Chapter 20: All Warfare is Based on Deception

  Li Jing's night raid on Yinshan was the most brilliant page of the Tang Dynasty, and the Turks were destroyed as a result. What made the Tang people proud was that Qibi Khan was captured alive by the Tang army.

  The Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu, but did not capture the Chanyu of the Xiongnu alive, while the Tang Dynasty achieved this, it was a perfect victory!

  Of course, what made the Tang people most happy was not capturing Shanyu himself, but the snow-shame meaning behind this matter.

  Jie Li Khan took advantage of the great chaos at the end of Sui to dominate the Central Plains, and Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, Xue Ju, and Li Yuan all surrendered to Jie Li Khan, which made the Tang people feel extremely humiliated.

  Especially when Emperor Taizong of Tang had just ascended to the throne, Qibi Khan took advantage of Emperor Taizong's recent accession and unstable foundation, leading tens of thousands of troops into Guanzhong, and approaching the Wei River. In the face of Emperor Taizong's strong presence, Qibi Khan was forced to retreat and signed the famous "Treaty of the Convenient Bridge" with Emperor Taizong, which made the Tang people hate Qibi Khan deeply.

  It is a great event for the Tang Dynasty to capture Ashina Helu Khan alive, making the Tang people feel proud and relieved.

  Destroy your country, capture you alive!

  Is this shameless, or is there something even more thorough?

  It's definitely gone!

  Li Changguo used this matter to motivate his soldiers, and it had such a magical effect, which was also reasonable.

  "Teller's Creek is just ahead!"

  "Tielemanchu is just half a day's journey from Lianyungang. Once we cross Tielemanchu, we can attack Lianyungang!"

  "In the evening, we can have Tibetan mares' milk and roasted lamb in Lianyungang, finally bidding farewell to these miserable days of being covered in mud!"

  The Tang army officers and men thought of Li Jing's heroic night raid on Yinshan, yearning for the beautiful days when they would take down Lianyun Fortress, their eyes were especially bright.

  Having been soaked in the muddy water for so many days, some soldiers have already grown boils on their bodies. They badly need a dry place to rest and reorganize, and Lianyunbao is just the right place.

  However, the soldiers' hopes were soon dashed as the Terek River overflowed and flooded, making it impossible to cross.

  "Rumble!"

  Still ten miles away, the sound of Tuer Mengchuan's rushing voice could be heard. Li Changguo rode on his horse, furrowing his brow and secretly saying that something was wrong. They had finally arrived at Tuer Mengchuan with high morale, just in time to cross over and rush straight to Lianyunbao, but unexpectedly the Tuer Mengchuan River had flooded, which was against their wishes.

  Kang De and the others also heard it, their faces were all shocked and disappointed.

  "Don't worry, it might not be that big!" Li Changguo comforted Kang De and the others, but he knew himself that what he said was false. The sound of the flood could already be heard from so far away, how could the waters of the Treler River be small?

  "Right! It won't be too big!" Kangde and the others knew what was going on in their hearts, but they didn't expose Li Changguo's lie, instead following his words.

  At this moment, lies are also a kind of power!

  Li Changguo and his men arrived at the riverbank of Telemei River, took a glance, only to see that the river was heavily flooded. The water surface was over 20 zhang wide, with stones, mud, trees, and grasses being carried away by the rushing torrent, creating massive waves that seemed like thousands of horses and soldiers charging forward, an awe-inspiring sight.

  Li Changguo couldn't help but smile wryly, having finally arrived at Telmochang River, only to be stopped by the floodwaters just as he was about to cross over to Lianyunbao, which had been a sure thing.

  "Historically, Gao Xianzhi marched to this place but was blocked by floods. I originally thought that under my leadership, being familiar with the route, it would take only half a month to arrive, and there shouldn't have been any problem. Unexpectedly, it's still like this!"

  Li Changguo felt weak all of a sudden.

  “……”

  Kangde and the others were collectively speechless, their mouths wide open, unable to utter a word, with dejected faces.

