In the imperial study room, Zhang Li shook his head and said: "The other party kept saying that they came with the greatest sincerity, but they did not allow Datang to bargain. This is what they call sincerity."
Li Ye smiled and said: "Perhaps they think that the four points they have come up with are already the ultimate concession."
Zhang Li sneered and said: "Compared with Nanzhao's sincerity, I only saw arrogance. He kept saying that the Tang Dynasty was the suzerainty. The king refused to come to Hajj. He only sent one minister to negotiate. The other party made it clear that there was no room for compromise.
, just want to impose their will on the Tang Dynasty, Your Majesty, the other party is arrogant and has no sincerity, and the gap between the two sides' demands is too big, I think there is no need to negotiate."
Li Ye nodded, "I would like to ask the Prime Minister to tell the other party again. If you want to talk, sit down and have a good talk. If you can't talk, there won't be another chance!"
Zhang Li bowed and said: "Wei Chen will go now!"
Zhang Li left in a hurry, and Li Ye stood in front of the window and pondered for a long time, but still carried out the original plan. We must consider Silla in the long term, use the method of cannibalization instead of swallowing, first occupy the legal principles, and then destroy Silla step by step.
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Zhang Li took a carriage to the guest house of Honglu Temple next to Hanguang Gate in the Imperial City. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw Yan Quanming, the Minister of War, running towards him.
"Shilang Yan, why are you so anxious?"
Yan Quanming stepped forward and said with a wry smile: "The Silla special envoy is going back. I can't persuade him due to my humble position."
Zhang Li frowned. He just arrived yesterday and is going back today. What kind of trick is this?
When Zhang Li came to the guest house, he saw several carriages parked at the gate, and several officials from Silla were carrying luggage. Everyone looked very depressed. After all, they had just arrived yesterday and were leaving today.
At this time, Jin Zhenzhi strode out, and his deputy followed him to persuade him, but Jin Zhenzhi had a gloomy face and said nothing.
"Is Jin Shizhong leaving now?" Zhang Li stepped forward and asked.
Jin Zhenzhi stopped and said coldly: "Does Zhang Xiangguo think there is anything else we need to talk about?"
Zhang Li smiled lightly, "Of course it is necessary. If we talk, at least Silla will still be there. If we don't talk, Silla will probably follow the footsteps of the Khitan."
"Hmph! According to your rules, can Silla still be called a country? If we are deprived of our territory and army, what is the difference between that and eunuchs?"
"That was not your land in the first place. Goguryeo and Baekje were destroyed by the Tang Dynasty. They were the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but they were shamelessly invaded by Silla. Now the Tang Dynasty wants to take back its own land. What's wrong with that?"
Jin Zhenzhi said proudly: "Territory is for the strong. We Silla have always been the strongest country. The land of Goguryeo and Baekje was obtained by Silla through strength. What qualifications does the Tang Dynasty have to ask for?" There are twenty Silla people.
With tens of thousands of troops here, we will never give up an inch of land to the Tang Dynasty!"
Zhang Li nodded, "It seems that there is no need for us to continue talking, so I wish Jin Shizhong a safe journey!"
Jin Zhenzhi was sitting in the carriage. He opened the window and sneered: "Xiangguo Zhang, see you on the battlefield!"
Zhang Li smiled disdainfully and did not speak to him.
"Set off!"
Jin Zhenzhi shouted, and several carriages started and drove towards Hanguangmen, and soon left the imperial city and Chang'an.
The only negotiation between the Tang Dynasty and Silla ended in the shortest possible time due to huge differences between them.
Three days after the negotiations ended, Li Ye issued an attack order to the troops on Tamna Island and Liaodong.
In early February, Emperor Li Ye's military orders arrived at Tamna Island and Liaodong.
At this time, 60,000 troops and nearly a thousand warships had been assembled on Tamna Island, with Ma Lin as the marshal of the Eastern Campaign and the naval commander Li Chengshi as the deputy marshal.
Ma Lin directly led 30,000 troops from Tamna Island into the peninsula and attacked Gyeongju, the capital of Silla.
Li Chengshi led 30,000 navy troops in hundreds of warships to go north, entered the Han River, and attacked Hanzhou, the important town of Silla.
Once Hanzhou is captured, it will depend on the situation in Qingzhou. If Ma Lin's army cannot capture Qingzhou temporarily, Li Chengshi will lead his army to assist.
If Ma Lin has captured Hanzhou, Li Chengshi will lead the army to attack Xiongzhou.
In addition, Nan Jiyun, the governor of Liaodong, was also preparing to lead an army of 30,000 to attack the Silla North Camp on the Yalu River from the north.
Silla's army was mainly concentrated in Gyeongju, Hanju, Xiongju and Beidaying, with a total strength of about 80,000.
