All the generals in the tent were suddenly shocked. They just mentioned the navy, and now the navy is here.
The British Duke also predicted that the Battle of Bisha City would last three to five days. As a result, the battle report had already arrived before he finished speaking. According to the time calculation, the navy probably just arrived at Bisha City and the battle was over. Then it marched along the route. Head north to the coast and come to meet us...
Isn't this too fast?
Even if Bisha City is not an important defensive town for Goguryeo, it is still the core of Goguryeo's rule at the southern end of the peninsula. More than 10,000 Goguryeo troops are defending against the danger. Even if there is gunpowder to break the city, it will still take three to five days to fight, right? After all, the total combat strength of the navy is only 30,000 to 40,000, and some ships and manpower must be allocated to transport all kinds of food and baggage required by the main army. The number of troops to attack Bisha City must only be around 10,000.
His Majesty Li Er raised his eyebrows. Although he was extremely exhausted, he could not delay at this time and said: "General, please submit your report!"
"Here!"
Soldiers walked into the tent and the general reported.
Zhu Suiliang put down his work of summarizing his merits, stood up, took the report and passed it to His Majesty Li Er.
His Majesty Li Er took it, read it over, knocked on the desk in front of him, and praised loudly: "Okay! General, let everyone take a look. The navy has made a great victory. Beisha City has been captured, and all the more than ten thousand defenders have been wiped out." , one battle will frighten the enemy!"
Oops!
All the generals were shocked. It is not difficult for the navy to win and take Bisha City lightly. After all, the navy's combat power has been praised by all parties. It almost has the appearance of the "First Army of the Tang Dynasty". Even if there is some water in it, it is not too different. .
It must not be difficult to capture Bisha City.
However, Goguryeo faced a severe shortage of troops in the face of the Tang army's heavy troops. It was unable to deploy heavy troops to defend key passes. It could only recruit troops from all over the country. Farmers, herdsmen, and even prisoners and slaves were all distributed and sent to the battlefield. .
Naturally, it is impossible to garrison elite troops in a place like Bisha City that is not a critical point.
In this way, there will be a phenomenon. Once the walls of Bisha City are breached by the Tang Army, and the Tang Army rushes into the city and slaughters them, most of the Goguryeo defenders will panic and their morale will collapse, or they will all flee due to lack of necessary training. , or surrender on the spot.
It is really difficult to annihilate them all.
After all, this requires the cooperation of the Goguryeo army to work together and fight to the end...
General Zhu Suiliang handed the newspaper to the generals for circulation, and the first one was handed to Changsun Wuji.
Li Ji glanced at Zhu Suiliang, then lowered his eyelids and remained silent...
Changsun Wuji quickly read the general's report, then handed it to Li Ji beside him, thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, it is clear that the navy has successfully conquered Beisha City, an important town in southern Liaoning, but according to what is written in the battle report, They attacked with fire, and besieged the city and watched while the entire city of Bisha turned into scorched earth. All humans and animals were charred, and no one survived... It was really too much killing and harmed the peace of the world. I also ask your majesty, the water controller, to avoid the crime of the rest of the troops. Competing to follow suit will result in unnecessary killings and loss of lives, undermining the majesty of our heavenly dynasty."
No one answered.
Although everyone felt that this statement had some truth to it, after all, they had not read the military newspaper and could not directly refute it.
When the military reports were circulated among the generals one by one, Zhang Jian couldn't bear his temper and stood up and said: "I don't agree with the words of Zhao Guogong. Now the empire is marching eastward and using the power of the whole country, it is natural to overthrow Goguryeo in one fell swoop and completely To eliminate the hidden dangers on the northeastern border of the empire, you should be like a lion attacking a rabbit and fight hard. How can you be timid and put more constraints on the soldiers of the army? Duke Zhao also remembers that the former Sui Dynasty was also very powerful, and a million-strong army was defeated in several eastern expeditions. After returning home in defeat, the Tang Dynasty must not repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty. The benevolence of women is actually the way to bring disaster."
This is not a domestic civil war. It is taboo not to kill too much and cause resentment among the people. The war between the two countries is a matter of life and death. You want to destroy them in one fell swoop. How about Tian Chao's majesty and benevolence to make others appreciate your kindness and magnanimity and your kindness in not killing?
Naturally, he would not think that the dignified Sun Wuji was only of this level. The reason why he was talking about "women's benevolence" was because he wanted to suppress the navy and was motivated by selfish motives.
This is what Zhang Jian is ashamed of.
Struggles for power and profit are inevitable, but in order to suppress the achievements of others, they rashly restrict the overall combat strategy of the army. Wouldn't this make the relatives happy and the enemies happy?
Selfishness and disregard for righteousness are disdainful.