  The Tang army came in a flurry, and it was expected that they could cross the river in one go. They rushed to Lianyun Fortress without anyone noticing, and took it down. Who would have thought that there would be a problem at the last minute? Who wouldn't be disappointed?

  Anyone who is not depressed is numb!

  This matter should be reported to Gao Xianzhi, but before Li Changgui and others could rush over, Gao Xianzhi arrived first. He was also worried that the Tele River would flood and sweep away the Tang army, so he came ahead of time.

  "Ah!"

  Gao Xianzhi's eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at the turbulent waves of the Tuo River, his fists clenched extremely tightly, with a series of creaking sounds coming from his joints.

  "If I had wings!"

  Gao Xianzhi was extremely disheartened and secretly grumbled in his heart.

  However, as a commander-in-chief, he could not express such emotions and had to bury them deep in his heart. As the commander-in-chief, every move he made was of great significance, and if he revealed this feeling of despair, it would be a disastrous blow to the morale of the Tang army, causing their morale to plummet to an all-time low.

  "Bang! Bang!"

  Bian Ling Cheng's right hand rose, and he slapped his own mouth repeatedly, scolding himself: "This mouth of mine, this mouth of mine, why did I say inauspicious words when I shouldn't have spoken?"

  He was beating extremely hard, his mouth corners were red and slightly swollen.

  On that day, when he was talking to Gao Xianzhi, he mentioned that the Terelj River might flood, unexpectedly, it became true, and the flood of the Terelj River was not just big, but very, very big!

  The soldiers arrived one after another, gazing at the Terek River with a look of despair on their faces, unable to muster any interest in speaking.

  This is a sign of low morale, if not resolved well, the morale will be greatly damaged, which is extremely unfavorable to the Tang army. As the commander-in-chief, Gao Xianzhi deeply knew what this meant, meaning terrible consequences, and as soon as he had an idea, he suddenly raised his head to the sky and burst out laughing.

  "Haha!"

  His laughter was like a thunderclap, spreading far and wide, causing the soldiers to be bewildered and look over in his direction.

  "Don't lose heart, this was within my expectations! Tomorrow, we will surely get through!"

  Gao Xianzhi attracted the attention of the soldiers and shouted loudly, his voice echoing through the mountains.

  He spoke with great confidence, as if it were really so, and added a sparkle to the eyes of his officers.

  "I, Gao Xianzhi, led you to conquer the south and north, fought east and west, encountered countless difficulties, but none of them could stop me! Just because of a small river like Terelj, I would be stopped?"

  Gao Xianzhi raised his head high, puffed out his chest, and spoke with a heroic air.

  His achievements were earned through real swords and guns, his talents deeply convinced the soldiers, and as soon as they heard this, their hearts were lifted, their confidence greatly boosted, and the low morale was not only lifted but also rose even higher.

  "Gao Xianzhi is indeed a talented general! With one speech, he was able to make his troops feel as if they were invincible!" Li Changguo watched with admiration, Gao Xianzhi was truly one of a kind.

  Although what he said was a lie, it had a magical effect in this situation.

  Lies can also be a sharp weapon at times, and now is one of those moments!

  "You all go to sleep first, nourish your spirit and energy, and tomorrow morning we'll cross the river!" Gao Xianzhi continued to incite the army, his voice even higher and more piercing than before, sharper than Bian Lingcheng's public duck quack: "Tomorrow at noon, we will enjoy the Tibetan roasted lamb in Lianyunbao!"

  "Long live the Great Tang!"

  The warriors burst out with a thunderous roar, shaking the sky and momentum like a rainbow.

  "In history, Gao Xianzhi was blocked by the flood in Telechukai River. He claimed that he could cross the river and indeed crossed it as if with divine assistance. Can we really cross the river tomorrow?"

  Looking at the exceptionally vigorous Tang army officers, Li Changguo had a kind of illusion, could it be that Gao Xianzhi really had the ability to predict the future?