In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Gao Jie looked unwell.

"General Li, in my heart, Gao, there is only the country, not myself!"

Li Ji remained expressionless, but inwardly he sneered softly.

These civil officials don't care about the lives of soldiers; they only care about results and their own interests.

"The court still has no way to solve the Han Lei problem. This is a difficult problem, but it is by no means a reason to back down and not attack," Gao Jie added.

"What brilliant ideas does Lord Gao have, and how can we break this deadlock?" Li Ji asked directly.

Gao Jie stroked his beard: "Since Commander Li has instructed me to speak, then I will speak."

"The attack is not going well now, and Han Lei poses a huge threat, but what if... what if an army could appear behind Li Yuanchang?"

As soon as these words were spoken, time seemed to stand still.

Suddenly, a gleam appeared in the eyes of those who were initially overwhelmed and even somewhat wary.

"What do you mean?" Li Ji sensed a turning point.

He certainly wanted to win, but he didn't want hundreds of thousands of people to die in vain.

Gao Jie revealed a smug smile, keeping everyone in suspense: "His Majesty sent me here not just to sit around doing nothing."

"I have certainly made some gains these days."

"Li Yuanchang thought he could rebel with Han Lei's help, but unfortunately, he made too many enemies!"

"Get to the point!" Li Ji said.

"General Li, tell me, if an army suddenly appeared behind Anshi City, cut off their supplies, and formed a pincer attack, what are your chances of winning?" Gao Jie kept him in suspense.

The people present were anxious and dissatisfied.

Li Ji pondered, mentally reconstructing the situation.

"If we can create a pincer attack, we have a 70% chance!"

"Only 70%? The Tang army has 200,000 troops, plus 100,000 elite border troops." Gao Jie frowned.

Li Ji didn't even bother to explain to these civil officials, as if Li Yuanchang were a pushover who could be manipulated by anyone.

He judged that even without Hanley, this bone would be extremely difficult to gnaw on.

"If you think I'm incompetent, you can report to the imperial court and have them replace me!"

Gao Jie was so embarrassed by those words that he turned red in the face and couldn't say a word.

Regardless of whether he has the ability, even if he does, he wouldn't be willing to change it.

Duke Wei is seriously ill and bedridden, and is already delirious. Rumors say he will soon pass away along with Fang Xuanling.

With Duke Wei out of office, Li Ji was the best commander of the Tang Dynasty!

In fact, there wasn't much difference between the two to begin with.

"My lord, that's not what I meant."

"Then speak quickly, military secrets cannot be delayed!" Li Ji was too lazy to give Gao Jie a perfunctory answer.

"..."

Anshi City.

The city was peaceful and tranquil, not at all like it was surrounded by an army of 200,000. Shops were still open and many people were out and about.

The troops coming and going to rotate shifts seemed relatively relaxed, showing no sense of urgency about the city falling and people dying.

This confidence stemmed from Han Lei's ability to easily repel the court's first attack, making everyone realize the invincibility of gunpowder.

But it wasn't entirely Han Lei's fault.

In addition, there were sufficient reserves of resources, food and other necessary supplies, and Li Yuanchang's strong efforts to maintain prices and prevent nobles from raising prices on the spot, which successfully stabilized the people's lives.

"Report!"

"Your Highness, the Tang army's vanguard has completely retreated. It seems they really have no intention of attacking." A scout rushed into the city lord's mansion.

Li Yuanchang, who was discussing horse breeding, was taken aback and turned around.

Where did they retreat to?

"Your Highness, their vanguard army has retreated to the main camp and encamped on Changdu Mountain, even abandoning the siege."

Li Yuanchang breathed a slight sigh of relief. Fortunately, Li Ji was not a reckless man or someone without a strategic vision; otherwise, if he had really launched a full-scale attack, he would have had no choice but to defend.

The consequence of this was that countless Tang soldiers would die from gunpowder.

He didn't want this to happen; it was a conflict between him and the court, and an ideological clash with the core of the Tang Dynasty. He didn't want these innocent soldiers to die.

He always held the Han Chinese people in his heart.

"That means it hasn't completely retreated yet, but it's impossible to retreat like this." He said with a helpless smile.

"Understood. Go now. Instruct Jin Minda and Lu Zhong not to let their guard down, to maintain strict vigilance, and not to be careless in the slightest."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will not be able to cross Anshi City."

"Yes!!" The scout clasped his hands in a fist salute and then quickly left.

Coming to his senses, Li Yuanchang looked at the seven or eight elderly men in plain clothes standing nearby, all around sixty years old with gray hair.

They came from the Goguryeo royal family and were originally royal horse breeders. They were highly skilled in breeding warhorses, and it took Li Yuanchang two months to find them among the common people.

Where were we?

"Your Majesty, we were just talking about the pastures for warhorses. The requirements for warhorses are very high; they need lush pastures and a sufficiently open plain."

"But Goguryeo was bitterly cold. Once winter arrived, frost would cover all the grasslands, and even warhorses would have a hard time surviving. Therefore, most places were not suitable for raising horses."

"The only option is to look further south."

"Is there any place in the Southern Prefecture?" Li Yuanchang frowned.

When Qin Zun and his entire clan migrated, they managed to move 10,000 warhorses, but that was far too few to even equip the newly recruited 40,000 troops.

Although the Goguryeo regime had a considerable legacy, Kim Min-dae's troops themselves possessed tens of thousands of horses.

However, horses cannot be used indefinitely; those that get old or injured must be retired. This requires a comprehensive livestock system to ensure long-term supply.

Furthermore, the opening of the first north-south post road requires a large number of warhorses for transfers throughout the entire route.

In addition, Li Yuanchang needs to develop overall strength, and the demand from the people is also considerable.

From a long-term perspective, strategic assets such as warhorses must be developed.

He estimates that the shortage of active horses is at least 50,000 to 80,000.

Several horse breeders exchanged glances, frowned, and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial family has always bred very few warhorses, supplying only the imperial family and the royal army. In the past, a large number of warhorses were obtained through trade with the Tang Dynasty and the nomadic peoples to the north."

"Native livestock farming is extremely rare."

"This is mainly due to the breed of horses, the weather, and the terrain. Although the southern region is better than the north, it still lacks large-scale livestock farms."

"Goguryeo, with its high mountains and deep valleys, has almost no large, suitable grasslands that can meet Your Highness's needs."

These words practically sealed the fate of Li Yuanchang's idea.

He couldn't very well go to Li Shimin to buy horses, could he?

"but!"

Someone suddenly changed the subject, suggesting, "However, King Han, there's something in Silla further south!"

"That area has the peninsula's largest livestock farm!"

"Yes, there's a plain along the river!" Many people's eyes lit up, and they all chimed in.

Lee Won-chang's eyes focused, Silla?

These two words were very familiar to the Tang Dynasty. Among the noble circles of the Tang Dynasty, the two most popular items to buy were Kunlun slaves and Silla maids.

In high society circles, Silla maids were a symbol of status; a family that didn't own several Silla maids was not considered part of high society.

But apart from the famous Silla maids, few people know that Silla's warhorses were also famous.