Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 265: Li Shimin: Cross the River, Recapture Liaodong, and Defeat Goguryeo! (First Update)
In a blink of an eye, it is already the sixth day of February.

On the banks of the Liao River, the remaining snow has disappeared.

There was a heavy snowfall half a month ago, but a snow rain three days ago turned all the frozen snow into ice.

As the temperature has risen in the past few days, a lot of ice and snow have melted into the ground, but some residual ice can still be seen.

A thin mist gently covered the sky and gradually dissipated as the sun rose higher.

Hundreds of cavalrymen were observing the freezing conditions of the Liao River on the banks.

The Goguryeo soldiers on the opposite bank watched with mockery from the east bank hundreds of feet away, and made provocative gestures from time to time.

The Liao River is half frozen and half free in winter, and large pieces of ice often flow down from upstream.

Last winter, the Tang Dynasty sent people to try to cross the river, but it was too cold. The boat was broken, and the people could not hold their weapons before they crossed the river.

So several attempts to cross the river ended in failure.

They even tried it every once in a while, and the Goguryeo soldiers on the other side had already gotten used to it.

A general in red and golden armor glanced at the other side, then left half of his men behind and took the other half with him, galloping back.

The mist gradually dissipated, but it was still difficult to see people in the distance.

When the Goguryeo soldiers on the other side of the river could not see the golden-armored general clearly, a few miles away, opposite the golden-armored general, there were already 20,000 densely packed cavalrymen, ready for battle.

Under the black banner, Li Shimin, dressed in black clothes and black armor, looked indifferently at the edge of the Liao River at the edge of the mist.

From where he was, he could not see any signs of the other side of the river, and similarly, the Goguryeo people on the other side could not see him clearly.

Behind him, countless soldiers bowed their heads with solemn expressions.

The cavalry general in red and golden armor stopped in front of Li Shimin, clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty, the Goguryeo people are unaware of anything."

"Su Qing, can we cross the river?" Li Shimin looked at him dimly.

"Yes!" Su Dingfang nodded affirmatively.

Li Shimin looked to the left and asked, "Duke Liang, what's the situation upstream?"

Li Xiaoyi, the General of the Imperial Guards and Duke of Liang, rode forward and said, "Your Majesty, the land upstream is frozen, making it difficult to dig."

"That is to say, they can't open the dam and release water in a short time?" Li Shimin raised his head slightly.

"Yes!" Li Xiaoyi cupped his hands and said, "I've tried it, and it gets harder the further down you go."

Li Shimin nodded, then looked to the right and asked, "Wuji, tell me, why did I cross the river in advance?"

Changsun Wuji urged his horse forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, if the mud were to thaw in April or May, not only would it be easy for water to accumulate and release, but the land beneath our feet would also easily turn into a swamp, making it difficult to move forward or backward. But now, all we need is to cross the river. It will be easy, and not only will the enemy remain unnoticed, but the hidden dams upstream will also be difficult to release."

"The timing, the location, and the people are all right." Li Shimin raised his head, took a deep breath, and spoke loudly. "The entire Goguryeo army facing us now would never have thought that I would cross the Liao River at this time... If we cross the Liao River now and march straight into Liaodong City, we can cut off Goguryeo's north-south communication, block the passage to Bisha City, and completely recapture all of Liaodong."

"Yes!" Countless soldiers bowed in unison.

Li Shimin turned to look at the Minister of War Li Ji behind him and asked, "Have Qu Zhisheng, Ashina Mishe, Zhishi Sili, and Zhang Junyi all been notified?"

Li Ji stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, everyone has been notified. We will all cross the river simultaneously in half an hour."

"Very good." Li Shimin nodded gently, then said calmly: "Zhang Shigui, Li Dao Zong!"

"I'm here!" Zhang Shigui and Li Daozon immediately rode forward and bowed.

"I order you two to cross the river with Duke Yingguo. After crossing the river, all marching orders must be obeyed by Duke Yingguo's command and you must not act rashly." Li Shimin's last sentence was unusually cold and stern.

"Yes!" Zhang Shigui and Li Daozon accepted the order solemnly.

In this battle, Li Ji, the Minister of War, was the commander-in-chief of the army, which was divided into five groups. Qu Zhisheng, Ashina Mishe, Zhishishili and Zhang Junyi were assigned to provide cover for the four groups. The real core force was only Li Ji's group.

Zhang Shigui, Li Daozon, and Su Dingfang all obeyed Li Ji's orders.

"Has the ferry arrived?" Li Shimin asked calmly.

Minister of Works Li Daliang immediately stepped forward and said, "We have already arrived along the Daling River."

The emperor looked up and said, "Let go of the boat!"

"Yes!" Li Daliang bowed, then turned to look at Jiang Xingben on the side and said, "Let go of the boat!"

