A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1255: The Ever-Defeated General Li Shiji

The moon is quiet in front of Feishuang Palace.

The emperor gave a banquet in Feishuang Palace. The six prime ministers and several generals of the imperial guards took a hot spring bath, had a massage, and then enjoyed this exquisite dinner, as well as music and dance.
Enjoyed it a lot.

The emperor was in a much better mood, but Fang Xuanling still had no expression. No one could be happy about his two sons being exiled to Suiye.
He had not yet recovered from the blow, and the delicious food and wine tasted like wax.

Wei Zheng told Wu Huaiyu that he had let it go and was ready to be buried in the earth, but Wu Huaiyu had talked to him a lot in the past few days, and Lao Niu Bizi had also been trying hard to adjust his diet and daily life. It was obvious that Wei Zheng didn't want to die either.

He stopped drinking imperial wine, and even stopped eating his favorite mutton stew, because Wu Huaiyu said it would aggravate rheumatism.

Just eat spinach, don’t eat glutinous rice, and eat wild rice, which can alleviate the symptoms of diabetes.

The dinner atmosphere was quite relaxed.

It feels like a group of retired senior cadres on vacation.
full of wine and food,

Li Shimin suddenly said to Wu Huaiyu, "The Crown Prince ordered that Su Lie, the governor of Yaozhou, be transferred to be the governor of Yingzhou and the protector of Andong. What do you think, Erlang?"

Wu Huaiyu thought for a while,

"Su Lie is a fierce general who is good at charging into battle. He is also good at cavalry raids and is both brave and resourceful. He has guarded Yaozhou for many years and performed very well. He not only intimidated the Wuman and Baiman in the south, but also pacified the people and did a good job in immigration and farming. He led the army on horseback and governed the people on foot. His political achievements are very good.
Your Highness the Crown Prince transferred him to Yingzhou. I think this is a good use of talent. This year, the court will fight against Xueyantuo in the north, and Goguryeo in Liaodong needs to be defended. Yingzhou chose a brave and resourceful general like Su Lie to supervise the military, which is very appropriate. "

Wu Huaiyu understood why the emperor wanted Su Lie to do so.

Everyone knew that Su Lie was his senior brother, and the emperor still mentioned him at this time, but Wu Huaiyu still directly recommended him. This was not a case of protecting a shortcoming. Both publicly and privately, Su Lie was very suitable for this position.

Moreover, as a leader of a mountain, even if he has to keep a low profile now,

But at such a critical moment, he still has to stand up and say a few words for his brothers, otherwise no one will follow him in the future.

Li Shimin rubbed his short beard and said nothing.

Wei Zheng continued, "Su Dingfang is from Hebei. Although he followed Dou Jiande and Liu Heita in his early years, he joined his father to form a local army to defend his hometown when he was a teenager. He was brave enough to fight against ten thousand enemies. He joined the army again in the early Zhenguan period and destroyed the Turks and settled in Nanzhong. He also made great contributions.

At this time when the imperial court was looking for people, Su Dingfang had already proved his outstanding ability as the governor of Yaozhou. He was not only able to lead troops, but also to intimidate the barbarians. The conditions of Yaozhou Governor's Office were far worse than those of Yingzhou, but he had achieved outstanding political achievements.

Now the Crown Prince has chosen him to be the governor of Yingzhou, and I think he is very suitable."

Xiao Yu also felt that before the war, the post of Governor of Yingzhou could not be vacant, and Su Lie was indeed a good candidate.

Ma Zhou and Liu Li did not express their opinions. They were from Wu Huaiyu, and now there were many voices of support, so they did not need to say anything.

Only Fang Xuanling was still sitting there in a daze.

Li Shimin pondered for a long time.

The reason why he mentioned this matter to Wu Huaiyu at this dinner was actually to let Wu Huaiyu take the initiative to stand up and oppose Su Lie's appointment as the governor of Yingzhou and the protector of Andong. Unexpectedly, Wu Huaiyu supported it so frankly.

Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu also strongly supported it, which surprised the emperor.

But after thinking for a while, Li Shimin nodded.

"What you said makes sense. Su Lie is qualified in all aspects. Let Su Lie go to Yingzhou. During the Northern Expedition, he and Youzhou Governor Cheng Mingzhen will both serve as deputy generals of the Eastern Route Army."

"The Xueyantuo have become more and more arrogant in recent years. Yi Nan has forgotten that he is where he is today because of the grace of the Tang Dynasty. Now he has forgotten his roots."

Xueyantuo is now a thorn in the throat of the Tang Dynasty and must be removed.

"Huaiyu, two years ago our army gathered to defend in the south of the desert, and Xueyantuo finally retreated. This time, our Tang Dynasty will send out a strong army to attack and march to the north of the desert, which is more difficult than fighting in the south of the desert."

