Chapter 184 Do you want to die or live? (ask for monthly ticket)
Of course Li Xiang noticed Abebirov's arrival, but he was busy replying to Li Mingda's letter and had no time to pay attention to him.

Abebirov was standing right below, trembling with fear and sweating profusely. He dared not say a word and could only crawl on the ground, not daring to speak.

"Huh..." Li Xiang finally finished writing the letter. He rubbed his wrist and handed the letter to Xue Rengui beside him.

Old Xue had just recovered and his face was still a little pale.

"How come a man as strong as iron on land looks so miserable on the water?" Li Xiang teased with a smile.

"Stop talking, stop talking..." Xue Rengui was filled with emotion, and he decided that he had to practice water kung fu no matter what.

Even if you don't go for a water fight, you can't get seasick.

If Japan is ever invaded in the future, I will definitely go and join in the fun.

Speaking of Japan... Xue Rengui noticed the dwarf kneeling below.

"Prince, how do we deal with this dwarf?"

"Can he understand the official language of the Tang Dynasty?" Li Xiang raised his eyelids.

"Your Highness, Prince of Hengshan of the Tang Dynasty, I understand you!" Abebirov immediately climbed up and answered.

Li Xiang crossed his legs and looked down at him: "Are you Abehirafu?"

"Your Highness, it's me!" Abebirov said with a nod.

"I am only a prince, and Your Highness is called the crown prince in the Tang Dynasty. You must not overstep your authority." Li Xiang reminded indifferently.

"Yes, it was my fault." Abebirov said in a good manner.

Li Xiang nodded slightly. "Tell me, why are you going against the Tang Dynasty? I'm very curious. Didn't your prince Nakano Oe always have a bad relationship with the Soga clan? Didn't both sides want to get rid of him? Why did they suddenly reach an agreement and go to Baekje to rescue?"

"The prince actually knew about the affairs of the lower state..." Abehirov was shocked. Even the people of Baekje didn't know about this kind of thing. How could the prince of Hengshan, who was far away in the Tang Dynasty, know about this?

Lun Qinling, who had been watching the method of pickling fish in the back, suddenly said, "The prince is so wise, how can a barbarian like you know this!"

Hearing this, Li Xiang tilted his head and looked at him.

Well, if you really want to hang out with big brother, then you will be allowed not to be a barbarian.

"I am guilty!" Abebirov answered cautiously, "In fact, although the Silla barbarians are subservient to the lower state, they are actually a country that is more powerful than the lower state. They took advantage of the lower state to swallow up the lower state's territories..."

"So you have been eyeing Silla and Baekje, thinking that this place belongs to you?" Li Xiang asked.

"Our country is guilty! We shouldn't have offended the majesty of the Tang Dynasty! To the point of this! Please forgive us, Great Tang!" Abebirov nodded and begged for mercy.

"Oh, you hit a wall. When you found out that the two sides had a huge disparity in strength, you realized your mistake?" Li Xiang narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think it's too late?"

"Besides...if you want to apologize, isn't it common sense to kneel down in the dirt?" Li Xiang said again.

“Please…please get up?” Abehirov’s face flushed.

The origin of Dogeza can be traced back to the period of Queen Himiko of Yamatai Kingdom in the Yayoi period.

Of course, the Japanese people in the Asuka period must have known the history of this period, but it was completely lost in later generations and could only be recorded in the Book of Wei.

The so-called "kick back the seat" means prostrating oneself on the ground to apologize or make a petition.

When performing the ceremony, first kneel on the ground with your knees together, head and chest out, and place your hands on your thighs in an upright sitting posture; then place your hands in an inward-facing "X" shape and place them forward on the ground, lean forward, and lift your upper body until your forehead hits the ground.

It is generally used to apologize in modern times, while in ancient times it was used to express humility to people of noble status.

Since Dogeza requires the performer to kneel on the ground and bow his head, this act is considered to contain great respect and humility. Therefore, in the Edo period, once someone apologized in the Dogeza way, they would generally be forgiven by the recipient. From another perspective, Dogeza would also be considered a great shame.

And in this era, it is an even greater shame and humiliation.

Abebirov was flexible and knelt on the ground neatly, performing a standard ceremony of kneeling down from the ground.

"Well, get up." Li Xiang nodded: "The ground is cold."

"Hi!" Abebirov stood up from the ground and carefully brushed off the dust on his body.

"Are you from Gecheng?" Li Xiang asked.

Katsuragi is the name of Prince Nakano Oe.

"Yes!" Abebirov's heart sank, and his fear of Li Xiang deepened.

