Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 3344 The Death of War
A huge turmoil in Chang'an City gradually calmed down with the concession of the prince Li Chengqian. The crisis that was about to be over the surface dived into the bottom of the water again, and many forces died down.Although the Western Regions were still suffocated by the Arabs, the situation has gradually stabilized as the Right Guards rushed to help and defeated the Arabs in one go.Liaodong is still beating the drums of war. Hundreds of thousands of troops are peeling off the Goguryeo people's defensive offensive layer by layer outside the city of Pyongyang. They are about to reach the city of Pyongyang and launch a general offensive.

It seems that the wind and cloud cleared up overnight, good news from the East and West battlefields, the foundation of the country is as solid as a rock, and everything is moving towards a better direction...

*****
The wind and snow in Liaodong is even worse than that in the Western Regions, especially the howling north wind makes the temperature drop again and again, even in the daytime, dripping water turns into ice.

Compared with the tenacious resistance of the Goguryeo army, this extremely cold weather is the biggest enemy of the Tang army.

Due to the lack of production materials, even though the Tang army's logistics and supplies are already overwhelming, it is still impossible for all soldiers to have a set of cotton clothes, every camp has a stove, and even hot water cannot be supplied around the clock... …

The harsh environment, severe cold weather, and tenacious enemies made the Tang army attrition serious. Every day, countless soldiers were frostbitten, wounded, or sick, and the wounded and sick battalions were overcrowded.

Coupled with the tenacious resistance of the Goguryeo army, the army was unable to end the war for a long time, which led to the gradual instability of the army and the rapid decline in morale...

This decadent atmosphere quickly spread in the army, but the general was helpless and helpless.

It's not that the Tang army was not elite enough and couldn't stand hard battles, but that fighting thousands of miles away from the mainland and under extremely cold conditions was itself a great challenge to the morale of the army, and war weariness was inevitable.If this war cannot be ended in the near future, the more it drags on, the more difficult the situation will be.

Even if Goguryeo can be destroyed in the end, such losses are definitely not what the generals in the army and even His Majesty Li Er would want to see.

……

There was a brazier burning in the tent of the Chinese army, and the fiery red charcoal fire made the inside of the tent warm.

Zhu Suiliang took off the steaming kettle from the stove and poured boiling water into the teapot. A fresh scent of tea came out immediately, which lifted the spirits.

Put the kettle aside, pour out the first brewed tea to clean the tea set, then fill the kettle with water again, after a while, fill the teacup with tea, and gently place it in front of His Majesty Li Er, who is reviewing the battle report.

The tea was fragrant, His Majesty Li Er put down the brush in his hand, took a deep sniff, then picked up the teacup, and took a shallow sip.

The cold wind blew outside the tent, making the doors and windows of the tent creak. His Majesty Li Er put down his teacup, frowning: "Soldiers are very hard to endure in such weather."

Zhu Suiliang said casually: "Your Majesty is a man of great talent, wisdom, and martial arts. It is the glory of every citizen of the Tang Dynasty to follow His Majesty in creating an unprecedented prosperity. No matter how difficult the conditions are, the whole army is happy. Your Majesty orders the direction of the flag, life and death without regret!"

"Ha ha……"

His Majesty Li Er smiled, shook his head without saying a word, picked up his teacup and drank tea.

How could he be ignorant of the negative atmosphere that has permeated the army recently?It's just that there is not much anger in my heart, but more worry and helplessness.

People are not sages. Soldiers serve as soldiers and eat food. Don’t tell them the truth of making contributions. After every battle, it is the greatest wish to go back alive. By the way, reducing taxes at home is a windfall.Making meritorious deeds, being promoted to rank, that is the truth of the generals in the army who are served by the children of the family, what has it to do with these soldiers?
The conditions are so difficult, the war is so difficult, it is extremely rare to be able to go this far and fight under the city of Ping Rang, and there is no need to be harsh.

As for Zhu Suiliang's remarks... Although His Majesty Li Er did not want to listen to it, he would not warn him either.

This talent is first-rate in learning, slightly inferior in character, but he is almost an idiot when it comes to politics. He doesn't know the responsibility and responsibility of being a close minister of the emperor. He only knows blindly flattery, which is really inferior.

No wonder Fang Jun and Xu Jingzong teamed up to bully him wantonly in the academy, but he was still crushed to death under the imperial order, unable to move at all.

This person is a lucky minister, but if he is given a heavy responsibility, it is really difficult to take on it...

Zhu Suiliang was busy sorting out the battle reports and memorials on the case, and cleaned up the messy case, and asked: "The temperature is getting colder today, will your majesty go to inspect the camp? Why don't you let the British princes go?" Every time he came back from inspecting the camp, His Majesty was so tired that he was about to fall apart, and this humble minister couldn't bear it."

