A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1256 Why rebel?
Life in Mount Li is very comfortable and relaxing. Get up early to climb the mountain, ride horses in the morning, soak in hot springs in the afternoon, enjoy massage and delicious food, and spend time with wives and concubines in the evening.

Happy to miss Shu.

Wu Huaiyu really fell in love with Mount Li, especially in February when the weather was still cold, it was really nice to soak in the hot springs every day.

Life has become very regular.

Occasionally he played chess with the emperor, chatted about history with Wei Zheng, practiced calligraphy with his brother-in-law Ma Zhou, drank tea with Xiao Yu and Fang Xuanling, and sometimes listened to Liu Li's complaints.

Early in the morning, the emperor also joined the mountain climbing group, and the monarch and his ministers climbed to the Laojun Temple on the top of the mountain together.

Waiting for the sunrise.

"I have treated Hou Junji, Xue Wanche, Li Anyan and others well, why did they want to rebel?"

Li Shimin sat on the top of the mountain, feeling depressed and confused.

"Because of greed, some people are insatiable, greedy by nature and never satisfied." Wu Huaiyu sat next to the emperor and answered indifferently.

"Xue Wanche and Li Anyan were both close confidants of the Crown Prince Yin. Many people proposed to kill them, but I saved their lives and let them off the hook. I still used them more. Both Xue Wanche and his brother were given titles of Duke and General. I even married my younger sister to Xue Wanche as my second wife, but he actually wanted to rebel against me."

Li Shimin became more and more angry as he spoke.
"Hou Junji was my childhood playmate at Wugong Manor. At that time, he had the best relationship with Xu Luoren, Duan Zhixuan and the other four of us. Later, when the army rose up in Taiyuan, I summoned them to join the uprising..."

The emperor kept on talking like an old woman.
It's rare to see him like this.
Wu Huaiyu could also feel the emperor's disappointment. At the beginning of the founding of the country, Hou Junji had always been the captain of Li Shimin's guard and the general of chariots and cavalry in the Qin Palace. He was not even a commander of the army, let alone a guard.

In the ninth year of Wude, his title was only that of a county magistrate.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Hou Junji did make great contributions, but Li Shimin was even more generous to him. He directly gave him the first place in merit and rewarded him with many estates and money of the prince. Afterwards, he directly promoted him to the rank of Duke and conferred him the title of General.

Although many people laughed at Hou Junji for not being able to shoot an arrow accurately and having no cultural knowledge, Li Shimin still trusted this young friend and cultivated him very carefully. He asked Li Jing to take him as a student to teach him military tactics and asked Wei Zheng to teach him cultural knowledge.
He was promoted to prime minister several times.

But in the end, Hou Junji kept jumping between Crown Prince Chengqian and Prince of Wei Li Tai, and wanted to make another attempt to support the throne.

In the past few years, Li Shimin has been on guard against Li Xiaogong, Chai Shao, Li Jing, and Wu Huaiyu, but he has never been able to guard against Hou Junji, Xue Wanche, and others.

But in the end,

The people who plotted rebellion were the ones he trusted the most.

He regarded them as his closest companions, the generals he had forgiven, as well as his brother-in-law, son-in-law and even his sons.

This was a heavy blow to him.

He was worshipped as the Heavenly Khan by the four barbarians.
But he couldn't stand the blow of being betrayed by the person he trusted the most.

"Your Majesty, please think more positively. They were the ones who made the mistake. Now they have paid the price for their greed and stupidity. There is no need to dwell on them any longer. Just look forward."

The eastern sky gradually brightened, and the clouds were tinged with a light orange color.

Finally, the sunlight penetrated the mist, shining with thousands of golden rays.

"Your Majesty, the sun rises in the east, and it is a brand new day."

“In the history books of the future, future generations will see a great emperor who was both civil and military, and will see a sage who reunified the country, expanded the territory, subdued the barbarians, and brought peace to the country so that the people could live and work in peace.

