Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 357 The Emperor and the Crown Prince Have Both Gone Mad! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

After crossing the Liao River, Li Shimin decisively chose to dismantle the bridge to demonstrate his determination to fight a desperate battle with his back to the river.

On the surface, this move was intended to boost the soldiers' fighting spirit, but in reality, it was because Li Chengqian had pushed them to the brink.

Originally, according to his plan, Li Chengqian would not declare war on Tuyuhun before destroying Xueyantuo. However, before Xueyantuo was destroyed, he and Li Ji began fighting on two fronts, which was completely beyond his expectations.

Therefore, he had no choice but to take Liaodong City as soon as possible before Li Chengqian destroyed Xueyantuo or Tuyuhun.

Once Liaodong City is captured, Goguryeo's gateway will be completely open.

This is no less significant than the destruction of a country, or even two countries.

After all, this was something that neither Emperor Wen of Sui nor Emperor Yang of Sui, with their million-strong armies, could accomplish.

"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"

Inside the Mashou Mountain camp, Li Shimin, after establishing a firm foothold, immediately summoned his civil and military officials to hear the battle report from the front. The vanguard general, Li Daozong, was the first to step forward and report: "Your Majesty, after our battle, we have not found any other Goguryeo reinforcements. In this battle, we have killed over two thousand enemies, captured over one thousand, and seized dozens of cartloads of supplies. We suffered three hundred casualties."

"but."

At this point, his face darkened instantly, and he said coldly, "Zhang Junyi, the brave and resolute captain, is greedy for life and afraid of death. He thought our army was invincible and led his men to retreat alone, which almost caused our army to be defeated by the enemy. If it weren't for Xiao Gong's timely arrival, our army would have been in grave danger!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty is innocent!"

Upon hearing Li Daozong's complaint, Zhang Junyi immediately knelt down and begged Li Shimin for mercy: "This humble general is not afraid of death, but rather wanted to launch a surprise attack on the enemy from a roundabout way!"

"Hahaha! A flanking attack? Do you think we're all fools? You went to the mountain valley? That's the riverbank!" Li Xiaogong laughed and exposed Zhang Junyi's lie.

Li Shimin's face darkened, and he coldly ordered, "Guards! Drag Zhang Junyi out and behead him as a warning to others!"

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"

Soon, Zhang Junyi was dragged out and executed on the spot by two Xuanjia soldiers.

The remaining generals looked at each other, bewildered.

In the past, Li Shimin would kill people, but he would always consider the circumstances before doing so. However, at this time, he was much more decisive in his killings and rarely considered the circumstances.

What does this mean? It means he's starting to take things seriously.

But then Li Daozong cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, in this battle, another of my brave captains, Ma Wenju, fought valiantly and killed nearly fifty men in one battle. I would like to request a separate commendation for him to boost morale!"

"it is good!"

Li Shimin's face lit up with joy, then he instantly turned his gaze to Ma Wenju and said, "I remember you. You are the one who said, 'Without encountering a formidable enemy, how can a hero be distinguished?'"

"Your Majesty is wise; it was my recklessness," Ma Wenju quickly bowed humbly.

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head, saying, "This is not recklessness, but true character. I admire brave warriors who dare to fight! Since the Prince of Jiangxia has personally requested merit for you, I will promote you to the rank of General of the Central Army. Serve the country well!"

"This humble general thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

Ma Wenju immediately knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude, which brought a knowing smile to the faces of the assembled civil and military officials.

Li Shimin smiled with satisfaction and then addressed the assembled civil and military officials: "Gentlemen, Liaodong City is right before us. I would like to go and see Liaodong City in person before discussing this with you. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Hou Junji stepped forward first: "As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.' Your Majesty's personal inspection of Liaodong City is definitely a great thing!"

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials looked puzzled and then turned to look at Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji, who usually loved to flatter Li Shimin, was unusually calm at this moment, as if it were none of his business.

I wondered what was going on.

Something seems off between the Duke of Zhao and His Majesty!

