Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 384 Have to fight
When he heard that food was in short supply, the pupils of the prince's eyes shrank, and he was only focused on joy but forgot about this.

"How long can I last?"

The eldest brother, the prince, put away his ambitions and still looked at his younger brother in a friendly manner.

The prince of Dahairen said: "The food in our Kinai can only support the current King Qin's army for more than two months. If we include the food from the four countries, it can support four months. But now the King Qin's army is gathering more and more, and the pressure of food is It will also increase accordingly. Now there are two ways to stop the supply of troops from various places and reduce the food pressure in Kinki."

"this is not OK!"

The prince of Zhongdaxiong refused without hesitation. After the Battle of Tsushima, which was almost like a lesson from me to his son commanded by Liu Rengui, the prince of Zhongdaxiong had already realized the gap in military equipment with the Tang army.

I was a frog in the well before, thinking that Tang Jun was exaggerating. Everyone has one neck and one head. The Central Plains can command all directions. They are the descendants of Amaterasu. Why can't Japan?
How Chen Qingsi killed 40,000 Japanese soldiers was not clear to the prince, but the reason why Liu Rengui humiliated them so much and left them helpless was very close at hand.

That feeling of powerlessness will never be forgotten by the eldest brother, the prince.

Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, witnessed with his own eyes the Tang Army's superiority in equipment, and also understood deeply that the Tang Army's equipment advantage was so great that with the same number of people, they could not be their opponents.

The more King Qin’s troops, the greater the chance of victory.

They only have one chance. The current Japanese country cannot afford another big defeat and cannot refuse the arrival of King Qin's army.

The whole country must be mobilized to deal with this crisis.

If you win, you are a hero. If you lose, let's be destroyed together.

Prince Zhongda brother said without any hesitation: "Bring the food from Mino to Kinki..." He paused and said, "Bring the food from Kanto as well."

The Kanto mentioned by the Prince of Zhongda is naturally not the area east of Hangu Pass in the Central Plains, but the southeastern part of the Japanese peninsula, which was later known as Tokyo.

However, it is true that Japan claims to have three major plains, but the Kanto Plain was the last one to be developed. It was not fully developed until it became the fiefdom of the Tokugawa clan in later generations.

The current Japanese royal family has certain strength and has not become a symbol of decoration for future generations. The three major plains are all controlled by the royal family and nobles.

This time, the eldest brother, the prince, even transferred food from the Guandong direction. It was obviously a desperate move that would be successful if it failed.

The Prince of Dahairen opened his mouth, wanting to leave a way for Japan to retreat, but hearing his brother's attitude, it was hard to say any more. After all, his current status was somewhat embarrassing.

Neither up nor down...

At a time when the country's survival was at stake, Japan's country, driven by public opinion, burst out with rare patriotic enthusiasm. In just half a month, the feudal lords living in all directions of the Japanese island each led thousands of people to converge on Asukakyo. Some of the down-and-out feudal lords even He led more than a dozen people to participate in the battle to boost the martial arts style.

Although they are scattered, hundreds of small troops can form a torrent when gathered together. If you count them carefully, there are actually hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

Hearing that he had a hundred thousand soldiers in his hands, the prince, the eldest brother, immediately became arrogant and laughed loudly: "With a hundred thousand soldiers, why should we be afraid of the Tang army?"

The prince of Dahairen had a grimace on his face. No one could have imagined that at this time, the usually loose Japanese country would show such strong cohesion that the logistical pressure was now on him...

These days, he was busy in order to entertain the feudal lords from all over the world, but the level of entertaining the feudal lords dropped again and again.

For the uninformed Japanese people, Asukakyo is a paradise on earth.

Before the Japanese state was completely reformed, its system was very strange.

They divided various places into one country and each country had a guardian responsible for military and political power. However, their guardians did not go to local places to take up their posts, but stayed in the capital to enjoy life. As for local affairs, they appointed the warrior family to handle the local affairs with full authority for the lord. The lord regularly sent taxes from the territory to the capital for the guardian to spend.

Therefore, all parts of the Japanese country were extremely poor, but the capital city was extremely luxurious and extravagant because of the accumulation of the wealth of the entire Japanese country.

In order to encourage the first arriving feudal lords, the Prince of Dahairen entertained them with delicious food and drinks.

Although he was a high-ranking local feudal lord, he was just a local bumpkin under the Japanese system. He had never enjoyed such high-end treatment.

But as the number of feudal lords increased, the Dahairen prince realized something was wrong and began to reduce his treatment.

It was slightly reduced and tolerable, but later it was just an ordinary treat.

Compared with the previous hospitality, the treatment of newcomers has plummeted, which naturally caused dissatisfaction and turmoil.

The prince of the people of the sea worked hard to calm down everything. Looking at his brother who had regained his self-confidence, he couldn't help but pour cold water on him.

