Wentang

Chapter 709 Goguryeo Kingdom Extinction (2)

Before deciding to surrender, the guards and city lord of Anshi City had already sent dozens of messengers to deliver the news to the country to make them prepare.

They knew better than anyone else that all defenses against artillery were useless.But the news should still be spread, at least let the rear prepare for a few more days, in case a miracle happens.

So when Li Shimin led his army to attack Huanglong and head towards Pyongyang, Liaodong City and Anshi City were breached, and the news that the land portal was opened spread first.

The Goguryeo people, who were already in panic, were completely panicked, and all kinds of rumors were out of control. In fact, most of the city lords didn't think about stopping these rumors.

At this time, it has to be said that the advantages of being the suzerain country and the main cultural country are highlighted.

Goguryeo was deeply influenced by Chinese culture. From the princes and ministers to the common people in the country, they all had a deep sense of identity with the Central Plains Dynasty.

In particular, Yueshan's "Huaxia Civilization" has a higher degree of acceptance in Goguryeo than in Datang.It can even be said that this book is regarded as a standard in the surrounding vassal states.

Because only in this way can they confidently consider themselves a part of Chinese civilization.

You mean evidence?The "Chinese Civilization" written by Wen Zong Yueshan himself is the evidence, and the evidence is as solid as a mountain.

Therefore, in the eyes of the nobles of Goguryeo, there is not much difference between the people of Tang Dynasty and the people of Goguryeo.

If Goguryeo can continue to maintain, they are naturally willing to make efforts to resist Datang, so as to better preserve their family's wealth and status.

If you can't resist—then surrender.They voluntarily surrendered as nobles, and they were still masters in the Tang Dynasty.

Especially when they learned that An Shicheng hadn't lasted even a day, their determination to surrender became even firmer.

So Li Shimin soon discovered that the cities in the hinterland of Goguryeo were almost all abandoned.His army is still dozens of miles away, and those city lords and nobles are already ready to surrender their lists and household registration yellow books.

Those who can stay behind closed doors and wait for Datang to take the initiative to persuade them to surrender before surrendering are considered relatively loyal.Those who choose to resist are rare.

Therefore, Li Shimin's army hardly encountered any obstacles, and went all the way to Boba City in Anping County, where they encountered a little resistance.

……

In addition, the news that Anshicheng was breached spread to Pyongyang as quickly as possible. Rongliu Wang Gao Jianwu was so scared that he couldn't believe his ears.

Picking up the death letter written by the city lord of Anshi and reading it several times, he sat on the throne as if he had lost his soul.

The important ministers on both sides were also eager to know the specific news. Seeing Gao Jianwu sitting there in a daze without a word of explanation, don't worry too much.

A trace of disdain flashed in the eyes of the middle-aged man sitting at the top of Gao Jianwu's left hand, and he shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, what did you say in the letter?"

This person is Yuan Gai Suwen, who had just succeeded his father's post to Lu at the beginning of the year.Da Dui Lu is similar to Zaifu, but he is in charge of civil and military power, which is more powerful than the prime minister.

Gao Jianwu glanced at him blankly, then regained his sanity, and said with difficulty: "Damn Lu, you can see for yourself."

Yuan Gai Suwen took the Jueming Book and read it once, he was also shocked, and said: "I have long heard that there is a magic weapon in the Tang Dynasty called the cannon, and it was because of Jieli's defeat back then. I thought it was an exaggeration, but I didn't expect it to be more The legendary power is even greater."

"Anshi City was breached in a few hours... Do you have a plan to retreat from the enemy?" Gao Jianwu asked loudly.

However, everyone lowered their heads, and no one answered. In the end, Gao Jianwu's gaze stayed on Yuan Gai Suwen.

"Damn Lu, you are the most outstanding talent in our country. I wonder if you have a good plan?"

At this moment, Gao Jianwu didn't care about any prejudices in his heart, and said in a heavy tone: "If the city of Anshi is destroyed, Datang will definitely drive straight in and kill Pyongyang."

"On the way, only Boba City and the Yalu River can slow down their footsteps. We must fortify these two places."

As if grasping at the last straw, Gao Jianwu hastily said, "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and increase troops here, and make sure to stop the Tang people."

