Unconsciously, it was autumn. After the Tang army captured the city of Humiliation, the two countries once again fell into a long silent confrontation.
At this time, the situation of the two armies can be described as clearly divided.
The Tang army had full control of all the city land in northern Goguryeo, and garrison troops were stationed in each city.
Not only that, the Tang Dynasty also selected more than a hundred civilian officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs to enter Goguryeo urgently, and they cooperated with civil and military forces to take over the administration and defense of the northern city of Goguryeo.
With Hanyi City as the middle boundary, only a dozen cities in the south, including the capital Pyongyang, were actually controlled by the Goguryeo king.
In the situation of confrontation between the north and the south, Pyongyang has to worry not only about the Tang Army in the north suddenly launching a general offensive, but also about the Silla Baekje in the south moving northward, forming a north-south pincer attack on Pyongyang.
So in today's Eastern Expedition, after the 20,000 foreign cavalry that raided Li Qinzai were completely wiped out, Goguryeo fell into complete passivity and had to switch from offense to defense and enter the strategic defense stage.
The battle outside Wugu City commanded by Li Qinzai became the turning point of the Tang Dynasty's Eastern Expedition. It was a knowledge point that stood out in the history books and was enough to be underlined and required to be tested by generations of descendants.
After this battle, the Tang army's battle progress became more and more smooth, and the outcome of the two armies was almost ready to be determined.
In the next battle, as long as the Tang army's coach doesn't get confused and doesn't make stupid decisions with low IQ, there will be no suspense about destroying Goguryeo.
It has to be said that the unexpected encounter outside Wugu City laid a solid foundation for the victory of the Tang Army's Eastern Expedition.
From an overall perspective, although the battle was difficult and the price paid was huge, the return rate was very high, and the sacrifice of the soldiers was of great value.
With the victory or defeat decided, Li Qinzai felt relieved and went further and further down the road of waste.
After recuperating in the camp outside Wugu City for more than ten days, at Qibi Heli's insistence, Li Ji and Li Qinzai's grandson and grandson were semi-forced to be taken to Hanyi City.
Having learned a profound lesson, Qibi Heli no longer dared to take it lightly. Li Ji and Li Qinzai must follow the main force, otherwise if there is another foreign cavalry raid, Qibi Heli will be worried about hanging his neck.
Li Ji's injury is recovering well. His legs and feet are still lame, but his complexion has improved a lot. He can eat, sleep and curse.
Li Qinzai was in some trouble. He was injured internally and could not move easily. In order to transfer Li Qinzai to Hanyi City, Qibi Heli spent a lot of effort.
The ordnance supervisors and craftsmen who accompanied the army specially made a soft bag for Li Qinzai that eight people could carry, and covered it with soft and thick silk brocade mattresses. Even the soldiers who carried the soft bag were specially trained so that they would be able to carry it regardless of the terrain. It can keep the soft bag on a horizontal surface to ensure that it does not bump.
Not only that, in order to escort the grandfather and grandson, two famous generals, Xue Rengui and Gao Kan, led their troops to protect them all the way. The two armies totaled more than 20,000 people, tightly surrounding the grandfather and grandson, and swaggering through the market as if they were escorting national treasures.
In order to ensure that Li Qinzai's injuries were not aggravated, the team walked for five full days during the two-day journey.
Finally, on the evening of the fifth day, Li Ji and Li Qin arrived at Hunyi City with their grandfather and grandson.
Qibi Heli led his generals to personally welcome Li Ji out of the camp ten miles away. After seeing Li Ji, Qibi Heli clasped his fists in shame and apologized. It was his negligence that caused the grandfather and grandson to fall into a desperate situation and almost led to a big mistake.
Li Ji laughed and didn't care at all.
No one expected the appearance of those 20,000 foreign troops. Li Ji would probably have made the same mistake in his place.
Crisis is a turning point. Who would have thought that after annihilating this foreign army, the Tang army would completely take the strategic initiative.
Goguryeo's last trump card was thus destroyed by Li Qinzai and his five thousand soldiers.
