Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

In response to Li Chengqian's praise, Hou Junji smiled even more.

This battle was much easier than he had imagined, especially the most dangerous attack on the Great Wall. Thanks to the heroic performance of Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui and Xi Junmai, victory was achieved with the least casualties.

Seeing so many brave generals under his command, Hou Junji became more and more confident about the subsequent battles.

Hou Junji clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I will go and deal with the post-war affairs first."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, General Hou."

After Hou Junji left the tent, Li Chengqian excitedly slapped the table and spoke to Du He with excitement on his face.

"Du He, Goguryeo is so vulnerable, it looks like we can end the battle before June!"

"This expedition went really smoothly!"

If Li Ji's assault on several Goguryeo cities was because the Goguryeo soldiers were not prepared, then tonight's attack on Huaiyuan City was a real siege.

In Li Chengqian's opinion, if Huaiyuan City with such tight defense could be easily captured, the rumored Liaodong City would probably not be difficult to capture either.

Du He shook his head: "Your Highness, the battle has just begun, don't be complacent."

"Although Goguryeo lost some soldiers and horses, it was not seriously injured. Several strong cities in Liaodong are still in the hands of Goguryeo."

The worst thing to do during a march or a war is to celebrate at halftime, as it is easy to fall into trouble later.

Moreover, as soon as the central army participated in the first battle, the chief architect Yan Lide began to make small moves. Du He was unaware of the other shady moves made by Li Tai.

After all, not everyone in the court wanted Li Chengqian to lead the army and win a great victory.

Don't take it lightly!

After hearing Du He's words, Li Chengqian's excited expression slowly calmed down.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Du He, you are right. I have indeed gotten carried away."

"It's getting late, go back and rest. Go to Huaiyuan City early tomorrow to see the results of today's battle!"

For him, the commander-in-chief of the entire army who was only responsible for a minor role, he had no hand in directing the operations, so seeing the results of the battle was what interested him most.

Du He nodded and left the tent.

...

The next day.

It's just dawn.

Du He was still curled up in the warm quilt, dreaming sweet dreams with a smile on her face, when Li Chengqian's voice suddenly rang out outside the tent.

"Du He, get up quickly and follow me to Huaiyuan City!"

"General Hou has already compiled the results of the battle. Let's go check it out!"

After a cup of tea.

Du He, neatly dressed, holding armor in his right hand, walked out of the tent with a helpless look on his face.

The sun had not yet risen, and the wind in Liucheng, near the Liaoshui River, was bitingly cold.

Before Du He could speak, Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the sedan chair, patted the cushion and said in a lively voice.

"Du He, come up quickly, I can't wait any longer!"

Under Li Chengqian's urging, Du He could only drag his heavy steps to the sedan chair and sit down.

"set off!"

At Li Chengqian's urging, the guards carrying the sedan chair walked very quickly.

When passing by the city wall, Du He found that all the stone slabs on the wall were stained red with solidified blood. Although the soldiers had washed it with water, the disgusting smell of blood still made him feel uncomfortable.

Not long after, Li Chengqian and Du He arrived at the City Lord's Mansion of Huaiyuan City.

Hou Junji, dressed in military uniform, had already been waiting inside.

When Hou Junji saw Li Chengqian's sedan chair coming into the hall, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"General Hou, there is no need to be so polite. Show me the battle report quickly."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and quickly stepped down from the sedan chair with the help of his personal guards.

When he walked to the main seat in the hall and sat down, the personal guard took the military report from Hou Junji and presented it to Li Chengqian.

Hou Junji nodded towards Du He who came down from the sedan chair, and then reported loudly.

"Last night, we attacked Huaiyuan City and annihilated 7655 Goguryeo soldiers, captured more than 2000 women and children, seized more than 3000 pieces of armor and weapons, more than stones of grain, and a number of gold, silver, and antique calligraphy and paintings."

The gold and silver seized from the city were not transparent, and the soldiers would take a little bit.

As long as his soldiers don't take too much, the commander-in-chief will usually turn a blind eye.

Hou Junji frowned and continued, "In this battle, our army suffered 109 casualties, most of whom were shot by stray arrows while attacking the city wall."

This was even though the Tang army was carrying a large number of shields and wearing tough armor.

Without these defensive equipment, the Tang army's casualties would probably have increased significantly.

"Great fight, another big win!"

While listening to Hou Junji's report, Li Chengqian read the military newspaper recording the battle results several times, with a happy smile on his face.

"General Hou is worthy of being the war god of our Tang Dynasty. He fought a great battle!"

The words "God of War of the Tang Dynasty" touched Hou Junji's heart, and a hint of pride appeared on his face.

He quickly concealed his pride and spoke with emotion.

"It's a pity that our cavalry couldn't get through the battle last night, otherwise the remaining 2000 defeated soldiers in Huaiyuan City would not be able to escape from our grasp."

"These defeated troops fled to Liaodong City, further increasing the defensive strength of this strong city."

In the battle last night, Xi Junmai, Cheng Huailiang and Yuchi Huan led their soldiers and chased the defeated troops of Huaiyuan City, killing them for nearly 10 miles.

In the end, because the armor and weapons they were wearing were too heavy, and they were afraid of running into Goguryeo reinforcements if they chased too far, they had no choice but to call back.

Du He smiled and said, "General Hou, we were able to annihilate 109 Goguryeo defenders with only 7655 casualties. This is a great victory."

"And the target of our next battle is Liaodong City. Then we can annihilate all the defenders in the city."

When mentioning Liaodong City, Li Chengqian spoke loudly with emotion.

"General Hou, when are we going to attack Liaodong City?"

Liaodong City is not just a fortified city, it has extremely important historical significance.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, but failed to capture the city of Liaodong. If they were to capture it this time, the court would be in an uproar.

Hou Junji said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, there are many defenders in Liaodong City, and a large number of reinforcements from Goguryeo may come to rescue at any time."

"We need to wait for Li Ji and Zhang Jian's troops to besiege Liaodong City together."

Li Chengqian asked softly, "General Hou, are we going to rest in Huaiyuan City these few days?"

Hou Junji nodded: "That's right."

That night.

A battle report written by Li Ji was delivered to Li Chengqian.

Du He and Hou Junji unanimously agreed on Li Ji's decision to use Gaimu City as bait, adopt the siege tactics, and continuously consume the Goguryeo reinforcements.

...

Two days later.

The latest military report written by Li Ji was once again delivered to Huaiyuan City.

In the city lord's mansion.

Li Chengqian flipped through the military newspaper in his hand back and forth, his hands shaking uncontrollably, he was overjoyed.

"Li Ji and his men's siege of the city and attack on the reinforcements worked, and they won another great victory!"

"Du He, let me give you a feast for your eyes!"

Then he rolled up the battle report and handed it to Du He, who was sitting below drinking tea.