The Eldest Grandson of the Great Tang!

In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Jue, who transmigrated and became the son of the废太子 (cancelled crown prince) Li Chengqian, secretly returned to the longed-for Chang'an from Qianzho...

Chapter 288 To whom does the Tang Dynasty's army truly belong?

Li Jue still couldn't understand, after all, he had too many examples of the close relationship between the army and the people in his memory.

In fact, no matter how powerful a feudal dynasty was, its army was like a raging flood to ordinary people.

Even with the strict military discipline of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin dared not let these beasts into bustling towns. He only dared to lead them on the official roads, and every day when setting up camp, he would choose desolate and secluded places, keeping them far away from towns.

The reason was simply that they feared these thugs would commit murder and arson.

“Uncle Cheng, the army and the people should complement each other; the army protects the people, and the people love and respect the army…”

Cheng Yaojin burst out laughing upon hearing this.

"Eldest grandson, who taught you all this?"

"The army has never been there to protect the people, but to protect the court and His Majesty!"

"Yeah?"

"certainly!"

"If you don't believe me, ask your soldiers. When have they ever cared about the people?"

"this……"

Seeing that Li Jue's expression was tense, Cheng Yaojin immediately offered a few words of explanation.

"Your Highness, it's normal for the soldiers of Guanzhong to treat the people of Guanzhong better. But once our soldiers leave Guanzhong, they don't treat the people of other parts of the Tang Dynasty as their own..."

"In their eyes, every point they can grab is a point; they have no psychological burden whatsoever!"

"ah?"

Li Jue's face was filled with surprise when he heard this, but after the initial surprise, he began to understand the relationship between the army and the people in the feudal empire.

Because there was little interaction among people during feudal dynasties, many people were confined to a particular region for their entire lives. As a result, people from different regions were not familiar with each other, and even their accents and languages ​​differed.

If such an army went to another place, they might not necessarily see themselves as good people...

"Okay, thank you for clearing things up, Mr. Cheng. I understand a bit now..."

Li Jue understood, but after understanding came depression, and he even lost the desire to go to the city for sightseeing.

Although he had traveled back to the Tang Dynasty for several years, his core thoughts remained those of a modern person a thousand years in the future. Even when he accompanied Emperor Taizong on his campaign against Goguryeo, it was a continuation of his emotional journey from later generations.

However, Cheng Yaojin's words today made him realize how terribly wrong he was.

This is not the future; this is the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago.

Ordinary people in this era had no concept of the nation. Even officials and soldiers only had loyalty to the emperor, but not to the nation or the country.

Thinking about this, and then imagining the impending war between the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo, Li Jue suddenly felt a sense of boredom.

He suddenly lost interest in fighting and even began to question the meaning of war.

After all, strictly speaking, the Goguryeo of today has no connection whatsoever with the peninsula of later generations, and was even a regional hegemon who bullied the ancestors of the Koreans of later generations.

Emperor Taizong (Li Er) personally led an expedition against Goguryeo, and with the continued efforts of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian, they finally managed to destroy Goguryeo after many hardships. In doing so, they also freed the ancestors of both Korea and Korea, freeing them from their status as slaves of Goguryeo.

Based on these realities, Li Jue even felt that this attack on Goguryeo was somewhat absurd.

While Li Jue was filled with worry, Li Shimin, like a foolish old man who had discovered a new continent, spent his days wandering around the military supply wagons.

Ever since he talked to the Hundred Cavalry Commander and learned about the many benefits of leg wraps, he has become interested in all sorts of gadgets that appear in the army.

And today he found something good: a long, narrow bag made of fine linen.

When soldiers are marching, they can tie it around their waist or simply drape it around their neck.

Whenever the soldiers were hungry, they could open the bag and eat a bite of butter, salt, and various grain flours that had been roasted.

He found these military rations incredibly convenient and extremely filling. One small bag contained five days' worth of rations for a soldier!

It's simply an essential tool for rapid marches and field battles!

"Quartermaster, who made this?"

"Your Majesty, this item was all made by the eldest grandson. He planned it well in advance and informed the towns along the way of the recipe, so that local officials could organize the local people to speed up the production..."

"oh?"

"Is this another offering from my eldest grandson?"

"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson's contributions go far beyond this. He also improved the stirrups, allowing them to grip the rider's feet more securely. He also improved the saddle, horseshoes, and so on..."

"By the way, the eldest grandson also invented something called a spur, which is now being used by some scouts. According to soldiers who have used it, it makes controlling warhorses much more agile..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately ordered someone to bring over backups of the documents that Li Jue had signed in recent days and review them. There were dozens of documents, which contained information about all aspects of the army.

"He even had bedding prepared?"

"Your Majesty, not only bedding, but the eldest grandson has also ordered winter clothes to be prepared..."

"But the Guanzhong region is short of cotton and fur, so the eldest grandson ordered people to go to Hebei and the Mohe region to purchase them."

Why is he preparing winter clothes?

"this……"

When Li Shimin saw the quartermaster stammering, his face immediately turned very ugly.

He made it clear beforehand that his main objective for this expedition was to achieve a swift victory and end the battle before winter.

However, Li Jue was secretly preparing winter clothes, which was a huge slap in the face for him!

Where is Li Jue?

"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson has not been involved in any affairs for several days. The procurement of military supplies has been handled by Li Yifu and Lu Zhaolin."

"What?"

Li Shimin feigned surprise upon hearing this.

"He actually entrusted such an important task to a child!"

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