Chapter 19 The Nineteenth Training of the Prince

When Li Shimin was still in Luoyang, Guo Xiaoke sent someone to escort Yanqi King Tuqizhi to follow him.Li Shimin didn't see Tuqizhi, so he named him General Zuowuwei and ordered him to live in Luoyang.At that time, Prince Li Zhi was by his side, and Li Shimin told Li Zhidao: "King Yanqi does not seek virtuous assistants, nor does he need loyal counsel, so he tied his neck and tied his hands and killed himself, so that he wandered for thousands of miles and lived in Luoyang ever since. You are the prince. , that is, the king of tomorrow, you should take this as a warning and always have a heart of fear."

Li Zhi was always by Li Shimin's side during this period of time, and if Li Shimin had the opportunity, he would definitely give him a lesson. When Li Shimin was in Luoyang, he also met an important person, that is, Master Xuanzang who went west to Tianzhu to seek Buddhist scriptures for 19 years. At the beginning of March, Li Shimin led his troops to Dingzhou in a mighty way.At that time, the governor of Dingzhou had received the imperial edict and built a simple palace here for Li Shimin and Li Zhi to live in.Li Shimin will stay here for a few days, one is to further arrange the war, and the other is to make some explanations to Li Zhijian.

The Battle of Goryeo has begun at this time.Li Shi led 60,000 troops to Yingzhou and joined Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou. Together with Zhang Jian's troops and the soldiers of Khitan, Xi, and Mohe, there were more than 100,000 victorious troops stationed on the border of Koryo; Li Daliang led 40,000 soldiers from Laizhou. Board the ship, cross the sea and land, make some preparations, and then send Cheng Mingzhen to lead 10,000 horses to attack Beisha City in Koryo. Li Shimin asked Li Daliang to take the lead in the attack. His intention was to let Gai Suwen mobilize troops to deal with Li Daliang after he learned about it, leaving the defense in the west empty.

The matter is very clear, Li Shimin wants Li Daliang's boat division to be a feint attack, and Li Shi's 100,000 army is the real main force of the frontal attack. As early as in the battle against Liu Heita, Cheng Mingzhen had brought dozens of big drums outside Mingshui City to beat the enemy to harass the enemy, and since then his reputation has been revealed.This time when I led troops to attack Beisha City, I sent people to reconnaissance in advance, and learned that the city was surrounded by mountains and it was difficult to climb. Only Ximen can go up, so I decided to attack at night.

It was the night when the clouds covered the stars and the moon, and the earth was pitch black. Cheng Mingzhen sent 1,000 people as the forerunner, followed by the other 9,000 people from Zitong.The thousand people arrived at the west gate, quietly boarded the ladder, and began to climb the ladder to climb the city.Over the years, the Koryo people focused their defense on the west and built the Great Wall for hundreds of miles in order to prevent the Chinese from attacking.Beisha City faces the sea, and the Korean people think that there are natural dangers to rely on, so they are not prepared.When Tang Jun climbed the city wall, the Koreans found out that they were yelling and chaotic, but it was too late.Soldiers of the Tang army marched bravely on the city wall, then fell into the inner wall and began to besiege the west gate.Usually there are only dozens of people defending the gate, and it is difficult to resist the attack of Tang soldiers who are like wolves and tigers, and they are quickly beheaded.

The west gate was wide open, and Cheng Mingzhen led a brigade of Tang soldiers to enter the city. They divided into several teams and attacked along the street. Beisha City was suddenly surrounded by shouts of killing.In Pingming, nearly a thousand Koryo soldiers defending the city were killed and hundreds were killed. Seeing that the situation was over, the rest had no choice but to surrender. A few days later, when Gai Suwen learned that the Tang army had captured Beisha City, he was shocked and hurriedly dispatched troops to reinforce it.After Cheng Mingzhen broke Beisha City, he followed Li Daliang's order to march in depth and arrived at Yalushui within a few days.Afterwards, Li Daliang led the army to follow.They set up camp on the side of the Yalu River, showing off their strength here to attract more Korean soldiers to come for reinforcements.Nagai Suwen didn't know the details, but thought that the Tang army was indeed attacking from the south, so he mobilized troops from various places, and his defense in the west was also weakened.

When Li Shimin arrived in Dingzhou, he asked Gao Shilian to take pictures of the prince and Taifu, and together with Liu Jie, Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang, Xu Jingzong, Zhang Xingcheng and Gao Jifu, he assisted the prince.He planned to stay here for a few days before setting off for Liaodong. At that time, Li Shi led the leading troops to Liaodong, and the follow-up troops continued to Liaodong after a short rest in Dingzhou.Chen Junbin sat in Youzhou and urged the food transport team to go to the front line by land or water.For Li Shimin's personal expedition this time, Cen Wenwen was entrusted with the general's military supplies, equipment, books and other affairs.In fact, Cen Wenwen became the general manager of the Liaodong campaign.

At this time, Cen Wenwen was serving as director in a house on the left side of the palace. Li Shimin led Li Zhi and Changsun Wuji out of the palace that day, and saw people coming and going from Cen Wenwen's place in an endless stream.Li Shimin suddenly became interested, and said to the two: "Come on, let's go to the text to have a look." When they entered the house, they saw Cen Wenwen leaning over the desk, and a group of people stood in front of the desk.Cen Wenwen finished approving the volume with his head down, without looking up, he handed it out, saying: "Do it quickly." Then he immersed himself in reading another volume.

