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

Chapter 302: Destroy their farms, burn their forests, and don't let any of them go to sea (Part )

South bank of the Yalu River.

A city with a radius of about three miles stands tall on the bank of the river.

Behind the city, three floating bridges connect to the city on the opposite bank.

A large number of soldiers retreated from the bridge to the north bank of the Yalu River.

Li Shimin, wearing black armor, stood on the top of the city wall, gazing into the distance.

Countless cavalrymen rushed out from the end of the sight, and after a moment, they had already rushed to the bottom of the city.

The burly general in black armor soon stood before the emperor.

There was still a lot of blood splattered on his body.

Li Shimin looked at the general in front of him and nodded with satisfaction, "Duke Lu, how is it?"

Xue Wanjun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it was a satisfying kill."

"Hahahaha!" Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The ministers behind him also laughed.

After rushing over from Pingzhou, Xue Wanjun, the governor of Pingzhou, had been recuperating in the city of Danzhou at his feet. It was not until the emperor ordered him to retreat that he set up an ambush at the chosen location.

Gaisuwen is not easy.

He was right. Once the army started to retreat, it would be very difficult to turn around.

It is still too early to retreat now. If we retreat after a while when the ground is covered with snow, Gai Suwen will send people to chase us, and we don’t know what kind of defeat we will face.

The example of Yang Guang is right there.

When the Former Sui Dynasty attacked Goguryeo, the heaviest casualties occurred not on the way to attack Goguryeo, but during the withdrawal.

Li Shimin learned a lot of lessons from this.

Li Shimin suppressed his smile, patted Xue Wanjun on the shoulder, and said, "Duke Lu, you stay here for another month. Go out and fight every now and then. I want Goguryeo to be completely unable to stand firm in the 400-li land between the Yalu River and the Taedong River."

"Yes!" Xue Wanjun bowed solemnly.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and looked to the side: "Duke of Langya County."

Niu Jinda immediately stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin nodded and said, "I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the Pingrang Road Army and the governor of Danzhou. You will lead an army of 10,000 and station them in Danzhou City, along the line from Wugu City to Beisha City."

"I obey your order!" Niu Jinda bowed solemnly.

Li Shimin looked up at the plain before him and the mountains to the east, and whispered, "I order you to send a small force deep into Goguryeo territory every month starting from next year, starting when the weather warms up, to harass their borders, causing their people to run around and waste their farming time. I want them to suffer from famine every year for the next few years."

"Here!"

"Su Dingfang." Li Chengqian looked to the side.

"I'm here!" Su Dingfang immediately stood up and bowed.

"I appoint you General of the Left Garrison, Commander-in-Chief of the Front Army of Pingrang Road, to guard the Yalu River. I demand that no Goguryeo be seen on either side of the Yalu River." Li Shimin looked eastward toward the forested mountains and whispered, "As for the Goguryeo people deep in the mountains, they will inevitably go in to forage for winter supplies. If they are few in number, we will kill them; if they are many, we will burn the mountains."

"Yes!" Su Dingfang nodded seriously.

"Mountains!" Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh.

If it weren't for the rolling mountains and the boundless expanse, he might have really burned down all the forests.

"Liu Demin!" Li Shimin looked to the other side.

"I'm here." A general in a green robe and silver armor, not very tall, stood up.

"I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the navy of Pingrang Road, commanding all the navy. When the weather warms up, set out to harass the Goguryeo sea border and destroy all the ships launched from the mouth of the Yalu River to the mouth of the Taedong River. I want them not to go out to sea with a single piece of wood, and not to get any fish from the sea." Li Shimin's eyes were fierce.

"I obey your order." Liu Demin bowed solemnly.

At this time, the ministers also understood that what the emperor wanted was that all Goguryeo people within the 400 miles from the Yalu River to the Taedong River would be unable to survive.

He didn't want the Goguryeo people. If they entered the Tang Dynasty, they would consume the Tang Dynasty's food and they were not very loyal.

Therefore, he wanted to drive them all to the south of the Taedong River, increasing the survival burden of the people in that area.

We cannot do without food, we must have food.

