This prince, it doesn't matter if you don't do it!

Chapter 813 Volume People's hearts are all dirty

"Your Majesty, are you doing this to target Your Highness?"

Eunuch Yuan was also shocked when he heard this.

He is also an old man in the Tang Dynasty. He knows better than many people how Li Er came to power.

If Li Er were to target his Highness, then his Highness would be in big trouble.

Upon hearing this, the secret agent nearby said, "I'll send someone right away..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengqian, after thinking carefully, waved his hand and said, "It's actually not hard to understand. The reason why my father sent troops to Siam is nothing more than because he has set his eyes on their fertile land.

However, the Tang Dynasty's control over the vassal states could not achieve its strategic goals.

In this case, the policy of vassal states is useless in Siam, so he naturally has to change his policy.

The best policy is to emulate the Ming Dynasty. However, the reason why the Ming Dynasty was able to gain a foothold in the Chishuiyuan was not because of its strong military.

But it is the real will of the people.

In other words, if he wanted to integrate Siam into the Tang Dynasty, what he could do was to clean up the upper structure of Siam, and then select the little people at the bottom of Siam to rebuild Siam.

But Siam surrendered too quickly, which meant he had no reason to carry out a purge. So it made sense for him to stage an assassination in Siam.

Of course, my father's move was also intended to test us brothers, otherwise this news would never have reached me.

I guess Li Tai and the others have also received this news."

At this point, Li Chengqian suddenly laughed, and after a while he said, "What a pity, our father doesn't seem to understand his sons."

"Your Highness, what you mean is that even if the King of Yue and his men knew about this, they would not take it seriously?" Eunuch Yuan was a little surprised.

"Hmph, seriously?" Li Chengqian snorted coldly, "This has nothing to do with whether it is serious or not. The main thing is that they are not fools. If they act rashly at this time, they will be courting death.

Don't forget that they don't have much military power now. Even though my father launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident with only a few hundred people, what kind of reputation did my father have in the army?
Do they have that reputation?

Besides, when my father went on the southern expedition, he left Zhang Shigui, Liang Jianfang, Xue Wanjun and others in Chang'an. Did he really think that he was leaving them in Chang'an to retire?

These people are all my father's men. They command a large number of troops, and some even have relatives who followed my father on the southern expedition. Will they dare to make decisions when there is uncertainty?

I won’t talk about other people, but I remember that Xue Wanjun’s brother was the general who led the southern expedition, right?”

Some things will become clear if you just think about them a little more deeply.

Li Er was assassinated?

Haha, not to mention that Li Er’s assassination might have been directed and acted by himself, even if it was true, without any definite information, his brothers who are more cunning than monkeys would not dare to act rashly.

Things are different now. It is far from the time when Li Er dared to launch a coup with only a few hundred people.

Li Chengqian pondered for a while, then looked at the spy from the Secret Service and said, "Well, now, Li Ke, the most powerful one, only has some say in Taohe County. You should immediately arrange for the Secret Service to keep a close eye on the army of Taohe County. If they have any improper movements, let Wanqi Pu lead his troops eastward and capture the king. We can do that."

Although he had some guesses, since it had happened, anything was possible and he still had to make the necessary preparations.

Upon hearing this, the spy immediately bowed and said, "I will arrange it right away."

It is no exaggeration to say that the Secret Service of the Ming Dynasty is the best in the world today.

Everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty's army is elite, but only the Ming Dynasty's generals and soldiers understand that the Ming Dynasty's almost omnipresent secret service is the Ming Dynasty's most elite army.

Not to mention anything else, in terms of military expenditure alone, the Secret Service far exceeded any other army in the Ming Dynasty.

Even the latest weapons of the Ming Dynasty, even a monocular telescope, were equipped by every member of the Secret Service.

However, no one had any idea about this. After all, the Secret Service of the Ming Dynasty had always been active in the most dangerous places, silently contributing to the Ming Dynasty.

The Secret Service has played an indispensable role in the current situation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Everyone, please leave. I am tired." After saying that, Li Chengqian suddenly changed his tone and said, "Wait, by the way, deliver the news of Siam's surrender to the Tang Dynasty to General Shamen."

