Chapter 180 God of Wealth Li Xiang (asking for monthly ticket)
"Old Xue, get ready to take your men up." Li Xiang looked at Xue Rengui standing aside and said to him.

Although the Tang army was at a disadvantage, Goguryeo did not gain any advantage.

After all, they were not an iron-clad army, and their formation had long been disrupted by the Tang army's attacks from all sides.

"Then you, Prince...?" Xue Rengui asked hesitantly.

Of course it's okay for him to go, but he can't leave Li Xiang unprotected.

"Don't worry, I will bring 500 cavalrymen to protect the prince." Lun Qinling said on the side.

Since Lun Qinling had already said so, Xue Rengui had nothing more to say.

He called up 2,500 Tibetan cavalrymen and twirled the silver-white painted halberd in his hand.

However, when he was about to charge, he found that Li Daozon had escaped from the encirclement and came to a high ground with dozens of cavalrymen.

Afterwards, amid Lun Qinling's exclamations, Li Daozon led dozens of elite cavalry and attacked the central army of Goguryeo!
"If you don't go now, you won't be able to win any merit!" Lun Qinling hurriedly urged Xue Rengui: "Old Xue, hurry up--"

Li Xiang glanced at Lun Qinling, then at Xue Rengui, and felt a sense of déjà vu.

The Tang army was defeated in Dafeichuan, and the main generals of both sides were Xue Rengui and Lun Qinling...

"Under the banner, the man in embroidered robe and golden armor must be the commander-in-chief of Goguryeo!" Lun Qinling pointed at the central army again and said.

Xue Rengui said nothing, picked up his halberd, and like a tiger descending from the mountain, he jumped on his horse and headed straight for the Goguryeo camp.

The Tibetan cavalry followed behind him, raising a cloud of dust.

"ha--!!!"

Xue Rengui raised his painted halberd high and rushed towards the central army of Goguryeo with a roar.

The Goguryeo soldiers, who were already frightened, trembled uncontrollably after hearing such a wild roar.

They did not try to stop Xue Rengui, but subconsciously made way for him.

"Beat the drum to cheer!" Lun Qinling looked at Xue Rengui with shining eyes.

Thousands of enemy soldiers just watched stupidly as Xue Rengui rushed in, and no one dared to step forward to stop him.

Afterwards, they discovered that the commander was lifted high up by the silver-armored general, and then thrown heavily to the ground.

Following closely behind was the central army's banner, which was cut down by a halberd.

Xue Rengui glanced around at the quail-like enemy troops, dismounted from his horse, took out his sword and cut off the head of the Goguryeo commander.

He jumped on his horse and placed the head and the helmet on his halberd.

Thousands of people watched as Xue Rengui roared down the mountain, defeating all who came his way. He beheaded generals, cut off flags, and beheaded them all in one go, without even a trace of blood on his body.

Could this silver-armored warrior in front of me be a god sent by heaven?

When people are afraid, they tend to follow the crowd and gather in groups.

Thousands of people, holding their weapons in their hands, kept retreating backwards.

Xue Rengui flipped his halberd, and the head drew an arc and smashed towards the group of soldiers.

Someone shouted, and the central army began to waver.

Once there is one, there will be two. If the first soldier turns around and runs away and no one stops him, the situation will be contagious.

The central army led the rear army to retreat together, and they only regretted that their parents had not given them two more legs.

For infantry, retreating when facing cavalry is like a nightmare.

They could only lower their heads and run desperately. In order to run faster, they even took off all their clothes and armor, left their weapons behind, and just ran.

However, the Tang cavalry and the Tibetan cavalry were chasing behind and could easily take their lives.

The pursuit started from daytime and continued till dusk. When they finally counted the results of the battle, they found that more than a thousand people had been beheaded.

In fact, not many people were killed. After all, cold weapons are not as efficient as hot weapons. From morning to night, only about three thousand people were killed in total.

Although the Tang army was surrounded like an iron barrel at the beginning, the losses were not great.

The combat effectiveness of the Tang Dynasty's imperial soldiers was not something Goguryeo could match, not to mention that Li Daozon was leading elite cavalry.

When Ma Wenju came back, he was still full of energy and it seemed that he still had some strength left.

Regarding Zhang Junyi's desertion from the battlefield, after discussion among Li Xiang, Li Shiji and Li Daozon, it was decided to detain him first and deal with him later when Li Shimin arrived.

That night, the army camped on Ma Shou Mountain and set up large pots in the camp.

The salted fish that Li Xiang brought was very suitable for use as military rations.

The firemen put the salted fish and the radishes that they had seized in Gaimu City before, put them in a pot and stewed them into hot pots of salted fish and radish soup.

I have to say, the snack tastes pretty good. Li Xiang even ate two big bowls of it.

