Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

Chapter 240 It seems like victory, but in reality it is a fragment; the fiefdom is expanded again!

After reading the military newspaper, Li Yuanji's face was full of excitement. Besides being excited, he was also full of relief.

When he first saw it, he was also surprised, especially when Zhang Gongjin suddenly led a large army to the city of Yamato. Su Dingfang, Xue Wanche, and Yu Minghe all led troops outside, and even if they were fighting with moderate force, they were all trying to stop Cheng Yaojin's advance.

Wei Ting was the only one left in Yamato. Su Dingfang had originally left 10,000 troops for Wei Ting, but because of Cheng Yaojin's strong advance, he directly killed Morishi. The Japanese army led by Morishi collapsed suddenly. No one could stop Cheng Yaojin, so Su Dingfang had to withdraw another 5,000 troops from Wei Ting to stop him.

It was under such circumstances that Zhang Gongjin led a large army to Yamato. The remaining forces of the Soga clan in Japan launched a counterattack, and the Japanese people along the way rebelled again. The 10,000 troops led by Zhang Gongjin directly increased to nearly 20,000.

However, Wei Ting put on his armor and led 5,000 men to engage in a fierce battle with Zhang Gongjin, and he single-handedly stopped Zhang Gongjin outside Yamato.

They then joined forces with Su Dingfang and Xue Wanche, who led their troops, to encircle and suppress Zhang Gongjin.

But even so, Su Dingfang was still in danger, because behind Su Dingfang and Xue Wanche was an army of more than 10,000 led by Li Ji himself.

Although Su Dingfang ordered Xue Wanche to lead 3,000 troops to block the rear, and Li Ji had Yu Minghe's 10,000 troops behind him, but behind Yu Minghe there were also the Tang army.

Fortunately, Li Ji's various arrangements were out of sync, and Yu Ming and the Tang army behind him failed to keep up in time. Together with Xue Wanche, they entangled Li Ji's army, laying the foundation for Su Dingfang and Wei Ting to encircle and annihilate Zhang Gongjin.

After Su Dingfang and Wei Ting destroyed Zhang Gongjin's army, they began to counterattack Li Ji's army. However, Li Ji's sense of smell was too sensitive, and he fled with the remaining troops.

Su Dingfang thought he had victory in his grasp, and with Liu Rengui's navy on the sea, he was certain that Li Ji had nowhere to escape. However, Li Ji strangely fled to Baekje by boat.

Even Cheng Yaojin, who might have received Li Ji's message in advance, fled right after him. Liu Rengui's navy was left defending in vain, and neither Li Ji nor Cheng Yaojin could stop them. In the end, more than 10,000 Tang troops were left behind.

In the end, it was Yang Cheng who sent back the intelligence from Baekje because Li Ji had arranged to purchase a merchant ship from Li Yuanji early on, and landed in Northern Ezo in the identity of a Baekje merchant, thus successfully escaping Liu Rengui's naval search.

Whether it was the sudden appearance of Zhang Gongjin's army or Li Ji's escape, it was all because of this.

After watching the whole thing, although he won a great victory in the end and Li Yuanji was very excited, he was also really grateful besides being excited.

It can be seen from the military reports that it was their absolute advantage in weapons that enabled them to frequently gain great battlefield advantages in the war between Japan and Li Ji.

However, judging from the entire arrangement, Li Ji's performance undoubtedly crushed Su Dingfang's arrangement, and Li Ji's preparation was more sufficient than Su Dingfang's.

If Li Ji had the same weapons and the army he arranged was not out of touch, Li Yuanji could have imagined that in this battle, the one who would be defeated in the end would probably be Su Dingfang.

In particular, Li Ji's true and false military strategies completely confused Su Dingfang's eyes, making Su Dingfang think that Li Ji's main force was with Cheng Yaojin. He did not think of other possibilities at all and was fooled by Li Ji.

On the other hand, Liu Rengui's navy was completely played around by Li Ji. He led a navy that had a greater advantage than Su Dingfang's army, but lacked intelligence from all aspects and needed Yang Cheng in Baekje to provide him with intelligence.

Their own vigilance at sea was also very insufficient, not only allowing Zhang Gongjin's army to land quietly, but also allowing Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin to escape back like that. Li Yuanji couldn't bear to watch it.

This is also the biggest reason why he was excited and grateful even though Su Dingfang and his men had won such a great victory.

