Chapter 391 The Former Queen Mother, the New Favorite of the King of Jin

When on the other side of the distant ocean, the young man named Marco Polo boarded a merchant ship bound for the Tang Dynasty under the appointment of Emperor Charlemagne;

Chen Longxiang, the third king of Jin, who was in the imperial city of Goguryeo Peninsula, Chen Qingzhi of Korea, Wang Jian of Qin, and Qi Jiguang of Dingguo all received the edict issued by Chang Yuchun, Duke of Wei who was acting as prime minister in the imperial city of Jinling, ordering several people to Before the Lunar New Year's Eve, I returned to Beijing to report on my work.

Speaking of which, despite the fact that the Goguryeo Dynasty was just a small, peaceful country in a corner of the east of the Liaodong Peninsula;

However, it took the "One King and Three Kingdoms" of the Tang Dynasty for more than half a year, but it still failed to achieve the full occupation of the Goguryeo Dynasty.

To this day, seven out of ten of the land on the Goguryeo Peninsula has been planted with the royal flag of the Tang Dynasty, but there are still two out of ten places that still hold high the banner of the Treasure King of the Goguryeo Dynasty. Insisted on confronting the Tang Dynasty during the Eastern Expedition.

To create the current situation, the special terrain of the Jury Peninsula has to be improved.

The mountainous areas east of the Liaodong Peninsula and west of Pyongyang, the royal city of Goguryeo, are mainly concentrated in the area from Afeihu Ridge to Imjin River. The complex mountainous and hilly landforms greatly restricted the mobility of the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty;

The red-coated cannons of the Tang Shenji Battalion, let alone the power of artillery fire in this area;

The rugged and muddy mountain road was impassable, not to mention the red cannons weighing thousands of kilograms, and even the cavalry and horses of the Tang Dynasty could not pass. Only light infantry could barely pass;

However, the Goguryeo aboriginal people who have lived in the Afeihu Ridge area for a long time can walk quickly on the muddy mountain roads and appear and disappear;

The treasure king Gaozang, who had lost most of his "kingdom", retreated to Afeihu Ridge and continued to live a life of exile as a mountain king under the coercion of a group of die-hard loyalists.

In this regard, it is not that the Tang army of the Eastern Expedition did not send troops to suppress the Qing Dynasty;

Or, due to the limitations of the terrain, they got lost in the primitive forest of Afeihu Ridge and returned without success;

Either the gods were unfavorable, and just when the Tang army discovered the traces of the treasure king Gaozang and the remnants of the Goguryeo soldiers, heavy rain made the march extremely difficult, and the army's subsequent supplies of food, grass and baggage could not keep up, and they had to return in vain.

Even though Chen Longxiang, the pioneer general of the Tang Dynasty and the third king of the Jin Dynasty, who was born with supernatural power and had the courage to be invincible, personally led a surprise attack with a surprise attack, in the primitive mountain forest with complex terrain, Chen Longxiang also had no courage, but it was of no use at all. The place of martial arts.

Back and forth, the 500,000 Tang troops stationed in the Goguryeo Peninsula organized no less than five military operations involving more than 100,000 people, but they failed to wipe out the Goguryeo Treasure King and his remnants who were hiding in Afeihu Ridge.

Especially after the beginning of winter, the sharp drop in temperature and continuous snowfall on the Goguryeo Peninsula made the Tang army that went into the mountains to suppress bandits suffer a lot, resulting in serious non-combat attrition.

As a last resort, the Korean Duke Chen Qingzhi, who was ordered to take over the military power of the entire Eastern Expedition army, had no choice but to order the army to stop the clearing and wait until the spring of next year to discuss it again.

This time the army marched eastward, and although it had occupied most of the Goguryeo Peninsula, it also established a new King of Goguryeo;

But for the prince and the three princes of the Tang Dynasty, this Eastern Expedition failed to end perfectly, and they always felt like they had a lump in their throats.