People in the house found that Li Shimin and others had entered. Some of them recognized the emperor's clothes and hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground, saying long live.Cen Wenwen raised his head, saw Li Shimin approaching, hurriedly got up and bowed down, and said: "I don't know that His Majesty is coming, and the greeting is slow, and death penalty is death penalty." Li Shimin called everyone to be flat, and when they saw the emperor here, they didn't dare to wait for long, they all retreated out of the room.Li Shimin stopped them, turned to Cen Wenwen and said, "You are busy with business, go ahead and don't delay the military plane."

Cen Wenwen bowed and agreed. Li Shimin turned to leave, but suddenly saw that Cen Wenwen's eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale, so he warned, "Benwen, you look tired, do you feel unwell?" Cen Wenwen replied: "Since I have been in charge of this matter, I think I have never encountered such a major event in my life. I feel a little anxious. I can't sleep in the past few days, but I don't feel unwell." "Well, don't overwork yourself. You must know that this battle is not a day's work. Now that the big battle is imminent, you will exhaust your energy and energy. How can you last long? You are in the middle and dispatched. You should take care of the big things, and you can leave all the general affairs to your subordinates. .Zhuge Kongming was cautious all his life, and he personally acted for every detail, so that he died young. You must not follow his example."

Changsun Wuji interjected: "Text, you must keep your Majesty's words in mind. I saw that since you left Beijing, you have worked hard day and night, prepared your own materials, and never left your pen. How can this last for a long time?" Cen Wenwen paid homage to Li Shimin again: "Your Majesty, the minister is neither a honor nor an old man. Being promoted to such an important position by Jian is really an indiscriminate favor. I think that I have no strengths. Only by working hard can I repay your majesty." Just in case. Your Majesty’s words, I’ll write them down.” Li Shimin nodded, and said: "Things have to be done, but you can't sacrifice your energy. If you find it difficult to write texts, you can choose someone to help you. Xu Jingzong was originally scheduled to stay in Dingzhou to assist the prince, and his writing skills are not bad. If you are interested, you can start acting as an agent for general affairs from today on." "Xu Jingzong's assistance to the crown prince is of great importance. I will try my best to do the common affairs here, so I don't need to bother His Majesty." Cen Wenwen said resolutely. Li Shimin shook his head, and then led Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi out of the door. They wanted to return to the palace. On the way, Li Shimin said to Changsun Wuji: "The text is so hardworking, but he is so stubborn that no one else can help him. If he walks with me, if this continues, it may be difficult for him to return with me." Changsun Wuji felt the same way, and said: "The text has told others many times that it is not your Majesty's honor, but his ability to serve as an official in Zhongshuling, so he must do his best to repay His Majesty. His loyalty is truly commendable." .” "The heart of the text is indeed commendable, but he forgot that our monarchs and ministers rule the world together, and our bodies have actually become part of the state affairs. How can we not show pity? People like Ru Hui, Dai Zhou, etc., their thoughts and feelings at that time The text is the same, so I died young. In addition to making me sad, it is also a great loss for the country. Wuji, you can read the text again in the evening, tell him what I said, and let him go to bed early. " Changsun Wuji agreed. Li Shimin turned to Li Zhi and said, "Zhier, do you know why Cen Wenwen worked so hard?" Li Zhi replied: "Cen Wenwen was born as a small official, but was promoted to the position of the emperor by his father, so he was grateful and worked hard day and night." "Your words are only half right. Yes, Cen Wenwen is grateful to me, but there are many officials in the world, and it is impossible for everyone to have such special treatment. If I only treat people with personal favors, how much personal favors do I have? Can it satisfy the people of the world? What I rely on is to create a clear political atmosphere. With this atmosphere, people can give full play to their talents, and everyone can rely on virtue and ability to promote their official careers, and don't think about other sideways." Li Zhi knew that his father was using Cen Wenwen's example to teach himself, so he replied respectfully: "I have written it down." Li Shimin continued: "To be a ruler, one must have the ability to know people and be good at assignments, and strive to overcome their weaknesses and make use of their strengths. Just like your uncle Wuji, he is good at avoiding weaknesses, responding quickly to things, and making decisions, which is beyond the ancients; and Commanding soldiers to attack and fight is not his specialty. Your uncle, Shilian, has dabbled in ancient and modern times. My uncle went out to fight as a commander, and you didn't let your uncle and grandpa act as an admonisher, so he used his strengths." Li Zhi nodded in understanding. Changsun Wuji had been with Li Shimin for many years, and he had never heard Li Shimin evaluate himself so comprehensively and accurately, so he acquiesced in Li Shimin's statement. Li Shimin went on to