And those people are destined to be swept into the dustbin of history and forgotten.”

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and there are still many great things to do."

Li Shimin looked at the dazzling red sun, and his fighting spirit was rekindled.

Soon, multiple armies will be sent north to fight against the Xueyantuo. After destroying the Xueyantuo and conquering the Tiele tribes in northern Mobei, the imperial court will then embark on an expedition to the east to destroy Goguryeo, to avenge the humiliation of the previous dynasty and to avenge the Chinese people.

Also restore the old territory of Han.

He, Li Shimin, will surely bring China to a new height.

After he destroyed Goguryeo, he would offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai. Who could object?
"Huaiyu, you must take good care of your health. Three years at the earliest, five years at the latest. I will personally lead the expedition against Goguryeo, and you must not be absent. Together, we will destroy Goguryeo."

"it is good."

Wu Huaiyu agreed very straightforwardly.
Although he felt that Li Shimin's personal expedition to Goguryeo was not very successful in history. Goguryeo had to be fought, but it was not weak. Especially unlike nomadic tribes such as the Turks, it was also an agricultural and settled country. In particular, its geographical location was dangerous, with a large number of mountain cities, and it was far away from the Central Plains.

Especially in the Northeast, where it is still cold, attacking is difficult, and supply is even more difficult.
It is too difficult to achieve success in one battle like fighting against nomadic people.

To deal with a country like Goguryeo, you cannot rush into it. You must be prepared for a long-term war. It is best to harass and destroy it first, causing the enemy to bleed and become weak.

The troops should be deployed on a smaller scale, with pressure applied from multiple directions, even by land and sea.

We must also try our best to win over vassal states such as Silla and Baekje, ask them to provide troops and food, and even use their territories to open up the second and third battlefields.
In short, we cannot be impatient when attacking Goguryeo.

Li Shimin wanted to destroy Goguryeo in one battle. Although he was a horse-riding emperor, this strategy still had many shortcomings.

But Wu Huaiyu did not oppose the emperor's personal expedition, nor did he express his own ideas.

It's too early.
Besides, now is not the time to argue about these things.

But Li Shimin suddenly seemed to be in a good mood, and he dragged Wu Huaiyu to the top of the mountain to discuss the strategy of conquering Liao.

"If you were in charge, how would you fight?"

Wu Huaiyu felt a little helpless.
His stomach was rumbling a little. He had gotten up so early to climb the mountain and hadn't eaten yet.

"I'll have someone bring food."

However, the emperor did not want to go down the mountain. He wanted to watch the sunrise while discussing the destruction of Goguryeo.

"I think we can take multiple approaches. In the early stage, we should first harass the exhausted enemy. For example, we can send more troops to the Liaohe front, cultivate farmland and garrison, and frequently send small groups to harass the enemy, especially to disrupt their farming and harvest."

"Secondly, we should make full use of the existing maritime advantages of the Tang Dynasty and use our advantages in ships to harass their coastal areas. It would be best if we could seize the Liaonan Peninsula first.
It would be even better if we could suddenly capture the important town of Beisha Mountain City in southern Liaoning. In this way, we can rely on the Denglai Peninsula in Shandong and firmly pin it in southern Liaoning. There are troops stationed in Beisha Mountain City in front, and Qingnipu and Mashijin, two important ports, for supply support.
Advance to attack, retreat to defend.

Using this as a forward base, they could tear open a hole in the Liaohe Great Wall defense line that the Goguryeo people had spent more than ten years to build.
Even without too many troops, it would be able to tie down a lot of Goguryeo's Liaohe River defense line."

Wu Huaiyu picked up a stone and began to draw a simple map of Liaodong on the ground.

The failure of the Sui Dynasty's fourth expedition to Liaodong was due not only to Yang Guang's strategic mistakes and the chaotic command of the front line, but also to many objective reasons. For example, the Liaoze Lake was 300 miles long and could only be passed for a few months each year, which made supply transportation very difficult.
The more troops were sent out, the more difficult it was to supply them. Yang Guang would often send out hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, so logistical supply became a fatal shortcoming, which even emptied the national treasury and burdened the people.