If the battle was switched to a completely road-based one, Li Ji's logistics would be solved, and even if Su Dingfang had an absolute advantage in military equipment, it would probably be extremely difficult to fight.

After being excited and relieved, Li Yuanji fell silent. Li Ji alone defeated the luxurious lineup he sent out like this. If Li Er sent another Li Jing, how the hell could he fight this battle?
Li Yuanji dared to say that in this war between Japan and Japan, if their weapons and navy were given to Li Ji, Li Ji would probably be able to end the battle with great ease and there would be no need to fight so hard.

In particular, the army he sent was larger than that of Li Ji. Later, Yu Minghe brought a full 10,000 troops, but the battle was still so difficult.

Li Yuanji had always wanted to know the gap between him and Li Er. Now he knew it, but Li Yuanji was not happy at all. This was really not the scene he wanted to see.

Li Yuanji always thought that since he had such a big advantage in military equipment, his army should be able to crush everything in its path. Even though Li Ji was a great military strategist, he should not be able to cause any trouble in the face of absolute strength.

Especially for this game with Li Er, he sent out such a luxurious lineup as Su Dingfang, Liu Rengui, Xue Wanche, and Yu Minghe.

There is no need to talk about the first three. Even Yu Minghe’s abilities in all aspects are perfectly good now. There is no problem in considering Yu Minghe as a smaller version of Xie Shufang.

Just like this, the battle situation turned out to be like this. How could Li Yuanji be happy? You know, the money and food spent on maintaining these Class A troops of his was a huge expense, but they failed to bring him the expected battle situation.

As he thought about it, Li Yuanji became a little disappointed.

Thinking about how he had led 300,000 Class A troops to go to Chang'an, he suddenly felt fortunate that Li Er did not concentrate all his forces to attack him first, otherwise he would be in real trouble.

Cen Wenben, who was beside Li Yuanji, became extremely excited when he heard Li Yuanji say that Japan had won a great victory. Even though Cen Wenben had always been steady, he couldn't be steady at this moment.

Completely defeating Li Ji meant not only that they had won the game with Li Er, but also that Japan would be officially incorporated into Li Yuanji's fiefdom.

After conquering another country, Li Yuanji's fiefdom was expanded again, which meant that they had succeeded again in expanding their territory. After Wa became Li Yuanji's fiefdom, it also meant that Li Yuanji's influence in the future could be completely extended to the north.

Before occupying Japan, Li Yuanji's influence was limited to the south and southwest. Even in the west, it was very small. But now, in the northeast and north, Li Yuanji can finally intervene in the affairs of these two directions and is no longer as out of reach as before.

The biggest change was that with the existence of Wa, trade in the north and around Goguryeo could be conducted with greater confidence without having to worry about these small countries taking action against their caravans.

Although Li Yuanji was very powerful in the past, he was out of reach for small countries such as Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. No matter how powerful Li Yuanji was, he could not influence them. Now, the times are completely different.

Even though Cen Wenben didn't know that there were mountains of gold and silver in Japan, all the benefits he had now were enough to make him extremely excited.

However, Cen Wenben was excited for a moment, but seeing that Li Yuanji's expression was getting worse and worse, he was full of doubts. Now that they had won such a big victory, conquered Japan, and defeated Li Ji, it was news worth being happy about.

Without waiting for Cen Wenben to speak, Li Yuanji handed the military newspaper to Cen Wenben. Cen Wenben took the newspaper with confusion and began to read it.

This time, the military report was not delivered by carrier pigeons because the content was too large for them to transmit.

Cen Wenben read for nearly two incense sticks, not missing a single word, and read it very carefully. At the end, Cen Wenben couldn't be happy anymore. Now he finally understood why Li Yuanji was unhappy. Because even he couldn't be happy after reading it. Although he won the battle, it was actually a mess. It's not an exaggeration to say that he lost.

Cen Wenben was full of worry for a moment. After a long time, Cen Wenben put down the memorial in his hand, placed it on Li Yuanji's desk, and looked at Li Yuanji.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be so cautious. Overall, we won this battle, and that's a good thing.

And your Majesty might as well think of it this way. Li Ji was a famous general who had experienced countless wars, both big and small. He had already made his mark before the Tang Dynasty had pacified the world.

Whether it is Su Dingfang or Xue Wanche, it is normal that they are a little less experienced than Li Ji.

As for Liu Rengui and Yu Minghe, Liu Rengui had only been in charge of the navy for less than two years, and his various abilities still needed to be gradually improved.

