Chapter 569 Agreement Chapter 3

Chapter 569 Agreement Chapter 3

Chapter 569 Chapter of the Agreement
The next morning, Xiao Xia led his generals to the east side of the island. He stood on the cliff and looked at the opposite shore twenty miles away with his clairvoyance. There were strong waves on the sea, which was in sharp contrast to the calm sea last night.

Lai Huer said to Xiao Xia, "I have been here for a month, and the waves in this strait have always been strong. The raft is completely useless. The sea conditions last night were too rare, and the enemy took advantage of the opportunity."

Xiao Xia said slowly: "I am now thinking that we should blockade the Taedong River and occupy the southern part of Goguryeo."

"Your Highness means that we will not attack Pyongyang City for the time being?" Lai Huer asked.

Xiao Xia glanced at Lai Huer. Historically, Lai Huer did not listen to Zhou Fashang's advice and was eager to attack Pyongyang. In the end, he fell into the enemy's trap and his 40,000-strong army was almost wiped out.

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "We have enough food and grass, and we have plenty of time. There is no need to rush. We can send other troops to take turns landing and sweep the south side of Datong!"

That afternoon, 300 warships carrying 10,000 navy soldiers sailed into the Taedong River. The warships cruised on the surface of the Taedong River. Apart from the Sui warships, no other ships or rafts could be seen on the river. The Sui army completely blocked the Taedong River, cutting off any connection between the southern part of Goguryeo and the capital.

Xiao Xia knew very well that when a large army was on an expedition, the worst thing to do was to wait for a long time without fighting. Morale would be exhausted and needed to be boosted. The best way to do this was to go ashore and plunder, and fight against the southern Goguryeo army.

Luo Shixin led 15,000 people as the first batch of troops to the south bank, divided into three armies, and began to sweep across the southern plains of Goguryeo, plundering property and strategic materials and destroying all handicrafts.

A few days later, Xiao Xia personally led the second batch of 20,000 troops ashore and headed towards Qiuyi City and Changyuan City in the south.

By the time the emperor finally got ready, it was already early July.

In Ningyuan Town, Liaodong, hundreds of thousands of troops finally began to gather. In the royal tent covering several acres, hundreds of generals gathered in one tent. Emperor Yang Guang said loudly: "The army is about to be dispatched. I want to make three rules with you generals. First, this time I am leading the army in person. I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies. My will is military law. There is no such thing as 'a general is away from home and cannot be granted orders by the emperor'. Anyone who does not obey my will is disobeying my will and violating military law. Behead!

Second, this Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo is an act of the Celestial Empire to avenge the people and punish the criminals. When a royal army goes out to war, it must act with the demeanor of a royal army. You must not charge forward lightly or fight alone just to win military merit. You must advance and retreat together. Anyone who advances recklessly without permission will be executed according to military law.

Third, the king's army must put benevolence and righteousness first when going to war, and must not harass the people. If the enemy surrenders, the war must be stopped immediately, and the surrender must be comforted and accepted. The surrendered must not be killed, and those who disobey orders will be executed! "

On the second day after the emperor announced the Three Articles of Law, the Battle of Liaodong finally broke out. The 500,000-strong army was divided into ten teams and used pontoon bridges to force their way across the Liao River. They were met with a desperate counterattack from the Goguryeo soldiers. Arrows rained down and flames shot into the sky. Liaodong was almost dyed red with blood. The battle to cross the river lasted from morning until dusk. After paying a heavy price of 30,000 casualties, the Sui army finally crossed Liaodong. The Goguryeo army retreated and went into a defensive state.

After the Sui army's unsuccessful attack on Goguryeo in the 17th year of Kaihuang, the rulers of Goguryeo realized that war would come sooner or later, so they began to build a large number of fortifications in dangerous places east of the Liao River. They built three strong cities, Liaodong City, Xuantu City and Xincheng, on the high mountains, stockpiled large amounts of food, repaired water sources, and each city was defended by thousands of soldiers.

After crossing the Liao River, the Sui army began a difficult battle. They climbed up under the rain of rolling logs and rocks, and suffered heavy casualties with almost every step. After finally suppressing the enemy with arrows, the Sui army rushed up the mountain to fight a decisive battle with the Goguryeo soldiers. After attacking for three days in a row, the Sui army captured four dangerous passes: Hengshan, Guiduan, Nansu and Baiyan, and captured Xuantu City and Xincheng.

However, they suffered repeated failures in their attacks on the largest city, Liaodong, and suffered heavy casualties. Liaodong City was too difficult to attack. It was built on a high mountain with a very steep slope. In addition, the city walls were thick and tall. The Sui army had nowhere to climb, not even ladders. They could only use simple siege ladders, which were easily overturned by the enemy.