Could something serious have happened?
Seemingly noticing the unusual behavior of the civil and military officials, Li Shimin turned to look at Changsun Wuji, frowned, and asked, "Wuji, what do you think of this matter?"

"Your Majesty is wise! As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Your Majesty's personal inspection of Liaodong City is definitely a great thing!"

Changsun Wuji repeated Hou Junji's words like a broken record.

Upon hearing this, the assembled civil and military officials exchanged bewildered glances once more, thinking to themselves, "Something's wrong! Something's definitely wrong!"
But Li Shimin clearly didn't want his ministers to suspect any unpleasantness between him and Changsun Wuji, so he immediately waved his sleeve and said, "Men! Prepare the horses!"

"This"

The civil and military officials watched in astonishment as Li Shimin rushed out of the camp.

It wasn't until Changsun Wuji unexpectedly reminded them to hurry up and follow that they seemed to realize what was happening and rushed out of the camp.

At this very moment, the siege is raging, and soldiers are carrying large sacks filled with sand to fill the moats around the city walls.

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin immediately dismounted and ordered a soldier, "You! Put that sack on my horse!"

"His Majesty?"

The soldier was slightly taken aback, then quickly knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty, this humble servant greets you!"

"Alright, there's no need for so much formality on the battlefield!"

Li Shimin waved his hand in a very approachable manner, and then ordered again: "Quickly get up and put the sack on my horse's back!"

"Your Majesty! This sack is dirty, and I'm worried it might soil Your Majesty's steed."

"What dragon steed! This is just a horse, hurry up!"

Li Shimin glared at the soldier with amusement, then stepped forward himself to carry the bag of sand.

Hou Junji, who was behind him, quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! Let me do it!"

"Need not!"

Li Shimin directly rejected Hou Junji.

Seeing this, the soldier dared not hesitate any longer. He immediately got up from the ground and, before Li Shimin could, carried the sack onto Li Shimin's horse.

Without a word, Li Shimin mounted his horse, holding the reins in one hand and the sandbags in the other, and personally carried the sandbags to the distant trench.

The civil and military officials following behind him looked completely bewildered.

However, this is not the end.

After Li Shimin finished transporting the sacks, he did not leave immediately, but instead joined the ranks of those filling the trenches.

"This"

This scene left the civil and military officials behind him dumbfounded, wondering if His Majesty had gone mad. Why would he debase himself like this?
However, different people have different opinions.

In the eyes of these civil and military officials, Li Shimin's behavior was simply outrageous, but in the eyes of those soldiers, he was the good emperor they admired.

Thus, the incredible and exhilarating news that the emperor himself was filling the trenches quickly spread among the soldiers.

The soldiers were all deeply moved and inspired.

Immediately afterwards, bag after bag of sand was quickly filled into the trench.

Soon, a large section of the moat beneath Liaodong City was filled in and turned into flat ground.

The civil and military officials then realized how wise Li Shimin's series of unusual actions had been.

At this time, Li Shimin did not return to the camp. Instead, he transformed into a battlefield commander, personally directing his soldiers to transport large siege weapons such as catapults and siege engines across the trenches and launch a more intense attack on Liaodong City.

However, the tenacity and bravery of the Goguryeo defenders greatly exceeded his expectations.

The Tang army launched a relentless attack day and night for more than twenty days, surrounding the city in layers. Arrows and boulders rained down like rain, and the sounds of war drums and battle cries were deafening, yet they still could not breach the city's defenses.

Enraged, Li Shimin's face turned ashen. He roared, "These damned Goguryeo people! How can they be so stubborn? If I conquer this city, I will slaughter them without leaving a single one alive!"

After saying this, he paced back and forth in the military tent anxiously, thinking about how to attack the city next.

The surrounding civil and military officials dared not utter a sound. Although most of them did not know why Li Shimin was so eager to capture Liaodong City, after all, even Emperor Yang of Sui's million-strong army had failed to capture it, so wasn't it normal that it hadn't been captured in just over twenty days?
But given Li Shimin's current state, no one dared to provoke him!
I don't know how much time passed, but the atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.

