Tang Jizhou belongs to Hebei Province, and in terms of geographical location, Jizhou is the Tianjin of later generations.

Jizhou is far from the border of Goguryeo, there are still nearly 1,000 miles away, but it is the front line of the first war against Goguryeo.

Just because Jizhou is close to the Bohai Sea, from the Bohai Sea, by boat to the east is the hinterland of Goguryeo, so the two cities of Jizhou and Laizhou, which are close to the Bohai Bay, belong to the front line of the Eastern Expedition.

The Sui Dynasty invaded Goguryeo three times, except for the last time when the Goguryeo lord was frightened by not sending troops to take the initiative to surrender, the first two times were both land and water, of which the waterway was to ship from Laizhou to the sea, and the troops were directed at Pyongyang.

Li Shimin's strategy for this expedition to the east was also the same as that of the Sui Dynasty, and when the army marched by land, Zhang Liang, the general manager of the Pyongyang Provincial March, had already built ships in Jizhou City, with a total of more than 500 warships, and 20,000 troops of the territorial water army were assembled in the port outside Jizhou City to stand by.

After Li Shimin's Chinese army arrived in Jizhou, he ordered to camp on the seaside, people inside and outside the camp shouted horses neighing, waving flags, one by one old generals held arrows and walked out of the camp from the tent quickly, scouts rode fast horses from outside the camp gate in and out, the soldiers on standby quietly sharpened their swords in front of the camp tent, and the dust raised by the sound of hurried horses' hooves flew and drifted in the camp......

After marching for more than two months, Li Su only now really felt the coming of the war, and the war clouds inside and outside the camp were dense, like a powder keg close to the critical point, and only a little spark could completely detonate it.

Li Su was a man who had experienced the war, and although the atmosphere in the camp made him feel a little depressing, it did not affect his leisurely life.

He knows his position in this war very well, he is not a general who commands thousands of troops, he is not a commander who strategizes, and he is not a soldier who must go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. He is just a strategist by Li Shimin's side, if you have to say that he is different from others, probably ...... It's lazy.

Wang Shi was stationed on the seashore outside Jizhou City, hundreds of thousands of troops were officially considered to have officially entered the first level of combat readiness, Li Shimin convened all the veterans to discuss the deployment of the army day and night, this kind of high-level military meeting Li Su was usually reluctant to participate, because in his experience, this kind of meeting did not hold 17 or 8 times It is probably impossible to discuss the results, and the final decision of the meeting is often very different from the tone at the beginning, so the previous meetings are nonsense and can not be attended at all.

- Unless Li Shimin personally wields a small leather whip and whips Li Su. There is no way, in front of His Majesty the wise and martial Heavenly Khan, everyone must have a heart that trembles.

…………

"The sea, so much water, the horses, the four-legged ......"

On the shore of the Bohai Sea, Li Su stood on the beach with his hands in his hands, and couldn't help but chant a poem.

Fang Lao Wu next to him was stunned, but Zheng Xiaolou was expressionless, obviously Li Su's poems were not to their taste.

"Grandpa, you...... Are you not adapted? Fang Lao Wu said cautiously.

Li Su glared at him: "You mean I'm sick?" ”

Fang Lao Wu hurriedly denied: "The villain doesn't dare to ......"

Zheng Xiaolou was very upright: "Yes." ”

Li Su began to praise his good character, after so many years, he actually didn't kill this upright guy, which shows that he is tolerant and all-encompassing......

"Brother Xiaolou, can you swim?" Li Su patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

Zheng Xiaolou frowned, turned his head to look at Li Su's hand on his shoulder, pursed his lips with a disgusted expression, and silently moved two steps sideways.

"No, it won't."

Li Su took a deep breath, not angry, not angry, now that he is fighting, he needs to protect himself, and he will be killed when he goes back......

"Do you want something new?" Li Su accosted unrelentingly.

"I don't want to." Zheng Xiaolou replied hard.

Li Su said to himself: "Think? It's so easy to do, there are a lot of new things to eat in the sea, such as shellfish, sea fish, as well as lobsters, big crabs, the meat is tender and fresh, roasted slowly over low heat, sprinkled with pepper and salt, and the gravy splashes all over the bite down, the taste, tsk, the beauty is very ......"

