The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 284 Preparing for War
"That's also the reason." Yang Yuhuan did not deny it. She looked at Li Heng with her watery eyes, "My dear, don't you want me to see it?"

"How could that be?" Li Heng held Yang Yuhuan's hand, "You are the mistress, and you are the one who makes the decisions on all matters at home. But this is a gift from my father, and I have no room to refuse."

Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "Every time you come back to the capital, the saint will grant you a marriage. If you come back several times, you can marry several wives."

Li Ying smiled and said, "If you weren't so virtuous, marrying a few more would be enough trouble for me, how could I dare to marry more."

Yang Yuhuan said: "If that's the case, it's me who helped my husband marry a few more girls. So I'll be a little more aggressive from now on."

"Let me see how fierce you are." Li Ying teased.

Yang Yuhuan made a face, feeling that she couldn't be fierce, and said, "Forget it, let's leave it at that."

Li Ying lowered his head to glance at Yang Yuhuan's chest, reached out and touched it, and said, "Indeed, it's enough."

Yang Yuhuan was a little sensitive to Li Heng's touch, her face instantly turned red, and she said, "My dear, measure it carefully tonight."

Li Ying asked, "Is it not possible now?"

Yang Yuhuan had already dressed Li Heng and said, "The battle is imminent and the generals are waiting in the hall. If you go late, it will seem that you don't care enough about them."

"That's right." Li Heng hugged Yang Yuhuan, kissed her, and went out.

A moment later, Li Ying came to the lobby.

In the hall, Gao Xianzhi, An Sishun, Li Siye, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Li Chengguang, Bai Xiaode, Lai Chen, Ma Lin, Li Sheng and others had been waiting for a long time. As for Feng Changqing, he stayed in Beiting to guard his hometown.

All the generals stood up and saluted Li Heng.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat." Li Heng invited everyone to sit down and said, "Since the loss of Shibao City, the offensive and defensive positions of Tubo and the Tang Dynasty have changed. Now the court has ordered me to control Helong, and the intention is to regain the initiative and take the initiative to attack. What suggestions do you have about this war?"

Li Siye was the first to say, "Why not use the same tactics that Your Highness used last time, attacking on multiple fronts, surrounding a point and attacking reinforcements, this way we can be sure of success."

Gao Xianzhi said: "If we want to attack on multiple fronts, we have to wait until next summer. Otherwise, the mountains will be blocked by heavy snow, and there will be more casualties before the war. The logistics and winter clothes needed will also increase exponentially. The food and supplies allocated by the court cannot support a large army in winter."

After Geshu Han resigned, Gao Shi took charge of the logistics of Longyou, so Gao Shi took the initiative to say: "The winter clothes allocated by the court this time are only enough for use within the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Tubo is cold and high, so even a small group of troops will need more clothes."

An Sishun said, "But we can wait until tomorrow summer, but the court can't. If we can't achieve some results this year, I'm afraid we won't be able to give an account to the court."

An Sishun said this completely from Li Ying's perspective.

Li Longji has given Li Heng so much power now that he won't care about your logistics or the season. If you can't produce any battle results, it means you are not a good commander and have ulterior motives.

Moreover, even if we take a step back, Li Longji could accept sacrificing the lives of 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers as long as he could capture Shibao City.

Gao Xianzhi pondered for a moment and said, "If it really doesn't work, we can only sacrifice a lot in exchange for victory."

Ma Lin was listening from behind and sighed to himself.

Li Heng noticed Ma Lin's sigh and said, "General Ma, just speak frankly."

Ma Lin didn't expect Li Heng to have such good eyesight. He was stunned for a moment and said, "Longyou is very different from Anxi Beiting. His Highness Anxi Beiting has been governing for many years, and the treatment of soldiers and pensions for casualties are guaranteed, but Longyou is very scarce. This time the court levied taxes on households with registered households but no one. Many families of fallen soldiers need to pay back taxes, and they all came to the government office to appeal for injustice, causing instability in the Longyou army. In this situation, if we have to march without warmth, the morale will be low at best and we will not be able to defeat the enemy, or even cause a mutiny."

Gao Xianzhi had stayed in Anxi for a long time and had fought many successful battles there. He did not expect the situation in Longyou to be so complicated. However, he could understand what Ma Lin said.

