Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 355 Li Jing's Deadly Move! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

After the meal, Zhao Wei drove the excavator and started digging the foundation trench. Next, he would lay the foundation layer... This time, the house being built was only one story, so there was no need to add support columns, which saved him a lot of trouble.

In fact, according to Wu Aiguo's experience, a single-story house can be built directly with a foundation, without even needing a subbase. However, Zhou Yi thought it was better to pour a single layer, since it wouldn't cost much anyway.

The two statues that were just ordered are enough to lay many layers of foundation.

Wu Meiniang watched the excavator work and became very interested in this large machine. She hoped that the Tang Dynasty could also have such equipment, but unfortunately, the diesel oil had to be refined first.

Even diesel fuel with low purity can power diesel-powered equipment, allowing Zhou Yi to trade diesel equipment from scrap yards and secondhand tractor markets.

They could even buy a batch of marine diesel engines, so that the Tang Dynasty would no longer have to worry about canal transport.

While people gathered to watch the excavator work, the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era unfolded on the east bank of the Liao River.

After several days of raids and attacks, the Tang Dynasty caught Goguryeo off guard. Half of the cities on the east bank of the Liao River had fallen, and the remaining half were struggling to hold on.

Goguryeo was divided into four urban clusters. One of them was the Liaohe urban cluster, which was bounded by the east bank of the Liaohe River. Most of these cities were built thirty years ago when Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo.

The Goguryeo people in the Liaohe urban cluster relied on the natural barrier of the Liaohe River to frequently plunder the people of western Liaoning, making them the wealthiest. However, their status within Goguryeo was not very high, and they were considered a gathering place for nouveau riche.

Cities like Xuantu City, Xincheng City, Gaimu City, Liaodong City, Baiyan City, Anshi City, and Jian'an City all belong to the Liaohe River City Cluster.

The second urban cluster is the Yalu River urban cluster, mainly centered on Wugu City at the mouth of the Yalu River. This city was once a bridgehead for resisting the Sui Dynasty's attacks. Its city walls were high and easy to defend.

The third urban cluster is the capital city cluster led by Pyongyang. Goguryeo originated from the northern foothills of Changbai Mountain, but because it was too cold, they moved the capital to this place after occupying Pyongyang.

The core area of ​​Pyongyang represented the backbone of the Goguryeo court, stockpiled large quantities of grain, and also housed a large number of livestock and women plundered from various northern tribes. Goguryeo's proud army of 150,000 men was also stationed here.

The fourth urban cluster is Gungnae-seong, the capital of Goguryeo, which is now Ji'an, a small town in northeastern China. It was inhabited by the old nobles of Goguryeo and lived the life before Goguryeo rose to power.

From a religious perspective, the people living here are all fundamentalists from the Goguryeo Kingdom. Such residents, combined with the rugged terrain, make this place the toughest nut to crack.

Historically, this was also the case. After the other three city clusters were all captured, Goguryeo's fate was sealed. However, Naeguk Castle stubbornly held on and refused to surrender. Finally, it was captured by Li Ji's army, thus ending the history of Goguryeo.

Now, Li Jing is leading his army to conquer cities and territories along the Liao River, but he is not going deep into the region. Instead, he is busy seizing cities along the Liao River and annihilating the Goguryeo army.

Li Ji, who was in charge of the northern route, reported to Li Jing via walkie-talkie:

"Lord Li Wei, we have already captured Xuantu City. Should we attack Xincheng next, or Gaimou?"

Xincheng was the core administrative center of the cities along the Liao River. The city was tall and difficult to attack, but the rewards were also high. Once Xincheng was captured, it would be a significant blow to Goguryeo.

Gaimou was a satellite city of Xincheng, of average size, and could be easily captured by the Tang soldiers.

Li Jing thought for a moment and said:
"Make a show of force to attack Xincheng. Once Gaimou's troops come out of the city to provide support, ambush and wipe them out on the way. First, occupy Gaimou and burn the entire city down to intimidate Xincheng."

A hasty attack on a tall city could easily lead to a quagmire, so it's best to make an example of them first to scare the defenders of the new city.

Outside Liaodong City, Li Jing had just finished assigning tactics to Li Ji when Zhang Jian, who was attacking Anshi City, also requested instructions via walkie-talkie:

"Lord Li, the garrison in Anshi City is on the verge of collapse. Should we press on and take it down in one fell swoop?"

Li Jing, however, had other plans:
"Focus on eliminating Goguryeo's manpower. Do not attack rashly. Ansi Fortress is a decoy. Once it is captured, Pyongyang will have no chance to send troops to its aid. Send a portion of the troops to harass Jian'an, south of Ansi Fortress, and try to get every city in Liaodong to send military intelligence to Pyongyang as quickly as possible."

The goal is not to capture the city, but to find a way to lure out the 150,000 troops in Pyongyang.

As long as they dare to come, Li Jing has a way to wipe them all out, and the navy will also take the opportunity to capture the heart of Goguryeo—Pyongyang.

After instructing Zhang Jian, Li Jing asked Xue Rengui:

"I need a team to go towards Wugu City to scout the movements of the Goguryeo army and report back to me via walkie-talkie at any time. Do you dare to go?"

Xue Rengui immediately knelt on one knee:
"If I fail to complete the mission, I am willing to offer my head as a reward!"

Xue Rengui led a small group of three hundred cavalrymen, the same three hundred he had led last time. Each man had three horses, and they carried five days' worth of rations, along with drone walkie-talkies and spare batteries. Then, they left Liaodong City excitedly, heading straight southeast.

