100,000 soldiers set out to fight, the flag outside Chang'an city is displayed, on the rural road outside the city, the army is lined up with a long snake, the vast and vast is endless, the forward army has arrived in Puzhou, the rear army is still outside Chang'an City, and the front and back are separated by dozens of miles.

This is the largest number of troops since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and it is the emperor's majesty's personal expedition, and many famous generals in the DPRK and China poured out, which shows how much Li Shimin attaches importance to the Eastern Crusade.

The army is strictly disciplined, although there is smoke and dust all the way, there is no disturbance to the people along the way, and it can be said that there is no crime in autumn. From the beginning of Chang'an, the army marched silently all the way, and when passing through the state capital, new troops joined from time to time. The troops mobilized by the Eastern Expedition were not only the 100,000 soldiers and horses in the Chang'an camp, but also the government soldiers temporarily allocated by the state capitals, as well as the Turkic, Qiang, Xianbei and other foreign soldiers, with a total army of 300,000.

Li Su's preparation was very sufficient, and before leaving, Xu Mingzhu personally draped the armor sent by Dongyang on him, and Zheng Xiaolou, the fifth elder in the family, also followed the guards in full arms.

On this expedition, Li Su traveled with the holy car, and as a free rider, his duties were ......

To be honest, Li Su doesn't know what he should do until now, the official that Li Shimin gave him is simply an idle official position and has no real power, but he must follow Li Shimin at any time, and the distance must be very close. Suppose Li Shimin suddenly felt bored while riding on a horse and casually called "Li Zizheng", then, within three breaths, Li Su must immediately appear in Li Shimin's sight.

This official position made Li Su feel very depressed, he always felt as if he had become a pet by Li Shimin's side, ready to roll around and sell cute to make him laugh anytime and anywhere.

So after leaving Chang'an City, Li Su consciously slacked off his work, and kept a short distance from Li Shimin on the march, anyway, if Li Shimin felt bored on the journey and wanted to chat with him, it would probably take more than half an hour for the eunuchs around him to find him among hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, if Li Shimin was still interested in chatting at that time, Li Su would not mind chatting with him.

Five days later, the army marched to Puzhou, where it was stationed for a short day before continuing on its way.

After the initial excitement of the swearing-in division, the mood of the soldiers gradually calmed down, and the long march became boring and boring, not only suffering from the wind and food, but also the unbearable loneliness of the journey.

Li Su was riding on a horse, his head drooping, and he dozed off for a while. A few days ago, I was still in the mood to chat and laugh with Fang Lao Wu and other subordinates, but after the topic was finished, Li Su gradually felt bored, and even Zheng Xiaolou's stuffy jar was accosted by Li Su countless times when he had nothing to say and talked awkwardly, when Li Su was extremely bored and asked the topic of "your mother's surname", Zheng Xiaolou, who had not changed his face before the collapse of Mount Tai, finally couldn't stand it, and turned his horse's head away from Li Su, too lazy to take care of him.

So, apart from dozing off on a horse, what else can Li Su do next?

Little by little, Li Su was groggy and fell asleep for a while, and suddenly there was a sound of horses' hooves behind him, and then Li Su's shoulder was gently patted, Li Su was woken up from his sleep, and he was suddenly a little annoyed.

"The minister has seen His Royal Highness the King of Wei." Li Suli saluted thoughtfully.

Li Tai laughed and said: "Since you and I are in the army, we don't need to pay attention to our identities, you and I are both robes, and Zizheng and Xian do not need to be polite." ”

Seeing Li Tai's kind attitude and smile, Li Su couldn't help but wonder.

It stands to reason that he and Li Tai are now enemies, and although they are not so rude to cut each other with knives when they meet, at least it is appropriate to spit on each other's faces, but Li Tai's attitude is so polite and friendly, which Li Su can't help but be moved......

- This fat man is going to make trouble?

Cheering up, Li Su had a big alarm bell in his head, but a sunny and friendly smile appeared on his face.

"His Royal Highness the King of Wei worked tirelessly to accompany the army on the expedition, and he admires it."

Saying that, Li Su couldn't help but glance at the horse that Li Tai was riding.

What breed of horse? can actually carry this bowling ball of more than 300 pounds...... Big fat man, I have to get one myself when I go back.

According to Li Su's guess, Li Tai, a fat man of this weight, a horse should not be able to carry him, the best way is to fix a wooden board between the two horses, Li Tai sat cross-legged on it, and the treasure looked solemn and solemn, like the livestock sacrifices offered to the ancestors when worshipping the ancestors, all the way to Liaodong......

