The Great Tang General

In the 19th year of Zhenguan, Li Ji, Duke of Ying of the Tang Dynasty, conquered Goguryeo and captured Gaimu City, and named its land Gaimu Prefecture, which was soon abandoned. In the first year of Zongzhang, after the Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo, Gaimu Prefecture was established, and the seat of government was set here.

However, during Wu Zetian's era, military and diplomatic failures occurred repeatedly, and the Tang Dynasty's influence in the Northeast continued to decline.

In the first year of the Shengli period, Dae Jo-yeong, the leader of the Suomuti Mohe tribe, took advantage of this opportunity to establish a regime in Dongmu Mountain, proclaimed himself "King of Zhen".

In the first year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang conferred the title of "Prince of Bohai" on Dae Jo-yeong and granted him the title of Governor of Hukhanzhou, and thus began to use "Bohai" as his title.

Until now, the Tang Dynasty has not called Bohai a country.

The current Bohai Kingdom is just the self-proclaimed name of the Mohe people.

However, the official written letters of the Tang Dynasty always referred to Bohai as "Mohe".

Historically, after Li Yu succeeded to the throne, in order to appease the Bohai Kingdom, he established Bohai as a country.

But to be honest, the current Bohai Kingdom is definitely a country because it has everything a country should have.

The Bohai Kingdom almost copied the official positions of the three provinces and six ministries, as well as the civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty; even the colors of the official robes worn by officials of different ranks were exactly the same.

Small but complete.

The six departments of the Bohai State were named Loyalty, Benevolence, Righteousness, Wisdom, Propriety and Trustworthiness, and they were governed by the political thoughts and ethical principles of Confucianism.

The power of the Bohai Kingdom has always been controlled by the nobles of the right surname.

After the establishment of Bohai, Dae Jo Yeong was a man of great talent and strategy and expanded the empire for a time.

The original Gaimu City has been abandoned and has no strategic position.

So the Bohai Kingdom built the new city of Gaimu in the west.

Their original intention was to monitor the Xi and Khitan peoples who were closest to them so that they could mobilize troops at any time, but now they have to face the threat from the Tang Dynasty.

Pugu Huai'en accepted Li Guangbi's order and led 500 cavalrymen to cross the Liao River at night.

Directly raided near the new city of Gaimu.

But now is an extraordinary period, and even at night, the Bohai Cavalry will have cavalry patrols.

"Boom!"

"The enemy is attacking, quickly report to the general in charge..."

When the Bohai scout heard the sound of horse hooves in the dark, he turned his horse's head in panic.

They first went to Gaimu New City, reported the news to the defender of Gaimu New City, and then fled eastward without stopping.

Because to the east of Gaimu New City is Changling Prefecture.

There are two prefectures in Changling Prefecture: Hezhou and Xiazhou.

Bohai had an army stationed in Xiazhou, the capital of Bohai, led by Gao Buping, the general of Bohai.

Gao, Zhang, Yang, Dou, Wu and Li were the famous right surname groups in the Bohai Kingdom.

If we only look at the surnames, there is reason to suspect that there were Han people in the Bohai Kingdom who migrated from the Qi and Lu areas, Hebei Province, and Hedong Province.

The Shangzhen General of Bohai was equivalent to the Huaihua General of the Tang Dynasty.

The defender of Gaimu New City ordered the entire army to be on alert, to hold the fortress, and to prepare to stop the attack of the Tang army.

Although the new city of Gaimu is small, it is built on the mountain and only one side can be attacked.

Therefore, the Bohai soldiers had the confidence to hold on.

"Rockets and crossbows, attack Gaimu New Castle together!"

Pugu Huai'en came in the cold weather and saw the Bohai soldiers who were ready for battle.

He didn't hold back and directly gave the order to attack.

Two hundred Tang soldiers armed with divine arm crossbows dismounted.

Another hundred soldiers took the tightly wrapped rockets from the spare horses.

The other soldiers quickly assembled the siege ladders.

Pugu Huai'en understood Bohai's troop deployment. Neither Buyeo Prefecture nor Changling Prefecture could support Gaimu New City in a short period of time.