Yuan Gai Su Wen shook his head and said: "Impossible, even Anshi City can't hold on for a day, and Boba City and Yalu River can't stop their footsteps."

"Now we can only use these two places to delay Tang Jun's marching speed as much as possible, and then..."

Seeing that he stopped suddenly, Gao Jianwu was very anxious, and asked, "Then what?"

Yuan Gai Suwen bowed and saluted, "The king please move the capital."

"Ah?" Not only Gao Jianwu, everyone present was surprised.

They knew very well what the so-called moving the capital meant, which was to escape.Is Goguryeo really going to die?
They really wanted to refute, but they knew Yuan Gai Suwen's ability best. If he said that he couldn't hold on, nine out of ten were really hopeless.

Gao Jianwu said unwillingly: "Is there really no other way?"

"I... have no choice, time is running out, please make a decision as soon as possible." Yuan Gai Su Wen said.

Hearing these words, the others jumped up from their chairs as if bitten by a cat, and said, "Your Majesty, please make a decision early."

"Your Majesty, our country was almost destroyed during the Cao Wei period. The previous kings endured the humiliation and burdened them and hibernated in the wilderness. Seventy years later, I, Goguryeo, returned to the country again. Not only did I regain the lost land, but the entire Liao land was in my hands."

"That's right, Your Majesty, if you keep the green hills there, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood..."

Gao Jianwu also knew that there was nothing to be done, so he asked: "Then move the capital, where should I move it?"

Yuan Gai Suwen immediately said: "North, Fuyu City. If they attack Fuyu City, we can continue to go north with the people."

"Yes, yes, Fuyu City is good."

"It is also relatively close to Mohe, Xue Yantuo and other ministries, and we can get assistance from them."

Goguryeo monarchs and ministers discussed the plan to move the capital with unprecedented efficiency.On the one hand, they sent a large army to Bobo City and the Yalu River to block and delay the speed of the Tang army. On the other hand, they seized the time to pack up their things and prepare to migrate north.

After leaving the palace, Yuan Gai Suwen called his confidants to have a small meeting at home.

"Damn Lu, are we really going to flee to the Northern Wilderness?" someone said.

Yuan Gai Suwen knew what everyone was thinking, and he would have reprimanded them long ago.But now that the situation is critical, stabilizing the morale of the army is the most important thing.

So he said patiently: "Only by escaping there will we have a chance to make a comeback, but we can't put all our eggs in one basket. I called you here today to tell you a story that can save everyone's life." method."

"What way?" Everyone said in surprise.

Yuan Gai Suwen said: "This method is dangerous, everyone must keep it secret, and not disclose half of it to the outside world. Otherwise, the king will cut off our heads without the Tang people coming."

After everyone nodded in agreement, Yuan Gai Suwen said bluntly: "If we can escape, we will leave. If we can't, we will take the king's head as a token of honor...to preserve the family's wealth."

"Hiss!" Even though he had already guessed what he was thinking, he still felt terrified when he heard it with his own ears.

But no one came forward to reprimand Yuan Gai Suwen for being unfaithful and unrighteous.

They themselves are the great nobles in the country, and Gao Jianwu has been learning from the Tang Dynasty in recent years to try to weaken the power of the nobles, and his relationship with them is both monarchs and enemies.

If selling Gao Jianwu's family can keep their glory and wealth, they will definitely send Gao Jianwu to the gallows without hesitation.

……

So when Li Shimin led his army to the city of Bochang, the Goguryeo people had already formed a new line of defense here.

However, when this line of defense faced the bombardment of artillery, it was as thin as a piece of paper, and it would collapse at the touch of a touch.Boba City was breached without even holding on for a long time.

However, Li Shimin still had to stop here for the simple reason that Goguryeo hid all the ships along the Yalu River.

It is impossible to cross the river without an army of ships.

How could Li Shimin not consider the natural danger of the Yalu River when formulating the battle plan? He had already ordered the Dizhou Navy to dispatch a fleet, but according to the time calculation, the fleet would take three days to arrive.

So even if he was in a hurry, he had to stop temporarily.

……

Back to Pyongyang.