comment on others: "As for other ministers, if you contact them every day, you should also understand their strengths and weaknesses, and then figure it out secretly to form your own conclusions. Like Tang Jian, his words are eloquent and his affairs are thorough; other things are my own. For more than ten years, there was not a single word or dedication. This is a shortcoming. Cen's texts are honest in nature and rich in articles; However, he is a good man, he is private to his friends, and sometimes he loses his principles. Ma Zhou is quick to see things, has a very chaste and upright personality, and he can measure people. Frankly speaking, the things I entrust him to do are very satisfactory. Chu Suiliang I have a little bit of knowledge, and my personality is also firm and upright, but he is close to me, like a bird depending on a person, and people feel sorry for themselves." Li Shimin is now commenting on people who are mostly important officials in the middle of the court who are in their prime of life. People didn't mention it, so it can be seen that he considered the future affairs and told Li Zhi about the conduct of these people for his own use.It can be seen from his evaluation of the officials that he loves Ma Zhou the most, and he is also aware that Chu Suiliang is good at catering to himself, but he doesn't point it out, and still uses his strengths. Li Zhi wrote it down carefully, bowed and said: "My son, please remember." Li Shimin sighed, and said: "Knowing people is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Although people's temperament does not change, it often changes with the changes of the situation. To be a king, you must always understand the changes of people. Different guides. Before Wang Mang usurped the government, how humble and corporal, who would have thought that he was a treacherous minister?" Seeing that Li Zhi was speechless, Li Shimin knew that it would not be a short-term task to make this son a wise monarch, so he sighed secretly again in his heart, and said: "Zhi'er, I will let you stay here." Dingzhou Jushou, on the one hand, I want you to get in touch with the front line and the capital to gain more experience; on the other hand, I want your uncle, grandpa and others to assist you, so that you can learn more about sages and sages. I will go to Liaodong for at least half a year. After we return to the capital, I will calm down and write down my years of governing experience into a book for your use." Li Zhi only agreed repeatedly. In the next few days, Li Zhi often couldn't help crying because Li Shimin was about to go to war.On this day Li Shimin personally wore a bow and arrow, rode a "flying white" horse, and tied a raincoat and other things behind the saddle, just like a commander in chief.Cen Wenwen, Changsun Wuji and others accompanied him behind him, and Li Zhi led Gao Shilian, Liu Ji, Ma Zhou and others to send Yujia out of the city.When Li Shimin waved his whip and wanted to go, Li Zhi couldn't help but shed tears again, weeping: "Father's expedition made my son supervise the country. I know that I have a great responsibility, and I am afraid of making mistakes." Li Shimin stopped his whip and said sharply: "Leave you here to guard the country, supplemented by talented people, and want to make people in the world know your demeanor! The important thing for a husband to be a country is to promote the virtuous and restrain the unworthy, to reward the good and punish the evil, to be fair and selfless. Try to do this, why cry!" Li Zhi was always afraid of this strict father. Hearing this, he hurriedly put back the tears from his eyes, bowed and replied: "I will remember my father's teachings, so I respectfully send my father to go to war." Li Shimin nodded, then waved his whip, and said, "Let's go." "Fei Bai" understood his master's intentions, raised his head and neighed, then kicked off his hooves and ran quickly, and the army behind him also started. The emperor's imperial car set off at the hour of the morning, and rested when it was late. Everyone was not allowed to show off under Li Shimin's strict order, so the road was relatively quiet.The farther north the army traveled, the cooler it felt.They traveled on the road for three days, and arrived at the border of Youzhou on this day. The governor of Youzhou greeted Li Shimin on the border early.At this time, it was after noon, and after another half day, you can enter Youzhou to camp.At this time, a general rushed forward and reported to Changsun Wuji: "Master Changsun, something is wrong, Cen Zhongshuling suddenly fell headlong just now." Changsun Wuji stopped his horse and asked in surprise, "Where is the injury?" "There is no trauma, it's just that I'm dead." Changsun Wuji seemed to say to himself: "That's right, his spirit has been exhausted these few days, and his words and actions are quite different from usual, so that he died of exhaustion." Li Shimin told him the sad news of Cen Wenwen's death. Li Shimin burst into tears after hearing this, and sighed: "The army has not yet reached Liaodong, and it has lost one of my important officials. Alas, text, why are you working so hard?" He ordered the army to stop advancing, and took his eldest grandson Wuji and others The person returns backwards. Cen Wenwen lay quietly on the side of the road, without a trace of blood on his face, but his expression was peaceful, as if he fell into a deep sleep after being tired. Before Li Shimin got off his horse and grabbed Cen Wenwen, he stroked Cen Wenwen's face with his hands, and said in