If the Bohai generals were wise, they would have decisively abandoned the new city of Gaimu and notified all cities to be on alert and hold their ground.

To wait for rescue from the Heishui Mohe and Shiwei.

Only when the military and civilians work together to defend the city can the Tang army's advance towards Shangjing, the capital of the Bohai Kingdom, be delayed to the greatest extent.

In the cold night, the Bohai soldiers felt the creepy sounds of people shouting and horses neighing not far from the city, as well as the sound of armor colliding.

"Officer Zhang, lead your soldiers to carry the ladders and pretend to attack Gaimu New City. When you are fifty steps away from the city wall, stop immediately."

Although Pugu Huai'en was brave and fearless in battle, he was also somewhat familiar with the art of war and knew that he could not just attack a city, even if it was a small one.

"As ordered!"

Officer Zhang accepted the order.

"The crossbowmen will be ready at a distance of eighty steps. When the Bohai rebels show their heads, they will quickly launch a volley of fire."

Pugu Huai'en gave orders to the crossbowmen again.

In this way, the Tang Dynasty began to attack the city.

"Woooooooo..."

On autumn nights, the horns of attack stirred people's hearts and frightened the enemy.

Zhang Yaguan led two hundred soldiers wearing iron armor and carrying siege ladders and headed towards the new city of Gaimu.

"Soldiers, be on guard... The Tang army is about to attack the city. Today is the day to defend our country!"

The defender of Gaimu New City quickly called out to the huddled Bohai soldiers.

They prepared thunderstones and rolling logs and carried bows and arrows, ready to fight back at any time.

But under such high-pressure situation, the Bohai soldiers could not help but feel a little nervous.

They looked at the figures approaching them, their iron armor emitting a cold light.

Closer, closer...

"Boom..."

"Whoosh whoosh..."

When the Bohai soldiers were concentrating on paying attention to the soldiers below, crossbow arrows shot out from the darkness.

The bow shook like a thunderbolt.

The Bohai soldiers were caught off guard and more than a dozen of them were shot by arrows and died on the spot.

Even the Bohai soldiers wearing iron armor were not spared.

The Divine Arm Crossbow is the pinnacle of the crossbow for a single person. As long as it is not a specially made armor, it will definitely be able to break it.

"The Tang army is cheating. Quickly hide behind the parapet."

The defender of Gaimu New City shouted.

Fortunately, it was night, and in this round of volleys of fire from the crossbowmen, only a dozen Bohai soldiers died.

But the blow to the Bohai soldiers was huge.

Many hid behind the parapet and trembled.

The Tang army's crossbows were so powerful that they had never seen such a scene before.

The defenders of Gaimu New City had to look down from the battlements to see whether the Tang army was attacking the city.

But he saw torches lighting up a few dozen steps away.

Hundreds of Tang soldiers drew their bows and drew their arrows, their arrows wrapped with cotton cloth and grease.

The soldiers holding torches burned all the oil.

"Boom..."

"Whoosh..."

The soldiers shouted in unison and fired rockets at the walls of Gaimu New City.

The rocket drew an arc in the sky and fell like a star.

The Bohai soldiers were like turtles, the rockets caused almost no harm to them, but the psychological blow was greater than the physical blow.

A Bohai soldier just raised his head and saw a rocket whizzing past his head and finally nailed on the railing not far away, the flame was still burning.

He was so scared that he immediately retracted his head and dared not get up again.

Round after round of rockets completely suppressed the Bohai soldiers.

The Tang army's crossbowmen took advantage of this opportunity to approach the new city of Gaimu again.

They drew their crossbows, holding them still, waiting for the Bohai soldiers to show up.

Officer Zhang led the siege team and advanced slowly.

But he stopped when he was thirty steps away. If he got any closer, he would be in danger of being accidentally injured by his own soldiers.

At this time, the Bohai soldiers were terrified looking at the flames around them.

Even the defenders of Gaimu New City did not dare to stand up again.

Suddenly, the whistling sound stopped.

The Bohai soldiers should have come to see what was going on immediately.

