Chapter 227: I Help You Breach the City

"Campaigning outside, coarse tea and plain rice."

Li Erfeng warmly greeted him, "Inadequate hospitality."

Looking at the meat porridge, unleavened flatbread, meat sauce, cured meat, and roasted lamb leg arranged on the table before him.

Lin Dao smiled, "Thank you for the hospitality."

He was no longer a novice who had just gained the transmigration ability.

He wouldn't, at this time, to show off a sense of superiority, make grand declarations like "I'll treat you all to something delicious~~~"

Running to the Modern World to buy fried chicken fast food—he definitely wouldn't do such a thing now.

He reached out and picked up a dagger, skillfully cutting the mutton.

Without dipping it in meat sauce, he just cut it off and ate it directly, skewered on the dagger.

He often stayed in the army, so naturally he knew what the army's meat sauce was like.

He definitely wouldn't eat something bitter without complaint.

Meat porridge was millet boiled with wild vegetables, beans, and chunks of meat—just a big bowl of mush.

A chaotic stew that made one's scalp tingle just looking at it.

The flatbread was a Hu flatbread, actually a bing, an unleavened flatbread bing.

Taking a bite, let's not even mention the texture, but one's teeth would definitely be tested first.

As for the meat sauce, one could refer to the maggot-infested meat on British ships.

The cured meat was dark and dull, looking harder than stone.

Only the fresh roasted lamb leg was tasty and edible.

This was the most standard display of productivity in the seventh century.

The Tang Army swept across the land eating these things.

A group of army officers were all curiously surveying Lin Dao.

They couldn't understand why the King of Qin looked upon this man with such favor.

The King of Qin's temper wasn't that good; when he flew into a rage, even Yuchi Jingde dared not look him in the eye.

But in treating this man, he was always pleasant and smiling.

It was truly curious.

After eating and drinking his fill and wiping his hands, Lin Dao spoke up on his own initiative.

"The King of Qin is going to fight Wang Shichong, right?"

Li Erfeng composed himself and replied, "Exactly."

"This man has wolfish ambitions and is cruel beyond measure; the people of Luo Prefecture suffer greatly under him, and he must be punished!"

Those words were not wrong.

Wang Shichong was extremely cruel and killed people at the slightest provocation.

He deposed the emperor and seized the throne, plundering the people's wealth—his evil deeds were endless.

Famous general Pei Ren Ji and his son Pei Hang Yan plotted to remove him, but were discovered, and their three clans were all executed.

As more and more commoners and officials defected to the Li Tang, Wang Shichong controlled the localities with severe laws and harsh punishments.

If anyone's family member fled to the Li Tang, the whole family would be executed, not a single one spared.

Later it even developed to the point where the neighbors' families were killed too.

Compared to the Sun Nation, it was no less atrocious.

The Imperial Palace had been turned by him into a prison, filled with people.

No grain? Then eat dirt first.

Can't eat dirt? Then start eating white flesh.

Everything that should exist at the end of a dynasty, Wang Shichong had it all here.

And there was one more very important point.

He was a Hu person!

"Punish Wang Shichong." Lin Dao spoke calmly, "I am willing to lend a hand."

Hearing these words, Li Erfeng was overjoyed beyond expectation.

"If we have Zihou's assistance, the destruction of Wang Shichong is within reach!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals around frowned, and their frowns grew increasingly severe.

The King of Qin was exaggerating a bit too much.

It was just one person.

Even if he was unrivaled among the Three Armies, he was nothing more than a fierce general.

Under the King of Qin's command, what they lacked least was fierce generals.

"I have a request."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Erfeng's smile froze instantly, "Speak freely."

"Wang Shichong, and Zhu Can, leave them to me to execute."

Wang Shichong was a false emperor, but a false emperor was still an emperor, carrying symbolic meaning.

If enthroned, he could also cause trouble.

Li Erfeng knew this well.

After a brief pondering, he however nodded in agreement.

"Very well."

Compared to Wang Shichong, it was obvious Lin Dao was more important.