"Our food can only last half a year now."

When the prince, the eldest brother, heard that he actually had half a year, he laughed and said, "Half a year is enough!"

The Japanese country is not big. In half a year, a hundred thousand troops will be enough for him to drive the Tang army out of the Japanese island. If everything goes well, he may even have a chance to counterattack Baekje.

If you have soldiers in your hands, you will be confident.

The prince of the sea people shook his head and said: "We only have less than three months..."

The eldest brother, the prince, said in astonishment: "Isn't it enough to last for half a year?"

The Prince of Dahairen asked: "What about half a year from now?"

He looked solemn and said: "If the war is not ended within three months, most of the grain in the fields of various countries will rot in the fields without enough labor to harvest it. Our grain depots will be completely empty, and the entire Japanese country will fall into famine."

The prince's face instantly turned pale. He had been depressed some time ago, but now he was so inflated that he completely ignored the national conditions of Japan.

The Japanese country has extremely poor agricultural resources and insufficient population. How can it maintain the national strength of a hundred thousand troops?

It is conceivable that once the autumn harvest season comes for these 100,000 troops, they must be thinking about their family fields and are unwilling to fight again.

If you deceive them, you don’t have to worry about food. Once winter comes, food will be exhausted.

Not to mention the enemy, the hungry people in the army could eat him alive.

"The war must begin immediately!"

The eldest brother, the prince, suddenly stood up and shouted: "Go and call the former general."

After a while, a short and capable man walked in and knelt down to pay his respects.

The visitor is the former general Kawabe Omimomochi, a famous general family in Japan. He has been fighting against Silla and Ezo for a long time. He is a general as famous as Abe Hirafu.

The eldest brother, the prince, hurriedly asked: "What changes are happening in the Tang army now? Is there any movement towards an attack?"

Now they are separated from the Tang army in the Chikushi and Nagato areas across the Sanyo-Sanin area, including Harima, Mimasaku, Bizen, Bichung, Bigo, Aki, Shufang, Tanba, Tango, Tajima, Inaba, Haki, De The fifteen kingdoms of Yun, Ishimi, and Oki.

These places are without exception. The south is close to the Seto Inland Sea, and the north is in mountainous areas. The roads are difficult to travel and are not suitable for large corps operations.

Now they have 100,000 soldiers, which is the majority of their troops and cannot be deployed in the Shanyang and Shanyin areas.

On the contrary, Kinki is the place they are most familiar with and is suitable for large-scale operations.

Taking into consideration many strategic factors, Prince Zhong Daxiong was unwilling to take the initiative to attack. The best situation would be for the Tang Army to send troops to attack.

They can wait for work in leisure, and they can also take advantage of their military strength to defeat the few with numbers, letting the arrogant Chen Qingsi know how powerful it is to humiliate him.

If he could be captured alive, he would be forced to kneel outside Asuka Capital in public, so that he could be humiliated like himself.

Momoeda, the minister of the riverside, said: "There are no unnecessary changes in the Tang army..." He paused and said, "It's just that their navy may have arrived in the Seto Inland Sea." The prince, the eldest brother, took a breath.

The prince of the sea people said: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Hebian Chen Baizhi said with a bitter face: "We have not discovered it, and we are not sure. We just accidentally got this news from the fishermen, and we are still confirming it."

As an isolated island on the sea, Japan is surrounded by the sea, and there is also the Seto Inland Sea, so it naturally has a naval force.

However, most of their naval expedition to Baiji was destroyed by Chen Qingsi, and the remaining navy was annihilated by Liu Rengui.

Most people in Japan live by the sea, so it is not difficult to reorganize the navy.

It's just that the Tang Army's warships left them with a psychological shadow. How can their small boats be compared with the Tang Army's tall ships, sterns, fighting ships, and walking boats?
Now everyone in the Japanese country has the idea that they cannot start a water war with the Tang army.

The eldest brother, the prince, had no idea of ​​reorganizing the navy, and had no way of investigating the Tang Army's navy movements.

It was a fisherman who accidentally bumped into it while fishing in Tosa, Shiki. The authenticity has not yet been determined.

The prince, the eldest brother, and the prince of Dahairen looked at each other and saw the coolness in each other's eyes.

They are being held up now...

Chen Qingsi's move was too clever and too cruel.

The navy of the Tang Dynasty had the power of ships and was unbeatable on the water. Its presence in the Seto Inland Sea meant that it could cross the inland sea directly into Kaicho and then into Kinki at any time, and then attack their heartland Asuka Kyo.

This also means that they cannot take the initiative to attack. Even if they take the initiative to attack, they will have to leave 30% of their troops to guard Kinki.

