Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 399 God and Man

Yeon Gaesumun knew that his time was short. Looking at his son who was growing up rapidly, he said with difficulty: "The gap between the strength of Goguryeo and the Central Plains is too big. We have relied on the strength of the whole country to win several wars. Now it is once again a matter of life and death." The enemy is far stronger than before."

As a generational hero, Yeon Gaesumun is not afraid of the strength of his opponents, but is afraid that his opponents will not dare to fight.

No matter how disparate the strength is, even against invincible commanders like Han Xin and Li Jing, as long as they come to fight, there is a possibility of victory, even if the hope is extremely slim.

Just like the several conquests of Yang Guang and Li Shimin?
Who dares to believe that the mighty Sui Dynasty's million-strong army could not defeat even a single Liaodong?

Who dares to believe that the invincible Emperor Zhenguan conquered Liaodong with overwhelming force and captured ten cities including Xuantu, Hengshan, Gaimou, Momi, Liaodong, Baiyan, Bisha, Maigu, Yinshan, and Houhuang? In the three battles of Xincheng, Jian'an, and Zhuzhi, 40,000 heads were harvested, and only more than 2,000 were killed. In the end, he would fall short at Anshi City.

The defeat of the powerful Central Plains dynasty many times gave the Goguryeo nation the confidence to not be afraid of any powerful enemy.

This was also the last son of Yeon Gae So Moon, who had the courage to fight to the death against the most powerful enemy while he was still alive.

However, Chen Qingsi's blunt knife to cut flesh is fatal to the current Goguryeo, and there is no resistance at all.

From Yeon Gaesumun's point of view, opponents like Chen Qingsi are indeed more difficult to deal with than people of Li Shimin's level.

"There is no need to worry about the problems of the Khitan, Mohe, and Huiqi tribes. The losses belong to each other. We really have to bear them all. They will not care about our kindness. Instead, they will take advantage of our illness to take advantage of our illness."

"Barbarians have no credibility."

Yeongaesumun was also deeply influenced by Han culture, and the differences between Yi and Di could be clearly distinguished.

"besides……"

He seemed to have said a bit too much, so he calmed down and then said: "Gao Baobao is more ambitious than others, but my father has been suppressing it. If my father is ill, he must take action. My father will help you get rid of this trouble. As for the future, Dad is really helpless."

"Father!"

Boy Yuan wept secretly.

Under Chen Qingsi's strategic determination, Datang did not get involved in this great drama in Goguryeo.

They were like a crowd eating melons, watching Yuan Nanshi refuse to pay compensation for the food and grass agreed by the Khitan, Mohe, and Huiqi tribes.

Seeing the tribes rioting in anger and gathering people to invade the south, they were defeated by Goguryeo.

In order to resist the Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo built cities and strongholds on mountains in the northeastern part of Liao Dynasty.

Goguryeo has put a lot of effort into the research of city defense. It suffered losses in the Sui and Tang Dynasties in the past, not to mention the Khitan, Mohe, Huiqi and other foreign tribes?

As a result, the Khitan, Mohe, and Huiqi tribes suffered heavy losses this winter.

Autumn is originally the time when prey is most fertile. Grassland peoples such as the Khitan, Mohe, and Hui, as well as fishermen and hunters, will take this opportunity to save food for the winter to survive the winter in the Northeast.

Now they have been collecting supplies for Goguryeo throughout the autumn. As a result, Chen Qingsi was cheated and Goguryeo regretted it.

As a result, we naturally paid a heavy price.

Some tribes among them died directly in the winter of the eighth year of Xianqing.

There is no doubt that the hatred between Goguryeo and the northern tribes was forged.

There is also a small episode.

The Governor of Yingzhou and the Protector of Dongyi, Cheng Mingzhen, specially sent people to ask if they wanted to take the opportunity to recruit and rescue the Khitan, Mohe, and Huiqi tribes.

Cheng Mingzhen's proposal to attack Goguryeo was rejected. Li Zhi naturally wanted to give him an explanation, and also told Chen Qingsi's intentions, and also asked him to communicate more with Chen Qingsi about matters in the Northeast.

Li Shimin has always wanted to separate the Khitan, Mohe, and Huiqi, and has cut off Goguryeo's arms.

Part of the Khitan tribe has already defected to the Tang Dynasty, but Mohe and Huiqi live in the deep northeast and are not adjacent to the Tang Dynasty, and there is no communication with them. There are still blood feuds: when Emperor Taizong Li Shimin attacked Goguryeo, Gao Yanshou, the governor of the northern Goguryeo tribe, and Gao Hui, the governor of the southern Goguryeo tribe, led Goguryeo and Mohe to rescue Anshi with 150,000 soldiers. However, they were defeated by Emperor Taizong's 30,000 soldiers. Directly at Zhuzhi Mountain.

Compared with a strange and hostile existence, Goguryeo, which has been friendly for generations, is naturally the best choice.

