Chapter 186 The Battle of the Three Kings (asking for monthly votes)

Seeing that Pei Xingjian was ready to take notes, Li Xiang continued to issue orders: "Use Su Dingfang's troops as the vanguard, and the first, second, and fourth battalions will set up ambushes on both sides of the valley where they are stationed to strengthen our right wing defense line; the third, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth battalions, plus Zhang Jinshu's infantry, will go to capture Phoenix Mountain; Zhang Jinshu's cavalry will cooperate with the infantry in the direction of Phoenix Mountain and be ready to engage in battle at any time; the soldiers of Dengzhou Zhechongfu will be the central army, waiting for my dispatch; the Tibetan cavalry will go to Yalu River to prevent the follow-up troops of the Goguryeo and Baekje coalition from crossing the river; Liu Rengui and the thirteenth and fifteenth battalions will monitor the reinforcements from Wugucheng; Xue Rengui will lead 2,500 cavalry as the general reserve, you repeat it again."

Pei Xingjian turned back to the previous page of his notes and began to repeat: "Use Su Dingfang's troops as the vanguard, and the first, second, and fourth battalions will set up ambushes on both sides of the canyon where they are stationed to strengthen our right wing defense line... Xue Rengui will lead 2,500 cavalry as the general reserve!"

"Prince." Xue Rengui suddenly spoke.

"What's wrong? Rengui." Li Xiang turned his head.

"I have an immature idea. Should we add two more battalions of troops to the right wing defense line and hide them in the valley?" Xue Rengui asked tentatively.

Li Xiang nodded in agreement: "Okay, it's settled!"

It rained heavily all night last night, and the rain only stopped at dawn.

There were few roads in those days, and after a heavy rain, the roads were always muddy, and the soldiers' boots were covered with at least two or three ounces of mud.

Fortunately, Li Xiang was very wealthy, and the soldiers in Dengzhou all wore cowhide boots, which were waterproof and comfortable.

This is not the most troubling thing. The damp and cold morning is the most uncomfortable. Many people's clothes are even wet and stick to their bodies.

Fortunately, Li Xiang was in a position of rest and had arrived at the designated battlefield location long ago, so the troops did not feel uncomfortable when they set up camp to rest.

But there was still heavy frost and dew on the mountain, and the humid environment overnight caused some soldiers to catch some cold symptoms.

As the sky was covered with thick fog and it was almost time, Xue Rengui ordered the bugler to blow the wake-up call to urge the soldiers to get up.

Li Xiang also got up early. As the supreme commander of this army, he did not actually enjoy a special meal, but ate the same food as ordinary soldiers.

In the military camp, smoke rose from cooking fires and the soldiers sat together, enjoying this rare peace and quiet.

Li Xiang carried the lunch box and walked to a group of soldiers gathered around a campfire. He looked down and saw a soldier who didn't look much older than him. He was holding a portion of fried salted fish, a bowl of hot vegetable and meat stew, a small piece of red sausage, and a piece of steamed bread.

The young soldier was licking his lips, staring at the delicious meal.

In this morning when the sudden rain has just stopped and the air is filled with thick fog, being able to eat a hot meal is a rare enjoyment.

After all, Li Xiang himself was in the army, and he recruited another 100,000 civilians to transport supplies to the army.

So there won’t be a shortage of supplies...

A delicious and hearty meal can significantly boost the morale of the troops, especially after this cold and wet rain, with a campfire, a hearty meal, and most importantly, steaming hot soup to warm the body.

The young soldier first washed down the steamed bread with salted fish and vegetable and meat soup, and then took the red sausage, savoring this rare delicacy bit by bit.

After all, red sausage is a scarce commodity. If it weren’t for today’s decisive battle, Li Xiang really wouldn’t be able to let everyone enjoy such a meal.

The young soldier was not in a hurry at all. The warm campfire made him feel very comfortable. Without the order from his superiors, he was unwilling to get up.

After finishing the sausage with relish, he licked his fingers, took the kettle hanging over the campfire, and poured two-thirds of the boiling water into the lunch box.

After all, the water was still boiling hot, and the boy was not in a hurry to drink the hot water. Since the bonfire could only warm his limbs and face, and could not warm his bulging stomach, he buckled the lunch box tightly and held it in his arms. His eyebrows gradually relaxed as the warmth spread to his belly, revealing a very satisfied and lazy expression.

Li Xiang also felt a little cold, so he took his lunch box and walked to the campfire where Xue Rengui was.

