Li Tai leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, having lost all desire to speak. Yun Ye was right—no matter what, going now was too late. However, even if it was too late, he still had to go. There was no reason for a father to fight at the front while his son hid in the rear enjoying comfort. This was not the proper way to be a son.
“Ye Zi, give me all three warships and supplement me with ten supply ships. I need to rush to Liaodong at the fastest speed. If necessary, I’ll travel upstream along the Liao River, retracing the route you took years ago.”
Yun Ye had finished both bowls of noodles and was now so stuffed he kept groaning. Seeing the maids bring up two more bowls of noodles, he pushed them in front of Li Tai and said, “If you want to accomplish things, first you need to eat your fill. Finish both these bowls of noodles, and we’ll go to Liaodong. However, we won’t go to the gulf—we’ll take the outer sea. Burning, killing, and plundering on Goguryeo’s land will be more useful than going directly to Liaodong.”
Ever since learning that Li Er had begun the eastern campaign, Yun Ye knew he had no way to extricate himself from this military affair. If he hadn’t known, he could naturally live his leisurely life in Lingnan. Now that he knew, whether from his beliefs or his way of conducting himself, there was no reason to stand by and watch.
Niu Jinda and Cheng Yaojin would certainly serve under Li Er’s command. Qin Qiong’s health was poor—going to Liaodong would be seeking death. Yuchi Gong still needed to remain in Chang’an to intimidate those with treasonous hearts. During the first eastern campaign, Li Er encountered pursuit on the return journey with soldiers dying in great numbers. Only Cheng Yaojin’s desperate rear-guard action had allowed the whole army to return—it was extremely dangerous.
The Goguryeo people had already been fighting for three years. Although the land was poor and people impoverished, the arduous war had also brought Goguryeo a large batch of fierce troops tested by the battlefield. This was truly not a good time to attack Goguryeo.
Li Tai picked up his rice bowl and began eating. Yun Ye ordered Liu Jinbao to summon all generals to the manor for discussion. He specifically instructed them to invite Feng Ang as well—some strategies also needed Feng Ang’s approval. As for Liu Fang, Yun Ye had just had servants take both the court gazette and the edict from Fang Xuanling to the old man.
Li Anlan stood behind the curtain, watching Yun Ye continuously issue orders with sadness in her heart. She sighed and went to the rear courtyard to pack her husband’s traveling luggage. Sometimes men wouldn’t listen to women’s words. Their thoughts couldn’t be tied down by tender affections. The more capable a man was, the more he did as he pleased.
Liu Renyuan’s face was covered in red marks. From the looks of it, he was quite popular with Guangzhou women. Lai Chuanfeng and Yang Yueli kept pounding their waists—needless to say, these were aftereffects left from excessive campaigning. By extension, the other soldiers on the ships wouldn’t be much better off. He didn’t know if such an exhausted army could still fight.
“His Majesty personally campaigned in Goguryeo, though this was ten months ago. Prince Wei believes we should campaign in Goguryeo. I wonder if you all are still capable?” Yun Ye laid it all out directly—there was no need to conceal anything from them.
Liu Renyuan’s eyes immediately lit up. He cupped his hands and asked Yun Ye, “Grand Commander, you say His Majesty personally campaigned, so we should follow? This subordinate is extremely willing. Grand Commander, please rest assured—this subordinate will rally the slack morale on the journey.”
Lai Chuanfeng and Yang Yueli exchanged glances and laughed heartily. Goguryeo was the place where they two had made their fortunes. Now having another opportunity to go, how could they not return? The old brothers under their command had almost all been to Goguryeo. Presumably their thinking would be aligned, and moreover, this time they had invincible warships to ride—going again would be completely stress-free.
Liu Fang walked in carrying a stack of military reports. He patted the papers and said with a sigh, “Li Ji has been blocked at Anshi City by Yang Wanchun, unable to advance an inch. His Majesty has already besieged Pyongyang City. Zhang Liang has stirred up popular resentment in Goguryeo through burning, killing, and plundering. Zhang Weng’an has already been beheaded by His Majesty for greed causing delays. This is the final situation from the military reports.”
“Impossible! Who is Yang Wanchun? What virtue or ability does he possess to dare block the army’s advance? Li Ji’s army certainly wouldn’t lack gunpowder. It’s impossible they could be helpless even against small Anshi City.” Upon hearing this, Li Tai jumped up immediately. Gunpowder was absolutely a siege weapon, and moreover its tremendous roar was enough to terrify the Goguryeo people.
Feng Ang walked in with a smile and said to Li Tai, “Yang Wanchun is known as a famous Goguryeo general. This man has exceptional achievements in both civil and military paths and is wholeheartedly loyal to Gao Jianwu, or rather this person is wholeheartedly loyal to the Goguryeo people. Years ago, Marquis Yun set fire to the Great King and Beisha cities, causing heavy casualties among Goguryeo people. I heard Yang Wanchun cut off his ear and swore that if he encountered Marquis Yun on the battlefield, he would definitely boil you alive and then share the meal with his generals. He and Quan Yeonzhi are in-laws through their children. After Quan Yeonzhi lost Great King City, he was overcome with shame, vomited three sheng of blood, and died. It’s said that before dying he also swore an oath that if his coffin didn’t contain Marquis Yun’s head, he would never be buried. Now his coffin still rests in Great King City and hasn’t been buried to this day.”
“Duke Yue, you’re a battlefield veteran. Tell us—is there any possibility my father emperor could be defeated?” Li Tai couldn’t worry about much else and asked directly.
