Datang: From exiled prince to eternal tyrant

Chapter 89 Preparations before the war
Anshi City, located on the banks of the Yalu River, is an important town behind Goguryeo connecting Liaodong.

Goguryeo was short of ships, so the transportation of food, grass and luggage had to pass through the Anshi Bridge across the Yalu River.

And this Anshi Bridge is on the east side of Anshi City.

When Goguryeo went south to attack the Tang Dynasty, their food and supplies would definitely cross the bridge first, then transit through Anshi City, and then go south.

Therefore, as long as Li Ke takes down Anshi City, it is tantamount to choking the throat of the Goguryeo army, making it difficult for him to move without food and grass.

At this moment, the army led by Li Ke has approached Anshi City, and they are hiding in a mountain depression more than 20 miles outside Anshi City.

This mountain depression is overgrown with dense forests. Although it is late autumn, the trees are still verdant and the grass leaves are luxuriant.

Li Ke led a total of 13 troops, including [-] cavalry, divided into two units of heavy cavalry and light cavalry, and [-] elite infantry pulled by ox carts.

Although they are all elite troops, it is not easy to knock on the gate of Anshi City.

The cavalry is the king on the grassland. When it comes to charging, killing and chasing, the cavalry is naturally powerful, but in this kind of battle to attack a city and fortify a stronghold, its role is not much better than that of ordinary infantry.

But fortunately, the ox cart was useful, and it had a huge carrying capacity. Not only did it hold [-] infantry, but it also carried a lot of food and supplies.

Among them, of course, there are equipment used to attack cities and villages, such as catapults, fierce fire oil, and Li Ke's self-made ballista.

This ballista is Li Ke's proud work. It is not appropriate to say that it is a crossbow. This thing is like a giant javelin instrument, which can shoot thick, long and huge wooden arrows towards the enemy's city wall.

The ballista is extremely powerful, and the "bows and arrows" shot can penetrate the city wall, which can not only kill the enemy on a large scale, but also nail wedges on the opponent's city wall to help one's own side climb the tower.

At this time, Li Ke was commanding the soldiers, cutting down trees and making siege equipment.

Although they brought a lot of equipment, some heavier or inconvenient siege equipment still needed to be temporarily made, such as ladders, battering rams, and the giant "bows and arrows" used by the ballistas.

These things are not easy to transport, and it is really not worthwhile to spend energy to bring them from Sichuan to Anshi City.

Fortunately, these devices are simple to make, and only need skilled craftsmen to cut down trees to make them.

What Li Ke lacks most is talent. There are experts who are good at this in his special forces.

In this bitter cold land in Liaodong, there are many giant trees in the mountains and forests, which are most suitable for making battering rams and other equipment.

"Your Highness, it's done!"

At this time, Ma Liuzhi was leading several secret agents to Li Ke's side. These people were all sent to inquire about the deployment of Anshicheng.

For such an important military location, the other side naturally has some defenses, and Li Ke has already sent a spy to investigate first.

"Let's talk in the tent first!" Li Ke led people into the temporary tent.

The weather in late autumn is cold. Although there is no snow, the temperature has already made the people from Sichuan feel quite uncomfortable.

Several people entered the tent and sat down one after another. Li Ke had already taken out the battle map and spread it on the small wooden table.

"Your Highness, there are about 4 defenders in the city of Na'an. Five miles outside the city, there is also a watchtower guarded by a small group of elite soldiers. The defense is changed every other day."

A spy pointed to the map and pointed out the location of the watchtower.

This watchtower is on the road leading to Anshi City, if you want to kill from the right way, you must pass this high platform.

And because it is located in a high position with a wide field of vision, even if you want to go around, it is extremely difficult to avoid the observation of the observation deck.

Therefore, if Li Ke wanted to break through Anshi City, he had to pull out the watchtower first.

Li Ke looked at the position of the watchtower, and asked again: "How many people are there in this elite army?"

"There are about four to 50 people, it's not a big scale..."

Li Ke asked again: "When do they switch defenses?"

Another detail replied: "I asked the people in the city about noon, and the shift changes every day at noon!"

Li Ke nodded. These detailed operations were well trained, and the inquiring information was extremely accurate and complete, without any omissions.

He stood up and thought about it. The purpose of the enemy's watchtower was to give the city defense an early warning and let them observe the intruders in advance.

Of course, I can't let this watchtower play a role. Attacking the city when the enemy is unprepared, setting up a formation with the opponent, and contacting the rear for support, the difficulty of attacking the city is not the same.

The watchtower changes defenses every day, so the best time to attack is when the defense has just changed.

Doing so would ensure that he would have more time to transport the siege equipment to Anshi City and launch the most sudden attack.

Although it doesn't take too long to reach the distance of five miles, why not do it if you can buy some more time?

And after taking down the watchtower, you can face Anshicheng directly.

[-] defenders, although it doesn't sound like a lot, but you must know that the ancients had to spend several times as much as the defenders to win the city.

There are only 13 horses on my side, three times that of the defenders. This number is actually not big enough.

But Li Ke had confidence in his generals. His soldiers and horses had been rigorously trained and were extremely capable.

Making a plan in his heart, he turned around and told Ma Liuzhi:

"Notify the generals, rest for one night today, get enough energy, and set off around noon tomorrow!"

……

In the middle of the night, Chang'an City, in the Palace of Manna.

Li Shimin had just finished dealing with the political affairs of the court, and Concubine Yang came to serve today, and she was studying ink for Li Shimin in person.

"Thanks for your hard work, concubine!"

Putting down the last memorial, Li Shimin looked at Concubine Yang beside him.

Concubine Yang lowered her head and smiled slightly, she remained silent, she was always so gentle and charming.

Li Shimin stood up, looked at the sky outside the hall, and sighed: "Now, Ke'er should have arrived in Liaodong, and he is about to attack Na'an City..."

His words aroused Concubine Yang's longing for her son, and Concubine Yang's face suddenly showed worry.

"Don't worry, Ke'er's strategies and skills are rare in the world, he will be fine!"

Li Shimin comforted him.

Concubine Yang nodded, her pretty face flushed slightly: "As long as Ke'er can share the worries for His Majesty, the concubine will be satisfied..."

Li Shimin sighed deeply: "Yes! Without Ke'er, I am afraid that this northern war would be difficult for us..."

He immediately smiled wryly in his heart, it was not just this time in the northern war, Jieli was killed to Chang'an earlier, without Li Ke, how could his country be stable?
Li Ke really helped him a lot...

Among his many princes, Li Ke is really the best and most talented.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin walked up to Concubine Yang, stroked her shoulder lovingly, and said in a gentle voice, "I hope that Ke'er will succeed in fighting against the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms in the North, and keep our borders of the Tang Dynasty stable..."

(End of this chapter)