"I know that Katsuragi has always had the ambition to reform, but he was constrained by Soga no Iruka." Li Xiang continued, "This time he sent you to fight, his biggest purpose was to use this as an excuse to take some of Soga no Iruka's men with him, and then he would secretly start a rebellion in the court, and together with Nakatomi Kamatari and others, kill the Soga clan, right?"

Abebirov was sweating profusely. He felt that the Tang prince in front of him seemed to be omniscient and omnipotent.

"My Lord, you are right."

"But these few people are so ignorant of their own life and death that they dare to plot against our Tang Dynasty."

"As the saying goes, God is merciful to all." Li Xiang took a piece of rock candy from Xue Rengui. "What about you? Do you want to die or not?"

"Ah?" Abebirov was confused.

Aren't these two options... the same?

"The prince means to ask you whether you want to live or not." Xue Rengui stepped forward and explained the confusion to Abebirov in time.

"The villain wants to live! The villain wants to live!"

Just kidding, it is better to live a miserable life than to die. Abebirov does not think he is a tough guy, but being alive is worse than anything else.

Li Xiang snapped his fingers and the piece of rock candy flew in front of Abebirov.

The latter picked up the candy and stuffed it into his mouth, thinking it was some poison, but he never expected it to be so sweet.

"I think that the Tang and Japan should coexist and prosper together, and you are also obliged to help me promote the friendship between the Tang and Japan in Japan and build a land of peace and prosperity." Li Xiang used the words of the Japanese pua in later generations to counter-CPU: "My meaning, do you... understand?"

"Oh my god, I understand!" Abebirov said repeatedly.

"Just remember this, don't play tricks." Li Xiang tapped the table with his fingers, "After you go back, report the situation in Japan to the Dengzhou Grand Military Governor's Office on time."

Having said this, Li Xiang paused for a moment and then said again: "In addition, I will select a group of people to go back to Japan with you. As for what you do..."

"I understand!" Abebirov said with a drooling face, "If the Tang Dynasty can... I wonder if it can reward me with an official position?"

"As long as you work hard, you will get great benefits." Li Xiang said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes!" Abebirov replied quickly. Li Xiang waved his hand and asked someone to take him down.

This person is still useful if kept around, and can be used as a wedge to drive hard into Japan.

Having witnessed the power of the Tang Dynasty, Abebirov naturally bowed to it, just as it had happened in history.

He has now begun planning whether to let his children come to the Tang Dynasty and learn from that little wild girl.

To be honest, with a height of 1.6 meters, he is considered a little giant in Japan, but compared with the Tang people, he is so petite.

Li Xiang certainly didn't know what Abebirov was thinking, and even if he knew he wouldn't care.

Use it if you can, cut it down if you can’t.

Keeping him here would simply mean having an extra guide, which would save time and effort when we land in Japan to fight.

His next plan now is to rush to the Yalu River.

Jian'an City has been captured, and the next step is to head to Wugut City.

Wugut City is also a strategic location. After all, it is close to the Yalu River. Taking it is basically equivalent to controlling the entire Liaodong area east of the Yalu River.

After discussing with Su Dingfang, Li Xiang assembled 30,000 troops and Su Dingfang's 15,000 troops, first met in Jian'an City, and then marched to Wugu City.

"The strategic significance of Wugut City is not only known to us, but also to the Goguryeo people." Li Xiang pointed at the map with his stick in the central army tent and said, "If we attack Wugut City, Quan Gaisuwen will definitely come to rescue Wugut City regardless of everything."

"What if Quan Gaisuwen gives up?" Su Dingfang asked hesitantly.

"No, Quan Gaisuwen will not give up." Liu Rengui suddenly said: "First of all, our people do not have an advantage over the Goguryeo people; secondly, there is the prince in the army. As long as he is not stupid, he will do whatever it takes to capture the prince alive and force the saint to withdraw."

"What Zhengze said is also what I mean." Li Xiang said with a smile: "If the Goguryeo people fortify their walls and clear the fields and stay inside, it may be difficult to capture Anshi City for a while; if we wait until September, the weather in Liaodong will turn cold, which will be disadvantageous to our Tang army. So what I mean is to lure the Goguryeo people out of their holes and let them take the initiative to attack. Then we will find their main force and annihilate them in one fell swoop!"

"But..." Zhang Jinshu hesitated, "We only have 45,000 people, and Goguryeo still has hundreds of thousands of soldiers ready to fight. If we use a small force against a large one, what if something goes wrong..."

