Chapter 565 Dugu Debate
Chapter 565 Dugu Debate
In early April, Xiao Xia led hundreds of warships and 30,000 naval forces to Longtou Bay in Donglai County.
Lai Huer and Fang Xuanling came to welcome Prince Jin.
Thousands of large tents were built on the shore of Longtou Bay, and countless ships were anchored in the bay, but they were all warships, and there was not a single cargo ship among the more than a thousand cargo ships.
"Where is the cargo ship?" Xiao Xia asked.
Lai Huer bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, three hundred large ships have transported supplies to Crab Island for us, and another eight hundred have gone to Zhangshui to deliver supplies to the court."
Xiao Xia asked again: "Crab Island is our logistics base?"
Lai Huer nodded, "That's right. The island covers an area of about 5,000 acres, and the terrain is flat. It is an uninhabited island. Opposite is the capital of Goguryeo, Pai, and it is about 50 miles away from the land. Everything is good, but it's a pity that there is no fresh water on the island."
"Since Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, is across the street, the Taedong River should be next to it!"
"Yes! So I specially sent 20 freshwater boats to fetch water at night. We found several water storage holes on the island to store fresh water."
Xiao Xia asked again: "How is the war preparedness at the imperial court?"
Lai Huer glanced at Fang Xuanling, who said quickly, "Your Highness, the imperial army is divided into three groups heading north. The first group of 100,000 troops has already arrived in Yan County, Liaodong. Our ships are transporting food and supplies to Liaodong. The second group of 200,000 troops is currently in Zhuo County. The third group of 200,000 troops will not depart from Luoyang until late April. It is said that one million civilians have also been heading north in batches. I am not very clear about the specific situation."
"When will the fleet return?" Xiao Xia asked Lai Huer again.
"Your Highness, the round trip will take about 20 days, plus two days to unload the cargo, so it will probably take another seven or eight days to get back."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Let the soldiers have a good rest, we will send out troops again in early May."
In Luoyang, Li Yuan brought his eldest son Li Jiancheng to Dugu Mansion. He will set out for Taiyuan tomorrow to serve as the Hedong Special Envoy.
This was Li Yuan's second time to go to Hedong as a hostage. In the first year of Daye, Li Yuan was appointed as the governor of Taiyuan. In the fourth year of Daye, he was changed to be the governor of Honghua County and the general manager of Jianqing Prefecture. Last autumn, he was transferred back to Luoyang and served as the Minister of War. It has only been a few months. Because of the rampant bandits in Hedong, Prime Minister Yu Shiji recommended Li Yuan to go to Hedong to fight the bandits. Emperor Yang Guang approved Li Yuan's appointment before he set out in person.
The housekeeper brought Li Yuan and his son to the guest hall. After a while, Dugutuo came.
Dugu Tuo was Li Yuan's uncle. It can be said that Li Yuan was able to become rich step by step with the help of the Dugu family. Without the full support of the Dugu family, Li Yuan would not have been able to establish the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan stood up and saluted, "My nephew will leave tomorrow, so I came to say goodbye to my uncle!"
Li Jiancheng also bowed, "Greetings, uncle!"
Dugu Tuo smiled and waved his hand, "Sit down! You're welcome."
The three of them sat down, and Li Yuan asked, "What do you think of the emperor's personal expedition to Goguryeo this time?"
Dugu Tuo smiled faintly and said, "What can I think? This is like doing business. If you have a considerable amount of capital in your hand and manage it well, you can indeed expand your business. But the most taboo is to hammer here and there, invest money here and there, and never stop all day. All the businesses are abandoned halfway, and in the end the capital is squandered, and no profitable business is done. Our emperor is like this. Based on his previous performance, I am not optimistic about this eastern expedition. He is likely to collapse in logistics."
Li Jiancheng asked in confusion: "The emperor has forcibly conscripted 1.1 million civilians. Isn't the logistics sufficient?"
