Li Ji and Li Su led 20,000 soldiers on the way home.

A great war that has gone down in history has come to an end. This battle changed the fate of too many people, and the conceited and rigid Li Shimin was finally slapped by reality on the battlefield in Liaodong, and even lost his lifespan. Li Shimin's worst enemy, Quan Gai Suwen, was supposed to return to the capital with great ambition and enjoy the pleasure of being in power, but he was unexpectedly cut off by Gao Zang, who looked obedient on the outside but actually had a murderous intention.

Li Su's plan, Li Ji's decisiveness, the Tang army easily broke through the capital of Goguryeo with only 20,000 light cavalry, and occupied the capital for two days.

I have to say that this merit is too dazzling, even if the capital of the enemy country is only occupied by them for just two days, it is enough to be recorded in the history, if the wonderful pen of the Tang Dynasty historian is not so harsh, Li Ji and Li Su's name is enough to compare with the Han Dynasty only led 800 lone troops into the grassland, and laid down the champion Hou Huo of the Hun single tooth tent to get sick, the glory of the wolf Juxu, rare throughout the ages.

The retreating 20,000 soldiers obviously also understood how much credit they had made this time, so on the way to Jincheng Port, everyone was smiling, they knew that after returning to Chang'an, Your Majesty's reward will be extremely generous, because in this war that has been doomed to defeat, they are the only bright spot, whether for political purposes or the dignity of the Tang Dynasty, Your Majesty will reward them heavily, and use this victory to tell the vassals of all countries in the world that I did not lose, and the Eastern Expedition I launched was withdrawn after entering the capital of the enemy country. And the 20,000 soldiers led by Li Ji and Li Su to break into the enemy's capital will definitely be set as a benchmark for victory by His Majesty.

The road ahead is smooth, the future is bright, and the mood of the soldiers is naturally excited.

It's just that Li Ji and Li Su, as the coaches, didn't see too happy looks on their faces, but there was a looming worry.

The Silla border camp is only more than 200 miles away from the port of Jincheng, and it will take a few hours to arrive under the gallop of horses.

Jincheng Port is a small city by the sea, the city is dilapidated and simple, the population in the city is only about 10,000, the scale of the city is only the size of a small town in later generations, under the leadership of the queen of Silla, Li Ji led his subordinates to walk into the city, the people in the city have knelt on the ground to salute, the queen has a proud face, does not squint, from the city directly through the city, to the seaside pier in the east of the city.

Compared with the depression and poverty in the city, the wharf in the east of the city is much busier, many sea ships of unknown nationality are moored at the seaside, busy loading and unloading goods, shouting slogans under the shirtless New Arla, moving piles of goods to the ship, the officials next to them are buried in recording the list of goods in and out, and by the wharf port in the middle, countless bright yellow flags are waving in the wind, and more than 100 warships are scattered in the offshore places outside the wharf, and the warships are like clouds and sails. A burly middle-aged man wearing armor stood quietly on the shore of the wharf, and there were many Tang soldiers on both sides lined up in the shape of geese.

Li Ji and Li Su knew the general, and hurriedly walked a few steps to meet him, and the three of them saluted each other.

This person is Zhang Liang, the general manager of the Yunguo Gongcang Sea Road March.

Although the name is "Liang", in fact, the name does not have half a bright spot, but in this Zhenguan Dynasty, Zhang Liang can be said to be famous, he is one of the heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, ranking sixteenth. If Li Shimin set up a China Literature Group on a whim, Zhang Liang would at least be the main god of platinum.

Zhang Liang was particularly respectful when he saluted Li Ji, his hands were rubbed, his waist was bent deeply, and his expression was full of respect.

Not only because of Li Ji's contribution to the enemy's capital in this battle, but more importantly, Zhang Liang was Li Ji's general from the end of the Sui Dynasty, the two were under Li Ji's secret account, Zhang Liang was Li Ji's direct general, and later Li Ji joined Tang, Zhang Liang also followed the past, Li Ji was reused by Li Yuan and Li Shimin, and he also recommended Zhang Liang to enter the Qin Palace, before the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin sent Zhang Liang to secretly infiltrate Luoyang to recruit troops, and later the incident was taken by Li Yuanji, Zhang Liang was tortured in prison, But gritted his teeth and never recruited Li Shimin, the mastermind behind the scenes, after the change of Xuanwumen, Li Shimin remembered his merits, and since then his official fortune has been prosperous and prosperous.