After pleading guilty, Qibi Heli looked at Li Qinzai who was lying on the soft bag, and said with a guilty look on his face: "Jingchu, I was negligent this time. It's because I can't forgive you. I almost killed an important person in the country. It was my fault."
Li Qinzai said hurriedly: "Grandpa Qibi, you must never be like this, you are a bad boy. This is an accident, no one is at fault."
Qibi Heli sighed and subconsciously slapped Li Qinzai on the shoulder.
"Stop saying anything. After returning to Chang'an in triumph, I will make it up to you..."
Then Qibi Heli was shocked to find that Li Qinzai's face turned pale, his eyes were wide open, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
"What's wrong with Jingchu?" Qibi Heli asked blankly.
Li Qinzai said weakly: "Quick... call the doctor to rescue me!"
Li Ji was so angry that he flew up and hit Qibi Heli hard on the back: "Old Shacai, are you serious about that slap?"
…………
After entering the Tang army camp outside the city of humiliation, Li Qinzai was placed in a tent next to the Chinese army commander's tent.
When Li Qinzai entered the camp and was rescued by Jin Dayan, Qibi Heli helped Li Ji enter the handsome tent.
Li Ji's body has almost recovered, but his legs and feet are still a little inconvenient. So next, Qibi Heli naturally handed over the command of the Tang army to Li Ji.
From now on, Li Ji was still the commander-in-chief of the First Army, and Qibi Heli became his general.
Li Ji took over the command without hesitation.
He knew very well that this was the final battle of his life. He hoped to leave a bright mark in the history books, and there was no need to compromise.
In Li Qinzai's tent, Jin Dayan gave him a few injections, and Xiao Baga fed him some decoction, and Li Qinzai finally came back to life.
Jin Dayan's expression was very cold, and her words were full of gunpowder.
"Even if you are an elder, you can't act so ignorantly." Jin Dayan said dissatisfied.
Li Qinzai said gratefully: "Thank you very much, Doctor Jin, for your concern."
Jin Dayan said coldly: "What am I worried about? It's your fault that your injury got worse. What's important is that it caused trouble for me."
Li Qinzai: “…………”
In front of the doctor, no matter how awesome the patient is, he has to endure it.
When I'm healed...
The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the camp. The sound arrived before anyone arrived.
"Brother Jingchu, foolish brother... you're a step too late!" Xue Ne rushed into the camp like a gust of wind, knelt down in front of his bed and howled in grief and anger.
Li Qinzai's face turned green, and he quickly raised his head to look at Xiao Baga: "Tell Buqu to come in and take this evil beast out, quickly!"
Xiao Baga looked at Xue Ne in embarrassment and hesitated to move.
Xue Na raised his head with tears in his eyes: "Brother Jingchu, why did you forbid Brother Yu to go out?"
"Because your unlucky behavior of going to a funeral and feasting has aggravated my injury, get out!"
"Brother Jingchu..."
"Shut up, I'm not feeling well." Li Qinzai closed his eyes and didn't bother to look at him.
"Brother Jingchu's deeds have been heard by Brother Yu. Outside Wugu City, five thousand soldiers fought against 20,000 cavalry. It was tragic and magnificent. Brother Yu admired him so much that he wished he could fight alongside Brother Jingchu in person."
Xue Ne's expression was sincere when he said this, and it was obviously not a joke.
Looking at Li Qinzai's body distressedly, Xue Ne sighed again: "This battle almost killed our great weapon of the Tang Dynasty. Fortunately, brother Jingchu was auspicious and his life was not destined to end..."
After saying two human words in succession, Li Qinzai finally felt better.
So Li Qinzai said politely: "It's good to be careful, my dear brother. I heard that my wise brother persuaded the humiliating city to surrender without even using a single soldier, and it became a good story for our army..."
Xue Na perked up, as if he was waiting for this compliment, and immediately said with a smile: "To be honest, Yu Di's wisdom and bravery are not inferior to Brother Jing Chu's. Brother and Yu Di are both known as the sleeping dragon and phoenix in the world. No one must object. of……"
Just as he was about to brag about his achievements, Li Qinzai interrupted him in time.
"Change the topic and continue to praise me."
(End of chapter)