But some people have it and some don’t, which will cause the greatest conflict.

"Su Xu!" Li Shimin looked to the side and behind him.

"I'm here!" Su Xu stepped forward and bowed.

"I appoint you as Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army of Pingrang Road. You, the Andong Protectorate, will be responsible for transporting Pingrang Road's grain and fodder from Yingzhou." Li Shimin turned to look at Su Xu and said, "Next year, Liaodong may need to have some grain and fodder transported from the court. The year after that, I will require Liaodong to be self-sufficient in grain and fodder. The year after that, you will be supporting the front line."

"I understand." Su Xu bowed seriously.

"Tang Jian!" Li Shimin spoke again.

"I'm here!" Tang Jian stepped forward and bowed.

"After returning to the court, organize grain ships to sell large amounts of high-priced grain from Jiangnan to Baekje every year." Li Shimin's words stunned the ministers.

"Goguryeo is wealthy, especially the powerful. Someone in the court is bound to sell grain to Goguryeo at exorbitant prices. It would be too difficult to completely curb this, so I'm also intervening. I'm selling grain to Baekje, and then having Baekje raise the price before selling it back to Goguryeo." Li Shimin sneered softly and said, "Don't worry, they won't let the people eat this grain they bought at such high prices."

Goguryeo was only 800 li from north to south, and without the 400 li coastal plain to the north, their food supply would be terribly low.

In this case, the problem cannot be solved by simply reducing everyone's daily food intake by half.

In order to completely solve this problem, at least half of the people in Goguryeo would have to die.

Especially when someone sees injustice.

"Chang He!" Li Shimin spoke again. "I'm here!" Chang He stepped forward and bowed.

"Leave three hundred thousand cattle guards in front of the army." Li Shimin raised his hand slightly.

"Yes!" Chang He bowed his head, and all the ministers looked stern.

Li Shimin looked at the vast world within his sight and said softly, "In two years, no more than three years at most, I will definitely come back to fight."

……

Chang'an, Yankangfang.

As night fell, an ordinary man of high stature, wearing a black robe, a black hat, and riding a tall black horse, walked towards the depths of the town.

Beside him, there were two guards following one on the left and one on the right.

Suddenly, a dozen assassins in black night clothes, armed with long knives, rushed out from the alley.

These people were tall and walked fast, making no sound as they walked. They rushed forward in a blink of an eye.

At this moment, the man on the horse who had originally lowered his head suddenly raised his head, holding a crossbow in his hand, and shot all the arrows on it in a blink of an eye.

The two guards on the side of the horse also took out two arm shields from their robes with great skill, and stood guard in front of the horse with long swords in hand.

"No, it's a trap." A strange voice sounded.

The assassin leader looked at his companion lying on the ground, then glanced at the man on horseback, and his expression changed.

Before he could give any other orders, suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from both sides of the long street.

The next moment, hundreds of Jinwu Guards rushed over one after another, and blood mist filled the sky in an instant.

……

"What, six Jinwu Guards died!" Li Chengqian sat in the Wude Hall, looking at Zheng Rentai standing in front of him with an expression of disbelief.

"Yes." Zheng Rentai bowed and said, "Those Tibetan assassins are very skilled, but they just don't have horses. I suspect that if we give them horses, it will cost us a lot more to kill them all."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly, placing one hand on the table, then squinting his eyes, he said, "I once heard that under the command of Songtsen of Tubo, there was a very mysterious army. During the establishment of Tubo, they fought hundreds of battles in the south and made countless contributions. But later, these people disappeared inexplicably."

"Your Highness, these people have probably always been there, but they have become an organization similar to the Hundred Cavalry Division." Zheng Rentai nodded solemnly.

"Are there any of these people still in Chang'an City now?" Li Chengqian asked directly.

"There should be, but only a few." Zheng Rentai bowed and said, "I don't think they would dare to assassinate Prince Yang Tong again easily, otherwise the Tibetan spies in Chang'an would be completely eliminated."

"They'll probably take action again, but they'll be much more cautious." Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said, "Keep investigating. Don't let go of any clues. These people won't move easily, but if they do, it will be a big deal. So even if we can't eliminate them completely, we have to force them to be unable to move."