Although he didn't care about the progress of the Southern Expedition, the Tang Dynasty had already made many achievements in the Southern Expedition, and they couldn't just sit there doing nothing.

……

A few days later, in Kushinagar, Northern India.

The guard on the top of the city wall was looking at the Ming army below the city, veins bulging on his forehead. Anger and helplessness appeared on his already weathered face, making him look even older.

Before, he thought that as long as he defended his city and cleared the countryside, the Ming army wouldn't be able to produce siege equipment, and he, Kushinagar, would be able to hold out for a while longer.

But is it true?

The Ming Dynasty didn't need any siege equipment at all, just a few catapults would be enough.

Moreover, what they threw were not stones, but gunpowder bombs that exploded when they hit the ground.

The most terrible thing was that they could attack the city with gunpowder bombs continuously for twelve hours. The rumbling sound made it impossible to rest, not even to take a nap.

During this period, countless soldiers were killed or wounded by these gunpowder bombs.

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten." After a long while, the general finally said, "If it weren't for the civil strife in India that delayed the development of firearms, how could we have the current situation?"

Having said that, he let out another long sigh.

At this time, he felt like he wanted to kill the enemy, but was powerless to do anything.

"General, why don't I take some men to destroy their catapults? Even if we all die in battle, it will be worth it as long as we can destroy their catapults!" After hearing the general's words, someone immediately stood up and said.

However, the general shook his head and said, "Forget it, it's useless. What's the use of destroying them? In just a moment, they can launch more trebuchets. How can we destroy them all?
On the contrary, how many people did we sacrifice every time in order to destroy these catapults?
Kushinagar, it cannot be defended..."

At this point, the general's expression froze, and he said, "Even if we can't defend it, I will live and die with this Kushinagar!" Then he turned his head and looked at a high platform built with a pile of firewood, and said, "If Kushinagar is destroyed and I die, please help me light a fire if you are still alive!

Even if I die, I can only die on the city wall of Kushinagar!"

Regardless of his combat capabilities or what kind of person he is, he is indeed a general worthy of respect.

Upon hearing this, all his subordinates responded in agreement!
Strangely enough, the soldiers who had seemed somewhat depressed suddenly regained their fighting spirit.

"General, here they come again!" At this moment, a soldier suddenly shouted.

"Find shelter!" In fact, without the general's reminder, everyone had already started to take a defensive posture. Although they were somewhat helpless against the Ming Dynasty's gunpowder bombs, they had been bombed for so long that they had gained experience.

But just when everyone found cover and tried to protect themselves as much as possible, they saw the gunpowder bomb that was supposed to fall on the top of the city flew over their heads.

While everyone was still celebrating, the general had a look of despair on his face and cried out, "It's over..."

If the gunpowder bomb exploded on the top of the city wall, only the soldiers like them would be injured. But if it fell and exploded inside the city, those who were injured would be civilians. In addition, there were now hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the city, and with such a high population density, one gunpowder bomb could blow up an entire area.

Sure enough, within a moment, loud explosions were heard from the city, followed by bursts of wailing.

At this moment, all the soldiers on the city wall were stunned.

In order to prevent the advance of the Ming Dynasty's catapults, they were afraid that the gunpowder bombs could directly attack the city, and countless people sacrificed for this. But now it seems that everything they did at the beginning was in vain.

"I'm willing to fight. I'm going to leave the city right now and destroy those catapults." A soldier immediately stood up and said.

He knew very well that if the Ming Dynasty's catapults could bypass them and hit the city directly, it would be a disaster for the Kushinagar.

But as soon as he finished speaking, another dense burst of gunpowder bombs flew over. Sometimes, they had to admire the wealth of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if they have never made this before, they know it will definitely not be cheap.

But this thing of the Ming Dynasty seems to be inexhaustible.

This time, some of the dense gunpowder bombs flew over the top of their city, while others landed firmly on the top of their city.

For a moment, the rumbling sound of explosions was endless.

The general did not hesitate at this moment and immediately ordered: "Quick, we must destroy their catapults!"

The greatest confidence of Kushinagar is that there are hundreds of thousands of people in the city. These people are their backup force. Even at this moment, many people on the top of the city have spontaneously come to defend the city.