But under the attack of the rockets, the defenders of Gaimu New City did not show up from the battlements to watch for several breaths.

“Ding-ling… Ding-dong…”

It was not until the sound of armor colliding that the defender of Gaimu New City reacted and cautiously stuck his head out.

As soon as he saw it, he was immediately terrified and shouted, "Oh no! The Tang army is about to attack the city. Prepare to defend!"

At this time, the Tang army's siege team was only ten steps away from the new city of Gaimu.

Under the moonlight, one could see densely packed Tang army crossbowmen armed with powerful crossbows thirty steps away.

The Bohai soldiers also understood that if they allowed the Tang army to attack, they would be killed without a burial place, so they gritted their teeth and stood up, ready to pick up thunder stones and rolling logs to fight back.

In such a short period of time, the crossbowmen had moved to only twenty steps away from the new city of Gaimu.

At such a distance, the Tang army's crossbowmen could aim and shoot without worrying about accidental injuries.

Siege ladders were hooked on the parapet, and the Bohai soldiers risked their lives to stand up.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

The Tang army's crossbowmen saw the figure on the city wall swaying and aimed and shot without hesitation.

“Puff!” “Puff…”

Bohai soldiers were shot by arrows and screamed continuously. Some of them were shot by arrows just as they were raising stones, and their hands went limp and they hit themselves.

This round of free shooting has far greater lethality than the first round of crossbows.

Once again, the arrogance of the Bohai soldiers was suppressed.

"Soldiers, kill! No matter how small the city is, we must be the first to attack it!"

Officer Zhang put his broadsword into the scabbard behind his back, held a round shield and went up first.

Today, the Tang Dynasty's army has been ideologically baptized.

Li Xuan gave the army enough honor and rewards.

Everyone wants to get an exciting medal.

Everyone wants to be featured in the Tang Monthly and be remembered by history.

When the Tang army soldiers believed that their efforts would be rewarded under Li Xuan's wise leadership, every march was full of fighting spirit.

The four barbarian tribes were all at the mercy of the Tang army at this time.

The city wall was less than two meters high, but Officer Zhang gathered his strength and climbed up.

Dozens of ladders were set up to climb the city walls, and the Bohai soldiers, who had already suffered losses, had no time to fully respond.

The Tang army's Shenbi crossbow was too sharp, leaving a shadow in their hearts.

Therefore, Officer Zhang jumped onto the parapet before the Bohai soldiers could react.

The Bohai soldiers tried to fight back with spears, but were blocked by Zhang Yaguan with his shield.

Then Officer Zhang quickly drew his sword and jumped down from the parapet.

"Pfft!"

The Bohai soldier's throat was cut and blood gushed out.

"Stop him quickly!"

The defender of Gaimu New City shouted loudly.

But Zhang Yaguan was too brave. He chopped left and right, and his sword was sharp. He always managed to use his shield to block the vital parts. However, several Bohai soldiers could not withstand it.

In a flash, several more Tang soldiers climbed onto the city wall.

The defender of Gaimu New City had to take action himself and perform brave actions.

He gritted his teeth and swung a knife, which came out of the darkness and hit Officer Zhang's neck directly.

Officer Zhang was good at using shields, and he quickly blocked the attack with his shield.

"clang!"

Steadying his steps and with a fierce look in his eyes, Officer Zhang swung his knife back and struck the neck of the commander of Gaimu New City.

But the fatal blow was blocked by the neck guard of the defender of Gaimu New City.

The knife draped over the neck guard made a sound of metal.

"Bang!" Seeing that the knife could not hurt, Officer Zhang kicked the defender of Gaimu New City down.

"Pfft!"

He approached, tore off the helmets of the defenders of Gaimu New City, and then chopped off their heads.

The defenders of Gaimu New City suffered a series of injuries and saw their general killed, and their morale was completely lost.

"Don't kill me, I surrender!"

A Bohai soldier begged for mercy in Chinese.

These words were the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The remaining surviving Bohai soldiers dropped their weapons and surrendered to the Tang army.

The new city of Gaimu fell!

The Tang army killed a hundred people and captured a hundred.