The imperial court's strategy towards the Xueyantuo over the years has always been to keep them in check and appease them, freeing up its hands to deal with the Eastern and Western Turks, Tuyuhun, and even the Dangxiang Qiang.
The Tang Dynasty actually hoped that the Xueyantuo could cross the desert and come to the south to fight, so it made many preparations for this purpose, such as allowing the Eastern Turks to restore their country, setting up six military towns north of the Yin Mountains, and setting up the Shanyu Protectorate in the northern part of the Great Wall. It had already completed three deep defense lines north of the capital.

The Tang Dynasty wanted to play at home and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, and even use the Eastern Turks as cannon fodder.

But Yinan was not stupid. Although he had been clamoring a lot over the years, he had never severed his relationship with the Tang Dynasty. Although they had argued a lot, they had never really crossed the desert.

Both sides were very cautious and did not act rashly.

Now that all parties have been pacified and the Xueyantuo refuse to come south, the Tang Dynasty has no choice but to move north.

"For this battle, I think you, Huaiyu, have the most experience,"

Wu Huaiyu smiled and shook his head when he heard this, "My body is not fit to ride a horse right now, let alone march thousands of miles north. I really can't do it.

Besides, there are so many generals in the court, any one of them will be enough."

The battle plan drawn up by the court was led by Li Ji.

But because of a shocking case,
Now many of the main generals in the original plan have been beheaded or exiled.

For example, the brothers Xue Wanche, Xue Wanjun, and Xue Wanshu, as well as Li Daozon and Zhishisiliyuan, were all generals in the Northern Expedition, but now they are unable to take part in this Northern Expedition.

The court needed urgent readjustment.

Li Shimin's proposal to let Wu Huaiyu lead the Northern Expedition again was not entirely a test, but a decision he made after serious consideration and for the sake of greater security.

With Wu Huaiyu taking action, there is absolutely a guarantee.

But he was somewhat worried that if he made more achievements, it would be even more difficult to place him in the future, so he hesitated. Wu Huaiyu's straightforward refusal made Li Shimin less entangled.

Remove the wine and food, and replace them with tea and snacks.
Li Shimin discussed the Northern Expedition with several prime ministers and generals.

Because several generals who were originally scheduled to march north were missing, including Li Daozon, Xue Wanche, and Zhishishili, many adjustments needed to be made.

But the time of dispatching troops remains unchanged.

This time, the troops were dispatched in spring, which was different from the nomadic tribes who usually dispatched troops in autumn and winter. When the Central Plains fought against the nomadic tribes, they basically chose to dispatch troops in spring.

This has been the case since Emperor Wu of Han fought against the Huns. This is the experience summarized from many years of war.

Fighting from the south to the north, the troops were dispatched in spring, as the weather would get warmer the more they fought. In addition, in spring, the war horses of the grassland tribes had just survived the winter and were at their weakest. Their livestock, cattle and sheep, were also in the breeding season.

Attacking at this time will be when the nomadic tribes are at their weakest. Even after attacking the grassland, you can set fire to the grass so that their cattle and sheep will have no grass to eat. Chasing can also make the nomadic tribes run around, causing their female livestock and women to miscarry.
Even the once powerful Xiongnu, faced with the continuous and proactive attacks of the Han Empire, eventually saw its strength decline and suffered terribly.

"Then let Li Ji continue to be the chief officer of the Northern Expedition and lead the troops out of Shuozhou."

The troops from Shuo, Bing, Fen, Ji, Lan, Dai, Xin, Wei and Yun states were mobilized, as well as part of the imperial guards at Chang'an, to form a central army of 9, which marched directly northward across the Yinshan Mountains.

The Eastern Turkic Khan Li Simo was appointed as the deputy general of the central route and the commander-in-chief of the vanguard. He assembled 30,000 troops from the six Eastern Turkic governorates to participate in the war, and recruited 10,000 young and strong men from the Eastern Turkic tribes to be responsible for logistics, supplies, livestock, etc.

Shanyu Grand Protector and Fengzhou Protector Duan Zhixuan went out of Hetao, Liangzhou Governor Niu Jinda went out of Hexi, Right Guard General Li Daliang went out of Lingzhou, and Right Tunwei General Zhang Shigui went out of Youzhou.

The four general managers selected to play auxiliary roles in these four routes are Duan Zhixuan, Niu Jinda, Li Daliang and Zhang Shigui, who replace Li Daozon, Xue Wanche and Zhishisili.

Cheng Mingzhen, the governor of Youzhou, and Su Dingfang, the governor of Yingzhou, served as deputy generals of Zhang Shigui, the governor of Youzhou Road.

In addition to these five armies,
Li Shimin still followed the original plan and wanted to transfer troops to the Western Regions to increase pressure on Xueyantuo, tie down part of their troops, and even, if there was a chance, turn it into the main attack.