"Yes!" Jiang Xingben bowed, then rode quickly towards the Daling River.

Under the banner, the emperor watched calmly, and more people waited solemnly.

……

Half an hour later, dozens of ferry boats appeared on the river.

At this time, the Goguryeo people on the other side seemed to have realized something was wrong and started shouting.

At this time, the world became strangely quiet.

Li Shimin, dressed in black and black armor, stood under the great banner, gripping the black hilt of his sword tightly before slowly drawing it out and raising it to the sky. He then shouted loudly: "Kill across the Liao River, kill into Liaodong City, and kill through Goguryeo."

"Kill across the Liao River, kill into Liaodong City, and kill through Goguryeo." Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted at the same time, and in the distance, the same loud shouts rang out.

The Goguryeo people on the other side finally realized that something was wrong here and started to move in panic, but it was too late.

Li Shimin pointed his sword towards the Liao River and shouted angrily, "Kill!"

"Kill!" With this order, countless Tang Dynasty cavalrymen began to rush madly towards the middle of Liaoshui River.

The sound of panicked gongs and drums came from the opposite bank, but at this time, half of the ferry boats had rushed over directly from upstream and quickly docked between the Goguryeo people's stone city.

All the soldiers on the ferry were armed with shields and crossbows. The moment they landed, they formed a complete shield formation, and then slowly moved downstream to the actual landing site.

At the same time, the other half of the ferries had already stopped at the simple pier on the west bank, and the ferries were quickly connected one after another, and finally completely locked together with iron pins.

Four strong men jumped off the front ferry, then carried four iron ropes and ran quickly to the shore.

Then, wooden stakes were nailed into the reserved circle, completely pinning down the ferry boat in front.

Hurry up.

Ferry after ferry was locked with iron chains and quickly connected to the other side. The ferry on the other side did the same thing, securing the dock in a very short time, and then quickly led the floating bridge formed by the ferry boats to the center of the Liao River.

The bridges on both sides quickly connected and merged.

There were people standing at the bow looking at the opposite side, holding a wooden stick in their hands to adjust the direction forward.

Countless Tang Dynasty cavalrymen did not even dismount but directly climbed onto the ferry bridge.

Countless Goguryeo people rushed over from the other side in panic, trying to stop the Tang soldiers from landing, but unfortunately, the soldiers guarding the ferry, holding crossbows in their hands, shot to death all those who tried to approach.

They only had shields and crossbows, and did not attack. Instead, they stayed behind the shield formation and shot the countless crossbow arrows they carried again and again.

The dense crossbow arrows killed any Goguryeo who tried to approach on the way.

Not only that, some of the ferries that had been locked on even took out their Fuyuan crossbows and kept shooting at Goguryeo in the distance.

Nearly a thousand people died on the east coast.

Blood flowed all over the floor.

The ground was covered with the corpses of Goguryeo people.

It is only the sixth day of February, the weather is freezing cold, and the Liao River has just thawed. Many Goguryeo people are still resting in the Stone City.

The bows, crossbows and weapons were still in the treasury. When they finally reacted and rushed out, the bridges on both sides had been completely locked with a "bang".

The iron chains on both sides of the dock were stretched straight, as if they would break at any moment.

Countless cavalrymen rushed along the completed bridge in an instant, and in the blink of an eye they had already entered the Goguryeo camp on the opposite bank.

Thousands of cavalrymen swept across the plain, and tens of thousands of cavalrymen rushed to Liaocheng.

War horses rushed past the black banner and headed straight for the other side of the Liao River.

In a very short time, they broke through the so-called "Great Wall" of Goguryeo and then divided their troops into three groups.

Su Dingfang led his troops to attack Liaodong City, Li Daozon headed towards Beisha City, and Zhang Shigui headed further north.

Li Ji stayed on the shore and began to command his cavalry to clear out all the Goguryeo people on both sides of the Great Wall.

Li Shimin stood atop the great banner and whispered, "Sever the connection between Goguryeo and Liaodong, strangle and recruit all Goguryeo soldiers in Liaodong, capture Liaodong City, and recapture Liaodong. This will serve as the base for our offensive against Changbai Mountain and Pingrang next year."

In one year, he completely took over the entire Liaodong region. The next year, he invaded the Goguryeo mainland, captured Pingrang, and destroyed the entire Goguryeo region.

This was Li Shimin’s plan.

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji glanced at Li Daliang, Niu Jinda, Cen Wenben, Liu Li, and the others before turning to the emperor and saying, "Goguryeo meticulously planned for eighteen years to build a Liaohe River defense line, and it was broken almost instantly. But, Your Majesty, the real difficulty of this battle lies in Liaodong City. Liaodong City is high and has deep moats. I'm afraid it will take some effort."