"Send the head of the commander of Gaimu New City to Hezhou City in Bohai State to let them know the consequences of stubborn resistance."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Pugu Huai'en followed Li Guangbi's military orders.

The main reason for sending the head of the defender of Gaimu New City to Hezhou, Changling Prefecture was to "provoke an attack".

The Bohai Kingdom thought that the Tang army would force its way to Shangjing city by city.

Li Guangbi led the Fanyang army to attack Buyeo Prefecture, north of Changling Prefecture, instead of the nearby one.

In secret, Guo Ziyi led the Taiyuan army through the Khitan territory and arrived at the north of Buyeo Prefecture (now Changling) to hide his whereabouts.

Wang Sili's Pinglu Army crossed the Liao River to support Li Guangbi as appropriate.

When the news reached Shangjing, Daqinmao was terrified.

He immediately summoned Yang Chengqing, the Duke of Fuguo, to discuss the matter.

At this time, the Bohai Kingdom was completely sinicized under the governance of Daqinmao, and with its advanced system, it was undoubtedly the overlord of the Northeast.

From Tang poetry to Chinese historical records, the whole story was circulated in Bohai, and many Bohai people could speak the Chinese language.

The entire Bohai Kingdom had more than 100,000 households.

The country was mainly established by the Mohe people, but the Han, Turkic, Khitan and other ethnic groups in the country also had great power, and even the Daqinmao had to balance it.

Although the Bohai Kingdom was sinicized, they were very close to the Fuso Kingdom and sent envoys to Fuso many times, and the trade relations between them were very deep.

"Duke Fuguo, the Tang army is attacking on a large scale. How should we fight?"

After Yang Chengqing arrived, Daqinmao asked anxiously.

At the beginning, Bohai issued an edict to Li Longji: Always serve as a vassal state, remain loyal and faithful, and serve the dynasty.

But between countries, there are only interests, and loyalty is only temporary.

As the Bohai Kingdom prospered, other ideas naturally emerged.

He thought that after An Lushan's death, he would pledge allegiance to the Tang Dynasty and the crime of being an accomplice to the enemy would be forgiven.

After all, the Heishui Mohe were more deeply involved in the rebellion than the Bohai Kingdom.

Although the Bohai Kingdom was determined to learn Han culture, they were influenced by the various Hu tribes in the northeast and took rebellion and surrender too lightly.

The Hu people have always been capricious since ancient times.

"Li Xuan is a traitor who is ruthless and cruel. We have indeed miscalculated this time. The Tang court is determined to destroy us. There is no point in begging for mercy. We have no choice but to repel them."

"The Khitan, Xi, and Tongluo have completely lost their backbone and have become Li Xuan's slaves and puppets."

"We should immediately ask for help from the Black Water Mohe and Shiwei. In the current situation, if the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? We have already formed an alliance. If they don't want to eat snow on the ice field and drink ice on the sea, they must come to support us."

"In the past, Yang Guang led a million troops to conquer Goguryeo, but in the end, the country was destroyed and the family was ruined. Li Shimin died without seeing Liaodong return to the Tang Dynasty. In this land, we, Bohai, are not without opportunities."

Yang Chengqing explained the current situation to Daqinmao and encouraged him by citing scriptures.

Being weak and compromising will only lead to failure faster.

He knew Li Xuan's history and saw a king as fierce as a tiger.

Li Xuan's poems were circulated in the Bohai Kingdom. It was hard to imagine that the great poet would become such a figure and launch a war to destroy the Bohai Kingdom.

"According to the report from the scouts, the ones attacking us are the Tang Dynasty's Pinglu, Taiyuan, and Fanyang Military Governorates. I'm worried about what we should do after we stop this attack."

Daqinmao was moved, but also worried.

He was afraid that Li Xuan would lead the army in person in the future.

"Your Majesty, we must first defeat Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, instead of worrying about the future. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were under the command of Wang Zhongsi during the Tianbao period. They were brave and good at fighting. They also made meritorious contributions during the An Lushan Rebellion and were named Dukes. Li Xuan has always been good at judging people. Letting them attack means they want to destroy Bohai."