However, the navy of the Tang Dynasty could cooperate with their army at any time and anywhere, and could involve 30,000 of their soldiers without spending a single soldier.

"hateful!"

The eldest brother, the prince, punched the tatami and cursed angrily.

Prince Dahairen said: "For the current plan, the best option is to lure the Tang army to attack. The worst option is to leave some troops to guard Kinki and go to Nagato to fight the Tang army to the death."

Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, said: "They say that the people of the Tang Dynasty are good-looking and that they have the power of a great nation. I will try to ridicule him. If I can anger him, that would be great..."

The Prince of Dahairen said: "I will ask Gao Xiangjun to write the book."

The Gao Xiangjun he spoke of was Gao Xiang Qinghe, the son of Gao Xiang Xuanli.

The Gao Xiang clan is the descendants of naturalized Han people. They were the first members of the envoys sent to the Sui Dynasty and personally experienced the history of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Dahua Gaixinzhong, as a doctor of the country, proposed many systems suitable for the national conditions of the Japanese country. He was a Chinese expert in the Japanese country. His son was deeply influenced by his father, and his understanding of Han culture was second only to his father.

quickly!

Gao Xiangqinghe followed the example of Chen Lin in the Three Kingdoms period and wrote a letter begging for thieves and sent it to Chen Qingsi who was in Zhuzi Chaocang Palace.

Due to the fear of war, people in the Iwami area adjacent to Nagato Province have fled.

Chen Qingsi took the opportunity to send people into the mountains to explore the terrain and find the location of the silver mine.

While waiting for news, he received a letter from his eldest brother, the prince.

Without thinking, Chen Qingsi waved Li Hongqing to come nearby and asked her to borrow some money.

Li Hongqing is used to traveling all over the world, so the fire seal is a must-have item with him. He handed the fire seal to Chen Qingsi.

Chen Qingsi blew on the fire and burned the letter directly.

Li Hongqing asked with a surprised look on his face: "Burn it directly?"

Chen Qingsi said: "Most of the letters coming at this time are curse words, trying to provoke me to fight. Why bother yourself? With an army of 200,000, who are you bluffing?"

The Japanese state announced to the outside world that they had gathered an army of 200,000.

Chen Qingsi didn't believe it, but judging from the information in his hand, one hundred thousand was indeed there.

After all, the situation in Japan is that almost all the people are soldiers. It is not difficult to gather the farmers and raise 100,000...

The difficult thing is how to support these farmers...

The louder they get, the faster they die.

Of course, if you don't make such a big splash, you will die faster.

It's the same result either way...

Dead.

Faced with Chen Qingsi's composure, the prince, the eldest brother in Feiniaojing, could not sit still. With no choice but to send troops, he could only choose to send troops.

He left thirty thousand troops behind and gave them to his eldest son, Prince Otomo...

The eldest brother prince here obviously has selfish motives. In fact, the best choice is the more outstanding and more prestigious Prince Otomo, not the prince Otomo who has just grown up and lacks talents and abilities.

But with the power in his hands, the prince's mentality has obviously changed. He wants to become a hero in Japan, then ascend to the throne, and pass the crown prince's position to his son, not his younger brother.

A brother is a close relative, how can he be compared to a son?

The 70,000-strong army marched westward along the northern coastline of the Seto Inland Sea until Hosa.

Due to time constraints, the prince, the eldest brother, only rested for a day to regain his energy and immediately sent someone to invite a battle.

Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, kissed Dashi, the fierce general under his command, Shoujun, and said: "Shoujun, you must let the Tang army go to war this time, no matter what humiliating means you use."

Lord Shou Dashi was a rough man, so he grinned and said, "This general is good at it."

Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, also knew Shoujun Oishi’s talent for speaking dirty words, and encouraged him: “We are waiting for good news from Shoujun in our formation...”

Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, watched the Shoujun Dashi leave, made detailed arrangements for his troops, and then came to the main formation of the Chinese army, waiting for the report from the front line.

As soon as he sat down on the mazha, he heard soldiers coming in from outside.

In order to show the majesty of the general, the Japanese would usually draw several circles of cloth outside the formation to prevent outsiders from seeing what was going on inside.

"Lord Shoujun has retreated and is asking for an audience outside the tent."

The Prince of Zhongda Brother and the Prince of Hairen stood up suddenly, with one thought in their minds: Failed? This is too fast!
The vanguard general Shoujun Dashi knelt down on one knee in shock and said: "The Tang army will not fight."

The eldest brother, the prince, looked solemn and asked, "What do you mean?"

Shoujun Dashi said with a bitter face: "We have not yet entered the place where the arrows can be fired. The crossbow arrows from the Tang Army's stronghold were shot, injuring a hundred of us. Tang Nu does not respect martial ethics, let alone call a formation, and our army cannot advance at all... "

(End of this chapter)