Of course, no matter how famous Zhang Liang is, he is still a little weaker than Li Ji, Li Ji is now a famous general in the Tang Dynasty military, and his military strategy is second only to the god of war Li Jing, the real number two person in the military, although Zhang Liang has been arrogant in recent years, but he still dares not be presumptuous in front of Li Ji.

"The last general will meet the general, the general is famous all over the world in this battle, everyone in the world is shocked, and the last general will bow down." Zhang Liang's first words were extremely respectful.

Li Ji smiled and said: "You are now the secretary of the Criminal Department, the prince of the country, and the hero of the Lingyan Pavilion with the old man, you have long been on an equal footing with the old man, and you don't need to call yourself the 'last general'." ”

Zhang Liang said respectfully: "The last general has been the general's subordinate general since the end of the Sui Dynasty, and he has been the general's subordinate general all his life, even if his name is high, he does not dare to sit on an equal footing with the general. ”

Li Ji said with a smile: "Don't talk about this, come, come and meet Her Royal Highness Queen Silla with the old man, this time I was able to withdraw safely, Her Royal Highness the Queen helped a lot." ”

Zhang Liang hurriedly greeted the smiling Queen of Silla.

In the end, it was Li Su's turn to take the initiative to greet Zhang Liang.

Li Su and Zhang Liang are not familiar with each other, there was an intersection when they were in Chang'an, but Zhang Liang was relatively indifferent at that time, until Li Su later recognized Li Ji's marriage, and the two families gave each other gifts every New Year's Day, and there was some contact.

Today, Zhang Liang is obviously much more enthusiastic about Li Su, and before Li Su bowed, Zhang Liang grabbed his elbows first, and said with a smile: "Don't be polite to the virtuous nephew, I heard from the front-line military newspaper that this battle entered the capital of Goguryeo, all because of the plan of the virtuous nephew, the old man really admired it very much, His Majesty often praised the virtuous nephew as a heroic hero of the Tang Dynasty, and what he said was true, he was indeed a young hero, not to be underestimated." ”

Li Su hurriedly and modestly pushed.

Zhang Liang and the Queen of Silla were polite for a while, and after a long time, Zhang Liang glanced at Li Ji and said with a solemn expression: "General, the last general is ordered to lead 100 warships to dock at Jincheng Port in Silla State, pick up the general and all the soldiers back to the Tang Dynasty, and ask the general to order the soldiers to board the ship." ”

Li Ji nodded, and the subordinate department immediately passed the order to board the ship to the team.

Queen Silla looked a little anxious, Li Ji saw it in her eyes, smiled, and then said: "Let all the soldiers take off their armor and weapons, hand them over to the soldiers of Silla State, and then lead the ship." ”

Queen Silla breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this, and hurriedly thanked Li Ji.

Soon, 20,000 soldiers unloaded their armor and weapons according to the order, and in the open space of the wharf, the armor and weapons were piled up for a while, and the Silla soldiers were busy sorting and classifying, while the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty led their respective war horses and boarded the ship, and there were laughter and laughter everywhere inside and outside the wharf.

Zhang Liang brought a fleet of 100 ships this time, and the development of Datang's sailors is not big at present, and these more than 100 warships are almost all the families of Datang's sailors. The so-called warship loading capacity is not large, compared with the large aircraft carrier-like ships of Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty to the West, but each ship carrying 500 people is still enough, 20,000 soldiers plus their respective war horses, more than 100 ships are enough.

After all the Tang Dynasty soldiers boarded the ship, Li Ji and the three said goodbye to the Queen of Silla, Zhang Liang ordered the trumpet to sail, and a hundred warships loaded with soldiers who had returned from great victory sailed slowly to the south.

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Li Ji and Li Su boarded Zhang Liang's flagship ship, and the three of them talked and laughed in the luxurious cabin, and then Li Ji asked about the movement of the main army led by Li Shimin.

Zhang Liang obviously knew the main force better, as one of the partial divisions of the Eastern Crusade, Zhang Liang's naval division always maintained close contact with Li Shimin, and the movement of the main army was in Zhang Liang's control at any time. However, Li Ji's department went deep behind enemy lines because of its lone army, and since it was separated from Li Shimin, the connection with the main force was completely cut off.

