Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 660: Attack on Goguryeo

According to Zhao Yong's experience with a soldier's family, the food and grass reserves in Jinsan City were enough to support the city's defenders for half a year. In terms of the surrounding terrain, Jinsan City was located on a plain with an open terrain, which was conducive to large-scale attacks, but also made it difficult for the attackers to approach the city in secret.

After mastering this key information, Zhao Yong decided to return to report to Jia Changsheng as soon as possible. He knew that this intelligence was crucial to the upcoming war.

So, Zhao Yong and his group quietly left the village under the cover of night and set out on their return journey. Along the way, they were still cautious and avoided many patrols from Goguryeo.

After several days of arduous journey, Zhao Yong finally returned to the camp. He had no time to rest and went straight to the central army tent.

"Marshal, I, Zhao Yong, am back!" Zhao Yong entered the tent and knelt on one knee.

Jia Changsheng was overjoyed to see Zhao Yong return safely: "Hurry up, how was the investigation this time?"

Zhao Yong stood up and reported the intelligence of Jinsan City and the surrounding twelve cities in detail. Jia Changsheng listened very carefully and gestured on the map from time to time.

After listening to the report, Jia Changsheng pondered for a moment and said, "The food and grass reserves in Jinsan City exceeded our expectations, which will cause some obstacles to our siege plan. However, the surrounding terrain is open, which is conducive to our cavalry charge."

Wang Meng analyzed: "General, in my opinion, we can first send a small force to pretend to attack the city and lure the enemy out of the city. Then use our cavalry advantage to annihilate them outside the city. When the enemy's strength is depleted to a certain extent, we will attack the city with all our strength."

Chen Batian also nodded in agreement: "This plan is feasible. The cavalry under my command will be able to kill all the enemies leaving the city without leaving a single piece of armor!"

After thinking for a moment, Jia Changsheng nodded and said, "Let's follow this plan. Chen Batian, you select 3,000 elite cavalry and ambush outside the city. Wang Meng, you lead 5,000 infantry and pretend to attack the city early tomorrow morning. Remember, don't fight too long, and the primary goal is to lure the enemy out of the city."

"Yes, sir!" Chen Batian and Wang Meng responded in unison.

"Zhao Yong, you have made great contributions this time. Take a good rest. When we attack the city, we will have important tasks to give you." Jia Changsheng said to Zhao Yong.

"Thank you, Marshal! I am willing to go through fire and water for you!" Zhao Yong said excitedly.

On the second morning, when it was light, Wang Meng led 5,000 infantrymen and marched towards Jinsan City. When they arrived at the foot of the city, they began to beat drums and shout, as if they were going to attack the city.

Seeing this, the Goguryeo defenders on the tower immediately sounded the alarm. After Park Sung-mu learned the news, he quickly climbed up the tower to check. When he saw that there were only 5,000 infantrymen under the city, he sneered with disdain.

"They are just a mob, yet they dare to attack our Jinsan City. Come on, open the city gates and fight their way out. Let them know how powerful Goguryeo is!" Park Sung-wu ordered.

As the city gate slowly opened, two thousand Goguryeo cavalrymen poured out like a tide and rushed towards Wang Meng's troops. Wang Meng was secretly delighted to see that the enemy had fallen into the trap, and immediately ordered his troops to pretend to retreat.

Seeing this, the Goguryeo cavalry thought that the enemy was vulnerable and pursued them even more bravely. Just after they had chased for several miles, suddenly, shouts of killing shook the sky from the woods on both sides, and Chen Batian led 3,000 elite cavalry and rushed out like a tiger out of the mountain.

The Goguryeo cavalry was immediately surrounded. They did not expect an ambush. Chen Batian waved his long sword and led the charge into the enemy formation. His cavalry charged left and right in the enemy formation as if they were in an empty space.

Although the Goguryeo cavalry fought hard, they were gradually defeated by Chen Batian's elite cavalry. After a fierce battle, most of the Goguryeo cavalry were killed or wounded, and the remaining remnants fled back to the city.

Park Sung-wu was shocked and angry when he saw this scene from the tower. He immediately ordered the city gates to be closed and the city defenses to be strengthened.

At this time, Chen Batian and Wang Meng did not attack the city immediately, but withdrew their troops back to the camp and waited for Jia Changsheng's next instructions.

After returning to the camp, Chen Batian and Wang Meng reported the battle situation to Jia Changsheng. After listening, Jia Changsheng nodded with satisfaction: "Although this battle did not capture the city, it has greatly weakened the enemy's manpower. Next, we must strike while the iron is hot and prepare to formally attack the city."

