lovenovelstory Chapter 26 Loyal Heart and Unwavering Devotion, Facing Unfulfilled Ambitions
Chapter 26 Loyal Heart and Unwavering Devotion, Facing Unfulfilled Ambitions
Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the hall.
ruthless!
Too bad!
Yang Su's hawk-like eyes suddenly narrowed.
The chill didn't come from the shame and annoyance of being outdone, but from a deeper sense of unease.
His "extermination plan" was ruthless but prone to backlash; while Gao Jiong's strategy was like spring water overflowing a dam, seemingly gentle, but capable of softening and eroding the foundation of stubborn rocks, ultimately engulfing everything silently.
One uses "killing" to create enemies, while the other uses "profit" to recruit henchmen. The difference between them is not a matter of strategy, but a matter of principle.
Gao Jiong's voice remained as steady as ever.
"Your Majesty, the powerful clans of Liaodong are unruly and have suffered greatly from the raids of Goguryeo. Their desire for military merit and titles far surpasses that of the gentry of the Central Plains."
"Once this order is issued, without any prompting from the court, those powerful and wealthy people who are driven by profit will turn into a pack of hungry wolves that have smelled blood, and will relentlessly tear at the borders of Goguryeo day and night."
"In this way, Goguryeo will never have a peaceful day, and its national strength will be gradually depleted."
"As for our Great Sui Dynasty, we can wait and see. We only need to send 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers each year to take turns guarding Liaoxi, serving as support and supervisors."
"This is the 'rotational garrison system'."
"At the same time," Gao Jiong glanced at Su Wei, "we can supplement this with Su Nayan's maritime strategy. A dual-track approach of land and sea transport will avoid the drawbacks of land routes where nine out of ten supplies are wasted, and also protect against the occasional dangers of storms at sea!"
Thirdly, fortify the walls and defend against the enemy!
Gao Jiong's gaze returned to the map, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Our main force is not intended to attack cities. Instead, it will be stationed in the Liaoxi Corridor, with deep trenches and high walls, ready to cut off Goguryeo's southward advance."
"Our army only needs to hold the main stronghold, and then continuously send out elite cavalry to destroy their crossing points, burn their boats, and kill their messengers!"
Gao Jiong slowly withdrew his gaze, bowed deeply to Yang Jian, and spoke in a firm and powerful voice.
"Your Majesty! In this way, Goguryeo will become a trapped beast. In less than half a year, when its food supplies run out, its soldiers are exhausted, its internal tribes are in turmoil, and our army is pressing in from the outside, Goguryeo will have no choice but to retreat and sue for peace!"
After the three strategies were explained, the hall fell silent.
After saying this, Su Wei and Niu Hong almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude as they looked at Gao Jiong.
Gao Jiong's strategy cleverly resolved the logistical and livelihood issues that the two men were most worried about in a near-perfect way.
Yang Su's face was as still as water, and Yuwen Shu lowered his head and remained silent.
This strategy was so sound that even these military generals, eager for victory, couldn't find any flaws.
In the middle of the game, the national champion made his move.
One move can bring the whole game to life.
After explaining his three strategies, Gao Jiong returned to the train and fell silent once more.
On the dragon throne, Yang Jian's gaze lingered between Gao Jiong and the map, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the armrest.
The pace was initially slow, as if weighing the pros and cons of each strategy, then gradually quickened, as if some suppressed thought was becoming increasingly restless and impatient with this ingenious yet "conservative" blueprint.
Finally, he slowly rose and walked to the enormous map that encompassed mountains and rivers. His fingertips traced heavily the ink lines representing the territory of Goguryeo, finally stopping at the two characters "Black Water," and pressed down hard.
"The Duke of Qi's strategy," Yang Jian began, his voice unusually deep in the silence, "is intricately linked, meticulously planned, and truly a wise and foolproof method for governing the country."
He abruptly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the officials below like a cold lightning bolt, his tone shifting abruptly: "However, this is merely a strategy for defending against the enemy, a plan for maintaining the status quo! What I want is not to force Gao Yuan to retreat, nor for him to submit and pay tribute! What I want is to trample the Heilongjiang River, to wipe out his entire territory! To make the vast lands of Liaodong forever belong to the Sui Dynasty! To eliminate this future threat once and for all!"
He stared directly at Gao Jiong, his voice suddenly rising and shaking the palace beams: "Based on this, what then?!"
An emperor's anger is not outwardly visible, but rather contained within its power.
Su Wei and Niu Hong's hearts, which had just been at ease, were once again filled with anxiety.
