Chapter 3227: Unwilling
The earth shook, and countless cavalrymen galloped out from behind the mountain col, galloping across the vast wilderness. Their horses' hooves trampled the white frost on the withered yellow grass leaves, filled with murderous intent. Tens of thousands of light cavalry were like a torrent rolling up from the plains, fighting all the way south with their iron horses and flags fluttering.
Countless Tang troops followed closely behind, rolling southward like a torrent and rushing towards Pingrang City.
Many Goguryeo cities and villages along the way were destroyed and fell one after another under the fierce attack of the Tang army, unable to stop the Tang army's advance.
Continuously defeated the Goguryeo elite in Liaodong City, Anshi City, and Bosu City, which made Goguryeo's military strength insufficient. After the Tang army crossed the Yalu River, it advanced violently and unstoppably.
In the midst of the rolling army, His Majesty Li Er sat on a special large carriage and discussed military plans with his ministers. Zhu Suiliang, the Huangmen minister, still respected the last position, bowed his head and was responsible for recording.
The carriage was spacious enough to accommodate many people. His Majesty Li Er knelt down at the main seat, with Li Ji and Changsun Wuji on his left and right hands respectively, followed by Cheng Yaojin, Qiu Xiaozhong, Zhang Jian, and Zhang Liang, who had been in charge of the rear, and even Even Yu Chigong, who was covered in wounds and sores, was also present.
Xue Wanche and Ashina Simo each led an army to continue to serve as vanguards, advancing towards Pingrang City on the left and right, so they were not in the central army.
The person with the lowest status among everyone here is Zhang Liang, and he is naturally responsible for such tasks as pouring tea and water.
Seeing Zhang Liang placing the poured tea in front of him, and the tea in the tea cup rippled due to the shaking of the carriage, His Majesty Li Er raised his head, looked at the generals in front of him, and asked: "Plan to siege Pingrang City" , it has been planned for a long time, everyone I must know what to do. All of you here are veteran generals on the battlefield. I don't have much to say about how to fight this battle. But there is one thing that keeps worrying me. Where is 'Wang Zhuangjun' and what is his plan? ?”
There was a bit of silence in the carriage for a while. Everyone picked up the tea cups in front of them and sipped the tea, but did not speak. It's not that these people have no opinions on this, but because Changsun Wuji is present, they don't want to get involved, which makes Changsun Wuji dissatisfied.
From the beginning to the end, Changsun Chong was in Pingrang City and kept sending back important news about Goguryeo, which was a great contribution. Regarding the whereabouts of "Wang Zhuangjun", Changsun Chong has always been responsible for investigating, and this point is crucial to how successful Changsun Chong can survive in this Eastern Expedition. No one wants to quarrel with Changsun Wuji on this point. Fuck.
The others were silent, and Changsun Wuji naturally opened his mouth to explain in detail: "Your Majesty, the previous letter from Quanzi stated that the whereabouts of 'Wang Zhuangjun' had been detected, and it was Mudan Peak located in the east of Pingrang City. No mistakes.”
His Majesty Li Er frowned and said in a deep voice: "In war, don't say words like 'no mistakes'. The world is ever-changing, how can human power be exhausted?"
Cheng Yaojin said: "Your Majesty's words are exactly the truth. Your Majesty's personal expedition will never make the slightest mistake. Now the defense of the entire Pingrang City is under the control of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that you know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles. However, the king The existence of Zhuangjun is an anomaly, very It may deviate from the already planned strategic layout and lead to an unfavorable battle situation. This is absolutely unacceptable. Therefore, I also ask Duke Zhao to urge your son to closely monitor "Wang Zhuangjun" at all times. If there is any change, he must immediately report it. Let me know in a letter.”
These words seemed to rebuke Changsun Chong for not doing things well, but Changsun Wuji liked to hear it.
The more emphasis is placed on the role of "Wang Zhuangjun", the more Changsun Chong's achievements will be highlighted after the war. Even if it is impossible to be promoted to the nobility due to his merits, with such a great achievement, Changsun Chong will be able to stand up in front of others when he returns to Chang'an. If you can stand up high, you will not be criticized or criticized by others.
He nodded and said: "What Mr. Lu Guogong said is true. Although the 'Wang Zhuang Army' has only more than ten thousand people, it is powerful in combat. It has always been the elite among the elites of the Goguryeo army. You must not be careless. Otherwise, such a powerful army will always be in trouble." Suddenly appearing in a critical position under unpredictable circumstances is very likely to bring about great changes in the situation of the battle. Even if you still win in the end, you will have to pay a huge price.”
Li Ji took a sip of tea from his cup and glanced at Cheng Yaojin.
It's just the whereabouts of "Wang Zhuangjun", and it's enough to make great efforts to detect it. Why do we need to emphasize its role so repeatedly?
