Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 350: Fight hard to grasp
Du Min gently dipped in water and drew a line on the sheepskin map.

The camp of the Baekje rebels is at the northern foot of Datun Mountain. They climb from the inaccessible east side, bend east and west, and walk in the winding virgin forest. They can avoid the rebels without noticing. The defense line reached the northern foot of Datun Mountain.

Du Min waved to call the Baekje people who were leading the way.

The people of Baekje are called Ah Gou. They don’t have their own names. They are called Ah Gou because they are hunters and they have a big dog.

It is also because of this identity that Agou is very familiar with the terrain of Datun Mountain. In order to chase his prey, he followed the wild beast and discovered this unknown beast trail.

"How far are we from the rebel camp?"

Du Min asked Agou.

Agou looked at Secretary Jiang Ming. He didn't understand Chinese Mandarin.

Jiang Ming translated for Agou.

Agou couldn't help but nodded, and said with a bit of timidity and fear: "We have arrived at the northern foot of Datun Mountain, and they are on the side of the mountain."

Agou lost his father when he was young and was brought up by his mother who pooped and pooped all over the place. The relationship between his parents is very good.

Because of this, Agou risked beheading and sneaked down the mountain with the food, but was captured by the Tang army who was looking for the enemy.

Tang Jun took his mother, wife and children hostage and promised to give them a large sum of money after the incident was completed.

People like Agou who live at the bottom have no national righteousness. As long as they can live with their mother, wife and children, it doesn't matter what they do.

Although Agou was afraid, he did not dare to disobey.

Lead the way honestly.

The path shuttles between dense forests and bad water. The road is narrow and can only allow one person to pass. However, the Tang army was well-trained and had already prepared a way to deal with this kind of terrain. The ones leading the way were light infantry. In order to maintain their strength, they did not wear armor. They only used horizontal knives to chop the surrounding thorns to clear the way for the rear. Behind them are the sword and shield soldiers, each carrying a shield and a sword across their waist, followed closely by the crossbowmen, who carry loaded crossbows on their backs to deal with unknown enemies anytime and anywhere.

The three teams correspond to opening, defense, and offense respectively.

After the three troops, are the soldiers with the most combat effectiveness.

They don't have to worry about difficult roads or danger in the rear. They are in a relaxed state to maintain their combat effectiveness.

When Du Min arrived near the Baekje rebels, he also noticed traces of people living nearby.

A large camp is looming among the leaves.

Du Min's eyes sparkled with joy, and Baekje's situation was gradually no longer a secret.

As Fang Renyu's deputy general, Du Min knew the significance of this battle. He was afraid of alarming the rebels not far away, so he made pre-battle arrangements in a low voice, lowered his voice, and issued the order to attack.

It was the habit of the Tang army that the general should take the lead.

Du Min was no exception. He held a Tang sword in one hand and a small pumpkin hammer in the other. He was like a bear, roaring towards the Baekje rebel camp.

He crossed the mountains and ridges this time, and he did not lead many soldiers. What he wanted was to take him by surprise and not give the enemy any chance to resist.

With rich experience, he plunged into the camp in the mountain.

Du Min looked fierce, but when he rushed into the village, he looked confused!
There was no one in the village.

**********
Tang military camp plate.

Fang Renyu rubbed his thighs with his palms, always feeling sweat stains on his palms. Someone in Chang'an had noticed something strange, and someone could replace him anytime, anywhere.

This time, he may be his last chance to reverse Baekje's situation.

Although Fang Renyu made detailed arrangements, he couldn't help but walk to the map and look at his arrangement: the bandits were located at the northern foot of Datun Mountain, He Qinghao's troops blocked the west foot of the mountain, and Kong Cheng's troops blocked the east foot of the mountain. Gu Lan's tribe attacked the mountain from the front and supported Du Min's tribe who had sneaked into Datun Mountain.

Datun Mountain stretches for dozens of miles, and it is unrealistic to block it all.

But all the downhill routes on the map were blocked by him.

He was wondering if there was something wrong, when the harsh sound of golden gongs suddenly sounded in the camp.

Enemy attack?

Fang Renyu had experienced hundreds of battles and rushed out of the camp without any hesitation.

"Kill..."

Wherever Fang Renyu looked, he saw a neat line of Baekje troops, rushing towards their respective targets quickly, with a momentum like an overwhelming force!
In order to prevent the Baekje bandit leaders from escaping, Fang Renyu transferred most of his troops to Datun Mountain.

The Tang Army's camp was at its weakest at this moment.

Baekje soldiers rushed into the camp gate like tigers and wolves.

They have a huge advantage in numbers and can attack by surprise.

Although the Tang army did not collapse directly, it was difficult to organize a counterattack. One by one the brave soldiers were stabbed to death by the thieves' spears.