His Majesty Li Er said indifferently: "Don't use remonstrance on this matter, prepare the cotton-padded cloak, and do it as usual later."

Since arriving outside Ping Rang City and the army set up camp, His Majesty Li Er led a group of generals to inspect the camp every now and then.This move is not to show the emperor's love for soldiers, but to stimulate morale and appease the morale of the army as much as possible. How can it be banned without reason?

Zhu Suiliang looked embarrassed, and dared not say more.

Feeling aggrieved, I don't understand why His Majesty Li Er often flattered Fang Jun and others with a smile, but he tried his best to search for flattery, but he still couldn't achieve that effect?

He went to the side and prepared His Majesty Li Er's cotton coat together with the servants. Footsteps could be heard outside the tent. After a while, Li Ji, the British Duke, walked into the tent in military uniform, and saluted: "The ministers and others have gathered and are waiting for His Majesty to patrol the camp." .”

His Majesty Li Er nodded and said: "Let's wait outside the tent, I will be there soon."

"Here."

Li Ji bowed and withdrew.

Because His Majesty Li Er was about to change clothes, and as a foreign minister he had to avoid it, Zhu Suiliang also went out with Li Ji.

The inner servant waited for His Majesty Li Er to put on the cotton-padded clothes, put on the armor outside, fasten the cloak, and put everything on.

His Majesty Li Er hung the sword on his waist, and when he was about to go out, he ordered: "Prepare the elixir, I will take it when I come back."

"...here."

The servant hesitated for a moment and had no choice but to agree.

He is just an eunuch, even if he wants to persuade him, how can he convince His Majesty?
His Majesty Li Er walked out of the tent, and the wind and snow came on his face, making it hard to keep his eyes open.Taking a deep breath, surrounded by the imperial guards, he went outside the gate of the camp. Seeing that Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, Yu Chigong and others were already waiting here, all wearing armor and flying capes, they nodded slightly.

"I have seen His Majesty!"

"Ah."

His Majesty Li Er responded, reached out to take the reins of the horse led by the guards, turned back on the horse and led the way, and walked towards the soldier camp in the distance.

There was a lot of snow, the nearby camps were cleaned by guards, there was only a thin layer on the ground, but when you stepped out of the tents of the Chinese army, you could see the thick snow covered the sky, not only the snow on the road did not reach the knees of the horses, but many camps were also covered by heavy snow. It was crushed and deformed. If the soldiers had not braved the severe cold to keep cleaning it, they might have been crushed and collapsed.

Li Ji rode from the side to speed up a few steps, one horse head behind His Majesty Li Er, and asked, "Your Majesty, where are you going to camp today?"

Hundreds of thousands of troops are scattered in a radius of tens of miles, and they adapt to local conditions. It is absolutely impossible to patrol one by one.

His Majesty Li Er thought for a while and said, "Go to the wounded and sick camp today."

"Here!"

Li Ji quickly responded, and turned around to call his own soldiers, wanting to order him to go to the wounded and sick camp first, and let him clean up there.

His Majesty Li Er waved his hand and said: "There is no need to do this. If you have notified in advance, there must be preparations there. What I see is not the real situation. What's the point of this inspection?"

Li Jixin said that besides boosting morale and calming the morale of the army, what is the point of your inspections?The army marched thousands of miles and fought fiercely for more than half a year. The difficulties that can be overcome have been overcome, and those that cannot be overcome, you, the emperor, can overcome them by turning around?

But naturally he didn't dare to say that, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the wounded and sick camp is no better than other places. The filth and filth everywhere is really dirty. If you don't clean it up in advance, it will be an eyesore."

His Majesty Li Er insisted: "No need, I have also charged into battle, what scene have I not seen? Let's go."

"Here."

Li Ji didn't dare to say any more, and led a group of generals and imperial guards, surrounded by His Majesty Li Er, braved the wind and snow all the way, and arrived at the wounded and sick camp under a hill after half an hour.

Before reaching the gate of the camp, one after another flatbed carts were seen rolling out of the camp from a distance, with two or three dead soldiers lying on each cart, and they were transported to a large pit blasted with gunpowder at the foot of the mountain beside them. Throw it away at will, and the cart returns to the camp.

Even though he once led a large army to charge into battle and was used to seeing life and death in bloody battles, His Majesty Li Er's heart would inevitably be touched at this moment.

These are all sons and daughters he brought from Guanzhong, all of them are full of vigor and energy, but now they are buried in a foreign land so silently.The parents, wife and children at home are looking forward to the victory of the army, but they don't know that the son of the family has already died in Liaodong, but they are afraid that even his soul may not be able to return to his hometown...

One will be a million bones.

(End of this chapter)