Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Upon hearing the good news brought by Cheng Huailiang, Li Chengqian and Du He looked at each other with joy on their faces.

“Hahaha!” Li Chengqian laughed loudly and excitedly said, “Hou Junji fought well in this battle!”

"You defeated the enemy with a smaller force and annihilated most of the enemy troops. You are worthy of being my appointed commander-in-chief of the central army!"

At the end, Li Chengqian did not forget to brag about himself.

The unhappiness in his heart about the disastrous defeat suffered by Zhang Jian's troops was also alleviated a lot.

Du He glanced at Li Chengqian, then asked Cheng Huailiang in a low voice.

"Huailiang, what are the casualties on our side?"

"General Hou asked you to come back, but does he have any other instructions?"

Seeing Du He asking about the army's casualties, Li Chengqian restrained his excited expression and looked at Cheng Huailiang nervously.

His hands were also clenched into fists.

Cheng Huailiang quickly replied: "General Hou personally led the army to continue chasing the fleeing enemy troops, so the casualties on our side have not been counted."

"And the more than 3 enemy troops we annihilated are only the number on the main battlefield. After the battle is over, the number should increase significantly."

"General Hou said that the army will be stationed around the battlefield tonight and is expected to return to the city tomorrow afternoon."

When Cheng Huailiang mentioned Hou Junji, a look of admiration appeared on his face.

Du He laughed in silence and said, "General Hou has gone crazy with killing!"

Through this battle of Hou Junji, Du He also roughly guessed the combat effectiveness of the Mohe tribes.

To put it bluntly, they relied on their large numbers, but the soldiers under their command were not elite, and their deterrent power was far less than that of Goguryeo's elite cavalry.

From this point of view, Li Ji and his men probably wouldn't have much of a problem facing the 10-strong joint army of Goguryeo and Mohe.

Li Chengqian also said to Cheng Huailiang excitedly: "Huailiang, go back and tell Hou Junji later that I will prepare a banquet in advance tomorrow to welcome the army's triumphant return!"

"promise!"

Cheng Huailiang responded excitedly with a fist clasped.

At this time, Xue Rengui, who was standing nearby, said, "Your Highness, Deputy Chief Steward Su asked me to come back and ask Your Highness to send infantry to transport the wounded and the spoils of war back to Baiyan City."

"Although the cavalry of Wugut City was badly defeated by us, many of them still escaped."

"Once these cavalrymen come back, I'm afraid they will cause huge casualties to us."

Well...

Li Chengqian's face froze.

He seemed to be pulled back from his beautiful dream to the cruel reality by Xue Rengui, and his excitement fell from the clouds to the bottom of the valley.

Thinking of the more than 6000 casualties in Zhang Jian's troops, Li Chengqian suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart.

He frowned and said in a deep voice: "Rengui, you lead 2000 infantrymen over now."

"promise!"

After Xue Rengui bowed respectfully, he strode down the city wall with big strides.

Then Cheng Huailiang also clasped his fists towards Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I also need to rush to the battlefield now to command the post-war disposal."

Li Chengqian said with a smile: "It's dark and windy at night, and the road is unclear. You should ride slowly."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

After Cheng Huailiang saluted again, he left Baiyan City with his personal guards.

On the city wall.

Only Li Chengqian, Du He and Qin Huaidao were left.

"Ah!" Li Chengqian sighed. He asked Du He with a troubled look on his face, "Du He, Zhang Jian signed a military order before going to the battle, but he suffered a great defeat and almost all of his infantry and cavalry were killed or wounded."

"How do you think we should deal with Zhang Jian?"

Du He shook his head and said, "Your Highness, you are the commander-in-chief of the army, you can make the decision."

Seeing Du He started to pretend to be dead again, Li Chengqian said with a pout.

"Du He, you want to quit again?"

Du He said speechlessly: "Your Highness, I am just an ordinary military advisor. How can I interfere with the punishment of the general?"

"This kind of important matter should be decided by you and Hou Junji."

After saying that, Du He touched his stomach which was growling with hunger and continued.

"Your Highness, the Black Armor Army and the remnants of Zhang Jian's army will return to the city later. We must arrange good food for them in advance."

"The soldiers have been fighting for a whole day, and I'm afraid they are starving."

Although Zhang Jian was defeated, the soldiers under his command were not at fault.

They fought bravely on the battlefield and did not surrender or flee. They deserve respect just like the soldiers who won the battle.

Li Chengqian nodded, and then ordered Qin Huaidao: "Huaidao, put the food down. I and Du He will eat on the city wall."

"Go down now and make arrangements. Have someone slaughter more chickens and sheep to reward our soldiers."

"Yes!" Qin Huaidao responded.

He then ordered the soldiers behind him: "Put down the food and wine!"

After ordering the soldiers to put down the food, he trotted down the city wall.

The two people, who had been hungry for most of the day, sat down on the futons at the same time and started to eat the food on the table.

Li Chengqian was eating when he suddenly asked, "Du He, do you think we should chop Zhang Jian up and sacrifice him?"

"Pfft..."

Du He couldn't help but spit out all the wine in his mouth.

Fortunately, he turned his head in time and the liquid did not spray onto the food.

"Cough cough~"

Du He coughed twice, then took a clean towel beside him to wipe the corner of his mouth, and then asked in confusion.

"Your Highness, are you serious?"

Li Chengqian pouted and said, "Aren't I asking for your opinion?"

"As the deputy commander of the Central Army, why do you start playing dead when you encounter a difficult problem?"

"I had known that I would have proposed to my father that you be appointed as the chief commander of the central army. Let's see what excuses you have to refuse."

Good guy.

Faced with Li Chengqian's damn sense of trust, Du He didn't know what to say.

Seeing that Du He didn't say anything, Li Chengqian changed the subject and asked.

"Du He, now that we are missing Zhang Jian's 2 troops, how much of an impact will this have on our subsequent battle arrangements?"

When talking about serious matters, Du He also became serious.

After thinking for a moment, Du He said softly: "Excluding the soldiers left behind to defend the city, Li Ji and Zhang Liang's troops together have 6 people, and our central army still has more than 5 people."

"We have already wiped out most of Goguryeo's main forces. If they don't continue to recruit soldiers, their total army will be less than 23."

"If you add up the tens of thousands of Mohe soldiers, there would only be about 30."

When Li Chengqian heard that there were still 32 troops in the territory of Goguryeo, his face changed slightly.

He asked in confusion: "Du He, we have already annihilated more than 18 enemy troops before, and Hou Junji annihilated more than 3 in this battle. How come there are still so many enemy troops?"

Du He said softly: "Before the war, Goguryeo had 38 troops. Together with the 10 troops of the Mohe tribes and tens of thousands of troops temporarily recruited, they had nearly 50 troops!"

"However, Goguryeo's men have been recruited almost completely, and they will not be able to recruit any more soldiers in the future."

Goguryeo had a total population of only 350 million, and the 40 troops they recruited were already their limit.

Li Chengqian suddenly realized: "I came here as I wished!"