Yang Guang also conquered Liao by both land and sea, but his idea was still to succeed in one strike. He attacked across the sea by water and headed directly for Pyongyang. As a result, once when he attacked Pyongyang, he fell into the enemy's trap and was lured into an ambush in Pyongyang, and his entire army was almost wiped out.

In the time when Yang Guang suffered the worst defeat, he was unable to break through the Liaohe River defense line, but ended up sending out nine armies of 300,000 people, with only one month's worth of food and fodder, and they crossed the Goguryeo people's mountain cities along the way and headed straight for Pyongyang.

This military adventure ended in an ambush.
The navy and army that attacked Pyongyang were actually about to join forces, but they were ambushed and defeated. They even had no food or grass, and the nine armies were scattered. In the end, only a few thousand people escaped back to the city of Liaodong.

In history, Li Shimin led only 100,000 troops to fight in person.

It can be said that Yang Guang had learned a lot of lessons. There were too many soldiers and it was difficult to supply them.
But Li Shimin still wanted to win the battle, and these 100,000 people were not enough to face countless mountain cities. So in the final analysis, he couldn't think of killing the Goguryeo people with one blow.
Have to plan long term.

Let him bleed first.

On the Liaohe River defense line, we pressed forward to lure the enemy to increase their defenses, and at the same time sent many small units to harass and disrupt their production.

Then create some other achievements,

For example, they would use the navy to harass the coast, fight and then leave, and cause all kinds of damage.

If conditions permit, seize southern Liaoning and drive a nail into the wall.

We can also find a way to unite with Silla and even the people. On the battlefield over there, the Tang Dynasty can send some soldiers over, and together with the soldiers and food from Silla and Baekje, we can launch an attack on Goguryeo from the south.
Attract some of the Goguryeo troops to contain them.
In short, don't think about destroying a big country like Goguryeo in one or two years. Instead, spend three to five years, or even ten years, continuously attacking it, annihilating its manpower, and depleting its national strength. In the end, it will definitely not be able to survive the Tang Dynasty.

Seize Beisha City and occupy the southern Liaoning Peninsula.

At the mouth of the Yalu River, they seized an island, built a fort and stationed troops, and joined forces with Silla and Baekje to march south.

Li Shimin watched Wu Huaiyu gesticulating on the ground.

There is also a picture in my mind.

He was a master of strategy and he fully understood Wu Huaiyu's thoughts.

"The Bohai Sea port freezes over every year. If the Liaonan Peninsula is attacked by the Goguryeo people during these months, can it be defended?"

“Although the ports along the Bohai Bay freeze over in winter, the two ports of Qingnipu and Shimajin in southern Liaoning do not freeze over in winter, and ships can still enter and leave as usual.

Not all ports on the Denglai Peninsula will freeze. The Qingdao Port in Jiaozhou Bay in the southwest corner of Laizhou will not freeze either.

Therefore, even in winter and spring, transportation and supply from Qingdao to southern Liaoning can still be maintained.

Besides, the mountain city of Beisha is very dangerous. It is built on the Dahei Mountain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. But we have firearms and other weapons. If we cooperate with a surprise attack, we have a great chance of taking it.

But if we hold Beisha City, even if the Goguryeo people want to take it, they don’t have firearms, so it won’t be easy for them to take it.

With 5,000 troops stationed in Beisha City, we can fully cope with the siege of an enemy ten times our size. If the enemy is strong, I can also send reinforcements from the sea.

At the same time, in western Liaoning, we can also contain the enemy in the direction of the Liao River."

Taking over Beisha City and the two ports is Wu Huaiyu's best strategy to break the deadlock.

"Isn't it more direct and straightforward to directly break through the Liaohe River defense line and capture Liaodong City and other important towns in one fell swoop?"