As if seeing Li Su's incomprehension, Li Tai smiled, touched the mane of his mount, and said with a smile: "This horse is given by my father, produced in Dawan in the Western Regions, and is a famous sweaty BMW in Dawan, with extremely long endurance. ”

Li Su was stunned, and then his heart sank.

Giving horses seems to be a trivial matter, but it can explain a lot of problems, from this point of view, Li Shimin's heart of the prince candidate is not completely sure that it is Li Zhi, maybe Li Zhi has now accounted for a lot of winning, but, not nine out of ten stable, Li Tai seems to have lost his holy family, but after all, he is Li Shimin's sister-in-law, Li Shimin can't not love him, especially Li Tai has been cautious in his words and deeds over the years, but he only made a mistake once in the case of Feng Du's assassination, as a father who has loved him for one or two decades, it is reasonable to forgive him.

If Li Tai is lucky, he happens to make a meritorious contribution in this Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, and after returning to Chang'an, it is really hard to say whether Li Zhi can become the crown prince, and the future is full of too many uncertainties.

In the middle of a few words, countless thoughts flashed through Li Su's mind.

Li Tai stared at him and said with a smile: "This time I went out with my father, I heard that my father personally named Zi Zhengxian to accompany the army, which shows the weight of Zi Zhengxian in the heart of his father, and others are not comparable. ”

Li Su nodded: "Follow the order of His Royal Highness the King of Wei, and the ministers should do their best." ”

Maybe the scene was boring, Li Tai looked around left and right, moved the horse's head to get closer to Li Su, and said softly: "Brother Zizhengxian, the deer is not dead, Tai still has the strength to chase, who will kill the deer, it is not yet known, I have heard for a long time that Brother Zizhengxian is the best in the world, Tai is not self-sufficient, but wants to weigh it." ”

Li Su smiled, he also hated talking about the scene, and he had to say that although the fat man in front of him was his enemy, he still thought that this fat man was very cute.

"The minister also wants to weigh His Royal Highness the King of Wei as much as possible, His Royal Highness can't let the minister down......"

The smile on Li Tai's face squeezed his eyes into two narrow lines of flesh, and he smiled brighter than Li Su.

"That's very good, Brother Zizhengxian, this time, Tai won't keep his hand......"

Li Su sneered: "It's as if you have left your hand before......"

Li Tai: "............"

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

After a long march for a month, the army marched to Taiyuan, Li Shimin ordered the army to be stationed and rested for three days, and then led the military generals who accompanied the army into the Taiyuan Palace.

Taiyuan is the place of Li Jialongxing, the palace enshrines the ancestors of the Li family, Li Shimin led the ministers to worship the ancestors, and prayed for the success of this battle, and then did not live in the palace, but lived in the tent of the commander of the army, of course, as the emperor and commander, the scene is essential, such as occasionally drilling into the barracks of the soldiers, eating and drinking with the soldiers, gossiping by the way, trying to establish a love for the soldiers like a son with the image of the commander who shares the joys and sorrows, as expected, the soldiers were really moved to a mess, Li Su, who was watching coldly, couldn't help but sigh that this is an era that does not need acting skills at all......

Three days later, the army continued its journey northward.

Li Su hid around for more than a month, and finally made Li Shimin unhappy. So he sent someone to bring Li Su from the distant rear army into the commander's tent.

"What are you hiding? Are you afraid that I will eat you? Inside the tent, Li Shimin glared at him dissatisfied.

"The ministers have a bloody heart, silently supervising the transportation of military food and grass for His Majesty......," Li Su explained weakly.

"! The grain and grass have their own superintendents to worry about, what do you have to do with it? You just avoid me, accompany the king like a tiger, do you think I am a faint king, and you can't kill your courtiers at every turn? Li Shimin said that Li Su's careful thoughts.

"Don't dare, don't dare, the minister has never thought so, Your Majesty is the most holy emperor in the ages......"

Li Shimin sat down cross-legged, snorted, and said: "Don't fool me, since you have gone out with me, you should abide by your duties, follow me left and right, and share your worries for me, you don't need to run to the back to stare at what grain and grass, that's not something you should worry about, you know?" ”

Li Su nodded again and again: "The minister's family has been poor since he was a child, and he is really hungry and afraid, so he is very concerned about grain and grass, and he really can't help it......."

