Tibet.

Chapter 1265 Two Weaknesses
A group of one hundred Khitan cavalrymen were rapidly marching southward. They were indeed scouts. Although the Khitans were cautious about the 200,000 Tang troops in Youzhou, it did not mean that they were not eyeing Youzhou. In order to control the Goguryeo people in Pingzhou, the Khitans had even assassinated the governor of Pingzhou, Yuwen Huaide. They did not know that Yuwen Huaide was Li Huai.

After intimidating the Goguryeo people, the Khitan immediately sent 10,000 troops to Pingzhou, taking a decisive step in a low-key manner.

Although the Khitan did not continue to increase its troops, it did not mean that they were not paying attention to the situation in Youzhou. Two days ago, they received a letter from the Pingzhou intelligence agency via an eagle, reporting that the Tang army had made unusual movements. The Khitan was really worried about the situation in the Liaoxi Corridor, so they sent a scout cavalry south to check the situation in the Liaoxi Corridor.

The leader of this cavalry of a hundred men was called Yelu Da. They were galloping along the official road. In the distance was the majestic Yanshan Mountains, and nearby were large forests and rolling low hills. They kept passing through hills and valleys.

At this time, a soldier suddenly pointed to the high mountain in the west and shouted, "Centurion, look!"

Yelu Da turned his head and everyone was shocked to see a smoke signal rising from a high mountain seven or eight miles away.

They were all professional spies and immediately realized what was going on. "Oh no! This is a beacon signal!"

"Century, there is probably a Tang army camp ahead."

Yelu nodded. The Goguryeo people would not build beacons to send signals, so it was most likely the Tang army.

Everyone looked towards the centurion Yelu Da, who thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait here until dark!"

They are very cunning. First, they buy time, and second, they can take advantage of the cover of darkness.

It was just past noon and still early for dark, and a hundred Khitan scouts were resting in a forest.

An hour later, a large flock of birds suddenly flew up not far ahead.

"Not good! There is an enemy."

The Khitan scouts jumped up and tried to mount their horses, but at this moment, arrows rained down on them. The scouts were unable to dodge and were hit one after another, screaming in agony.

Yelu Da was hit by an arrow on the shoulder and leg. He endured the pain, jumped on his horse, and galloped away on it. A dozen soldiers followed him closely and fled.

The three thousand Tang soldiers did not wait for the enemy. The scouts they sent out found that the enemy was resting in the woods. The three thousand Tang soldiers then surrounded the enemy from three directions. They were ruthless and fired thousands of arrows. More than eighty of the one hundred scouts were shot down on the spot, and only fourteen escaped by chance.

"Go and see if there is any survivor!" Li Yu ordered.

A soldier ran over and reported in a few moments: "General, there are more than a dozen survivors!"

"Bandage them up and take them back for interrogation!"

The soldiers quickly cleaned up the battlefield, bandaged the wounds of a dozen wounded soldiers, and brought them and their horses back to the camp.

Yelu Da and his men fled directly to Yingzhou. Although they did not see the Tang army camp, the appearance of thousands of Tang soldiers in the middle of the Liaoxi Corridor itself meant that the Tang army had entered the Liaoxi Corridor.

At the same time when the Tang army set up camp in the Liaoxi Corridor, 50,000 troops led by Guo Ziyi were marching towards Pingzhou in a mighty force.

Lai Zhen has led 30,000 cavalrymen to camp a hundred miles away from Yuyang County, keeping a close eye on the enemy forces in Yuyang County. As long as Zhu Ci's army makes any unusual movements, Lai Zhen's cavalry will immediately set out to intercept them.

That night, the army entered Pingzhou and arrived at Shicheng County in the westernmost part. Guo Ziyi ordered the troops to stay and rest.

This place is only about 120 miles away from Pinglu County, where 20,000 Goguryeo troops are stationed. So far, the scouts of the front army have not detected any movement of the enemy.

