Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 551 Bamboo Armor, Panic

"General, most of the refugees in the city have been settled. There are many brave men who are willing to follow us to fight against the King of Baekje. There are more than 5,800 people recorded in the register."

"Besides that, the food and grass in the granary are almost gone. I estimate that it will only last for about ten days at most..."

Kodo listened quietly to his men's report.

Xiongjin was taken, but at the same time, all affairs within Xiongjin had to be handled properly.

Because of the war between the two countries, a large number of refugees gathered in Xiongjin, which meant that the food in the Xiongjin granary was simply not enough to feed so many people and horses.

The daily consumption amount is an astronomical figure.

Secondly, the newcomers who are willing to join them and follow them south to conquer the King of Baekje will also need to be equipped with some weapons and protective gear.

This was undoubtedly another troublesome matter for Xiongjin, which had only a few thousand defenders.

Even if the craftsmen in the city were arranged to work day and night, it would be impossible to get as many leather armor protective gear as possible for these new recruits before they set off.

New recruits without armor are just cannon fodder on the battlefield.

What's worse, they are not even as good as cannon fodder.

The reason for saying this is that people who are protected by armor can rely on the defense of the armor to block the incoming arrows, thereby greatly ensuring the safety of the lives of the recruits.

If I didn't have armor on, I would die the moment I met him.

Even if they recruited 5,000 or 10,000 new soldiers now, what would it matter?

Not only will you fall asleep as soon as you lie down on the battlefield, it will also greatly affect the morale of your own soldiers, which will do you more harm than good.

"How many leather armors have the craftsmen in the city made now?"

Compared to the real armor with three layers inside and three layers outside, it is extremely rare for ordinary soldiers to have a set of leather armor for protection, not to mention these recruits.

Even people like Kodo were only wearing thicker iron armor.

In order to facilitate riding and shooting, many cavalrymen mostly wore soft leather armor, which greatly ensured the speed and strength of riding and shooting.

"General, the craftsmen in the city have created more than 1,200 pieces of leather armor."

"Because leather armor is time-consuming and labor-intensive to manufacture, coupled with a shortage of materials, the production speed is relatively slow."

"In addition, we stripped off the armor of the defenders, but because some of the defenders buried their armor in advance or escaped from Xiongjin, there are only 2,000 sets of armor that can be used at present."

Kodo couldn't help but sigh, it was still too little.

Even if there were two thousand sets of leather armor, it would still not be enough for the five thousand new recruits.

and.

These new recruits know nothing about warfare and I'm afraid they won't be able to display any combat effectiveness once they go to the battlefield.

"Has the prince received any letter?"

"Report..."

Just as Kodo asked this question, a soldier rushed in from outside.

"General, this is a letter from the prince."

"Great."

Kodo's eyes lit up, he raised his hand to take the letter and opened it to read.

"I have received General Kodo's letter. First of all, congratulations on successfully taking over Xiongjin and recruiting brave men..."

The letter began with Su Chen's congratulations, but Kodo didn't pay attention to it and instead focused his attention on the following.

"Regarding your recruitment of new soldiers and the lack of armor, I have an idea."

"At this time of year, green bamboo is growing vigorously. We can arrange for people to cut down green bamboo and process the old bamboo to transform it into simple armor..."

Green bamboo changes to armor?

Bamboo armor?

Kodo's eyes lit up.

Yes.

Mature bamboo is also strong enough to withstand being cut by swords.

If it is cut into small pieces, tied together with ropes and carried on the body, it may be a defensive weapon!
and.

Compared with the materials and craftsmanship of leather armor.

Bamboo is a very common thing. It can be found growing in wealthy families, wastelands outside the city, or ordinary people's homes. There is no such thing as a shortage of materials!

At the same time, cutting bamboo and transforming it into bamboo armor is much easier than leather armor!
It may take three to five masters and half a day to make a set of leather armor, but to make a set of bamboo armor, only one master and a few workers are needed!

As long as there are enough materials, perhaps hundreds of pieces of bamboo armor can be made within a day!
"The prince is truly extraordinary."

Unexpectedly, the trouble that was difficult to solve on his side was just a trivial matter in Su Chen's eyes.

Kodo continued to look, wanting to see where Su Chen and the others had arrived.