Li Shimin knocked on the low table in front of him, and said coldly: "If you pretend to be crazy and stupid in front of me, don't blame me for military law, pull it out and beat twenty military sticks first." ”

Li Su immediately shut up.

Twenty military sticks don't seem to be much, if they really hit it, I'm afraid that they will be pushed in a wheelchair like Zhuge Liang in this life......

The tent was not large, and there was a bonfire lit in the tent, and the slightly moist pine wood crackled from time to time in the firelight.

Behind Li Shimin hangs a huge stitched sheepskin map, the map is very simple, there is no altitude line, no mountains and valleys, only one circle after another outline of the city, and winding roads, the east side of the map, the word "Liaodong" is particularly conspicuous.

Li Shimin sighed, pointed to the circle on the map, and said: "The march for a month to Taiyuan, a little slow, Youzhou ahead, Jizhou, and then Yingzhou, not to mention nearly a thousand miles away, if it goes on like this, I am afraid that it will take until the beginning of spring next year to start a war with the Goryeo thieves......"

Li Su smiled bitterly: "The minister knows His Majesty's worries, but the ministers really can't share the worries for Your Majesty in this matter, the army expedition must always take one step at a time, and the long distance and time-consuming are unavoidable......

Li Shimin stared at the map, his eyes narrowed slightly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: "Zizheng can know that the Han general hussar general Huo Qu is sick?" ”

Li Su frowned and said, "The minister knows, but the minister advises His Majesty not to follow Huo Qu's behavior." ”

Li Shimin smiled: "Zizheng knows my thoughts? ”

Li Su said: "The reason why Huo Qubing can go deep behind the enemy, come and go like the wind, and his whereabouts are difficult to find, one is because the number of generals led by him is small, only eight hundred horsemen, so he can do it in command like an arm, handy, and do whatever he wants, and second, the Huns are located in the grassland, and all the open areas are suitable for cavalry galloping, so the breakthrough and evacuation are like entering no man's land, three, the Huns gather tribes and live on grazing, and the tribes are far apart from each other, and they cannot be echoed, and they are suitable for small groups of cavalry to break through. With these three conditions, Huo Qu's sick department went deep behind enemy lines, and the grain and grass relied on slaughtering the tribe and plundering it for himself, so as to achieve his immortal feat......"

“…… However, Goguryeo is completely different from the Xiongnu in the Han Dynasty, they are not divided into tribes, and the Tang Dynasty is the same as the city as a gathering, its territory is very small, the Goryeo people are brave and aggressive, regardless of death, lead a hair and move the whole body, if you follow the tactics of Huo to get sick, the command is sluggish if there are many people, and the few people are like moths to the fire, not to mention that we are not conquering a tribe on the flat and open grassland, but a city with high walls and solid walls, send a cavalry first, the only advantage is that the speed is fast, to the city of Goryeo, to put it mildly, There is only one dead end......"

Li Su talked for a long time, and the more he talked, the more anxious he became, but Li Shimin suddenly burst out laughing.

Li Su stopped his mouth, looked at him in amazement, and then showed a wry smile.

Well, being played as a monkey, I think about it, how could the battle-hardened Tian Khan make such a low-level military mistake......

"Your Majesty, why are you ...... doing this," Li Su smiled bitterly.

You are so cheap, how did you become an emperor?

Li Shimin laughed: "Speaking of which, after the battle of Xizhou, Zizheng you have not been a sword soldier for several years, I am worried that you will lose your ability, so I will try it, fortunately, Zizheng is still the Zizheng of the year, and his demeanor is not inferior by half a point, I can rest assured." ”

Li Su: "............"

What else can he say except to comfort himself that people are cheap and have their own harvest?

"Ahem, if Your Majesty has nothing else to do, the minister will retire......"

Li Shimin stopped him: "What's the hurry, I just set up camp at night, and Zizheng hasn't eaten yet, right?" Come, eat with me. ”

After speaking, Li Shimin instructed the eunuch to prepare a meal.

The emperor's meal on the march did not have the delicacies of the mountains and seas as imagined, and in Li Su's opinion, it was even a little shabby, a piece of dried venison, a bowl of rice porridge mixed with a few wild vegetables and minced meat, that's all, anyway, from Li Su's picky eater's point of view, this kind of thing is only suitable for feeding pigs......

"Well, there's no need, Your Majesty, the minister should go back to his tent, don't dare to disturb His Majesty's meal......" Li Su politely refused.

