Datang: From exiled prince to eternal tyrant

Chapter 186 Yuben City

In the Tubo palace, Lun Keri was still arguing endlessly. He was very disdainful of Shang Nang's concerns about Li Ke, and kept saying that he would take down Li Ke.

At this moment, another guard walked into the hall, and he went straight to Songtsan Gampo, and handed over a small letter.

Songtsen Gampo opened it and took a look, then his expression changed.

"Zap, what's wrong?"

Seeing this situation, Shang Nang asked.

Songtsen Gampo didn't answer, he gave a wry smile and handed the letter to Shang Nang.

Shang Nang also took a look at it, and was terrified after just one look.

Then he handed the letter to the angry Lunke Ri.

That Lun Keri was chattering before, but after reading the letter, he became silent again.

Then Songtsan Gampo said: "The Dajian furnace has been captured by the Shu army, it seems that the old man's conjecture is really good..."

"How...how is it possible...Ye entrusted him to escape with only a hundred thousand people..."

Lun Keri was still holding the letter, his voice trembling.

This is also due to Lun Keri's general, who suffered such a serious setback this time, Lun Keri was naturally aggrieved.

"Could it be... Mei Ji..."

He opened his mouth again quietly, throwing the responsibility for losing this battle on Mei Ji.

Before the army set off for the expedition, Songtsen Gampo sent Mei Ji to the army to take charge of affairs.

On this matter, Keri had strongly opposed it, and he changed his general and installed a confidant of the emperor, which would disturb the morale of the army.

But Songtsen Gampo had a clear attitude, and there was nothing he could do about Keri.

Now that Ye Tuo was defeated, he naturally thought of Mei Ji, thinking that Mei Ji interfered with Ye Tuo's command of the battle, leading to the current defeat.

Songtsan Gampo frowned slightly, as if dissatisfied with Lun Keri's words.

But he did not argue with Uncle Wang: "Now is not the time to investigate the responsibility... Dajianlu is an important border town in Tubo. Once it is lost, the surrounding areas will not be able to defend it..."

"Zampo, don't worry!"

Shang Nang said: "We might as well ask Yetuo to retreat back to Yupen first, because Yupen City has natural dangers to defend, and it will definitely not be breached by the Shu army."

Lunke asked anxiously: "Are we no longer interested in the area around Dajianlu?"

Shang Nang chuckled: "How to defend? Who will defend? Dajian Furnace failed to defend, how to defend those small towns?"

His question made Lun Keri speechless.

Songtsan Gampo pondered for a moment, then sighed, "That's all there is to it... first defend Yupen City, wait until the battle on the western front is over, and then move troops to the east to take back the Dajian furnace..."

"No... not only do we have to take back the Dajian Lu, we also have to fight all the way to the east and capture Li Ke's Shu land as well!"

On Ke Ri's eyes, he said with hatred.

……

After taking down the arrow stove, Li Ke let the army rest for two days, and transferred the reserve infantry from Yazhou, and then ordered Ma Liuzhi and Gu Wu to go out and fight in all directions.

There are some small towns around Dajianlu, and there are not many defensive forces. In addition, the reputation of the benevolent and righteous division of the Shu army has been passed down through the secret work, so it can be easily taken down.

Ma Liuzhi led the army all the way and swept all the surrounding cities.

In many towns, as soon as they heard that the Shu army was coming to attack, they opened the city gates directly without waiting for Ma Liuzhi and others to lead the troops to attack the city. This saved a lot of trouble.

For three days in a row, Ma Liuzhi and Gu Wu were invincible, they had defeated all the surrounding cities, and then they leisurely returned to Dajianlu, ready to advance further.

But Li Ke used these three days to appease the people in the city, and at the same time assigned officials to manage Dajianlu, and transferred all the reserve infantry.

He wants to transform Dajian Furnace into his own stronghold, so that he will have a stable rear when he sends troops forward in the future.

When Ma Liuzhi and others returned, Li Ke personally led the main force and began to march southwest.

This time, their goal was Yu Ben City.

Three days later, the army arrived at the Yak River, fifty miles north of Yupen City.

In the big camp, Li Ke and others were following the map to discuss.

"Your Highness, please look, this city is located at the confluence of three big rivers. The terrain is dangerous. The opponent has a large army guarding the riverside. As long as we cross the river, we will definitely be blocked by the opponent with sharp arrows."

Facing the map, Gu Wubi introduced to Li Ke and others the control situation of the other party.

In the vicinity of Yupen City, from the northwest to the southeast, there are three large rivers parallel to each other.

These three big rivers, from north to south, are Yak River, Heishui River and Xiang River.

This Yuben City is located between the Heishui River and the Xiang River, and its guard camp is distributed between the Heishui River and the Yak River.

In other words, if you want to break through the city of Yupen, you must first cross the Yak River and defeat the defenders on the south bank of the Yak River.Then, cross the Heishui River and break through the main city.

These three rivers are all large rivers with wide river surfaces and huge water flows. If you want to cross the rivers, you must temporarily build ships.

But building a ship is the first step. The most important thing is how to cross the river smoothly under the defense of the opponent.

Looking at the terrain map, Ma Liuzhi was completely stunned.

"How about... let's go directly from the north and stop attacking this city?"

he asked tentatively.

Li Ke shook his head with a smile: "If you want to fight to the bottom, you must fight Yupen City. After you beat Yupen, and then go all the way west, you will be directed at Wang Ting..."

Ma Liuzhi said with a bitter face: "But... these big rivers lie in the middle, we can't fly over them, right?"

Li Ke sighed: "I can only build ships..."

"Then what about the defenders on the opposite side? We can't take a boat and be a living target, right?" Ma Liuzhi said anxiously.

Li Ke thought for a while, and said: "How about... let's go further north, cross the river from the upper reaches, and then kill from the north?"

"no!"

Gu Wu shook his head: "The river is fast-moving, only this section is a little slower. If you cross the river from the upper reaches, you have to build a big boat, and ordinary small boats can't cross the river."

He added: "Moreover, there are few forests on this plateau. Only near Yuben City are there large forests that can be used for logging and shipbuilding..."

Ma Liuzhi's eyes widened: "So...the only way to cross the river is from this section? Isn't this sending you to death?"

They worked hard to cross the river, but before they landed, the sharp arrows from the opposite side were aimed at them, so what's the point?
All three fell silent, thinking hard, trying to find a way to cross the river safely.

"How about... just like last time, crossing the river in the dark?" Gu Wu suggested.

Li Ke shook his head: "No, the Yak River is too wide, and the opponent has a large camp on the river bank. They must be on guard all day long. Even if they cross the river at night, they will definitely be discovered by the opponent."

He stood up again, thinking carefully.

If you cross the river directly, you will be discovered by the opponent no matter what. Only by building a big boat can you resist the opponent's offensive.

It is obviously inappropriate to temporarily build warships.

Moreover, this is their territory, and the Tubo people will not allow you to build warships safely.

Then there is only the previous method, crossing the river from the upper reaches, but...the river is rushing...lack of trees...

How to solve these two points?
If there is no wood, the trees can be cut down from the downstream and transported to the upstream. But how to solve the other problem?

(End of this chapter)