Ten Generals Captured Yang Zhengdao

  At that moment, Suning felt a great sense of accomplishment stirring up the lovely wings flying back to him, as if they were embracing and welcoming each other...

  "Jieli ran away! I am Yang Zhengdao! King of Sui Yang Zhengdao!"

  Suning was searching everywhere for the kind of military achievement that would allow him to eat and die, specifically Yang Zhengdao or Eulji Mundeok. However, in the dark night, the entire Dingxiang City was chaotic, where could he find Eulji Mundeok and Yang Zhengdao? Just as he was getting frustrated, he suddenly heard a shout, and immediately turned his gaze to the source of the sound.

  Li Jing also heard it and looked towards the source of the sound, but only saw a young man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe standing there, staring at him motionlessly. Li Jing was shocked in his heart, this dress, could it be that he is really Yang Zhengdao? Su Ning was even more surprised, this dress wasn't something anyone could wear, although he came from modern times, he also knew that the bright yellow dragon robe was only worn by emperors or crown princes or retired emperors, and yet the young man in front of him, who was not much older than himself, was wearing it. There was only one explanation, just like what he had said, he was Yang Zhengdao! King Yang Zhengdao of Sui!

  In Suning's heart, this Wei Wang is actually on the same level as the deposed Qing emperor Puyi. However, it's clear that he lives a better life than Puyi. Just look at how plump and white he is, although his complexion is somewhat pale, probably due to being frightened. Where has he got the gaunt appearance of Puyi? These barbarians are also easier to deal with than the Japanese...

  Su Ning and Li Jing rode their horses to the front of Yang Zhengdao, looking him up and down. Su Ning asked in doubt: "Are you Yang Zhengdao? The King of Sui?" Yang Zhengdao, although frightened and desperate in his heart, still straightened his back: "I am indeed the King of Sui, Yang Zhengdao! Who are you two?! Why have you come here on horseback?!"

  Su Ning looked at the guy with disdain, sneering in his heart. Is this what a superior being looks like? An ancient superior being? Withdrawing his gaze, Su Ning smiled at Li Jing: "General, I only knew today what 'fierce outside and weak inside' means. This is simply a classic example!"

  Yang Zheng's neck shrunk, and his previously straight waist also bent, looking like a soft-shelled shrimp. Li Jing revealed a scornful smile and said: "Your Highness King of Sui, I am Li Jing, the Minister of War of the Great Tang Dynasty, at your service!" Su Ning only then noticed that Li Jing was the Minister of War, oh dear! This is the head of the military! What an official!

  Yang Zhengdao, however, showed a look of horror: "Li, Li Jing!? This, this place, is the main force of the Tang army?! You, how many hundreds of thousands of people are here?" Su Ning laughed and said: "Your Highness, don't be alarmed, we only have three thousand iron cavalry, the main force is not here, hahaha! Uncle, what's your plan? I reckon Yeli has been scared off! After this battle, you will surely become famous in history, in the past there was Wei Qing who made the Xiongnu Khan flee at night, now there is you making the Khan flee at night, what a great achievement! You will surely be remembered for generations to come!"

  Li Jing smiled with his eyes narrowed, stroking his long beard: "You little scamp, don't pat my horse, if it weren't for your clever plan, how could I have achieved this great feat? I keep my word, in this battle, you will be the first to receive credit!"

  Li Jing actually had his own plans in mind. His military achievements were too great, and the other officials were already dissatisfied with him. If he were to achieve even greater merit now, his situation would be even more difficult. Fortunately, Your Majesty was a wise ruler who did not need to worry about being overshadowed by his subjects' achievements. However, Li Jing felt uncomfortable being isolated by the other officials and generals, and it was even more unbearable to have to hide at home with his tail between his legs. Moreover, he was getting old and didn't have many years left to live, so he should focus on promoting younger talent.

  Su Ning, although somewhat lazy and talkative, with a carefree and elegant temperament, not bound by etiquette, people who don't understand him might easily mistake him for a jester; presumably also learned from his master. However, when faced with major events, he remains calm and composed, bold and meticulous, with a strong sense of responsibility, and without any hint of arrogance. This young man is surprisingly steady, with exceptional talent. If he can't leave a mark in history, it would be his own fault. This time, it's just right to bring him to the emperor's attention, and also to downplay one's own achievements - killing two birds with one stone, why not?