Zheng Xiaolou was indifferent with a coffin face, Fang Lao Wu was obviously more down-to-earth, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva, and said with a smile: "Grandpa, there are many people in our family who know how to water, since Grandpa has Yaxing, why don't you let the villain pick a few brothers who know how to water and go down, and get something for Grandpa to change his appetite?" ”

Li Su was greatly pleased: "Fifth Uncle is really a clever person, I dare to guarantee that you will live longer than those stuffy jars in the future, go and go!" ”

Fang Lao Wu waved his hand, and several people who knew how to use water behind Li Su stood up, took off their coats and moved their hands and feet at will, and then walked slowly towards the sea, and the last one plunged into the deep water.

The remaining subordinates were not idle, they consciously picked up dead branches and wood in the grove by the beach, and then built a bonfire, as for Li Su's usual spices and barbecue utensils, the subordinates carried them with them, and soon arranged a neat row around the bonfire.

When everything was ready, Li Su squatted down and began to fiddle with the spices.

Zheng Xiaolou had been standing quietly behind him, and seeing Li Su's heartless appearance, Zheng Xiaolou couldn't help it, and said, "You don't seem to be interested in the Eastern Crusade?" ”

Li Su was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "How should I behave to be considered a heart?" Do you stay in the tent with Your Majesty and those old generals all day long? ”

Zheng Xiaolou shook his head: "With your character, you won't argue with others or anything, even in front of the current emperor." But I just can see that you don't care, it seems...... You don't want to be part of this campaign? ”

Li Su's expression gradually became gloomy, and he sighed and said, "This battle is ...... It shouldn't have been. ”

Zheng Xiaolou glanced at him in surprise and said, "Do you think you will lose?" ”

Li Su sighed: "It's not enough to lose, but it's not necessarily possible to win, there are not only two results on the battlefield, if it's just a miserable victory in the end, what's the difference between losing and losing?" ”

Zheng Xiaolou was silent for a moment and said, "...... You still have to do your best. ”

Li Su looked at him with interest: "It's rare to see that you care about the war, and you have a compassionate side......

Zheng Xiaolou said coldly: "The world is not bad, I still hope that it will get better every year." The people of the Tang Dynasty died less, and the people's lives were better, you should know these truths better than me. ”

Li Su sighed: "In fact, the good and bad of the world are in the hands of the emperor. There is not much I can do, after all, my family is more important than the country in my heart, and I have a wife and children behind me, I don't have the courage to follow Wei Zheng's offense to Long Yan again and again, before the start of this war, I did everything I could, including buying grain, including admonishment. ”

Zheng Xiaolou stared at him: "You should be able to do something." ”

Li Su smiled bitterly: "I can only say that on the premise of ensuring that my life is safe, try my best to do something more." ”

Looking up at the endless sea, at the far end, the sea and sky are colorful, gulls soar and leap, but the sky is so hazy.

Li Suda opposed this war from the bottom of his heart and has always been pessimistic.

This war was launched too reluctantly, too hastily, Li Shimin's mentality has become more and more unstable in recent years, with the death of a group of famous ministers and veterans, the retreat, the prestige inside and outside the country has reached its peak, so, the problem of great joy has gradually risen, and the monarchs and ministers of the court seem to have developed this problem, since it is subdued all over the world, what is Goguryeo? It's just easy.

It is said that there are two things that people must do in this life, a desperate love, and a trip that is just about to go, but in Li Shimin, it doesn't seem to matter whether these two things are done or not, but there is one thing he must do, that is, a war that he will do.

It's so blunt, it's just so stubborn, I'm the emperor and my boss, and I specialize in all kinds of disobedience, especially Goguryeo's disobedience.

The aura of invincibility for many years is on his head, everything Li Shimin has done shows its correctness, and gradually, the courtiers were also carried away, ah, the boss said that you can do it, then do it, follow the boss to have meat to eat......

Under the excitement of the crowd, as a few sober-minded courtiers, what should Li Suneng do?

Of course, I choose to forgive, what else can I do?

………… The tribes caught a lot of seafood, such as crabs with large basins, scallops with large fists, and lobsters with a length of feet, and the harvest was very rich.

A bonfire was lit on the beach by the sea, under the gaze of a cadre of songs, Li Su personally cooked the seafood, after the fatty and juicy seafood was cooked, the tribes couldn't wait to stuff it into their mouths, Li Su smiled and prepared to welcome the praise of heroes from all walks of life, but saw that the tribes were pale one by one, and even wanted to vomit, and finally Fang Lao Wu couldn't help it, wow, he vomited cleanly, someone took the lead, and the tribes were not polite, one or two of them all vomited, ignoring Li Su's face getting darker and darker.

The head of the house personally barbecued, and the craftsmanship has never been good, and a bunch of guys actually vomited in front of him, which is really a big sin.