tears, "Ben Wenwen, why are you so heartless? We march together, don't you even want to say the last sentence to me?" Seeing that Li Shimin was so emotional, Changsun Wuji and others and the soldiers on the roadside couldn't help but also shed tears.Seeing Li Shimin mourning there, Changsun Wuji stepped forward to persuade him, "Your Majesty, it is time to march, so don't miss the time. I will let you deal with the aftermath of the text here. Your Majesty should go to Youzhou first." Li Shimin nodded, and said: "Okay, you send someone to send Wenwen's body back to the capital, and then draw up a decree, presenting Wenwen as a servant, the governor of Guangzhou, posthumously called Xian, and let him be buried in Zhaoling." The eldest grandson Wuji bowed and agreed, and Li Shimin bid farewell to Cen Wenwen's body and led the army to the city of Youzhou.Due to the delay in this matter, it was already dusk when the army entered Youzhou City. The governor of Youzhou led Li Shimin into the palace and served him dinner. Li Shimin looked at the meal on the table, held up his chopsticks to hold it, and suddenly burst into tears, and said to the eldest grandson Wuji and the governor of Youzhou who accompanied the meal: "I think that the text has left me, and from now on, people and ghosts will go the other way. I feel so sad and can hardly swallow.” The Inspector of Youzhou persuaded: "Your Majesty will personally lead the conquest. There will still be many fierce battles and major events to be dispatched by Your Majesty in the future. Your Majesty must not lose his energy because of this." Li Shimin sighed, and said: "Why don't good people live long? Wuji, I once heard Suiliang say that the text was awarded the order of Zhongshu, and someone advised him to buy more property. The text sighed: "I was originally A commoner in Hannan entered the customs on foot, and the only ones who looked forward to him were the secretary and the county magistrate. There is no meritorious service today, but the matter of writing and ink has been favored by the prime minister. Since the beginning of time, the root of the disease of the text has already been planted.” Changsun Wuji didn't want Li Shimin to continue to be sad, so he changed the subject and asked, "Your Majesty, now that the text has passed away, what he has done is too important, who can replace it?" Li Shimin pondered: "I said I asked Xu Jingzong to help Wenben, but Wenben didn't listen to it. As expected, what happened today. Forget it, let the post envoy tell Xu Jingzong to come quickly and let him take over the matter of Wenben." Afterwards, Changsun Wuji and others changed their ways to let Li Shimin eat, but Li Shimin couldn't resist, so he reluctantly ate a few mouthfuls.After the meal, the night was dark, and everyone asked Li Shimin to rest early. Suddenly, the sound of drums sounded in the city. It was the people on duty at night telling the hour and patrolling. Li Shimin couldn't bear it when he heard it, and said to his eldest grandson Wuji: "The text is gone, I can't bear to hear the sound of the drums again. Wuji, send someone to pass it on quickly, and no more drums are allowed within three days." After several nights, there was no sound in the army. Li Shimin mourned Cen Wenwen with the sound of withdrawing drums. Li Shi led an army of 100,000 troops to camp in Yingzhou. Hearing that Li Daliang's boat division had broken through Beisha City and sent troops to Yalushui, Gai Suwen mobilized troops to help the southern line. His western defense line was relatively empty, so he went to Li Shimin asked for an order to start a general attack. At that time, Li Shimin was on his way to Beiping, and he was ready to play immediately. After Li Shi received the order, he called all the generals to discuss.He pointed to the map of mountains and rivers and said: "To go to Pyongyang, we must break through the two cities. In front of us is Liaodong City, which is the first barrier of Pyongyang, and after that is Anshi City. I want to wait Before the emperor arrives, launch a general attack and take Liaodong City first, as a gift." Li Daozong, Zhang Jian, Qibi Heli, Li Simo and others waited for a long time in Yingzhou, and they were already anxious and wanted to go to war immediately.Qibi Heli was the most impatient, and said: "Li Shangshu is a little conservative, if he presents a gift to the emperor, it will be more than one city? Why don't we take down Anshi City together, wouldn't it be refreshing?" Li Shi shook his head and said: "Korea's national defense has been prepared for a long time, and Liaodong City and Anshi City are the strongest. It is difficult to take it down. I said that taking Liaodong City to present a gift to the emperor is too optimistic. The way to be a general is to know yourself and the enemy. Blindly optimistic." Zhang Jianjiu was in Yingzhou for a long time and knew the situation in Koryo very well. He was very cautious and said: "What Li Shangshu said is true. In the past, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty attacked Koryo four times. Koryo relied on the strength of the city. We cannot underestimate this attack. , it must be safe.” Li Shi pointed to the pictures of mountains and rivers again and said: "Look, to the north of Liaodong City, there is Jian'an City; to the south, there is Gaimu City. I intend that Dudu Zhang will lead 20,000 troops to break through Jian'an City; King Ren City will lead 20,000 troops. Wan, break through Gaimu City, make it difficult to support, and prevent Goryeo's follow-up