After a fierce fight, it is a very pleasant thing to drink hot fish soup.

Originally, Ma Wenju was sitting next to Li Xiang with a drooling face, wondering if he could get a couple of candies to moisten his throat after dinner.

As a result, Li Shiji and Li Daozon came over and forcibly pushed him away.

Li Xiang had guessed almost exactly what the two of them were here for.

I just want to ask about that fierce general. After all, Xue Rengui's performance today can be described as the reincarnation of a king.

Although even without Xue Rengui, Li Daozon could still defeat Goguryeo, but Li Daozon himself didn't know it.

Fortunately, they all knew that Xue Rengui was Li Xiang's man, and they gave up the idea of ​​recruiting Xue Rengui to their side.

Early the next morning, Li Xiang received news that Li Shimin was approaching.

Since the emperor is coming in person, of course we have to go out to greet him.

Li Xiang was just about to go out to get a bowl of salty fish soup, but after hearing the news, he slipped out without saying a word.

It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but he actually missed Lao Li a lot.

After the greetings, Li Shimin took Li Xiang's hand and went into the tent with Li Shiji and Li Daozon.

When passing by the fire corps, Li Shimin asked someone to serve him a bowl of fish soup.

When he got up in the morning, he hadn't come to eat.

As the commander-in-chief of the army, Li Shiji was responsible for reporting the battle situation and results to Li Shimin.

"Four thousand against forty thousand, Chengfan is truly a man of extraordinary courage!" Li Shimin did not hesitate to praise him.

Li Daozong said modestly: "It was all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives. I dare not take credit for it."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, and then issued an order: "Zhang Junyi, the general commander of the army, retreated when encountering the enemy. He should be beheaded as a warning to others!"

"In addition, forty slaves are awarded to Li Daozong, the deputy commander of the Liaodong Road Army; Ma Wenju, the commander of the Resolute and Courageous Army, is promoted to the rank of General of the Central Army."

"I thank Your Majesty for the reward!" Li Daozon bowed to express his gratitude.

"Well, let's eat." After Li Shimin finished his business, he took a spoon and scooped a spoonful of salted fish soup into his mouth.

"What's the matter?" Li Xiang asked with a smile.

Li Shimin nodded: "It tastes really good. This salted fish is really good." He added: "After the bloody battle, the soldiers can drink such a bowl of hot soup. It will be an immeasurable boost to their morale."

"After the salt fields around the sea and the fisheries are developed, this stuff will be enough for the soldiers to eat until they are vomiting." Li Xiang said, spreading his hands.

Li Shimin nodded at him with a smile, and said to Li Shiji and Li Daozong in a teasing tone: "Did you see that? The God of Wealth of the Tang Dynasty has spoken..."

"God of Wealth?" Li Xiang asked, scratching his head.

"Ever since you sent 100,000 kilograms of salted fish into the army, the soldiers have been calling you this." Li Shimin said with a smile.

Li Xiang looked at his own small arms and legs and complained, "No matter how you look at it, I should be the Good Fortune Boy, the God of Wealth or something like that... My age doesn't fit..."

Everyone laughed. Although there was no such thing as the Good Wealth Boy these days, everyone understood the meaning.

"Who cares if he's the God of Wealth or the Good Fortune Boy, as long as the soldiers can have enough food and clothing, that's enough." Li Shimin put down the bowl with satisfaction. He has always been a pragmatist.

"Don't worry, old man." Li Xiang said confidently. He still had some confidence.

"I heard that Xue Rengui beside you is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men?" Li Shimin asked again, this time showing his admiration for talent.

Li Xiang said a few humble words on Xue Rengui's behalf, and then vividly described to Old Li how Xue Rengui's bravery was unmatched by ten thousand men.

"What a fierce general." Li Shimin's eyes were deep. Li Xiang guessed that he was thinking about his youth when he charged into battle.

Li Shimin had not decided on the reward for Xue Rengui. He asked Li Xiang to wait until after the war to settle the account with Xue.

That afternoon, after discussion, Lao Li decided to formally launch an attack on Liaodong City the next day.

Early the next morning, Li Shimin personally arrived at the city of Liaodong with hundreds of cavalrymen.

In order to resist the Tang army, the lord of Liaodong City led his troops to dig deep trenches under the city as early as last year.

One purpose was to resist the siege equipment of the Tang army, and the other was to delay the offensive of the Tang army.

It would be impossible to launch an attack on Liaodong City without filling these gullies.

Seeing that the soldiers were carrying earth and rocks to fill the ditches, Li Shimin immediately helped carry the heavier earth and rocks.

Seeing that the emperor was doing it himself, the accompanying officials also rushed to carry soil and stones to the foot of the city.

After the ditches were filled, the Tang army officially launched an attack on Liaodong City.