"No rush, let's see what Li Ji can do first." Li Shimin raised his head, looked at Zhangsun Wuji with a bit of amusement, and said, "Don't worry, I won't rush to the front easily."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji breathed a sigh of relief. During this eastern expedition, what he and the prince were most worried about was that the emperor would act rashly.

Once something happens to the emperor, the world will be in chaos.

Li Shimin turned around and said calmly, "I will be in charge of the rear army, transporting food, weapons, and soldiers. Only when the most critical moment comes will I rush to the front and kill the most powerful enemy."

The emperor spoke calmly and confidently, and even Changsun Wuji didn't know what to say for a moment.

……

In March, when the warblers are in full bloom,

Chang'an City, Wude Hall.

Countless people were coming and going inside and outside the hall.

Zhang Xuansu, Ma Zhou, Linghu Defen, Pei Xuanji, Zhang Daxiang, Zhao Hongzhi, Gao Zhenxing, Feng Yandao and others sat on both sides of the hall, reviewing the official documents sent in from outside and then sending them into the inner hall.

In the inner hall, Li Chengqian stood in front of a sand table, looking at the map of Liaodong in front of him with a solemn expression.

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yang Shidao, Xiao Yu, Yu Zhining, Yuchi Jingde, Zheng Rentai, Li Anyan, Zuo Kuangzheng and others stood on both sides.

Cui Dunli, the Vice Minister of War, stood beside Li Chengqian and pointed at the sand table. He said, "On the tenth day of the second month, Su Dingfang, the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, led his troops into Liaodong City. However, His Majesty ordered them to only enter the city gates and then withdraw quickly."

"Why?" Xiao Yu couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Ever since Su Dingfang arrived at Liaodong City on the tenth day of the second month, Liaodong City has not sent any troops to support the other cities." Cui Dunli pointed north of Liaodong and said, "As of now, the army has marched for over forty days. Xincheng, Xuanchu, Nansu, and dozens of other cities north of Liaodong City have all fallen to the Tang Dynasty."

"Half of Liaodong has already fallen into the hands of the Tang Dynasty. This is the result of my father's order to Su Dingfang not to attack Liaodong City." Li Chengqian looked at the location of Liaodong City on the sand table, nodded slowly, and said, "The Liaodong City garrison dared not send troops out of the city."

"Yes!" Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "Your Majesty wants to send troops immediately in early spring, not only to take advantage of the still-frozen ground, but also to seize the opportunity. Once the ground thaws, you can quickly organize the people to plant crops. This way, by autumn, with the income from food and fodder, the pressure on Chang'an will be greatly reduced."

"With 3,000 troops, we were able to contain Liaodong City and capture most of Liaodong. My father's military strategy is truly amazing." Li Chengqian couldn't help but admire it.

Cui Dunli, who was standing behind Li Chengqian, couldn't help but glance at Fang Xuanling, and Fang Xuanling shook his head slightly.

In fact, all the military affairs now are planned by Li Ji, but since the prince praises the emperor, they can't say anything.

"Liaodong is a crucial city. Yang Guang once lingered here for a long time." Cui Dunli paused briefly before continuing, "According to the latest military report, after the Duke of Ying arrived at Liaodong City, he launched a siege, but with limited success. Meanwhile, Jiangxia King Li Daozong led his troops south to Beisha City, but was also blocked in Anshi City. The navy has yet to arrive."

"This situation is difficult!" Li Chengqian nodded and sighed, then turned to look at the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, Liaodong is currently short of various supplies. The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works must mobilize them without any hindrance. We must ensure that Liaodong has a good harvest this autumn. This way, we will have a much easier time after autumn."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

"Also, there are many fewer young and strong people this year, especially in Guanzhong and Henan." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "I think we can organize the people who have finished farming to go to the homes of those who haven't finished farming and help with planting. After the autumn harvest, they can help with the harvest, which can offset the labor they will have to do in a year or two."

"Your Highness is wise!" Fang Xuanling bowed, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "But if this is the case, I'm afraid the laborers in the north won't be enough in a year or two."

The labor service over the past two years has already caused a large number of young and strong people to go to the Northeast. Now that the people who remain in the local area are asked to use labor to offset farming, it will be even more difficult in two years.

"Duke Liang, that's not how it works." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "If the harvests are poor this year, the court will inevitably have to provide relief during the autumn harvest, not to mention next year. The court will have to pay a lot over the next two years. But if we use two years of forced labor to increase grain production this year, the autumn tax will also increase. In two years, we can use this money to recruit civilians for labor, and the court will actually not lose money."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "At least in the next two years, it will be easier."

"Your Highness is wise." Fang Xuanling immediately bowed and looked at Li Chengqian carefully.

Was this sophisticated way of governing really thought up by the prince?

(End of this chapter)