Li Lian bowed to the west and said, "This is the eldest son of the current sage, Prince Chen, Li Zhong."

The man asked, bewildered, "So what?"

Li Lian said, "His Highness Prince Chen is only in his early twenties this year. Isn't it normal for the people around him to be younger?"

The man suddenly blurted out, "Judging from your appearance, you wouldn't happen to be a eunuch in the palace, would you?"

Li Lian's expression froze instantly.

Li Yong and Li Xiao, who were standing nearby, covered their mouths and chuckled. Because Li Lian was fair-skinned and looked very much like a palace eunuch, Li Xiao and Li Yong would not be misunderstood like that.

"Uh, just keep it to yourself, don't tell anyone else." Li Lian was really going all out to gather information, admitting that he was a eunuch.

The man then relaxed his guard and laughed, "What would you like to ask?"

Li Lian asked, "Was all this grain requisitioned temporarily?"

The man nodded and said, "Yes, the government issued a grain requisition order two months ago. In fact, it's just collecting this year's taxes in advance, so we won't have to pay them at the end of the year."

When the Tang Dynasty waged wars abroad, it had two methods of collecting grain. The first was to requisition grain from nearby prefectures and counties and collect it as taxes.

You won't need to pay taxes by the end of this year or next year.

This was to save time, manpower, and resources, since most of the grain in the national treasury was concentrated in Chang'an and Luoyang.

When fighting westward, they could barely transport some supplies, but fighting eastward required traversing the five perilous passes of Guanzhong, which was too troublesome. Therefore, supplies were all transferred from nearby prefectures and counties.

Another method involves levying taxes from nearby prefectures and counties, but this is a temporary tax, and the taxes still need to be paid at the end of the year.

When Su Dingfang attacked Goguryeo, he used this method of conscription, which caused great harm to the people's livelihood.

During Li Zhi's ten-year reign, foreign wars were successful and the spoils were plentiful, especially the war against Japan, which brought in a huge profit and filled the national treasury. Therefore, no taxes were levied temporarily.

Li Lian then inquired in detail about how much tax the government had collected and whether there had been any additional taxes levied under the guise of official duties. He did not discover any major problems.

Li Xiao suddenly asked, "Does transporting grain to Laizhou affect your livelihood?"

The man said, "Look at the question you're asking. How could it not have an impact? Although we are people from Henan Province, we are just like people from Jiangnan Province. We mainly grow rice, which is planted in spring and harvested in autumn. The harvest will definitely be delayed."

Li Xiao hurriedly asked, "What if the harvest is delayed?"

The man said, "What can we do? My wife can only pay someone to help with the harvest. This year will definitely not be as comfortable as in previous years."

Li Xiao asked, "Do you feel dissatisfied with the court launching this war?"

The man smiled and remained silent.

Li Xiao hurriedly said, "Please feel free to speak, we will never tell our superiors."

The man laughed and said, "I'm not saying anything because I'm afraid of anything, but because I feel there's no need to say anything."

Li Xiao asked, puzzled, "Why is it unnecessary?"

The man said solemnly, "Last year, there was a severe drought in Jiangnan, which everyone saw. The imperial court provided great relief, and even Minister Lu of the Ministry of Revenue came in person to help the five prefectures in Jiangnan overcome their difficulties."

"I don't know why the court wants to wage war, but we all know that with the court protecting us, even if there is a disaster, we will not starve to death. Therefore, of course we should fully support the court."

After listening, Li Xiao remained silent, stunned.

Last year, when Jiangnan suffered a disaster, he was not affected at all. He continued to live the luxurious life of a prince and did not pay much attention to it.

Unexpectedly, the disaster was a very serious matter for the local people.

Their support for the country's war effort was not a matter of honor or pride in being citizens of the Tang Dynasty, but simply because the country provided them with relief during times of disaster.

This stands in stark contrast to the people of Chang'an.

Two days later, Li Xiao and his two companions finally arrived at Yecheng, the capital of Laizhou.

