Chapter 232: Bicycle Blitzkrieg

"Brother Zi Hou~"

Li Erfeng looked at the red eggs in his hand with doubt "This is~~~"

"Had a child, celebrating." Lin Dao, carrying a basket, distributed them to everyone "Everyone's joy."

Everyone was startled.

This one is a God Person, a God Person also has children?

"Congratulations, congratulations~" Li Erfeng was the first to recover "Drive away disaster and ward off evil~"

His face full of joy "My son Chengqian was born last year, after returning to Chang'an City, I will definitely hold a feast and invite Brother Zi Hou to see his bone quality."

These words made Lin Dao laugh.

It's not cultivation, where would any bone quality come from.

Besides, how Li Chengqian turns out, the Historical Records write clearly.

With a father like you around, being your son, especially being your Crown Prince, probably only a mental patient could endure it.

After Li Erfeng became Emperor, he could no longer go to the battlefield.

Those schemes from the battlefield were all used on the Crown Prince.

Lin Dao laughed without speaking, his smile also weird.

Being watched by Lin Dao, Li Erfeng felt uneasy.

He still wanted to ask, where is your child then.

The generals stepped forward to receive the red eggs, speaking congratulatory words.

All very practiced, and also eased Li Erfeng's embarrassment.

This custom of giving red eggs isn't foreign, it existed as early as the Jin Dynasty.

The Sui-Tang period naturally had it too.

Amidst the laughter and joy, Wang Junkuo on guard outside ran in hurriedly.

"Prince of Qin!"

"Someone claiming to be the Song Grand Duke's deputy envoy has come seeking."

"Song Grand Duke?" Li Erfeng frowned "Minister Xiao Yu went on a mission to Dou Jiande, could something have happened."

The deputy envoy was brought up, reported urgently, recounting the matter of Li Shentong and others being captured and taken back.

Something really did happen.

Li Shentong and Princess Tong'an failed to be rescued, and even Xiao Yu was dragged in.

The generals were all furious.

All kinds of accusations, curses came one after another.

Dou Jiande's whole family, entire clan, even ancestors received enthusiastic greetings.

Li Erfeng even wept bitterly, stamping his feet and beating his chest, performing~

Rather excitedly.

Lin Dao on the side silently watched him.

He discovered Li Erfeng's facial expressions were very rich, only his eyes seemed to have no waves.

That kind where facial expressions keep changing, even tears come down.

But the gaze is like an ancient well without ripples, even looking at the red egg in his hand.

Lin Dao took out paper and brush, recorded it down.

"Uncle~~~"

"Aunt~~~"

After calling deeply and emotionally for a while, Li Erfeng raised his hand and wiped his tears.

Face fierce, eyes showing fierce light "Dou Jiande! Most shameless villain!"

"Breaks promises, true petty man!"

"Will definitely avenge this grudge!"

The generals all shouted, clamoring for revenge.

Lin Dao who had been watching on the side spoke "When to send troops?"

The shouting instantly stopped abruptly, everyone looked over.

"Since we want revenge, want to rescue hostages, then we must send troops as soon as possible, the faster the better."

Lin Dao put away the paper and brush "Location clear, head straight for Mingzhou."

"Brother Zi Hou."

Li Erfeng gave an embarrassed smile "Such a major matter, must first return to Chang'an, listen to Father Emperor's decision."

Li Shiji added "Dou Jiande commands two hundred thousand troops, battle strength not bad, should plan for the long term."

The other generals also spoke up one after another, expressing various difficulties.

Overall, Dou Jiande's territory strength far surpasses Wang Shichong.

Opening war with such a major power requires caution.

Lin Dao didn't look at others, only stared at Li Erfeng.

"You dare not?"

One sentence made Li Erfeng break down.

He suddenly leapt up, face flushing red.

Another person, might have started fighting on the spot.

"What is there not to dare!"

He certainly had scheming depth, but after all he was only twenty-one, not yet as steady as he would be several years later.

