Su Dingfang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, we haven't found out what kind of weapon it is yet. After all, Du Qi's secret weapon has always been guarded to the death. We only know that it exists, but we don't know how to make it or where it was made. "
Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "The reason why Du Qi can occupy four provinces and why he dares to wage war against my army is because he has such a weapon. Without this weapon, Du Qi is nothing to fear. But after such a long time, you still haven't found out anything. Could it be that you want me to personally ask Du Qi? "
Su Dingfang said, "Your Majesty, this subject has failed in his duty."
Li Shimin said, "It's good that you know. When I arranged for you to be the provincial governor of Guazhou and manage the military affairs of Shazhou and Guazhou, I had you in charge of keeping an eye on Du Qi. Until now, have you found out anything about Du Qi? "
Plop!
Su Dingfang knelt on the ground and said, "This subject has sinned. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
He hadn't done enough to keep an eye on Du Qi.
He wasn't even competent.
Su Dingfang had indeed been keeping an eye on everything about Du Qi. The problem was that Du Qi's strength had developed too quickly, and the core secret weapon had been hidden. Even if Su Dingfang had wanted to, he hadn't been able to find out anything.
Li Shimin said, "We didn't come to Guazhou to ask you for your sins. We came to tell you that since you've been appointed here, you should be cautious and conscientious. If there's a problem in finding out information, overcome it. Otherwise, if you encounter a problem, say that it's not easy to find out. Or do you want us to find out personally? "
Su Dingfang knew that the Emperor had no intention of punishing him, so he said, "This subject will remember Your Majesty's teachings."
Li Shimin said, "Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Su Dingfang thanked him before standing up.
Li Shimin turned to Gao Shilian and sternly said, "Gao Shilian, in your letter to Su Dingfang, you mentioned that Hou Junji is obstinate and obstinate. Although Hou Junji is the commander of the army, you're the Anxi Protectorate's Jiedushi. Why have you never ordered Hou Junji to withdraw his army, but allowed him to do as he pleased? "
Gao Shilian said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
"Of course you are guilty," Li Shimin said, "But right now we are at the crucial moment of the crusade against Du Qi. Therefore, we will temporarily put aside your matter and deal with it after we return to court. Now, I'll allow you to redeem yourself. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Gao Shilian quickly thanked him.
Even if his identity was not simple and he was Li Shimin's uncle, there was no such thing as kinship between a ruler and a subject. There was only right and wrong. Gao Shilian had made a mistake.
In truth, Gao Shilian wanted to explain himself. After all, Hou Junji was extremely obstinate and obstinate, not someone who would listen to advice. But Gao Shilian was well aware of Li Shimin's personality. It was one thing for him to admit his guilt, but if he insisted on quibbling or even trying to shirk responsibility, Li Shimin would berate him and punish him.
After Li Shimin reprimanded Su Dingfang and Gao Shilian, he circled the mountain peak and opened his mouth to say, "Since the matter has come to this, in the previous battle, specifically what flaws there were, what areas can be changed, Zhen will not investigate one by one. Su Dingfang, We only have one thing to ask you. If you were the vanguard, would you be able to break through Du Qi's defenses? "
"Yes!"
Su Dingfang didn't even think and immediately answered.
Li Shimin asked, "How would you break through?"
Su Dingfang sternly replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the simplest way to break through Du Qi's defenses is to drive the flock of sheep forward. Once the flock of sheep is trampled, all the traps will be triggered, and Du Qi's ambush will lose its effect. Moreover, ever since we retreated to Guazhou, this lowly subordinate has been gathering flocks of sheep, and we have already prepared a sufficient number of sheep. Several thousand sheep are enough to break through the defenses many times. "
A hint of a smile appeared on Li Shimin's cold and stern face as he nodded. "That's not bad."
After a pause, Li Shimin continued, "Du Qi's subordinates still have projectile weapons. How do you plan to deal with these weapons? If we don't deal with them, it will still be extremely dangerous."
Su Dingfang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, these weapons are too flexible. In Du Qi's camp, the catapults can change positions at any time. It's simply impossible for us to break through their defenses. "
"The only way is to charge forward and avoid them. In truth, once we break through their defenses, it will be very difficult for Du Qi's secret weapons to attack us in close quarters. "
"Because when two armies engage in close combat, once Du Qi's weapon explodes, both sides will suffer great losses. Du Qi's weapons are most suitable for defense. "
Su Dingfang said, "Once we rely on the defense of the city and Du Qi's weapons, it will be extremely difficult for us to attack."
Li Shimin nodded after hearing this.
Su Dingfang's research was good and quite thorough. However, Li Shimin was very unwilling to accept such a situation.
He was too controlled by others.
Du Qi's weapons were better equipped than the Tang dynasty's army, and he also had new weapons and mechanisms. Under such a premise, although Li Shimin had many soldiers and generals, he only had an advantage in field battles. If Du Qi's hundreds of thousands of soldiers began to retreat and relied on the defense of the city, then with Du Qi's new weapons, it would be very difficult for Li Shimin to win.
At this moment, Li Jing said, "Your Majesty, Du Qi has many trump cards in his hands. In fact, we don't even know if Du Qi has even more powerful weapons. We have to consider all of this before we can make a suitable choice. I believe that the most suitable thing to do now is to lead the army to the border and meet with Du Qi first before coming up with a countermeasure. After all, Hou Junji is in Du Qi's hands. Once the battle starts, Hou Junji's life might be in danger. "
Zhangsun Wuji agreed, "Your Majesty, I agree with Duke Wei's analysis. Let's go to the border first and see how Du Qi responds. "
He was actually very impatient.
Because at this point, Du Qi's rebellion was almost certain. Under such circumstances, when Li Shimin heard that Du Qi wanted to rebel, Zhangsun Wuji would suggest to Li Shimin to cut off all of Du Qi's business networks in the Tang dynasty and cut off all of Du Qi's sources of income.
Other than that, the Du Clan would also have to be dealt with.
In any case, Du Qi would have to pay a huge price.
When Li Shimin heard the words of Li Jing and Zhangsun Wuji, he nodded and did not say anything else. Instead, he temporarily rested in the Provincial Governor's Manor. The army had traveled a long way from Chang 'an, and it was now the end of the 5th month. As it neared the 6th month, the weather was getting hotter and hotter.
Along the way, they rarely rested.
Now, all of the soldiers rested for a while to ensure that everyone was able to adjust their condition. Only when they reached the border and were about to fight could they give it their all.
After resting for a day, the army left Guazhou City and continued on their journey. On the afternoon of the second day, they had already reached the border between Guazhou and Yizhou. Li Shimin had brought the army to set up camp outside of Du Qi's camp.
Du Qi had already received the news.
The army under his command was also ready for battle.
Du Qi, Shangguan Yi, Guo Xiaozheng, Xue Rengui, and the others were all at the entrance of the camp.
Li Shimin was standing on his horse. There was a distance of two to three hundred steps between him and Du Qi's camp. Although they could roughly see Du Qi's clothes, they could not see his face.
Li Shimin got off his horse and walked forward calmly. When Li Shimin was walking, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Jing, and the others tried to persuade him. However, Li Shimin did not reply and only raised his hand to stop them.
Not a single guard followed him.
After Li Shimin walked a dozen steps, he looked at Du Qi's camp and shouted, "Erlang, do you dare to come out for a while?"
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