Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 1123
Li Zhi has been under a lot of pressure recently.

Wang Shidong's expedition, the enmity of two dynasties and three generations, was ashamed to be served.

Various logistics issues such as the mobilization of soldiers, the financing of food and grass, ordnance, firearms and gunpowder all required Li Zhi to personally intervene and solve them.

The soldiers in front fought to the death. Li Zhi could not lead the expedition himself, but he had to take care of the logistical matters, so that when the soldiers fought bloody battles, they did not have to worry about not having enough food, clothing, warmth and ammunition.

Why did the Central Plains Dynasty make many expeditions to the east, and they basically abandoned the waterway to land, but they had to fight across the border from the northeast land first.

The biggest reason is that the battle of the Eastern Expedition must first ensure the smooth flow of grain roads. Yingzhou on the northeast border of the Tang Dynasty is the concentration of grain and grass. Only when you come down can you sing forward without any worries.

As for the raising of grain and grass, Li Zhi personally took over from the Ministry of Households after Master Wang left for the expedition. Regardless of the quantity of grain and grass shipped to Goguryeo, Li Zhi would personally intervene and even check the quality of the grain face to face.

This battle of the Eastern Expedition has too much to do with it, so big that even he, the emperor, must be trembling.

The enmity of the three generations ended in Yu Si's service.Li Zhi placed a heavy bet on this battle. He bet on the fortune of the Tang Dynasty and his reputation in the history books.

After two days and two nights of sleepless nights, Li Zhi was extremely exhausted. He still tried his best to read the memorials, and tried his best to obtain grain from Huainan, Jiangnan and other places rich in grain and rice.

Measuring the material resources of the whole country is only to ensure that the soldiers in front will not go hungry, but the Tang Dynasty has not been considered smooth in the past few years, and there is not much food in the official warehouses in various places. In the past six months, the official warehouses in almost all states and counties have been emptied by the imperial court.

Rubbing the center of his brows irritably, Li Zhi stared at the words on the memorial, feeling dizzy for a long time.

Li Zhi put down his pen, closed his eyes and rested on the soft bed.

Too tired recently, too little sleep, old problems that haven't been committed for many years, seem to have a comeback.

But no matter how tired he was, he still had to continue reviewing the memorandum. Now the king's battle was going smoothly and advancing steadily. Under Li Ji's command, the Tang army had controlled all the land in the northern part of Goguryeo, and it was about to attack the capital Pyongyang.

At such a critical moment, Li Zhi must not relax in the slightest.

Li Zhi heard a rush of footsteps from far to near in the hall, and his heart sank.

The palace has the rules of the palace, unless it is an emergency military report, otherwise the palace people dare not run so rudely.

Sure enough, an eunuch came to the gate of the palace and said: "Your Majesty, the British Duke Li Ji has reported to the emergency army for eight hundred miles."

"Send it quickly!" Li Zhi hurriedly said.

The eunuch entered the hall with the wooden box and the memorabilia in both hands.

Li Zhi inspected the wooden box and the sealing sealer of the memorial, and then opened it to read the memorial first.

After only reading a few lines, Li Zhi couldn't help being shocked, and lost his voice: "Jing Chu is seriously injured?"

In mid-August, Li Ji was injured by falling from his horse, and the command was handed over to Qibi Heli.

Qibi Heli led the main force of the king's army to the south to conquer and humiliate Yicheng. Li Ji was injured and could not travel far, so Li Ji, Li Qinzai and [-] soldiers were stationed in the camp outside Black Bone City.

Three days later, the Tang army camp outside Black Bone City was raided by [-] alien cavalry. Li Qinzai sent Li Ji away and led [-] troops to defend against the enemy.

In the bloody battle for a day and a night, [-] Tang troops fought against [-] enemy troops, and almost the entire army was wiped out. Li Qinzai fought to the death and did not retreat until he was seriously injured.

The [-] enemy troops were killed, Li Qinzai's life was hanging by a thread, he was in a coma for two days and two nights, he suffered from serious internal injuries and suffered multiple fractures all over his body.