Afraid of the collapse of the army's morale, Gao Jianwu and others have been quietly preparing to escape.However, with so many nobles participating in it, it is impossible to hide it from others.

It is impossible to take everyone away by escaping, and many minor nobles and unappreciated officials have become abandoned characters.These people may not have much power, but they are very well-informed, and soon all kinds of gossip are flying all over the sky.

At this time, Gao Jianwu didn't care about the public opinion, and directly carried out high-pressure management. Anyone who spread rumors would be killed without mercy.

Although the overall situation appears to be under control on the surface, the undercurrent is surging underneath, and the city of Pyongyang has become a time bomb, which may explode at any time.

When the news that Boba City was captured and that the Tang army had arrived on the bank of the Yalu River came back, Gao Jianwu and others completely put aside all their pretense and openly transferred all kinds of property, family members and so on.

The people finally confirmed the news that the king was going to escape, and the city of Pyongyang finally became chaotic.

Then Gao Jianwu directly sent the army to carry out a bloody suppression, and ordered that the people must stay at home and not go out, and anyone who went out would be beheaded.

This move not only calmed down the common people, but even the nobles were frightened, and a thought arose in their hearts.

The king is crazy.

At this time, a news reached the residence of the great opponent Lu Yuangai Suwen.

"Mudi City was captured by Tang General Li Ji five days ago."

Seeing this news, Yuan Gai Suwen closed his eyes in pain.Mudi City is not only the gateway to guard Goguryeo, but also the only way from Pyongyang City to Buyeo City.

Being occupied here means that their only escape route is blocked.

All of them have become turtles in the urn.

Goguryeo is his country. Although he hates Gao Jianwu, he still has feelings for this country.Although he had made good psychological preparations long ago, he was still in great pain when his last hope was shattered.

It took him a long time to open his eyes again, his expression calmed down unexpectedly, and he asked, "Is there any other information? Jili City, Stone City, Jian'an City, Gaimu City... have they disappeared?"

"After the destruction of Anshi City, we have lost information on Jian'an, Gaimu and other places. Jili City and Shicheng City were also breached two days ago. Tang General Cheng Zhijie is leading troops to remove all our cities north of the Yalu River."

Hearing this, the last bit of luck in Yuan Gai Suwen's heart disappeared, and Goguryeo was over.

At the same time, he finally made up his mind to carry out the last step of the plan.And this plan must be done as early as possible, the sooner the more sincere, it may be too late when the Tang Emperor's army reaches the city of Pyongyang.

"Go and invite the General, Gu Chujia, Youtai and others over here. Remember to keep it secret and not be discovered by others."

……

The news that Mudi City had been conquered naturally reached Li Shimin immediately, and he was not surprised at all.

Li Ji's army had [-] cannons, and it was easy to take Mudi City, and it would be a problem if he couldn't take it.

In addition, Gaimu City, Jian'an City, Baiyan City, etc. were also conquered one after another. Almost all the important military towns built by Goguryeo fell into the hands of Datang.

Cheng Yaojin finally captured Shicheng, and joined forces with the academy student army led by Li Daozong to surround Jili City.

Excellent generals are all made by fighting. Wars such as the destruction of Goguryeo are rare. It is a rare opportunity for training, and the court will naturally not let it go.Jian'an City was captured by them.

The lord of Jili City, who knew that the situation was over, had no intention of being loyal to the country, so he led an army of [-] to surrender.

Then, Li Shimin ordered Cheng Yaojin to lead his army to sweep away all Goguryeo forces that had not yet surrendered on the north bank of the Yalu River.

These weakly defended inland cities basically have no resistance, and it is no problem to say that the Datang army swept across.

This also means that two-thirds of the land is occupied, leaving only the northernmost South Suzhou, Fuyu City, and Pyongyang to the south of the Yalu River.

Namsu and Buyeo City don't need to pay attention, they will surrender when they only need a letter of persuasion to win Pyongyang.Goguryeo is close to the end of the country, just wait for the Dizhou navy fleet to come and transport the army across the river.

However, what Li Shimin did not expect was that Gao Jianwu's head appeared in front of him one step ahead of the Dizhou navy fleet.

(End of this chapter)