Li Zhong had heard that his three younger brothers were coming to help him. Not only had Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) specifically instructed him to take care of his brothers, but even his birth mother, Liu Chong'ai, wrote him a letter, asking him to make sure to take good care of the three of them.

So when Li Zhong heard that the three had entered the city, he hurriedly dropped what he was doing and rushed toward the city gate.

Arriving at the west gate of Yecheng, he looked around but couldn't see Li Xiao and the other two. Just as he was getting anxious, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind.

Turning around, they saw Li Xiao and the other two sitting at a table in a small teahouse, drinking tea.

Li Zhong was stunned. Although he often traveled incognito and talked with ordinary people, he had never drunk tea from a roadside stall.

These three younger brothers, pampered and spoiled, had always stayed in Chang'an and were better able to integrate into the lives of ordinary people than he, a prince who had been sent away for several years.

"Is there something wrong with me?" he couldn't help but doubt himself.

As they approached the teahouse, Li Zhong was about to speak when Li Lian patted the bench next to him and said, "Brother, sit down and let's talk."

Judging from their posture, they seem to want to continue sitting there, and judging from their attitude, it's hard to tell who is the guest and who is the host.

Since there were many of them, Li Zhong had no choice but to sit down and said, "You must be tired from your journey. I've prepared a banquet at my residence to welcome you back." Li Yong waved his hand and said, "Brother, we can talk about that later. Is the preparation for the battle in Laizhou complete?"

Li Zhongdao said, "General Gao Kan has been preparing for a long time, but he did not reveal the specific time of deployment to me because it is a secret."

Li Yongxi said happily, "That's to be expected, but I'm pretty sure the attack will happen this month, no doubt about it."

Li Xiaodao said, "Elder brother, we are here on Father's orders to help you allocate grain. Let us take a look at the warehouse first."

Li Zhong was stunned again.

The three brothers immediately started talking about serious matters, and you could no longer sense the frivolity they had shown in Chang'an.

"Could it really be my fault? My progress in Laizhou over the past few years is not as good as theirs in Chang'an?" Li Zhong questioned his life again.

"Brother, don't just stand there! Drink this cup of tea and then hurry up and take us to the warehouse!" Li Lian poured him a cup of tea.

Li Zhong was still a little dazed. When he saw the tea being handed to him, he took it and drank it. After taking a sip, he found it a bit sour, and there seemed to be some sand in the water.

All three of them finished the remaining tea in their bowls in one gulp, without showing any unusual expression.

Li Yong laughed and said, "Brother, you are the host, so you should treat us to this tea."

Li Zhong: “…”

In the following days, Li Zhong finally confirmed that the three brothers' performance at the city gate was not an act; they had indeed made great progress.

Fortunately, he has only improved in temperament; in terms of knowledge, he is still not as good as him, which makes him feel much more at ease.

Li Zhong carefully instructed the three men in various state affairs and logistical matters, and they learned very diligently and were soon able to help him.

Time flies, and soon it was September 13th. Gao Kan finally told Li Zhong the date for the expedition. On September 15th, the imperial army of eight routes marched together towards Goguryeo.

Li Zhong also told his three brothers about the situation.

……

September 15th, Yingzhou, Liucheng.

Just after the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), as the roosters began to crow, a powerful drumbeat drowned out their crows.

This was a tent where nine people lived. Upon hearing the drumbeat, all the soldiers were startled and hurriedly sat up to get dressed.

Li Mutang reacted the fastest and dressed the fastest. He was more familiar with the climate of Yingzhou, so he was in better spirits than the others.

Just then, he heard someone exclaim, "Wait a minute, it's not even Mao Shi (5-7 AM) yet!"

Li Mutang also found it strange. Judging from the dryness in his eyes, it was indeed not yet dawn, and his head was still a little dizzy.

A lean man came to the camp corner, looked at the water drain in the corner, and said, "It's definitely not the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), it's only the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) now." His Tang dialect was not standard, so he should be of Hu (non-Han) descent.

Someone asked, "Captain Xiong, wasn't it said that we would start cooking at 5:00 AM and set off at 7:00 AM? Why did we start preparing at 3:00 AM?"

