For example, there are some diehards in the army. His Royal Highness the King of Wu has not been idle during this period. It does not mean that all people can be bribed by Li Xiang. Several deputy generals are determined. Now His Royal Highness the King of Wu has expressed his withdrawal, but these people still have not pledged allegiance to Li Xiang.
In this case, Li Xiang did not have the time to wait for them to change. The opportunity has been given to you. If you cannot control yourself, then it can only be said that you are pedantic. So on a dark and windy day, these deputy generals died suddenly for various reasons.
Such a thing had never happened under the control of the Tang Dynasty. Li Xiang gave people the impression of being gentle and polite, and it was impossible for him to do such a thing, but Li Xiang did it anyway. For ordinary people, their lives continued as usual. After all, such news would not reach their ears.
But for the dignitaries in Chang'an City, they all knew about this matter, and they were all shocked by Li Xiang's cruelty. In fact, everyone in the army knew Li Xiang's cruelty. When they were on the Tuyuhun grassland, Li Xiang's cavalry passed by, and dozens of tribes were deserted. How could he be a charitable person?
Do you, the lieutenants, think that just because we're about to go to war, you can go against Li Xiang? Li Xiang is doing this to scare the others, to show them that those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish.
After Li Shimin learned about this, he originally wanted to talk to Li Xiang, but later it was left unresolved. Although those people were the best in the army, killing them would be a loss to the Tang Dynasty, but as the next monarch of the Tang Dynasty, he had to be decisive in killing. He had to be ruthless to outsiders and even more so to his own people.
Even Li Shimin remained silent. Even if the others knew the news, how could they possibly comment on it? It only means that you guys didn't see the situation clearly and ran into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
On the second day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, nearly two years after Li Xiang's rebirth, the Tang Dynasty once again launched a foreign war. Tens of thousands of troops were dispatched from Chang'an, and hundreds of thousands more were dispatched from various parts of Guanzhong...
Their family headed east, passed Luoyang, and headed straight for Yanzhao, then continued to march northeast until they reached the border between our country and Goguryeo.
Su Dingfang had arrived at the border in advance and began to build a camp for the follow-up troops, which has now been completed.
Officials at all levels in the prefectures, counties and cities along the way have also prepared various types of food, which will be loaded onto the vehicles when the army passes by.
After three whip cracks, Li Shimin personally read the manifesto for the attack on Goguryeo, and the army began to move slowly. Li Xiang was the Grand Marshal of the Eastern Expedition, General Li Jing was the Chief of the March, Niu Jinda was the Left General, and Su Dingfang was the Right General, leading an army of 200,000 to defeat Goguryeo.
Because General Li Jing was in poor health, he immediately changed his carriage after leaving Chang'an City. This carriage was specially made by Li Xiang. Some shock-absorbing devices were added to several wheels, and it was changed from a two-wheeled carriage to a four-wheeled carriage, so that the whole carriage became more stable. General Li Jing had never enjoyed such a carriage before.
Looking out of the window, I could see that all the carriages transporting the baggage were four-wheeled carriages, which could carry one to two times more things than two-wheeled carriages, and of course, they also used many more mules.
These things had already been modified in the army during the expedition against Tuyuhun, but they were not implemented throughout the army. This time, they were delayed for such a long time, and it can be regarded as a replacement of equipment for the army across the Tang Dynasty. In the future, all the troops will use this type of four-wheeled carriage.
"Is the General in good health?"
We have walked thirty miles today. According to the court's previous rules, we should walk forty miles every day. Too much is not good, and too little is not good either.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. My old bones can still hold on. Your Highness has been on horseback all day. If you feel tired, you should come to my carriage and have a cup of tea and rest for a while."
General Li Jing had a leisurely day. All the things that needed to be arranged had been arranged. In the morning, various war horses came galloping to report to him on the army's advance. But now it was past noon and all the things that needed to be arranged had been arranged, so it was time to rest.
"On this first day of marching, I'm looking forward to inspecting the entire camp right away and can save the laziness for tomorrow."
Li Xiang said with a smile that this was the first time he was the commander of an army of 200,000, and it was a big test. So after setting out in the morning, Li Xiang and the dozens of guards around him ran back and forth for an unknown number of miles. The army only advanced forty miles today, but Li Xiang felt that he had walked a hundred miles.
After hearing what Li Xiang said, General Li Jing did not force it. Instead, he felt that Li Xiang was like a commander of an army. When fighting against Tuyuhun, although Li Xiang achieved considerable results, the army under his command had at most 10,000 people. This time, there were 200,000 troops, which was completely different from that time, so there was nothing wrong with Li Xiang inspecting more often.
"Go report to the Grand Marshal. Two miles ahead is where we're stopping today. Ask the Grand Marshal if there are any changes."
Niu Jinda walked at the front of the entire team. One thousand meters ahead of their team, there were 150 cavalrymen conducting reconnaissance. Although this was within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, they still had to be cautious. This was also a special instruction from Li Xiang.
Niu Jinda was originally prepared to follow His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu, which was also instructed by Li Shimin. Who knew that later, just like a big drama, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu suddenly fell. Of course, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu was willing to go to the expedition, but the various forces in Chang'an City were unwilling, so His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu could only end up in tragedy.
As for Niu Jinda, he has always been very resistant to Li Xiang, because the prince had a bad relationship with him and even said bad things about him in front of Li Shimin, so he chose to stay away from the influence of the Eastern Palace. He once relied on the Prince of Wei's Mansion, but later the Prince of Wei was in trouble, and the Prince of Wu extended an olive branch to him. For Niu Jinda, as long as he had no relationship with the Eastern Palace, he could get along well.
But fate played a joke on him. Now that Li Xiang had become the Grand Marshal, he could only serve under Li Xiang. He had originally thought about not going on the expedition, but his age was a bit awkward. If he couldn't make any contribution this time, he would never have the chance to become a general.
Who doesn’t want to be called a great general before dying?