Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 380 Fools are blessed

"Thank you for your hard work. Please sit down and have some tea to moisten your throat first." Li Ming greeted his old friend warmly.

Zhi Shibuzhen was not shy either. He sat down cross-legged. As soon as his buttocks, which had been hit by the stick, touched the ground, he jumped up as if he was pricked by a needle.

"Ouch! Ah, cough!

"Today's success is all thanks to your majesty's far-reaching planning and recruiting merchants from all over the world to serve you."

Zhi Shi Buzhen used the high emotional intelligence typical of a businessman to get over the small embarrassment of being inappropriate in front of the palace.

But his flattery was not entirely flattery.

The experienced and cautious Li Shiji suffered a major setback today because he believed the false information deliberately released by the Ming side and thought that the Ming army was about to slowly strangle Jinyang with fortress tactics.

That was due to Li Ming’s initial strategic planning.

As we all know, the Ming Dynasty was a giant corporation disguised as a country.

While encouraging business in the country, the government also established a large number of state-owned trading companies under its own control.

The merchants are manipulated by both macro-control and the free market, by both visible and invisible hands, and dance under the baton of Li Ming. Their degree of organization is much higher than that of ordinary traveling merchants in the feudal era.

In addition to economic means such as state-owned trading companies, the "Chamber of Commerce" is a tool for Li Ming to further deepen his control over the business community.

Bringing together big businessmen and holding regular team-building meetings will not only help them exchange ideas, but also facilitate management.

In addition to this, the Ming Chamber of Commerce has a deeper function.

It was also an intelligence agency that recruited some capable and idealistic businessmen to gather intelligence for the Ming Dynasty.

As the third intelligence agency besides Di Renjie in the South and Yuchi Xunyu in the North, although the Chamber of Commerce's "professional ability" is not as good as the previous two, it also has its unique advantages.

That is, their "business personnel" are all legitimate businessmen who changed careers to become spies, rather than spies in disguise.

The unique temperament of a businessman is very pure.

Of course, their intention to make a fortune in the Tang army camp by using the excuse of "spreading false information" was genuine.

Because of this, this large group of spies is almost impossible to be exposed.

This is also the reason why the Tang army camp had been infiltrated like a sieve by the Ming Dynasty's "strong army chariot" but was completely unaware of it.

Their brains were filled with strange knowledge, but their wallets were empty; this time the Tang army suffered a double loss.

"Haha, Tang Jun would never have expected that all the merchants he arrested and interrogated were actually my spies.

"In fact, all the merchants near the war zone are members of our Daming Chamber of Commerce!"

Li Ming let out a villainous laugh:

"Without such extreme measures, there is no way to make the cunning Li Shiji believe that we are going to adopt such a fantastic thing as the 'fortress tactics'!"

Compared with the tactics that Your Majesty actually implemented, building the bunker all the way to Jinyang City may not be so fantastic... Zhi Shibuzhen complained in his heart.

"Your Majesty! Phew, I, Old Xue, have completed all the tasks you assigned me!"

Hearing the voice before seeing the person, Xue Wanche walked into the tent with a loud voice and without any hesitation.

This is Li Ming's working style. His cronies can enter his office without knocking.

Zhishibuzhen said goodbye at the right time:
"You two continue chatting, I'll be leaving first."

Having said that, he covered his butt and limped away.

Xue Wanche looked at his back suspiciously, and for the first time in his life, he stammered:
"Your Majesty, you and President Zhishi, are you..."

There are millions of strong men, lubricants, and butt covering and so on.

Very suspicious!

"Wan Che, you came at the right time! We were discussing how to fuck him." Li Ming walked up, rubbing his hands.

Xue Wanche took a step back cautiously and brought the subject back to the topic with a dry cough.

"Ahem, Your Majesty.

"All the 100,000 civilian laborers that were deployed earlier have arrived at the counties surrounding the battlefield, and sheds are being built at designated locations to accommodate the new batch of civilian laborers."

"Oh? You're very quick, worthy of being Xue Wanche!" Li Ming exclaimed.

The dispatch of 100,000 people is no small project.

Xue Wanche was able to settle them down and even start working in just a few days. His organizational ability is not to be underestimated.

Although Lao Xue's IQ and EQ are often offline, he is very clear about his main jobs of fighting and cleaning.

Who wouldn’t like to use both commercial functions in the right places?

"So, I have another difficult task for you."

Li Ming took a step closer to Xue Wanche.

Xue Wanche subconsciously took another step back and bowed dutifully, saying:

"Your Majesty, please give your instructions."