reinforcements." Li Daozong and Zhang Jian bowed to receive the order. Li Shi continued: "After the two battles started, I took Qibi Heli and Li Simo as the vanguard, led 50,000 troops, and directly attacked Liaodong City!" Li Shi's few words have outlined the main points of this battle.Li Shiping doesn't talk much, he can be said to be taciturn, and his words are all carefully thought out.Everyone knew Li Shi's style, so after receiving the order, they stopped talking and went back to the camp to prepare. On the second day, Zhang Jian led the North Route Army out of Yingzhou and marched towards Jian'an City.The Northern Route Army was mainly composed of soldiers and horses from the original Yingzhou, and also had some troops from the Khitan, Mohe, and Xi tribes.They were familiar with the terrain and marched quickly. The road they passed was not defended by Korean soldiers and horses, so they quickly reached Jian'an City. There are only thousands of Koryo soldiers defending Jian'an City, and its city is much simpler than Liaodong City.Zhang Jian was on the road, and his subordinates all suggested to attack Jian'an City, thinking that it was vulnerable.Zhang Jian said: "We are going to build An City here. We don't want to take the city exclusively, but also defend the city to defend the follow-up reinforcements. Now Li Shangshu has not yet started the battle of Liaodong City. If there is too much movement here, it is not good for the other side. Surprise attack is still the best strategy." Good. We can borrow Cheng Mingzhen's surprise attack on Beisha City." The generals acted according to the plan, and the Khitan soldiers and Mohe soldiers were good at night travel, so they acted as the vanguard of this battle.It was night, and it was pitch black. Hundreds of Khitan and Mohe soldiers were wearing night clothes, holding sharp knives coated with black mud, approaching the city wall through the night.They threw a rope with a hook on the city wall, and then climbed up the city wall along the rope. After the Koryo soldiers who were watching the night were killed, they opened up torches and killed everyone they met, basically beheading the defenders in the city.It was night, and Jian'an City completely fell into the hands of Tang Jun. The battle on the southern front completely turned into a storm at this time.Li Daozong led his army out of Yingzhou and went straight to Gaimu City. There was a city called Xincheng in the middle of the road.Li Daozong sent troops to attack and quickly took Xincheng, so he was delayed for a day in Xincheng.When the defenders of Gaimu City heard the news, they immediately reorganized their army and prepared themselves to defend the city.Li Daozong arrived at the city of Gaimu on this day. He saw the banners on the city and the Koryo soldiers defending with weapons. The scouts reported that there were more than 20,000 Goryeo people in Gaimu City, and 5,000 soldiers and horses were defending it.There is even more bad news, that is, there is a lot of grain stored in the city, about 200,000 shi of grain. Li Daozong murmured: "Is there really more than 200,000 stones of food in the city? If so, they are determined to use the strong city to fight against me, so how can it last?" He asked Ashina Sheer beside him Said: "It is not too late, immediately organize elite soldiers to attack hard, and those catapults brought can be regarded as useful." In the process of conquering Gaochang State, Hou Junji was famous all over the world for the catapults he used.Li Shimin asked Yan Lide to build the allotment army center in the same way. The city of Goryeo was strong and there must be a place for catapult carts. The Tang army came here and brought many catapult carts with them. Qibi Heli went to attack the city according to the order. He first ordered the army to besiege the city of Gaimu, then shot a burst with a hard bow and crossbow, and then ordered to launch the stone catapult. These majestic catapults were pushed to the front of the formation. The Gaoli soldiers had never seen such a huge monster, and they were all dumbfounded, not knowing what use these things were for.After a while, they learned how powerful this thing is.I saw the meteor-like boulder hammer rushing towards me, where the hammer fell, the bricks and stones flew around, and the flesh was turned into cakes; I also heard the rattle of the catapult, and the boulders flew by continuously, making people cry and howl. It took Li Daozong more than a day to finally capture Gaimu City.In this service, more than 20,000 people of Goryeo were captured, and more than 200,000 stones of food and grass in the city were inspected, which added food and fodder to the Tang army. When the North Route Army and the South Route Army broke through Jian'an City and Gaimu City, Li Shiquian led 50,000 soldiers and horses to the Liaodong City.Overnight, the Tang army dug earth around Liaodong City and built a fortress, besieging Liaodong City in groups. At this time, Li Shimin's car drove to Liaoze.There are more than two hundred miles of mud here, and it is difficult for people and horses to pass through.Standing on the side of the mud, Li Shimin frowned and asked Changsun Wuji, "Why did this place become a mud? When Li Shi came here, why was he able to pass through?" Changsun Wuji replied: "It is bitterly cold in Liaodong. When Li Shi came here, it was still a piece of frozen soil. Now that summer has come, the frozen soil has been melted by the heating, so it has become a mud." Li Shimin turned his head to look at the long line behind him, thinking