Therefore, when everyone received the imperial edict from the imperial court to return to Beijing to report on their duties before the Lunar New Year's Eve, their faces were not very good-looking.

In particular, Prince Jian of Qin, who represented the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Expedition for the first time, was holding back his anger and had no place to vent his anger.

Before leading the troops to conquer Goguryeo, I thought that conquering Goguryeo would be easy, but I never thought that this small Goguryeo would almost become a place where their boat capsized in the gutter.

This day.

Inside the royal palace hall of Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.

The young Goryeo King Chen Lingwu did not appear on the throne. Only the "One King and Three Kingdoms" of the Tang Dynasty held an unusual military summary meeting in the palace hall before returning to the country.

At the meeting, South Korean Duke Chen Qingzhi took the initiative to take the responsibility for the "failure of the Eastern Expedition" on himself.

Chen Qingzhi said: "Everyone, this general I was ordered to lead the Tang army to march eastward to Goguryeo. It lasted more than seven months but still failed to eliminate the remnants of the Goguryeo Dynasty;"

"This general will personally explain the responsibility for this improper command to the Emperor when he returns to Beijing to report on his duties, and ask the Emperor to convict him!"

After a pause, Chen Qingzhi continued: "You guys, after returning to Beijing, you must be careful in your words and deeds, and do not disrupt my general's deployment."

"No-"

As soon as Chen Qingzhi finished speaking, the young Jin King Chen Longxiang stood up. His childish face that originally looked like a sharp-mouthed monkey has now become increasingly plump and mature.

Chen Longxiang said: "Deputy Marshal, this time the army's eastern expedition failed to eliminate the remnants of Goguryeo, the responsibility should not be borne by you alone;"

"It was after the Eastern Expedition that the deputy marshal led the expedition to Goguryeo. If we really want to be held accountable for the failure of the Eastern Expedition, I, the pioneer general, will bear the brunt;"

"If I hadn't missed the opportunity to fight, then Treasure King Gaozang wouldn't have been able to escape from Pyongyang City. How could this situation have been caused?"

"If you want to apologize, I should go to the emperor to apologize!"

After saying that, Chen Longxiang grinned and returned to his previous carefree look. He said with a smile: "Besides, the current emperor is my king's brother. If I come forward to plead guilty, it must be difficult for the emperor to hold all the princes accountable. "

"Let me take care of this matter alone!"

"Your Highness, this is wrong!"

Duke Qin Wang Jian immediately stood up and said: "Your Highness is a prince of this dynasty and the brother of the current emperor, but--"

Wang Jian changed the subject and continued in an unquestionable tone: "In this Eastern Expedition Army of the Tang Dynasty, Your Highness is just a vanguard general;"

"Now that the front-line battle has failed, how can we not hold the commander responsible, but hold the vanguard general responsible?"

"This is inappropriate!"

Hearing this, Duke Dingguo Qi Jiguang also stood up and said: "I agree with Duke Qin's opinion. No matter how you look at it, the responsibility for the failure of this Eastern Expedition cannot be borne by Your Highness;"

"As Duke Han said, It is also inappropriate for him to bear the responsibility for the failure of the Eastern Expedition alone! "

Speaking of this, Qi Jiguang stood up and said word by word: "In my opinion, the responsibility for the failure of the Eastern Expedition should be borne by our three dukes together;"

"And, we must sign a military order in front of the emperor. After the beginning of next spring, we must complete the success in one battle and wipe out the remnants of the Goguryeo Treasure King entrenched in the area from Afeihuling to Imjin River in one fell swoop, and completely quell the war on the Goguryeo Peninsula!"

Wang Jian immediately expressed his position: "I agree with the opinion of Duke Dingguo!"

Hey——

On the main seat, Chen Qingzhi, the former deputy marshal of the Longcheng Army and now the Duke of Korea of ​​the Tang Dynasty, looked at the firm eyes of Duke Qin Wang Jian and Duke Dingguo Qi Jiguang, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

He said faintly: "Two dukes, why are you doing this?"