Fang Lao Wu and the others felt rude, and hurriedly knelt on the ground to plead guilty, Zheng Xiaolou didn't eat a mouthful, and held the sword at the moment and sneered.

After explaining, Li Sufang understood.

Seafood is actually right, and the craftsmanship is as normal as ever, but the people in Guanzhong are really not used to eating seafood, especially the fishy smell of seafood.

*********************************************************************

The army rested in Jizhou for three days, of course, Li Shimin could not discuss strategy and tactics with the generals all day long, as His Majesty the Emperor who had a hard time going out of the country, it was also the duty of traveling to inspect.

Li Shimin is very conservative when he goes on patrol, only wandering around Jizhou City, and there are not many people accompanying him, only a team of guards disguised as civilians around him, as well as Chang Tu, Li Ji and others, of course, Li Su can't hide, Li Shimin deliberately named Li Su before he traveled.

Li Su had no choice but to follow him with a bitter face, he knew that Li Shimin might not be very satisfied with his recent performance, as a free cavalry attendant on the emperor's side, he was absent from several imperial military meetings, and he should really give him a beating to make him remember it for a long time.

Jizhou City is not big, as a harbor city, the population of the people in the city is only about 100,000, and the buildings and streets in the city are very dilapidated, the only one that can be regarded as a little prosperous is the market in the east of the city. No matter how barren it is, it has geographical advantages, the seaside port here connects Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje and other neighboring countries, and the merchants who come and go from the south to the north have a fierce eye, and have long realized the importance of this port city, so although Jizhou is not prosperous, but there are many ports and merchants, especially the market in the east of the city, it is a collection of various specialty goods from the surrounding countries, and the people in the market come and go, and the line is in a hurry, even if the Tang Dynasty is about to start a war against Goguryeo, the prosperity of the market has not been reduced by half.

Li Shimin was dressed in civilian clothes, looking at the hustle and bustle in the bazaar with great interest, listening to the neighing of the vendors, the rough shouts of the boat boss, the shouts of the officials, the counteroffers of the people, and the cry of women and children from nowhere.

"Yes, this is the peaceful and prosperous times." Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and came to a conclusion shamelessly.

Li Sutou twisted away and pursed his lips imperceptibly.

Li Shimin seemed to sense Li Su's expression, looked at him with a smile and said, "Zizheng, what do you think?" ”

Li Su hurriedly said: "It is bustling, and it is profitable, and His Majesty is so splendid under the rule of His Majesty." ”

Who can't say pretty things if they can mix with the court officials?

After Li Su finished speaking, the corner of his eye quickly glanced at a group of refugees walking slowly in the distance.

Well, let's not say anything about the slap in the face, let Li Shimin find out for himself.

There were about twenty or thirty refugees, these people were in rags, they had been hungry for a long time, and every step they took seemed to be very difficult, and occasionally the people or vendors on the street gave them a piece or two of leftover cakes or noodle soup, and the refugees were busy saluting and thanking them.

Li Shimin also discovered this group of refugees at this time, his bright face suddenly became gloomy, his eyes stared at them, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Li Su looked at the group of refugees carefully, but his brows unconsciously wrinkled tighter and tighter.

It is very common for refugees to appear in Jizhou City, Li Su has been wandering around Jizhou City in the past few days, and he knows that there are no less than 10,000 refugees inside and outside the city, all of whom have fled from Liaodong.

The war between the two countries is about to start, the border war clouds are thick, Goguryeo cannot be completely unresponsive, the 300,000 army led by Li Shimin has not yet reached the border between the two countries, Goguryeo has already taken the lead, and the border people in Liaodong are unlucky. Before the imperial court arrived, the enemy army slaughtered with swords, and there was no choice but to lead the whole family to flee to the south, and most of the refugees gathered inside and outside Jizhou City had the same fate.

Li Su frowned because he felt that something was not quite right with the group of refugees in front of him.

The words and deeds of these twenty or thirty refugees are very normal, and the demeanor they show is also in line with the status of refugees, Li Su can't say anything wrong, but his feelings tell him that there is something wrong with this group of people.

His eyelids jumped, Li Su turned his head to look at Li Shimin and Chang Tu, Li Ji and others who accompanied him, and then turned to look at Fang Lao Wu, Zheng Xiaolou and other parts behind him.

I really couldn't see anything wrong, only a vague intuition, and Li Su really didn't want his inexplicable intuition to harm these poor refugees.