that Li Shimin had already started to attack Liaodong City, if he bypassed the mud and found another way, he would be delayed for several days.Thinking of this, he sent someone to tell Yan Lide to come. The master craftsman Yan Lide has been supervising the building of warships, and after the mission was completed, he accompanied Li Shimin to the expedition.The army marched to the mud and couldn't move forward. He had been observing the mud for a long time, and when he heard Li Shimin's call, he rushed to Li Shimin in two steps. Li Shimin pointed to the mud and asked, "Yan Qing, what's your plan for the mud to block the way?" Yan Lide replied: "I have observed the mud for a long time just now, and I saw that the surface of the mud is soft, and it is hard soil below half a foot. If you do this, you can do something." way." "What can I do?" "If there is a wooden saw, the soldiers can cut down the tree on the spot, saw it into a board, and spread it forward, and then reach the other shore. However, it is difficult to raise wooden saws and other things in a hurry, so we have to take the second place and use a Stupid." "What stupidity?" "The grain and grass on the grain transport truck can be removed, and the best and strong people can be selected to pick up the soil on the spot, and then push it into the mud to pave a road." "How long will it take to cover two hundred miles of mud?" "I have inquired from the local people in advance that the muddy area is slightly longer from north to south, about 200 miles long, but the straight line distance from east to west is only 60 miles. In this way, within three days, the road can be completed." "Three days? Now Zhang Jian and Daozong are the two wings, Li Shi is in the middle, and the battle of Liaodong City has already started. I read a book, there are 50,000 defenders in Liaodong City, and 80,000 residents, and the city is hard to attack. If If Koryo pours all the country to help, our army will definitely be in a disadvantageous position. If we stop here, if they can't hold on, the battle will be in danger." Changsun Wuji said with relief: "Your Majesty, rest assured, Li Shi and Ren Chengwang have many adventures, and Zhang Jian has many years of experience in confrontation. It is expected that they will not succeed in the battle, but they will be able to protect themselves." Li Shimin turned to Yan Lide and said, "It's not too late. You quickly organize strong men to build a bridge with soil. If there are not enough cars, you can also use horses to carry the soil. This way, you can travel day and night, so that the army can pass by as soon as possible. The battle of Liaodong City, for this reason The first battle of the war must be won. I expected it well, Liaodong City is now in full swing, if we can't get there in time, there will be a stalemate." After all, Li Shimin is a strategist trained on the battlefield, and he can see the subtleties of the battle process when he is outside the battlefield.Liaodong City was an important town in Goryeo, and Gai Suwen deployed 50,000 troops to defend it.Gai Suwen once said to his general: "If the Tang army comes to attack, you only need to hold on for ten days with the fortified city, and I can dispatch heavy troops to rush to help, and the siege will be solved by itself." According to Gai Suwen's intention, the guard of Liaodong City heard that the Tang army was coming to attack, that is to say, he guarded the city gate and defended the city.The city has been built by the Goryeo people for many years. The city wall is towering and the tower is majestic. Li Shi led the army to surround Liaodong City, and then asked people to lead catapults to attack the city wall.At that time, the Koreans already knew that Tang Jun's catapults were very powerful, and prepared a large number of stones and wood in the city to prepare for the recovery of the gap.Tang Jun started the catapult, and the stone hammer smashed the outer stones of the city wall, but there was nothing to do with the inner rammed earth.Li Shi brought only about 20 catapults during his trip, which seems a little small in number and poses little threat to Liaodong City.In this way, the Tang army could not break through the city wall quickly, and the battle was stalemate. Gai Suwen learned that the Tang army had begun to attack Liaodong City, so he sent 40,000 horsemen to help.Gaimu City was the only way for Goryeo's reinforcements. In this way, the primary pressure was concentrated on Li Daozong. At that time, Li Daozong led 20,000 soldiers to guard Gaimu City. When he heard that 40,000 soldiers from Goryeo had arrived, he called all the generals under his account to discuss countermeasures.The generals thought that Koryo had many soldiers and it was difficult to confront them head-on, so it was better to stick to Gaimu City and wait for the reinforcements to arrive before going against them. Li Daozong asked Qibi Heli: "General Heli, do you think the city can be defended?" Qibi Heli said hesitantly: "If you stick to this city, and then urge the emperor and Li Shangshu to come to help, you will be able to stop the enemy. It's just Liaodong City It's tight there, and the emperor hasn't heard from the emperor for a long time, if he is besieged by the enemy, it may happen after a long time." Li Daozong murmured: "The city has enough food and grass, and the city wall has been reinforced recently. If we stick to the city, we can resist it for a while. It's just that we were invincible along the way. When we heard that the reinforcements from Goryeo came, we