A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1292 Whose general is this?
"According to reports, Gai Suwen has dispatched 40,000 infantry and cavalry to reinforce us. They will intercept Li Ji and his men on their way south to Liaodong City."

After the banquet,

Li Shimin summoned several generals to discuss military situation. They had just won two great victories, but had not yet annihilated many of the Goguryeo people's living forces. Now it was only a success in the early stages of tactics, and they were leading the Goguryeo people around in a fake and real way.

Li Ji, Su Dingfang and Wu Huaiyi successfully crossed the Liao River one after another, and after mobilizing the enemy, they found the right opportunity and broke through two cities at once.

But the enemy's main force is still there, especially now that another 40,000 infantry and cavalry have arrived.
Li Jing looked at the map and said easily, "Now that Li Ji, Ma Zhou and Wu Huaiyi's troops have joined forces to break through Gaimu City, the 60,000 infantry and cavalry have suffered almost no losses, and they have seized a large number of livestock and food. They have sufficient supplies and high morale, and are not afraid of the 40,000 reinforcements from the Goguryeo people at all."

The Goguryeo people had lost two important cities at this time. Although the main force was still there, they knew that the next target of the Tang army would definitely be Liaodong City. They had to defend Liaodong City.

The three defense lines they had worked so hard to build, the Liaoze defense line, the Liaohe defense line, and the Liaodong Great Wall defense line, had all been lost, and the Tang army marched straight in.
At this time, they had to divide their troops to guard Liaodong, Baiyan, Anshi, Xincheng and other important towns.

The only ones who could truly intercept Li Jiwu Huaiyi's army were the 40,000 infantry and cavalry transferred from the rear.

Forty thousand blocked sixty thousand,
Li Jing felt that as long as Li Ji was not too incompetent, this battle could be won easily. After all, it was not that Li Ji was being asked to attack an important mountain city guarded by 40,000 people. It was that 40,000 Goguryeo people were going to fight a field battle to intercept 60,000 Tang troops heading south.

"What if these 40,000 reinforcements from Goguryeo go directly to Liaodong City?" Changsun Guojiu asked while looking at the map. He was not good at military affairs and only had a few experiences of leading troops in the early Zhenguan period. It was the emperor who gave him some experience.

In his opinion, if the generals of Goguryeo were not too stupid, they should not have intercepted Li Ji's army halfway, but should have gone directly to Liaodong City to strengthen the defense.

How can we stop 60,000 with 40,000?

Qin Qiong smiled and explained, "If the 40,000 reinforcements from Goguryeo go directly to Liaodong City, they will be giving up the cities in the Guiduan River Basin in the north. Duke Ying, Duke Song, and Duke Yan can lead these 60,000 troops to sweep across the city."

He pointed a few times on the map.

Guiduan River, which later became the Hunhe River.

Hunhe River is the largest tributary of Liaohe River, running for more than 700 miles. The Hunhe River Valley is an important transportation valley in Liaodong. It connects with Baiyun River to the east and leads to Yalu River to the east.

"Goguryeo's reinforcements will go directly to Liaodong City, and then Duke Ying can attack Xincheng."

Xincheng is the strategic point in the west of Goguryeo. If we don’t capture it first, it will be difficult to capture the other cities.

Xincheng is the largest strategic town on the Liaodong defense line, north of Liaodong City.

In fact, the 40,000 infantry and cavalry assembled by the Goguryeo people this time were originally drawn from Guonei City, Xincheng and other places. They united to prevent being defeated one by one by Li Ji, and at the same time to reinforce Liaodong City.

Therefore, no matter from which aspect,
It is impossible for the 40,000 Goguryeo people to abandon the 60,000 Tang troops and run to Liaodong City. That would be tantamount to abandoning their own nest.

Even if Liaodong City is defended, once the new city is lost, most of the small and large mountain cities in the Hunhe River Basin will be lost, and Li Ji will even gain a direct passage to the Yalu River.

The Liaodong defense line that the Goguryeo people had painstakingly built for hundreds of years was completely useless.

The new city is strong and secure.

Before this, Wu Huaiyi and his men had made a feint and rushed to the city.

Cao Qin, the garrison commander of Shule under Wu Huaiyi, led only a dozen cavalrymen to the gate of Xincheng. The people in the city were frightened and no one dared to fight.

But they also defended the city by relying on the dangerous terrain. Even when Wu Huaiyi and his troops arrived, they had no chance and finally attacked towards Gaimu City.

