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

Chapter 299 Songzan: Once the Heavenly Khan Dies (Part )

On the south bank of Tongtian River, Lu Dongzan, dressed in armor, looked at the dozen or so Jingguans standing opposite with a terrifyingly grim expression.

Turning around, Lu Dongzan led hundreds of Guang troops behind him and headed towards the Subi capital Chamdo in the rear.

Compared with Yang Tong, Subi had already been annexed by Tubo.

The so-called country of women has long been a country dominated by men.

Inside the palace, a maid in a white translucent dress led Lu Dongzan, who lowered his head, into the depths of the palace.

More than a dozen figures retreated, and Lu Dongzan entered the hall and saw Songzan wearing a loose robe.

"Zanpu!" Lu Dongzan saluted earnestly, then bowed his head and said, "The Huanglangnong tribe has been completely wiped out. All males above the wheel were exiled to Baihai, where they struggled for half a month and died. The news spread throughout the Dangxiang, Yangtong, and Tuyuhun lands, and everyone was terrified. If they want to move again, I'm afraid we will have to do it ourselves."

Songtsen walked past Lu Dongzan, went out of the hall, and then overlooked the entire Chamdo.

Lu Dongzan followed quietly with a respectful look.

"The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty has never been very friendly to Tubo. This is not the first day. But I don't know why, but I always have a feeling that if Tubo sends troops to attack the Tang Dynasty now, it will probably play into their hands. Why do you think this is?" Songtsen turned slightly to the side.

Lu Dongzan pondered for a moment, then raised his brows and said, "Zanpu, it is rumored that there is a fierce struggle for imperial power in the Tang Dynasty. After Wei Wang Li Tai was deposed, Jin Wang Li Zhi emerged again.

If we take the initiative to stand against the Tang Dynasty at this time, the Khan may not hesitate to touch the Crown Prince due to external threats, and the Crown Prince's position will be more stable."

Songtsen nodded and said, "You have met the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. Do you think that if the Heavenly Khan dies one day, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty will be able to inherit the mantle of the Heavenly Khan?"

"Impossible!" Lu Dongzan shook his head and said, "No one in the world can succeed the Heavenly Khan. The Heavenly Khan is the only eagle bestowed by God in the world. Only the Zamp can inherit his mantle."

"Don't say such flattering words." Songtsen waved his hand, but his expression was very pleased. Then he became serious and said seriously: "The Khan is already forty-seven years old, almost fifty, and he still went to the bitter cold land of Liaodong to conquer. Isn't he afraid that his health will completely collapse?"

Lu Dongzan's expression changed slightly, then he bowed and clasped his hands without saying a word.

"The envoy of Goguryeo is still in Lhasa, right?" Songtsen raised his eyes and looked towards Liaodong.

"Yes!"

"The Xueyantuo and Western Turks have both been defeated, and now they're turning to us for help." Songtsen sneered, then asked, "Do you think Goguryeo can hold out this time?"

"That depends on the Heavenly Khan's goal," Lu Dongzan said, bowing. "If the Heavenly Khan intends to completely annihilate Goguryeo, then even breaking through Pingrang will be useless. The Goguryeo people will retreat into the mountains and continue to fight the Tang Dynasty for years. In this way, even if the Tang Dynasty wins, it will actually be defeated."

"If you can see the problem clearly, how can the Heavenly Khan not see it?" Songzan shook his head and said, "The Heavenly Khan may only need Goguryeo's submission. The main thing is to consider his health."

"Yes!" Lu Dongzan nodded in agreement.

The emperor is the most sensitive. Once he feels unwell, his mentality will be immediately affected. Especially if you are the ruler of a country, you may worry about your retreat at this time.

"The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is so smart!" Songzan pointed out the great benefits of Li Chengqian stirring up the Dangxiang issue at this time.

It gave the emperor an excuse to withdraw his troops and also made the emperor feel at ease with himself.

But fundamentally, Li Chengqian and Li Shimin shared the same fear of Tubo.

"Although the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is clever, he ultimately lacks the prestige of the Heavenly Khan." Lu Dongzan bowed and continued, "If something were to happen to the Heavenly Khan in the future, how many of the arrogant and powerful generals in the Tang Dynasty would be willing to obey? The four corners of the world, Goguryeo, Xueyantuo, Western Turks, and even Tuyuhun and Eastern Turks, would be ready to make a move."

Songtsen nodded slightly. Li Shimin was too powerful. The civil and military officials under him were also rare and powerful since ancient times. Once Li Shimin was gone, Prince Li Chengqian might not be able to suppress him.

Not to mention the foreign tribes defeated by Li Shimin. Goguryeo, Xueyantuo and Western Turks are naturally needless to say. The key is Tuyuhun and Eastern Turks, especially the Eastern Turks.

The Turks live within the Great Wall. If there is any change, they will immediately head straight to Chang'an.

"Send someone to Chang'an to keep an eye on the Tang Crown Prince." Songtsen turned and walked into the palace, saying, "And Yang Tong's little prince. I don't want him to be alive."

"Here!"

……

In early July, a layer of autumn frost had formed on both sides of the Taedong River.

Countless thick boots crushed the autumn frost on the dry grass, then boarded the warships, crossed the Taedong River, and headed towards Pyeongrang City.