retreated into the city and stood firm. .” At this time, Zhonglang held Ma Wenju and said loudly: "The last general has heard that when the emperor is fighting, he often uses deep ditches and high fortifications to hold each other against the enemy. He will attack bravely when the enemy is exhausted. Let the king of the city guard the city and defend it carefully. It's to hit the enemy's spirit." Li Daozong shook his head and said: "The Koreans rely on their large numbers and think that they understand the situation, so they despise me. This is not their arrogance, but their arrogance. They are tired from afar, and they will be defeated! All generals, now Liaodong The fierce battle is raging in the city, and the emperor is leading troops to come all the time, we are the front army, we should clear the way to meet the emperor, how can we wait for the emperor to come to fight?" Qi Bi He Li responded to Li Daozong and said: "That's right, we are the pioneers, and we were supposed to shelter the emperor from the wind and rain, how can we let the emperor come into danger? As the king of the city, the general is willing to invite you to be the vanguard." Li Daozong then asked Ma Wenju to lead 6,000 troops to guard Gaimu City, Qibi Heli led 4,000 troops as the vanguard, and brought 10,000 troops to follow. 40,000 Koryo soldiers came rushing forward in mighty force. They had known in advance that there were only 20,000 Tang soldiers defending Gaimu City.They rest assured and boldly rode their horses and galloped all the way until they reached the city of Gaimu. After Qibi Heli led four thousand cavalry to hide at the foot of the mountain, he climbed up and looked over, and saw the long line of Goryeo soldiers, and felt that it was an opportunity to attack, so he got on his horse and shouted loudly: "All soldiers, follow me to attack! As soon as he pulled the rein, the horse neighed and galloped forward.The rest followed Qibi Heli, all holding shiny sabers and shouting loudly. The soldiers of Gaoli traveled all the way, but there was no sign of Tang Jun, so they felt very relieved.Now he suddenly heard the shouts like thunder, and saw the forest of sabers in front of him, and he was stunned all of a sudden.Qibi Heli's powerful cavalry rushed into the enemy's formation quickly. They swung their knives and slashed, disrupting the formation of the Goryeo soldiers at once.The Goryeo soldiers stopped their advance and became a mess there. Four thousand to forty thousand, after all, is a ratio of one to ten, Tang Jun is at a disadvantage in numbers.The Koryo general regained his composure, and found that the Tang army had no follow-up team, only a few thousand troops, so he shouted loudly and organized a heavy siege.At that time, the four thousand Tang soldiers' cavalry had reached the depths of the enemy's formation due to their very fast advancing speed.Goryeo's follow-up troops came in a steady stream, and then divided into two teams on the left and right, besieging the Tang army one after another.Those 4000 Tang soldiers kept their fighting spirit in the formation, but there were more and more enemy troops, and gradually they couldn't move in the formation. Qi Bi He Li looked at the situation and knew that if he made a bloody road to break out, he would increase the enemy's momentum and his own side would lose all previous efforts.For the current plan, the only way to win is to entangle with the enemy until reinforcements arrive.Thinking of this, he shook his spirits and led the cavalry around him to charge deeply towards the enemy.Qibi Heli took the lead, wielding the saber to slash left and right, until the blood stained his shirt, and there was a gap in the blade of the saber.At this time, he saw that the saber in the enemy's hand was very bright, and thought that this saber was definitely a good one, so he shouted loudly, galloped forward to meet him, and swung the saber head-on, attracting the man to greet him with his saber.Qi Bi He Li took advantage of the situation and changed from slashing to slashing, swung the man in two, and then leaned over to take the knife. When Qibi Heli leaned over to take the knife, a long spear stretched out from the side and pierced straight into Qibi Heli's waist.Qibi Heli had already taken the knife in his hand at this time, he couldn't help but yelled out due to the severe pain, and then fell off his horse upside down. Qibi Heli was wounded in the waist and fell headlong.Enduring the severe pain, he tightly grasped the enemy's lance with his left hand, swung the knife with his right hand, and slashed the long lance into two pieces.He summoned up his strength again, pulled out the spear with all his strength, and then threw the spear head stained with his own blood at the man, who wailed and fell headfirst. After all, the Tang soldiers were well-trained. When they saw the general fell to the ground, they rushed forward. Some swung their knives and slashed for protection. Qibi Heli got on his horse and carefully observed the situation on the battlefield. He felt that the pressure was getting bigger and bigger, so he sent an order: "Everyone fight and retreat. Don't charge forward any more, and wait for the reinforcements to arrive." Before he finished speaking, he saw a large group of Tang soldiers appearing on the way, obviously 10,000 soldiers led by Li Daozong arrived.Seeing this, Qibi Heli was overjoyed and shouted: "The reinforcements have arrived, don't retreat, go forward and kill the enemy bravely!" The Koreans originally surrounded Qibi Heli's troops, thinking