Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

wow~

The tent was instantly in an uproar.

Countless soldiers in thin clothes rushed out of the tents despite the severe cold, and they looked towards Du He with anticipation.

When they saw the thick clothes pushed on the carriage, they all showed expressions of surprise on their faces.

A few days ago they received a temporary order and marched quickly to Youzhou.

Su Dingfang, the deputy commander-in-chief of the central army, told them that because the incident happened suddenly, the court had not had time to prepare thick clothes, and everyone might have to fight in the severe cold.

I didn't expect the court to send the clothes so quickly.

Upon learning that Du He had arrived with thick clothes, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, Cheng Huailiang, Yuchi Huan and Qin Huaidao trotted out.

Cheng Huailiang looked at the dozens of carts of cotton-padded clothes and said excitedly, "Brother Du, the thick clothes you brought came just in time!"

"The weather here is too cold, and we are worried that the brothers down below will get sick from the cold."

After a few pleasantries, Du He said with a smile, "These clothes were prepared by the prince himself. They were originally intended for this winter, but I didn't expect to use them ahead of time."

Then Du He said to Su Dingfang: "General Su, each carriage is loaded with 400 sets of clothes. Please arrange the distribution."

"it is good."

Su Dingfang nodded.

Under his leadership, in less than a cup of tea, several marching generals returned to their respective tents with the distributed clothes.

Then they called together all the captains under their command and asked them to distribute the clothes to the soldiers.

As the captains distributed the clothes, they said, "These thick clothes were prepared by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You must fight well in this battle and don't let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince down for his kindness to you."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The soldiers wearing thick clothes felt a little warm and kept praising the prince.

...

When Du He brought Su Dingfang back to the governor's mansion, Li Ji and Li Daozon had already arrived.

They were having a great chat with Li Chengqian and Hou Junji.

As for Li Yuanchang, who was sitting in the first seat, although he wanted to talk, he couldn't get a word in.

He was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, looking annoyed.

Li Chengqian saw Du He coming in and quickly waved and said, "Du He, come here quickly. We're waiting for you."

In the lobby, other people also turned their eyes to Du He.

Feeling Li Chengqian's impatient gaze, Du He smiled and nodded at him, then walked over and saluted Li Ji and Li Daozon.

"Greetings to the King of Jiangxia, the Duke of England."

Li Ji waved his hand and said with a smile, "Prince Consort Du, there is no need to be so polite."

In fact, it was Du He who recommended this post of commander-in-chief of Liaodong Road to the prince, so he was indebted to Du He for a small favor.

For military generals, war means making achievements.

Military generals can only be promoted if they have made meritorious contributions on the battlefield.

Su Dingfang also respectfully bowed and greeted everyone in the hall one by one.

Li Chengqian clapped his hands and said, "Now that everyone is here, we are ready to start discussing the battle plan. Anyone who has nothing to do with the battle please stay away!"

As Li Chengqian finished speaking, the hall instantly became quiet, but no one left.

There was silence for about ten breaths, and everyone turned their eyes to Li Yuanchang who was looking around.

"Let the king leave?"

Li Yuanchang pointed at himself, his face full of disbelief.

What a joke!

He is the governor of Youzhou, and this is his territory!

A bunch of passers-by had occupied his lobby, and now they were asking him to leave.

That’s too much!

Hou Junji frowned, his eyes widened, and then he clasped his fists towards Han Wang Li Yuanchang and said.

"Your Highness, the King of Han, we need to discuss confidential matters now, so please stay away from suspicion."

Seeing Hou Junji speaking to him by name, the King of Han did not want to leave, but when he saw that the Crown Prince and the King of Jiangxia both frowned, he had to leave in disappointment.

Before leaving, he glanced at Du He and Pei Xingjian. Seeing them sitting in their seats with smiles on their faces, he felt even more unhappy.

A small imperial concubine's son-in-law and an unknown little-known figure were qualified to discuss matters, but he, a member of the royal family and the governor of Youzhou, was leaving.

