Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 700 Desperate Situation, Gao Baozang's Last Struggle (First Update)
On the city wall of Junbi, Su Xu, dressed in a blue robe, stood calmly looking at the lone figure on the floating bridge in front of him.

Li Yuanchang stood beside him.

A series of hurried footsteps came from below the city gate and Wei Daijia quickly appeared on the city wall. He solemnly cupped his hands to Su Xu and said, "General, Gao Baozang has been released and returned to Pingrang."

Su Xu nodded slightly and said, "Everything is ready. We just need to wait patiently for a few days."

"Yes!" Wei Daijia cupped his hands in greeting, then turned to Li Yuanchang and cupped his hands in greeting as well, saying, "Your Highness, the Prince of Han."

Li Yuanchang smiled gently, then waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, we're all family, make yourselves at home."

"Greetings, Uncle Wang!" Wei Daijia breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Wei Daijia's wife was the daughter of Li Daozong, the Prince of Jiangxia.

Li Daozong was Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan's cousin, and also Li Yuanchang's cousin.

Of course, Li Daozong was also the cousin of Su Xu's wife, Princess Nanchang.

Furthermore, Wei Daijia's younger sister married Li You, the fifth son of the late emperor and the Prince of Qi. In particular, two years ago, when Li You was released from the palace and his confinement was lifted, Wei Daijia even went to see his sister.

At least from this perspective, the Wei family was once again connected with the emperor.

"This is news that just came from Sabi City." Su Xu took out a memorial from his sleeve, handed it to Wei Daijia, and said, "Sabi City has fallen. From today onwards, there will be no more Baekje in the world. In this way, it will be perfect for Gao Baozang to offer the three kingdoms to the Tang Dynasty together."

"Yes!" Wei Daijia took the memorial and began to read it.

At this moment, Li Yuanchang said with a smile, "Speaking of which, Gao Baozang was also very lucky. In his lifetime, Goguryeo was able to unify Silla and Baekje under his rule."

Although it was a short time, and merely nominal, in this way he was dead, and even in the afterlife, he could speak to his ancestors about the fall of his kingdom.

Su Xu and Wei Daijia smiled gently.

“That may be true, but we can’t let our guard down.” Su Xu turned to look at Pingrang City, his expression becoming serious: “The Gao family will surely rule Pingrang City for hundreds of years. Who knows what they might do in the end?”

"I hope so." Wei Daijia nodded slightly, then looked at Su Xu and said, "It's just that Uncle is being cautious; he won't give Gao Baozang any chance, will he?"

"I hope he's willing to accept it," Su Xu sighed softly.

The loss of a nation is not something that can be accepted so easily.

……

On the south bank of the Datong River, Gao Baozang, who had crossed the river alone, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Nodding slightly to Jin Shangquan, who had come to greet him with a group of civil and military officials, Gao Baozang couldn't help but turn back to look at the city wall of Junbi City.

It seemed someone was watching him.

Gao Baozang took a deep breath. On his way back from Chang'an, no one had said a word to him.

He knew nothing at all.

He was imprisoned in Chang'an for two years, and he was completely cut off from all communication on his way there and back.

He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Regardless, Gao Baozang was a king and had some composure. He calmly looked at Jin Shangquan and said, "Let's go back to the palace first. We can talk about it there."

"Yes!" Jin Shangquan cupped his hands in greeting, then turned and welcomed Gao Baozang onto the carriage.

The group then slowly made their way towards the city gate.

At this point, Gao Baozang finally realized that something was wrong.

Although almost all the important officials in the court came, they were only the important officials.

Not only that, but even the number of guards around the perimeter was severely insufficient.

Everything became even clearer when we passed through the city gate.

There were hardly any guards around the city gate.

Gao Baozang took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, suppressing all of this deep in his heart.

From the moment he entered Pyongyang, his gaze fell upon the people of the city.

There weren't many people on the street, and not many knelt down to greet him; all that was there were cold eyes watching him from afar.

This is very wrong.

Gao Baozang even doubted whether this Pingrang was still his Pingrang.

Finally, they returned to the palace.

He said a few words in a calm manner, and the officials had just left.

Gao Baozang stood up abruptly, took a few steps forward, grabbed Jin Shangquan by the collar, and asked through gritted teeth, "What exactly happened? Why are there so few guards and soldiers in the city? What have they all been doing?"

