His Majesty Li Er regretted a little. If he had known this, he should have come later. No matter how the seriously injured prisoners were dealt with, it was Cheng Yaojin's truth. If he handled it well, he would naturally have a share of the credit. If something went wrong, he would be held responsible.
He also has to carry it.
If you make up your mind, whether it causes the enemy army to share the same hatred or the Tang army to feel resentful, it will become your own responsibility.
If you don't know how to deal with things, you will naturally be a mediocre king...
How can His Majesty Li Er be willing to shoulder this big pot?
So he immediately turned his head and saw that everyone behind him was staring at his toes with lowered eyebrows and eyes, never meeting his eyes. He could only look at Li Ji and ask: "What does the British public think should be done?"
There's nothing I can do, it's not that I'm being unfair, but who told you to be the chief minister?
Li Ji: "..."
Co-author, you all know that this matter is not easy to deal with, and you might be blamed for it, so you don't want to hold anything back, but you blame it on me, right?
This has something to do with me!
But after His Majesty asked, he could not shirk again. He thought about it with resentment and said: "Let's keep him in the mountain city of Dacheng for the time being, and let the army doctor do his best to treat him. Don't be stingy with the medicinal materials. God has the virtue of good life, and we, the Tang Dynasty, are benevolent and righteous."
To build a country and benefit the world, we must not give up anyone who can be saved, even an insignificant prisoner."
There is no best-of-both-worlds solution to this matter, and whatever you do may lead to future troubles.
As for the lesser of two evils, he could only ignore the dissatisfaction of the Tang army soldiers and treat the prisoners. If he dared to order these prisoners to be abandoned at this moment and left to fend for themselves, not to mention the defenders in Pingrang City
Will he share the same hatred with the enemy and burst out with great fighting power? Even the learned scholars in Chang'an City will denounce him as "cruel and cold-blooded" and "harmful to the peace of heaven", smearing his character everywhere, causing thousands of people to accuse him and losing his reputation.
mess...
His Majesty Li Er is satisfied.
He didn't care what happened to those prisoners. He didn't care whether they were alive or dead. As long as they didn't put the responsibility on his head afterwards, everything would be fine.
Now that the matter had been decided, it was Li Ji who made the decision, and whether it was merit or demerit was naturally Li Ji's truth. He decisively changed the topic: "Has the enemy troops been wiped out in Anhe Palace?"
Cheng Yaojin said: "After Anhe Palace was captured last night, General Xue had already cleared the palace overnight. However, more than a thousand defeated troops escaped into the mountains behind Anhe Palace. There are high mountains, dense forests, and crisscrossing ravines. It is difficult to track them, so they refused to let them go."
If you pay attention, I don't think anything will go wrong."
His Majesty Li Er nodded.
A defeated army of more than a thousand people could not be pursued after being scattered into the mountains. Moreover, once the army was defeated, it would lose all its combat effectiveness and would not be a threat.
Li Ji on the side frowned and said: "How to confirm that there are only more than a thousand defeated troops?"
In a big battle, the enemy and we were fighting endlessly. It was difficult to calculate the losses of both sides in a very short period of time after the war. Now, Cheng Yaojin was so sure that the defeated army only had more than a thousand people. This did not agree with common sense.
Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment. He had never thought about this problem at all. When Xue Wanche reported it, he was convinced...
"In Changsun Chong's secret message, Gao Yanwu, who had switched defenses with him, led an army of 5,000 to 6,000 to Anhe Palace. At present, the total number of enemy casualties is still more than a thousand short. These shortfalls will naturally lead to a defeat..."
Cheng Yaojin explains.
Li Ji said, "It can be seen from this that Changsun Chong did not have a confirmed figure for the number of troops to be replaced, but only a rough estimate. If his estimate is wrong, the number of this army is seven thousand, eight thousand, or even
Ten thousand...so many broken troops are hidden in the mountains behind Anhe Palace. It is at the critical moment when the army is attacking Pingrang City. All troops are sent to the front. If someone organizes these broken troops, they will suddenly come.
If you kill me, do you know what serious consequences it will have?"
Cheng Yaojin was sweating coldly.
This danger is very possible...
The number of people in an army is not constant. It will increase or decrease due to various wishes. In particular, the Goguryeo army is not fully organized. The same army may have only five or six thousand people, while others may have as many as ten thousand people.
The combat effectiveness is even more different.
Changsun Chong didn't know how many troops he would switch defenses with, so he just made an estimate, which meant that something might go wrong.
If, as Li Ji feared, four to five thousand people escaped into the mountains, reunited under the leadership of a certain general, and then suddenly came out...