As the second-highest-ranking general of the Li Tang imperial family after Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong stepped forward without hesitation and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Among our army's siege weapons, the large catapult is the weapon that the Goguryeo people fear the most. This weapon can throw a boulder weighing up to 300 catties, and its range is about one li."

"To defend against our army's catapults, the Goguryeo people built rows of battle towers on the city walls, and also built many towers along the edge of the city walls as the first line of defense."

"Therefore, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible."

"What are your thoughts? Tell me quickly!"

Li Shimin quickly stopped and turned to look at Li Xiaogong.

Li Xiaogong then said, "Your Majesty, our army's previous tactics involved constantly adjusting the direction of the catapults to accurately launch boulders at predetermined targets. However, I believe that such dispersed launching makes it difficult to fully utilize the catapults' immense power. Perhaps launching them all at once would be better."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes narrowed, and he quickly realized what he meant: "You mean, launch the boulders at the same time?"

"Yes!"

Li Xiaogong nodded and said, "I have seen His Highness the Crown Prince's military exercises before, and such tactics were included. So, I was thinking that we could arrange all the catapults in a dense formation and launch them at Liaodong City together. Perhaps that would have a good effect."

"Great idea! That's a good idea!"

Although the idea was borrowed from Li Chengqian, Li Shimin couldn't care less about that at this moment. He directly ordered outside the tent, "Someone! Pass down the order to have the soldiers move the catapults together, arrange them in a line, and launch the boulders at once!"

"promise!"

A voice responded from outside the tent.

About an hour later, this trick worked wonders.

As countless boulders rained down on Liaodong City, the battle towers on the entire city collapsed one after another.

Immediately afterwards, Li Shimin seized the opportunity and ordered Cheng Yaojin to deploy siege engines to knock down the towers along the edge of the city wall one by one.

Just as Liaodong City was about to be captured by the Tang army, it seemed that the heavens were deliberately working against them. The originally sunny weather suddenly turned into a strong wind, dark clouds gathered, and soon a torrential rain began to fall.

Unfortunately, the heavy rain obscured visibility, making it impossible for the Tang army to attack the city in such low visibility conditions. Therefore, Li Shimin had no choice but to order a retreat.

"Damn it!! So close! So close!"

When Li Shimin returned to the camp, he was so angry that he slammed his fist on the desk, wishing he could treat it as the heavens and smash it to pieces.

Of course, despite his immense frustration, he hadn't lost his composure. He only hoped that Li Chengqian would slow down and not destroy a country before he could capture Liaodong City.

Perhaps it is true that no one knows a father better than his son, as Li Chengqian seemed to have a telepathic connection with Li Shimin, and his war against Tuyuhun also came to a standstill.

At this very moment, less than fifty miles from Fu'e City, Li Chengqian's army unexpectedly experienced severe altitude sickness.

In particular, almost half of the allied forces from the Western Regions were so tormented by altitude sickness that they could not move, and even the slightest movement made them breathless.

This put Li Chengqian, who always advocated speed in warfare, in a dilemma: either abandon these allied forces or lead an army without altitude sickness to attack Fu'e City alone.

Although he was very confident in taking Fu'e City because the city's defense map had fallen into his hands, Fu'e City was, after all, the capital of Tuyuhun, and it was not easy to conquer.

In particular, there are fewer than 30,000 soldiers who do not suffer from altitude sickness.

With an army of 30,000, attacking the capital of Tuyuhun would be extremely difficult, even if they knew the enemy's defenses.

Moreover, if we abandon these allied forces, and they are attacked by the Tuyuhun cavalry, wouldn't that be sending them to their deaths for nothing?
This was definitely a disgrace to the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Li Chengqian had no choice but to order a temporary halt to the attack on Fu'e City.

"His Royal Highness!"

Just as Li Chengqian was pondering how to deal with the current situation, Pei Xingjian suddenly rushed in and reported to him: "Tuyuhun has somehow managed to incite the Dangxiang people and the Qiang people of Taozhou to rebel. They are now launching a fierce attack on Taozhou and seem to intend to march south into the Central Plains!"