"Wang Meng, how is the siege equipment prepared?" Jia Changsheng asked.

"Marshal, siege ladders, catapults and other equipment are ready and can be put into battle at any time." Wang Meng replied.

"Okay, tomorrow morning, the entire army will attack and we must capture Jinsan City!" Jia Changsheng said with a firm look.

At dawn on the second day, Jia Changsheng's army lined up under the Jinsan city. Chen Batian's cavalry stood by on both wings, ready to attack the enemy at any time; Wang Meng commanded the infantry, pushing siege ladders, catapults and other equipment, slowly approaching the city gate.

With Jia Changsheng's order, the siege officially began. The catapults took the lead in launching the attack, and huge stones flew towards the city wall like raindrops. The Goguryeo defenders on the city wall dodged one after another, and for a while, the city wall was covered with dust.

Taking advantage of the gap between the catapults' attacks, Wang Meng commanded his infantry to quickly push the siege ladders to the bottom of the city wall. The soldiers held shields and bravely climbed up the ladders. The Goguryeo defenders on the tower fought desperately, attacking the siege soldiers with rolling logs, stones, arrows, etc.

The battle was extremely fierce, with heavy casualties on both sides. But Jia Changsheng's soldiers were in high spirits. Under the command of Chen Batian and Wang Meng, they fought bravely and never backed down. Just as the battle was getting intense, Zhao Yong led an elite team and quietly went around to the rear of Jinsan City. They used ropes prepared in advance to climb up the city wall.

Zhao Yong and his men were like gods descending from the sky, quickly eliminating some of the defenders on the city wall, and then opened the city gate. Seeing this, Chen Batian immediately led his cavalry into the city. The Goguryeo defenders in the city were immediately in chaos, and fell into a dilemma of being attacked from both sides.

After a fierce street battle, Jia Changsheng's army finally succeeded in occupying Jinsancheng. Park Chengwu was killed in the battle, and the remaining defenders in the city surrendered one after another.

Jia Changsheng rode a tall horse and slowly entered Jinsan City. He looked at the scene in the city and felt a lot of emotion in his heart. This city, which was captured after a fierce battle, would become their important stronghold on the Goguryeo battlefield.

"Pass the order down to pacify the people in the city and not harass them. At the same time, send people to clean up the battlefield and count the supplies." Jia Changsheng said to the soldiers around him.

"Yes!" The soldier took the order and left.

The victory of Jinsancheng opened a good start for Jia Changsheng's army in the conquest of Goguryeo. Next, they will continue to march towards the hinterland of Goguryeo to meet more challenges.

After successfully conquering the three cities of Jin, Jia Changsheng knew that in order to achieve a complete victory on the battlefield of Goguryeo, he must have a detailed understanding of the remaining eleven cities in the north. So he once again selected a group of elite soldiers with rich reconnaissance experience and sent them to each city to explore the truth.

A few days later, in the central army tent, Jia Changsheng sat at the commander's post, looking solemn and focused, waiting for the scouts to come back and report. The first person to enter the tent was Li Hu, who was dusty and knelt on one knee, saying in a loud voice: "General, I have finished investigating the situation in Blackwater City."

Jia Changsheng's eyes were bright, and he motioned him to stand up and explain in detail. Li Hu stood still and cleared his throat: "Heishui City is located on the edge of a swamp. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are about 3,000 defenders in the city, led by a general named Cui Hao. The city defense fortifications are relatively strong. Although the city walls are not high, they are surrounded by a wide moat with deep water. There are heavy iron gates at the city gates, and they are heavily guarded. In addition, I also found that Heishui City has sufficient food and grass reserves, which can support at least half a year. However, the morale of the soldiers in the city does not seem to be high. I heard that Cui Hao treats the soldiers very harshly, often beating and scolding them, which makes the soldiers dissatisfied."

Jia Changsheng nodded slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he asked, "What impact will the surrounding terrain have on our siege operations?"

Li Hu replied: "The swamps around Blackwater City are extremely unfavorable for large troops to march, especially our cavalry, which has difficulty in maneuvering. However, there is a narrow path on the edge of the swamp that can allow infantry to pass through, but we need to be careful to avoid getting stuck in the swamp."

After hearing this, Jia Changsheng made a preliminary assessment of the situation in Blackwater City and waved his hand to let Li Hu leave. Then, Zhang Bao entered the big tent to report the intelligence of Yunding City.