Li Pa Pi began to sing:

“You see, the first batch of laborers are now building temporary housing, and the subsequent laborers are on their way from all over the country.

"You have nothing to do right now, why don't you lead an army and find something for our old friend Li Shiji to do?"

As soon as the ashes were cleared, he sent people to fight. This was a profound implementation of his personal principle of "use them to the death as long as they don't die."

There is nothing we can do about it. Those who are capable should do more work.

When it was clear that Qibi Heli was lying in wait, all we could do was to ask the capable Xue Wanche to take on more responsibilities.

"Keep working hard. I have confidence in you. I'll give you a promotion and a raise when the war is over."

Li Baopi was giving Xue Wanche some free spiritual chicken soup and reached out to pat him.

Xue Wanche nimbly dodged His Majesty's attack and bowed cheerfully:

"Okay! I'll go right away!"

After saying that, he slipped out of the main tent very quickly.

It’s so horrible, so horrible. Did His Majesty also want to pat my butt just now... Old Xue was still frightened even after walking a long way away.

It is really like living with a tiger to serve the king. I think fighting/playing cards is more suitable for me.

"Oh? Oh... I'm glad you're so motivated."

Li Ming stared at Xue Wanche's hurried back in a daze.

I was quite embarrassed at first, but now I feel that maybe the workload given to Lao Xue is not heavy enough?

Should we put more pressure on him, and ultimately on Li Shiji and his friends?

“Even if Li Shiji fell into the trap, the Tang army is still a hindrance and may still hinder my plan.

"We need to keep them where they are and not interfere with the construction progress."

Li Ming turned his attention back to the map and rubbed his chin.

Although the Ming Dynasty had many brave generals, Li Ming could only trust Xue Wanche, who could lead his troops to charge at the Tang army and consolidate their positions.

The war did not last very long, and the new generation of commanders had not yet grown up. Qibi Heli gave up military service to take up writing, and Li Jing and a group of other tough guys were still in the north.

Li Ming only has Xue Wanche who can fight in the tough battle.

"I can only let Old Xue suffer."

…………

It's getting closer to May and the weather is getting hotter.

On the scorching battlefield of Jinyang, there were swords and spears everywhere, flying dust and unbearable heat.

On the top of a mountain outside Jinyang City, Li Shiji overlooked the battlefield.

This place was far away from the brutal fighting and the hustle and bustle of life and death. However, Li Shiji was even more nervous than the frontline soldiers.

"The right wing's defense line is about to be breached, why hasn't anyone stepped up to fill the gap? The center army moves to the right!

"Attention, the enemy cavalry is flanking the left wing! Stop shooting arrows on the left wing and quickly form a square formation!

"Reserve, where are the reserve? Don't be distracted. Always pay attention to the battlefield! Reservation does not mean retreating from the battlefield!"

Li Shiji constantly adjusted his deployment according to the battle situation, and the messengers waved the command flags high.

As the battle progressed, the beads of sweat on Li Zongguan's forehead became more and more numerous and larger.

"General, the enemy's offensive is very fierce. Our army is having a hard time holding on. Should we retreat?" the deputy general asked.

Li Shiji gritted his teeth and made a creaking sound:
"Backwards? Behind you is Jinyang City, and the throne of the retired emperor.

"Let's temporarily retreat a hundred feet and allow the central army to retreat behind the stone wall fortifications."

He gave the order to retreat in the most intense tone.

Damn, why is the Ming army’s combat effectiveness getting stronger and stronger?
Could it be that the emperor on the opposite side really used the civilians to fill the line?
No, no, no. Even if it is Superman of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to form combat effectiveness so quickly.

It’s not that the Ming army became stronger.

But the Tang army was weak.

"We are running low on supplies and are trapped in the half-state of Bingzhou. Our morale and health are declining uncontrollably, and we are being left further and further behind by the enemy."

Li Shiji frowned.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, it is unclear how long the Tang army can hold out.

I'm afraid we can't defend this hill anymore.

If this southern barrier of Jinyang is lost, then...

"That would be great."

Li Shiji's frown slowly relaxed and the corners of his mouth curled up.

Behind this line of defense is a narrow mountain pass.

There was also a Tang Dynasty army waiting there.

Just wait for the Ming Dynasty to break through the first line of defense and fall into that pocket formation.

Since the combat effectiveness of the Tang Dynasty soldiers has declined, don't blame the Tang Dynasty generals for playing tricks.

Pretending to fight hard and be forced to retreat can easily lure the enemy into your territory.