"Yes!" Zheng Rentai bowed solemnly.

At this moment, Xu En stood in front of the palace and said with a bow, "Your Highness, Prince Yang Tong requests an audience."

Li Chengqian's expression calmed down. Zheng Rentai stood aside. Li Chengqian then raised his head and said, "Spread it!"

A young man wearing a black robe embroidered with gold flowers and a black uncut hat entered the hall. He then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Prince Yangtong, Mount Kailash, greets Your Highness!"

Li Chengqian raised his hand calmly and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Kailash stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian again, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for sending people to eliminate the Tibetan assassins. Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't dare go out on weekdays."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "It's okay. These things in Chang'an City are what I should do."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "The Qianniu Guard and the Jinwu Guard will continue to investigate this matter. I will also order a strict investigation of merchants and travelers from Tubo and Tuyuhun. However, it is better to be a thief for a thousand days than to be on guard against him for a thousand days. You need to be more cautious in your daily actions."

"Yes!" Kailash bowed again.

"I have heard about Yang Tong's matter. Although Tubo has captured Yang Tong, your Majesty was only imprisoned. There is still room for recovery. Don't worry. Father will return to Chang'an soon, and everything can be resolved then." Li Chengqian looked at the clean face in front of him with a playful smile in his eyes.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Kailash bowed slightly. Seeing that Li Chengqian did not speak again, he quickly saluted and said, "I will take my leave."

"Yeah!" Li Chengqian nodded lightly.

……

Li Chengqian turned sideways to look at Zheng Rentai and asked, "Father-in-law, does she really think she's a woman? Can't others see that?"

Zheng Rentai smiled and bowed, saying, "I have checked the backyard of the Yangtong Embassy and found that there is a separate courtyard that no one is allowed to enter. The people below smelled the odor of medicine outside the courtyard, so I think they must have been assassinated on the way from Yangtong to Chang'an. The real Prince Yangtong was seriously injured and unable to see anyone, so they came up with this."

"So, is this person Prince Yang Tong's sister or his wife or concubine?" Li Chengqian asked with some confusion. A sister is a princess and can also represent Yang Tong, but it is hard to say if she is a wife or concubine.

"That demeanor should belong to my younger sister." Zheng Rentai nodded affirmatively.

"Yeah!" Li Chengqian nodded in agreement. It should indeed be his sister. If it was his wife or concubine, she probably wouldn't be so bold as to pretend to be a prince and speak in front of Li Chengqian.

Recovering his thoughts, Li Chengqian said, "The emperor will be back soon. Yang Tong and the entire plateau situation need to be reported to him."

"Yes!" Zheng Rentai bowed.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Regarding the Gaoyuan incident, the matter of Master Xuanzang, and finally the death of the Imperial Censor, I have done a lot in the past two years, but I always feel sorry for my father because of the Imperial Censor's death!"

"Your Highness!" Zheng Rentai was about to remonstrate when hurried footsteps were heard from outside the hall. Immediately afterwards, Wei Daijia appeared outside the hall and walked into the hall with an anxious look on his face. At the same time, he bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I have checked it out."

"what?"

"Half a month before my father got into trouble, the identity of the man who came to see him in the mansion was found out." Wei Daijia said with a serious expression.

"Who?"

"Gongsun Chang!" Wei Daijia bowed and said, "He's a sorcerer. He appeared in the mansion before the Xuanwu Gate Incident. According to the old people, he was close to Prince Yin and came from the Gongsun clan of Youzhou!"

"Youzhou!" Li Chengqian turned to look at Zheng Rentai and said softly, "When our father returns, he will definitely pass through Youzhou."

Zheng Rentai's face changed suddenly.

　In light of the lesson learned from the last long siege of Anshi City (now Yingchengzi, southeast of Haicheng, Liaoning), Emperor Taizong of Tang accepted the advice of his court officials and sent a small army deep into Goguryeo territory to harass its borders in turns, making its people exhausted and delaying farming time. Within a few years, Goguryeo would collapse due to famine.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)