They all realized that the emperor's ambition had been completely ignited by the likes of Yang Su and Yuwen Shu!
Gao Jiong's foolproof plan ultimately ran into the emperor's most unreasonable "ambition"!
Faced with Yang Jian's almost interrogative question, he bowed again, his posture respectful, yet his back remained ramrod straight.
"Your Majesty," his voice remained steady, but carried an added air of resolute determination, as if he were willing to risk offending others.
"Liaodong is bitterly cold; after November, the snow is knee-deep, and the rivers are frozen. The weather is not on our side. Goguryeo relies on the natural defenses of the mountain fortresses and the Liao River, so the terrain is not our advantage. If we hastily raise an army, a million laborers will be exhausted from transporting supplies, and the people of Hebei and Shandong will be resentful. The hearts of the people will not be with us!"
"If the opportune moment, the advantageous location, and the harmonious relationships are all lost, this is a situation where military strategists are doomed!"
He suddenly raised his voice.
"Your Majesty desires to achieve unparalleled feats, and I agree. However, if we forcibly pursue this against the tide, even if we manage to capture a city or territory by chance, it will inevitably result in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and the nation's strength will be wasted. At that time, the internal strife will not be quelled, and the Turkic cavalry will surely seize the opportunity to invade southward, threatening the very existence of our nation! Can the land we gain possibly compensate for even a fraction of what we have lost?"
He raised his head, meeting Yang Jian's murderous gaze.
"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to change the strategy from 'rapid warfare' to 'gradual planning,' and to implement a long-term policy of 'defending and cultivating the land, while gradually advancing'!"
He stopped looking at Yang Jian's suddenly gloomy face and turned to point at the map of Liaoxi.
"From this day forward, we will follow the previous strategy, using the garrison troops to garrison and defend the Liaoxi Corridor in rotation, digging deep trenches and building high walls to lock its throat. At the same time, we will establish military settlements in this area, ordering the garrison soldiers to take up arms in wartime and plow the land in peacetime, cultivating the land and storing up grain and fodder. The land of Liaoxi is not barren; given time, it will surely become fertile land."
Gao Jiong's voice then shifted to one of unwavering conviction, as if he were describing a future that was destined to come true: "Your Majesty, grant our dynasty three years! During these three years, I will bind their hands and feet with chains and strengthen our foundation through military farming. After three years, the granaries in Liaoxi will be full, and our soldiers will have endured the harsh winter and become familiar with the terrain. Meanwhile, Goguryeo will be blockaded and weakened by our forces, its national strength will diminish day by day, and the people's livelihood will suffer."
He faced Yang Jian, bowed deeply, and spoke earnestly and resolutely: "At that time, the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves has already reversed. If Your Majesty were to send another general with elite troops, based in Liaoxi, advancing by both land and sea, then even if Goguryeo has fortified cities, they would be like rotten wood meeting a giant axe, collapsing on the verge of destruction! In this way, we can achieve the complete success of expanding our territory and eliminating border troubles forever without harming the nation's vitality or exhausting the people's resources! This is my heartfelt advice for the sake of the nation's lasting foundation, and I hope Your Majesty will consider it carefully!"
Silence fell once more in the hall, as everyone awaited Yang Jian's final decision.
This silence, however, was different from the previous ones.
Gao Jiong did not succumb to the emperor's ambition. Instead, he tried to rein in his runaway desires with a more ambitious and solid blueprint.
This is no longer just a battle of strategies, but a direct clash between governing philosophies and imperial tactics.
The candlelight cast the shadows of the crowd on the wall, flickering and swaying, as if foreshadowing the precarious state of the nation.
Yang Jian's hand remained pressed on the two characters "Black Water," his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure.
His gaze lingered on Gao Jiong's calm yet resolute face for a long time, where the turmoil of anger, resentment, and weighing of options ultimately dissolved into an unfathomable silence.
In the shadows behind the screen, Yang Yan's vest was soaked with cold sweat.
Only now did he realize with horror what a fatal mistake he had made.
His "Five Strategies," which originated from later generations, were supposedly a brilliant solution that offered a "low-cost, high-efficiency" approach, with the sole aim of "forcing Gao Yuan to submit."
In his view, this was the optimal solution.
But he forgot that he was facing a founding emperor who would end centuries of chaos and unify the world.
The "optimal solution" he offered was perhaps just a "starting point" in Yang Jian's eyes.
How could the ambition of an emperor who wanted to conquer the world be satisfied with the goals that even a sixteen-year-old grandson of the emperor could envision?