Li Shiji would also learn from the experience summarized by Ashina She'er and Cheng Zhijie in Shuozhou.

"Next, we just have to wait for the Ming army to fall into the trap..."

At this moment, the messenger came with a happy face and reported:

"Report! General Manager, the Ming army has begun to retreat!"

"……what?!"

Li Shiji's face fell and he sprained his waist due to this sudden turn of events.

He immediately climbed up to look into the distance.

The message was not nonsense.

Looking from the mountain, the Ming army had indeed stopped advancing and was retreating in an orderly manner.

The Tang army officers and soldiers on the front line were obviously confused by the enemy's confusing operations, and no one dared to pursue rashly.

"Damn it, what is this Red Scarf Bandit doing?!"

Li Shiji was so angry that he cursed secretly.

The duck that was about to reach his mouth flew away, and he lost the great opportunity to wipe out part of the enemy. How could he not be upset!

Didn't Li Shiji act like a real character? Didn't the Ming army have the upper hand and seemed ready to break through Jinyang City at any time?

Why did he suddenly turn around and run away when he was halfway through?
"Could it be that they saw through my plan to lure the enemy deep into our territory? Are there spies in the military camp?

"Impossible, except for those familiar faces doing business, there are no outsiders entering or leaving our military camp, so it is impossible for the secret to be leaked!
"Even if there really was a spy, this plan was only in my mind. I didn't tell anyone. The ambush army came directly from Jinyang, and no one in the garrison here knew about it!

"How did the news leak out?
"Or does the Tang army have its own conspiracy?
“Are you trying to lure us out of our fortifications and attack us proactively?
"Or was it that the civilian camp was discovered by our small reconnaissance force, and they are eager to return to defend it?"

Li Shiji was involved in a lawsuit.

…………

Just as Li Shiji was making up a reasonable reason for the strange movements of the Ming army.

The Ming army commander Xue Wanche was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He kept confirming with his left and right on horseback:

"Everyone is here?"

"Yes, General." The subordinate swallowed nervously and nodded heavily.

Xue Wanche's face was solemn, as if he was facing a powerful enemy.

What he is about to face is a task more difficult than war.

"A million people, gathered in one place. We need to settle them down, not let them go hungry or thirsty, and let them do their best and perform their duties...

“It’s difficult, difficult!”

When Lao Xue thought about the hellish organizational work that was about to happen, he felt like he had lost all desire to live.

In contrast, he would rather fight.

Although war is a place of life and death, in a fight to the death, one can only command at most 100,000 soldiers, and they are all well-trained and capable of using their own arms.

Unlike the millions of brave men that His Majesty Li Ming has recruited from all over the country, they are not as obedient as soldiers. They are all civilians who are passionate about serving the country. They cannot be beaten or scolded.

The difficulty of coordination and organization is increasing exponentially.

Compared with managing these one million men, letting Xue Wanche lead the Southern Army alone to conquer Jinyang City is just a trial.

However, no. His Majesty Li Ming would not allow it.

Your Majesty attaches great importance to the "project" that the million civilians are going to complete.

The level of importance attached to it even exceeds that of Jinyang.

Therefore, His Majesty issued a death order to Lao Xue:

The primary task is to resettle the civilians, and if necessary, the progress of the war can even be slowed down appropriately.

In the final analysis, the Ming army took the initiative to attack and storm the Tang army's ready-made fortifications in order to provide cover for the civilians.

If we focus on fighting the war and neglect the resettlement of those millions of brave men, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

"I conquered the whole world from scratch. Do you think a small Jinyang City can stop me? What's important is not the capture of Jinyang, but the method of capturing Jinyang itself!" -

These are the original words of His Majesty Li Ming.

What can Xue Wanche do?
I can only suffer by running back and forth between the battlefield and the construction site.

After all, with great ability comes great responsibility. After all, he is the undisputed double champion in fighting and killing people in the Southern Route Army of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if they had to give up the advantage on the battlefield, they had to go back and deal with the nearly one million new heroes.

They are not just common people, they are millions of mouths ready to devour poor Xue Wanche!

"What a shame! The situation just now was clearly favorable. If we just work harder, we can break through the Tang army's defenses and maybe even take down Jinyang City in one go...

"Oh, forget it. It's all His Majesty's business anyway, let him worry about it!"

There is one good thing about Lao Xue, that is, no matter how strong his opinions are, when his opinions are contrary to Your Majesty's will, he will still listen to Your Majesty obediently.

Soldiers are all very simple and are born to obey orders.

(End of this chapter)