Wang Jian and Qi Jiguang smiled at each other, just nodded but didn't talk anymore.

"Deputy Marshal——"

Seeing that the three dukes had excluded him, Jin Wang Chen Longxiang immediately quit.

But before he could stand up and express his attitude again, he was glared back by Han Guogong Chen Qingzhi with a stern look.

Speaking of which, Chen Longxiang, who originally obeyed his brother Chen Huaian, also admired and respected this Tang Dynasty Confucian general from the bottom of his heart after experiencing the days when he stayed in Longcheng with Chen Qingzhi.

So, facing Chen Qingzhi's majesty, Chen Longxiang finally stopped insisting and sat back angrily.

Chen Qingzhi waved his hand and said, "In this case, let's do this according to the opinion of Dingguogong;"

"After returning to Beijing, I will lead the way, and Qin Guogong and Dingguogong will go to Beijing with me to meet the emperor and report the failure of the Eastern Expedition truthfully!"

Think about it. Chen Qingzhi added: "I have tentatively decided to return to Beijing on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month by navy warship. During the remaining period, you should arrange and hand over the relevant matters in your hands to ensure that the remnants of the Goguryeo Dynasty will not raise troops and cause chaos during my return to Beijing to report on my work!"

"Yes, Deputy Marshal!"

After the meeting, everyone stood up and left.

Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Korea, who was sitting in the main seat, did not move, and called out to Chen Longxiang, the Prince of Jin, who was about to leave: "Your Highness, please stay for a moment, I have something to say to you."

Hmm?

Chen Longxiang raised his eyebrows and stopped immediately.

Wang Jian and Qi Jiguang did not stop, and strode out of the palace hall.

After leaving the house, the two exchanged glances, but they showed helpless expressions at the same time.

Obviously, they already knew what Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Korea, was going to say to Chen Longxiang, the Prince of Jin.

In fact, Jin Wang Chen Longxiang thought that what he did in the Goguryeo harem was flawless, but it had long been an open secret among the Tang generals.

How could Su Wan'er, the former queen mother and the mother of the Tang Dynasty's Goryeo King Chen Lingwu, hide her bulging belly from the many spies in the palace?

In the huge palace hall, only Han Guogong Chen Qingzhi and Jin Wang Chen Longxiang were left.

In Chen Qingzhi's eyes when he looked at Chen Longxiang, kindness, resentment, and helplessness were intertwined.

At the beginning, when Jin Wang Chen Huaian raised his army to quell the rebellion and conquer the world, the relationship between Chen Qingzhi and Chen Longxiang, who stayed in Longcheng, was that of a teacher, a friend, a father, and a son.

To say something treasonous, Chen Qingzhi's training of Chen Longxiang in all aspects of civil and military affairs was based on the standards of training his own son, and he taught him everything without reservation.

Therefore, even though he was ordered to come to Goguryeo to lead the three armies, even though he discovered the affair between the former Queen Mother Su Wan'er and Jin Wang Chen Longxiang, he still chose to turn a blind eye.

But now, this matter must be resolved.

Otherwise, once the child in Su Wan'er's belly is born, once the former emperor Zhao Lingwu is still alive and has changed his identity to become a vassal king appointed by the Tang Dynasty;

Once this news is leaked, it will not only be a problem of the current emperor losing face, but will also cause unnecessary unrest in the Tang Dynasty.

Chen Qingzhi said straight to the point: "Your Highness, before returning to Beijing on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, I hope you can properly handle the affairs of the Goryeo harem;"

"The child in the belly of the former Queen Mother Su Wan'er cannot be kept!"

After thinking for a while, Chen Qingzhi added: "Your Highness, a real man will never have trouble finding a wife. This trip to Goguryeo will be a test in your life;"

"After returning to Beijing, I will personally find a marriage for you, and I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

"Okay?"