Chapter 2 Going to Officials (Sixth Chapter) It is the twelfth lunar month, and the weather is getting colder and colder. From Tongding Town near Khitan in the north to Laohekou where it enters the sea in the south, nearly three hundred miles of the lower reaches of the Liao River are covered with ice. Li Xu rides on the black wind
I visited the river several times and saw that the ice surface was already dark blue. Even in the middle of the river, there were no traces left by the Khitan savages who cut the ice to catch fish.
"As long as we burn down the granary in Huaiyuan Town, the Sui army's attack will have to be delayed for at least half a year!" When everyone was sitting together to discuss the matter, Li Jiancheng's words were full of worry.
As the eldest son of the family and his father's right-hand man, he often organizes small gatherings of the direct staff of the Li family. Although the scale of Tang Gong's subordinates is now far smaller than when he was a high official, there are still many famous people among them.
Heroes and wise men
Because they have performed very well recently, Li Xu and Liu Hongji were unusually allowed to attend this gathering of direct staff by Li Yuan. However, they don't talk much. They are new here and they still need time to adapt to the atmosphere here.
Most of the time, Li Xu was fiddling with the charcoal in the brazier. The weather outside was very cold, which was different from the cold at the Crescent Lake. Although it snowed all day in Su Chuobu's winter, the air was very dry.
As long as the sun comes out, you will be warmed by the sun immediately. However, the wind here in Liaodong is so wet that it can condense into ice foam. The water vapor can get into any gap inadvertently. If you ride a horse for half an hour, no matter how thick it is,
The felt armor will freeze into ice shells and the people wrapped in the felt armor will also be cold, just like the dead fish that the Khitan savages lured out from under the ice in early winter.
"They will come sooner or later. If I were the leader of Goguryeo, I would never wait for your Sui Dynasty troops to arrive before starting the fight!" Looking at the sky outside the window, Liu Hongji made the following judgment to defend such a long border, Zuo Tun
The more than 30,000 troops and horses under the command of General Wei Xin Shixiong would be very stretched. If the Koreans sent their troops to attack, they could just find a place to cross the river on foot. If they were not afraid that the Sui Dynasty would retaliate with all its might, they could even take advantage of the Liaohe River.
The opportunity of freezing has swept all the three counties of Liaodong into the bag.
"I guess our emperor wanted to find a more suitable reason for the war, so he planned to use Huaiyuan Town as bait to give to the Koreans!" Qian Jiulong, the bodyguard of the Li Mansion, complained. He always mentioned the word "emperor".
It has a strange ending sound, which sounds particularly sarcastic.
He turned out to be a thief who was deprived of his official status. He was redeemed from the quarry by Li Yuan because he was proficient in bow and horse. He was loyal to the Li family, but he was very resourceful. He was always criticized by everyone because of his loud mouth and impulsive speech.
Object
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Sun Shunde, the former Youxun Guard Chief, frowned: "Now is not the time to complain. The problem is that if anything goes wrong with the food and grass in Huaiyuan Town, Mr. Tang will bear the responsibility alone!" He looked around.
Everyone, set the theme for this discussion, "We just want to know if there is a way to survive this winter safely. It is best to discuss irrelevant topics in private!"
"A good woman can't make a meal without rice. The best way now is to expand the garrison strength and strengthen training. At the same time, see if we can ask Liucheng and Yan County to bring in some reinforcements and scouts. Try to increase the search area as much as possible!" Chen Yanshou, who joined the army, frowned!
The brow said that he is an old counselor who has followed Li Yuan for many years. He is known for his cleverness. Even now, he can't think of a good way to deal with it.
"I'm afraid it's difficult!" Si Kai joined the army, Ma Yuangui shook his head with a livid face. Ever since the snow fell, no new soldiers and horses were sent from Lulongsai to station in Liucheng County. Although General Yu Wenshu dispatched more than 500 soldiers into Huaiyuan Town,
Assist in defense, but for Huaiyuan Town, which is less than 70 miles away from Liaodong City, the important town of Goryeo, this assistance is obviously a drop in the bucket.
"Even if troops come, Tang Gong has no power to dispatch them. If he recruits strong people to join the army, he will give them authority!" Changsun Shunde sighed and added
The biggest problem at the moment is that Tang Gong Li Yuan is not trusted by the current emperor Yang Guang, and his position has been reduced from the third rank to the fifth rank. The treasurer and governor, who is only willing to work as a minor official because of the Duke's prominent title, is not interested in several nearby places.
He does not have the power to dispatch troops except in critical moments, nor does he have the power to expand the number of soldiers to protect food. His identity is embarrassing and embarrassing, and other generals cannot help. If there are too few people sent, it will not be effective. If a general is sent to lead
With thousands of troops and horses coming to assist in the defense, Li Yuan would have to obey the other party's orders.