The city was large and strong, and the Goguryeo people stationed troops and stored food there, focusing on its management. When the Turks, Khitans, and Mohe besieged the city, the Goguryeo people fought back the invading enemies.

The 40,000 infantry and cavalry of Goguryeo only dared to fight around Xincheng and did not dare to go far away. Unless they could defeat Li Ji's army, they would dare to go south.

Or he might have followed Li Ji's army to Liaodong City. He would never have dared to abandon Li Ji's 60,000 men near the new city and run to Liaodong first.

"I understand. If Li Ji can annihilate these 40,000 infantry and cavalry, wouldn't Xincheng become an empty city?" Changsun Wuji's eyes lit up.

Wu Huaiyu looked at the map and said, "It's not that easy to annihilate these 40,000 infantry and cavalry. The best result is to defeat them. Then Duke Ying and his men can go south smoothly and join your majesty at the foot of Liaodong City. We will capture Liaodong City first and then go back to attack Xincheng."

"If we can defeat these 40,000 Goguryeo troops, why not take advantage of the victory to capture Xincheng?" asked Changsun.

"Unless we annihilate them, or just defeat them, they can retreat to the new city and defend it. It will be difficult to break through the city."

"But it's quite easy to capture Gaimu City, it only takes ten days." The king's uncle felt that the Goguryeo people were vulnerable.

"The reason why Gaimu City was captured so easily is that the Goguryeo people were distracted by our mobilization and lost their minds. The main force of Gaimu City's defenders was withdrawn, leaving the defense empty. That's why we were able to capture it in one fell swoop. Moreover, Gaimu City is far less fortified than the new city."

"Besides, our primary target this time is Liaodong City."

Li Jiwu Huaiyi's army had 60,000 soldiers, Su Dingfang's army had 20,000 soldiers, and the imperial camp commanded by the emperor himself also had 20,000 soldiers.

To attack Liaodong City, the Emperor's 20,000 men alone are not enough.

It is necessary to transfer the troops of Li Ji and Su Dingfang, and even the troops under Li Daozon, to gather 120,000 troops to fight this battle.

Li Shimin stroked his beard and looked at the map with a smile on his face.

"Huaiyu is right. In this expedition to Liao, we should not worry about the gains and losses of a city or a place. Our primary task is to mobilize the enemy and annihilate its main force. As long as we annihilate the main force of Goguryeo, what is the use of the thousand-mile Great Wall built by the Goguryeo people and the countless mountain cities they built?"

It would be best if the 40,000 infantry and cavalry of Goguryeo could be deployed and annihilated. If they dare not fight and retreat to Xincheng, then Li Ji can lead his army south to Liaodong City and fight a decisive battle there. After taking Liaodong City, he can go north to attack Xincheng and destroy the 40,000 infantry and cavalry.

If the 40,000 infantry and cavalry in Xincheng moved south, Li Ji could lay siege to the city and attack the reinforcements.

Yuchi Gong looked at the map for a long time. "I ask Your Majesty to give me 5,000 troops. I will go east along the Guiduan River and kill my way to Neiguo City. Now that the troops in Neiguo City have been transferred to Xincheng, there must be a shortage of troops."

"I will lead a special force and will surely capture the inner city, shock the rear, and force the Goguryeo troops to return for support. I can also rush to Pyongyang and cooperate with the sea fleet to have a chance to capture Gai Suwen and Gao Baozang alive."

Lao Hei’s suggestion is quite bold.

Five thousand special troops, alone and deep in the territory, headed straight for Neigucheng. If they could take it, they could cross the Yalu River and attack Pyongyang.

Even if we cannot capture the Goguryeo royal city by surprise, we can still shock its rear and force it to mobilize troops for defense, which can reduce the pressure on the Liaodong front.

"If I take Guonei City, I can also lure the Goguryeo soldiers in Wugut City and Daxing City in the lower reaches of the Yalu River to come and seize it. In this way, Wugut and Daxing will be empty, and the navy of Wu Heita and Pang Xiaotai can seize Daxing City at the mouth of the Yalu River and then attack Wugut City."

The plan is risky, but feasible to a certain extent.

But Li Shimin shook his head.

"There's no need to take the risk of going deep behind enemy lines alone."

When Yang Guang conquered Liao, he sent nine generals to lead 300,000 troops, rushing through the numerous mountain cities of Goguryeo and Liaodong, all the way to Pyongyang.

