Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 185 Two birds with one stone

The performance of the god arm crossbow can be said to have surprised everyone present, especially the dozens of hundred cavalry guards. It was the first time they had seen such a powerful crossbow. Before that, they thought they could have The only one with such power is the Fuyuan Crossbow.

Fuyuan Crossbow is a bed crossbow. Although it has a great range and power, it is very troublesome to transport and requires two people to operate.

In contrast, the god arm crossbow has too many advantages. Not only can it be carried by a single person, but also has a pedal that can be stepped on with feet. With the help of the strength of feet and hands, one person can directly pull the string and shoot, which is very practical. Enhanced, it can be called a battlefield weapon!
The God Arm Crossbow is a good thing. Not only Gao Ming and the Hundred Knights know this, but even Li Yin, a guy who often makes mistakes in his brain, knows it well. After seeing the power of the God Arm Crossbow, he immediately jumped up.

"Oh, brother, this is a good thing. If you dedicate it to the father, the father will reward us heavily. Let's go, let's go back to Chang'an now!"

Looking at the excited Li Yin, Gao Ming smiled and shook his head.

"I got this thing out for hunting. Besides, it's rare for us to come out once. It would be embarrassing if we went back empty-handed."

Having said that, Gao Ming immediately waved his hand towards the Hundred Knights behind him.

"There are a total of twelve crossbows here. Come here and twelve with good skills. Follow me to hunt Nanshan. I'm so happy today. Everyone who goes will be rewarded with a penny. The one with the most prey will be rewarded with ten pennies. Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Following Gao Ming's order, more than 50 hundred cavalry guards mounted their horses one after another, and then set off to hunt with Gao Ming.

As expected, the Hundred Knights were born as killers. Their speed of mastering weapons was not so fast. Soon they became proficient in playing the god arm crossbow. accelerate.

Benben was not idle either. During the hunting process, every time someone shot a prey to the ground, this guy would immediately rush up and bite the prey, and then triumphantly bring the prey back to Gao Ming, amusing himself. Gao Ming laughed out loud.

In the afternoon, except for Gao Ming and Li Yin, all the people's war horses had more or less prey hanging on their horses. The small ones included rabbits, golden pheasants, and bobcats, while the big ones included deer and wild boars. rich.

Gao Ming is not an insatiable person. Seeing that he has gained so much, he immediately waved his hand.

"Shut up, save the rest and fight again in the autumn. Now I order everyone to go home!"

"Follow the prince's order!"

Following Gao Ming's order, everyone returned with their prey. After returning to the manor, everyone began to deal with the prey consciously without waiting for Gao Ming's order. Gao Ming was not stingy, and directly ordered an extra meal at night. Everyone applauded in unison.

After eating, Gao Ming went back to rest, and then returned to Chang'an early the next morning with his people.

After returning to Chang'an, Gao Ming went to the royal club first, and after knowing that nothing happened in the past two days, he returned to the palace with peace of mind.

When Gao Ming returned to the East Palace, he would naturally be greeted by Su Wan'er and the others. Gao Ming certainly didn't get annoyed by his family's concerns, and answered their questions patiently.

Especially Li Jue, although the little guy was usually very afraid of Gao Ming, but this time seeing Gao Ming came back, he even got into Gao Ming's arms and cried, which made Gao Ming not only a little dumbfounded, but also a little touched.

It was also at this moment that Gao Ming suddenly realized that he already had a feeling for this place called "home".

"This is my home!"

Just when Gao Ming was full of emotion, Liu Bing came.

"His Royal Highness, Your Majesty invites you to discuss matters in the Imperial Study Room!"

Hearing Liu Bing's words, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"Okay, I'll go now!"

After finishing speaking, Gao Ming hugged Su Wan'er lightly again, and then smiled at her.

"Wan'er, prepare the vegetables and rice, I'll be back to eat in a while!"

Feeling Gao Ming's intimate gesture, Su Wan'er immediately blushed and nodded.

"Yes, sir!"

After leaving the East Palace, Gao Ming followed Liu Bing to the Imperial Study Room. At this time, Li Shimin was playing with a crossbow in the courtyard of the Imperial Study Room, while Li Yin was standing beside him with a flattering face.

Seeing Gao Ming coming, Li Yin immediately smiled at him.

"Brother, you are here. Just now, my father was still praising your crossbow as a sharp weapon!"

Hearing Li Yin's words, Gao Ming also laughed.

"If this crossbow was 30 or [-] years ago, it would indeed be considered a sharp weapon, but now, it can only be regarded as a good hunting tool."

As soon as Gao Ming's voice fell, Li Shimin immediately showed interest.

"What does Gao Ming mean by that?"