Although Yu Minghe had solid theory and had read a lot of military strategies, he still had too little experience in practice. Now he was a little anxious to take on the responsibility.

I think they must be feeling very uncomfortable, and after this battle, I predict that each of them will improve a lot.

Especially Liu Rengui and Yu Minghe, they had no experience in major battles before, and after this experience, their abilities must have been greatly improved.

If such a war happens again, I believe they will perform better.

I think Your Majesty should be happy. This war was a training exercise for us, and we won in the end, so we should be happy with it."

Li Yuanji looked at Cen Wenben and immediately smiled.

"Jingren, Jingren, it has to be you. It was Su Dingfang and the others who were suppressed by Li Ji, but after what you said, it seems like we are the ones who made a big profit.

But you are indeed right. Among them, Su Dingfang and Xue Wanche are relatively outstanding, especially Su Dingfang. Although he was suppressed by Li Ji this time, he also showed strong command and sense of smell in his ability to respond to changes.

Liu Rengui and Yu Minghe, I really had too high expectations of them.

Let’s not talk about these. Now that Li Ji has been defeated, what should be done with the captured Li Er’s army and Zhang Gongjin? You should think about what to do now.

As for Japan, now that Mori is dead and the game with Li Er has been decided, there is no need to support the Japanese to take power anymore. I will directly incorporate them into my fiefdom.

How should Japan be divided, who will go, who will lead the troops to garrison, all of these you should think about now, and what to do."

Li Yuanji already had an idea in his mind about how to deal with Japan, but he was still a little uncertain about how to deal with Zhang Gongjin and the army of captives.

Zhang Gongjin could be killed or not, but Li Yuanji could not bring himself to kill those captured soldiers. They were all men of the Tang Dynasty, all Tang people, and he could not just kill them like that.

But Li Yuanji never thought about releasing these people. They were all veterans of many battles. Would releasing them back help strengthen Li Er's strength?
He's not that stupid.

Cen Wenben listened to Li Yuanji's question and began to ponder. Now that Japan was confirmed to be included in Li Yuanji's fiefdom, it must be managed. Cen Wenben did not think too much about this because they had experience in governing the captured fiefdom.

Look at it now, how many countries did Li Yuanji destroy to obtain these expanded fiefdoms?

They have a lot to say on this issue, because except for the original five prefectures in Lingnan, other places were all divided after the country was destroyed, and they had accumulated long ago.

The only thing that Cen Wenben was thinking about with a frown was how to deal with Zhang Gongjin and those Tang army prisoners.

After a long time, Cen Wenben looked at Li Yuanji.

"Your Majesty, regarding the treatment of the captives, Your Majesty can send them directly to labor reform, just like conscripting civilians to work, and they will receive the same treatment.

In the long run, there will definitely be people willing to stay, and these people will be able to integrate well in the future.

If there are people who really don't want to stay here, they can be used to ask the Tang Dynasty for the families of those who are willing to stay. This will increase the population and complete the infrastructure at the same time.

It only takes two or three years, and even if those who don't want to stay go to the Tang Dynasty, it will be difficult for them to join the army. After all, the Tang Dynasty will not let them join the army easily. If there are people arranged by us in it, they will not be able to distinguish them.

After these people go back and are treated differently, I'm afraid many of them will come here on their own initiative, and it can also promote this place.

As for killing prisoners, I am against it. They are all people of the Tang Dynasty. There is no need to be so decisive.

This is my thought, please correct me, Your Majesty."

Li Yuanji nodded after listening to this. Cen Wenben's solution undoubtedly touched his heart.

"Yes, your method is very good. We can do as you said. You can sort these out later and arrange for people to start working on it.

What about Zhang Gongjin? How to deal with him?"

Cen Wenben immediately became serious and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty can persuade Zhang Gongjin to surrender. Although he is from the Qin Palace, there is no hope for him to return, so Your Majesty can still persuade him to surrender.

Moreover, it would prevent him from having to face the Tang Dynasty in the future. It would be great if he could be stationed in the Tang Dynasty to protect the peace.

However, this person cannot be sent out in the short term, as he is very likely to tip off the enemy. We need to wait three to five years, and at the same time, we need to bring his family here before we can use him."

Li Yuanji pondered for a moment and understood the intention of Cen Wenben's words. If he was appointed too early, there was a high possibility that Zhang Gongjin would become a traitor.

"Well, I know about this matter. So what about Japan?"

(End of this chapter)