Datang Lingnan King

Chapter 413 Attacking Goguryeo

In March of the eighth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty issued a summons and said: King Gao Jianwu of Goguryeo extorted violently and extorted money, making the people miserable, and his opponent Lu Yuan Taizuo repeatedly invaded the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's imperial conquest came in person, and he urgently recruited Prince Li Chengqian to supervise the country. He was assisted by Zuo servant She Xiaoyu, who was over [-] years old, Sun Wuji, the eldest minister of the household department, and Fang Xuanling, the minister of finance and commerce.

Li Jing, the Duke of Wei, served as the general manager of the three armies, Li Ji, the British Duke, served as the deputy, Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng County, served as the general manager of the Liaoxi Road, and Qin Qiong, the Duke of Yi, attacked Liaodong City.

British Duke Li Ji and Su Guogong Cheng Yaojin led Cheng Mingzhen, Liu Shili and others to attack Anshi City.

Li Xiaogong, King of Hejian County, and Chi Gong, Duke of E, led An Xiuren, An Shigui and others to attack Fuyu City.

Liu Hongji, Duke of the Kui Kingdom, led Zhishi Sili and others to send troops from Xincheng to cut off the back roads of Liaodong and other cities.

Li Shimin led Zhang Shigui, Pang Tongshan, General You Xiaowei, Li Mengchang, Duke of Wushui County, General Zuo Tunwei, Duke Sun Wuda of Qingshui County, Du Junchuo, Duke of Huaining County, and Zheng Rentai, Duke of Tong'an County.General Zuojianmen, Duke of Xiangcheng County, Fan Xing, Duke of Wuyang County Li Daliang, and three brothers Xue Wanche, Xue Wanjun, and Xue Wanshu were in the central army.

Accompanied by civil servants such as Du Ruhui, Yushi doctor Wei Zheng and others.

At the same time, Zhang Liang, the governor of the Navy, led an army of [-] to attack Shabei City, and Liu Renyuan, the governor of the Lingnan Navy, led an army of [-] to attack Goguryeo City along the way.

And it was ordered to Silla and Baekje to send troops to contain it. If not, the consequences will be at your own risk, and the attitude is quite tough.

After more than a year of preparations for this expedition, a total of about 50 troops were dispatched, with 28 civilian husbands and [-] prisoners, known as an army of one million.

Among them, 15 Turkic warriors, 12 Khitan soldiers, 50 Huihe soldiers, [-] Nanyang Allied Forces, [-] Xiren, [-] Shiwei, [-] Japanese slave death squads, [-] fanatics from western Liaoning, and [-] warriors. As well as [-] original elite soldiers of the Twelve Guards, as well as [-] Li Shimin's Xuanjia Army, [-] newly formed artillery, [-] tank soldiers, [-] musketeers, and [-] medical personnel, a total of nearly [-] troops by water.

And the grain has long been transported to the west of Liaoning for storage. From the west of Liaoning, it is transported by train for eighty miles, and it is being transported by people and horses. It can reach the front line in one day, so there is basically no need to worry about the food problem.

And the biggest role of all civilians and captives is to build bridges and repair roads, so that the army can pass without hindrance.

And after a year of preparation, sixty steel cannons, twelve tanks, and countless ammunition have been prepared.

The water army was divided into ten steel cannons, Zhang Liang had eight, Liu Renyuan had two, and the other three armies had fifteen each. Li Shimin's army had only five cannons, but ten tanks.

The current steel cannons belong to the third generation of products. Except for tanks, the rest are very huge. The three-foot-diameter barrel is two feet long. It is very scary to look at. Each giant cannon requires ten horses to pull. It can be moved, and there are thirty soldiers to help transport it.

Carrying ammunition is another person. This is also for safety reasons. All ammunition must be transported separately. Even if the cannon is seized, it is useless for the enemy to hold it.

It can be said that the Tang Dynasty dispatched veterans and ministers at most once this time. This is also an attitude of Li Shimin. After all, the three expeditions to Goguryeo in the former Sui Dynasty caused too many casualties. Now the living people have relatives and friends who died here. Make a wish.

As early as when Datang mobilized the army, Goguryeo discovered Datang's intentions. After all, Li Shimin was generous this time and did not mean to cover up.

But what Goguryeo didn't understand was that although Li Shimin was known as an army of one million, there was more or less moisture in it, and the troops were divided into several groups. This made Yuan Taizuo and Yang Wanchun, who was in Liaodong City, puzzled.

The banners were fluttering, the horns sounded, and the golden dragon banner representing Li Shimin was also erected outside Liaodong City.

Yang Wanchun became more and more suspicious when he saw the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty lining up outside the city with high morale.

"General Yang, what's wrong?" Seeing that Yang Wanchun was frowning, Yuan Taizuo asked in puzzlement.

"Dear Lu, you see, the Emperor Tang personally conscripted, why are there so few troops? You must know that Liaodong City is a strong city, and we have 40 troops here." Yang Wanchun asked, pointing to the outside of the city.

Yuan Taizuo calculated silently in his heart for a while, nodded and said: "It's really strange, Datang has only more than [-] horses outside the city, and yet he divides his troops to besiege the city. It's really weird. Could there be a trick?"

"The biggest possibility is that Li Shimin used himself as a bait to attract the main force, so that other places can break through the city and besiege together." Yang Wanchun looked at it and said thoughtfully.

"Why do you think so? Li Shimin actually put himself in danger, isn't he afraid that we will attack him with all our might?" Yuan Taizuo asked puzzled.

"Look, the other three sides only have more than [-] people on each side, but they put up a defensive formation, obviously because they don't want us to go out of the city to support other cities.

Moreover, Li Shimin still has about [-] troops around him, so he is not afraid of field battles at all, let alone we don't know if there are still ambushes. "Yang Wanchun let out a long breath and explained to Yuan Taizuo.

"Then what should we do now?" Yuan Taizuo asked in disbelief.

"There is no good way, we can only see the tricks, defend with peace of mind, and when the Tang army suffers too many casualties, they will naturally retreat.

I just hope that the young master will concentrate on defending in Anshi City and not go out of the city, so there is still a glimmer of hope. "Yang Wanchun shook his head and said.

"What about Fuyu City? Can it be defended?" Yuan Taizuo continued to ask.

"If we can't hold it, the general has already ordered to retreat. All places are abandoned, and all retreat to the inner city. That is, as the second line of defense, it is also for us to guard the way of retreat." Yang Wanchun explained.

"You did the right thing. You left a lot of empty cities, so that Datang could not get supplies, and you had to separate troops to garrison them, weakening their strength." Yuan Taizuo understood after careful consideration, and nodded in agreement.

…………

outside the city
Li Shimin rode his horse on the hill, and he could see the top of the city clearly through the binoculars in his hand.

"Hehe! The mantis is like a car, and you are overestimated. Dear friends, follow me and watch carefully. Today is a shameful day." Seeing that the soldiers at the foot of the mountain had already lined up, Li Shimin smiled and pointed to the top of the city and said to the people around him.

Many people were very concerned about the attack on Goguryeo, and many veterans even burst into tears.

"The shame of the past must be paid by Goguryeo's blood." Many people followed suit with gritted teeth.

"Hehe! I will definitely not disappoint you dear ladies!" Li Shimin raised the corners of his mouth, appearing to be in a very good mood. He jumped off his horse, asked the guards to bring stools, and called everyone to sit down and watch on the hill.

Although these ministers didn't understand what he meant, they still got off their horses and sat down to watch. After the battlefield, a group of people sat and watched the play, which seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.

(End of this chapter)