Now that the Khitan, Mohe, Huiqi and Goguryeo are at odds with each other, they can just join in and win over each other.

Chen Qingsi rejected this idea.

He also specially wrote a letter to Cheng Minzhen explaining the reason to avoid causing the other party's displeasure.

After all, the last time they jointly attacked Goguryeo, this was the second time he rejected Cheng Mingzhen's suggestion.

A boss of this level may not be a little dissatisfied if his suggestions are blocked many times.

As for the reason for sitting on a mountain and watching a tiger fight, it is simply the icing on the cake, not as good as giving timely help.

I want to take advantage of Yi Di. The first key is not how much kindness you have towards them, but that Yi Di themselves are weak enough and cannot make waves.

If Yi Di had certain strength, they would not be honest and would want more.

Just like Xue Yantuo...

When Tang and Xue were in their honeymoon period, their relationship was so good.

Xue Yantuo often presented horses, cattle, sheep, camels, minks, etc. as tribute to the Tang Dynasty. The number was huge, often thousands or even tens of thousands, and the tribute team stretched for ten miles.

In the end, wasn't it because the wings were hardened and he had other thoughts?
When facing Yi Di, if you want him to be obedient, you must at least break two of their arms, and then show mercy and appear in front of them as a savior.

When they are capable of fighting, that is not called showing favor, but rather supporting the enemy.

Therefore, Chen Qingsi emphasized in his reply to Cheng Mingzhen, "The Yi and Di cannot be trusted. Mohe, Huihe and Goguryeo support each other and rely on each other. They are quite powerful and difficult to control. Only by letting them suffer the pain can we reflect our benevolence and righteousness."

In fact, Chen Qingsi was a little worried.

If it were someone else, General Cheng Mingzhen might be a little dissatisfied with his temperament, but Chen Qingsi is the boss who loves his son the most.

The two parties are not far apart, and father and son often exchange letters.

Cheng Mingzhen saw his admiration and love for Chen Qingsi from his son's letter, and also learned that his son was taken seriously.

With this relationship, these problems are minor matters.

He won't care.

But Chen Qingsi's letter still made him, a veteran, feel happy.

After all, in a society of favors, a veteran like Cheng Mingzhen loves face.

Chen Qingsi's ability to edit books and explain things also gave him a lot of face.

Cheng Mingzhen has always praised Chen Qingsi, a junior, with the attitude of an old-timer.

At the beginning of this year, Chen Qingsi once again received documents from the capital.

This time it wasn't that something big happened, but an announcement to change the year name.

Chen Qingsi looked at the announcement in his hand, put his hand on his forehead, and muttered in his heart: Is this a correction from history?

The document stated that auspiciousness descended from heaven, and the mythical beast Qilin appeared in Jieshan and Hanyuan Halls. For some reason, the reign name was changed to Linde.

Chen Qingsi knew very well that Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu were the couple who were crazy about changing their reign names.

If you have nothing to do, just change the year name for fun. Li Zhi reigned for more than thirty years and changed his reign title fourteen times. Empress Wu reigned for fifteen years and changed her title fourteen times...

Chen Qingsi thought that Li Zhi had changed because of his appearance. In his memory, Xianqing did not want to get back on track after seven or eight years.

Naturally, he didn't know that the reason why the reign name of Xianqing lasted for seven or eight years was because he killed Li Yifu in advance.

Historically, in order to please Li Zhi, Li Yifu claimed that the land of Shu had the auspiciousness of a dragon ascending to heaven, so he changed the name of the year to Longshuo.

Now that Li Yifu has already killed him, there is naturally no dragon ascending to heaven.

Of course, the dragon did not ascend to heaven, but the unicorn still appeared in this world.

Chen Qingsi knew that this was the prelude to Li Zhi's arrangement for Feng Chan.

The first step to becoming a Zen king is not the merits of the king, but the auspicious blessings sent down by God.

Chen Qingsi remembered Long Shuo for three years, but the time couldn't match up.

In other words, in order to cater to the emperor Li Zhi, Qilin ran out in advance?
Chen Qingsi smiled secretly in her heart. Sure enough, the so-called auspiciousness was all bluffing, just for political needs.

Chen Qingsi handed the official document to Lu Zhaolin and said: "Compare the form of this official document, make two copies, and send them to Silla and Japan respectively."

Despite the trouble, Silla and Wa, as vassal states, had to obediently use the court's new year's name.

In this regard, they have no choice and everything must be in line with the sovereign country.

Chen Qingsi knew in his heart that since the Kirin appeared in the world, the enshrinement ceremony would be on the agenda, and then the court would prepare for the enshrinement ceremony, which would be held in as soon as one year, or as slowly as two or three years.

This also means that there is only one year left to prevent Queen Wu from getting involved.

Chen Qingsi thought secretly...