"Pfft——!"

Li Chengqian, who was originally in a state of utter panic, chuckled upon hearing Pei Xingjian's report. He then looked at Pei Xingjian as if he were a fool and said mockingly, "What did you say? They're going to march south into the Central Plains?"

Pei Xingjian was slightly taken aback, then looked at Li Chengqian with some doubt and asked, "Isn't Your Highness worried about them?"

Why should I worry about a bunch of trash?

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes at Pei Xingjian, then said with a smile, "Let's not even talk about whether they can break through Taozhou. Even if they manage to break through Taozhou by chance, there's General Li Jing stationed in Chang'an. Do you think General Li Jing is just a figurehead?"

"this."

Pei Xingjian suddenly realized, looking embarrassed, and then couldn't help but say, "Even so, the Tuyuhun have come up with all sorts of schemes to deal with us. Especially their retreat strategy, it's clear they want to wear us down!"

"Yes, I know that!"

Li Chengqian nodded, then asked, "How is Li Daliang doing?"

Pei Xingjian quickly replied, "According to news from Qinghai Lake, they have succeeded and are currently driving those Qinghai horses back to Ganzhou City!"

Li Chengqian frowned deeply: "Why return to Ganzhou City? Can't we just stay where we are and provide support?"

"Your Highness, that Tuyuhun prince is not to be underestimated. After learning that our army had attacked Qinghai Lake, he immediately ordered his men to set fire to the vast grasslands along the lake!"

"I go!"

Li Chengqian said with some surprise, "That's a ruthless move!"

"Yes! He wants to starve those Qinghai horses to death!"

Pei Xingjian sighed and echoed, "If we want Commander Li and his men to support our operations, we must have them temporarily stationed at Qinghai Lake. However, if we only need to meet their troop needs, the grain transported by Governor Li and his men can satisfy them. But if we add the Qinghai steeds, it will be completely impossible. Therefore, Commander Li had no choice but to withdraw from Qinghai Lake, preparing to drive those Qinghai steeds to the pastures near Liangzhou before coming to the Crown Prince's aid!"

"Well, this choice isn't problematic; I'm stuck in a stalemate anyway. However..."

At this point, Li Chengqian suddenly seemed to remember something and frowned, saying, "Why is it the Tuyuhun prince who is in command? I remember that Murong Shun also has military power. Where are his men?"

"Your Highness, according to my intelligence, Murong Shun appears to be imprisoned in Fu'ai City by the Tuyuhun Khan. It is said that he is colluding with our Great Tang in an attempt to rebel."

"Ah!"

Upon hearing about Murong Shun's plight, Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh: "No wonder this guy gave me the defense maps of Fu'ai City and Shanshan City. It turns out he's just like me, utterly disappointed in his scumbag father."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingjian was taken aback, thinking to himself, "Is this something I should be listening to?"
His Highness the Crown Prince actually regards His Majesty as a scumbag father.
Oh my God!

To die To die!

Just as Pei Xingjian was worried that Li Chengqian might kill him to silence him, Li Chengqian suddenly asked, "Can you find out where Murong Shun is?"

"Uh, this."

Pei Xingjian reacted for a moment, then respectfully replied, "Your Highness, my men have found out that it is in a white-walled house on the easternmost side of Fu'ai City!"

"Good! I'm going to see him in person tonight. Arrange some skilled men for me to infiltrate Fu'e City with me!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingjian was immediately taken aback, thinking to himself, "Has His Highness the Crown Prince gone mad? Why would he risk his life at a time like this?!"

"No! Your Highness, you must not put yourself in such danger!"

Pei Xingjian realized what was happening and quickly spoke up to stop Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian, however, disagreed, saying, "Given the current situation, it's impossible for us to capture Fu'e City. Since open attacks won't work, let's try covert ones!"

After saying this, he looked at Pei Xingjian meaningfully and said, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

"What did you say?" Pei Xingjian asked instinctively.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly; "Fortresses are often destroyed from within."

(End of this chapter)