"Are we going to stop fighting just because of a mistake?" Pei Xingjian tapped the map: "It is precisely because the enemy is strong and we are weak that we can attract them to Wugut City!"

Then he looked at Li Xiang and said, "Well, this matter can be handled by others. The prince is worth a lot of money, so he must not take risks with us."

"What?" Li Xiang smiled. "I came up with this plan, so I have to execute it. How can I let my brothers take risks in the front while I stay in the back, afraid of death and living a life of mediocrity? This is settled. I will send a telegram to the Saint tonight and tell him our army's next plan."

Since Li Xiang has made the final decision, it is difficult for others to refute it.

What else can I say? He is the acting commander-in-chief of the army and the governor of Dengzhou.

When Li Xiang arrived at Wugut City, the military report also reached Lao Li.

When Li Shimin saw Li Xiang's risky behavior, he was so angry that his hair almost exploded.

"Who does he think he is?" Li Shimin angrily slammed the military report on the table in front of him. "He dares to march deep into the enemy's territory alone with tens of thousands of people. Does he think he is Huo Qubing? "

"Your Majesty, calm down." Zhang Sun Wuji advised from the side: "The prince has the demeanor of a saint..."

When these words were spoken... Li Shimin immediately got angry.

After all, when Li Shimin fought in the past, he was either surrounded by the enemy or on the way to being surrounded by the enemy.

This is Lao Li’s style of fighting, like Erha, he will disappear as soon as he lets go.

But the problem is that Li Shimin usually seems to be surrounded by others, but in fact... For example, in the Battle of Wulao Pass, he used 3,000 people to surround 100,000 people. This is Li's style.

This is all the talent that one can obtain.

If Yang Er had been a human being, there would have been a young general in Chinese history who was even more amazing than Huo Qubing.

Unfortunately, a person’s struggle must rely on personal efforts, but must also take into account the course of history.

How could I, the second son of Duke Tang, become the emperor?
In short, although Li Shimin was angry, he secretly agreed with Li Xiang in his heart.

At the same time, he also allocated 5,000 cavalrymen, led by Yuchi Gong, to Wugut City to rescue Li Xiang.

Li Xiang did not take this part of the reinforcements into account. After all, he did not expect Lao Li to arrive so quickly.

Behind Wugut City is Li Xiang’s Dengzhou Navy. If the war goes badly, they can escape by water.

The news spread to Goguryeo much faster than to the Tang army.

When Yeon Gaesomun learned that Li Xiang led his army to attack Ugut City, he was surprised and happy.

What was surprising was that while the Tang Dynasty was attacking Anshi City, it still had the energy to attack Wugut City.

The good news is that there were only more than 40,000 people attacking Wugut City, and the leader was the grandson of the Tang emperor.

As long as the grandson of the Tang emperor can be captured alive and used as a hostage to force Li Shimin to sign a withdrawal treaty, everything will be fine.

He allied with Buyeo Uija, the king of Baekje, who was in Pyongyang, and urged King Go Zang to lead the army in person. Together with the king of Baekje, he raised an army of 300,000 and went to Ugut for the rescue.

Gao Zang was reluctant at first, but Yeon Gaesomun just glared at him and Gao Zang did not dare to object.

Considering that the other side also had an emperor leading the army in person, and that the Baekje king Buyeo Uija also led the army in person, Yeon Gaesomun felt that it was somewhat inappropriate for his side not to speak out a word from the king.

As luck would have it, three kings gathered together around the small city of Wugut.

According to the hierarchy, Li Xiang is indeed the king.

Don’t treat a prince as not a king, and don’t treat bean buns as not dry food.

On June 20th, Li Xiang led his army to capture Jili City, obtained 100,000 dan of grain, and captured more than 20,000 people.

He stayed in Jili City for three days, sent a message to the navy, assigned more than 2,000 people to garrison Jili City, and transported the city's population back to Dengzhou by sea.

When we fight a war, we are fighting for population.

The Goguryeo people are actually Han people. Most of them are descendants of Goguryeo Joseon and Wiman Joseon. In fact, they are all descendants of Han people.

These people are urgently needed by Dengzhou City. Recently, the construction of the Bohai Rim is booming, and Dengzhou City can no longer absorb population from the surrounding areas. Feng Qingchou, the chief officer of the Dengzhou Governor's Office, is very worried and often writes to Li Xiang to complain.

Of course Li Xiang took this to heart. After winning the battle in Goguryeo, he naturally wanted to move all the people back to the interior.

Of course, this is not an act that harms the people. After all, Liaodong is a cold and bitter place, how can the fragrance from Dengzhou be compared?

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)