It is true that such a powerful army does have the ability to influence the situation of the battle, but the purpose of repeated emphasis is nothing more than to highlight Changsun Chong's merits in being able to detect its traces. It's understandable that Changsun Wuji is thinking so hard for his son, but Cheng Yaojin is the backbone of the Shandong family, so why does he continue to "assist" Changsun Wuji on one point?
The motivation is somewhat elusive...
His Majesty Li Er also glanced at Cheng Yaojin, but he didn't care what kind of deals these ministers made behind their backs. What he cared about was the victory of the Eastern Expedition.
As long as the Eastern Expedition ends in victory, Li Er's eternal merits will be confirmed and will be remembered in history. What does the conspiracy and calculation of interest exchange in the court mean?
Waiting for him to return to the capital with the power of victory, all the noble families will obey obediently. If anyone dares to challenge the imperial power again... hum!
In fact, he did not think that "Wang Zhuangjun" could really influence the situation of the war.
Hundreds of thousands of tiger warriors whipped their whips and marched south to Pingrang City. The entire Goguryeo garrison was less than 300,000, and half of them were civilians who were recruited temporarily. After simple training, they were distributed weapons and joined the army to take charge of defense. They were nothing more than a ragtag group of people.
Even if the "Wang Zhuang Army" with more than 10,000 people could cause trouble for the Tang Army, how could it possibly reverse the defeat and turn defeat into victory?
Even if you conduct 10,000 battle formation deductions, there will not be such a result...
His Majesty Li Er has always been confident. No matter how strong the "Wang Zhuang Army" is, it cannot be stronger than the "Black Armor Cavalry" under his command back then. It is absolutely impossible to repeat the amazing feat of "three thousand to one hundred thousand".
Of course, Changsun Wuji worked hard to promote the power of the "Wang Zhuangjun", and His Majesty Li Er can also understand that as a father, he is willing to do his best to support his son. His Majesty Li Er is also a father, and we can understand his full hope that Changsun Chong will return to Chang'an.
A bit exaggerated, but acceptable...
Therefore, although His Majesty Li Er has a lot of shortcomings, he is actually a kind person when the situation allows.
Back then, he killed his brothers, forced his father to abdicate, and even slaughtered his entire family. He was really caught up in the situation and could not tolerate any mercy from him.
Either you die or I die, how can you give in?
To take a step back is to be doomed. No one is willing to dedicate himself to illuminating others. What's more, under the circumstances at that time, even if he, Li Er, was willing to commit suicide and sacrifice the whole family together to help Prince Li Jiancheng become an emperor, the generals under his command in Tiance Mansion would not be able to surrender without mercy.
A bloody battle is inevitable, it just depends on who wins and who loses, who lives and who dies.
Changsun Wuji has followed His Majesty Li Er for many years, how could he not know His Majesty Li Er's wisdom? Seeing that his eyes were slightly lowered and his face was calm, he knew that he understood what he was thinking, but he didn't say anything to express it. From this, it can be seen that he was giving himself a favor.
Gratitude is inevitable.
After the matter was discussed, Li Ji said: "The mountains and rivers near Pingrang City are undulating and there are many rivers, which are not suitable for large-scale corps operations. The previously discussed technique of advancing head-on and encircling outflanking is the best strategy. But if you want to be thorough, To trap Pingrang City, it is necessary to separate the northern and southern cities so that they cannot support each other. To achieve this, the best strategy is for the navy to go upstream and place the ships on the Xishui River. In..."
Before he finished speaking, he stopped talking and just looked up at His Majesty Li Er, waiting for a decision.
Others were silent.
Since the Eastern Expedition, the word "Navy" has almost become a taboo word, and no one is willing to mention it. After all, when the strategy of the Eastern Expedition was originally formulated, everyone united to exclude the navy and only gave it the task of transporting troops and equipment. They excluded it from all war tactics, lest they get any merit.
But no one expected that throughout the Eastern Expedition, the navy would play an increasingly important role and become more and more important.
If the navy was allowed to shoulder heavy responsibilities in many battles, there would be no need to fight so hard and pay such a high price...
At present, there is only the last battle left in the Eastern Expedition. As long as Pingrang City is captured, Goguryeo will be completely destroyed. Everyone's hard work will be rewarded accordingly, and their achievements in promotion and promotion will be illustrious.
However, everyone knows that the battle for Pingrang City will never be that easy.
When the Sui Dynasty was at its peak, the world was surrendered and the barbarians bowed their heads. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty mobilized the entire country for three eastern expeditions but all failed, which shows the tyranny of Goguryeo's fighting power and tenacity of will.
But we have survived countless arduous battles along the way, but at this time, the Navy must be involved to share the merits, and let go of the suppression of the Navy at the last moment?
Everyone felt unwilling to do so. (End of chapter)