Feng Ang found himself a comfortable chair to sit in and said at his leisure, “It seems our views are similar. His Majesty cannot be defeated—at most he’ll return without achievement. Gunpowder is an imperial weapon. Previously unknown, His Majesty relied on gunpowder’s advantage to successively break through Maigu, Yinshan, and Houhuang cities, which long ago shocked the world. The name of gunpowder among us military men can be said to thunder in our ears. Hehe, Marquis Yun, you played such a fine tune of the mountain god beating drums back then.”
Speaking to this point and seeing Yun Ye bow to him in shame, Feng Ang smiled brilliantly and continued, “A weapon is ultimately just a weapon, not a divine implement. What influences war’s direction has never been weapons. Although gunpowder’s威 fame has spread far, even this old man from the mountains and wilds already knows of it—how could Yang Wanchun, bearing the name of a famous general, not know?”
“The breaking of Maigu, Yinshan, and Houhuang cities always leaves traces to follow. Once Yang Wanchun found the reason these three cities were broken, Li Ji’s gunpowder failing at Anshi City is not surprising.”
“Previously when fighting Goguryeo, we worried about the bitter cold. Liaodong’s bitter cold can crack stones—naturally people cannot endure it. But His Majesty has cotton padding. With this, plus charcoal, they can endure through winter. What this old man worries most about is spring’s mud. After the weather warms, ice and snow melt, and all of Liaodong becomes a mud pond where neither men nor horses can travel.”
“To coordinate with His Majesty’s campaign, Li Ji advanced rapidly along the way, breaking through countless Goguryeo fortifications. He had no time to clear out scattered routed troops, thinking he would surely rendezvous with His Majesty at Pyongyang. Instead, he was blocked at Anshi. The scattered routed troops and spring mud will greatly restrict logistics transport. This way, the safety of his provisions and equipment becomes very problematic.”
“Moreover, from the latest military reports, we learned that Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun together assembled one hundred forty thousand troops to reinforce Anshi. If Anshi City cannot be quickly taken, our dynasty’s armies cannot converge. Any single force alone cannot make Goguryeo perish. The war ultimately becomes a stalemate, which is the worst situation for our dynasty’s army.”
“Fortunately, this time His Majesty led voluntary soldiers and didn’t mobilize the national foundation. Because they’re voluntary, their combat power and will are the strongest, so the time they can hold out is longer. Therefore, this old man believes that Goguryeo is now chicken ribs for His Majesty—tasteless to eat, regrettable to discard. His Majesty has probably already begun considering withdrawing troops.”
“His Majesty is a peerless military talent and naturally knows about choices. This old man estimates that as long as the weather warms slightly, while the frozen earth hasn’t yet thawed, it will be time for His Majesty to withdraw. If you go, you can still see His Majesty in Goguryeo.”
After hearing Feng Ang’s explanation, Liu Fang nodded repeatedly. It seemed Feng Ang’s words struck right at his heart. Li Tai bowed to thank Feng Ang. His mind was made up—he would rush directly to Liaodong at the fastest speed. He specially took out his own token, had his guards carry it, and gallop on horseback through the night straight to his fief, ordering officials from Quanzhou, Taizhou, and Suzhou-Hangzhou to prepare supplies. When his ship reached Hangzhou, they must quickly replenish supplies without error.
Li Tai was anxious, so Yun Ye could only grow tense along with him. Feng Ang set about preparing to inspect the warships and assign personnel. He said not a word about his own family’s younger generation needing to follow Yun Ye to Liaodong. Li Anlan also ordered the family’s stewards to quickly prepare supplies. The three warships needed to proceed first, with ten supply ships slowly following.
No matter how quickly they moved, the fleet that had just returned from a distant voyage had to be reorganized—only this time was reduced from three months to just three days.
There was no time to go to Yongzhou to see Grandmother and Xinyue and the others. He could only write several letters explaining the whole story. After the Liaodong affair ended, he would return to Yongzhou and never step outside again.
Looking at the frantically busy dock, Yun Ye said to Di Renjie behind him, “I’m troubling you. At such a young age you must handle such complicated affairs. Finding a balance point among the court, the Yun family, the Feng family, and other Lingnan aristocratic clans isn’t easy. When you feel it’s difficult, ask Xiao Wu. She’s made rapid progress these past years. When you graduate from the academy, I’ll speak to your father about betrothing Xiao Wu to you.”
Di Renjie froze on the spot and said softly, “What virtue or ability does this disciple possess to dare take Senior Sister as wife?”
“If you don’t marry her, who do you think your senior sister can marry? With her learning, her courage, and her insight, marrying her to anyone would harm them. Only you can barely survive under her hand. Master has long thought it through—she’ll marry you. This is a monster Master inadvertently taught. You help Master watch over her a bit.”
Di Renjie’s face nearly contorted. He involuntarily slowed his pace, shuffling about aimlessly.
“Eh? You really don’t want to? Could it be Xiao Wu isn’t pretty enough?”
“In all of Chang’an City, this disciple hasn’t seen anyone prettier than Senior Sister.”
“Could it be she’s not smart enough? Or not filial enough?”
Di Renjie said with a crying tone, “Senior Sister is very beautiful, very intelligent, highly learned—even more than me. She’s also very clever, cooks excellent food, and when she visited my parents she was very filial. Moreover, she’s now learning needlework from Master’s wife. With her talent and intelligence, she’ll probably soon surpass her teacher. There’s nothing to criticize.”
“It’s just, Master, why do you like Master’s Wife Na Rimu? She seems quite simple, yet you favor her most. This disciple also wants to find a somewhat dumber wife to dote on.”