  Su Ning didn't have any ideas, he just wanted to muddle along and wait for death, but in Yang Zhengdao's heart, it was like a stormy sea, letting himself fall into such a situation, unexpectedly, it was this little kid who was even younger than him, and also had three thousand cavalry? Was this kid human or ghost? Using three thousand cavalry to break through the tens of thousands of troops in this place? And most of them were Turkic elite warriors?

  Li Jing looked at Yang Zhengdao, who was as still as a wooden chicken, and loudly ordered: "Vice General Zhang, take 100 men to escort Yang Zhengdao to Chang'an to await the Emperor's disposition!" A burly general with a big belly came galloping up, cupped his fists in salute and said: "This subordinate understands!" Then, a group of people bound Yang Zhengdao and took him away on horseback. Throughout the whole process, Yang Zhengdao did not make any move, numbly allowing the soldiers to arrange him as they pleased.

  Li Jing looked at the Sui Wang Palace and ordered: "Take all the valuable items inside and all the palace maids and eunuchs back! If anyone resists, kill them without pardon!" The soldiers shouted in unison: "Yes!"

  Su Ning felt a chill, looked at Li Jing's determined face, and felt a sense of desolation in her heart, but she didn't say anything. Since they had come here, they should have been mentally prepared. They were the losers, and the winner takes all - this was the inevitable result of applying the law of the jungle to human society. After all, humans are also animals... She didn't need to save them, no matter who they were. She was on the side of the victors, so she might as well enjoy everything that came with being a victor. Whatever these people would face in the future was none of her concern.

  "Uncle, what should we do next?" Su Ning asked as he followed Li Jing out of the Sui King's palace on horseback.

  Li Jing looked at Su Ning and smiled: "You are now the military strategist in my heart, this question should be asked by me to you, not you asking me! We have already taken Dingxiang City, and Helichuan has also fled. The main force of the Turks should also retreat northward. What should we do? This time I was ordered to lead tens of thousands of troops to attack the Turks in the north, but currently only these three thousand cavalry can be mobilized. Helichuan still has at least tens of thousands of troops, what should we do?"

  Su Ning shook his head helplessly, thinking that this was the beginning of exploiting child labor; after recalling the information he had looked up in the encyclopedia, Su Ning organized his language and said: "After this battle, Yang Zhengdao was captured, and his troops no longer existed. The power of Sui thoroughly dissipated, and we only need to concentrate our efforts on dealing with Xiang Li; Xiang Li suffered a great defeat, and the tens of thousands of soldiers stationed here were ambushed by us, many were killed, and many escaped, so Xiang Li's strength was greatly damaged, which is very beneficial to our army.

  But our army is small, the main force has not yet gathered, and although Xili was defeated, his strength still exists. Once he comes to his senses, it will be bad for us. If we rashly go to war, we will inevitably end up with the whole army being wiped out. Therefore, I think that we should take advantage of Xili's recent defeat and the instability of the Turkic people's minds to send someone to sow discord among their troops, so that they cannot send troops to assist Xili, isolate Xili, and then we can use a strategy of false appearances to march north, forcing Xili's troops to rebel. More importantly, we must not fight with Xili, nor can we let Xili discover that we only have 3,000 soldiers. Elder brother, in this area, is there no great Tang army?

  Li Jing nodded repeatedly as he listened, this was roughly what he had thought of himself, but more specific and feasible. This young man's future achievements would definitely not be lower than his own: "There are indeed troops, Li Shimin has a considerable number of troops in Baidao, but only about 10,000 men. The main force is scattered in various places to attack the Turkic tribes, it's hard to concentrate the main force; besides, there's not much food, the Tang Dynasty was affected by locusts last year, and the grain yield was greatly reduced, which can't support the needs of a large army."

  Su Ning was overjoyed in his heart, for that was the second most powerful general Li Ji, a legendary war god, one of the only two remaining great generals. If they couldn't defeat Yeli, it would be an injustice to heaven! Once I get there, I'll be at ease. Later, Li Jing led the army to launch a surprise attack on Yinshan, capturing Yeli alive and killing Princess Yicheng, leading to their downfall. That was a famous battle, one that would bring honor to those who participated in it. Who knows, maybe I can even leave my name in history! Hehe, leaving one's name in history is indeed a great temptation!