After Li Shimin led the army to retreat westward, there was no enemy attack on the road, and the 150,000 enemy troops led by Quangai Suwen were dragged by Li Jisuo's 20,000 light cavalry within hundreds of miles near Liaodong City and Daxing City, and after Li Ji's army captured the Gyeongju City of Goguryeo, Quangai Suwen's department completely lost the initiative on the battlefield, and was led by the nose by 20,000 Tang troops from beginning to end, and the threat to the main force of the Tang Army was lifted, so Li Shimin led the main force back to the Tang border without danger, and camped in Yingzhou to recuperate for three days. The main force continued to retreat in the direction of Chang'an.

After returning to the border, the grain and grass crisis of the main force was also lifted, and the grain and grass in the rear were continuously sent to the army. However, after solving the problem of grain and grass, Cheng Yanjin and other generals gathered to discuss, and asked Li Shimin to attack Goguryeo again, taking advantage of the civil strife in Goguryeo, it was a good time for the Tang Dynasty, if it attacked Goguryeo again, it was bound to be like a tiger into the flock, unstoppable.

The generals' request for war was rejected by Li Shimin without hesitation.

There are many reasons, the soldiers have been tired is one of them, if they advance eastward again, the military will inevitably be unstable, there is a danger of mutiny, the second is that the soldiers in this battle have lost too much, if they conquer Goguryeo again, even if they win a big victory, they will also hurt their own vitality, and now in the surrounding neighbors of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the strong enemy of Goguryeo, there are also Tubo, Tuyuhun, Western Turks and other wolves around, if the price of fighting to hurt the vitality of Goguryeo will be incorporated into the territory, the rest of the strong neighbors are afraid of attacking, and the third is because of Yang Wanchun of Anshi City, this person should not be underestimated, and he is cunning and treacherous with soldiers, The 100,000 soldiers under his command are all tiger and wolf divisions, Li Shimin and many generals suffered a big loss under the city of Anshi, if the Tang army enters the territory of Goguryeo again, it is difficult to say what Yang Wanchun will do, and Li Shimin is not sure to deal with him.

It's very interesting, no matter who is slapped hard by reality, they will immediately be well-behaved, and the long-lost IQ is back online, and the reckless bastard who was hot-blooded at the beginning is completely gone, revealing the image of a master with a pearl of wisdom in his hands from the inside out.

Li Shimin is not exempt from vulgarity, after the failure of the Eastern Crusade, he was finally well-behaved, the whole person was full of wisdom, and he saw the current situation very clearly, so he rationally vetoed the request of Cheng Yanjin and others to ask for war, as for calming down, recalling his various stubborn conceit on the battlefield of Goguryeo, whether Li Shimin remorsefully slapped himself quietly in the dead of night, it is impossible to test.

I have to say that Li Shimin's decision this time is correct, even if Goguryeo is chaotic, it is impossible for him to conquer again, not to mention other objective reasons, the most important thing is that after the grain and grass were burned by the Yan cavalry, Li Shimin vomited blood on the spot, and his body had collapsed, he had no energy to command the army to fight anymore, and he was not at ease when he handed it over to the generals below.

Speaking of the movement of the main army, Zhang Liang estimated that he had probably crossed the Great Wall and marched towards Chang'an, and after calculating the time, if Li Jisuo's light cavalry landed quickly after landing, the two armies might be able to reach Chang'an at the same time.

After saying this, Zhang Liang took a deep look at Li Ji and Li Su, arched his hand, and said with a smile: "The general and Zi Zhengxian's nephew have made a great contribution to the sky this time, and His Majesty will have a reward after returning to Beijing. ”

Li Ji shook his head and said: "If you don't have a reward, the old man doesn't care, the old man is now the prince of the country, no matter how high the official is, it's just the icing on the cake, and the old man is worried about His Majesty's body now......"

Zhang Liang was stunned, then sighed, and the two were silent.

Almost all the generals witnessed the vomiting of blood in front of Li Shimin's battle, and the faces of the imperial doctors when they hurriedly entered and exited the tent at that time were also seen in their eyes, and it can be seen from the solemn expressions of the imperial doctors that Li Shimin vomited blood this time, and his internal condition was very serious, and he was afraid that he had lost his life.

The future prince of the Tang Dynasty is still undecided, and whether the next monarch's foreign policy will be offensive or defensive, whether he will be a king or a saint internally, and whether he will be a grace or a prestige to his courtiers is now unknown.

