Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 158: Three Expeditions
"It still requires more refinement; mere brilliance is not enough. In this world, nothing is that easy."
Once the two had left, Li Jian Cheng turned to his father and said, "As soon as the news of the Three Expeditions spreads, the people will be terrified, and there will surely be more rebels. The Sui Dynasty's destiny is fading, and the Emperor will no longer be the same Emperor."
"But he won't let you leave his side. The Maojin Blade can share the pressure, and Li Hong can resolve immediate issues, but our family has already become a threat to him."
Li Jian Cheng reassured him, "It's fine; I just cannot leave the Emperor's side. Most likely, he won't have another chance to return to Chang'an. Father, find an opportunity to send Er Lang and Si Lang over to Xiuning."
"But you..."
Li Jian Cheng fell silent for a moment before saying, "Regardless of what the Emperor thinks in his heart, as long as he does not take action against me, it means he has great favor towards the Li Family. If I do not find a way to repay this favor, it would be an Unjustified War.
My journey this time is to repay this favor first so that our family will no longer be bound!"
Li Yan pressed for more details, but Li Jian Cheng was unwilling to say more. Given his character, if it weren't for Li Yan's ignorance of the situation, he wouldn't even mention this much.
In the following days, the Liu Clan faced disaster; Guanzhong's Liu Clan began fleeing beyond the borders. They brought not only fear but also resentment towards the Emperor.
Finally, the Emperor left the capital once again, heading straight for Zhuojun. Goguryeo had become his obsession rather than a political goal; there were no considerations of benefits or losses—only issues of dignity.
As expected, Li Jian Cheng was brought along by the Emperor. Fortunately, his more than twenty thousand troops were still under his command as they hurried back to Zhuojun after a long absence.
After arranging the Garrison, Li Jing and others visited the Emperor at the Summer Palace. Upon seeing each other again, everyone felt a mix of emotions. Li Jian Cheng thought it was ironic; things in Zhuojun had not been arranged as expected.
The local aristocrats and officials in Zhuojun sighed in amazement. When they received news of Li Jian Cheng's departure due to mourning, they thought he would only leave for two or three meetings before returning to serve as Prefect. Little did they expect that within just a year, he would return as a Grand General of the court.
Thus, their attitude became increasingly friendly. Li Jian Cheng treated them as usual; after chatting about many matters and agreeing to meet again tomorrow for casual conversation, they took their leave to give space to master and disciple.
No matter how chaotic Yang Xuangan became, it had nothing to do with Zhuojun. Li Jing had settled in Zhuojun and appeared somewhat plumper—clearly taking care of himself.
"Starting next year, Master will no longer have time to relax here."
Li Jing exhaled deeply, tears glistening in his eyes: "If I continue to relax like this, I fear I might be buried before long."
There is no need for further words; everyone waited with the Emperor for the Provincial Troops from each Prefecture to arrive. However, this time, more soldiers had fled on the way, and from the originally expected ten thousand, only one or two thousand managed to reach.
Faced with such a situation, the Emperor still chose not to rest the troops and the people but instead ordered the pursuit of these deserters, using their blood to stain the war drums as a warning.
The effect was, of course, evidently poor. For the Soldiers, going to Goguryeo with the Emperor meant death, and fleeing also meant death; it was better to simply die at home.
The Emperor had no choice but to think of a way out. He personally donned his battle attire and held a grand ceremony to worship the Yellow Emperor, recalling the ancient battles against Chiyou that established the foundations of the Yan and Huang dynasties.
The Emperor hoped to demonstrate his confidence through the worship of this ancient sage king.
Unfortunately, this did not have much effect on the Soldiers. The Emperor could only helplessly continue his march while capturing deserters. In April, the army had already approached the Liao River, but it was now July before they finally reached it.
Civil and Military Officials were advising the Emperor that the rainy season was approaching; why continue fighting? If it was really impossible, could they not wait until next year?
It is well known that fighting Goguryeo must occur between the end of frost in spring and the arrival of the rainy season in summer; otherwise, transporting troops and supplies would be hindered.
Frost in Liaodong ended in April, and the rainy season began in August. In a year, those four months in between were ideal for warfare.
Now it was already July without any battles having commenced; could they really conquer Goguryeo in just one month?
If it were that easy, they would not have come here repeatedly. Yet, the Emperor could no longer afford to hesitate.
It seemed like the last glimmer of hope for the Sui Dynasty; news came from the navy that they had achieved a great victory at Come to Protect the Child, capturing Biseo City and surrounding Pyongyang.
Among the Three Expeditions, this situation was particularly dire, yet victory was achieved. The Goguryeo King Gao Yuan sent envoys to surrender and, to prove his sincerity, delivered former Deputy Minister of War Huszheng bound hand and foot.
This clearly indicated that Goguryeo could no longer hold out. No matter how weak the Sui Dynasty was, it was still several times larger than Goguryeo; even a camel that is about to die is larger than a horse.
Goguryeo was on its last legs; if they continued fighting, regardless of victory or defeat, Goguryeo would face destruction.
However, along with the surrender came a memorial from Come to Protect the Child requesting that peace talks not be accepted. Having fought to this extent without destroying their nation would bring shame upon both Court and subjects alike.
The Emperor certainly shared this sentiment. After paying such a heavy price and exhausting both people and resources over three campaigns, how could he be satisfied if he did not destroy their nation, capture their leader, and ruin their ancestral temples?
But the news from the Ministry of War made him anxious. Yan'an, Thief Leader Lu Mingxing, and Liu Jialun had proclaimed themselves as Emperors, establishing the Great Era, with hundreds of thousands under their command, attacking cities and seizing counties.
He had only been away for a short time, yet two more major rebels with armies of over a hundred thousand had emerged in the Central Plains. If he did not return soon, there would likely be even more self-proclaimed emperors.
Though he was reluctant, he had indeed won; the Emperor expressed his intention to accept Goguryeo's surrender.
The Civil and Military officials were astonished. They simply could not understand the Emperor's thoughts—why fight when it was unnecessary, yet hesitate when it was time to strike?
Li Jian Cheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Goguryeo harbors malicious intentions. If they were not on the brink of collapse, they would never seek to surrender. Even with Your Majesty's benevolence, once they recover, they will again eye our Sui Dynasty covetously. Therefore, now is the time to annihilate their nation and eradicate their kind!"
Seeing someone take the lead, the military officials rushed forward to agree. This opportunity to strike a drowning dog would not come again.
Yet the Emperor remained steadfast; he was still the same Emperor who disliked unsolicited advice once he had made a decision. Ignoring them, he directly ordered Come to Protect the Child to retreat.
This time, Li Jian Cheng did not comply as he had in the past. He insisted on persuading the Emperor daily, provoking the Emperor to demote him repeatedly and strip him of his military power. Nevertheless, he still stated, "Even if the Central Plains are in peril, Your Majesty may withdraw first and leave me with two or three thousand troops. I will join forces with Come to Protect the Child to defeat Pyongyang and present Goguryeo's leader before you!"
Li Jian Cheng's attitude surprised the accompanying Civil and Military Officials. They did not expect that after experiencing the Peach and Plum incident, he would still remain so loyal to the Emperor; it was truly remarkable.
…………
(End of Chapter)
Comment 0 Comment Count