A middle-aged soldier with a scar under his eye said in a deep voice, "That's indeed the order from above. You wait here, I'll go out and take a look."

After saying that, he casually threw on a felt coat and strode out of the tent. When the tent flap was lifted, the cold wind outside rushed in, and someone laughed and cursed, "Damn it, it's only September, and it's already this cold."

A short while later, Company Commander Xiong Dashan returned and said, "Go back to sleep. It's not our camp's assembly drum, it's the East Camp's assembly drum."

Someone cursed, "What the hell are these bastards from Dongying doing up so early? Are they rushing to be reincarnated?"

Li Mutang said, "They probably want to advance as soon as possible and seize the credit!"

Everyone agreed with this statement.

When the Tang army went out to fight, they attached great importance to the first merit, because the initial victory would boost the morale of the entire army. Therefore, if the same merit was attributed to the first merit, the reward would be increased by one level.

"Captain Xiong, we can't let them steal the credit!" the lean soldier said in broken Tang language.

"Chen Silang, what are you panicking about? We're following General Xue. Even if we get up a little late, do you think the credit will slip through our fingers?"

"Yes, let's conserve our energy and not compete with them for time."

"But General Qibi Heli of the Eastern Camp is also a fierce general. Moreover, they attacked Gaimu City in the first battle, and their march was the shortest. I'm afraid the Goguryeo people are not strong enough and they will get there first!"

Seeing everyone discussing in a noisy manner, Xiong Dashan, who hadn't had enough sleep, glared and said, "What are you all babbling about? Go to sleep!"

In an instant, the camp returned to silence, and everyone took off their clothes and went back to sleep.

The noise made Li Mutang excited, and the thought of his first foreign battle soon made him unable to fall asleep.

This opportunity was hard-won; his second uncle had given it up for him. If he couldn't make a great contribution, he would have no face to see his father and second uncle again.

Fortunately, he was assigned to General Xue Rengui's command this time, so there was definitely an opportunity to make meritorious contributions; it just depended on whether he could seize it.

The only thing that displeased him was that he was assigned to a barbarian camp.

"Hu Camp" is what the soldiers call it, representing a camp with a large number of people of Hu (non-Han) descent. For example, in his company, apart from the company commander Xiong Dashan who is of Han descent, everyone else is of Hu descent.

This was also General Xue's only flaw; he trusted Han Chinese more.

It is said that when General Xue led his troops, he always led the Han troops to the front in every charge, while the Hu people were arranged to be behind or on the flanks. Although it was easier for them, they could not achieve great merit.

However, according to some veterans who had served under Xue Rengui, after each battle, General Xue would select the bravest soldiers to join the Han camp, thus eliminating the distinction between Han and non-Han peoples.

Li Mutang has only one goal right now: to fight bravely in the next battle and transfer to the Han camp as soon as possible.

As he was lost in thought, time quietly passed, and the sound of drums rang out again outside.

There's no mistake, this time it's the sound of the assembly drums at dawn.

The soldiers quickly got up, dressed, and assembled outside the camp. Then, led by Xiong Dashan, they first joined the battalion and then the brigade.

A total of 19,800 soldiers assembled at the drill ground, had breakfast, and then began to march toward the sunrise.

Due to the harsh terrain of Goguryeo, first the Liaoze River blocked the way, and then the Qianshan Mountains, which acted as a barrier, made logistical transportation difficult and the cavalry could not perform well.

Therefore, Xue Rengui's army of 20,000 only had 3,000 cavalry.

The Tang army had logistical problems, but Goguryeo did not. They also had a large number of warhorses and their best tactic was to huddle in the city and defend it. When the Tang army failed to capture the city after a long siege and retreated, the cavalry in the city would come out to launch a defensive counterattack.

Of course, they only acted this way when dealing with the Tang army.

When facing the Mohe and Shiwei, their armored cavalry were like wolves and tigers, actively seeking open battle, which made all the tribes in Liaodong tremble with fear.

Xue Rengui's three thousand cavalry were specifically there to counter the cavalry charge of the Goguryeo army.

(End of this chapter)