Hanzhou City in the Tang Dynasty is not the current Seoul. Hanzhou City is located on the south bank of the Han River. It was originally an important town of Baekje and is now the largest grain-producing place in Silla. A large number of people live on both sides of the Han River.
Originally, the Baekje people were the majority. In order to occupy the land on both sides of the Han River, Silla continued to use various methods to brutally squeeze the Baekje people. Last year, it even triggered a major uprising of the Baekje people, but it was still brutally suppressed by the army led by Kim Jung-ji.
, slaughtered about 300,000 young men of Baekje, and the nobles of Silla divided up the last fertile land of the Baekje people.
There are currently 20,000 troops garrisoned in Hanzhou City. Their main responsibility is to maintain the order of the plains on both sides of the Han River, that is, to safeguard the interests of the big nobles and big landowners.
However, the garrison in Hanzhou City never imagined that a mighty Tang army fleet sailed from the Yellow Sea into the Han River and left the city.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
A rapid alarm bell rang on the top of the city, and countless soldiers rushed to the top of the city. Even the commander-in-chief Zheng Qingxuan also went to the city, looking at the fleet on the Han River in the distance in horror.
In fact, after the Tang army launched the Liaodong Campaign last year, Silla soldiers were talking about the Tang army launching an attack on Silla. However, the upper echelons of Silla were not interested in this. They were still fighting for power and considering how to occupy more land.
It is still early spring, and the Tang army is coming.
Groups of Tang soldiers disembarked from the ships and lined up. Soon, 30,000 Tang soldiers had already lined up on the shore. Dozens of large siege equipment were also unloaded from the ships, mainly three folding bridge-building vehicles.
This kind of bridge erecting vehicle appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There are generally two types. One is the through-type bridge erecting vehicle. The main body is a two-wheeled flat cart carrying a long bridge body. When it reaches the river,
, just push the bridge body to the other side and set it up.
There is also a folding bridge erecting vehicle, which has the same principle as the folding ladder, mainly to solve the problem of the bridge being too long.
However, in subsequent wars, the emphasis was placed on the mobility of the army as quickly as possible, and carrying a bridge erecting vehicle was too cumbersome and far less convenient than temporarily cutting down a few large trees to set up on the river, so it was gradually eliminated.
But this time the attack on Silla was followed by warships, and heavy bridge erecting vehicles also appeared.
At this time, a Tang Army cavalry galloped to the city and shot a letter with arrows on top of the city, demanding that the defenders leave the city immediately and surrender.
This time the Tang army fought a war to destroy the country. The war to destroy the country was very cruel and there was no sense of benevolence. In the domestic war, one could surrender and become a prisoner of war, and finally be released to go home and work in farming.
The war to destroy the country is to first wipe out all the army, and then wipe out all the nobles and other ruling classes, leaving only ordinary people.
Of course, the Nanzhao model that Li Ye used against Silla this time was to eliminate the army, retain the nobles, temporarily retain the empty body of Silla, and then destroy Silla step by step.
When the Silla army received the arrow letter from the Tang army, they naturally would not respond. No army would surrender if the other party asked for surrender without fighting.
Of course, the Tang Army also knew this was the result. They asked the other party to surrender just because the Tang Army did not want too many casualties in the street fighting. But in fact, the Tang Army did not want the other party to surrender.
Thirty thousand Tang troops were waiting patiently to recharge their batteries. At dusk, the Tang troops formed a formation in front of the north city gate.
Li Chengshi looked at the north gate. It was exactly the same as the city in the Tang Dynasty. The gate was made of wooden gates and was relatively old. It had a suspension bridge and a moat. The moat was three feet wide, which was very suitable for the heavy bridge erecting vehicles they carried.
There are also many things to pay attention to when fighting street battles. One of the key points is to attack the city quickly and capture the city unexpectedly, so that the opponent has no time to deploy street fighting. The soldiers rush into the city as quickly as possible, and at least 30 to 40% of the soldiers will be blocked on the top of the city.
Li Chengshi waved his hand and said: "The bridge-building vehicle comes forward, and the arrow and thunder hands are ready!"
Three folding heavy-duty bridge-building vehicles came forward slowly in parallel. There was an arrow shield behind the bridge-building vehicles to block the soldiers on the carts from being hurt by arrows from the city.
Behind the bridge erecting vehicle were three hundred soldiers holding big yellow crossbows. The big yellow crossbows were already cocked and only needed to be fired.
Three hundred people lined up in three rows three hundred steps away. The first row lay down, the second row squatted, and the third row raised their crossbows. The arrows and mines had been installed on the crossbows. The murderous intention was already present, and they were waiting for the command from the general.