"The news that the King of Silla wanted to surrender had spread throughout Silla, causing officials and garrisons in various places to adopt a policy of non-resistance when facing our army. As a result, our troops were able to move forward unhindered and successfully entered the territory of Shangzhou."

"The King of Baekje was determined to resist the general of the Celestial Empire. He deserved to die. We can sympathize with him, but when necessary, we must kill him and make an example of him!"

Although there were not many words in the following text, Kodo could sense the strong murderous intent coming towards him.

According to Su Chen, if the officials and defenders in the city were unwilling to surrender, even if Kodo massacred the city, Su Chen would not blame them.

If the soldiers under Kodo encounter trouble, they can also ask them for help.

of course.

This was Su Chen’s last words, and Kodo also saw some clues from this sentence.

The prince doesn't want reinforcements!
Su Chen didn't want to rush to their aid, perhaps because of the attitude of the King of Silla, or perhaps he didn't want to waste his troops.

But since Su Chen said this, it means that when lives are at stake, Su Chen will lead his troops to come to the rescue.

But if Su Chen really led his troops to come to the rescue, Kodo felt that his position as general would be over.

The King of Baekje.

You are really looking for death!

Why did you have to offend anyone else, but such a big villain!

Kodo smiled and put away the letter, then said in a deep voice: "Come here, pass on the general's order to have people cut down old bamboos and send them to the masters, so that they can transform these bamboos into bamboo armor!"

"Bamboo armor?"

"Correct!"

Kodo smiled and said, "During the Three Kingdoms period, Mr. Zhuge Kongming once used bamboo to make bamboo armor, and now the prince also wants this."

"It takes a long time to make leather armor, but bamboo armor is relatively easy."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Everyone was amazed.

Keduo said in a deep voice: "Lan Duolin."

"The humble position is here."

"I order you to lead a thousand soldiers to Sibi and secure it."

"What do you mean, General?"

Lan Duolin raised his eyebrows and looked over.

Kodo sneered and said, "Three days, three days later, I will lead 50,000 elite soldiers to attack Sibi De'an."

"If they know what's good for them and open the city gates to welcome our army, I can spare their lives. But if they don't know what's good for them, I will kill them!"

"I understand the humble position!"

Lan Duolin grinned and turned away immediately.

"Okay, let's get busy. We will send troops to Sibi in three days!"

……

Three days passed in a flash. Ten thousand new soldiers, wearing armor, looked at Kodo eagerly.

New recruits always crave merit.

Even though these new recruits have just arrived and even though they only have brute force, once they go to the battlefield and make achievements, things will be very different.

and.

They had long heard that the meritorious service of the Tang Dynasty would be immediately bestowed upon them.

Once you have made great military achievements, wouldn't rewards follow?

They can even replace the wealthy and powerful people who originally oppressed them!

"Although you are all citizens of Baekje, from the moment you abandoned darkness and joined light, you became citizens of the Tang Dynasty."

"Today, you will follow me to fight against those who are disloyal. If you make great achievements in the future, I will ensure that you will have food and clothing without worries, you are the children of Mengyin!"

"Everyone, follow my orders and march to Sabi!"

"Yes!"

Everyone shouted in unison.

Led by sergeants wearing leather armor, the new recruits marched in an orderly manner towards Sibi.

Although these sergeants were all wearing leather armor, the recruits did not have much resistance because these sergeants had earned their titles through their own abilities.

It can be said that every sergeant is the strongest in the team in terms of personal ability.

It is also because of this that they can wear leather armor.

As for other people, they mostly use bamboo armor.

When Kodo led an army of 30,000 and marched towards Sibi, the officials in Sibi city were on edge.

Because two days ago, they saw the cavalry passing through their Sibi with a proud attitude.

These people did not conceal their whereabouts at all, as if they were afraid that they would not be able to detect them. They came to the city of Sibi, left with arrogant words, and left.

Either surrender or wait for the city to be destroyed and everyone to die.

There are only three days.

If there is no reply within three days, Kodo will lead an army of 50,000 to the city of Sibi!

Everyone was nervous for a moment because of Lan Duolin's harsh words.

after all.

Xiongjin has fallen into Kodo's hands, and their next stop is Sabi.

Moreover, the King of Baekje ordered an all-out resistance to the Tang army's attack, which resulted in many people in their city clamoring to fight the Tang army to the death.