"General, Yunding City is located on a high mountain with steep terrain. There is only one winding mountain road leading to the city. There are about 2,500 defenders in the city, led by Park Sung-hoon. The city walls are tall and thick, with many watchtowers and arrow towers on the walls, and the defense is very tight. The food and grass reserves in the city are sufficient and can last for about four months." Zhang Bao finished speaking in one breath, paused for a moment, and then continued, "However, I found that Yunding City is not closely connected with the surrounding cities. Once we are besieged, it will be difficult to get timely support. Moreover, due to its long-term high altitude, the city's water source mainly depends on the springs in the mountains. If we can cut off its water source, it may cause considerable pressure on the defenders in the city."

After hearing this, Jia Changsheng's eyes flashed with a gleam of thought, and he approved of Zhang Bao's report. Afterwards, several more explorers returned one after another and reported on the situation of the cities they were responsible for.

When Zhou Xiong reported the situation of Tiecheng, he said: "General, Tiecheng is famous for its strong walls and sophisticated weapons. The city has about 4,000 defenders, led by General Han Yong. The walls of Tiecheng are built with huge stones and are extremely strong. It is difficult for ordinary siege equipment to damage them. In addition, there are many arsenals in the city, with strong weapons manufacturing capabilities, and the soldiers are well-equipped. However, Tiecheng's troops are scattered at various city gates and important strongholds, and the mobile forces in the city are relatively small."

After Wu Gang finished reporting the situation in Fenglin City, Jia Changsheng fell into a long period of contemplation. Although the garrison of Fenglin City was only 2,000 people, the people in the city were martial artists. Once the war started, it was very likely that everyone would be a soldier. In addition, Fenglin City was surrounded by dense forests, and the enemy could use the forests to ambush and harass, which would bring great difficulties to the siege.

After all the scouts finished reporting, Jia Changsheng stood up and paced back and forth in the tent. In his mind, the situation of the eleven cities emerged like a clear map. After a long time, he stopped and looked at everyone: "These eleven cities have their own characteristics, and the defense methods and troop deployments are also different. But we can't be intimidated by these difficulties. We must formulate targeted siege strategies."

Deputy General Wang Meng stepped forward and said, "General, in my opinion, for Blackwater City, we can first send a small force to feint an attack on the main gate to attract the enemy's attention, and then send elite infantry to encircle and attack from the small path at the edge of the swamp to catch them by surprise. For Cloudtop City, cutting off its water source is the key. At the same time, we can set up a defense line at the foot of the mountain to prevent the enemy from breaking through and reinforcements from arriving. When the water source is exhausted and the army is in chaos, we can launch a general attack."

Chen Batian also expressed his opinion: "The walls of Iron City are strong. We can build giant catapults and concentrate our forces to attack the gates and weak points of the walls. At the same time, we can use our cavalry to harass the enemy outside the city, disperse the enemy forces, and look for opportunities to attack the city. As for Maple Forest City, we can first send archers to clear the ambush in the woods, and then use fire to burn part of the woods to create conditions for the siege."

Jia Changsheng listened carefully to everyone's suggestions and nodded in agreement from time to time. After an in-depth discussion, the preliminary battle plan for the eleven cities gradually took shape.

"Okay, let's follow the plan we just discussed. All troops should go back and intensify preparations. Remember, knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. The more thoroughly we understand these cities, the greater our chances of winning." Jia Changsheng looked at every general in the tent with a firm gaze.

"Yes, Marshal!" everyone shouted in unison, their voices full of fighting spirit and determination.

In the days that followed, Jia Changsheng's army was intensively preparing for the siege. Soldiers drilled day and night to familiarize themselves with various siege tactics; craftsmen worked overtime to manufacture and improve siege equipment; and logistics troops went around collecting food and supplies to ensure the supply of the front line.

Jia Changsheng would carefully study the intelligence of each city every day, repeatedly pondering the battle plan, not missing any details. He knew that the next battle would be extremely difficult, but as long as the whole army worked together, they would be able to conquer these eleven cities and gain a firm foothold on the land of Goguryeo.

While waiting for the attack, Jia Changsheng did not relax his management of Jinsan City. He sent capable generals to take charge of the city's security and defense, appease the people, and resume production. Under his governance, Jinsan City gradually stabilized and became a solid backing for the army to continue its advance.

Finally, everything was ready. Jia Changsheng stood on the tower of Jinsan City, looking at the eleven cities in the distance, his heart full of lofty sentiments and ambitions. He knew that a more intense battle was about to begin, and he and his army were fully prepared to meet this challenge.

He looked back at all his men and said.

"Brothers, we are ready to continue attacking the remaining cities. Let's talk about where we should attack next."

(End of this chapter)