"If you are told to eat, you will eat, so long-winded!" Li Shimin was unhappy.

Li Su had no choice but to make a bitter face.

Holding the same piece of air-dried venison and a bowl of rice porridge with messy contents and no aesthetic appeal, under Li Shimin's majestic gaze, Li Su closed his eyes sadly, took a bite of venison as if he had been given to commit suicide, and then ...... Vomited in pain.

Li Shimin's face became darker and darker.

What does this bastard mean? Do you think my dinner is a pig food that is hard to swallow?

Li Su forced a tearful smile and said, "Your Majesty forgives the sin, the minister made a mistake just now, and the minister will never make another ......mistake."

Saying that, Li Su took another bite of the venison and chewed it desperately, but unfortunately, he finally couldn't help but spit it out.

Li Su wanted to cry very much, it's not that he didn't give face, it was really hard to eat, what did it mean to eat this kind of thing every day, what did the emperor mean in front of him?

Looking at Li Su's disgusting appearance, Li Shimin suddenly felt that he wanted to vomit......

"You...... Bring me what you eat every day in your tent, and I want to see what you eat every day! Just go! Li Shimin was furious.

Li Su made a bitter face, returned to the tent to prepare for a while, and then carried a pot of burning charcoal fire and a plate of freshly frozen mutton and various spices into the tent.

The lamb is very tender, it has long been cut into thin slices and preserved with ice cubes stored in the ice cellar, and you can even see fresh blood on it.

Carefully looked at Li Shimin's face, found that his face was more curious than angry, Li Su felt a little calmer, so he unhurriedly spread a small barbed wire on the charcoal fire, and then put a piece of mutton on the grill, while roasting while brushing the oil and seasoning on the meat slices, soon the mutton was roasted to brown, making a sizzling sound, almost cooked, Li Su used a pair of silver chopsticks to pick up the mutton slices, put them on a tender green vegetable leaf, and finally gently rolled it into his mouth......

Looking at Li Su's expression full of enjoyment and such joy, Li Shimin suddenly felt like a turtle who had never seen the world, and then looked at the piece of venison in his hand that was like wood,...... No, the turtle is not enough to describe itself, it is simply a flower child.

"Bastard! What a bastard! Li Zizheng, you deceive people too much! Li Shimin pointed at his nose and scolded.

Li Su was stunned: "Your Majesty, this is at the will of Your Majesty, and I will eat it for you......"

Li Shimin said angrily: "Marching and camping, hard work, but you are so arrogant and lascivious, how do the soldiers think of you?" ”

"Your Majesty, the military rations are sufficient, everyone eats meat, and the ministers also eat meat, what's wrong?"

Li Shimin was angry.

Yes, everyone eats meat, but the way you eat meat ......

Pointing to the charcoal brazier, barbed wire, spice plate, etc. in front of Li Su, Li Shimin said angrily: "You bring so many utensils just for the sake of your tongue, if you miss the march......"

Li Su looked innocent: "No, these things are very light, pick them up and leave, put them aside and use them, the minister has never missed the march......"

Li Shimin's words were sluggish, and after a long while, he waved his hand vigorously, and a word burst out from between his teeth: "...... Get lost! ”

Li Suru was granted amnesty, and hurriedly picked up the charcoal brazier and seasoning plate and left.

"Wait!" Li Shimin suddenly stopped him: "...... I'll leave the stuff behind, and there's less meat, so bring two more plates from your barracks, especially the greens!" ”

“…… Be. ”

Li Su is very aware of current affairs, put down his things and respectfully retire.

Before walking out of the tent, Li Su almost wanted to ask Li Shimin if he wanted some spirits, in winter, spirits and barbecue are very compatible......

Thinking about the end of bringing alcohol privately in the army, Li Su hurriedly shut up and controlled his mouth.

…………

Interludes are just interludes, and in fact, the loneliness and boredom on the march often occupy most of everyone's time.

After a long time of horseback riding, Li Su really can't stand it, don't think that it will be easy to ride on a horse and let the horse walk, keep your legs aside for a long time, the taste is absolutely unbearable for ordinary people, after two months of marching, Li Su's inner thighs have been ground by the saddle full of blood blisters, and the pain is unspeakable.

Just when Li Su had the idea of becoming a deserter, the scouts in front came to report that the army had arrived in Jizhou.

This can be regarded as the front line of the battle with Goguryeo.