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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 113: Transporting Supplies
Aside from Iron Staff, many soldiers, including Tiger General, Qian Shixiong, and Meng Jinchak, fought valiantly on the battlefield but ultimately perished. Despite their sacrifices, they were still repelled and failed to cross the Liao River as intended.
Yuwen Kai removed his clothing and knelt before the emperor's tent, saying, "I am an incompetent sinner. Please punish me, Your Majesty, to comfort the souls of the generals."
An Inner Court Eunuch led him inside, where many officials stood. From within, faint sounds of weeping could be heard. Upon closer inspection, Yuwen Kai was shocked to see that the emperor himself had red eyes and was wiping away tears.
"The Iron Staff's spirit is heroic. He has long served with merit and loyalty. Accompanying his commander in seeking justice, he led the charge into battle with high ideals and righteousness. Though he has fallen, his achievements remain. We should honor him with special recognition to highlight his virtue. I bestow upon him the title of Grand Minister of Ceremonies posthumously and grant him the title Duke of Su State, with the posthumous name Wu Lie!"
"My Emperor is wise."
Yuwen Kai felt as if he were on a path to death. He pressed his forehead firmly against the ground, hoping that his past contributions would spare his wife and children from punishment.
Yang Guang looked at the kneeling Yuwen Kai with some conflict. Executing a Minister of Works would certainly address this defeat, but considering Guan Feng Hall and Eastern Capital Luoyang, he hesitated; such talent was hard to come by.
Moreover, despite their initial defeat in battle, the soldiers had shown great courage and were not afraid. Now they mourned for their fallen comrades; this was a time to inspire them.
The emperor demoted Yuwen Kai and then prepared a large sum of money to redeem the bodies of Iron Staff and others. Morale soared. Two days later, they constructed two sufficiently long Floating Bridges and successfully crossed the river, executing over ten thousand enemies while surrounding Liaodong City.
…………
Li Jian Cheng received an imperial decree in Zhuojun ordering him to personally escort supplies to the front lines. It seemed somewhat unreasonable for a Minister of Civil Affairs to handle logistics directly, but Li Jian Cheng could only comply. The truth in this world lay in the hands of Your Majesty who commanded all troops.
"I will accompany you," Li Jing said impatiently. Although his official rank had risen and no one dared mock him openly anymore, he still felt he had not proven himself on the battlefield.
"Master," Li Jian Cheng replied candidly, "forgive me for speaking plainly, but you do not have the authority to lead troops there. Even if you could command them, every action would require approval from above. If we win, it will be credited to His Majesty's wisdom; if we lose, it will reflect your incompetence."
"This battle is destined for defeat with Your Majesty present."
Li Jing fell silent for a moment and said, "Jian Cheng, I am already forty-two."
Li Jian Cheng was momentarily speechless. If it were an ordinary person, it would be one thing, but Li Jing, with his unmatched skills, had endured for half a lifetime without ever fully unleashing his potential.
"It won't be long now; we will save the world and restore the people."
The master and disciple had been together for eight or nine years, and thus Li Jing had noticed some discrepancies, but it was too late. The world knew they were a pair of loyal companions; what could betrayal bring them?
Everything in recent years had indeed unfolded as he had once predicted, and such extraordinary events were truly shocking.
"I will entrust all military and political matters of Zhuojun to you."
"Understood."
After leaving Li Xiaogong to assist, Li Jian Cheng hurriedly transported a batch of supplies directly to the front lines. Along the way, they encountered several attempts at plunder by horse bandits—Han Chinese, Turks, Koryo People mixed together—but upon witnessing the bravery of Li Jian Cheng's personal guards, they retreated.
In fact, most of the time they were unable to seize anything unless it was already designated for them.
When Li Jian Cheng arrived outside Liaodong City with the supplies and settled the delivery with the grain officials, he then went to pay his respects to the emperor.
Upon entering the imperial tent, Li Jian Cheng bowed, and the emperor's first question was, "What did you discuss with that little brat Shibi Khan in your letters?"
"I do not know," Li Jian Cheng replied sincerely. "After receiving his letter, I only wrote those two characters in response and sent it back."
Seeing that the emperor continued to regard him with a stern gaze, Li Jian Cheng maintained his composure and continued to explain, "I met him while accompanying Your Majesty on the Northern Expedition against the Turkic tribes. Since then, we have had no correspondence. I do not know why he suddenly wrote to threaten and entice me into speaking disloyal words.
As a minister of the Sui Dynasty, I naturally would not engage in lengthy discussions with him; thus, I simply sent him those two characters."
"Since it is Clear and Innocent, why was it not reported to me immediately?"
"Your Majesty's expedition against Goguryeo is of utmost importance, while Turkic has always been a persistent problem. I thought it best to wait until after Your Majesty's great victory over Goguryeo to present my report.
At that time, with the might of your victory, a single decree could summon them to court, and then we could implement a strategy to divide Turkic, rendering them fragmented and ineffective."
Yang Guang's expression softened slightly, but he still spoke sternly: "From now on, do not take matters into your own hands. Any issues related to Turkic Khagan must be reported immediately!"
"I understand my offense and will remember it well!"
Li Jian Cheng bowed his head obediently, and the emperor reined in his anger. In truth, he did not believe that Li Jian Cheng had any collusion with Shibi Khan, but he wanted to reprimand him for such concealment.
After the reprimand, the emperor casually offered some words of comfort, praising him for timely supplies and logistics. At this moment, Li Jian Cheng kept his mouth tightly shut, responding only with phrases like relying on Your Majesty's virtue and not daring to take credit.
The direction was set by the leader, the ideas were given by the leader, and any difficulties were resolved by the leader—where was there any merit of mine?
In the end, Li Jian Cheng emerged holding a cup of imperial wine as well as two hundred Goguryeo slaves as rewards.
The emperor showed no intention of letting him return just yet, stating that Goguryeo would soon be subdued and wanted him to witness it all. Naturally, he could only express endless gratitude.
As he stepped out, intending to find someone to arrange a tent for him—after all, one's status demanded appropriate treatment—he certainly could not stay in the small tent of the grain officer.
Just as he walked a short distance from the imperial tent, he saw Wang Yi rushing out: "I heard the holy edict summoned you here, so I arranged a tent nearby."
Li Jian Cheng clasped his hands and smiled: "Then I shall not be polite."
Wang Yi replied cheerfully: "You should accept; that would be giving me face."
At that moment, Yang Xuangan stepped forward and said: "It was difficult to stop those people; I didn't expect that Wang Neiguan would get ahead of us."
Wang Yi clasped his hands and said, "There is little I can do, so I hope Minister Yang will not take offense."
"Very well, very well. The lamb is ready on my side; let us go over there," Yang Xuangan replied.
"I will not be joining you; I still have to attend to His Majesty here," Wang Yi said.
Li Jian Cheng once again grasped Wang Yi's hand in gratitude, then instructed Li Jin to follow the nearby Eunuch to tidy up the tents. He then accompanied Yang Xuangan, realizing that they had hardly eaten anything warm during their journey.
Yang Xuangan remarked, "I just finished setting up my tent next door; it seems we cannot live close to each other."
Li Jian Cheng laughed and said, "The kind intentions of Inner Supervisor Wang cannot be refused."
"True enough; they hold grudges the longest," Yang Xuangan replied. "But it matters not. Once we conquer Liaodong City, we will move into the city then."
Li Jian Cheng certainly would not refuse, as he needed Yang Xuangan's support to keep Yuyang County and Shanggu County obedient.
…………
(End of Chapter)
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