The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 205 The Tragic Li Mi

"Grandpa, be careful with your words!" Li Zhenyuan, the eldest son of Li Mi, quickly advised, "Since the imperial court has issued an edict, the generals should be loyal to the country. Now the emperor's order is hard to disobey. Even if you understand the whole situation, you can't change it. Why waste your energy and energy!"

"Do you know that the battlefield is ruthless? When the war breaks out this time, how many men from the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao will die on the battlefield?" Li Mi took another sip of wine, drew his sword and began to dance, saying as he danced: "Fine grape wine in the luminous cup, the pipa music urges me to drink, don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield, how many men have ever returned from the battles in history."

Li Mi sang the lyrics of Wang Han, who was a good friend of Zhang Jiuling. They were both "conservative" and did not advocate the expansion of borders, so there was a lot of anti-war sentiment in their poems.

Seeing his father so sad, Li Zhenyuan sighed and said, "Grandpa, Mr. Zhang has passed away."

What Li Zhenyuan meant was that Zhang Jiuling had passed away and the one in power now was Li Linfu. As long as Li Linfu was in power, he would cater to Li Longji endlessly and the Tang Dynasty would expand its borders endlessly.

Upon hearing this, Li Mi dropped the wine jar, spilling the wine all over the floor, and closed his eyes without saying a word.

Li Mi's eldest granddaughter saw Li Mi like this and stepped forward and said, "Grandfather, your granddaughter is willing to go to the battle with you."

After hearing this, Li Mi stared at his granddaughter for a long while before saying, "Absolutely not. From now on, my descendants, please be careful when you are a general."

After that, he sheathed the sword in his hand, handed it to his granddaughter, and said: "This is the Nanzhao Duoshao sword that Geluofeng gave me. If I don't come back this time, and Nanzhao attacks my home again, you can take this sword to see Geluofeng."

Li Mi's granddaughter didn't know why Li Mi was so pessimistic about this expedition, but she didn't dare to ask more and just took it silently.

Li Mi remained silent at home for a day and a night, then put on his armor and took his son to Yizhou to find Li Lin.

When Li Mi arrived in Yizhou, Li Lin was venting his emotions in the land of love.

The shadow of failure must always be vented through other channels.

Li Mi was waiting in the lobby wearing armor and holding a sword. After waiting for half an hour, Li Lin finally showed up with a look of unsatisfied desire.

As soon as Li Lin entered the hall, he saw Li Mi's domineering posture and his heart trembled. He was both touched by Li Mi's power and indignant at Li Mi's rudeness.

But Li Mi was, after all, Li Longji's appointed commander of the army, the de facto second-in-command in the army. Li Lin did not dare to get angry, and quickly said with a smile: "General Li, why are you here in armor when we haven't even set out yet?"

Li Mi could smell the smoke from Li Lin from a distance, and sighed in his heart. He stood up and saluted Li Lin, saying, "Your Highness, since the court has issued an order to prepare to send troops, the soldiers of Jiannan should keep their armor on and prepare for war."

"Indeed, General Li is right." Li Lin agreed, invited Li Mi to take a seat, and said, "General Li has come from afar, please take a day off. Tomorrow the king will call everyone together to discuss matters."

Li Mi did not directly answer Li Lin's question, but asked: "Your Highness, do you know the military and political system of Nanzhao, the training level of the soldiers, and the combat preferences of the officers and soldiers?"

Li Lin was startled, looking a little embarrassed, and said, "I know some, but it may not be complete."

Li Mi said: "In many battles, the outcome has already been decided before they begin. If we want to defeat the enemy, we must know the enemy better than the enemy does. We must seize the time and learn as much information about the enemy as possible. Your Highness, please call all the generals to discuss the matter!"

Although Li Mi said this for the sake of the overall situation, Li Lin felt uncomfortable no matter how he heard it.

Li Lin tried hard not to get angry and responded with a forced smile.