Seeing Li Shimin's half-smile expression, Gao Ming shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Isn't this obvious? Everyone used the more powerful bed crossbow when attacking and defending the city, while the cavalry used more convenient bows and arrows, so this crossbow is used to deal with infantry."

Gao Ming is telling the truth, because history has proved that before the appearance of machine guns, large-scale cavalry charges can be said to be unsolvable. Even if the magic arm crossbow can shoot 200 meters away, the cavalry only needs a dozen seconds to reach the distance of 200 meters. After the run, all that remains is the slaughter.

Only cavalry can deal with cavalry, Li Shimin also knew this, so after hearing Gao Ming's words, he nodded immediately.

"That's a good point, let's go on!"

"Yes!"

Gao Ming nodded, and then continued to speak.

"Twenty or thirty years ago, as long as our enemies were the Sui army and warlord forces in various places, these forces were basically infantry, so the magic arm crossbow should have a great effect, but now the four sides have been calmed down, so the magic arm crossbow Naturally, crossbows are of little use, unless..."

Seeing that Gao Ming stopped talking halfway through, Li Shimin immediately raised his eyebrows. .

"Unless what? But it doesn't matter!"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming rolled his eyes immediately, and then grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Unless you want to fight Goguryeo!"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Li Shimin burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, I knew you would be able to guess it. Now that you have guessed it, let me tell you what you think!"

Hearing Li Shimin asking his opinion, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"Okay, then I'll just say it straight, my idea is that I can't fight!"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Li Shimin frowned.

"Why? Don't you also think that I am a militaristic person?"

Looking at Li Shimin's displeased expression, Gao Ming immediately understood that he must have been provoked by those civil servants who talked about benevolence and morality when he was in court.

Thinking of this, Gao Ming immediately shook his head.

"Of course not. What I mean is that you can't fight Goguryeo now, not that you can't fight in the future."

Having said this, Gao Ming immediately smiled at Li Shimin.

"At the beginning, Yang Guang made three conquests of Goguryeo. Although some of them were due to his great success, there was also a big reason that he planned to conquer Goguryeo to alleviate the increasingly acute domestic conflicts. Unfortunately, he failed, which accelerated the demise of the Sui Dynasty."

After listening to Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin nodded immediately.

"I understand what you mean. You mean that the Tang Dynasty is peaceful and peaceful, so I don't need to conquer Goguryeo, but now Goguryeo has a heart of disobedience. Not only does it refuse to pay tribute, but it also attacks Silla, my vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. How can you let it go?"

Seeing Li Shimin's resentful expression, Gao Ming suddenly showed a wry smile.

"I didn't say nothing, but it's really inconvenient for us to start a full-scale war with them now. How about this? Isn't Hou Junji in the Anton Governor's Mansion? You make a decree, let him go to Goguryeo now, and don't attack him The main purpose is to kill the enemy in the city, and to destroy their crops outside the city."

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin shook his head immediately.

"No, if we don't attack the city and pull out the strongholds, our Tang army will not be able to penetrate into the interior of Goguryeo, but it will only destroy the crops near the Andong Protectorate, which will have no effect on Goguryeo."

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"I know this, and I didn't expect to defeat Goguryeo in this way, but think about it, old man, if our soldiers are approaching the city, will Goguryeo increase its troops? Since it needs to increase its troops, will it increase taxes? Our Tang Dynasty has a vast land and abundant resources. We can afford it, but they are different, as long as it has been delayed for three to five years, if we don't need to fight by then, they will be in chaos."

After hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin immediately slapped his hands.

"Yes, we can afford it, but they can't afford it. The more they increase their troops, the more they consume. If they don't increase their troops, then I will tear down their city, hahahaha!"

Looking at Li Shimin who was laughing loudly, Gao Ming also had a smile on his face.

"That's right, if this strategy succeeds, it's gratifying. Even if it fails, you can find an excuse to kill Hou Junji. This is called killing two birds with one stone!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin immediately slapped the table.

"Okay, let's do it like this. After tomorrow's court meeting, I will declare war on Goguryeo. You two go back!"

After finishing speaking, Li Shimin got up and went into the imperial study to write the imperial decree. After he entered, Li Yin, who was dazed aside, looked at Gao Ming with admiration.

"Brother, you are too powerful, how do you know this? Teach me, okay?"

Looking at Li Yin who was looking at him adoringly, Gao Ming suddenly smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Read more books and you will know, but I think this is too difficult for you, so you just need to live well."

"..."

After leaving the imperial study, Gao Ming went back to the East Palace directly. At this time, Su Wan'er had already prepared lunch. After Gao Ming returned, he ate a full meal, and then took a comfortable nap with his wife in his arms.

With Wen Yu in his arms, Gao Ming's mouth suddenly curled into a smile.

"Happiness is that simple."

(End of this chapter)