Niu Jinda asked Li Jing for advice:
"Lord Li, if winter comes and we have not yet conquered Goguryeo, what should we do?"

Li Jing said, "By September, we should begin to consolidate the cities we have acquired and then launch another attack next year. Don't rush things and lose your composure. Sometimes, taking things slowly and calmly will yield greater results than being in a hurry."

He reassured Niu Jinda, then picked up the walkie-talkie and contacted Xue Wanche, who disliked following orders, ordering him to bypass Xincheng and advance northward to capture all the cities in that area.

After arranging these things, Li Jing returned to the central army camp, where his son, Li Dejian, quickly served him hot tea.

"Father, please don't overwork yourself. Your health doesn't allow you to command a large army anymore. It's all my fault for being unfilial and causing you trouble."

Li Jing said:

"You have traveled a long way from Wu County, and you must be tired. Rest for now, and tomorrow morning, join the army to attack the city... You are my son, Li Jing's son, and you must lead by example. Only after passing this test can you become a qualified soldier."

As a legendary military strategist, he desperately wanted his son to inherit his mantle. Many tactics that had never been used before needed to be tested by the next generation, and it wouldn't work if no one inherited them.

Tens of thousands of prisoners have come from Wu County this time. They will do odd jobs and all sorts of dirty work in the camp. To put it bluntly, they are here to be the thread-filling babies and consumables. However, those who perform well will be exceptionally enlisted in the army and will become military personnel in the future.

Now Li Dejian is facing this opportunity to be transferred from prison to the army, which can be considered as Li Shimin giving Li Jing a break... In fact, based on Li Jing's military achievements, Li Dejian could definitely be restored to his original place of residence after the war, but Li Jing did not want to do so.

He hoped his son would inherit his mantle, rather than become a duke who idled away his days and was led by the nose.

While the attack was in full swing here, directly east of Liaodong City, Su Dingfang was leading three thousand cavalry and five thousand infantrymen toward Gungnae, the former capital of Goguryeo.

In terms of travel time, by the time Su Dingfang arrived in Kunming, the 150,000-strong army in Pyongyang had already set off, leaving all sides scrambling to respond.

When the time comes, Su Dingfang will completely wipe out Goguryeo's spiritual stronghold, which will be a blow to Goguryeo's morale no less than losing one's own father... This is a carefully prepared killing move by Li Jing, and only Su Dingfang can carry out this mission.

The Goguryeo people always regarded the city of Gunungcheung as an impregnable fortress that had never been breached since the Han Dynasty.

Unfortunately, they encountered Su Dingfang, who was most skilled at destroying countries. Even if they built their city on the top of Changbai Mountain, they could not escape destruction... The reputation of China's number one war god of territorial expansion was not for nothing.

Pei Xingjian, who was accompanying the army, had originally planned to learn more from Li Weigong, but unexpectedly, he was assigned such a task. He rode up to Su Dingfang and asked:

"Teacher, if we fail to break through the city this time, won't we lose our military merits?"

Su Dingfang smiled confidently:
"Don't worry, I've already rehearsed nine ways to break through a city in my mind. Study them carefully. The domestic city is a typical example of a city that makes the most of its geographical advantages. Once you learn how to break through a city, there won't be more than two numbers of cities in the world that can stop you."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingjian decided to learn from his mentor and then lead his army westward to conquer... He had heard that there were silver-haired, blue-eyed women in the far west, and he planned to capture a few to serve his mentor.

In the evening, inside the Taiji Palace in Chang'an, Li Shimin looked around at the newly installed streetlights, marveling at how they could keep the lights burning all night without any wires, powered solely by the small panel on the lamppost.

With the streetlights, the palace no longer needed to arrange for many people to light lanterns and candles. Unfortunately, there were only three solar-powered streetlights.

Li Shimin felt that if a few more lamps were added, the main roads of the palace would be fully illuminated, and any disturbance would be clearly visible.

As night fell and the streetlights automatically turned on, Li Mingda came over with a bowl of milk cake. He fed his elderly father a bite first, then looked up at the streetlights and sighed:
"I wonder when streetlights will be installed on Chang'an Avenue so that people won't have to worry about walking at night."

Li Shimin said:
"This matter needs to be done step by step. In addition to learning more from the immortals, we also need to learn science and technology as soon as possible and try to make up for our shortcomings."

The Tang Dynasty no longer needs to explore step by step; it only needs to learn the existing knowledge and then gradually improve its smelting and other technologies, and its level of industrialization can be raised very quickly.

The father and daughter ate milk cakes and talked about Wu Zetian.

"Father, you won't be angry that I address Consort Wu as my sister?"

Old Li grinned:
"I'm overjoyed, how could I be angry? She's the steward of Hunyuan Palace. Once you go there, you have to listen to her. Your father can't give you any pointers; you'll have to figure everything out on your own."

Li Mingda hummed in agreement.
“Sister Meiniang originally wanted to take me there directly, but after the Zhao Feiyan sisters went there, they could no longer return to the Great Han World, unlike Sister Meiniang who goes every five days as a pilgrim… If I cannot go to Hunyuan Palace, will Father be disappointed?”

Li Shimin put his arm around his daughter's shoulder and said:

"If I can't go, it means I haven't done enough, our family isn't blessed enough, it's my fault, it has nothing to do with Sizi."

The more sensible his daughter became, the more Old Li felt indebted to her. Worried that his tears would be seen by Little Sizi, he pointed towards the direction of the inner palace and said:
"Your milk cake is delicious. Go and offer it to your mother so she can taste it too..."

(End of this chapter)