Chapter 158 Three Expeditions
"You still need to work harder. Just being sharp is not enough. Nothing in the world is that easy."

After the two men left, Li Jiancheng said to his father: "As long as the news of the three expeditions spreads, the people of the world will be terrified and there will be more rebels. The Mandate of Heaven will gradually fade, and Your Majesty will no longer be the same as before."

"But he won't let you leave his side. Mao Jindao can share the pressure, and Li Hong can also solve the problem temporarily, but our family has already become a threat to him."

Li Jiancheng comforted him, "It's okay. I'm the only one who can't leave your majesty. Your majesty, you will probably never have a chance to return to Chang'an. Father, find a chance to send Erlang and Silang to Xiuning."

"But you..."

Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment and said, "No matter what your majesty thinks, as long as he doesn't make a move, he has done a great favor to our Li family. If we don't find a way to repay this favor, then our cause is unjust.

This trip is to repay this favor first, so that the family will no longer be bound! "

Li Yuan asked again and again, but Li Jiancheng was unwilling to say more. Given his personality, if Li Yuan knew about this, he would not even tell him this.

After a period of time, the Liu family suffered misfortune, and all the Liu family members in Guanzhong began to flee outside the pass. They brought with them not only fear, but also resentment towards the emperor.

Finally, the emperor left Beijing again and headed straight for Zhuo County. Goguryeo had become the emperor's obsession rather than his original political goal. There were no gains or losses, only a matter of dignity.

As expected, Li Jiancheng was taken with the emperor. Fortunately, his more than 20,000 troops were still under his command, and he hurried back to Zhuo County, where he had been away for a long time.

After Li Jiancheng arranged the garrison, Li Jing and others went to the temporary palace to pay homage to the emperor. Everyone sighed when they saw each other again. Li Jiancheng felt that it was a coincidence that the arrangements in Zhuo County were not as expected.

The officials from the noble families in Zhuo County were all sighing. When Li Jiancheng received the news of the death and left, they thought that he would leave the court for two or three days before coming back to serve as a prefect. How could they have expected that in just one year, when they saw him again, he would have become a general of the court.

As a result, their attitudes became closer. Li Jiancheng treated them as usual. After chatting about many things, they made an appointment to chat tomorrow. Only then did they leave, leaving space for the master and disciple.

No matter how violently Yang Xuangan caused trouble, it had nothing to do with Zhuo County. Li Jing'an was stationed in Zhuo County and had gained some weight, obviously taking care to recuperate.

"Starting next year, Master won't have any free time here."

Li Jing exhaled, tears flashing in his eyes: "If I continue to be idle, I'm afraid I will be buried in the ground."

Needless to say, everyone followed the emperor and waited for the troops from various counties to arrive. However, this time there were more soldiers fleeing on the road. Of the originally expected ten thousand people, only one or two thousand arrived in the end.

Faced with such a situation, the emperor still did not choose to withdraw his troops and let the people rest. Instead, he ordered the pursuit of these deserters and smeared their blood on the war drums as a warning.

The effect was of course obviously bad. For the soldiers, following the emperor to Goguryeo meant death, and escaping also meant death. It would be better for them to die in the country.

The emperor had no choice but to find a solution, so he put on military uniform himself and held a grand ceremony to worship the Yellow Emperor, who had fought Chiyou and founded the Yanhuang foundation.

The emperor wanted to show his faith by offering sacrifices to this ancient holy king.

Unfortunately, it was useless for the soldiers. The emperor had no choice but to capture deserters while marching. The army had approached the Liao River in April the first two times, but now it took until July to reach the Liao River. Civil and military officials were trying to persuade the emperor that the rainy season was coming soon, so why not fight again? If it didn't work, why not come back next year?
As we all know, the fight against Goguryeo must be carried out between the end of spring frost and the arrival of summer rainy season, otherwise the transportation of troops and food will be hindered.

The frost in Liaodong ends in April and the rainy season arrives in August. These four months in a year are the best time for war.

It's already July and there's no war yet. Can Goguryeo be defeated in a month?

If it were that easy, he wouldn't have come here again and again, but the emperor no longer cared.

As if it was the last luck of the Sui Dynasty, good news came from the navy. Lai Huer had won a great victory, captured Bishe City, and marched to besiege Pyongyang.

Among the three expeditions, this one was the worst, but they were about to win. Goguryeo King Gao Yuan sent envoys to surrender, and in order to prove his sincerity, he sent the former Minister of War Hu Si Zheng to him with his hands tied behind his back.

This shows that Goguryeo could no longer hold on. No matter how bad the Sui Dynasty was, it was still a great empire that was several times larger than Goguryeo. Even the Sui Dynasty was exhausted and became a dying camel.

Goguryeo, this little horse, is already on the verge of death. If the war continues, Goguryeo will be destroyed regardless of victory or defeat.

But along with the request for surrender, there was also a memorial from Lai Huer, requesting that the peace talks should not be accepted. The war had already come to this point, and if the country was not destroyed, everyone in the court would be ridiculed by the world.

Of course, this was what the emperor meant. He paid such a heavy price and fought three times at great cost to the people, but in the end he failed to destroy the country, capture the master, or destroy the ancestral temple. How could he be willing to accept this!

But the news from the Ministry of War made him anxious. The Yan'an bandit leader Liu Jialun proclaimed himself emperor, established the Yuan Dynasty, had an army of 100,000, and was attacking cities and counties.

He had only been on the expedition for a short time when two more rebels with an army of 100,000 men appeared in the Central Plains. If he didn't go back, there would probably be a few more emperors.

Although he was unwilling to accept the result, he had won anyway, and the emperor expressed his willingness to accept Goguryeo's surrender.

The civil and military officials were stunned. They really couldn't understand the emperor's thoughts. He insisted on fighting when he shouldn't have, and actually retreated when he should have fought.

Li Jiancheng stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Goguryeo is ambitious and will never surrender unless it is in a state of collapse. Even if Your Majesty is kind and benevolent, once they recover, they will once again covet our Great Sui Dynasty. Therefore, it is time to destroy their country and their race!"

When the military attachés saw someone taking the lead, they all stepped forward to agree. The opportunity to give the fallen dog a beating would never come again.

But the emperor was still the same emperor. He had already made up his mind and did not like others' advice, so he ignored them and directly ordered Lai Huer to withdraw his troops.

Li Jiancheng was not as obedient as before this time. He went to advise the emperor every day, causing the emperor to demote him again and again, and his military power was taken away. However, he still said: "Even if the Central Plains is in danger, Your Majesty can return home first and leave 20,000 to 30,000 troops to me. Lai Huer and I will capture Pyongyang and present the head of the Goguryeo bandit to you, Your Majesty!"

Li Jiancheng's attitude surprised the accompanying civil and military officials. They did not expect that after experiencing the affairs of peach and plum, he would still be so loyal to the emperor. It was really rare.

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(End of this chapter)