Ji Tang

Chapter 841
Attacking a city with ants is the most cruel method of warfare in the cold weapon era.

The numerous casualties, the disproportionate death ratio, and the blow to morale all made ant siege a last resort tactic in war.

Sun Tzu's Art of War has it that the first step is to attack the enemy with troops, the second step is to attack the enemy, and the third step is to attack the city. It can be seen that siege is a helpless tactic under unavoidable circumstances.

But at this moment, neither the emperor Li Shimin nor Yu Chigong, Li Ji, Zhang Shigui, Xue Wanche, Niu Jinda and others had any choice.

A war involving 20 people, plus the servant army, which amounts to a total of 30 generals, is a war that consumes a lot of national power no matter what time it is.

Success is a blessing, and all criticism will be overshadowed by the news of victory.But if it fails or loses its troops, it will be very detrimental to both the country and the emperor.

In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty has been on expeditions outside the territory, defeating the Eastern Turks, annihilating Tuyuhun, punishing Jiaozhi in the south, and driving out the Western Turks in the west. All directions and the four poles are trembling under the iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty.

But this is all based on the fact that the Tang Dynasty has always been victorious or strong. Once the Tang Dynasty fails in the war against Goguryeo, will the tribes around the Tang Dynasty who are afraid of the Tang Dynasty still be able to remain as peaceful as they are now?

no, I can not!
They will definitely use various methods to test Datang's bottom line. If Datang responds forcefully, they will definitely go to war.

But if you don't respond or ignore it, then it will be more fun.

Those people will definitely push their limits, and constantly challenge the nerves of the Tang Dynasty, until the Tang Dynasty can't bear it anymore and spends a lot of national power to attack them.

But if this happens, not only will the external environment of the Tang Dynasty become extremely bad, but the wealthy families in the country who have just been suppressed will inevitably jump out to challenge the emperor's majesty.

Under this situation, the Tang Dynasty will never have peace!

Therefore, this battle must be won, and even more so, a great victory!
Otherwise, it will not be enough to deter the covetousness of countries from all over the world, and it will not be enough to suppress domestic dissatisfaction.

According to historical records, Li Shimin suffered heavy losses in this war and died of illness shortly after returning to the court. Later, Li Zhi succeeded to the throne.

It can be seen how big a blow that failure had to him. The founder of the Zhenguan Rule suffered such a defeat in his later years. This was a regret in his life!

The difference is that the national power of the Tang Dynasty at this time is far greater than that of the previous life. Whether it is equipment or food and grass, it is enough for the Tang Dynasty to free its hands and feet to fight.

There are even more than [-] troops, with an overwhelming momentum and the intention to fight to destroy the country. They come to Liaodong. How can it be a start to the end?

Li Shimin stood on the high platform with an expressionless face, as if the dead Tang soldiers were just a bunch of numbers!

Du Ruhui stood beside the emperor with a solemn expression. From the morning of the fight until now, both the Tang soldiers and the Goguryeo people were exhausted.

But at this time, no one had any intention of giving up. They were all persisting, waiting for the other party to be unable to hold on any longer.

As time passed, there were three more rounds of siege. Although some soldiers climbed onto the city wall, they were quickly driven off the city wall. This tug-of-war has been going on for a whole day.

"That's okay, Your Majesty!"

Du Ruhui stepped forward and said: "It is almost dark, the soldiers are exhausted and can no longer fight."

Li Shimin paused at the flag he was about to pick up, then threw it on the table with some reluctance, and said bitterly: "Send troops with gold!"

"It's Your Majesty!"

bang bang bang!
The sound of the gong resounded throughout the battlefield. Li Daozong, who was on the front line, saw the soldiers who were still fighting the enemy on the city wall and shouted in hatred: "Withdraw the troops!" "No!"

Advancing by beating drums and withdrawing troops by calling gold, this is the most basic and most severe military law in war, not to mention that the emperor is right behind, who dares to disrespect him?
When the soldiers of the Tang Army on the top of the city heard the signal to retreat, they cursed in their hearts. Although they were unwilling, no one dared to disobey.

A horizontal slash with the sword caused the enemy to push away a little, turn around and jump off the city wall without hesitation.

At this time, there were already piles of corpses under the city wall, including those of the Tang army and those of the Goguryeo people. With these real human flesh pads, we dared to jump down. Otherwise, it would be better to die fighting on the top of the city instead of being thrown down. die!

Retreat is not a swarm of swarms, but an orderly retreat.

Break after break, retreat after retreat, there was still rain of arrows from behind, and trebuchets pelted the city with stones for free, forcing the Goguryeo people who wanted to expand their victory to find bunkers, and did not bother to cover up and kill the Tang army.

After exiting the enemy's attack range, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it, these Goguryeo bastards are really desperate for their lives. Is Yeon Gae Suwen so worthy of their allegiance?"

Xue Wanche spat, somewhat incredulously.

No one knows the combat power of the Tang army better than these generals, but even with such a huge disparity, Goguryeo actually blocked them for a full day without any intention of retreating.

After killing a group, another group came, and they couldn't kill them all. They hadn't seen such a resilient army for a long time.

Thinking of Ji Song's record of one against four or even five against Anshi City, he couldn't help but secretly be speechless.I didn’t realize it before, but now that I’ve tried the power of Goguryeo Elite, I can only say that my brother is awesome!
Ji Song was able to achieve such a great victory. As a brother, he was very proud. Whenever he met people, he would say that Ji Song was his brother Xue Wanche, not to mention how proud he was.

Although others looked angry, they could only curse inwardly. There was really no one who was as knowledgeable as him. Even Zhang Liang and others who had no dealings with Ji Song could only pretend they didn't hear it.

The most important thing in the army is strong men and military merit, and Ji Song proved with facts that he was a strong man and worthy of the emperor's favor and protection.

I heard that Ji Song showed great prowess in the battle of Anshi City, leading hundreds of soldiers to penetrate the enemy's formation, and almost killed Yang Wanchun with his corpse. Although he only broke the commander's flag in the end, it also reversed the situation on the battlefield. Let the enemy troops be completely frightened and flee!
In the Chinese army's commander's tent, Li Shimin took a high seat, and the returning generals also arrived one after another.

Everyone was covered in blood, their heads and faces were unkempt, and they were full of evil spirits. They looked like the reincarnation of the God of Death, and the faint of heart would probably be frightened to death.

"We failed to capture Liaodong City and failed Your Majesty's great trust. Please forgive us!"

There is nothing to say. Although the emperor personally directed it, there were no mistakes or inappropriateness.Since His Majesty was right, but the city was not captured, then as the executors, they were wrong.

If you don't admit your mistake now, why don't you wait for His Majesty to admit your mistake?

"Generals, please stand up!"

Li Shimin didn't mean to blame anyone. After this battle, he also experienced the resilience of the Goguryeo people. It was simply impossible to capture a city garrisoned by 5 people in one day!
"Do you think there are any deficiencies today? Why did we attack the city many times, but were driven down again and again?"

"I'm not asking for guilt, but I want to know why? Are Goguryeo's swords sharper than those of the Tang Dynasty? And their armors are stronger? Or maybe their soldiers are braver and more powerful than those of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Shimin was puzzled.

(End of this chapter)