He was really angry!

After Li Chengqian's personal guards closed the lobby door, everyone started to get straight to the point.

Li Ji took the lead in introducing: "Your Highness, Goguryeo had a total of 176 cities, more than 70 households, and a population of about 350 million."

"The person who now controls the military and political power of Goguryeo is Yeon Gaesomun, a man who is not only cruel but also extremely brave."

"Goguryeo has recently been recruiting soldiers in the country, with a total of more than 38 soldiers."

"Of these, 10 troops were besieging Silla, and 5 were stationed in Pyongyang."

"Goguryeo has transferred 20 troops to the Liaodong Peninsula to guard against our Tang army. It seems that they want to fight us to the death."

Like Li Jing, Li Ji would first find out the opponent's strength before fighting.

During the past six months, he not only sent a large number of spies to infiltrate Goguryeo, but also spent a lot of money to obtain this information from some high-ranking officials of Goguryeo.

Hou Junji said disdainfully: "It's just a small country called Goguryeo. There's nothing to worry about."

"Everything Yeon Gaesomun is doing now is just a last-ditch struggle!"

10 Tang troops against 20 Goguryeo troops, the advantage is on the Tang army!

Hou Junji was very arrogant and did not take Goguryeo seriously at all.

Whether in terms of combat proficiency, clothing, armor, or weapons, the Tang army was unmatched by the vassal states.

Li Ji shook his head, but his face showed great respect for Goguryeo, and he continued to introduce it.

"The most difficult areas for Goguryeo to attack in Liaodong are the two strategic cities of Liaodong and Anshi. In addition to being heavily guarded, their walls are extremely strong and the terrain is dangerous."

"Besides that, there are two major problems for our army to enter the territory of Goguryeo."

As he spoke, Li Ji took out the marching map and spread it flat on the table.

Du He, Hou Junji, Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian surrounded them.

As for Li Chengqian, he was drinking tea leisurely.

Du He and a group of generals just need to use their brains. He came here to boost the morale of the soldiers, and he doesn't need to worry about the subsequent battles.

Li Ji pointed at the marching map and said with a serious expression.

"What lies before us is the Liaoze Lake, which is 200 miles wide. Most of it is swamp, and it is extremely difficult for a large army to march in it."

"The army crossed the Liaoze, the vast Liaoshui River, and a 1000-li long Great Wall built by Goguryeo."

The battle was already fraught with difficulties before it even started, and even Hou Junji had stopped looking down on it.

Upon hearing about the difficulties the army was facing, Li Chengqian stopped drinking tea and instead straightened up and listened attentively.

Hou Junji asked in a deep voice: "Duke Ying, you are the vanguard and the main force of this battle. How do you want to fight?"

Since Li Ji discovered this problem, he must have a solution in mind.

Li Ji said with a confident look on his face, pointing to the Goguryeo city wall marked on the march map.

"The Great Wall built by Goguryeo includes Tongding City, Xincheng City and Xuantu City in the north, Huaiyuan City in the middle, Jian'an City and Annan City in the south, etc."

"These cities are connected in a line, firmly blocking us out."

"In that case, I plan to lead the army to the border city of Liucheng and create the illusion of a fierce attack on Huaiyuan City in the central region."

Liucheng in the Tang army's territory and Huaiyuancheng in the Goguryeo territory were separated only by the Liao River and a city wall.

Once the army captured Huaiyuan City, it could march straight in and threaten the strategic Liaodong City.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, but was blocked by the fortified city of Liaodong each time.

Li Ji paused and continued.

"Huaiyuan City is short of defenders, and Goguryeo will definitely mobilize soldiers from the north and south ends, so that the defenses on both sides will be vacant."

"At that time, I will quickly split my troops into two groups. One group will march north to attack Tongding City, then cross the Liao River and attack Xincheng, Xuantu City, and Gaimu City."

"Another army crossed the Liao River to the south and attacked Jian'an City."

After Li Ji finished speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence.