Chapter 1738 Remember, burn down the granary first

Zhao Chen was not in a hurry to go to the Silla battlefield.

After all, he is His Royal Highness the King of Han of the Tang Dynasty. He hastily traveled to other countries without any orders. If word spread, it would inevitably be criticized.

So Zhao Chen asked Cheng Chumo's cavalry to go to Silla first, while he, Wu Xu, Qin Sanpao and other Xuanjia troops stayed in Shacheng temporarily.

Xu Shiji is also quite busy on weekdays and has no time to have daily routines with Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen also enjoyed his leisure time. He just walked around Shacheng every day, which was quite comfortable.

On this day, Zhao Chen came back from outside. Before he could sit down for a cup of tea, he saw Xu Shiji walking in with a gloomy look on his face.

Before Zhao Chen could ask the reason, he heard Xu Shiji sigh heavily: "Your Highness, there is news from the court that our Tang border troops are not allowed to enter the territories of Silla and Baekje."

"Even if Goguryeo attacks Silla and Baekje, our army will not be allowed to leave the border before receiving orders from the court."

Although Xu Shiji felt uncomfortable, he could actually understand the thoughts of the emperor and the court officials.

If Goguryeo attacks Silla and Baekje, they will definitely fight with Silla and Baekje.

Both sides must suffer heavy losses.

The imperial court did not allow the Tang Dynasty's border troops to take the initiative to participate in the war, most likely because they wanted to reap the benefits.

In other words, we have to wait until Silla and Baekje take the initiative to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty showed its suzerainty and defeated the Goguryeo army.

Xu Shiji also believed that this decision was correct, but the problem was that he had already spread the news of the alliance between Goguryeo and Japan to Chang'an.

But Chang'an dismissed him on the grounds that there was no evidence.

Xu Shiji is now very worried about what the Tang Dynasty will do once Japan really joins forces with Goguryeo to attack Silla and Baekje.

Zhao Chen only hesitated for a moment, and then said consolingly: "I will be outside, and your life will be compromised. If Goguryeo and Japan really come to attack Silla and Baekje, then we will

Taking the initiative is..."

"Your Highness, it won't work!" Xu Shiji shook his head and did not agree with Zhao Chen's statement.

"Your Highness, take a closer look at this edict. It says that no matter who it is, anyone who mobilizes the border troops without an edict will be punished by the commander-in-chief of the border army as a crime of treason and will not be tolerated." Xu Shiji handed over the edict and sighed. .

Xu Shiji knew that this edict was not directed at him, but at Zhao Chen, His Royal Highness the King of Han.

The emperor would definitely not punish Zhao Chen severely, so if the border troops were mobilized, the responsibility would be on Xu Shiji.

Zhao Chen would not watch Xu Shiji die, so naturally he would not mobilize the border troops.

Zhao Chen frowned and looked at the edict carefully.

For a moment, Zhao Chen even doubted whether the emperor was controlled by someone, otherwise how could he issue such an edict.

But Zhao Chen knew in his heart that his plan to mobilize the border troops to stop the Goguryeo army was impossible.

"Commander Xu, there is no need to be angry. The imperial court has its own considerations. No matter what, protecting ourselves is the first priority." Zhao Chen comforted Xu Shiji.

Xu Shiji sighed: "Your Highness, I am really worried that once this peninsula falls into the hands of Goguryeo and the Japanese, their power will expand sooner or later. By then, I, the Tang Dynasty, may face their prying eyes at any time."

Zhao Chen did not answer the call. The situation on the peninsula was very important, and Zhao Chen knew it better than anyone else.

But it was not Zhao Chen who had the final say in the court.

Especially since he, Zhao Chen, is not in Chang'an.

…

Another half month passed, and there was no movement on the Goguryeo side.

I didn’t hear any news of the Japanese attack from the battlefields of Silla and Baekje.

interest.

Everything seemed peaceful.

However, the weather is getting colder and colder, with ice everywhere in the sand city.

Zhao Chen was too lazy to go out and mostly stayed in the room warming himself by the stove. ??

The weather seemed to be extremely cold that day, and standing outside felt as if the whole person was in an ice cave.

Even Zhao Chen got into bed early today.

More than a hundred miles south of Shacheng, a group of people were taking advantage of the darkness to rush forward.

They barely made any sound.

Only the howling cold wind blew across the wasteland.

In front of them were dozens of tall granaries.

There are barriers and pits outside the granary, but no one is patrolling them.

The weather is too cold, and everyone wants to stay in a warm tent.

The goal of these people today is the granary here.

The granary here is the Tang Dynasty's border army and the reserve granary for the Shacheng garrison.

Once this place is burned down, even if the Tang border troops will not starve to death, they will never be able to organize large-scale operations.

In this way, the Goguryeo army can go to the Silla battlefield without any scruples.

This is also the plan of the Japanese emperor.

But the people who carried out this task today clearly looked like ordinary people of the Tang Dynasty.

"Sir, no guards were found." The returning scout and the leader reported.

The leader was dressed in black robes, and his appearance could not be seen at all. Only a pair of cold and stern eyes could be vaguely seen.

"Sir, there is a smell of alcohol coming from the camp. It must be that many of the defenders inside have been drunk." Another scout also came back from the investigation.

After receiving these two pieces of news, the man in black robe had a sneer on his face.

r\u003e I thought that God was helping me.

With such cold weather and the fact that the defenders of these granaries were drinking and drinking themselves, it would be a real pity if the granaries of the Tang Dynasty border troops could not be burned down.

"According to the original plan, we divided into four teams, each team has fifty people, and must burn down all fifty granaries."

"Remember, burn down the granary first." The man in black robe lowered his voice and gave the order.

"yes!"

Everyone also responded in a low voice.

But the sound was soon drowned out by the howling wind and snow.

Led by the man in black robe, the group of people ran towards the granary ahead.

Just as the scouts had detected, no one was patrolling nearby except for the horses and traps that had been prepared long ago.

The camp smelled of alcohol, and there were drunken figures reflected in the tents.

The man in black robe waved his hand, and everyone immediately dispersed into four parts. Each of them held a pot of black kerosene in their hands.

Without anyone alerting them, they poured black fire oil under each granary.

As the torches were lit, the fire engulfed all the granaries in just an instant.

"It's gone!"

"It's gone!"

The fire burned, and the slightly drunken soldiers in the camp woke up instantly.

They rushed out of the tent and saw a raging fire rolling up a hundred-foot fire dragon under the howling cold wind.

There were dozens of black shadows escaping in the distance.

"It's over!"

"It's over!"

The general guarding the granary collapsed on the ground, his eyes full of despair.

He knew that he could no longer save his head!

The moon was like water, dark clouds shrouded it, and on the windy wasteland, fires shot into the sky, illuminating the dark night sky.