Kim Sang-cheon looked up, sighed helplessly, and said, "Your Majesty, most of the guards and soldiers in the city have been transferred south to fight their way into Baekje."

"Invade Baekje?" Gao Baozang suddenly looked up and asked, "What for?"

Jin Shangquan lowered his head and looked at Gao Baozang's hand.

Gao Baozang then snorted coldly and released Jin Shangquan.

Kim Sang-cheon took a step back and bowed to Go Bo-cheong, saying, "I have not yet congratulated Your Majesty, but Silla was destroyed by our army at the end of last year."

"A large army? Our large army?" Gao Baozang's pupils widened in surprise.

"Yes!" Kim Sang-cheon continued to bow and said, "After the army conquered the capital of Silla, it turned west and headed straight for Baekje. If nothing unexpected happens, Baekje is not far from being destroyed. I congratulate Your Majesty on unifying the three kingdoms and bringing about the golden age of our ancestors."

Gao Baozang looked at Jin Shangquan with a cold expression.

I just stared at him without saying a word.

Jin Shangquan smiled slightly, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty."

"Am I that stupid? When did Goguryeo ever have the power to destroy Silla and Baekje? So it was the Tang Dynasty that destroyed Silla and Baekje, right?" Gao Baozang coldly stared at Kim Sang-cheon. He had felt something was off when they talked about destroying Silla before, and now they were turning around and destroying Baekje? How could that be? Kim Sang-cheon cupped his hands and remained silent.

Gao Baozang snorted coldly, turned around and walked back to the main bed, then suddenly sighed and said, "Tell me, what is the real situation?"

Kim Sang-cheon lowered his head and said, "Last year, Silla massacred one of our cities."

"Yes!" Gao Baozang nodded and said, "I know about this, but afterwards, I was placed under house arrest in Chang'an."

“Yes!” Kim Sang-cheon looked up at Go Bo-cheong and said, “After that, we will take revenge and massacre an entire city of Baekje.”

Gao Baozang suddenly looked up, staring at Jin Shangquan in utter astonishment.

“I don’t know what happened. It must have been the Tang people who instigated it.” Kim Sang-cheon sighed and said, “After that, Kim Chun-chu, who had already arrived in Liaozhou, suddenly returned to Silla. Then came the border war. We were caught off guard. But for some reason, as the fighting went on, the Silla people invaded Pyeongrang.”

Gao Baozang's eyes widened: "What did you say?"

“Yes, the Silla people stormed into Pyeongrang.” Kim Sang-cheon cupped his hands and said, “After all the burning, killing, and looting, the Tang army sent troops, stormed into Pyeongrang, killed all the Silla people who had entered Pyeongrang, then forcibly seized all military power, and then led the army south, killing all the Silla people who had entered Goguryeo, and finally stormed into Silla.”

"So, it was the Tang people who led our troops to destroy Silla, and then led them to destroy Baekje." Gao Baozang finally understood completely.

A servant appeared at the door. Kim Sang-cheon beckoned, and the servant entered, handed Kim Sang-cheon a letter, and then turned and left.

Kim Sang-cheon opened the letter, glanced at it, then looked at Go Bo-jang and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, Baekje has been destroyed."

Gao Baozang showed no joy on his face; instead, a barely perceptible tremor ran through his entire body.

He couldn't help but look up and ask, "So, what will they do next?"

“They will continue south, and occupy the entire territory of Baekje.” Kim Sang-cheon hesitated slightly, then cupped his hands and said, “There is something I have not yet told Your Majesty.”

"What is it? Speak." Gao Baozang took a deep breath and looked up, feigning calmness.

"Although the two-year war destroyed Silla and Baekje, it caused even greater damage to the country." Kim Sang-cheon said with a solemn expression, cupping his hands in greeting, "Especially food. Last spring and autumn, when Silla was invading the country, the people suffered from insufficient spring planting and autumn harvest... Last year was alright, but this year, especially now, the food shortage in Pyeongnam City is severe!"

“If the food shortage is severe, then we’ll just get it from somewhere else!” Gao Baozang replied instinctively.

Jin Shangquan licked his lips, then cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, Pingrang City is already facing a severe food shortage. The price of grain is extremely high, and there is no market for it. As for other places, many places will soon run out of food... Perhaps in a few days, countless refugees will rush to Pingrang.”