When the soldiers below see the families of fallen soldiers coming to appeal for justice, they will think that while they are still alive, they can still enjoy tax exemptions and food and wages, but if they die, not only will they not receive any compensation, but their families will also suffer. So what the hell are they still fighting for?
At this time, if they are forced to do something extremely risky, they will either think of escaping or rebelling.

Gao Xianzhi had no solution and could only wait for Li Heng to speak. Li Heng was also troubled by this matter.

It was common practice for border troops to draw empty salaries and falsely report battle records. Wang Yu had traced the tax collection back to thirty years ago, and he could not fill the hole, nor could he investigate, because if he did, it would take a long time and cover a wide range, and many people would be implicated. He could only endure it.

Li Heng pondered for a moment and said, "For the families of soldiers who are crying out for injustice, I will ask the government offices at all levels to keep records tomorrow and report the facts after verification. We cannot force them to pay the additional taxes."

The one who makes a fuss gets the milk. Li Heng planned to calm the people who were making trouble first, let the soldiers in Longyou see the changes after his arrival, and stabilize the morale of the army.

All the generals present saw that Li Heng was considerate of his subordinates and said in unison: "Your Highness's kindness is a blessing to the soldiers of Helong."

Li Heng sighed inwardly, smiled, glanced at the generals, and said, "According to what you said, it is almost impossible to march in winter. We think so, and Tubo will also think so. Therefore, I want to launch a surprise attack in winter."

Gao Shi worriedly said, "Shibao City has been fought over and over, so the defense will definitely not be relaxed. Even if Tubo did not expect Your Highness to attack, it is just that the support was not timely. If we cannot take it within one or two days, a large number of Tubo reinforcements will surely arrive. Shibao City is very steep and it is very difficult to capture it within one or two days."

The last time Li Heng attacked Shibao, it was he who led Cen Shen to attack. Many soldiers, including Gao Shi, were not aware of it. Therefore, Gao Shi had this concern and was also in the process of clearing it up.

But Li Heng has enough confidence.

After Li Heng took over Beiting, he immediately transferred Cen Shen to the Tianshan Army as a military envoy. The biggest reason was that the Tianshan Army was the closest military town to Shanshan. He could let Cen Shen participate in the mining of saltpeter in Shanshan to meet the material demand for making explosives.

With the explosives accumulated for so long and the innovations, it was enough to attack Shibao City.

Therefore, Li Heng did not reply to Gao Shi's question, but turned to ask Cen Shen, "If we launch a surprise attack at the foot of Shibao City, can General Cen take down Shibao City in one day?"

Cen Shen said: "If there is no enemy help to interfere, it will be enough."

Those who were not in the know were all stunned when they heard this. They didn't know where Cen Shen got his confidence from, but when they remembered that Cen Shen was by Li Heng's side during the attack on Shibao City last time, they guessed that Cen Shen had learned some special tactics, so they did not question it.

Li Heng said: "To ensure that nothing goes wrong, we will use 6,000 elite cavalry to block the enemy's reinforcements, and 2,000 elite cavalry and 8,000 infantry to attack Shibao City."

Gao Shi said: "It would be best to add 30,000 sets of warm clothing and quilts, so that the soldiers can have sufficient fighting power when they reach the foot of Shibao City."

"I'll figure out a way to deal with this." Li Heng stood up and said seriously, "Generals, listen to my orders!"

"Here!" All the generals stood up together.

Li Heng said: "Gao Xianzhi is the general who blocks the enemy's reinforcements, Lai Zhen, Ma Lin, and Li Sheng are deputy generals, leading 6,000 cavalry to block the enemy's reinforcements."

Gao Xianzhi and the other three said in unison: "Understood!"

Li Heng said, "Li Siye will lead 2,000 cavalry as the vanguard, and Cen Shen, Li Chengguang, and Bai Xiaode will follow me and lead 6,000 infantry. Follow my orders and attack Shibao City."

"Yes, sir!" said Li Siye and others.

Li Heng said: "Gao Shi dispatched the rear logistics, An Sishun led the Yuhou Army, and at the same time issued an order to the troops in Hexi to guard the various passes. If an enemy troop is allowed in, military law will be applied!"

"Yes, sir!" Gao Shi and An Sishun said.

Li Heng said, "I will give you ten days to prepare. After ten days, I will deliver the winter clothes and quilts, and you will follow me to take Shibao City."

"Yes!" all the generals answered in unison.

(End of this chapter)