Tibet

All parts of the Tang Dynasty were immersed in the festive atmosphere of the New Year. The imperial court changed the name of the year to Da'an, indicating that this year would be a year of stability for the world.

The implication is also very obvious, this year the feudal towns will be pacified and the world will be at peace.

A fleet of 300 large ships of more than 5,000 stone was moving northward on the sea. They were all vehicles and ships. Soldiers stepped on the paddle wheels, stirring up rolling white waves.

Although it is on the sea, this is the coast, and the mainland can be seen with clairvoyance. In addition, there is no monsoon in winter, so the sea is calm and calm.

Today is the seventh day of the first lunar month. The big ship is loaded with 20,000 troops and a large amount of supplies. They have been sailing for three days from Jingkou and will soon reach their destination.

On the leading ship of ten thousand stones, Nan Jiyun stood on the bow with a sword on his waist, staring at the sea in the distance.

Nan Jiyun was named the envoy of Jiangdong Town by Li Ye, and led an army of 30,000 to station in Jiangnan East Road. His army was stationed at Jingkou of Runzhou. This time he was ordered to go north, which also kicked off the attack on Li Zhengyi.

At this time, the observer on the mast bucket shouted: "I see an island ahead!"

Nan Jiyun took out his clairvoyance and looked north. He saw a faint black line in the distance, which suggested that Yuzhou had arrived.

Yuzhou is also called Donghai Island, which is today's Lianyungang. However, Lianyungang in the Tang Dynasty was different from Lianyungang today. In the Tang Dynasty, it was a large island called Yuzhou, which was separated from the mainland by a strait.

To the west of Donghai Island, there is a county town called Donghai County, close to the strait. There are about 10,000 fishermen on the island connected to the county town.

But since last year, 10,000 troops have been stationed on Donghai Island, busy building docks and warehouses.

Although tens of thousands of troops can go to Haizhou first, and then directly cross the strait to Donghai Island, Haizhou is controlled by the imperial court anyway, so there is no need to go there by boat.

But Li Ye still ordered the army to go by boat in order to allow the soldiers to adapt to sea navigation.

Donghai Island was assigned to Guanlong Army along with Quanzhou, but everyone ignored Quanzhou and ignored Donghai Island.

The main reason is that the strategic position of Donghai Island is not important enough. As a seaport, it cannot compare with Laizhou Peninsula to the north and Quanzhou and Guangzhou to the south.

In terms of vast hinterland, it is not as good as Jiangdu on the Yangtze River. In terms of water transportation, it is not even as good as Siyang on the Huaihe River.

It was not until the Longhai Railway was completed that Lianyungang gained a vast hinterland and became the closest outlet to the sea in the Central Plains.

But now is the Tang Dynasty, and the reason why Li Ye is interested in this place is because it is a strategic place to attack Li Zhengyi. The fleet sets out from here and goes north to Jiaozhou Bay, seizing Mizhou and Laizhou, and inserting itself directly into Li Zhengyi's back.

In the spring battle that is about to begin, the Tang army will fight on two fronts: light and dark. The 100,000 troops led by Guo Ziyi are the light line, and the dark line is Nan Jiyun's 30,000 troops.

Between the East China Sea Island and the mainland is a strait that is more than ten miles long and two miles wide. This is a natural harbor that can berth large warships.

Currently, a hundred large ships are parked here, and soon, large ships loaded with soldiers and supplies also sailed into the strait.

It was already the tenth day of the first lunar month in Chang'an at this time, and the New Year atmosphere was still strong. However, the people of Chang'an had turned from the ritual sense of ancestor worship and reunion to looking for fun. The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was coming.

But for the top management of Datang, they have been extremely nervous these days. Li Ye explained his strategic ideas to the political hall for several days in a row and talked about the challenges that Datang will face in the future.

In the Regent's Council Hall, the left and right prime ministers and seven assistant prime ministers sat around a long square table.