He cannot lose this basic base.

Upon hearing this, his subordinates did not hesitate. He knew that they might never come back once they left the city, but he did not hesitate either. He led his subordinates and rushed down the city.

Soon, a group of more than a thousand people rushed towards the Ming Dynasty's catapults.

At this moment, seeing the Kushinagar army rushing out, Zhao Yan sneered and said, "General Shamen, this time let my resentful army learn from the power of Northern India."

"Now that the resentful army is out, there is naturally no need to worry. This general is waiting for General Zhao's triumphant return." Upon hearing this, Khibi Shamen smiled.

Zhao Yan didn't say much. He waved his hand and led his resentful army to meet the army leaving the city.

Although he divided his troops into three groups, he still had two thousand soldiers under his command at this moment. Facing the army of Kushinagar, he was not afraid.

"All of you listen to my orders. Don't save the gunpowder bombs and incendiary bombs. I haven't fought many battles like this in my life. Roll up your sleeves and get to work!" After Zhao Yan finished speaking, he rushed out first.

On the city wall of Kushinagar, the defenders saw this and hurriedly arranged for archers to cover the army leaving the city.

However, because gunpowder bombs continued to fall on the top of the city, their cover seemed particularly weak.

"General, it's bad. The people in the city are in chaos." Just as the general was thinking of a way to break the impasse, someone else hurriedly ran towards the sound of the explosion.

The general didn't hear clearly, and after the man repeated it, he finally understood what was going on. Then he asked, "What happened? Why did the people suddenly become chaotic?"

"Some of the people in the city are rushing towards the south gate frantically, while others are blocking the granary in the city. No matter how we persuade them, they won't listen.

It is said that even at this time, there are still nobles who eat lavishly every day, while they cannot even guarantee basic food and clothing..."

After he told the general in detail what he knew, his face turned pale.

He knew it would be like this!

There are hundreds of thousands of people coming from all over the place. Although they are a powerful force, they are also a huge threat.

But he didn't know that the Ming Dynasty scouts had been planning for such a long time, waiting for this day.

If it were just in the past, the class conflicts they provoked in the city could still be suppressed, but when the Ming Dynasty's gunpowder bombs could be directly blown into the city, such conflicts were instantly magnified.

Why can powerful people live in houses that can withstand gunpowder bombs?
Why should those who volunteered to defend the city have to sleep on the streets?
Why is it that powerful people, even if they don't go to the city walls to guard the city, still enjoy a life of luxury and debauchery every day?

Why should they just starve to death on the road?
Class contradictions were directly detonated under great panic.

Of course, this is also because the Ming Dynasty’s scouts have been secretly working on this, otherwise the current effect would not have been achieved.

God knows how much they have done during this period of time and how many rumors they have spread.

"Ah..." The general sighed in despair.

At this moment, he didn't know what to do.

Faced with internal and external troubles, he was truly desperate.

From the very beginning, he knew that Kushinagar could not be defended, but at that time, he never imagined that the defeat of Kushinagar would actually start from within the city.

If the Ming Dynasty did not put too much pressure on him at this time, he would be able to lead his troops back to the city to suppress the rebellion.

But can he get away from the city wall?
If he had really left, Kushinagar would have been conquered immediately.

Thinking of this, the general shook his head and said, "Let's not worry about the city for now, let's defend it first!"

Since he has made up his mind to live and die with Kushinagar, he will not take a single step back.

However, although he wanted to kill the enemy, he was really at the point where he was powerless to do anything.

He could not care less, but the others on the city wall became less interested after learning about the situation in the city.

We were defending the city with our lives, and we were counting on you to come and provide us with some support, but at this critical moment, you stabbed me in the back?

Even though they have firm beliefs, they are now doubting whether what they have done is worth it.

When the flag of the resentful army was planted on the city wall of Kushinagar, it meant that Kushinagar was completely conquered by them.

Fortifying the city and clearing the countryside is an old-fashioned method of defending a city, but facing the Ming Dynasty's gunpowder shells and the instigation of the Khibi monks, it was only a matter of time before the city of Kushinagar was captured.

And this time, today, has arrived!