While they were busy changing the year name, new news came from Goguryeo.

"Grand Governor, there is news from Goguryeo..."

Liu Rengui strode into the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion, looking at Chen Qingsi with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Chen Qingsi trained Liu Rengui as his successor, and he was also responsible for the connection with Silla.

Before his own intelligence network was established, detailed information about Goguryeo mainly came from Silla.

Chen Qingsi asked him to sit down and said: "No matter what the big event is, let's take it slow. Now we are just spectators. That is to say, there are no melons here. Otherwise, we can eat melons and listen to the show at the same time."

Liu Rengui obviously didn't understand the meaning of Chen Qingsi's words, and just thought that Chen Qingsi wanted to eat.

After all, Haidong is barren and there is really no way to eat fresh melons.

Liu Rengui sat down and said: "The king of Goguryeo secretly united with Mohe and Guqi to kill Yuanxiong and regain his power. What do you think, the governor?"

Chen Qingsi said: "Boss Yuan should have been prepared, right?"

Because of his memory, he has a certain recognition of Yuan Boy's abilities.

Yoo Ren track: "Yes and no, the father and son, Yeon Gae So-moon and Yeon-san, are the ones who are prepared."

Chen Qingsi was so alert that he immediately reacted and said, "Yeon Gaesumun is pretending to be sick?"

Liu Rengui: "The illness must be true. There is no lie. It's just... not that serious. Mr. Yuan must have been deceived as well, but he learned the details later."

Chen Qingsi did not doubt the authenticity of Silla's intelligence. The three families were on the same peninsula and had been fighting each other for hundreds of years, and they had penetrated each other to their bones.

"How is the result?"

Liu Rengui: "Of course it was Yeon Gae So-moon who was so scheming and even more sophisticated. He once again killed the king of Goguryeo, beheaded the rebellious Jisa, and also killed many ministers who colluded with Gao Baobao. He had already laid the foundation for his own. The son cleared the way."

Chen Qingsi asked hurriedly: "What about Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanchan?"

Liu Rengui: "I don't know, I haven't heard of it."

Chen Qingsi smiled and said: "That's good!"

That's right, this coup is aimed at the Yuan family, Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanzhan should not turn against the Yuan family.

The two of them turned against Yuan boys, and their purpose was to seize power from their elder brother.

If the Yuan family collapsed, they would have to be buried with him, so they would not be involved.

No news is the best news.

He smiled secretly in his heart, Yeon Gaesumun could indeed be called a generational hero, paving the way for his son to reach this point.

It's just that people are blind creatures after all. He made all kinds of plans and considerations, but neglected his two sons...

The real disaster is Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanzhi.

Just when Chen Qingsi was thinking secretly, Liu Rengui said another news.

“Yeon Gaesoo-moon probably can’t hold on any longer.”

Chen Qingsi couldn't help but said: "Real or false?"

Liu Rentrack: "Still confirming."

Chen Qingsi said: "There should be no lies. He has paved the way for Yuan Boy. Next, he should stay behind the scenes and give Yuan Boy a platform so that he can better take over Goguryeo. There is no need to perform this drama again. This time, Eighty percent of it is true. The person who is about to die has made arrangements for his funeral. As soon as the tension is loosened, his death is not far away. Let Silla continue to observe, and it is best to find a way to get their people to provide us with it in Goguryeo. A little help.”

Chen Qingsi does not expect to be able to truly establish a decent intelligence network in Goguryeo now.

Time does not allow.

The Tang army will destroy Goguryeo sooner or later. Given Goguryeo's current situation, it won't take long to do so. There won't be enough time to complete the construction of the intelligence network.

After a lot of effort, Goguryeo was destroyed without success. Isn’t that embarrassing?
What he wanted to do was to get rid of Silla's intelligence network, and it would be best if he could destroy it all together.

Liu Rengui understood what Chen Qingsi meant and said, "I will pay attention."

The turmoil in Goguryeo slowly spread to the surrounding areas.

It first spread to Yingzhou and Cheng Mingzhen’s ears.

Cheng Mingzhen listened to Xue Rengui's report to him about the Goguryeo coup.

The veteran general of the Tang Dynasty was speechless for a long time, and finally sighed: "The Governor knows things like a god, is he a god?"

He sighed with emotion for a while, then looked at Xue Rengui in front of him, and said: "I had known that the Governor was so good. When he asked for you, I agreed. I am getting older and will soon be serving as an official. It is really good for you to follow me. Qu Cai. Although the governor is a scholar, he is as capable as the prime minister or Zhou Lang. He is far more powerful than me."

Xue Rengui said: "It is true that the Governor is great, but the Protector is also a hero of the world. It is an honor for the general to follow the Protector."

Cheng Mingzhen smiled and twirled his beard and said, "Back in the army, the Commander-in-Chief regarded you very highly. When I become an official, I will recommend you to him. You will be reused."

(End of this chapter)