At present, the focus of the Tang army has moved forward. As Xue Wanche and other generals began to attack Pingrang City, Dacheng Mountain City, and Anhe Palace, the front line has become the rear. Otherwise, His Majesty Li Er would not dare to appear here easily.
If a Goguryeo army of thousands of people were to attack out of thin air, and the elite "Hundred Cavalry" guarding His Majesty Li Er were only five or six hundred people, the consequences would be unimaginable...
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will summon the scouts and go to the back mountain to investigate the situation. If any signs of the defeated army are found, troops will be sent to annihilate them immediately."
An enemy force suddenly charging out from the heart of the country will cause unimaginable losses, and no matter how cautious you are, you cannot be too cautious.
Changsun Wuji, who was standing beside him, looked ugly but said nothing.
Li Ji's words may have been businesslike, but in fact they were directly directed at Changsun Chong, believing that Changsun Chong's lack of ability might lead to negligence...
However, Changsun Wuji has always been patient, and naturally he will not confront Li Ji at this time. In his opinion, these are just trivial matters. As long as Changsun Chong can successfully open the Seven Star Gate, the first attack of the Eastern Expedition will be a certainty. These emotional disputes are irrelevant at the moment.
.
Let Li Ji be arrogant for a while...
His Majesty Li Er was amused in his heart as he watched several important ministers chatting with each other. This kind of situation is what he likes to see the most. If these people were harmonious and good to each other, then he, the emperor, would probably not be able to sleep.
However, this is not a time for fighting and estrangement. We should concentrate our efforts to deal with the outside world. The fall of Goguryeo is a top priority.
He smoothed things over and said: "Although Xue Wanche was negligent, his contribution was indispensable. Regardless of whether the defeated army had only a thousand or three or four thousand, it was just a defeated army. If the morale of the army was defeated, there is nothing to worry about. We only need to send people to investigate.
That’s enough. Would you like to go a little further with me and take a look at the Pingrang City Wall?”
Li Ji's concerns are reasonable, but Cheng Yaojin's status is too high, so the mistake can only be Xue Wanche's...
Upon hearing that he wanted to continue moving forward, all the ministers were so frightened that they broke out in cold sweat.
Even Zhu Suiliang, who had always treated others as a "slanderous minister", quickly dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, you must not do it! On the battlefield, the soldiers are fierce and dangerous, and the swords and arrows have no eyes, how can you escape danger?"
Changsun Wuji also said: "At this point in the war, the battle situation has been decided. No matter whether the dog can successfully open the Seven Star Gate, Pingrang City will be destroyed in a matter of days. Your Majesty must not take any risks."
Everyone also tried hard to persuade each other.
Although His Majesty Li Er is arrogant and even a little stubborn, he also knows how to give face to the ministers. He feels a little unhappy, but he reluctantly says: "Well... let's just stay here for a while and wait for the news of the victory as soon as possible!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Cheng Yaojin nodded repeatedly: "This is the best, this is the best."
His Majesty Li Er raised the corners of his mouth, feeling very proud of himself.
He knew that this group of people would not allow him to go to Pingrang City to watch the battle. He was the lord of the Ninth Five-Year Plan and the leader of a country. If there was even the slightest mistake, these ministers would have to die to apologize to the world.
He first asked to watch the battle at Pingrang City, but after being refused, he retreated to the next best thing. Naturally, these people would not refuse... Haha.
*****
The sky is gradually getting brighter, but the heavy snow in the sky is still falling with no sign of stopping.
Yuan Nanjian stamped his feet, feeling that his legs were numb from the cold, but there was no news from the front.
The heartstrings that had originally relaxed because Tang Jun did not send anyone to search the mountains and forests could not help but tighten again.
If there is still no news from the front until daybreak, then should I lead the army to rush out of the mountains and ravines, enter Anhe Palace, and then fight out from Anhe Palace to attack the Tang army's rear formation?
Without the cover of night, no matter how elite his troops are, they may not be able to cause much damage to the Tang army. Taking advantage of the chaos and directly inserting the Chinese army to attack and kill the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty can only be a dream...
In the distance, a figure appeared and disappeared from the heavy snow, erratic.
Yuan Nanjian suddenly pressed the hilt of the knife at his waist with one hand. His eyes widened and he stared at the figure fiercely. The soldiers around him also held their breaths.
After drinking tea, the figure finally appeared nearby. Several scouts hidden in the snow rushed out and pushed the figure to the ground...
After a while, the scouts escorted the man to Yuan Nanjian.