Dugu Tuo smiled and asked Li Yuan: "What do you think?"
Li Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "It's not a matter of numbers, but that the emperor treats the people as worthless. Half of the people died when digging the canal, and seven or eight out of ten died when building the Great Wall. This time, the conscripted laborers went to Liaodong. The journey is long and the labor is heavy. In addition, the people's strength is not taken into consideration. I estimate that it will be a blessing if half of them can come back alive. If the enemy is fighting hard and a large number of laborers die or flee, it will definitely have a serious impact on logistics supply." Dugutuo nodded, "That's right! This is the problem. The laborers are like a cart. If you don't maintain the cart well and try to load it, the axle and wheels will break sooner or later and it will be impossible to transport anymore."
"But there are still cargo ships in Jiangnan that can transport food and fodder."
Dugutuo laughed, "Cargo ships from Jiangnan can only be transported to Liaodong. Once they enter Goguryeo, they will find themselves in a mountainous area. The army will have to cross mountains and ridges, and cargo ships cannot grow wings to fly over. The Goguryeo people are not fools. They are no match for the Sui army in a head-on battle, so they will not fight hard and will definitely focus on defense.
I heard that the Goguryeo people were very good at building fortifications. After the 17th year of Kaihuang, they built a large number of mountain forts in dangerous places to defend against the Sui army, but the Sui army was not prepared accordingly, so I am not optimistic about this eastern expedition at all. "
Li Yuan was silent for a moment and then asked: "What will be the consequences if the emperor fails?"
Dugu Tuo said slowly: "It will ruin the fate of the Sui Dynasty, just like a person who fails in business and loses all his capital, and creditors will come from all directions.
At this time, the housekeeper said in the hall: "The head of the Yuan family will be here soon!"
Li Yuan quickly stood up and said goodbye. Dugu Tuo sent Li Yuan out and said with a smile: "Before you leave, I will give you eight words: actively suppress bandits and keep a low profile!"
"My uncle's teachings will be remembered by my nephew!"
Li Yuan said goodbye and left. Dugutuo watched his carriage go away. At this time, Yuan Xiaoju's carriage also slowly arrived.
Yuan Xiaoju got off the carriage, looked at the carriage going away and asked, "Is that Li Yuan's carriage?"
Dugu Tuo nodded and said, "He will go to Hedong to take up his post tomorrow, and he came to say goodbye to me."
Yuan Xiaoju smiled slightly and said, "Brother Dugu has buried this chess piece of Li Yuan very deeply!"
"Let's go into the mansion and talk! This is not the place to talk."
Yuan Xiaoju nodded, and the two of them walked into the mansion and sat down in the inner hall.
"How's the situation on Yang Yong's side?" Dugu Tuo asked.
Yuan Xiaoju shook his head and said, "Yang Yong is a little confused. One moment he says he is the emperor, the next he says he is not the son of the previous emperor, and that he was arranged by the gods to come to the Sui Dynasty. His speech is incoherent, and I have no idea what he is talking about."
Dugu Tuo smiled and said, "Yang Yong is just used by us to attract Yang Guang's attention and cover up Li Yuan for us. But do you think Yang Yong's sons are of any use to us, brother?"
Yuan Xiaoju curled his lips and said, "They are all mediocre and unfit for any great use!"
At this point, Yuan Xiaoju hurriedly said, "I came to see you because of something important. Yang Xuangan might rebel!"
Dugu Tuo's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"It was his good friend Li Mi who told me that Yang Su had always had the intention of rebellion and had been hoarding weapons and armor. Now Yang Xuangan is speeding up the preparations, and the Yang family's wealth has basically been spent on purchasing weapons and armor."
Dugu Tuo nodded slowly, "This is an opportunity! Once Yang Guang's expedition to the east is defeated, the time will come. We should first insert Li Mi in. In short, we must control the rhythm of Yang Xuangan's rebellion in our hands."
(End of this chapter)