Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 316 "Fuck, the Ming Dynasty is so strong!" "Oh my god, the Tang Dynasty is so powerful!"

"What should I do next?" Li Shiji was confused.

Although it was too dark to see clearly, it was clear without having to look that the Ming army was crossing the bridge smoothly and orderly, escaping the encirclement.

Escaped with them was the country and people of the Tang Dynasty.

"The Qizhou-Yizhou defense line was painstakingly constructed by the enemy. It has many mountains and rivers and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

"With the Si River between us, it will be difficult for our army to defeat the rebels."

Although Li Shiji did not say it explicitly, his words and deeds implied that the Supreme Emperor should revoke his order and rush in under the cover of night to kill as many remnants of the Ming army as possible who had not yet had time to evacuate.

"What are you afraid of? Isn't there a bridge left for us on the other side?" Cheng Zhijie said with disdain to his worries:

"If the enemy can go, I can go too! With this bridge, how difficult is it to cross the river and fight the rebels?"

Li Shiji glanced at the old bandit and laughed:
"Well said. Aren't you afraid that they have set up a trap under the bridge? Then they can pull out the bridge piers and throw your troops into the river with their horses and men."

"This..." Cheng Zhijie scratched his head.

This kind of shameless operation of pulling the beams after crossing the bridge can only be done by those bitches on the other side.

The two continued to argue for a while and found that all the ways to "accomplish the goal in one battle" were blocked.

"Even if Li Ming didn't destroy the bridge and let our army march in brazenly, would you dare to leave?"

In the carriage, Li Shimin spoke.

"If we spend all our main forces on the land of Qi and Lu, we can allow the enemy to achieve their goal in one battle.

"Our army has been defeated."

Li Shiji and Cheng Zhijie shut up at the same time and looked at each other.

The defeatist leader's words set the tone for this battle.

The Tang army went through untold hardships and gave up a large area of ​​land in the Central Plains in order to "lure the main force of the Ming army in and kill them."

The strategy ended in complete failure and most of the Ming army escaped successfully.

"Then, we..." Li Shiji's lips moved with difficulty.

"Let's retreat. If we continue to stay here, it will only waste our food and supplies. Feeding an army of 500,000 is enough to give Li Chengqian a headache."

Li Shimin's voice was somewhat weak:

"Besides... there's a fire in our rear too. It was set by Li Ming. We have to go back and clean up the mess."

"The rear?!" Li Shiji and Cheng Zhijie were both surprised.

"Jiaozhou, there is a riot in Jiaozhou Governor's Office." Li Shimin's voice became weaker and weaker, with deep ridicule and self-mockery:

"The Ming Dynasty colluded with the barbarian chieftains of Jiaozhou and instigated them to repeatedly cause chaos, which seriously affected the stability of the south.

"Heh... That guy is very skilled at dealing with barbarians."

The corners of Lao Li and Lao Cheng's mouth twitched when they heard this.

They also felt the same fatigue as the emperor.

Even when Li Ming was governing the country and fighting a war, he still had a strong sense of being a naughty boy.

He is full of energy and does things here and there, making it difficult for his opponents to figure him out.

It was obvious that the people on the front line were all in a state of panic, and their main forces were being put on the fire.

He actually had the leisure to go all the way to Jiaozhou to open up a second battlefield.

Naughty, really naughty!
How can you fight a national war like this? Do you treat the land of life and death as a children's playground? !
"But we have to admit that his unreasonable behavior has really made us anxious and troubled."

Li Shimin's laughter was filled with deep fatigue, and he finally sighed:
"Retreat, this round of confrontation is over."

The trend is gone.

…………

On the way back to Beijing, the Tang army was dejected and morale was low. They had completely lost the spirit and energy they had in the previous days when they pursued the enemy northward and reached Yanzhou.

Even the size of this Tang army was much smaller.

The so-called "500,000-strong army" was mostly conscripted soldiers who had already received travel expenses and were dismissed on the spot.

The soldiers who were temporarily filling in the numbers received their regular pay and hurried home, anxious to catch the end of the summer harvest.

Along the way, generals such as Li Shiji and Cheng Zhijie hung their heads and followed the large army listlessly, without saying a word the entire time.

A defeated general cannot be considered brave.

In the dragon chariot of the retired emperor, Li Shimin was half lying in the car, looking up at the sky outside the window.

In the blue sky, a group of egrets are flying freely.

"That kid's wings have grown strong. I was completely defeated by him..." He murmured softly, with no joy on his face.

The fact that his son was even better than his father made the old father and emperor feel extremely conflicted.

I don’t know whether I should feel happy, dissatisfied, relieved, or worried.

Have both.

In terms of battlefield tactics, Li Shimin was slightly better and was able to take the initiative in the battle most of the time, while the opponent could only seize the opportunity to launch a few counterattacks.

However, this advantage was eliminated by Li Ming using the Ming Dynasty's abnormally strong productivity.

