Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

If you want to feign defeat successfully, you cannot be defeated in one battle. You must suffer a certain amount of casualties, otherwise you will not be able to deceive the enemy at all.

Everyone present was aware of the result, including Zhang Jian, the commander-in-chief of the army.

Li Chengqian said loudly: "Although the army suffered some casualties, this loss is worth it after achieving such a great victory."

"The battle is not over yet. I will use tea instead of wine to congratulate all the generals today!"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian raised the teacup on the table and gestured to the generals.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"please!"

A group of generals raised their teacups and gestured to Li Chengqian.

Tens of thousands of Goguryeo enemy troops were annihilated, and each general was credited with great military merit. This is something worth celebrating.

Moreover, there were only a few thousand defenders left in the Liaodong city ahead, which was like a sick tiger without claws and teeth. They were confident that they could capture this fortified city within a day.

Li Chengqian looked at the room full of generals and felt extremely envious of his father. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"It would be great if these generals were only loyal to me!"

If he had the support of these generals, the palace coup he planned last year might have succeeded.

What he should be wearing now is a dragon robe, not a prince's robe.

When his eyes fell on Hou Junji, Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai, Xue Rengui and others, his heart was filled with great ambition again.

With the support of this group of young and brave generals and the wise military strategist Du He, he is now very confident of succeeding to the throne.

However, now that he had such a good opportunity to be with a group of generals, Li Chengqian was not idle either. He praised them generously.

"General Li Ji and General Hou Junji commanded this battle very well. Du He and I were so excited watching you from the top of the mountain that we wanted to beat the drums to cheer you on."

"And the generals were also very brave, charging back and forth among the enemy troops as if they were in an empty space."

"With your charge, I am confident that we can completely conquer Goguryeo!"

Hearing the prince's high praise, these generals all showed happy smiles on their faces.

Li Ji pointed at Du He and said with a smile: "Your Highness, Deputy Chief Du should be credited with the greatest merit in this battle. If it weren't for his strategy of feigning defeat to lure the enemy, I'm afraid the defenders in Liaodong City wouldn't have been tricked out so easily."

The other generals all looked at Du He with curious expressions on their faces.

Many generals stationed outside had only heard of the sudden rise of Du He and they did not care much about him.

After all, there are too many talented people in the court, and Du He's performance is nothing to worry about for these military generals.

But now that Du He has been offering good advice to the army, these generals have begun to take Du He seriously.

A good military advisor plays a very important role in the direction of the war.

Zhang Shigui stroked his beard and said, "Du He, you have the style of my late father Du Ruhui!"

Li Daozong also said with emotion: "In addition to Du He, the young generals in the central army, such as Xi Junmai, Xue Rengui, Qin Huaidao, Yuchi Huan and Cheng Chuliang, also performed very well on the battlefield!"

"The second generation of generals of our Tang Dynasty has grown up!"

As a member of the royal family, Li Daozon's starting point for considering issues is different from that of other generals.

He doesn't care what faction they belong to, as long as these outstanding talents are loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

In response to the praise from these generals, Du He just smiled and nodded at them, and did not stand up to steal the limelight from Li Chengqian.

Half an hour later, all the generals were full and satisfied.

Under Hou Junji's instructions, the soldiers in charge of logistics quickly removed the leftovers.

Hou Junji stood up and said solemnly: "Generals, let's discuss tomorrow's siege plan!"

Inside the tent, all the generals straightened up instantly, their faces becoming solemn.

A frontal siege tests the siege skills and the techniques of the craftsmen.

Therefore, Chief Architect Yan Lide, General Jiang Que of the Left Tunwei Army, Junior Architect Qiu Xingyan and others also participated in this siege meeting.

When it comes to a head-on attack on the city, Du He has no good ideas to offer.

Like Li Chengqian and others, he listened quietly to the discussion of these generals and craftsmen.

Because there were so many generals in the tent, the chief architect Yan Lide did not dare to play any tricks, but instead proposed a number of methods.

Before I knew it, it was late at night.

Inside Liaodong City.

Lisa Gao Changyi was also summoning the only three remaining generals to urgently discuss countermeasures.

The commander of the South Gate suggested: "Gao Lisa, the 5 defenders in the city may not be able to withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Tang troops. The most urgent task is to find reinforcements to support us!"

"At the same time, we must mobilize the people in the city and ask them to help us defend the city."

Gao Changyi said in a hoarse voice: "I will write a letter right now and ask the nearest Baiyan City to send a large army to rescue us!"

Although Noosa Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen had an army of 15 under their command, they were currently in the remote Heshenggu City.

By the time they lead their army to support us, Liaodong City would probably have been breached long ago.

Gao Changyi turned to look at an old general and said in a deep voice: "General Jin, tomorrow morning you go and mobilize the people in the city, regardless of gender, age or status, as long as they can move."

"Tell the people that the Tang army will not leave anyone alive after they break into the city. If you want to survive, you must follow the army and fight to the death."

After hearing Gao Changyi's order, the three generals spoke in unison.

"As ordered!"

After they finished talking, they all left the City Lord's Mansion.

Gao Changyi sat there in a daze for a while, then he walked to the backyard and gave instructions to his family members.

"Pack up all your belongings. If we cannot resist the Tang army's attack tomorrow, our whole family will leave Liaodong City!"

The east gate of Liaodong City was not surrounded by the Tang army, so if it could not be defended, it would not be a problem to escape.

He is a member of the royal family with noble status, and he cannot die in Liaodong City like these untouchables.

...

The next day.

The sun has not yet risen.

Hundreds of catapults were pushed by the Tang army to the north gate, east gate and south gate.

Chief Architect Yan Lide and Junior Architect Qiu Xingyan and others led thousands of craftsmen and tens of thousands of soldiers to prepare the things needed for the siege.

Cut wood for the pontoon bridge and large stones for the trebuchet.

Time passed quickly in the busyness and soon it was afternoon.

The Tang army did not launch an attack, but continued to move stones.

Next to each trebuchet, there was a pile of huge stones as high as a hill.

On the wall of Liaodong City.

Gao Changyi and several generals watched with worried faces as the Tang army made preparations for the war, but they were powerless to do anything.

On the city wall, in addition to the Goguryeo defenders, there was also a large group of civilians.

Different from the strict military discipline of the regular army, these people were chattering non-stop as if they were buying vegetables in the market.

"It's getting late now. It looks like the Tang army won't attack today."

"Great, we survived another day."

"I heard that Gao Lisa also prepared meals for us, with enough rice and meat to satisfy our hunger."

"Really? Then I have to eat more."

As night fell, the Tang army still did not launch an attack, and Gao Changyi ordered his soldiers to make a fire and cook.

At this moment, the Tang army's horn sounded.

"Woooooo~"

Not long after, a large number of huge rocks suddenly flew in the sky.

The commander of the South Gate shouted, "The Tang army is attacking, everyone prepare to meet the enemy!"