Bo Jie, who rushed into the Tang camp, saw with sharp eyes a Tang general who was riding his horse and shouting to stop the resistance. He took the bow and arrow from his back, bent the bow and nocked the arrow, and finished it in one go.

The sharp arrow penetrated Tang Jiang's throat...

Bo Jie rushed forward quickly, grabbed the Tang general's war horse, raised the horse high, and shouted loudly: "Anyone who stands in my way will die! Only kill the bandit leader, and leave the rest of the party alone!"

He was shouting like this, but he charged forward with his horse, and wherever the soldiers went, warm and viscous red liquid splashed everywhere, and he was not merciful at all.

The three thousand people under Bo Jie's command were all dead soldiers trained by him. They had already understood it and shouted loudly together in unison.

However, they did not speak Chinese, and all they shouted were "kill the thief" and words of encouragement.

Bo Jie led his troops and, with hatred for the invaders, defeated the Tang army layer by layer and rushed straight to the Tang army's central camp.

Bo Jie was so brave, and the teams of Onishi Fuxin and Daochen were also greatly affected. Their morale was greatly boosted, and they charged even more fiercely!

At this moment, the commander of the Tang army was in front of his tent.

"Captain, we have few soldiers, we can't resist anymore!" Xiong Shuyu, the army staff officer, heard the shouts of killing coming from all around, and turned pale with fright, and his calves couldn't help shaking.

Fang Renyu kicked Xiong Shuyu to the ground and shouted: "Is there any Tang general who escaped in this world? Even if he died in battle, I would have to fall under this great banner!"

He pulled his horse over, held his spear high and said, "Soldiers, reinforcements will arrive in an hour at most. As long as we persist for an hour, the crisis ahead will be resolved naturally."

The unit closest to them is Kong Chengbu.

Kong Cheng is an experienced general. Once he learns that the camp is attacked, he will immediately return to help.

Fang Renyu commanded well and could not help but restrain the retreating Tang army and strictly guard the Chinese defense line.

Bo Jie attacked all the way, but as the enemy formation in front began to become dense and sticky, the pressure to block the attack gradually increased.

Looking at the Tang Army's commander, Da Zhenqi, who was not far away, Bo Jie shouted heartbreakingly: "Just charge forward!"

boom!
Bo Jie, who had broken through all the way, felt like he had crashed into a copper wall. Before he could break through a distance of ten feet, there were already signs of bouncing back.

The Tang army gritted its teeth and struggled to hold on. Their combat effectiveness was extremely tenacious. Even at this disadvantage, they still had no intention of defeat.

Bojie's tribe could still fight desperately with the Tang army. However, the soldiers in the hands of Onimuro Fukunobu and Daochen were mostly new soldiers with low fighting will. They had never seen such a tragic situation, and several attacks were blocked.

Facing Tang Jun's hedgehog-like spear formation, how could he have the courage to charge with his life?

Seeing that they could not attack for a long time, Guishi Fuxin and Daochen understood the situation, bypassed the central army and went to attack the rear camp.

Bo Jie complained endlessly. At this point, he also knew that there was no hope of breaking the middle camp.

But he couldn't leave at the moment. Once he retreated, the Tang army would launch a counterattack, and all previous efforts would be wasted. He could only bite the bullet and fight with the Tang army.

It wasn't until more than half an hour later that Kong Cheng's reinforcements appeared on the horizon.

Bo Jie then chose to retreat, leaving a mess behind.

"Fang Duhu!"

Kong Cheng got off his horse and quickly came to Fang Renyu who was adjusting his breathing with his eyes closed.

Fang Renyu looked at his subordinates who were covered in sweat and smiled sadly.

In this battle, they did repulse the attack of the Baekje rebels, but they only saved the Chinese army. The rebels took away all the grain and grass supplies stored in the rear camp that they could, and let go of those that could not be taken. A fire.

Xiong Shuyu, who had been hiding aside, emerged from nowhere and said, "Thanks to the Protector for showing off his might and repelling the Baekje rebels."

Fang Renyu's face was tense. The casualty figures had not yet been calculated, but he had no shame in saying that this was a victory.

Xiong Shuyu suggested that Fang Renyu report the good news instead of the bad news. Anyway, no one knows the truth thousands of miles away.

Fang Renyu was indeed moved, but she remembered that someone in Chang'an had noticed that there was a problem in Baekje, not to mention that she really couldn't think of a way to solve Baekje. Now after this battle, the arrogance of the Baekje rebels will inevitably be further fueled.

Instead of waiting until it is completely corrupted, it is better to state everything truthfully, at least the fault is on yourself, not on your family and clan members.

Fang Renyu did not follow Xiong Shuyu's suggestion, but wrote down the situation in Baekje one by one, and also explained the details of the battle of Datun Mountain in detail.