After several days of siege, on May 17, a strong south wind blew. Li Shimin personally led elite soldiers to supervise the battle in the rear and sent elite soldiers to the top of the city with battering rams. With the help of the south wind, the southwest city tower was burned down.

The wind fueled the fire, and the fire fueled the wind. The fire not only devoured the southwest tower, but also spread to the city.

Seeing the fire on the top of the city wall, the city suddenly fell into chaos.

The Tang army took advantage of the situation and charged into the city. The Goguryeo defenders were simply unable to resist the Tang army, and Liaodong City changed hands overnight.

During this siege, the Tang army killed more than 10,000 people and captured more than 40,000 civilians.

Now that he had captured Liaodong City, Li Shimin thought carefully and decided to change the name of Liaodong City to Liaozhou.

After conquering Liaodong City, fearing the Tang Dynasty's military might, the lord of Baiyan City, Sun Daiyin, sent envoys to surrender to Li Shimin in fear.

Li Shimin was quite happy to see Bai Yancheng was so sensible.

I originally wanted to stay in Liaozhou City for a while, but since Baiyan City has surrendered, I naturally have to go and take over.

As a result, on the third day, Li Shimin received another letter from Sun Daiyin.

Li Xiang was eating fried beef at the time, but he heard a loud noise coming from Li Shimin's direction.

I stretched my head to take a look and found that it was Lao Li who had put the food on the table.

What kind of rice bowl...

Looking more closely, Old Li was so angry that his hair and beard stood on end.

This was the first time Li Xiang saw Lao Li so angry. Even when Li Chengqian had stuck his neck out and argued with him before, Li Xiang had never seen Lao Li so angry.

"Sun Daiyin, you coward! You've gone too far in bullying me!" Li Shimin cursed angrily.

Then he felt it was shameful to waste food, so he picked up the chopsticks and put the rice back into the bowl.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Li Shiji asked with concern.

"Sun Daiyin, the Lord of Baiyan City, surrendered last time, and now he has written a letter to regret it. This is intolerable!" Li Shimin angrily cursed: "Pass the order down. After we capture Baiyan City, I will give all the captives and property in the city to the soldiers!"

Li Xiang glanced at the furious Old Li and did not try to persuade him.

What he is thinking about now is the Feng Shui treasure land of Baiyan City.

White Rock City...

As early as two days ago, when Sun Daiyin, the lord of Baiyan City, sent an envoy to surrender, Li Xiang looked at the map for a long time before confirming that this location was Anshan in later generations.

If you talk about Baiyan City, he doesn’t know it; but if you talk about Anshan, he knows it very well.

Anshan has mines!

Anshan Iron and Steel is a famous enterprise!
After hearing the emperor's promise, Li Shiji immediately went out to convey the emperor's order to the soldiers.

Soldiers also need motivation, and after breaking the city, all the property belongs to the soldiers, which is the best motivation.

After Li Shiji went out, Li Xiang sneaked up to Old Li.

"What's wrong?" Li Shimin reached out and rubbed Li Xiang's head.

"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered that there is an iron mine near Baiyan City." Li Xiang said softly, "The reserves of that iron mine are 20 trillion kilograms."

"Du Shao?!" Li Shimin stood up suddenly and looked at Li Xiang in disbelief.

"Twenty trillion jin, one hundred million is one hundred million." Li Xiang, the little elephant, spread his hands.

"How do you know?" Li Shimin asked again.

Li Xiang took a deep breath and used the rogue method again: "I just know..."

Li Shimin suddenly realized that it seemed that this was another instruction from the Emperor Shengzu in his dream...

After being controlled by Li Xiang for a long time, Li Shimin always subconsciously argued for Li Xiang.

This also made things convenient for Li Xiang invisibly, after all, he didn't have to go through the trouble of explaining.

Li Xiang did not lie. The reserves were only 20 trillion jin... or 10 billion tons, which is the combined size of the Anshan Iron Mine and the Benxi Iron Mine.

But the problem is that even if it is 100 million tons, according to the current level of the Tang Dynasty, it may not be possible to mine until the demise of the Tang Dynasty, so the difference between 10 billion and 100 million is not that big.

"This Baiyan City... must be taken!" Li Shimin said viciously.

If what happened just now was a personal grudge, then... now it's business!
When Mr. Li learned that Baiyan City had such a huge amount of iron ore, he really didn't want to wait any longer.

What are you waiting for? That's my oil field, my mine. I feel bad if someone else mines it!

After stabilizing Liaozhou City for about ten days and leaving a team to continue governing the city, Li Shimin assembled his army and officially marched towards Baiyan City.

This time, it’s not only for Baiyan City, but also for the steel of Baiyan City!
(Ah, please give me a monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)