After fighting for a lifetime, I am most tired of this kind of critical battle. The soldiers under my command are dead and wounded, but they can only fight head-on. People are not grass and trees. Who can watch helplessly as his soldiers die one after another? Now, with a sharp knife like Xue Wanche, he can kill the general and capture the flag.
He is invincible, and as a general, he saves worry and effort. He already has the title of Duke of the country and cannot be promoted. It is useless to have so many meritorious deeds, so why not do it?
It's just that he doesn't care how much merit he has, but some people under his command don't see it that way.
Zuo Wuwei General Wang Wendu looked at the high-spirited Xue Wanche, and the jealousy in his heart soared like weeds...
The Goguryeo army collapsed like a chicken and a dog. Xue Wanche, as the vanguard, took away almost all the merits. What should the generals do who are counting on the merits of the Eastern Expedition to gain promotion? You can't eat the meat alone.
It's all gone, we can't even drink the soup, right?
However, Xue Wanche was a rough guy, but he was really good at fighting. He could only smile against his will and said: "Isn't it true that Lu Guogong has a good command? We only need to capture Anshi City. I am afraid that the first attack of this Eastern Expedition will be
If you can't run away, Duke Lu's performance will definitely be the best. If the word 'military god' is mentioned again in the army, Duke Lu will be worthy of it!"
Everyone likes to hear flattery. Cheng Yaojin is not a humble and polite gentleman. He can raise his tail to the sky when he is proud. But after hearing this, he warned Wang Wendu: "Put your thoughts away, our mission is
It is to cut off the backup of Anshi City, and attack whoever comes to support, but we must not step into Anshi City, even if the defenders of Anshi City open the city gate, it will never work!"
This is an established strategy, and as long as there are no sudden changes, no changes are allowed.
This is not only related to the grand strategy of the entire Eastern Expedition, but also to the distribution of interests among the armies of the Eastern Expedition. Everyone believes that Goguryeo, which has gone through several conquests by the Sui Dynasty, is riddled with holes and cannot resist the Tang army.
Then whoever can get the vanguard mission will naturally have the greatest opportunity to seize military glory.
In fact, the development of the war situation to this day has indeed proved this point.
Zuo Wuwei was regarded as an advance force and had the power to fight alone without the main force. Fierce generals such as Xue Wanche led an army as the vanguard and rushed forward. At present, they have conquered several mountain cities and killed countless enemies. They are already the champion of the entire army.
If Anshi City, an important town in Goguryeo's defense area in the Liaodong region, was captured in one go, what would the troops behind think?
Cheng Yaojin may seem rough and arrogant, but he is absolutely shrewd. Especially in the officialdom, he is very prosperous, and his political wisdom is absolutely superb.
Fighting a war is not just about fighting bravely, but also about the distribution of benefits.
I haven't seen that the most elite navy can only transport food and fodder. How about attacking a corner city like Bisha City?
Wang Wendu felt unhappy in his heart. Although he did not dare to argue with Cheng Yaojin in person, he was confident and had other concerns in his heart.
He was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan, and was a member of the Jin Dynasty lineage. How could he watch helplessly as Xue Wanche, who had taken refuge with the prince, destroyed the city in front of him, while he could only follow behind and not gain any merit?
Not to mention the wasted opportunity, the key point is that it will be difficult to explain when returning to Chang'an in the future...
…
The army continued to move forward, and within a few days, they arrived near Anshi City.
The Goguryeo army stationed in Anshi City saw the Tang army coming fiercely and did not dare to fight. They could only defend the city and could not get out.
Cheng Yaojin was not in a hurry, and immediately divided his troops into several groups, cut off all the roads near Anshi City, and surrounded the points for reinforcements. All the grain, grass, and soldiers supporting Anshi City were attacked by Xue Wanche's cavalry, so that
Anshi City is like an isolated island, struggling to survive.
That evening, Xue Wanche, who served as the vanguard, led dozens of soldiers back to the station. They met with Cheng Yaojin to report on the battle situation and to receive the latest combat orders.
Inside the camp, a table of dishes was set up, and Cheng Yaojin invited the military commanders to gather together and talk while eating.
He is the most impatient of rules. Whether at home or in the military, he likes everyone to be more casual, talk and laugh freely, and the more lively the atmosphere, the better. Unfortunately, drinking is not allowed in the military, so the atmosphere will inevitably be diluted.
…
After finishing two large bowls of rice in a coarse porcelain bowl, Cheng Yaojin put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth. He drank a large bowl of herbal tea and burped with satisfaction.
The generals quickly put the rice in their bowls into their mouths and put down their chopsticks.