Guo Ziyi sent someone to fetch General Li Sheng. Not long after, Li Sheng hurried over and bowed at the entrance of the military tent, saying, "I pay my respects to the old general!"

"General Li, please come in!"

Li Sheng walked in and saw Guo Ziyi standing in front of the sand table measuring the distance. Guo Ziyi put down the ruler and said with a smile: "Your Highness praised you for your ability to make ingenious plans. I would like to ask General Li, how should we fight this battle?"

"Old General, you think too highly of me!"

"It's okay, just speak frankly!"

Li Sheng pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness's main intention is to kill the army and keep the civilians. Kill the Goguryeo army and nobles, and keep the ordinary people. But this approach is easy to be criticized. So the best way is to destroy them on the battlefield and not give them a chance to surrender."

Guo Ziyi nodded. "Well said. What next?"

"Then there are the things on the battlefield. I think the old general can use the method he used to annihilate Li Na's 80,000 troops in Qizhou again!"

"You mean showing weakness to lure the enemy into battle?"

"Exactly!"

Guo Ziyi walked back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back and said, "I think so too. I'm afraid the other party won't be fooled. They are not stupid and will not easily give up the advantage of Pinglu County."

Li Sheng smiled and said, "I will lead 20,000 troops to ask them to leave the city and surrender. When they see that I have a similar number of troops, they will surely come up with a plan to pretend to surrender to us. We can use this trick to defeat them and lure them to chase us. At this time, the main cavalry will cut off their retreat and refuse to accept their surrender."

"What if they really surrender?" Guo Ziyi asked with a smile.

Li Sheng shook his head. "The Regent is in Youzhou. If the Goguryeo people really wanted to surrender, they would have sent envoys to meet Your Highness long ago. They are unwilling to seize such a good opportunity. How could they surrender only when the enemy is at the gates of the city?"

Guo Ziyi nodded, "You are right. Your Highness told me that the Goguryeo people still want to establish a country in their hearts. I believe they have also seen how the Goguryeo people in Laizhou were resettled. This is the outcome they are most unwilling to accept. They want to be disbanded and integrated into the Han people. This is why they are unwilling to surrender."

"Your Highness, have you said how to deal with the Goguryeo army?" Li Sheng asked.

Guo Ziyi smiled and said, "Your Highness told me that the Goguryeo people have two biggest weaknesses. One is arrogance, which means they think they are very powerful and look down on everyone. The second is greed. They are always greedy and will not stop when they are ahead. They must maximize their benefits. We can use these two weaknesses to kill them!"

"Isn't that my strategy to induce surrender?"

"Yes!"

Guo Ziyi said slowly: "I actually thought of this method, showing weakness and luring them out of the city to fight!"

The next afternoon, Li Sheng led 20,000 infantrymen to the city of Pinglu.

Pinglu County has been completely controlled by the Goguryeo people. All the Han people have been driven out of the city. Currently, more than 100,000 people in the city are Goguryeo people. The people in charge in the city are Gao Baoyuan, the grandson of King Baozang Gao Zang, and his two sons Gao Cang and Gao Zeng. The 20,000 troops in the city are controlled by his two sons.

Among them, the eldest son Gao Cang had the right of inheritance and was the second most important person among the Goguryeo people in Pingzhou.

There is also the third person in charge of government affairs, Quan Hongtai, who is a descendant of the Quan family, and the fourth person, Lu Changsong, whose granddaughter Li Huai married.

Gao Baoyuan and his men certainly knew that Regent Li Ye was in Youzhou, but they could not accept the resettlement plan for the Goguryeo people in Laizhou, and they were all dispersed to various counties in Henan Province.

If they accept this plan, it means the complete destruction of the country, so everyone is unwilling to agree to surrender. The slogan they shouted is "It is better to die in glory than to live in disgrace!"

At this time, hearing that the Tang army was approaching, Gao Baoyuan hurriedly took his men to the city to check.

(End of this chapter)