Because it is late autumn and the sea is very rough, the news cannot go along the line from Xiongjin Port to Dengzhou Port. Instead, it should follow the coastline of the Liaodong Strait, from Xiongjin in Baekje to Qinhuangdao in Yingzhou, and then cross the Bohai Sea from Qinhuangdao. Wan arrived in Dengzhou.

As a result, more than half a month had passed by the time the news reached Chang'an.

Li Zhi looked at the first-hand news delivered by the Xiongjin Protector, and all his illusions were shattered...

The ink pen in his hand was pressed heavily on the table.

Queen Wu behind her was so frightened that she trembled and her face turned pale.

After organizing the memorials once, Empress Wu also had an additional job, assisting Li Zhi in organizing and classifying the memorials.

This was also done intentionally by Li Zhi.

Li Zhi didn't know how many years he could live, and the crown prince Li Hong was too young, so he had to leave Li Hong a temple that would allow him to grow up and govern smoothly.

Li Zhi didn't want to give Li Hong power directly. After all, Li Hong was still young and he couldn't control it. If he gave him power too early, it would be bad if Li Hong or the people under Li Hong had other ideas.

Li Zhi could not give all the power of assisting the government to ministers. Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang are examples from the past...

Li Zhi didn't want his son to become a puppet as soon as he succeeded to the throne.

Supporting Empress Wu is the best way...

First of all, she is a woman, and secondly, she is not as supportive as Empress Lu.

As long as there are more anti-military people in the temple to restrain each other, Li Hong will naturally have a chance to grow.

To be fair, Li Zhi's choice is not wrong from any angle.

As for why the situation in history occurred, we can only say that Queen Wu was indeed capable.

Li Zhi was not as furious as he imagined. Instead, he patted the royal table and sighed: "He got it right again. In matters related to Baekje, one must be both civil and military. Even if it's not even close..."

All the situations Fang Renyu encountered in Baekje completely supported Chen Qingsi's words.

Fang Renyu's military performance in Baekje was not bad, and his administrative strategy was quite satisfactory. However, the military victory became more and more exhausted, and the internal affairs were also in a mess due to the rebellion from all sides.

Military deficiencies resulted in poor implementation of internal affairs.

The inability to implement internal affairs has led to dissatisfaction among the people. The Baekje rebels are gaining momentum.

These two aspects are already holding each other back...

Even if Su Dingfang is sent at this moment, it may not be effective.

It must be a two-pronged approach.

"Come here, go and invite Minister Chen."

Li Zhi still let Empress Wu leave first. Although he had the idea of ​​​​supporting Empress Wu, he did not intend to take the position immediately. After all, as an emperor, he had to consider the reaction of his courtiers.

"His Majesty!"

Chen Qingsi has been a frequent visitor to various palaces for a long time. He just doesn't have the title of Tong Zhongshu's disciple. In fact, the things he is involved in now are no less than the prime minister.

Apart from the prime minister, which courtier has the privilege of visiting the palace anytime and anywhere like him, and which courtier is often summoned by the emperor to the palace to discuss state affairs?

So much so that some people gave him the title of Hidden Phase in private.

Li Zhi did not speak, but directly threw the memorial written by Fang Renyu personally to Chen Qingsi.

Chen Qingsi realized that there must be something wrong with Baekje. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty in front of him felt angry.

He caught the memorial with quick eyes and hands, opened it and took a closer look.

Compared with the previous reports of good news but not bad news, Fang Renyu's memorial actually wrote down the situation of Baekje in the memorial.

This also allowed Chen Qingsi, who was far away in Chang'an, to truly understand the situation in Baekje for the first time.

Chen Qingsi read it twice, then closed her eyes and thought for a moment, read it again, and then put the memorial aside.

Li Zhi did not rush, and waited calmly aside. It was only at this moment that he asked, "What do you think, Aiqing?"

Chen Qingsi said: "I thought Fang Duhu made the wrong move in the first step."

Li Zhi spoke concisely and to the point: "What's the explanation?"

Chen Qingsi said: "Fang Duhu will use the same method to govern the people of the Tang Dynasty to govern Baekje, win over the powerful, and use the powerful to control the people. This method may be practical in the Tang Dynasty, but the national conditions of Baekje are different from those of the Tang Dynasty. , the magic method that has been tried and tested in the Tang Dynasty may not be effective when used in Baekje.”

Li Zhi nodded silently and said, "Then what method does Aiqing think we should use?"

Chen Qingsi shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said: "Your Majesty, I really want to know that because of my character of being unable to hide things, I would have written a letter to make suggestions a long time ago. My understanding of Baekje is limited to various documents, and these materials do not involve the private sector. How can I To pacify the people of Baiji, we have no idea what to do.”

Li Zhi also felt the same. After getting along with each other for these years, he knew that Chen Qingsi often disappeared in trivial matters and did not get involved. As long as great things happen, clumsiness will not be hidden...

"If I order Ai Qing to control Baekje, will Ai Qing be sure?"

(End of this chapter)