"Your Majesty, I also think that Liaodong City cannot defend against the Tang Dynasty. Even the so-called Liaohe Great Wall defense line that Goguryeo spent more than ten years to build cannot stop us.

However, from the Liao River to the Yalu River, it is more than a thousand miles, and there are many mountain cities along the way. If we send out less than 200,000 troops, it will be difficult to destroy them one by one. But if we send out more than 200,000 troops, the Liaoze will greatly limit our logistical supply.

The army cannot march without food.
Especially the winter in Liaodong is extremely cold, which means we can only use our troops for a few months a year..."

Firearms are not omnipotent.

The Goguryeo people have a history of building mountain cities as long as seven or eight hundred years. Even before them, Liaodong had always had a tradition of building mountain cities, and these mountain cities were extremely difficult to conquer.

In Wu Huaiyu's opinion, if they really want to destroy Goguryeo, they cannot take the traditional route. Western Liaoning is not like the situation in later generations. Not to mention the 300-li Liaoze there, most of the coastal passages are still in the sea. Basically, they have to go through mountain valleys, which are difficult to travel. As a result, near the Liaohe River, there is also the 300-li Liaoze, which is all swamp wetlands and becomes lakes and seas when it rains.

The Goguryeo people built the Liaohe River defense line for hundreds of years.

This place is suitable for confrontation, attracting the main force of the enemy and tying them down, but it is not suitable for the main attack from here because there are too many tough bones here and it is difficult to supply.

They had to find another way. First, they took the Liaonan Peninsula, then occupied the islands at the mouth of the Yalu River to establish a base, and at the same time, they joined forces with Silla and Baekje to open up a third battlefield.

Attack the enemy where their defenses are weak.

Instead of attacking in the direction of the Liaohe River, where they had focused on building defenses for hundreds of years.

“What you said makes sense, but if I personally lead 100,000 elite Tang soldiers, and bring with me the magic weapon, to break through the Liaohe River defense line head-on, seize Liaodong City, Xinshi City and other important towns, destroy the Liaohe River defense line in one fell swoop, and seize the Liaohe Plain, wouldn’t Goguryeo be even more seriously injured?
Then they launched simultaneous attacks from the sea, seized Liaonan, seized Beisha, seized the mouth of the Yalu River, and even attacked Goguryeo from behind together with Silla and Baekje.
A multi-pronged approach.

How could Goguryeo withstand it?"

Li Shimin became excited as he spoke.

"How about I lead 100,000 elite troops to attack Liaodong City, and you cross the sea from Dengzhou to attack Beisha City, occupy the Liaonan Peninsula, and then send a few generals to lead a navy to land in Baekje and Silla."

"How many ships, soldiers and horses do you want? How many firearms?" Li Shimin became more and more excited as he spoke, and forgot to worry about the betrayal and rebellion of Xue Wanche and others.

"How about letting Su Lie go to Silla then?"

Wu Huaiyu didn't care at all about having the opportunity to lead troops again, or perhaps he had already lost the passion to achieve success again, nor did he need to.

If he had the chance, he would rather go to Luzon, live freely and run his overseas kingdom with peace of mind.

“I think we can let Cheng Chumo lead the troops to cross the sea and attack Beisha City. He has a lot of experience in leading naval forces. As for going to Silla and Baekje, I recommend two generals, Liu Rengui and Liu Renyuan. Both of them are very good.

As for Su Lie, it would be a waste to let him go to Silla. It would be better for him to stay in front of the emperor and charge into battle and capture cities and strongholds."

"Why, you don't want to conquer Liao?"

"With my health condition, I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the battlefield again in this lifetime. It's cold in Liaodong, so I can't go there anymore."

Li Shimin looked at him and said, "Forget it. It's too early to talk about conquering Liao now. Let's finish this northern expedition first."

"After a few years, your body will surely be in good shape."

(End of this chapter)