"We should think positively now. Once we defeat Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, we can take this opportunity to submit to the Tang Dynasty."

Yang Chengqing said earnestly.

Now the Tang Dynasty wants the Bohai Kingdom to surrender unconditionally and the king to go to Chang'an to apologize, rather than symbolically pay homage.

Thanks to the efforts of the two previous kings, Dae Jo-yeong and Dae Mu-ye, the vast and prosperous Bohai Kingdom was established.

In order to save their hard work, they must risk everything.

"What the Duke of Fuguo said makes sense. I personally sent letters to the leaders of the Shiwei and Heishui Mohe tribes to ask them to come to my aid. If Bohai is occupied by the Tang army, their doom will not be far away."

Daqinmao was determined to fight the Tang Dynasty to the end.

"The Tang army is composed of cavalry, so it is not easy for them to attack the city. We can fortify the city and clear the fields. Stop the Tang army from advancing. Put the most important forces in the big city, mobilize the people, and defend the country together!"

Yang Chengqing also made suggestions to Dae Jo-yeong.

Bohai adopted the five capitals system, with Shangjing Longquan Prefecture as the center, and others including Zhongjing Xiande Prefecture, Dongjing Longyuan Prefecture, Xijing Yalu Prefecture, and Nanjing Nanhai Prefecture.

Two years ago, the center of Bohai was still in Zhongjing Xiande Prefecture, but in order to maintain its rule in the north, Daqinmao moved the center.

When the king and his ministers of Bohai were discussing state affairs.

There was also unrest within Shangjing.

Bohai was a multi-ethnic country, and the Mohe people were not in the majority, and were generally assimilated into Sinicization.

Naturally, there are some "Tang admirers".

They believed that the Bohai rulers only had a superficial understanding of the Central Plains dynasties and knew little about etiquette.

He blamed Daqinmao and the nobles for sending troops to join An Lushan's rebellion.

If you provoke the Celestial Empire now, you will only bring trouble upon yourself.

They were eager for the Tang Dynasty to occupy Bohai so that they could become citizens of the Celestial Empire from then on.

Some Bohai people have already begun sewing the Tang Dynasty's Black Dragon Flag.

There are many nobles from Bohai among them.

To this day, General Li Xuantian's reputation has already spread both at home and abroad.

……

A few days later.

Li Guangbi led the Fanyang cavalry, Khitan and Xi vassal troops and entered Buyeo Prefecture in Bohai.

As soon as they arrived at the foot of Buyeo City, they ordered the crossbowmen to shoot at the city walls.

They cut down more trees, apparently preparing to build more powerful siege equipment.

The scouts from Bohai all believed that the Tang army was going to attack Buyeo City by force, and they reported the news to Shangjing.

But before the attack, Li Guangbi ordered the Tang army to cut off all roads leading to Buyeo Prefecture and sent the most elite scouts to pursue the Bohai scouts.

For several days, Daqinmao was not sure whether Buyeo had fallen.

Now Bohai can only recruit new soldiers and clear the fields.

Wait for the arrival of reinforcements from Shiwei and Heishui Mohe before launching a counterattack.

By mid-September, Li Guangbi ordered Pugu Huai'en to lead 5,000 cavalry to cross the Sumo River (now the Songhua River) and enter the territory of Zhongjing Xiande Prefecture.

They surrounded and shot at the city, and then disappeared.

Dae Jo-yeong thought that the Tang army was going to launch a surprise attack on Shangjing, and became even more frightened.

He dispatched troops from Huaiyuan Prefecture, Dongping Prefecture, Anbian Prefecture, and Lubin Prefecture, which were close to the Heishui Mohe and close to the coast, to support Shangjing.

Bohai was already preparing for the defense of Shangjing.

People all over Bohai were in panic.

The Tang army also had time to consume the energy of the battle with Bohai.

On this trip, the Tang army soldiers all carried cotton clothes for the winter, as well as a large amount of beef jerky as reserve food.

At the same time, the pastures of Liucheng County, Pinglu County, Khitan, and Xi drove a total of 100,000 livestock and transported some food for logistics.

The Tang army sent just the right number of troops, and did not use any food or baggage as a burden.