The atmosphere in the cabin was very dull, and Li Su felt that he couldn't stand it after staying for a while, got up and confessed, and then walked out of the cabin.

The fleet sailed on the vast sea, the huge warship rose and fell with the waves, Li Su stood by the railing for a while and felt that it was not good, and he suddenly found himself seasick.

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When night fell, the wind and waves on the sea were much lighter, and the fleet sailed on the sails, and the wind was lighter and the speed was slower.

Li Su occupied a cabin alone, most of the subordinates and soldiers were crowded in the bottom cabin, and only Fang Lao Wu and Zheng Xiaolou lived next to Li Su's cabin.

In just a few hours after leaving Jincheng Port, Li Su had vomited five times, his face was pale, his breath was short, and Fang Lao Wu was waiting for him in front of him, while Zheng Xiaolou was watching Li Su's embarrassed appearance with his arms around his chest.

Fang Lao Wu held the copper basin, Li Su put his head in front of the basin, vomiting loudly, every rise and fall of the warship made Li Su very uncomfortable, just like taking the elevator in the amusement park in the previous life, the difference is that the elevator is finished in a few minutes at most, but Li Su has been sitting for a few hours at the moment, and what is even worse is that it is said that this journey at sea will last about a month.

"I can't stand it! Zheng Xiaolou, pull out your sword and give me a good time! Li Su sighed in despair.

Zheng Xiaolou's cheeks twitched, and the corners of his mouth hooked, unable to tell whether it was comfort or schadenfreude.

Fang Lao Wu said with a smile: "Grandpa has never been on a sea boat, today is a big crime, take a sea boat first of all, calm down and follow the rhythm of the ups and downs of the sea boat, don't just think about it in your mind, don't look out, just think about living in your own home, and get used to it after a long time......."

Li Su sighed and looked at him weakly: "Have you ever been on a sea boat before?" ”

Fang Lao Wu said with a smile: "The villain has been on the shore all his life, he has never been on a boat, today is also the first time, he was dizzy at the beginning, and then the villain consulted the soldiers of the sailor, these tricks of taking a boat are taught by them, after the villain tried it, he found that it really worked, Grandpa might as well try it, and then we will stay on the boat for a month, like Grandpa Spit like this, I'm afraid it's not good, it will hurt the vitality." ”

Li Su took a deep breath, raised his finger and pointed at Zheng Xiaolou, and said jealously: "Why is this guy okay?" ”

Zheng Xiaolou sneered: "Those who practice martial arts, what they pay attention to is to stabilize the lower plate, no matter when and where, their feet should be nailed to the ground like nails, this is the ability, you can't." ”

Li Su didn't even have the strength to get angry, pointed at him weakly, and put down the scene: "Wait, go ashore and call more than a hundred parts to clean up your ......"

Zheng Xiaolou rolled his eyes, turned his head to the side, and even sneered.

Fang Lao Wu sighed: "It's really uncomfortable to take a boat, and it's very dangerous, the boat on the sea is not like in the river, the waves are too high and too big, and the boat will be overturned if you don't pay attention to the waves, and the boat people say that it's gone, it's not like being free on land, the villain just hopes that we will have a smooth ride this time, and get to the shore safely, we have made such a great contribution in Goguryeo, it is the time of the triumphant class, if you are confused and accepted by the Sea Dragon King, it is called wronged......"

Li Su's heart was tight, Fang Lao Wu's words were exactly what he was worried about, yes, although he lived a lazy life in this life, he could barely reach the word "wonderful", if he confessed his life at sea, he would be embarrassed to shout in front of the palace of the king of Hades.

"Is there a way to make the boat sail a little smoother? For example, lower the sail a little and adjust the direction of the sail a little, we would rather slow down, safety first, fifth uncle, you go and ask the soldiers of the sailor......" Li Su hurriedly said.

Fang Lao Wu smiled bitterly: "The villain has asked the general of the sailor, and they said that there is no way, since ancient times, half of the sailing on the sea depends on his own ability, and the other half depends on God's mercy, which is a gamble on life, and now there is really no other way than to pray for peace to God." ”

Li Su reacted quickly, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and said: "Prayer is also a way, since it is a prayer, you might as well be solemn and sincere......"

Pointing at Zheng Xiaolou, Li Su said: "Ask someone to tie up this guy and throw him into the sea, it should be a living sacrifice for the Sea Dragon King, if you guess correctly, this guy should still be a virgin, and the Sea Dragon King must like it very much......"