As the refugees approached, their steps were still slow, pausing with each step, looking at the pedestrians and vendors in the street with eager and begging eyes, but not saying a word of begging, and in the midst of extreme poverty and even despair, they still managed to retain the last shred of self-esteem.

Li Su stared at them without blinking, but his suspicion gradually faded.

Maybe...... You're too sensitive, right?

Li Su was about to turn his attention elsewhere, but saw two officials passing by the group of refugees.

The refugees behaved unusually, the two officials just glanced at them habitually, and then moved on.

One of the middle-aged refugees in their thirties also showed a timid and flattering smile at the official, and it was not until the officials passed that the refugees raised their heads and continued to walk slowly towards Li Shimin and Li Su and others.

Li Su's eyes tightened, the pupils in his eyes suddenly shrank to the size of a needle, and he glanced at Li Shimin with a little nervousness, seeing that Li Shimin was not alert, and his eyes looking at the refugees were still a little pity and guilt, Li Su's heart sank, and then he suddenly turned around, reached out and patted Fang Lao Wu and Zheng Xiaolou on the shoulders hard.

Fang Lao Wu and Zheng Xiaolou were stunned, and then saw Li Su's eyes slanted in the direction of the refugees, they had been getting along for a long time, and there was already a tacit understanding between the three of them, so Fang Lao Wu and Zheng Xiaolou nodded lightly imperceptibly, and the two of them seemed to look around casually, and took two steps forward without a trace, blocking Li Su behind them.

The refugees were still moving forward slowly, Li Su's heartbeat was speeding up in vain, but there was a rare murderous aura in his eyes.

Calm down, watching the refugees get closer and closer, almost passing by Li Shimin and Li Su and others, the refugees and Li Su actually launched at the same time.

A slurred shout from the refugee crowd and Li Su's loud shout of "take it" collided with fierce sparks in the bustling bazaar.

Li Shimin and Chang Tu, Li Ji and others were stunned, and the guards behind them were even more confused, but the twenty or thirty refugees in front of them suddenly changed their depressed appearance, their expressions changed, revealing a murderous face, and then they didn't know where to pull out a steel knife with a bright handle, shook their wrists, pulled out a knife flower, and then pointed at the blade forward, and the blade pointed directly at Li Shimin, who was about a foot away in front of him!

Chang Tu and Li Ji were shocked, and the guards were even more furious, and they were about to draw their swords and step forward, but they saw two figures rushing out of the oblique stabs, instantly stopping twenty or thirty refugees in front of them, and the swords collided with each other, making a piercing sound of gold and iron.

It's a long story, the change has only been in the blink of an eye since it happened, Fang Lao Wu and Zheng Xiaolou blocked the assassins' blows with all their strength without warning, and it was only then that the guards behind Li Shimin reacted.

I thought it was just a group of refugees who were hiding from the military disaster to save their lives, but I didn't expect it to be a group of assassins, and the goal of this group of assassins was very clear, to take the life of Li Shimin alone.

How bold it is to assassinate the king!

The Janissaries couldn't help but be furious after reacting, but they still surrounded the Assassins very calmly, and then when the Assassins rushed left and right, the Janissaries quickly formed a combined attack formation on the periphery, and with the loud order of the first captain, dozens of Janissaries advanced and retreated, attacking and defending freely, and with a single order, the swords were all out, and the assassins were killed nine in one round, but the remaining Assassins had no fear on their faces, but had a determination to see death like a dead soldier, they quickly shrunk back-to-back into a very small defensive formation, With their backs facing inward and their knives facing outward, they stared coldly at the guards who surrounded them, and from time to time an assassin quickly swept his gaze over Li Shimin outside the encirclement, with a look of loss and chagrin on his face.

The subordinates behind Li Su were not idle, when the guards launched the formation, Fang Lao Wu and the others did not need to command, and consciously blocked in front of Li Shimin, while Zheng Xiaolou held Li Su in one hand and a sword in the other, and the two quickly approached Li Shimin.

After all, Li Su is also a person who has experienced the battle of life and death, although the incident happened suddenly, but he was not afraid at all, at this moment his attention was not on this group of assassins, but kept looking up at the shops and attics on the street, the surrounded assassins probably couldn't turn up any storms, but he couldn't help but prevent the enemy from leaving more ruthless killing moves.

Li Shimin, who was under heavy guards, had a frosty face and gloomy eyes, staring at the group of assassins in the encirclement for a long time, and a cold sentence burst out from between his teeth.

"Leave it alive! I want to know where the source is! ”