"It has only been a short time, and a bridge has been built..." Li Shimin still finds it incredible.

Compared with the imaginative strategic thinking demonstrated by Li Ming, which would be remembered by a large number of generals including Li Shiji for the rest of their lives, the shock brought to Li Shimin by the Sishui Bridge was even greater.

As a ruler, Li Shimin's vision was not limited to the battlefield.

His focus is higher and grander.

What he looked at was the true "strength" of the Ming Dynasty as a national entity.

National strength is a highly abstract concept, including multiple dimensions such as productivity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.

All of this was visible to Li Shimin through the Si Shui Bridge.

This stunning glimpse shocked and awed Old Li.

"It hasn't been that long since the Ming Dynasty got involved in Qi and Lu and completely broke off relations with the Tang Dynasty, right?

“Even if we started building the bridge from day one, the Surabaya Bridge would only take a few months…

"The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty are so terrifying..."

If this job was given to the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty, it would take several years to complete.

Just a few months... I'm afraid it may not even be enough to complete the preliminary work of preparing wood and stones for the bridge.

Are all the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty monsters?
Although Li Shimin had never read "The Wealth of Nations", as an outstanding monarch, he certainly knew the role of private productivity as the pillar of a country.

The real world is ultimately materialistic. The productivity of the Ming Dynasty is stronger than that of the Tang Dynasty, so the national strength of the Ming Dynasty will eventually surpass that of the Tang Dynasty.

This also means that the Tang Dynasty that he personally conquered will eventually be replaced by Li Ming's Ming Dynasty.

As the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty in a de facto sense, he was likely to have witnessed this painful process with his own eyes.

The truth is so simple, straightforward and merciless, and it is not affected by personal will or likes and dislikes.

"They actually managed the barren land of the northeast into this state, allowing the barbarians to unleash such terrifying abilities...

"In terms of statecraft, that guy is even far better than me.

"Oh, it is a blessing for the people of the world that we will have a good emperor in the future."

Li Shimin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"It's just a pity for Li Chengqian and Li Zhi, they probably won't be able to become emperors.

"You can't blame me for this. Blame them for not being as skilled as others."

Old Li quickly figured it out and felt relieved.

…………"Oh? All of Li Jing's troops arrived in Yizhou safely?
"The Tang army didn't pursue us, did they? No? And they even retreated southward?"

Pingzhou is the imperial court.

Li Ming was the first to receive the good news from the front line.

He remained calm and casually confirmed with Yuchi Xunyu who reported the news:
"Is there no false information reported from the front?"

"No!" The little black-haired boy patted his chest.
"General Manager Li Jing's battle report has been confirmed by the intelligence department.

"The entire army was successfully transferred to the east side of Sishui, and the main force was retained. The enemy was afraid of our army's fortifications in Yizhou and retreated."

"That's right. It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost." Li Ming said calmly, as if he was taking something very lightly:
"We must learn from this lesson and not act rashly in the future."

Yuchi Xunyu's face suddenly darkened:
"You are right. I will convey this rebuke to Lord Li Wei on your behalf."

He walked away angrily.

After making sure that his friends had gone far away, Li Ming's face suddenly changed and he let out a long breath as if he had survived a disaster.

"Finally retreated... Oh my god, it's so scary!"

Little Li is not as calm and composed as Old Li thinks, and he doesn't think everything is under control.

He was also shocked by the opponent.

The confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty was truly like using a stick to fight a wolf - both sides were afraid of each other.

The Tang Dynasty was shocked by the abnormal productivity demonstrated by the Ming Dynasty.

And wasn't the Ming Dynasty also shocked by the Tang Dynasty's battlefield capabilities?

“The main force was almost surrounded... No, they were already surrounded!

"If the Sishui Bridge had not been completed in time, my base would have been almost penetrated by a wave of enemies!"

Li Ming was still frightened and patted his chest frantically.

He was not exaggerating at all. If Li Jing's troops were eaten up, the consequences would be no joke.

Without the protection of the army, the Tang army could cross the Yellow River and march north without restraint.

There is no need to think about the old territories of Qi, Lu and Xueyantuo, and Hebei is definitely not going to be able to be defended.

The battle line was pushed back to the Yanshan line, and returned to the situation before liberation overnight.

If the Tang army landed in Incheon again, they might even lose the heartland of Goguryeo.

By that time, the Ming Dynasty would have been truly Barbie Q, and its reign would have lasted less than a year.

The destiny of a country lies on this bridge!

"Your Majesty, you are really something. Why take such a risk and bet everything on a bridge?"

Fang Xuanling could not help but blame:
"We can obviously use our navy to transport Li Jing's troops to the north bank of the river. Isn't it safer to withdraw troops from the river than through the Si River?"

Chang Sun Wuji sneered at the side:

"Isn't it because Your Majesty has foresight and has moved all the ships to the Jiaozhou area in the South China Sea?