The Anxi Protector General Wu Huaiyi was appointed as the chief administrator, the Nanting Khan She'er was appointed as the deputy chief administrator. Originally, the Beiting Protector General Xie Shufang was also planned to be the deputy chief administrator, but he was also implicated by Xue Wanche and was about to be transferred.

In fact, there were seven armies attacking in total, with a total of 200,000 troops.

After the readjustment, several generals including Li Daozon, Xue Wanche, Fan Xing, and Xie Shufang were removed from the list.

The new list of names for the northern expedition was initially discussed.

Wei Zheng suddenly said, "Although Li Ji followed Zhai Rang to establish Wagangzhai when he was a teenager, and he also served in Bingzhou for more than ten years, Li Ji never won any major battles. The only record he could show off was when he served as a deputy general and followed Weiguogong Li Jing and Wu Xiang to destroy the Eastern Turks. But in that battle, Li Ji did not make any outstanding contributions, and was even worse than Su Dingfang, who was only the chief steward of a son at the time."

"I think that this time we are going to march north to attack Xueyantuo, and we will have to mobilize so many troops and money and food that we can only win and not lose. It is really risky to use Li Ji as the commander."

"Prime Minister Wu is more suitable, but unfortunately he has not recovered from his injuries. So why not ask Li Jing, the Duke of Wei, to take charge?"

Li Shimin said, "Duke Wei is old and has a leg disease, so it is difficult for him to lead the army into battle."

"Then asking Duke Qin Qiong of Qi to lead the army is better than Li Ji."

Wei Zheng looked down on Li Ji, even though they had both worked under Li Mi in the past, Li Ji was born into a local tyrant family and had gone to the mountains to become a bandit when he was a teenager. From the end of Daye to the middle of Wude, Li Ji fought for more than ten years, suffering more defeats than victories. He was even taken prisoner when he fought against Dou Jiande during the Wude period.

During the Zhenguan period, he spent more than ten years in Bingzhou, just defending the city, and had no outstanding military achievements.

Wei Zheng was very dissatisfied with such a commander. He could not just choose Li Ji, who had no record of major battles, in order to suppress Li Jing and Wu Huaiyu.

Although the Tang Dynasty has been invincible in recent years, war is no joke.

Xueyantuo also dominated the northern desert and had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Back then, in the eighth year of Wude, the Turks moved south to Hedong, and Li Yuan asked his old friends Zhang Jin and Wen Daya to lead troops to fight them. As a result, in the Battle of Taigu, 70,000 Tang troops were annihilated and the country was almost destroyed.

In Wei Zheng's eyes, Li Ji was just an ordinary general, even less capable than Cheng Yaojin and Fan Xing. He might even be a level lower than Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, not to mention Li Jing, Wu Huaiyu, Chai Shao, Li Xiaogong, Li Daozon, Su Lie and others.

Wei Zheng's words were a bit harsh.

The emperor chose Li Ji as the commander-in-chief after weighing many factors.

In fact, there are not many people who can be the commander-in-chief of a region since Zhenguan period. Li Jing, Li Xiaogong, Chai Shao, Li Daozon, Wu Huaiyu, Hou Junji, Xue Wanche, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong can be considered half-capable. Niu Jinda, Liu Lancheng, Li Junxian, Duan Zhixuan, Zhang Shigui and others are only generals, not commanders.

In Li Shimin's opinion, Li Ji's ability to command troops is not as good as Li Jing and others, but may be better than Hou Junji and others. Li Ji is still very experienced. The only shortcoming is that he does not have any outstanding military achievements and has suffered many defeats.

But after all, his qualifications and official rank are there. He is the prime minister and the minister of war. He took command to stop Wu Huaiyu and suppress other generals. Otherwise, even if Cheng Yaojin or Duan Zhixuan took over, they would not be able to convince the people.

Although Wei Zheng's words make some sense,

But Li Shimin still felt that although Li Ji had suffered many defeats in the past, he was becoming more and more calm and composed. Moreover, he felt that this Northern Expedition would not be difficult as long as they proceeded steadily.

The most important thing is that if Li Jing, Wu Huaiyu, Li Daozon, Xue Wanche, Hou Junji and others are not needed, there is no better candidate except Li Ji.

He can't use Su Dingfang.

Li Shimin was willing to give Li Ji a chance, a chance to prove himself by leading a army to destroy a country and capture a king.

The Tang Dynasty cannot rely solely on Li Jing and Wu Huaiyu, it must always have new people coming up to take over.

Another point is that although Li Ji was also from Wagang, he was not from the same lineage as Wu Huaiyu, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong and others. This was the key reason why the emperor finally chose Li Ji.

(End of this chapter)