Li Ye slowly said to everyone: "Dear Prime Ministers, it is not difficult to wipe out the four vassal towns. If they don't have foreign aid, they can all be wiped out within half a year. But once they have foreign aid, many variables will happen. Currently, there will be two vassal towns." The first big foreign aid is the Uighur army, which is expected to arrive around April or May, followed by the Khitan, but the Khitan is different from the Uighurs. The Uighurs want to plunder Hebei and the Central Plains, especially Luoyang, which has always been the target of the Uighurs. , and the Khitan’s goal is Youzhou, they want to occupy Youzhou, so the Khitan must send troops later than Uighur.”

At this time, the left prime minister Zhang Li asked: "What do you think of the Goguryeo forces in Pingzhou?"

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "There are three Goguryeo forces in total, Pingzhou Goguryeo, Khitan Goguryeo and Silla Goguryeo. These three have always been inextricably related, but they are all controlled by the Khitan people. Once we and Zhu When Tao's army fights, the Goguryeo people may join the battle and assist Zhu Tao's army. This is actually the Khitan's support from behind, and the Goguryeo people become the vanguard of the Khitan."

At this time, Li Mi raised his hand and said: "Your Highness, I would like to say a few words because of my humble position!"

"Li Shangshu, please speak!"

Li Mi walked to the map, pointed at it with a wooden pole and said: "If the Uighur army is coming, Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen must also know it. I don't think they will fight to the death with us, but will choose to give in and give us up." To the Uighur Army, Wei Chen suggested that once Li Zhengwei is eliminated, the army should immediately go north and seize the opportunity before the Uighur Army arrives to attack Tian Chengsi. It is very likely that Tian Chengsi will preserve his strength and withdraw northward, which will be beneficial to us in the future. Hebei has gained a foothold.”

Li Ye nodded, "We will arrange intelligence spies to monitor the dynamics of Tian Chengsi's army at all times."

At this time, Li Dai, the right prime minister, said worriedly: "If the Uighur army invades south, it will inevitably cause great harm to the people of Hebei. The court must be fully prepared for this, including helping and resettling refugees. In addition, it is hoped that the Tang army can go north as much as possible to allow the Uighur army to move northward." The less land the army ravages in Hebei, the better.”

Everyone supported Li Dai's suggestion. This was also what they were worried about. A large number of refugees would be generated.

Li Ye nodded, "There is a high possibility of refugees, but it may not be a disaster. The key is that we are fully prepared. The Political Affairs Hall will be responsible for the refugees and the resettlement of the reception. I will dispatch troops to minimize the losses of the invasion of the Huihe."

Li Sheng sat outside the regent's official room and waited anxiously. He was currently the general of the Right Guard, which was only a nominal official position without an actual military position.

Although he was extremely talented in military affairs, he suffered repeated setbacks in politics and made two mistakes in standing. The first time, he and Li Ye jointly protected Chang'an. Li Ye invited him to stay, but Li Sheng chose the court.

The second mistake in standing was that Li Sheng accepted Yu Chaoen's appointment as the left general of the Shen Ce Army. In the end, Li Sheng was captured by the Guanlong Army.

However, strictly speaking, the Shen Ce Army led by Li Sheng belonged to the court army, so being captured was also regarded as surrender. Li Ye did not make things difficult for them. He let them enter the martial arts hall to study for half a year and still granted them the corresponding official positions.

Li Sheng's tragedy was caused by his family, or more precisely, by the former prime minister Li Kui. Li Kui was keen on fame and fortune, and he was a follower of the eunuch party, so Li Sheng had no choice but to listen to the opinion of the head of the family.

Now the Li family in Longyou is extremely dissatisfied with Li Kui, believing that he made the family miss many important opportunities. Li Ye made Lanzhou the capital, but the Li family in Longyou not only did not support him, but also secretly made things difficult for Li Ye. Now that Li Ye is about to rule the world, the opportunity is gone.

The Li family in Longyou was extremely regretful, so they put all the responsibilities on Li Kui. The whole family unanimously decided to remove him from the position of head of the family and replace him with Li Kai as the head of the family.

Li Kai talked to Li Sheng for a long time, asking him to establish merits for the family and take up the responsibility.

Li Sheng also took the initiative to write a letter, begging Li Ye to give him another chance to serve the country.