"This chef has good skills. He can make stewed vegetables and meat so delicious." Pei Xingjian said with emotion.

"Isn't it?" Xue Rengui said with a smile: "The people of Jili City were relocated to the interior, and they also received corresponding compensation. They also left us so many vegetables, which is really good."

"I think it's better to eat meat." Pei Xingjian said vaguely while chewing the meat.

"Yes, Dr. Sun said that we need a balanced diet and can't just eat meat." Xue Rengui has been with Li Xiang for so long that he has learned the way to keep healthy: "To keep healthy, we must pay attention to a balanced diet."

"Really?" Pei Xingjian looked up and asked.

"If you don't believe me, ask the prince." Xue Rengui shrugged.

"Old Xue is right." Li Xiang smiled and handed the meat in the lunch box to Pei Xingjian: "Eat more, and remember to pass out the candies later."

"Giving out candy?" Pei Xingjian scratched his head: "Why are we giving out candy?"

“Eating sugar helps…”

Li Xiang was about to say dopamine secretion, but then he realized that people these days definitely don't know what dopamine is, so he explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way: "Eating sugar makes people feel happy. Just think about it, how happy would people be if they could eat something sweet before going into battle?"

"That's right." Pei Xingjian thought about it and confirmed Li Xiang's statement.

The Tang army had sufficient logistical supplies, but the situation on the Goguryeo coalition side was quite the opposite.

It is quite difficult to provide logistics for more than 200,000 people, let alone a small country like Goguryeo.

Yeon Gaesomun ordered the troops to set out in the middle of the night, and they could only eat a piece of hard steamed bread and drink some cold raw water for breakfast.

I don’t know how long the steamed bread has been stored. It is cold and hard like a stone, and even a little sour…

He was riding on his horse, watching teams of soldiers eating steamed bread passing by him.

After a while, he was surprised to find that the soldiers passing by him did not have any food in their hands.

"You, stop!" Yeon Gaesomun pointed at a soldier with his whip.

The soldier stepped forward, and Yeon Gaesomun said to him without saying anything more: "Go, call your superior!"

Soon, the commander of this army, Xie Dong, came to Yeon Gaesomun.

"grown ups!"

"Let me ask you, why don't the troops eat breakfast?" Yeon Gaesomun asked.

"Report to the Lord! I have ordered the whole camp to defeat the Tang army before having breakfast!" Xie Dong replied. "Good! You have a lot of morale!" Yeon Gaesomun said approvingly: "Wait until you defeat the Tang army and capture Li Xiang alive, and I will give you meat to eat!"

There was still some time before Goguryeo launched a formal attack. The Tang soldiers stationed on the right wing took out their rice jars one after another. People from the quartermaster department or bored team leaders held jars of wine to distribute wine. Each person received half a jar of strong liquor.

Strong liquor is something that has only recently been produced in Dengzhou. Although it is very fragrant, it does not suit the taste of the people of the Tang Dynasty at all, especially the upper class.

What everyone really likes is grape wine from the Western Regions, or rice wine.

But on this damp and cold morning, it's really nice to have a sip of wine to warm yourself up.

"Brothers, come and drink!" The officers of the army walked among the crowd, holding jars of wine and shouting, "If you want to warm yourself up, drink it."

When they reached the fourth camp, Su Dingfang looked at the young man who was praying with a string of beads in his hand, and stood in front of him with a jar of wine and asked, "Tiezhu? Why don't you drink?"

"General, I can't do that." Tiezhu refused stiffly.

"Have a drink." Su Dingfang just reached out and patted his shoulder and continued walking to the side.

When Su Dingfang left, a young man beside him, holding a large rice bowl, nudged him with his elbow and said, "Have some of this Dengzhou wine, Zhuzi, this is a greeting from the prince."

Finally, he added: "When we defeat Goguryeo, remember to remind me to thank him."

Tiezhu did not answer him, but asked absentmindedly: "Brother Kang, do you think there will be a lot of them?"

Kangzi took a sip of wine and let out a "ah" sound stimulated by the spicy taste. He took a break before answering Tiezhu's question: "I don't have clairvoyance, Zhuzi. I don't know what's going on over there. Why don't you go over there and ask - hey, you sons of bitches, how many of you are here? See if they can answer you."

"After all, I don't know why you are so enthusiastic about joining the suicide squad. You have just joined the army not long ago and you can be in the central army with the prince." Kangzi reached out and rubbed Tiezhu's head again.