The soldiers came in, removed the food and dishes, and carried a large kettle to make tea for the generals present.
Cheng Yaojin was about to speak when he suddenly saw a school captain walking quickly outside and shouted: "Commander! Goguryeo is sending troops to help!"
"oh?"
Cheng Yaojin immediately became energetic.
The walls of Anshi were thick, and the city had abundant supplies and troops. Although the Goguryeo people did not dare to leave the city to fight with the Tang army, they huddled in the city and defended the city. The Tang army was unable to do anything for a while. Even though they had gunpowder and other siege weapons, they could not do anything for a while.
It would also cost a lot of soldiers, so Cheng Yaojin was not in a hurry to attack. He only waited for His Majesty Li Er to capture Jian'an City and join forces to advance eastward. The two armies merged into one place and defeated it in one fell swoop with absolute strength.
But it's not a problem to be surrounded outside Anshi City all the time. The army is on an expedition, and doing nothing like this can easily lower morale. After all, you have to find something to do.
It's a pity that after intercepting and burning several waves of grain and grass baggage, Goguryeo also learned its lesson. It didn't care whether there was enough food in Anshi City and threw it aside. The whole country went to support Jian'an City.
Jian'an City, whose original strategic position was not as good as Anshi City, may become the outbreak place of the first war since the Eastern Expedition...
How could Cheng Yaojin be unhappy when he heard that reinforcements were coming?
This is all meritorious service...
"Bring me the map!"
Cheng Yaojin shouted excitedly.
"promise!"
When a marching secretary ran in from outside, he took out a thick stack of maps from a box wrapped in tarpaulin, found a few of them near Anshi City, and hung them on the wall on one side of the camp.
Cheng Yaojin and other generals stood up one after another and stepped forward, looking at the map that was so detailed that even every fork in the road was carefully marked. It was as if they were transformed into birds and looked down from the sky, with a clear view of the terrain around Anshi City.
The captain handed a military report to Cheng Yaojin, who took it and read it carefully, then compared it with the map, pointed to a valley south of Anshi City, and said: "The reinforcements are coming from Goguryeo."
Gao Huizhen of Laisa in the south, with more than 80,000 troops under his command, came all the way from Pyongyang City under the stars and night!"
Wang Wendu was very excited and geared up and said: "It's just the right time! The Goguryeo army has traveled a long distance and will be exhausted. Why not choose a place to ambush them and wipe them out. This will not only cut off the support from Anshi City, but also shock Goguryeo and lower its morale."
, which is actually the first achievement of the Eastern Campaign!”
Previously, I was not satisfied that all the credit was taken away by Xue Wanche, but in the blink of an eye, the Goguryeo people obediently handed over the credit right under their noses. If I was dozing off, someone would give me a pillow. How wonderful?
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin glanced at him indifferently and said solemnly: "We must fight, how can we allow him to easily enter Anshi City to get a chance to rest and recuperate, so that Anshi City's defensive strength can be doubled?"
However, you must not have extravagant hopes of total annihilation! Gao Huizhen was a famous Goguryeo general, and his troops were all the elites of Goguryeo. Their number reached more than 80,000. If he fought head-on, the victory would be a rudimentary victory.
Not advisable!”
He himself does not need too many meritorious deeds. After all, with his current official position and title, no matter how many meritorious deeds he has, it will be a waste. Furthermore, the whole situation of the Eastern Expedition is "all interests share." If he leads Zuo Wuwei too dazzlingly, he will gain meritorious service
Too much will become a thorn in everyone's side, which is seriously inconsistent with his consistent philosophy of moderation and low-key.
For so many years, the Zhenguan heroes in the court had their ups and downs, but he always sat firmly on Diaoyutai and gained the trust and respect of His Majesty Li Er. Because he "listened to the emperor's words and followed the emperor," His Majesty Li Er allowed him to harass
Anshi City's logistics prevented it from being effectively supplemented, so he strictly abided by and completed his tasks, and would never act on his own or do anything out of the ordinary.
He naturally understood Wang Wendu's thoughts. As a general of the Wang family in Taiyuan, he was very close to the Guanlong nobles and became one of the few generals of the Jin Dynasty in the army. He wanted to gain a lot of merit in the Eastern Expedition to boost his morale.
The influence and strength of the Jin Wang family are naturally reasonable.
However, why do you want to achieve meritorious service at the expense of my team?
The top and bottom ranks of Zuo Wuwei are all old subordinates who have followed him for many years. How can we watch them sacrifice their lives in vain in the struggle for the throne?
Not to mention that although his external stance is "neutral" and he does not participate in the fight for the throne, he actually loves the prince and refuses to let Wang Wendu's wish come true...