"As a result, we were unable to mobilize enough warships in the river and were suppressed by the Tang army, making it impossible to carry out the transportation mission."

Li Ming was embarrassed and waved his hands:
"Stop talking, stop talking. Even a saint can make mistakes. What's wrong with me making a mistake once in a while?
"At least the result is good!"

Fang Xuanling put down his teacup disapprovingly:

"To gamble with the fate of the country is not what a wise ruler would do."

Changsun Wuji nodded repeatedly to show his support.

These sarcastic remarks immediately aroused Li Ming's anger.

He retorted:

“Yes, you are right. But when I made this decision, did you say anything?
"Why didn't you persuade me not to gamble with the fate of the country at that time?"

The two wise men immediately became dispirited, one looking up at the sky, the other at the ground, and intentionally or unintentionally ignored the soul-searching questions of their master.

The Ming army's passivity was largely caused by the loss of "sea control" of the Yellow River.

The Tang Dynasty's navy entered the mouth of the Yellow River from the East China Sea, went upstream all the way, and established a firm foothold in the middle reaches of the Yellow River where Luozhou was located. They constantly drove away the Ming Dynasty's ships and interrupted the Ming Dynasty's attempts to transport troops and food.

The problem is, as a country that attaches great importance to maritime trade, Ming Dynasty's maritime transportation should be very developed.

As we all know, in that era of business, shipping capacity was roughly equal to naval strength. Even if the Ming navy did not surpass that of the Tang, it was almost the same.

But why was the presence of the Ming navy far less than that of the enemy throughout the entire battle?

The answer lies in Jiaozhou.

When the "Central Plains War" had just begun, Li Jing was advancing triumphantly along the banks of the Yellow River, and the Tang Dynasty's strategic deception had not yet revealed its hideous true face.

Li Ming sent people across the South China Sea to secretly form an alliance with the natives of Jiaozhou, instigating them to rebel against the Tang Dynasty. He also used a considerable amount of transportation capacity to transport supplies to the "anti-Tang heroes" in Jiaozhou.

This directly led to the navy on the front line being stretched to the limit, and the Tang army took advantage of it.

By the time the Ming Dynasty realized that its river defense line had been breached, it was too late to transfer the main force of the fleet from the South China Sea.

“The Tang Dynasty supported Silla and tried to open up a second battlefield behind me.

"It's impolite not to reciprocate, so I'll go to the rear of the Tang Dynasty and support the local natives, so that the Tang people can get busy too.

"When I made this decision, did you object?"

Li Ming continued to defend himself with saliva flying.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, you must have your reasons for doing this. We are both hindsighters." Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji had no choice but to admit defeat and acknowledged that they had lost the verbal battle.

It was indeed as Li Ming said, the alliance between the Ming Dynasty and the natives of Jiaozhou was unanimously approved by all the important officials.

The motive behind this was not as mysterious as Li Shimin thought.

This is not a big chess game. Li Ming simply copied the Tang Dynasty's support for Silla.

It’s just that the surrounding environment of the Tang Dynasty was much more complicated than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Southern border areas such as Jiaozhou (northern Vietnam) obeyed orders from Chang'an but not declarations, maintaining a loose state of control.

It is very similar to Liaodong in the past.

After the second "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", the centrifugal force in Jiaozhou became increasingly uncontrollable.

Chang'an was in turmoil, and the "person in charge" first changed from Li Shimin to Li Ming, then to Li Zhi, and finally to Li Chengqian. Three people changed like a revolving lantern.

Since your Tang Dynasty is in chaos, don't blame the people of Jiaozhou for following suit.

Therefore, when Li Ming extended an olive branch to them, the two sides immediately hit it off.

Outstanding effect.

Just when Li Shimin was killing everyone on the front line and causing Xue Rengui to suffer from nervous breakdown.

Jiaozhou was also killing people in the south of the Tang Dynasty, making Emperor Li Chengqian very anxious.

The Tang Dynasty was still a classical feudal regime. It lacked grassroots control over the natives in the border areas, and it did not use spiritual poison such as "magic reform of Hinduism" to destroy and disintegrate the will of the local natives.

This resulted in the Tang Dynasty not having a good way to deal with the civil unrest among the natives and could only suppress it by force.

"At least judging from the results, my decision was still great, glorious and correct!"

Li Ming tried to save his reputation:
"The rebellion in Jiaozhou not only tied up a lot of the enemy's energy, but also forced my father to withdraw his troops south to suppress it.

"If there is no support from over there, will they retreat so easily? The Qizhou-Yizhou defense line will have to continue to bear the pressure..."

Just as he was blowing his saliva at the expressionless Lao Fang and eldest grandson.

The messenger brought bad news at an inopportune time:

"Report! Your Majesty, there has been a change in Jiaozhou!"

(End of this chapter)