Countless boulders rolled across the sky, crossbow arrows flew, and warships were overturned by catapults on the shore when they were halfway through their sprint.

Even if a few ships rushed to the shore, they would immediately fall into the trap pits on the shore, and then be pierced by sharp wooden stakes and bleed to death.

The opposite bank of the river was covered with dense traps.

Li Shimin stood on the north bank, watching all this with indifference. His gaze looked into the distance and fell on the top of Pingrang City. A general wearing strange armor covering his entire body but with sharp eyes looked over at the same time.

On the south bank of the Taedong River is the calm and powerful Pyeongrang City, and on the north bank of the Taedong River are tens of thousands of Tang Dynasty soldiers, ready for battle at any time.

A month after arriving at the north bank of the Taedong River, Li Shimin, apart from firmly defending the north bank of the Taedong River, did not launch a major offensive against Pingrang City except for a few rare attempts.

The Goguryeo people's defenses along the Taedong River were far more extensive than those along the Yalu River, which for a moment reminded Li Shimin of the time when he conquered Luoyang.

Of course, the key reason why Li Shimin attacked Luoyang was because Wang Shichong was in internal chaos, which gave him an opportunity to take advantage of people's hearts. In addition, the soldiers under his command were powerful. But even so, it took a full seven months from the beginning of the siege of Luoyang to Wang Shichong leaving the city to surrender.

If we include the time spent attacking all the forces in Luoyang, it took him more than ten months.

In the entire Goguryeo today, the only road that Li Shimin had opened up was the 400-mile plain road from the Yalu River to the Taedong River. In the deeper mountainous areas in the east, there were countless Goguryeo soldiers hiding, ready to rush out from the mountains at any time and give him a fierce blow.

It was far from an easy task to completely conquer Goguryeo's three or four million people.

The Pingrang City in front of us is also not so easy to take.

Li Shimin glanced at the top of the city wall with a cold expression. If nothing unexpected happened, that person should be Gai Suwen.

Li Shimin snorted in his heart and his eyes fell on the Taedong River.

Although there were many ships impacting the river, they were not actually organized.

Although many soldiers fell into the water, they quickly floated up again, glanced at the other side, and then swam back to the north bank without any hesitation.

Yes, I swam back again.

Li Shimin once issued an imperial decree that after falling into the water, one does not need to continue swimming to the other side, but can just return.

Across the Taedong River, the Tang army's offensive was scattered, with more than a dozen locations. It didn't seem like they were attacking a city, but more like they were testing the strength of the defense on the other side.

Two hours later, Li Shimin waved his hand slightly.

The sound of a gong suddenly rang out behind me.

"Boom boom boom!"

The ships on the Taedong River immediately retreated to the north bank.

Li Shimin had been staring at the city wall on the north bank. After his soldiers retreated, there was no sign of pursuit in Pingrang City.

"Gai Suwen still has some tricks up his sleeve." Li Shimin waved his hand, then turned and walked towards the military camp in the distance.

……

In the central military tent, Li Shimin sat on a long couch.

Zhangsun Wuji, Li Ji, Li Daozon, Li Daliang and others stood on both sides.

Li Shimin raised his head and asked calmly, "How is the situation with Niu Jinda now?"

Zhangsun Wuji bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Langya has already entered the mountains and captured seven cities, but his pace has slowed down a lot now."

The Tang Dynasty deployed its troops on the north bank of the Taedong River, and their biggest fear was that Goguryeo would emerge from the mountains and cut off their retreat.

Only the western part of Goguryeo was a small strip of plain, while the eastern part was a series of horizontal mountain ranges.

The terrain here is perfect for luring the enemy deep into our territory.

Especially when winter comes early, once heavy snow blocks the roads and logistics are cut off, the situation will immediately become passive.

The key is people's hearts. Once the food supply is cut off, people's hearts will be in chaos first.

Therefore, even when Yang Guang reached the city of Pingrang during his third eastern expedition, he was finally "forced" to accept Goguryeo's "surrender." After he withdrew his troops, the Goguryeo people immediately turned their backs on him.

Now that Li Shimin personally entered Pingrang City, he realized how difficult it was to conquer it.

Li Shimin looked up and continued to ask, "How is it at sea?"

"Baekje's navy, relying on their familiarity with the sea, has suffered repeated defeats, but Yan Lide will find it difficult to completely defeat them." After a brief pause, Li Ji bowed and said, "According to the captives, Baekje will soon receive 5,000 reinforcements from Pyeongrang City."

"Baekje!" Li Shimin nodded slightly and said calmly, "It seems that I have really overlooked Baekje."

In the opposite Pingrang City, there were many soldiers from Baekje, who made up for a lot of the blood loss caused by Goguryeo's defeat in Liaodong.

"Pass the order down..." Li Shimin had just begun to speak when Cen Wenben quickly entered the tent. He then bowed to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news from Chang'an."

Li Shimin raised his hand slightly, took the memorial, opened it and read it, then sneered softly, "The Tibetans are also starting to get restless."

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji, Li Ji, and all the ministers in the tent bowed.

Li Shimin waved his hand slightly and handed the memorial to Zhang Ananda, who walked down and handed the memorial to the ministers.

Zhang Sun Wuji opened it and took a look. He was immediately surprised and said in a low voice: "The prince did a good job... although there are some flaws."

(End of this chapter)