Gao Baozang tensed up and quickly asked, "What about the palace?"

"The grain in the palace, as well as the grain of the local powerful families, was taken away because of the war in the south." After a slight pause, Jin Shangquan said with a bitter smile, "Last autumn of Pingrang, the Silla people invaded and burned, killed, and looted. So when the Tang army led the army south, they transferred all the grain from the palace and the powerful families."

"Head south!" Gao Baozang suddenly looked up and said, "Haven't we already destroyed Silla and Baekje? Tell them to come back quickly!"

“Your Majesty, as I just said, the army will continue south and will not be back for a while.” Kim Sang-cheon cupped his hands and said, “Moreover, in Pyeongrang City… even if we do our best to conserve food, it will only last for ten days at most, and the autumn harvest is still more than half a month away.”

"Go borrow, go buy, go take the palace's valuables, go north to buy more." Gao Baozang couldn't help but stand up. If there was a shortage of food, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"When the Tang army marched south, they had already distributed the palace's wealth to the two soldiers," Jin Shangquan said with a wry smile.

Gao Baozang was stunned. After a long while, he slowly raised his head and looked at Jin Shangquan, saying, "They did it on purpose, didn't they?"

Jin Shangquan bowed slightly and clasped his hands in greeting.

"What do you think if I were to kneel at the gates of Junbi City and beg the Tang Dynasty to spare Goguryeo?" Gao Baozang stared intently at Jin Shangquan.

"Does Your Majesty really intend to do this?" Jin Shangquan never expected that Gao Baozang would come up with such a shameless, even coercive, scheme.

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside, and a guard appeared at the door, looking at Gao Baozang.

Gao Baozang raised his hand and said, "Speak your mind."

"Your Majesty," the guard said nervously, bowing, "the pontoon bridge over the Taedong River is being dismantled!"

"What!" Gao Baozang couldn't help but walk out of the palace and then quickly headed towards the north city wall.

……

Gao Baozang stood on the city wall, gazing at the distant Datong River.

Several pontoon bridges across the river have begun to be rapidly dismantled.

Gao Baozang's teeth chattered involuntarily. Finally, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "They want me dead!"

Jin Shangquan glanced at Gao Baozang, then lowered his head and remained silent.

He knew that Gao Baozang was clear about the specifics, but right now, he was just making a last-ditch, frantic struggle.

When people are about to die, not everyone is willing to die; they all frantically try to grasp at the last straw.

"Pass down the order." Gao Baozang raised his head and said resentfully, "Tell the people in the city to tighten their belts, open the city gates, and tell them to seek refuge with relatives if they can, rely on friends if they can, and if all else fails, go fishing in the river, dig up grass roots in the mountains, and if there is really no other way, they can even eat the seedlings in the fields."

Jin Shangquan looked at Gao Baozang in surprise.

Gao Baozang coldly shook his head and said, "No matter what, we can get through these two weeks. If it really doesn't work, we'll confiscate their property. Some people's homes definitely have food."

Jin Shangquan lowered his head and said helplessly, "Your Majesty may not know this, but for half a month before Your Majesty returned, Pingrang City was actually under the control of the Tang Dynasty. I was just assisting them. Everything in the city, including the food, was maintained by them. Although they used Goguryeo people, after the Tang people left, these people also left. Now, these are people I temporarily found, and they eat the least amount of food every day."

Gao Baozang's expression changed. If that were the case, he would have no one to rely on, and his policies would be impossible to implement.

He even heard a lot of subtext in Jin Shangquan's words.

If the Tang people have been in charge of Pingrang City for more than a year, will the officials under them still listen to them?
"As for the people," Jin Shangquan said with a sigh, "the people still had some expectations for Your Majesty's return to the country. They hoped that Your Majesty would bring more grain back to Pingrang, or that the Tang Dynasty would send you off. But... Your Majesty returned empty-handed."

Gao Baozang was stunned.

He originally thought that his return alone meant he had escaped the cage of the Tang Dynasty and returned to his own capital, but he did not expect that the country was already in a mess.

No, to be more precise, the Tang Dynasty had already built an unimaginable cage for him throughout Pingrang.

No matter what he thinks, no matter what he wants to do, he can't do it.

Even his words couldn't reach the palace.

(End of this chapter)