Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 296 Empress Wu arrives

Chen Qingsi explained his analysis of the situation in Haidong in detail bit by bit.

Everyone present, except the emperor Li Zhi, is a man who knows the military.

But in the face of such a clear and clear analysis, even Li Zhi understood one thing. If he wanted to fight easily, he would directly attack Goguryeo. Silla would fully cooperate, but in this way, the fat of the Han River Plain would inevitably fall to Silla. Luo mouth.

Destroy Baekje first. This battle will definitely be more difficult, but the benefits will be the greatest.

Li Zhi nodded understandingly and said, "Do you have anything else you can add?"

Seeing that everyone was silent, he also knew that Chen Qingsi had already told Chen Qingsi about Haidong's affairs, so he said: "So, for a quick victory, cooperate with Silla to quickly solve the peninsula's affairs, or attack Baekje?"

Chen Qingsi's expression remained unchanged, but she complained in her heart, "You know a hammer."

Seeing Li Zhi's expression of understanding, he thought he really understood, but the next sentence exposed the military deficiencies of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Where are the two options?

Attacking Baekje was the only option.

It is indeed easy to fight against Silla, and it is possible to destroy Goguryeo and put an end to the chaos in Haidong at the minimum cost.

But what happens next?

Silla may become the next Goguryeo, and the hidden dangers in the Northeast are still there.

How did Bohai Kingdom and Khitan rise?

Isn't it just because of the rise of Silla that the Tang Dynasty's influence in the Northeast declined?

Silla can exist, but cannot develop.

Giving up profits now can indeed help Haidong be pacified as soon as possible, but the hidden dangers in the future are not small.

Of course, Chen Qingsi did not rashly find fault with Li Zhi, but simply said: "I think it is more appropriate to destroy Baekje first."

Li Ji, an old fox, naturally pretended not to hear it and bowed: "I also believe that it is in the interest of our army to attack Baekje first."

Su Dingfang, Ren Yaxiang, and Jiang Ke didn't know whether they heard Li Zhi's short-sighted thinking, and they also expressed that it would be more appropriate to attack Baekje.

Seeing that everyone was unanimous, Li Zhi also gave up the idea of ​​attacking Goguryeo first. In fact, he himself preferred to end the Haidong War as quickly as possible.

This is not in line with his character, but it is in line with the situation of Datang.

The economic problems of the Tang Dynasty were more serious than expected. Because of the emergence of Chen Qingsi, the Tang Dynasty avoided the situation of being pulled by Silla and Tubo in the future, but it also caused the crisis of Tiele and Tubo to come earlier.

In just one year, the imperial court fought on two fronts, the Western Region, and the later Mobei and Qinghai.

Especially in Qinghai, the imperial court lost a lot of soldiers and horses, and gave rewards and pensions. These days, Li Zhi was worried about money and food, so he had the idea of ​​​​quick victory and concession.

After all, in Li Zhi's view, even if Silla has selfish motives, she is just a cat. Even if she is a little wild, she cannot threaten the court.

In fact, his idea was not bad. Since the death of Jin Yuxin, Silla completely lost its ability to expand abroad, and it did not pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty until the end of the Tang Dynasty.

After deciding on the strategy, the next thing to discuss was the preparations before the war.

Chen Qingsi didn't have much say in this aspect, which was his weakness, so he listened very carefully.

Li Ji and Su Dingfang had a particularly intense discussion. The main issue was the march route. If they wanted to cross Goguryeo and go straight to Baekje, the navy was the key that could not be avoided.

Cross-ocean transport army operations require rich experience in sea navigation and water warfare.

This aspect is exactly what the court lacks...

The Tang Dynasty was not without naval forces, but its naval combat experience was mainly based on rivers, lakes and rivers, and there was very little experience in naval warfare.

The only sailing experience in these years was from Penglai, Dengzhou, to attack Dandong in Liaodong. It was the troops led by Xue Wanche ten years ago.

Li Ji's opinion was conservative, and he continued to cross the Bohai Strait from Dengzhou to Dandong, and then sailed along the coastline into Baekje to avoid unknown risks at sea. Goguryeo's navy had already destroyed the Tang army. The navy was more technologically demanding, and its numerical advantage could not be reflected on the sea.

Therefore, Goguryeo gave up the construction of navy army, and their actions will not be subject to any interference.

Su Dingfang was much simpler. He plunged straight into the Xiongjin River estuary from Chengshanjiao on the Shandong Peninsula, took the troops by surprise, and forcibly landed in Xiongjin to avoid setbacks during the landing battle.

Chen Qingsi listened carefully. What both sides said made sense. The sea was unpredictable, and hundreds of ships fought across the sea. Once something unexpected happened at sea, they might follow in the footsteps of Mongolia's conquest of Japan.

Whether it is the era of cold weapons or the era of hot weapons, landing battles are the most difficult battles to fight.

Especially in the beach landing battle, the attacker is floating on the sea, with no way to retreat, and the attack is not easy to launch. Once the attack fails, it is easy for the opponent to lose confidence, leading to the failure of the attack.

After various analyses, the two finally decided to send someone from Qin Tianjian to stay in Shandong to sort out the weather and wind directions at sea and let experienced businessmen plan the sailing route.

If time allows all preparations to be completed, I will follow Su Dingfang's strategy. If time is against me, I will choose Li Ji's safe method.

The key to victory or defeat cannot be pinned on luck.

This is also the core key of this meeting. The imperial court is not prepared to mobilize troops in a short time, but it must make preparations before the war.

After the meeting, Chen Qingsi saw that it was still early, so he went to the East Palace.

"Chen Yude!"

Chen Qingsi heard someone calling her, and when she looked back, it was Su Dingfang.

"Mr. Su Xing!"

Chen Qingsi was a little surprised.

Su Dingfang quickly came to the city and bowed respectfully.

"Last night, I didn't understand Chen Yude and was very defensive about Yude, so I came here to apologize to Yude."

Su Dingfang was a forthright and generous person. At the banquet last night, he heard Chen Qingsi's intention to understand the situation in Qinghai. However, because he was defensive, Zuo Gu spoke to him. After today's strategic meeting, he understood that Chen Qingsi's status in the court was different. He He is qualified to participate in internal meetings of the imperial court and the military. And it's obvious that the status is different, and even the big structural layout was decided by this formidable young man.

There is such a person behind the temple. Su Dingfang knows what this means.

If you have a good relationship with them, everything will go smoothly. On the other hand, if you really want to fight against each other, the other party will use small tricks on a strategic level to make your life on the front line very uncomfortable.

After getting along last night, Su Dingfang had realized that this young man was not a difficult person to get along with, and he was naturally willing to have a close friendship with him.

Chen Qingsi said: "Mr. , too shocking, and eager to know some unknown details.”

Su Dingfang said: "What's the difficulty? Tomorrow I will host a banquet for Yu De at home."

Chen Qingsi bowed and said, "We will go to the banquet on time."

In this palace, it was not easy for the two of them to talk in detail, so they said goodbye to each other after setting a time.

Chen Qingsi came to the East Palace. Now he can enter and leave the East Palace freely without communication.

As soon as I entered the East Palace, I felt something was wrong.

There are many new faces in the East Palace Garden, all of them are well-dressed senior maids.

Chen Qingsi immediately realized that Queen Wu was here.

(End of this chapter)