In Li Erfeng's eyes, this person was simply a god.

It was getting late, and Li Erfeng enthusiastically invited Lin Dao to rest in the camp.

He even wanted to sleep with their feet touching.

Lin Dao sternly refused, only asking for a tent, and explicitly instructed, "I am in seclusion; no one is to disturb me."

The generals' curiosity went through the roof.

They surrounded Li Erfeng, chattering and asking questions non-stop.

Li Erfeng selectively recounted some things, and also showed the generals a disposable lighter.

Yuchi Jingde and the others surrounded the lighter, looking at it in amazement.

But Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, Li Shiji, and other generals from Wagang Camp changed their expressions.

"Dan~ Dan Big Brother~~"

Wagang Camp had a strong Jianghu atmosphere.

Dan Xiongxin had a very good relationship with them.

Upon hearing that Dan Xiongxin had been killed, they were all grief-stricken and indignant.

Cheng Zhijie turned to go find Lin Dao, but was grabbed and held back by Li Shiji.

"It's not the time."

Li Shiji was meticulous in thought and ruthless in action.

The urgent task was to first figure out this person's identity and background, and what abilities he had, and why he could earn the Prince of Qin's special regard.

Rather than rushing off to seek revenge.

If his eldest grandson had half his wits, their whole family wouldn't have ended up buried in Tie Qiu Fen.

Gritting their teeth, Qin Qiong and Cheng Zhijie squatted guard outside Lin Dao's tent, stubbornly standing watch all night.

They waited until the exact Chen hour; the army had already eaten and was preparing to send troops, yet Lin Dao still hadn't come out.

Li Shiji came over and nodded, "Delaying the military schedule is enough."

Qin Qiong and the others pounced into the tent like tigers descending a mountain.

After a short while, several people came out with weird expressions on their faces.

Li Shiji hurriedly asked, "Where is the person?"

"I'd like to ask that too." Wang Junkuo spread his hands, "Where is the person?"

"There's no one inside."

Qin Qiong shook his head, "The person is gone."

"You all~" Li Shiji looked doubtful, "Didn't watch him last night?"

Cheng Zhijie immediately flared up, raising a hand to point at his own eye sockets, "Didn't sleep all night! Stared with eyes wide open guarding the tent, just waiting for him to come out~"

"That person~"

Li Shiji's words weren't finished, but he suddenly looked in shock toward the backs of Qin Qiong and the others.

Everyone turned around, only to see Lin Dao lift the door curtain and walk out.

"Were you waiting for me?"

In the seventh month the fire star flows, the night is stifling like a pot.

Coupled with not fully trusting the Li Tang, Lin Dao naturally couldn't possibly spend the night in the tent.

He went back to the Modern World to sleep in an air-conditioned room.

"Lin Dao."

Li Shiji, with a stern face, stepped forward, "The Chen hour has passed; you have delayed the military schedule!"

Surveying the person before him, thinking of Li Erfeng's introduction from last night.

Lin Dao's face showed a look of realization, "I understand; you've come to avenge Dan Xiongxin."

Having his thoughts exposed, Li Shiji's expression didn't change, "You delayed the military schedule."

Seize the key point and press it; don't ask about anything else.

This is a sensible person; compared to him, his grandson falls far too short.

Lin Dao was still smiling, but his gaze passed over them, looking toward Li Erfeng who had rushed over hurriedly upon receiving the news.

"No rudeness allowed!"

Li Erfeng, with a stern face, scolded, "Brother Zi Hou has come to assist us; how can he be bound by military law?"

"Yes~"

Li Shiji led everyone in saluting and accepting the order.

The situation was hopeless; they immediately withdrew.

"Since the hour has arrived, let's depart then."

Lin Dao strode toward his off-road vehicle.

Seeing Lin Dao get in the car, Li Erfeng only then lowered his voice, "Good thing I arrived in time; otherwise a conflict would really have broken out, and I would have lost several great generals."

Everyone was shocked.