Goguryeo's Yilji Mundeok came to lure the enemy deep into their territory. When the Sui army crossed the Yalu River, they deliberately kept defeating the enemy in the Taedong River basin, luring the Sui army to pursue them further. The Sui soldiers felt that the food they brought was too heavy, so they threw the food away while chasing them.

In the end, the Goguryeo people attacked the Sui army halfway across the river and defeated it. When they retreated, they found that they had no food.

However, on the way to retreat to Liaodong, there were countless Goguryeo mountain fortresses blocking their way. In the end, only about 2,000 of the 300,000 people escaped back to Liaodong, and most of the rest were taken prisoner.

This is not the grassland. You can go thousands of miles behind enemy lines and run around.

In Liaodong, Goguryeo was established for more than 700 years, and these countless mountain cities have long controlled all transportation channels.

Once we are surrounded, the entire army will be wiped out.

Under the current circumstances, there is no need to take such a risk. It is enough to send the navy to attack the coast by sea.

The emperor's strategic intention was very clear. On the surface, he was promoting the goal of destroying Goguryeo in one fell swoop, but in fact, the real strategic intention of this expedition was to annihilate Goguryeo's elite main force in the Liaohe Plain. It would be even better if he could capture a few more big cities, completely tear open the Liaodong Great Wall defense line, and break the Liaohe defense line.

The emperor was even prepared for the worst outcome. The worst outcome was to fight a few battles, fail to capture a single city, kill 18,000 enemy troops, and return home after half a year.

"Take Liaodong City first."

Compared to Xincheng and other mountain cities, Liaodong City is a plain city, which is relatively easy to attack. It is backed by the Liaohe River, which is suitable for the Tang army to fight with large armies, especially for mobilizing the enemy, besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements, and annihilating its main force.

Compared to attacking mountain cities one by one,
It would be more appropriate to fight under the city of Liaodong.

On the third day of May, Yan Lide was responsible for building a field march bridge on the west bank of the Daliaoze Lake. In just three days, he built a 200-mile-long march bridge across the Liaoze Lake.

The army built a bridge with earth and left no trace.

May 10th,

All the more than 20,000 troops in the army have crossed the Liaoze River, including the siege artillery vehicles built in Yingzhou in advance that can throw 300-jin stone bullets, as well as a large number of magical firearms.

Thanks to the large-scale sweep by the Youying Tang army led by Su Dingfang and the Xiqi allied army in the early stage, as well as the continuous mobilization of enemy troops by Li Ji, Wu Huaiyi and others, there were no Goguryeo defenders on the west bank of the Liaohe River.

The emperor's 20,000 troops, including a large number of heavy cavalry, heavy infantry, as well as engineering troops and firearms troops, easily passed through the most difficult 200-li Liaoze without any hindrance.

They successfully crossed the Liao River and arrived at the city of Liaodong.

When the siege catapults capable of hurling boulders weighing three hundred kilograms were assembled, the defenders of Liaodong City were already trembling in fear. What they didn't know was that these siege beasts were not actually the trump card of the Tang army.

The real killer weapon is the Shenjiying.

Their various poison smoke bombs and kerosene bombs are the real siege weapons, especially the kerosene bombs, which are thrown into the city by catapults. They are a hundred times more powerful than traditional incendiary devices.

The Tang army was preparing to burn the city down.

As expected, Li Ji and Wu Huaiyi's 60,000-man army was intercepted by 40,000 infantry and cavalry from Xincheng and Guoneicheng when they were heading south.

Then, the lord of Liaodong City, after seeing the Tang army setting up siege cannons outside the city, finally could not sit still. He could not let the Tang army attack the city at ease, so he gathered his troops and led 40,000 infantry and cavalry out of the city to fight.

Many officials accompanying the emperor said that the enemy was numerous and we were few, so it would be better to dig deep trenches and build high fortifications and wait for the arrival of Su Dingfang and Li Ji's troops before fighting.

Wu Huaiyu glanced at these civil officials.

"The Liao bandits are relying on their numbers and are looking down on us. I suggest we attack them and blunt their edge."

At this time, An Lushan, the king of Anguo, also immediately stood up to respond to his adoptive father, "Your Majesty, the commander-in-chief's words make sense. I am willing to be the vanguard, clear the way for the emperor's carriage, and prevent the thieves from bothering you. I am willing to lead my 3,000 Anguo cavalry to dampen their spirit!"

