Transmigrated into Li Chengqian, he effortlessly ascended the throne and became emperor.

The heavy cowhide tent was suddenly flung open, and the biting cold wind from Liaodong howled in, but it couldn't dispel the oppressive atmosphere surrounding Li Shimin.

Li Shimin's eyes were as cold as the solid ice at the bottom of the Liao River.

Now that Li Chengqian has cleared the thorns in his path for him, even risking his life, it is now his turn as the emperor to restore military discipline.

The war drums thundered, and in no time, all the generals of the Tang Dynasty, fully armed and ready, gathered outside the central command tent, braving the wind and snow. Each of them held their breath and remained silent as if in a cold winter.

Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back on the command platform, his gaze sweeping over the generals below. Without uttering a single unnecessary word, he went straight to the point, decisive and swift.

"Li Daozong, the Prince of Jiangxia!"

"Your subject is here!" Li Daozong, who had just retreated from the bloody battle on the front lines, stepped forward.

"Although you were trapped in this battle, you managed to dampen the spirits of Goguryeo and achieved a great victory! You are rewarded with forty servants and a thousand bolts of silk! I hope you will be spurred on by this defeat and achieve even greater merit!"

Li Daozong kowtowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness! I will repay you even at the cost of my life!"

"Where is Ma Wenju, the Righteous and Resolute Commandant!" Li Shimin shouted again.

A man covered in mud and knife wounds squeezed out from the back of the line and knelt on one knee.

"When breaking through the enemy lines, you led the charge, invincible, slaying generals and capturing flags. I saw it all clearly from behind." Li Shimin's voice was filled with the fervent passion of his soldiers. "From this moment forward, you are promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, commanding the elite vanguard!"

"This humble general...will die ten thousand times over!" Ma Wenju roared, his eyes bloodshot with excitement.

Those who perform meritorious service must be rewarded, and those who commit wrongdoings must be punished.

Li Shimin's face suddenly darkened, and he abruptly drew his sword from his waist, the tip of which pointed directly at Zhang Junyi, the army commander who was kneeling and trembling in the crowd.

"Zhang Junyi, you have disappointed me greatly," Li Shimin sighed, the tip of his sword lightly sliding from Zhang Junyi's head to his shoulder. "As a dignified commander-in-chief, a henchman of the nation, commanding a large army, you dared to desert in the face of the enemy, leaving your flanks vulnerable and nearly causing a catastrophe!"

"Your Majesty! I know my crime! I beg Your Majesty for mercy..." Zhang Junyi's face was ashen as he kowtowed frantically.

"Show mercy? If I show you mercy, how can I face the Tang soldiers who died on the battlefield!" Li Shimin's eyes showed no pity as he roared, "Drag him away! Execute him immediately! Hang his head at the gate as a warning to others!"

"Yes, sir!" Two Imperial Guards rushed forward and dragged Zhang Junyi away like a dead dog.

A moment later, a scream pierced the sky, and a bloody human head was hung high.

Once the personnel arrangements are finalized, the battle begins.

Li Shimin strode down from the command platform, mounted his magnificent steed, and pointed his whip at Liaodong City in the northeast.

"All generals, please perform your duties! I want to go and see for myself whether Liaodong City is truly an impregnable fortress!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider! The swords at the front have no eyes..." Changsun Wuji hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him.

"The Sui Emperor Yang's million-strong army was defeated here. If I don't even have the courage to look at it today, how can I talk about pacifying Liaodong!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly and suddenly squeezed the horse's belly with both legs.

Thousands of elite Xuanjia cavalrymen roared out, escorting Li Shimin as they sped toward the war-torn Liaodong front.

……

Beneath the walls of Liaodong City, war clouds loomed, and the north wind carried a strong, pungent smell of blood.

Li Shimin reined in his horse and stopped at a high point.

Following his gaze, the majestic Liaodong city wall resembled a giant beast coiled on the frozen earth.

At the foot of this behemoth lay a massive, bottomless moat, several meters wide, encircling the city.

This trench was a nightmare in siege warfare.

Without filling it in, the Tang Dynasty's siege ladders could not be erected, the battering rams could not get close, and the large army could only look at the city with envy, becoming live targets for the Goguryeo archers on the city walls.

At this moment, a tragic and somber scene unfolded beneath the city walls.

Tens of thousands of Tang auxiliary soldiers and infantrymen, carrying heavy earth bags, moved with difficulty towards the trench, like a dense swarm of worker ants, braving the occasional cold arrows shot from the city wall.

too slow.

At this rate, who knows how many more days it will take to fill the gap, and how many more unnecessary casualties will be added.

Li Shimin frowned as he looked at it.

In war, morale and speed are the most important factors.

Li Shimin decisively dismounted, ignoring the exclamations of his followers behind him, and strode into the line of people carrying soil.

Directly in front of him, a thin Tang soldier was carrying a huge sack of soil far exceeding his capacity, his legs trembling wildly in the mud.

An arrow whistled past from the city wall, grazed his helmet, and embedded itself in the ground. The soldier slipped and nearly fell into a deep ditch, body and all.

Just as he was about to fall, a pair of rough, strong hands steadily supported the heavy sack of earth.

The soldier turned around in terror, but froze as hard as a stone in that instant.

Black everyday clothes, bright yellow cloak—it's the emperor!

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..." The soldier was so frightened that his tongue tied in knots, and his knees buckled as he was about to kneel down.

"No need."

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Li Shimin reached out and untied the knot on the soldier's soil bag, scooped out half of the frozen soil, and neatly poured it into the empty sack he had brought with him.

Then, under the watchful eyes of countless people who were wide with extreme shock, Li Shimin silently picked up the heavy bag of soil, strode over to the side of the imperial horse, and placed it on the horse's back.

Then, Li Shimin, leading his noble warhorse, walked side by side with the lowest-ranking soldiers, and steadily headed towards the dangerous trench.

The dull thud of soil being dumped into the trenches was deafening on the battlefield at that moment.

Even the Goguryeo soldiers guarding the city walls seemed to have forgotten to fire their arrows, staring blankly at the bright yellow figure leading the horse and clearing the earth.

"His Majesty is carrying soil himself! His Majesty is filling the ditch!"

Someone, with a keen eye, spoke up to remind everyone.

Even the emperor is doing hard labor, so what reason do these soldiers and generals have to cherish their lives?!

"Kill! Fill in this bird ditch!"

Those soldiers, who were originally heavy-footed and exhausted, were now as if they had been infused with divine power, bursting out with unprecedented tenacity.

With tears in their eyes, Changsun Wuji, Li Shiji, and other accompanying generals jumped off their warhorses without saying a word, dug up the frozen soil with their bare hands, and rushed into the trench.

The escorting cavalrymen threw down their spears and filled their helmets with dirt. Even the cooks escorting the grain supplies rushed forward, carrying iron pots filled with mud and sand.

Faced with the immense power of unity, even the natural barriers built by nature and human effort appear utterly vulnerable.

The deep pit that stretched across Liaodong City, which would normally take several days to fill, was rapidly filled and compacted at a speed visible to the naked eye thanks to the Tang army's relentless pouring of water.

In just half a day, the deep trench was transformed into a thoroughfare.

A flat siege tunnel was laid directly beneath the bricks of Liaodong City.