Zhang Liang spoke up dissatisfied, "Your Highness the Prince of Qin, we subordinates are also proficient in martial arts, all clad in heavy armor."

"Even if this person is the reincarnation of the Chu Overlord, he might not be able to kill us all."

"You all~" Li Erfeng recalled yesterday, the scene of Lin Dao holding a strange weapon, shooting and killing over a hundred of Dan Xiongxin's cavalry from a distance.

He shook his head repeatedly, "You don't know how formidable he is."

Dan Xiongxin was also wearing iron armor, yet wasn't he still beaten into a bloody gourd?

Tens of thousands of Tang troops set out from various camps, heading straight for Ci Canal with overwhelming momentum.

Ci Canal, located west of Luoyang, where the Ci River and the Jian River converge.

Although Ci Canal does not have the same renown as Hulao Pass or Hangu Pass.

But for Luoyang, its position is extremely important; it is Luoyang's Hu Men.

Once breached, the army marching out of Guanzhong can head straight for the foot of Luoyang City.

In Li Erfeng's view, Wang Shichong would surely fight a decisive battle here against him.

But when the great army advanced, a fast horse reported from the front that Wang Shichong's troops had already withdrawn.

"Withdrew?"

Li Erfeng on horseback frowned. "They actually withdrew."

This is Luoyang's Hu Men.

Mountains and rivers crisscross, the terrain treacherous and complex.

For the defending side, it is an excellent defensive terrain.

At key positions, camps are scattered like stars and chess pieces; for the Tang Army to gnaw them down one by one would take at least several months.

Yet Wang Shichong actually abandoned them outright!

Li Erfeng subconsciously turned his head to look at that iron-skinned carriage not far behind him.

"Could it be that Lin Dao killed Dan Xiongxin, scaring Wang Shichong into fleeing?"

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Erfeng pondered briefly, then ordered the generals summoned for a military council.

"Shi Wanbao, your unit heads south to occupy Long Men, cutting off the enemy troops of Yi Prefecture's northern reinforcement route."

"Liu Dewei, your unit goes to occupy He Nei."

"Wang Junkuo, your unit rushes to Luo Kou, severing Wang Shichong's supply line."

"Huang Junhan, your unit goes to retake Luo City."

"The remaining various units, follow me to Bei Mang!"

The Tang Army that broke through Ci Canal, like mountain floodwaters released onto the plain, surged and roared as they swept across the Luoyang Basin.

Wang Shichong abandoning Ci Canal was a massive failure both strategically and tactically.

Lin Dao followed along all the way, accompanying Li Erfeng's great army as they arrived at Bei Mang.

Bei Mang is Bei Mang Shan, only twenty or thirty li from Luoyang City.

It can be said that Li Erfeng has already pressed the knife to Wang Shichong's neck.

Following the normal course, the Li-Tang great army would spend several months uprooting Wang Shichong's stronghold cities around Luoyang one by one, thoroughly turning Luoyang City into an isolated city.

After that would be a field battle to defeat Wang Shichong.

Then would come the siege, the assault, the breach, ending the war.

Although historically, Dou Jiande voluntarily came to offer his head, incidentally dragging himself in as a bonus.

But the general process was just that.

The whole duration, roughly less than a year.

In the Cold Weapon Era, a war of this scale deciding victory and seizing an important region in under a year was already very fast.

But Lin Dao could not wait.

He did not want to take command himself, raise troops and continue to inflict massive slaughter on the Central Plains, already riddled with wounds.

He planned to back a proxy, influence him, train him, arrange for him to do things.

Li Erfeng counted as suitable.

But some of his historical actions.

Like marriage alliances gifting technology, styling himself Heavenly Khan to fatten white-eyed wolves, excessive tolerance of aristocratic clans, and so on, made Lin Dao unable to make up his mind.

He still planned to go to Chang'an City, observe Li Jiancheng a bit, see if he had the qualifications.

No time to spend months or even a year beneath Luoyang City.

After the Tang Army pitched camp, Lin Dao immediately sought out Li Erfeng.

"I will help you breach the city!"

(End of Chapter)