Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

After clearing out all the enemy troops in the city, Zhang Liang did not sheath the sword in his hand.

The mayor of Beisha City, who had already surrendered, actually wanted to "sneak attack" Zhang Liang, but was chopped down by Zhang Liang's quick reaction.

From then on, there was no Goguryeo people in Beisha City except tens of thousands of Tang troops.

The corners of Du He's mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he thought secretly in his heart.

"Zhang Liang is such a cruel warrior that he actually ordered a massacre in the city."

"Although this guy is a warrior, he has a good brain. This military newspaper is well written!"

Although the acts of burying prisoners alive and massacring the city were against the will of Heaven, their practices coincided with Du He's thoughts, so Du He's liking for Zhang Liang increased.

At this time, Zhang Jian, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Road, suddenly spoke.

"Your Highness, although Chief Steward Zhang spoke beautifully in the military newspaper, 8000 innocent people in the city were brutally massacred under his orders!"

"How should we deal with Zhang Dazong's violation of military discipline?"

The military report written by Zhang Liang seemed to be flawless, but it could not withstand the slightest scrutiny.

There was no problem in annihilating the 6000 Beisha City defenders, and it was barely acceptable for the surrendered Beisha City Lord to "assassinate" Zhang Liang.

But there are more than 8000 civilians, including men and most of the women and children. They can't all take up arms to resist, right?

Killing unarmed civilians on the battlefield is no small crime!

Li Chengqian and Hou Junji did not speak, but looked at Du He, ready to let him answer for them.

This is a sensitive topic, and Zhang Jian is His Majesty's man, so they are afraid that a bad answer will cause trouble.

Du He smiled and said, "The defenders of Beisha City killed so many of our soldiers. It is only natural for General Zhang to forcefully break into the city and annihilate the enemy."

"Moreover, General Zhang also said that the people in the city took up arms. Anyone who takes up arms against our Tang army, regardless of gender, age or status, can be regarded as an enemy. We should resolutely eliminate the enemy."

"Besides, Beisha City is an important transportation route for us at sea, and we cannot allow any threatening forces to exist."

Seeing Zhang Jian's expression fall into silence, Du He paused before continuing.

"General Zhang, as our battle line in Goguryeo becomes longer and longer, if we leave too many soldiers to guard the surrendered troops and prisoners, we will definitely not have enough manpower to continue fighting."

"When we fight Goguryeo soldiers now, we only look at the data of annihilating the enemy, not the number of prisoners."

"I wonder if General Zhang has any different ideas?"

When Zhang Jian heard Du He's words, he turned around to look at the expressions of Prince Xiang and Hou Junji. Being an experienced man, he instantly understood what was going on.

He quickly stood up and patted his chest to assure himself.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Chief Steward Hou, and Deputy Chief Steward Du, please rest assured."

"In the subsequent command operations, I, together with the Central Army, will focus on annihilating the enemy!"

"I will do my best to help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince conquer Goguryeo!"

Seeing Zhang Jian being so understanding, Li Chengqian, Hou Junji and Du He all showed a relieved smile on their faces.

Who says warriors are all straightforward and have bad tempers?

Not to mention Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin, two cunning tough guys, even people like Zhang Liang and Zhang Jian are more cunning than the other.

This brain is very useful!

Hou Junji said solemnly: "The small city of Beisha has only 6000 defenders, but it can cause such huge losses to Zhang Liang's army of more than 3."

"The next city we are facing is Liaodong City, which is dozens of times more difficult to attack than Beisha City. We must be cautious in formulating a plan to capture the city."

Although the Tang army's infantry and cavalry were both elite, their total number was only over 10.

If they fought a battle of attrition, they would not be able to outlast the Goguryeo enemy fighting on their home ground.

Hearing Hou Junji's words, everyone in the hall nodded, their faces becoming extremely heavy.

There was silence for about ten breaths.

Hou Junji then suggested to Li Chengqian: "Your Highness, there are still two important cities that need to be taken in the Liaodong battlefield. One is Liaodong City, and the other is Anshi City."

"It will take at least eight days for Zhang Liang's troops to reach Liaodong City from Beisha City. By the time they arrive, I'm afraid we've already captured Liaodong City."

"As for Liaodong City, it won't be a big problem for our Central Army and Li Ji's troops to attack it. Why not let Zhang Liang lead his troops to besiege Anshi City?"

"After we take Liaodong City, we will join Zhang Liang's troops in attacking Anshi City!"

It has to be said that Hou Junji had a very big appetite and wanted to deal with two important cities of Goguryeo at once.

"this..."

Li Chengqian had a difficult look on his face.

He didn't know how to make a decision about such a major strategic arrangement, which would affect the entire body.

If the wrong decision is made, it might lead to the destruction of Zhang Liang's 2 troops, or even the entire Tang army.

He did not answer Hou Junji's question, but turned to look at his military advisor.

"Du He, what do you think?"

Du He rolled his eyes speechlessly.

What else can I see?

Look with your eyes!

This guy Li Chengqian has completely become a mascot and doesn't want to use his brain at all.

Complaints aside, we still need to give careful consideration to this major strategic arrangement.

Du He frowned and said, "It is estimated that there are still more than 20,000 enemy troops in Anshi City. Their combat effectiveness is very good."

"If Yeon Gaesomun sent a large army to rescue Anshi when Zhang Liang led 2 infantrymen to besiege the city, would Zhang Liang and his men be able to withstand the attack from both inside and outside of the Goguryeo army?"

Zhang Liang left 3000 soldiers to defend Beisha City, and asked the marching commander Qiu Xiaogong to lead more than 5000 navy to the mouth of the Yalu River to block the Goguryeo navy.

In other words, even if Zhang Liang's troops were besieged by the Goguryeo army, these reinforcements would not be able to provide assistance for a while.

All Zhang Liang could mobilize was 2 infantrymen to lead northward.

Hou Junji smiled and explained, "Deputy Chief Du, the fighting power of the Goguryeo army is not worth mentioning. They can only resist the attack of our Tang army by relying on the dangerous and solid city."

"If the two armies fight outside the city, even if we face two or three times as many Goguryeo soldiers, our Tang army will not be afraid at all!"

Speaking of this, Hou Junji shook his head and sighed.

"It's a pity that Zhang Liang has no cavalry, otherwise he could use the tactic of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements to deplete Goguryeo's strength."

Most of the cities on the Goguryeo side were built on the mountains, and the city walls built on the mountains were very difficult to break.

If we attack one city at a time, the losses on the Tang army's side in the end would probably not be a small problem.

The tactic of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements is a perfect way to overcome this major problem.

Su Dingfang, who seldom spoke, also spoke.

"Deputy Chief Administrator Du, before we besiege Liaodong City and Anshi City, we can first capture the small cities within hundreds of miles around."

"Liaodong City and Anshi City are not far apart. Without the obstruction of these small cities, if General Zhang and his men run into trouble, we can quickly send cavalry to support them."

Seeing that both commanders Hou Junji and Su Dingfang said this, Du He put aside his worries.

"I support the suggestion of Chief Steward Hou!"