After reading Li Ji's autograph, Li Zhi was furious, and said, "Mohe, Shiwei, and the Xi family! What a thief, dare to break the alliance and break the contract, and hurt my important minister!"

A sense of dizziness hit, Li Zhi sat down heavily, and it took him a long time to calm down before he got better.

"Li Jingchu...so strong!" Li Zhi murmured, "You are worthy of being my important minister, I would rather die than lose, I am so lucky!"

Another sound of footsteps came from outside the hall, accompanied by bursts of melodious ornaments, gold and jade, and the elegantly dressed Empress Wu hurried into the hall.

"Your Majesty, my concubine heard that there is a military newspaper ahead, but I don't know if it's a victory?" Empress Wu asked.

For the battle of the Eastern Expedition, not only Li Zhi was concerned, but Empress Wu was also very concerned.

No matter how many irreconcilable conflicts the husband and wife have accumulated in the past, once there is a large-scale national war, the husband and wife will work together to fight the outside world.

This is the tacit understanding that Li Zhi and Empress Wu have reached over the years.

These days, it was not only Li Zhi who worked hard, but also Empress Wu.

Seeing Empress Wu enter the palace, Li Zhi's expression was both distressed and anxious, and he handed Li Ji's memorial to her.

Empress Wu was not too polite, the emperor had done so many times to review the memorials back then, what does it matter to read a military newspaper.

After reading the ten lines at a glance, Empress Wu frowned slightly, and said in surprise, "How could Li Jingchu..."

After speaking, Empress Wu was silent for a moment, and sighed: "Jing Chu has always been slick, but I didn't expect that he would rather die than retreat. When the battle was unfavorable, he could have ordered the withdrawal of troops. As long as he tried his best, I believe His Majesty would not blame him."

Li Zhi shook his head: "At the time of the battle, Jing Chu could not retreat. If the [-] cavalry were unstoppable, they would go all the way south and raid the back of the main force of our king's army. Besides, Duke Ying was still on the way to be sent away. If Jing Chu retreated , Duke Ying may be in danger, it is right not to retreat."

"Jing Chu is usually slippery and cunning, but in the face of righteousness, he is as innocent as a jade."

Empress Wu sighed: "Your Majesty, the memorial said that Jing Chu was seriously injured and could not wake up. This was a memorial half a month ago, and I don't know that Jing Chu is now..."

Li Zhi showed a deep worried look, and said: "I hope nothing will happen, I really can't bear the loss of a loyal minister and a good friend."

"Your Majesty, regardless of whether Jing Chu is alive or dead, the concubine thinks that His Majesty should issue a decree to reward the excellent shirts, and specially order Jing Chu to return to Chang'an to recuperate. Even if Jing Chu survived, with his injuries, he would not be able to lead the army in Goguryeo. It’s better to go back to Chang’an to rest in peace than to fight.”

Li Zhi nodded approvingly: "That's right, it's enough for Jingchu to do this for me and the Tang Dynasty. He should be recalled to Chang'an. He is still so young, and he will be older in the future."

The couple looked at each other and reached a consensus.

Li Zhi pondered for a moment, then picked up a pen to write on the yellow silk.

…………

British government.

Butler Wu rushed into the backyard almost scrambling, yelling in the backyard in disregard of the rules and etiquette.

"Young madam, it's not good! The old man went to Beijing, something happened to Wu Shaolang!"

As soon as the words were finished, the door of the wing room opened, and Cui Jie and Jin Xiang rushed out. After running two steps, the tears of the two daughters could not be stopped, crying while running.

Running in front of Butler Wu, Cui Jie cried, "What's wrong with my husband? What happened to him?"

Butler Wu wiped away his tears and said: "The memorandum of the old man came to Beijing today. I heard that there was a battle outside Goguryeo Black Bone City. Wu Shaolang led [-] soldiers and horses to fight to the death with [-] enemy cavalry. My king's army was almost wiped out." , Wu Shaolang was hit by a war horse and was seriously injured, his life and death are unknown!"

As soon as the words were finished, the two girls couldn't stand anymore, grabbed each other's arms, and collapsed to the ground at the same time, Jin Xiang even fainted.

(End of this chapter)