……

After receiving Daqinmao's letter for help, the leader of Shiwei, Moheduo, immediately dispatched troops to support the Bohai Kingdom.

Since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the Shiwei tribe had been unruly and unruly. In the late Kaiyuan period, Liu Zhengchen beheaded their leader.

When An Lushan rebelled, Shiwei was the natural choice.

The further north you go, the smaller the living space.

What's more, the Shiwei Kingdom also learned to grow crops like the Bohai Kingdom, and they could not easily abandon the land on which they depended for survival.

So we must give it a try.

They expected that the Tang army would be tired of attacking the city, so they followed Daqinmao's advice and attacked the Tang from the front and back together with the Heishui Mohe.

The troops of Bohai Kingdom provided support!
Therefore, they arrived at the Sumo River with great momentum and 15,000 cavalry.

All the sheepskin rafts and cowhide rafts they carried were placed in the Sumo River.

Together, people and horses ferried across the river to Jiangxi little by little.

As long as they cross the Sumo River, they will be able to go around to the rear of Buyeo Prefecture.

What they didn't expect was that their every move was being monitored by Tang army spies across the Sumo River.

When the Shiwei cavalry were about to cross the Sumo River, the Tang army scouts told the news to Guo Ziyi, who was thirty miles away.

"Commander-in-chief, attack them halfway across the river. This is the perfect time."

Hun Shizhi, a general under Guo Ziyi, said to Guo Ziyi.

Hun Shizhi was Hun Yu's father.

Now Hun Yu is the commander-in-chief of an army, while Hun Shizhi is only the deputy commander-in-chief.

However, in the Tang Dynasty, it was not uncommon for fathers to surpass their sons. The most classic father and son pair were Li Shizhi and Li Xuan.

Li Shizhi was already the prime minister, but he was surpassed by Li Xuan.

Therefore, Hun Shizhi was proud of his son Hun Yu.

"Now is not the best time. Let's wait until most of the Shiwei have crossed the river before attacking. The fewer they escape, the better it will be for us to pacify the Shiwei."

Guo Ziyi is mature, steady and able to control his temper.

He ordered his soldiers to hide well so that their tracks would not be discovered by the scouts from Shiwei.

The soldiers also gathered their strength, sharpened their swords, and prepared to go into battle and kill the enemy.

A day passed in a flash.

Guo Ziyi received news again that most of the Shiwei soldiers had crossed the Sumo River.

It was noon at this time, and Guo Ziyi ordered the Tang cavalry to begin the attack.

The elderly Guo Ziyi can no longer fight in battles like he did when he was young.

He mainly takes command.

The Taiyuan Military Governor's Office had a total of 30,000 cavalrymen, and Guo Ziyi led a total of 25,000 on this trip.

Among them, the most elite Tianbing Army in Taiyuan had a thousand armored cavalry.

Under Guo Ziyi's order, all troops were armed and commanded by General Ning Jingrui.

Three thousand cavalrymen were led by General Zhang Xin, following behind the armored cavalry.

The light cavalry was divided into two teams, one led by Hun Shizhi and the other led by a Tang court official.

The last team of soldiers is responsible for attacking the fish that have escaped the net.

"Boom!"

After some deployment, the army set out with flags fluttering and the sound of horses' hooves shaking the earth, determined to crush the Shiwei.

Fumo Jiangxi.

The leader of the Shiwei tribe, Moheduo, crossed the Sumo River with his personal guards.

He asked the scout general, "How is the battle situation in Buyeo Prefecture in Bohai?"

"Reporting to the chief, we have encountered many Tang army scouts and cannot conduct in-depth investigations."

The scout general replied.

"We must contact Shangjing as soon as possible, and we must also investigate Zhongjing. The Tang army is fierce and powerful, and we can only win with the least loss by catching them by surprise."

Mo Heduo gave instructions to the scout.

There is no better solution at the moment. Unless he has no other choice, he will never let the severely damaged Shiwei troops support the Bohai Kingdom.

Shiwei and Bohai are in a competitive relationship, and now they can only huddle together for warmth.

(End of this chapter)