that they could slowly gather and annihilate them, and win the game.Unexpectedly, a large number of Tang soldiers appeared behind them, panicked all of a sudden, and gradually scattered. All of a sudden, another giant soldier came to the north, looking at its flag, it looked like a Tang army, and they looked at the Korean team and slashed at the abdomen.At this moment, Qibi Heli led the troops to rush left and right in the enemy's formation. Li Daozong led 10,000 people to fight the enemy from west to east. The Tang army from the north attacked the enemy's abdomen. It was in a mess. When Li Daozong saw his own army appearing in the north, he knew its ins and outs, and sighed: "Li Shangshu has the overall situation in mind, and he took great pains to besiege Liaodong City, so he still sent troops and horses to help." It's Ashinasheer. At that time, the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty were well-trained, and they looked down on the world.Although the Koreans were brave, they could still fight the Tang army with their fortified city, but when they fought face to face with the Tang army on the battlefield, they were no opponents at all.The main general of Goryeo saw the big Tang soldiers coming again, and saw that his own position was in disarray, so he didn't want to fight, so he rang the gong to withdraw the troops, left thousands of corpses on the battlefield, and fled in a hurry. After that, Gai Suwen no longer sent troops to help, which obviously left Liaodong City to fend for itself. In the next few days, Li Shimin led his men and horses to the front of Liaodong City and camped on Mashou Mountain.When the generals heard that Li Shimin was here, they came to face the saint one after another.Qibi Heli was seriously wounded, so he was carried to the front of the camp on a stretcher. Li Shimin appreciated Li Daozong's resolute attack without fear of powerful enemies, and praised: "The way to be a general is to not stick to the rules and be good at seizing opportunities. In the past, when I went to war, I often used the method of confrontation with strong walls to hold back the enemy. , to wear down their soldiers’ fronts and supplies, and then capture the opportunity to counterattack and win. If Daozong uses this method this time, it will be a safe method. However, the warm time in Liaodong is relatively short, and we are not allowed to fight here for a long time. Daozong can understand The general trend is to win more with less, which is really very courageous." Li Daozong said modestly: "My brother is a pioneer, so he has the duty to open up mountains and open roads. He dare not leave difficult things to His Majesty. At that time, I only thought about it, and didn't think much about it. Thanks to Li Shangshu's sending troops to aid this battle, otherwise Very dangerous." Li Shi said: "I presided over this battle. When I heard that the enemy came to help, I felt that our army was weak in Gaimu City, so I sent 10,000 troops to rescue it. I know that if Gaimu City is lost, it will definitely help the enemy. The arrogance of the army will also be detrimental to the attack on Liaodong City. This time the enemy was repelled, so that our army will never have to worry about it." Li Shimin nodded, walked up to Qibi He Li who was lying on the stretcher, then squatted down and asked, "He Li, your injury is so serious, why bother to work so hard?" 契苾何力忍着疼痛说道：“臣闻听皇上到此，身上的伤就好了一半，所以挣扎来此。” 李世民唤过随行的御医，让其取出宫中自制的金创药，嘱其替契苾何力换上。御医打开其伤口上的扎布，只见其创口一片血肉模糊，其内里有脓血溢出。李世民观此情状，责怪契苾何力道：“你怎能如此不小心？你创口既深，又化有脓血，实属危矣，莫非想丢了性命吗？” 御医取来“土窖春”酒，用干净的揩布蘸上酒，细细将其创口上的污血揩净，然后取出金创药，欲为其敷上。 李世民伸手取过金创药，说了声：“我来吧。”然后手捻金创药，将细药面儿均匀地撒在其创口上。众人见皇帝亲自为臣下敷药，皆大为感动，那契苾何力受此皇恩，早已忘记疼痛，眼中涌出激动的泪水。 御医将契苾何力包扎好，然后禀道：“陛下，何力将军伤势严重，每日需换药数次，不可让其再劳顿了。” 李世民道：“你们将何力抬往后营，轮班看顾，按时换药。万一何力有什么闪失，朕拿你们问罪。”御医唤人将契苾何力抬往后营。 因为李道宗、契苾何力却敌有功，李世民当场下诏，大加赏赐二人。 李世民转问李世道：“世兄，你围辽东城已然旬余，有可攻之道吗？” 李世将辽东城的防守情况说了一遍，最后说道：“高丽经营此城日久，其城墙太厚，急切难攻。且臣携带的抛石车太少，对其城墙无可奈何。” 李世民道：“利用云梯等法，可以强行攻城吗？” 李世摇头道：“辽东城四周，皆建有护城壕沟，里面注有三丈余深水，我军难以接近其城墙之下，更难以架梯登攀。” 李世民点点头，深知李世晓畅兵法，办事持重，他既然说此城坚固，则不为虚，遂沉吟道：“也罢，我明日先去观测一番再说。盖苏文所恃，不过想以坚城与我军相抗，辽东城为进军平壤的第一座要塞。我们攻下此城，定会让高丽举国震骇。” 李世民让李道宗和张俭继续去二城防守，以防备高丽兵来援。他自己带领随行兵马直扑辽东城下，将辽东城围得一层又一层。 李世民带领众将绕辽东城巡视了一圈，回到中军帐，对众人说道：“朕观此城墙，委实坚固无比，将所有的抛石车用上，恐怕亦收效甚微。欲攻破此城，须另用别法。” 李世道：“臣寻思日久，觉得要攻破此城，首要者须填平壕沟。如此，抛石车可抵近发射，亦可竖云梯登城。只是此壕沟已注满水，其深数丈，若想填平，恐怕会耽搁时日。” 李世民断然道：“只要此笨法儿可以奏效，我们不妨用之。事不宜迟，我们马上要办。世兄，你可调派人马，选弓箭手用强弓硬弩压住对方，使他们不至于威胁我军填土之人。其余之人，全体动员，立刻运送土石。” 李世民说罢，即换下铠甲，换上轻便衣服，乘“飞白”马来到取土处，让人将盛土的布兜挂在马后，然后一手持缰一手提一布兜土飞奔至壕沟前，将土卸下。 众将士见皇上如此，皆争先恐后取土填壕。那边，手持强弓硬弩的兵士觑准敌方城楼，看见有人冒头即将弩箭发射出去，以掩护填土之人。为了增加气势，阿史那社尔集合军中所有战鼓，将之擂响，昼夜不息。唐兵闻此鼓声，愈壮胆气，日夜填壕不已。 过了数日，四周的护城壕上直直地出现了许多土埂，这些土埂自然是唐军填埋而成。 是夜南风忽起，其风甚急，吹得飞沙走石。李世民见状，嘱李世于子夜时分开始发起总攻。 那日李世民和李世站立一起，远远观察城中动静。李世民忽然说道：“世兄，想不到辽东城墙修得好，那四面的城楼也修得漂亮。你看，这些城楼高耸云天，又修饰得五颜六色，国内除了长安、洛阳以外，尚无如此美丽的城楼。” 李世不明李世民之意，随口说道：“高丽经营此城多年，确实下了许多工夫。” “世兄，这些城楼敢是木制的吧？” 李世点头认可，说道：“高丽多木，其城楼皆是用木所制。” “若有风刮来，此楼被火燃起，又当如何？” 李世恍然大悟，明白李世民欲用火攻之策，遂大喜道：“陛下圣明。若城楼被燃，风助火势，满城皆燃。” 君臣二人定下火攻之策，遂静待风起。是夜南风刮起，该是他们用计的时候了。李世令弓弩手继续逼迫敌人不敢露头，再令抛石车到达攻击位置，其他人员携带云梯等物各就各位。 子夜时分，李世一声令下，只听大鼓擂响，震得地动山摇，唐兵齐刷刷地打出火把，将四周照得亮如白昼。 抛石车轧轧作响，大石锤猛然砸到城墙上，只听“哐哐”之声响个不绝；那些圆石不绝地抛到城墙上，石落之处，间或听到有人哀号。 如此阵势过了半个时辰，那些手持云梯之人开始发动。他们个个手持火把，爬到云梯顶并不登城，而是不绝地将火把抛到城楼上。是时南风甚烈，辽东城之西南楼最先起火，先是一点二点，继而燃烧成片，成为熊熊大火。风助火势，将火焰逼向城墙北面之下，很快，将城中民房点燃。高丽人建房，不似中土那样夯土为墙，而是伐木为柱，围以木板，其房舍十之八九皆用木头造成。可怜一把火，便将全城燃起，陷入火海之中。 李世民是时，立在西南城楼之下，眼望城中烟焰张天，火光将天空映得通红，遂对李世道：“世兄，可以下令登城了。城中守军此时被火所困，没有精力再来防备我们。” 辽东城因此被破。 是役，辽东城守军或被杀或被火烧死约有万余人。其余守军一万余人及百姓五万余口，皆成为唐军的俘虏。李世民当即下诏，改辽东城为辽州，让张俭兼任辽州都督。 李世民令大军在辽州休整数日后，即挥兵东进，很快拿下了白岩、麦谷、银山、后黄四城。前锋所指，直逼高丽的下一个重镇——安市城。若安市城被克，下一个即是高丽的都城——平壤。 战事至此，时间不觉已经进入六月了。