Li Mi saw Li Lin's expression and couldn't help but sigh secretly: "It would be great if Prince Shou came to be the commander-in-chief."

In order to attack Shibao City, Li Heng not only tried his best to solve the problem of food and grass, trained his troops in the high and cold places in advance, but also went to the front line Suirong City to station there for several months, discussing battle plans with his generals every day.

As a general who had experienced many battles, Li Mi knew very well that it was precisely because Li Heng had made sufficient preparations that he was able to win the battle so quickly.

On the other hand, Li Lin still behaves like a noble prince. With such a person commanding the three armies, how can people not worry about the prospects of the war?

Li Mi was still thinking to himself, and Li Lin also disliked Li Mi a little, so the two of them remained silent until all the generals arrived.

Half of these generals were Li Lin's confidants brought from Chang'an. Li Mi knew that most of these people did not understand the situation in Nanzhao, so he started from the most basic aspects.

First is the land system of Nanzhao.

Nanzhao’s land grant system was similar to the equal-field system of the Tang Dynasty, but there were also differences.

First, the land grant system could not change at any time like the equal-field system, and its organization and institutionalization were not as good as the equal-field system, so self-cultivating farmers could retain the land for a long time.

Second, because Nanzhao was located in a remote area with a small population and a lot of land, the scale of land grants was relatively small, and it has not collapsed until now.

Based on the land grant system, all the soldiers in Nanzhao were soldiers.

Its military composition is divided into standing army, reserve army and slave army.

The standing army was responsible for the military garrison and defense of Nanzhao. It had about 30,000 personnel, composed of Baiman and Wuman from the dam area (a large flat area on the plateau), among which Baiman was the main body.

The reserve army is half soldier and half farmer. They work on the farm during the busy farming season and train during their spare time.

Moreover, the training is not perfunctory, there will be assessment after the training.

The assessment for cavalry soldiers must pass archery, galloping and stabbing on horseback at a distance of forty steps, swivel the spear a hundred times without error, and be able to read and calculate.

Infantrymen will be assessed on mountaineering, crossing, rapids paddling, swordsmanship, and marching with loads, etc.

The slave soldiers were forcibly recruited from other tribes, including the "naked barbarians", "puzi barbarians", "xunchuan barbarians", "golden-toothed barbarians", "embroidered-faced barbarians" and other ethnic minorities, as well as slaves plundered from the Indochina Peninsula.

These slave soldiers are tough and brave in combat, and some even have special abilities.

For example, the "Wang Man" are good at using guns on horseback. They ride horses without saddles, but they can gallop like the wind. Some barbarians are good at training animals to fight, such as training elephants.

Then there is Nanzhao’s military merit system.

Nanzhao had its own inherent tough character and worship of military force. The saying "Those who die in battle will die in battle, while those who die of illness will die" was a reflection of Nanzhao's ideology of respecting military merit.

Nanzhao had been at war constantly in recent years, and military merit was the only basis for obtaining official positions. That is, all those in office were rewarded or demoted based on their military merits.

In addition, military merit is an important indicator of personal value and the basis for obtaining land.

The Nanzhao people were particularly fond of showing off their military achievements. They had a totem worship for the tiger, and those who had made special contributions could wear a full tiger skin. The King of Nanzhao was "wearing golden armor, a big insect skin, and holding a double-bell sheath." The lesser ones could wear a sleeveless tiger skin, and the next best could wear a piece on their chest.

If the Tang army encountered Nanzhao soldiers, they could determine their battle record based on how many tiger skins they were wearing.

Li Mi gave Li Lin and his friends some basic knowledge about Nanzhao, which shocked Li Lin and other nobles in Chang'an.

It was not until this moment that Li Lin fully understood that what they were facing was not a group of mobs, but a well-trained group of fierce and powerful troops.

Li Lin couldn't help but ask: "Can our newly recruited soldiers defeat the Nanzhao army?"

"Hurry up and train." Li Mi did not give a direct answer but looked into the distance.

That's the northwest.

(End of this chapter)