  Suning said: "Then we can go to Baidao and General Li Shiji to meet, combine the troops, threaten and intimidate, probe for Li's whereabouts, if we get a chance, we can launch another surprise attack, this way the loss of soldiers will be minimal, the loss of food will be minimal, but the outcome may be the greatest!"

  Li Jing nodded: "Do it this way!"

  The Battle of Dingxiang ended, and the statistics showed that more than 300 Tang soldiers died in battle, while thousands of Turkic and Sui soldiers were killed or captured. Most of the captives were Sui soldiers, as the Turkic cavalry had fled quickly on horseback, and the Tang army did not pursue them. However, the capture of Yang Zhengdao, the King of Sui, was a major victory, and the Sui regime's power was completely destroyed. Over 10,000 prisoners were escorted to Chang'an, and the entire Dingxiang region was subdued. Originally, Li Jing had planned to prioritize speed, but due to the complexity of the situation, he decided to stay for a few days to gather information and await further instructions from Emperor Taizong.

  Li Jing wrote the battle report into a memorial and presented it to Emperor Taizong of Tang. Then, Su Ning's difficult days arrived. Li Jing said that Su Ning was a good child and a good comrade, with a red root and sprout, born in poverty, experienced hardships, graduated from a famous school, and was an excellent feudalistic flower bud. Such a good seedling needed him to be an excellent gardener who cultivated it with all his heart, striving upwards, studying hard, not pulling or lagging behind...

  Suning was talked into a daze, and under duress had no choice but to surrender, accepting the illumination of feudalism's sunshine, regarding the feudalistic leader Li Er as a shining red sun, believing in the three "whatever" truths - whatever Li Er says must be listened to, whatever Li Er commands must be executed, whatever Li Er thinks is right; Suning secretly cursed in his heart, if that ancient mirror Wei Zheng heard this, he wouldn't put down his brick and fight you to the death! You can't even withstand Wei Zheng's iron teeth and copper bones, what can you do?

  Li Jing made a plan for Su Ning to study both literature and martial arts. By "literature", it meant handling military affairs, while by "martial arts", it referred to Li Jing beating Su Ning. To be more specific, Li Jing would rest and sleep on the side, leaving all matters to Su Ning to handle. When he woke up, he would start checking if there were any mistakes in the military affairs. If there weren't any, he would nod his head and then beat Su Ning with a stick; if there were mistakes, he would first scold him loudly, and then beat him with a stick...

  Different paths lead to the same destination...

  Su Ning had a hard time from then on, and under duress, he could only take out the package of lucky instant noodles to bribe Li Jing. After cooking the noodles, the aroma wafted through the air, causing the soldiers who smelled it to drool profusely. When Li Jing saw the plate of instant noodles, he took a sniff and his eyes glowed green. He picked up his chopsticks and tasted a bit, then suddenly swept the entire plate clean with a whirlwind-like motion, not even leaving a drop of soup behind, making the plate spotless...

  Li Jing let out a satisfied burp, exclaiming that he had eaten pork all his life and finally got to eat what humans should be eating. However, the amount was too little, not enough to satisfy him, so he asked Su Ning to bring over three more plates. Su Ning hastily replied that this was all there was, but if Li Jing wanted to eat more, he could make some for him after they finished fighting. Overjoyed, Li Jing patted his chest and promised that once they returned to Chang'an, he would be the first to invest in Su Ning's food business, guaranteeing that no one would dare to bother him.

  Having obtained Li Jing's guarantee, Suning was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, as if seeing gold and silver winking at him, opening his arms wide to welcome them. However, a stack of military documents that followed immediately turned Suning's face into a bitter melon. After eating and drinking his fill, Li Jing fell asleep, snoring loudly...

  The grievances in Su Ning's heart surged up to the sky, and the large Sui Wang palace, which was used as a temporary residence, was filled with grievances, making every soldier feel a chill and involuntarily shudder. However, at this moment, the imperial capital Chang'an of the Great Tang Empire was filled with joy, mainly in the imperial palace inside Chang'an City, where the joyful atmosphere accompanied by the noble atmosphere spread to every corner of Chang'an City. The people inside Chang'an City also whispered to each other with a smile on their faces, talking about the big shot who was brought back in a prisoner's cart yesterday.