"Since you dare, then send troops to fight Dou Jiande."

Lin Dao said in a resolute tone, "You will surely win."

In history, Dou Jiande's defeat was strategically due to Dou Jiande abandoning Ling Jing's correct proposal and taking the initiative to send troops for a decisive battle.

Tactically, it was underestimating the small Tang Army, thinking that a mere few thousand Tang cavalry were not worth worrying about.

As a result, they were hard-crushed by Li Shimin's fierce and brave charge into the formation.

Even more exaggerated was that Dou Jiande himself was captured alive, leading to the collapse and disintegration of his entire power.

This battle also gave rise to a famous saying.

"Li Shimin takes the bow, Yuchi Jingde takes the horse lance; who under heaven can block them?"

The victory of this battle had certain opportunistic and coincidental causes.

Now it's different; directly fighting hard all the way to the Territory of Hebei is extremely difficult.

Lin Dao's words stirred Li Erfeng's heart slightly. "Brother Zi Hou, are you willing to help me?"

"I can."

Now is only Year 3 of Wude; Xuanwu Gate still has to wait six or seven years.

Not to mention fighting the Turks, Tibet, the Western Regions, or India, even Hebei and Jiangnan and other places have not yet been taken down.

Where would Lin Dao have so much time to wait?

Li Erfeng asked again, "Brother Zi Hou, how should I help you?"

In front of Lin Dao, he never spoke of being alone, to show his status and position.

Instead, he used an equal posture between friends to address him, giving enough respect.

All for the sake of getting this God Person's assistance.

"What do you think," Lin Dao asked back, "to raid Mingzhou, how many troops and horses are needed?"

Li Erfeng fell into deep thought.

After a moment he raised his head: "At least ten thousand elite troops."

A raid a thousand li away cannot succeed without elites.

And considering the garrison of Mingzhou and its nearby areas, there must also be at least ten thousand troops in the main army.

Li Daoxuan added, "It cannot all be cavalry; there must also be sharp warriors, otherwise attacking the city won't be easy."

On this side Li Shiji also spoke up, "Not everyone knows how to ride a horse; foot soldiers carrying heavy loads a thousand li have difficulties."

Feng Deyi also said, "Even without civilian laborers, there must still be military rations and grass."

Ten thousand men and horses, carrying heavy military rations and grass, marching a thousand li to attack a strong city.

Where is this a raid? It's clearly rushing to send themselves to death.

"If Dou Jiande defends the city," Li Junxian's face was full of difficulty, "the Xia armies from all directions will surround us, trapped beneath the city, it would be~~~"

It would be total annihilation of the entire army.

"If Young Master Lin lends a hand, the city will surely fall."

Cheng Zhijie and the others all glanced at Li Junxian.

Now Li Junxian suddenly understood, forgetting how Luoyang City was taken.

With that giant object of the great iron hammer there, no city can withstand it.

"Marching, logistics, taking the city."

Lin Dao summarized, "I will solve these three problems; dare to go?"

On this side Li Erfeng opened his mouth to speak, but Li Yuanji jumped out and shouted, "Second Brother, this is clearly going to send oneself to death~~~"

The words could not be said to be wrong.

Rushing a thousand li to raid the strong opponent's Old Nest indeed has too much risk.

Under normal circumstances, Li Erfeng would not go.

But~

"Shut your mouth!"

Li Erfeng scolded, "No more words allowed."

With Lin Dao, who had displayed miracles, present, Li Erfeng's confidence also rapidly swelled.

The most important in the Northern Regions are Guanzhong, the Central Plains, and Hebei, these three places.

Now there is an opportunity to devour them all in one breath, and Li Erfeng is also willing to take the risk.

On this side Li Yuanji was unconvinced and wanted to say more.

Fortunately Li Daoxuan hurried over and pulled him away, instructing him not to speak nonsense in the army, and to obey the commander's orders.

Li Yuanji was indignant and remembered it in his heart.

Lin Dao brought a large batch of bicycles from the Modern World.

