Lai Ji's injuries were more or less healed. After all, Lai Ji was pushed to the ground by Ma Yuan during the gunpowder explosion. He was only slightly injured. After resting for a while, he was more or less healed.
However, Ma Yuan's injuries were different.
When the gunpowder exploded, Ma Yuan had taken the brunt of the attack head-on. His entire back had been blasted into a bloody mess, and even his internal organs had been shaken. Even now, Ma Yuan was still lying on the bed, unable to move for the time being.
Fortunately, Ma Yuan's spirit had recovered, and he was no longer in the state he was in when the gunpowder explosion happened. Back then, Ma Yuan had been unconscious for two days, and he even had a fever. Fortunately, Ma Yuan managed to pull through.
Lai Ji strode to Du Qi and bowed. "Your subject, Lai Ji, pays respects to Your Majesty."
Du Qi said, "No need to be so polite."
Lai Ji immediately led Du Qi's group into the city. Du Qi's personal guards were stationed in the camp, while Du Qi's group headed straight for the command tent. Along the way, Lai Ji explained the explosion in detail, as well as Ma Yuan's current condition.
Du Qi sighed in his heart.
Ma Yuan, this brat, was really lucky.
If it were anyone else, they would have died long ago. Because of such a large scale of injuries, not to mention the internal organs, just the infection alone was very dangerous. Ma Yuan had avoided all risks and had almost recovered. That was good enough.
Du Qi arrived at the command tent and saw Ma Yuan resting on the bed. Ma Yuan's face was ruddy, and he had recovered a lot. When he saw Du Qi enter, he placed his hands on the bed and was about to stand up and bow.
Du Qi went forward and pressed Ma Yuan down. "Lie down, no need to be so courteous."
Ma Yuan said with a look of self-blame, "Your Majesty, this subject is guilty. This subject was careless this time. I thought that Goguryeo had sent Gao Baozang to seek peace, so I didn't check everything. I didn't expect that there would be gunpowder hidden in the chest. This time, it was this subject's dereliction of duty, and it was this subject's carelessness. Please punish me, Your Majesty. "
Du Qi said, "You were indeed careless in falling into Goguryeo's trap. Seeing that you have rendered meritorious service by eliminating Li Ke and protecting Lai Ji from injury, we will not pursue the matter further. "
Ma Yuan finally smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
It was already fortunate that Du Qi did not pursue the matter.
To Ma Yuan, he had taken a big tumble this time. Ma Yuan had never encountered such a situation in his many years of battle. Or it could be said that Ma Yuan had always been victorious in his battles. His successive victories had caused him to become somewhat arrogant and careless. After all, Ma Yuan had never met such a ruthless schemer before.
Yeon Gaesomun's move was truly terrifying.
Du Qi said in a deep voice, "This time, you should recuperate well. We will take care of the rest."
Ma Yuan replied, "This subject obeys."
The injury on his back hadn't recovered yet. Even after standing up, he felt pain from the wound when he moved his body slightly. Thus, he couldn't enter the battlefield right now. This was especially true now that his internal organs had been injured. Recuperating wasn't something that could be done in two or three months. It would take at least a year and a half.
After comforting Ma Yuan, Du Qi led Shangguan Yi, Ma Zhou, Lai Ji, and the others out of the tent and into Du Qi's tent.
Du Qi turned his gaze to Lai Ji and said, "Lai Ji, now that Goguryeo has plotted against you, what do you think we should do next? Do you have any plans? "
Lai Ji said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject has already informed Goguryeo of Gao Baozang's attempt to murder an official of Great Xia and ordered Goguryeo to hand over Yeon Gaesomun and immediately surrender."
"This is just the general plan."
"In addition, our scouts have already begun to infiltrate Goguryeo. It's just that Goguryeo is a foreign land and they aren't familiar with the language, so it's still a little slow to plant spies there. "
Lai Ji said, "In addition, Gao Di is willing to be our spy and lead our army to the Goguryeo capital. After all, Gao Di is a relative of Goguryeo. With him leading the way, things will be much smoother. "
Du Qi nodded after hearing that.
With Great Xia's strength, there was no need to play any tricks against Goguryeo.
They just needed to crush them.
Du Qi's eyes were sharp as he nodded. "In the current situation, we can indeed charge over. Since Gao Di is leading the way, bring Gao Di over. We will meet Gao Di. "
"Yes!"
Lai Ji immediately made the arrangements.
The soldier went to pass on the order. In a short time, he brought Gao Di up. The current Gao Di appeared to be slightly nervous. Yeon Gaesomun's scheme had put him in an extremely passive position. Goguryeo had originally been prepared to surrender. However, Yeon Gaesomun's actions had put him in an awkward position.
When Gao Di saw Du Qi, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed. "This lowly one, Gao Di, greets Your Majesty, Emperor Xia. May Your Majesty live forever."
He was very nervous.
Because he was afraid of Du Qi.
One must know that Du Qi was a ruthless person who had swept through the entire Tang dynasty and destroyed the Tang dynasty. From a small state, he had established a huge empire like Xia Xia. If Gao Di's words were slightly inappropriate, he was worried that he would be killed. Thus, he obediently knelt.
Du Qi said, "Gao Di, Lai Ji said that you're willing to lead the way to Goguryeo?"
"Yes!"
Gao Di immediately replied.
Right now, he had no other thoughts other than to submit to Xia Xia. After witnessing Xia Xia's strength, he didn't have any hope that Goguryeo would be able to resist Xia Xia. Crucially, Xia Xia's side was no longer able to resist the Sui Dynasty's attacks.
Back then, the Sui Dynasty had attacked Goguryeo three times. Every time the Great Sui Empire launched an attack, it might seem like they had a powerful army, but in truth, there was a problem with the command of the Great Sui Empire, giving the Goguryeons an opportunity to exploit.
But the current Xia Xia was different.
Xia Xia's army was far stronger than Goguryeo's, and Xia Xia's weapons were even more powerful. Under the bombardment of cannons, any Goguryeo defense would crumble. Thus, Gao Di didn't have any hopes of survival.
Gao Di said, "Your Majesty, this explosion was caused by Yeon Gaesomun. It was Yeon Gaesomun's scheme, not the will of the imperial household. Yeon Gaesomun was a powerful minister of Goguryeo, and at times, he was even above the royal family. In particular, Yeon Gaesomun is a warmonger. Your Majesty, please understand. "
Du Qi indifferently said, "We don't care if it was Yeon Gaesomun or if it was arranged by Goguryeo's Prince Rongliu, Gao Jianwu. You have to give Us an explanation for this matter. Tomorrow morning, Our army will set out for Goguryeo. You will lead the way. "
Gao Di said, "Yes, yes. This criminal will definitely lead the way."
Du Qi waved his hand, and a soldier escorted Gao Di away. Du Qi turned to Shangguan Yi, Lai Ji, and the others and ordered, "Go and get ready. Tomorrow morning, the army will set out. This time, we will completely destroy Goguryeo. In this war, we will let them know the strength of my Xia Xia's Heavenly Empire. "
"This subject receives the order!"
They replied in unison.
All of them were brimming with fighting spirit. To them, the destruction of Goguryeo was a battle to expand their territory. Such a battle was even more exciting than the destruction of Li Shimin.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