"The prince has been very kind to me. My parents have been poor all their lives, but they are now enjoying a peaceful life in their old age. Twenty acres of salt fields were allocated to our family. My elder brother and my younger brother both got married, thanks to the prince. My sister also married well. If I didn't help when the prince needed me, then, brother Kangzi, do you think I would still be a human being?" Tiezhu said with red eyes.

"Then what are you chanting?" Kangzi laughed.

"I'm praying for the prince." Tiezhu said seriously, "My father gave me this string of beads before I went to war. He said he got it from a temple."

Kangzi didn't say anything. He rubbed Zhuzi's head with emotion, and reached out to pour the wine in Tiezhu's jar into his own rice jar.

He thought Tiezhu was afraid of death, but he never expected that Tiezhu was praying for the Prince of Hengshan.

It’s good to pray for blessings. He also wants to pray for the Prince of Hengshan. His family has also been allocated some salt fields, and their lives are getting better. How can he not be grateful for the kindness of the Prince of Hengshan?

"I'd better drink them all. It's a waste if you don't drink them. Otherwise, they will be poured into the soil and people will feel sad. These are all brewed from grain."

Just as he finished his drink, he heard a trumpet sound.

"Quick, take your positions and prepare for battle!" The captain's voice rang out, and Kangzi and Tiezhu immediately returned to their original positions, took off the bows and arrows on their backs, and prepared to give the Goguryeo people a wave of arrows.

Before long, Goguryeo's vanguard arrived at the valley where the Tang army's right wing was defending.

The terrain of this section of the valley is sandwiched between two mountains, making it difficult to cross the mountains, so the only way to advance is through the middle of the valley.

When the Goguryeo troops approached to within a hundred steps, Su Dingfang gave the order to start shooting arrows.

The Tang army had plenty of arrows, enough for them to shoot to their heart's content.

A rain of arrows rose from the army formation and landed on the Goguryeo formation, leaving behind streaks of blood and screams.

The Goguryeo people would of course also prevent the archers from counterattacking, but the armor of the Dengzhou army was extremely thick, and they also had shields as defense. Their arrows hit the shields of the Tang soldiers, making a tinkling sound, but could not penetrate the shields and hit the Tang soldiers.

Occasionally, an arrow would pass through the gaps in the shield and hit the Tang soldiers, but it would only make a tinkling sound before being bounced off by the armor.

"Hahaha, I feel like the rain from last night hasn't stopped yet!" Kangzi shouted loudly.

Hearing his words, people around him laughed.

"Ouch!" Suddenly someone beside him shouted. Kangzi looked in the direction of the voice and saw an unlucky guy who was hit by an arrow in the gap of his armor. Although the arrow was stuck outside and did not penetrate completely, it still injured his skin and flesh.

"Lai Xi, you are so damn unlucky!" The people next to him mocked with glee.

Lai Xi angrily pulled the arrow out of his armor and cursed, "Damn it, I got bit by a mosquito. Luckily it didn't go in very deep, otherwise I wouldn't dare to pull it out!"

"Shoot back!" Kangzi yelled, drew his bow and arrow, and threw it at a 45-degree angle.

The archery skills are completely random, but there are more Goguryeo people, and although this arrow is a bit of a blind shot, it can still hit the unlucky guy.

The Goguryeo people were not like the Tang army, who were wearing heavy armor, but only leather armor.

Although leather armor can resist arrows, ordinary hard leather armor has basically no defense against direct arrows. It is worn more for psychological comfort, and more importantly, to defend against sword attacks.

Even iron armor may not be able to defend against bows and arrows, let alone leather armor.

What's more, the shields they held were not iron shields, but mostly wooden shields covered with animal skins, which could be easily pierced by thrown arrows.

Soon, the Goguryeo soldiers rushed to the front of the Tang army's right wing with a lot of noise.

The Tang soldiers in the front row were holding spears and ready for battle. They not only had long-handled weapons, but also iron bone weapons on their waists. These blunt weapons were quite effective in gouging people.

When the Goguryeo soldiers got close, the spears were thrust out at the same time under the command of the team leaders, piercing the front row of the enemy soldiers.

This kind of piercing wound can instantly destroy a person's combat effectiveness.

According to Li Xiang's plan, after the battle began, the main force of the coalition forces would be tied down on the right wing. Once an opportunity arose, he would send troops directly to attack the center army and deliver a decisive blow.

Things turned out just as he expected. The central army also occupied a high ground. The Goguryeo people also knew the strength of the Tang army. They would not be able to defeat the Tang army head-on without relying on their large numbers to attack from both sides.

(More later)

(End of this chapter)