"The Official Road from Luoyang to Mingzhou, these should be ridable."

"Heavy infantry who cannot ride horses can ride this."

"This is much simpler than learning to ride horses."

Li Erfeng, who personally rode it and fell a few times, was overjoyed: "Good thing, immediately organize manpower to learn."

Learning to ride a bicycle, if fast, a dozen minutes or an hour is enough.

If slow, three or five days is also fine.

Mainly not afraid of falling, then one learns fast; once balance is mastered, that's enough.

The Guanzhong big men under Li Erfeng's command, tall and long-legged, after falling a few times, basically can all learn.

Moreover, Lin Dao had baskets fitted to the front and rear of this batch of bicycles, to hold armor and military supplies, and they could also carry people when needed.

Most of the time was spent learning simple maintenance, replacing parts, how to put a chain back on when it falls off, and other daily upkeep.

He originally wanted to order a batch of heavy-duty roadsters, but new ones actually cost several hundred each.

At such a high price, it was still not as good as modifying those abandoned shared bicycles.

"Prince of Qin."

Yuwen Shiji came over and reported to Li Erfeng, who was riding a bicycle.

"People from Chang'an have arrived — they are from the Eastern Palace, and also from Consort Yin Defei and Zhang Jieyu."

Li Erfeng frowned. "What have they come for?"

"To seize land."

"They bring an Imperial Edict."

Li Erfeng was extremely displeased with this.

The land the soldiers had just fought to take, and the powerful nobles of Chang'an City were already reaching out their hands.

This is no good thing!

Turning his head, he saw Lin Dao not far away, unknown when he had taken out a booklet and brush, writing and drawing.

He pedaled his bicycle over. "Brother Zi Hou, what are you doing?"

"Recording."

"Scoring."

Having finished the record, Lin Dao put away the paper and brush. "When do we send troops?"

"Tomorrow."

Early the next day, the sky was just turning light.

The Mingzhou lightning strike campaign officially began.

Nearly four thousand cavalry, each with two horses or even three, set out first.

Following closely behind were five or six thousand elite foot soldiers.

They rode bicycles with bundled armor and military supplies tied in the front and rear baskets, following swayingly.

At departure it was overly crowded, bicycle bells ringing incessantly, very lively.

At first the cavalry were fast, leaving the bicycle troops far behind.

But by noon the cavalry began to rest and feed their horses.

The following bicycle troops, however, gradually caught up.

They held dry rations and water kettles in their hands, eating and drinking while riding.

The sound of tires pressing the road surface continued without end.

On the first day they camped by the river, and the speed of the cavalry and the bicycle troops turned out to be almost the same.

Li Erfeng's eyes were shining.

"This thing — it's too good!"

As the commanding general, he had an extremely favorable impression of the bicycle.

Not delicate like horses.

Horses eat bean cakes and fodder, and you still have to add salt and eggs.

Even most of the water in the cavalry's water pouches went to the horses.

If one falls slightly ill on the road, it's another heap of trouble.

Bicycles have none of these troubles.

As long as you have strength, just pedal away.

Strength — eat a bit, sleep a night, and the next day you have it again.

Of course there were also damaged ones on the road.

But they had learned simple repairs beforehand; those that could be fixed were fixed.

Those truly beyond repair, following Lin Dao's instructions, were simply thrown away, and the riders got on a comrade's bicycle and went together.

Only no one was willing to throw theirs away.

Li Erfeng saw soldiers carrying their bicycles all the way to the camp.

When they reached the camp, Lin Dao tallied them and issued replacement new bicycles and parts.

After eating, the cavalrymen were still tending to their horses.

The Tang Army bicycle troops also did not rush to rest.

Instead, one by one they huffed and puffed inflating tires, checking and maintaining.

The delighted Li Erfeng looked toward Lin Dao not far away at the riverside, directing men to install a floating bridge.

"Brother Zi Hou, just how many more good things do you have that you haven't brought out~~~"

(End of Chapter)