Changsun Wuji was not annoyed, and said calmly: "The empire's expedition to Goguryeo was not to massacre the Goguryeo people. After they invade Pyongyang and overthrow their regime, they will still need to rely on the Goguryeo people to govern the vast Liaodong region. Land? If there is too much killing at this time and arouses hatred in Goguryeo, then they will share the same hatred with the enemy and have the belief that they will die in every battle. Then the losses of the imperial army will inevitably increase. How can you remember the appearance of a benevolent and righteous teacher? To make all the Goguryeo people sincerely convinced and actively accept the rule of the empire?"
Zhang Jian was an upright person, and his words were naturally inferior to those of Changsun Wuji. He turned red with anger and said in a low voice: "This is ridiculous! The empire's expedition to Goguryeo naturally meant that its territory would be included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and its people would also Under the rule of the Tang Dynasty. It is enough to make them fear the power of the Tang Dynasty. Why do they need to feel the benevolence of the Tang Dynasty? People who are outsiders, drinking blood like hair and drinking blood, may not understand what benevolence is!"
This is actually the mainstream value among the Tang army, which is completely different from that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Today's imperial military believes that all alien peoples and barbarian lands can only be conquered by force. After all, barbarians are "awesome but not moral." They don't understand anything you tell them about benevolence, justice and morality. ah? Only when their fists are hard enough and their knives are fast enough can they accept the rule honestly, otherwise they will rebel if they get a chance.
The Turks who once attached themselves to it are the best precedent. When the Tang army broke into the grassland and invaded their tents, and the so-called "400,000 string-controllers" were running around, they were afraid of the power of the Tang Dynasty and willingly accepted the rule. , and competed to annex, and were willing to garrison the Hetao area for Datang.
As a result, the control of the Tang Dynasty weakened slightly, and these Turks immediately rebelled, killing Han people, burning government offices, and fled to the grasslands with their families...
What's wrong with the Navy massacring all of Bisha City?
Because of this, Goguryeo, who will stick to the mountain city in the future, will have a long memory. The end result of stubborn resistance will be a dead end. It is better to surrender early...
Changsun Wuji shook his head and said: "The barbarians don't understand the teachings of saints, so they eat the weak and the strong. If we continue to kill and have no benevolence, then how are we different from those barbarians? If the barbarians don't understand benevolence and righteousness, the empire will be ruined." They should be taught to understand, just like what the empire is doing now in Annan and Japan, teaching them Chinese characters and Chinese language so that they can read Han classics. Then of course they will understand the way of benevolence and know that the Tang Dynasty is the emperor of heaven. How can a country, a country of benevolence and righteousness, have any reason to rebel again?"
Zhang Jian was so angry that he could not utter a rebuttal.
Isn't this what those rotten scholars preach all day long? Usually in the court, rotten Confucians use these reasons to refute the military, saying that "although the country is big, war-like will inevitably lead to destruction", and foreigners should be treated with kindness and gentleness, and they should use all their education to make them Know etiquette, understand benevolence, and bathe in the light of saints. Naturally, the sea will be clear and the rivers will be clear, and the world will be peaceful...
How come you, Changsun Wuji, are a representative of the military, yet you suppress the merits of the navy with your corrupt remarks?
How shameless!
The two of them were arguing endlessly. His Majesty Li Er, who was behind the desk, had already grown up. He was upset and unbearable. He restrained his temper that was about to explode. He knocked on the desk and said, "This matter will be discussed later." We’ll discuss it later, where is Su Dingfang now?”
The soldier at the door said: "We are resting at the mouth of the Daqing River. We can go up the river at any time to assist the army in attacking Jian'an City."
His Majesty Li Er nodded and said: "Order Su Dingfang to come to the big tent immediately to discuss the specific combat strategy."
"Here!"
The soldiers turned around and walked out of the tent and went to the mouth of the river to deliver the order.
His Majesty Li Er felt that his energy was really unsustainable. He half-closed his eyes and waved his hands, saying: "My dear friends, please go back to your camp to rest and be ready to attack Jian'an City."
"Here!"
Everyone saw that His Majesty Li Er was in low spirits, so they quickly bowed and saluted, and filed out of the tent.
Zhang Jian walked to the door and saw Changsun Wuji coming out. He stepped forward and asked, "I really don't agree with Duke Zhao's remarks. On the battlefield, you will either die or I will forget you. If you can win at the minimum cost, why?" Do we need to worry about the life and death of our enemies? The so-called peace and harmony is simply ridiculous!"
He was filled with rage, the anger he had accumulated ever since he learned that the army's strategy had almost completely abandoned the navy.
It's okay to fight for profits, but it's a bit too much to ignore better strategies and completely ignore greater casualties to gain merit for yourself.