Li Shimin stroked his beard, very satisfied with Fatty An's loyalty.

The King of the Stone Kingdom, Shi Shouxin, was naturally unwilling to fall behind. "If we don't encounter a strong enemy, how can we show our bravery? This is the time for us vassals to serve our lord. I am willing to lead two thousand soldiers of the Stone Kingdom to fight together."

Li Shimin looked at Wu Huaiyu and said, "Huaiyu, your two righteous sons are loyal and brave. You can admire them."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to lead them to attack together."

The emperor thought for a while and finally nodded.

Wu Huaiyu then assembled his own 1,000 personal soldiers, plus An Lushan's 3,000 Yeluohe cavalry and Shi Shouxin's 2,000 Shiguo Zhejie elite cavalry.

Six thousand cavalrymen went to meet the 40,000 Liaodong defenders who were rushing out of the city.

Xue Rengui, Wang Fangyi and Zhao Chiman were all excited when they first arrived on the battlefield. Wu Huaiyu asked them to charge and kill the enemy without having to follow him.

Then the three of them rode their horses towards the enemy and defeated them all.

Six thousand cavalrymen managed to hold off the aggressive 40,000 infantry and cavalry.

On the battlefield,
An Lushan was too fat to ride a horse to charge, so he rode in a chariot.

Once the battle started, the chariots were not as flexible as the horses. An Lushan was soon surrounded by the Goguryeo people. Although his adopted son Yeluohe tried his best to protect him, he could not escape. Seeing that the enemies were surrounding him more and more, it was very dangerous.
Xue Rengui saw from afar,
With a loud roar, he stepped forward alone, like a sharp arrow, shooting straight at the enemy.

A white horse,
A silver armor,
A horse lance,
Unstoppable.

A spear pierced a Goguryeo general directly into the air.
That scene,
In an instant, countless Goguryeo soldiers and generals were shocked and frightened.

After Xue Rengui assassinated the enemy general in the midst of thousands of troops, he did not forget to lift his body onto the saddle, drew his sword and cut off his head, then tied it beside the saddle.

He raised his spear and charged again.
But no one dared to stop him, and the Goguryeo soldiers who were besieging An Lushan's chariot fled one after another.

An Lushan was rescued.

far away,

The emperor stood on the watchtower built by Yan Lide, watching the battle ahead. He also saw An Lushan being surrounded.

Then I saw the amazing scene.

"Who is that young general in silver armor a subordinate of? What's his name? Why is he so brave?"

Qin Qiong, the cavalry commander who was accompanying him, said, "That's Huaiyu's subordinate, the leader of his children's camp, a member of the Hedong Xue family, named Li and styled Rengui."

"What a brave man! I never thought he was a commoner. I will summon him to see me later. I will reward him handsomely and make him a great use of his power."

The battle ended quickly, and the Goguryeo people left behind more than a thousand corpses and quickly retreated back to Liaodong City.

On the battlefield, An Lushan found Xue Rengui and was very grateful to this little brother. The emperor sent someone to convey his order, summoning Wu Huaiyu, An Lushan and Shi Shouxin, and also specifically asked Xue Rengui to go.

"Rengui, you are going to be rich." Huaiyu patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

Several people came to the emperor's tent,

Li Shimin was very happy and praised Wu Huaiyu and his men highly. This battle between 6,000 and 40,000 was very exciting. Not only did they defeat the enemy, but they also beheaded more than a thousand of them.

Finally, the emperor's eyes fell on Xue Rengui.

After some questions, Xue Rengui answered very confidently, which made Li Shimin very satisfied.

So he immediately gave him two royal horses, forty pieces of silk, and ten captives as slaves.

"I grant you the rank of fifth-rank guerrilla general and the post of Yunquanfu Guoyi Duwei. What makes me happiest today is not that we defeated the Goguryeo soldiers, but that I have a brave general like you."

From a commoner, he was promoted to a fifth-rank general in an instant. This was truly a meteoric rise.

"Huaiyu, I like Xue Rengui very much. I want him to be my bodyguard from now on. Do you mind?"

"Your Majesty appreciates Xue Li, it is his honor, I am happy for him, and I am also very happy to recommend a brave general to the court for Your Majesty."

"Hahaha," Li Shimin waved his hands happily, "I grant you 100 captives as slaves, 20 horses, and 400 pieces of silk, as a reward for your contribution to the country."

(End of this chapter)