These people argued that the Tang army had only 20,000 soldiers and that Baekje was a large country with a strong people. As long as their reinforcements arrived in Sabi, Kodo's 20,000 cavalry would not be a concern.

As for the 50,000 elite soldiers mentioned by Lan Duolin, it was nothing but nonsense from Kodo.

If Kodo really had 50,000 elite soldiers, then Su Chen would have had a lot of troops under his command, and they would have reached Jincheng by now.

Why would he still be lingering in Shangzhou?
"Report!"

"Your Excellency, we have received news from the front that Kodo is leading at least 30,000 elite soldiers and is heading towards Sibi."

"Thirty thousand elite soldiers?"

All the officials in Sibi City were stunned.

Didn't Kodo only bring 20,000 cavalrymen with him when he went south this time? How come the number of his troops increased instead of decreased after they captured Xiongjin?

This is unreasonable!

“Is the news true?”

"Absolutely true!"

"That's not right. Why does Kodo have an extra 10,000 soldiers?"

"Reporting to the Sima, the reason why Kodo has an extra 10,000 soldiers is because Kodo used sweet words to deceive the people of Xiongjin, causing many people to be fooled by him and then surrender to him."

"These 10,000 soldiers are the brave men that Kodo has recruited during this period of time. They are not elite soldiers who have seen blood on the battlefield."

"...?"

Everyone was stunned.

In just a few days, Kodo recruited 10,000 soldiers in Xiongjin?
Isn't this too scary?
After receiving the order from the King of Baekje, they recruited able-bodied men in the city and surrounding villages and towns to resist the southward advance of the Tang army, but so far there are only more than a thousand people.

How did Kodo recruit 10,000 soldiers in such a short time?

Why?

"Bastard!"

"A bunch of fools!"

Sima was furious.

In the face of national justice, these people were unwilling to assist them in resisting the Tang army, but instead helped the Tang army attack them!

Who can bear this?

Isn't it obvious that they are a group of traitors?

"No wonder Lan Duolin is so confident..."

Someone whispered softly.

With 30,000 elite soldiers behind them, even if they were unhappy with Lan Duolin and wanted to kill him, it would be difficult to keep them completely since Lan Duolin and others were all cavalry.

Instead, they failed to kill them, which caused Lan Duolin to bring in a large number of troops to retaliate against them severely.

"Everyone..."

The governor of Sibi spoke slowly, "Now that Kodo has led his troops to attack us, the enemy outnumbers us, what should we do?"

Faced with the governor's question, everyone fell silent.

Even those officials who had been clamoring to fight the Tang army to the death remained silent at this time.

Thirty thousand troops.

Even though there are 10,000 soldiers here, who are brave men newly recruited, they should not be underestimated.

In addition, Kodo also has 20,000 elite cavalry!
Previously, Kodo had no infantry to rely on and had difficulty in attacking the city. However, to their surprise, they had captured Xiongjin first. Now, they had another 10,000 infantry among their soldiers, and the difficulty of attacking the city was greatly reduced. Could the 6,000 soldiers in Sabi City really withstand Kodo's 30,000 troops?
Difficult, difficult, difficult.

Everyone shook their heads and sighed secretly.

"My lord, it would be better to surrender."

An official whispered, "The Tang army is powerful and aggressive. How can the defenders in Sibi City resist their fierce force?"

"Besides, Kodo didn't kill anyone in large numbers after he conquered Xiongjin. If we surrender, we may be able to save our lives."

"If we surrender, how can we repay the king's kindness?"

Sima said coldly: "Kodo only has 30,000 troops. As long as we hold Sibi and wait until the reinforcements arrive, we will definitely be able to stop them."

Ha ha.

Some shook their heads and laughed, while others lowered their heads and remained silent.

The governor of Sibi pondered for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, he saw a soldier running in hurriedly.

"My lord, something is wrong."

"De'an has surrendered and voluntarily hung up the Tang army's flag. The soldiers we sent over for help have been captured by them."

"what?"

For a moment, everyone could no longer sit still.

De'an surrendered!
Will he join forces with the Tang army to attack Sibi from both sides?

When this thought came to mind, fear, terror, and all kinds of emotions arose in everyone's hearts.

(End of this chapter)