"Since the beginning of the month, we have lost fourteen veterans and twenty-seven scouts!" Qian Jiulong reported a series of numbers with red eyes. The old soldiers under his command who gave up their fame and followed Tang Gong were all Li
The pillars that the government relies on for survival in troubled times are broken one by one. He is not willing to watch the brothers around him broken.
Everyone was talking about it, but no one could think of a better way. The bad weather, the soldiers who were unable to fight, and the court with evil intentions were all gathered together, and they were always ready to launch the most fatal blow.
"Zhongjian, what do you think?" Li Jiancheng's eyes swept across everyone, and finally landed on Li Xu. His father spoke very highly of this young man. When everyone is at a loss, maybe he can bring some novel ideas.
"If it's just to burn food, sending a small number of elite troops to make a surprise attack may be more effective than launching a large-scale attack!" Li Xu's view is relatively optimistic compared to others. "Since the last sneak attack failed, Goryeo has never launched a large-scale attack."
There have been a lot of cross-border harassment attacks recently, and they are becoming more and more frequent as the ice on the river thickens. However, our brothers in Huaiyuan Town have gradually gained some courage and can take the initiative to go to the city to fight every time.
!”
"You mean the Koreans won't use troops on a large scale in winter?" Chen Yanshou, who joined the army, looked at him for a moment and asked in a low voice.
"It's hard to say. The key depends on whether the opponent's general is willing to take risks. The cold weather has a great impact on both the enemy and us, especially camping in the wild. The risk is very high." Li Xu shook his head and said that last winter, Xu Dayan also analyzed Suotou Xibu in the same way, but at that time
Xu Dayan made a mistake in judgment and was almost succeeded in a sneak attack by the Suotou Xi people. However, the situation in Huaiyuan Town and Su Chuanbu were different. The wall of Huaiyuan Town was high enough. As long as the enemy did not take the city gate by surprise, he could still survive for one or two days.
Hope that the men and horses stationed in the wild to attack the city will have to withstand the test of the severe winter.
His mouth was stupid, and he talked for a long time without focusing on the key points. Everyone's eyes suddenly dimmed and they ignored Li Xu's inference about the surprise attack by elite soldiers at the beginning.
"Brother Zhongjian is right, the weather is too cold, which will be a big trouble for both the enemy and us. If we attack with all our strength, once it is blocked by the wind and snow, I am afraid that the gains will not be worth the losses. After all, Goguryeo has few soldiers and horses, and its leader is reluctant to spend such a huge capital!
"Li Shimin, who was sitting aside and listening, suddenly stood up and added that his views were somewhat similar to Li Xu's. Out of respect for his opponent, he did not refer to the country on the other side of the Liao River as Goryeo in disdain like everyone else, but called its official name.
Goguryeo
Everyone laughed, and no one took their words to heart. Although the two of them were extremely brave, after all, one was in his early fifteen and the other had just turned fourteen. Their age and experience were incomparable with the others.
"In the future, what Brother Zhongjian and I said will come true. Don't regret not listening to our reminder!" Li Shimin looked at the smiling people, then looked at Li Xu, who never knew what anger was, and shouted angrily.
"Then tell me, besides strengthening patrols, what other good ways can we do?" Li Jiancheng gently touched his brother's forehead, and asked himself with a smile. This brother is good at everything, but he is too stubborn. Once the things he believes are questioned by others,
, immediately acted like a child
"It's the same river anyway. If they can come over, we can send people over there to harass them every day. It will be easy for the Goguryeo people to cope with the pressure from our side!" Li Shimin made a bold suggestion without hesitation.
suggestion
As soon as he finished speaking, even Liu Hongji, who maintained a deliberate respect for the second son, smiled bitterly. The feasibility of the plan was undoubted, but what Tang Gong Li Yuan lacked was elite soldiers with the ability to protect themselves when the enemy's situation was unknown.
If not, attacking the other party in turn is simply a fool's errand.
"Brother, what do you think of Zhong Jian? Don't just play with fire!" Li Shimin was a little angry and shouted with his eyes wide open. If he were the elder brother, these people would definitely not dare to despise his suggestions. But he was born as a younger brother, so he said
No one took anything seriously. Ma Yuangui was like this, Chen Yanshou was like this, and even Liu Hongji, who had just arrived, was led astray by others.
"Okay, okay, everyone is not laughing at you, but we have no troops to send!" Li Jiancheng straightened his brother's hair and comforted him with a smile.
"If I can get fifty good hands together, I'd like to try it across the river!" Suddenly, Li Xu raised his head from the charcoal fire and said solemnly