Just when the Sui army paid a heavy price of nearly 20,000 casualties and after several days of bloody fighting, the battering ram finally knocked a big hole in the city wall. Hundreds of Sui army soldiers rushed into the city first and were about to capture Liaodong City. At this moment, a voice of surrender was heard from the top of Liaodong City. The surrender envoy Liu Shilong immediately ordered the entire army to retreat down the mountain and prepare to accept the surrender of the Goguryeo army.

Commander Yu Zhongwen was furious and questioned Liu Shilong, "We lost 20,000 soldiers in battle. It was hard for us to get the first batch of soldiers into the city, but you want us to retreat. What should we do with the hundreds of first batch of soldiers?" Liu Shilong took out the imperial edict and said coldly, "This is the will of the emperor. If the enemy surrenders, I will have full authority to deal with it. Are you going to disobey the order?"

Yu Zhongwen remembered the emperor's three rules, and had no choice but to give the order: "All troops go down the mountain and assemble!"

The Sui army, which was about to capture Liaodong City, retreated like a tide. Unfortunately, none of the hundreds of soldiers who had advanced first escaped and were all killed by the Goguryeo army.

Goguryeo quickly repaired the big hole that was smashed, collected rolling logs, stones, arrows and crossbows outside the city, and the Goguryeo reinforcements in the rear finally arrived and joined Liaodong City continuously. The originally isolated Liaodong City immediately gained strength and was ready to fight back against the second attack of the Sui army.

After Liaodong City shouted for surrender, there was no movement. Liu Shilong was severely slapped in the face. Faced with the angry rebukes of the generals, he had no choice but to rush back to Ningyuan Town to report to the emperor.

In fact, the Sui army had already captured all the strategic locations except Liaodong City, but without the emperor's order, no one dared to march southward without authorization.

When Yang Guang heard that the Liaodong defenders were not keeping their word, he was also annoyed, and immediately issued an order: "Pass on my order, the entire army will besiege Liaodong City, and the army cannot move south until Liaodong City is captured!"

At this time, Yu Zhi, the governor of Heshui, advised: "Your Majesty, it is already the tenth day of the seventh month. The hottest day of summer has passed and the beginning of autumn is approaching. We cannot delay any longer. According to the astronomical phenomena, there will be a lot of autumn rains this year. Speed ​​is of the essence. Your Majesty should march south as soon as possible."

Duan Wenzhen, the general of the Left Guard, also said, "Your Majesty, the living conditions of the civilians are extremely poor. I heard that many of them died. We really can't delay this any longer. We should send 20,000 troops to guard Liaodong City, and the rest of the army should quickly move south."

Yang Guang said with a gloomy face: "If we can't even take Liaodong City, why should I go east to attack Goguryeo? Pass on my order, if you can't take Liaodong City within ten days, all the troops attacking the city will be killed!"

The emperor issued a death order. Xue Shixiong and Yu Zhongwen had no choice but to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Liaodong City day and night. Tens of thousands of Goguryeo defenders fought desperately. Corpses piled up like a mountain under the city of Liaodong. The Sui army paid a price of 40,000 casualties. Finally, on the eighth day, they broke through Liaodong City again. There was another cry of surrender in the city. This time Yu Zhongwen learned his lesson. He sent people to block Liu Shilong and did not give him a chance to call for a stop. He personally led the army into Liaodong City.

The remaining thousands of Goguryeo soldiers quickly withdrew from Liaodong City and retreated southward. The Yellow Dragon Flag of the Sui Dynasty was finally planted on the top of Liaodong City.

Two days later, Emperor Yang Guang came to inspect Liaodong City and found that the city was not big. However, because of this city, the Sui army suffered 60,000 casualties. Together with the casualties while crossing the river and at other passes, the total casualties exceeded 100,000.

It was already mid-July, and continuous autumn rains were coming. Yang Guang felt a little regretful, but he would not admit that it was his own problem. He just reprimanded the generals for their poor fighting performance and ordered Yu Zhongwen and Yang Yichen to lead an army of 100,000 each to march south. Each soldier was required to carry 30 days of dry food and the entire army was required to end the Eastern Expedition before the end of August.

The Eastern Expedition had dragged on for several months, but now it had to be completed within a month and a half. There was still a distance of 700 miles, all of which were continuous mountains, and there were also the Yalu River and the Qingchuan River blocking the way.

But military orders were as heavy as a mountain. The soldiers had to carry 30 kilograms of food each, wear heavy armor, and carry even heavier spears. The 200,000-strong army could only march southward with difficulty.

(End of this chapter)