Chapter 596: Second Expedition to Liao
Chapter 596: Second Expedition to Liao
In early April, Emperor Yang Guang once again marched north. This time he personally led an army of 300,000 and ordered Qu Tutong to lead 30,000 troops as the vanguard. He also appointed Yu Wenzhi as the general of the Qianniu Guard and led 10,000 brave soldiers to guard him.
During this eastern expedition, Yang Guang did not dare to conscript millions of laborers as he did last time. This time he only conscripted 200,000 laborers, who were mainly responsible for loading and unloading grain. Basically, all the transportation was by water, so there was no need for laborers to transport the grain.
This time Fan Zigai was indeed more capable. He set up two grain and material transfer points. One was at the mouth of the Zhangshui River, where it met the Yongji Canal, only 20 miles away from the Bohai Sea. This location is actually today's Tianjin.
The second grain transfer point was the west bank of the Liaohe River in Liaodong. This time it was not in Pingyuan Town, but two hundred miles south of Pingyuan Town, and only thirty miles away from the mouth of the Liaohe River. On the one hand, sea transportation was convenient, and secondly, there was fear that the plague had not disappeared. The third reason was that it was very close to Jian'an City, which was controlled by the Sui army in Jiangnan. In this way, the Sui army would not suffer as tragically when crossing the Liaoshui River as last time.
Jian'an City is located east of the Liao River, so the Sui army in the south of the Yangtze River can send troops to escort the main force of the Sui army across the river.
When it comes to the fact that the Sui army in Jiangnan occupied the Liaodong Peninsula, the court was a little embarrassed. It was obvious that the Sui army in Jiangnan could directly destroy Goguryeo, and the court would not need to send troops at all. However, the emperor ignored this reality and insisted on leading the army himself. After all, he still wanted to destroy Goguryeo with his own hands and would not allow others to interfere.
So even though everyone knew the truth, no one dared to advise the emperor, and they could only watch this absurd thing happen.
In addition to establishing two major grain transfer points, Fan Zigai also set up more than 20 grain and fodder logistics supply points, almost one every hundred miles, to solve the problem of food and fodder supply for the soldiers. Each soldier only needed to carry three days of dry food, and the same went for war horses.
The various supply points in Liaodong have not yet been established, waiting for the arrival of Qu Tutong's vanguard.
The 30,000-strong army is currently stationed at the mouth of the Zhangshui River. Instead of continuing northward, they are also preparing to board a large ship carrying food and supplies to head to Liaodong.
That morning, Qu Tutong was chatting with his deputy general Dong Qingwen. Dong Qingwen whispered, "I heard a piece of news. It is said that a group of Yang family servants were captured at Hulao Pass. There are several hundred of them. Has General Qu Tu heard of this news?"
Qu Tutong nodded, "I know about this matter. Yang Xuangan also explained it to the emperor. The Yang family has a manor in Xingyang County. They need manpower for spring plowing, so they transferred people from their old manor to help. The emperor approved it and released the people. This happened about two months ago!"
"The emperor and the court didn't take it seriously, but the people have been talking about it. Everyone is saying that Yang Xuangan is going to rebel. Does the general know about Yang Wuhui?"
"Didn't I hear that it was disbanded?"
"Where did they disband? They moved to Heyang County. Quite a few people joined. It is said that there are more than 20 people."
"How do you know it so clearly?" Qu Tutong asked puzzledly.
"My brother Dong Qinggong was also one of them. He still wanted to persuade me to join, but I refused."
"What exactly does this Yang Wuhui do?"
Dong Qingwen shook his head. "I don't know either. I asked my brother, but he refused to say anything. The less he said, the more suspicious I became. Brother Qu Tu, do you think it would be serious if Yang Xuangan really rebelled?"
Qu Tutong lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "In fact, I also think that the emperor should not have led the second expedition to the east, at least not in person. Many people have become ambitious, especially the Guanlong nobles, who are obviously very dissatisfied with the emperor's relocation of the capital. The emperor should stay in Luoyang to watch over them. If he leaves, the power center will be empty, and the court will lose its constraints. Someone will definitely cause trouble. I don't know if it will be the Guanlong nobles, but I know that the volcano of the Sui Dynasty is about to erupt."
"The general wants to persuade the emperor!"
Qu Tutong nodded and said, "Let's talk about it in Liaodong! I will definitely persuade him if I have a chance."
Just then, a soldier outside shouted, "The fleet is coming! The fleet is coming!" Then the alarm bells on the river bank rang "Dang! Dang! Dang!"
Qu Tutong and Dong Qingwen hurriedly got up and walked out of the tent, looking towards the distant estuary, only to see a huge fleet appearing on the river in the distance.
Last year, a major plague broke out in the northern part of Goguryeo, killing more than half of the population. As a result, the remaining people migrated to the south and brought the plague to the south, causing the plague to spread in the south of Goguryeo and even spread to Baekje and Silla.
The plague and war that began last summer caused Goguryeo to lose 60% of its population, and the area north of the Cheongcheon River became a thousand-mile uninhabited area.
With the arrival of winter, the plague god that had frightened countless people for nearly half a year finally showed signs of fatigue and stopped wreaking havoc. The death toll also dropped sharply. However, the cold winter did not completely eliminate the plague in Goguryeo. Although the epidemic was not serious in winter, the government still received some sporadic reports of the plague.
The Koreans' habit of urinating and defecating anywhere caused the plague to recur constantly. The problem was that they did not know the source of the plague, so they could only pray to gods and Buddhas over and over again. All major temples were filled with incense from morning to night.
But King Gao Yuan of Goguryeo was very clear-headed. He had received news last year that the Emperor of Sui was going to attack Goguryeo for the second time, which made him extremely anxious. As spring was approaching, it was estimated that the Sui army had already started the expedition. Gao Yuan could no longer bear it and immediately summoned his brother Gao Jianwu and several important ministers to discuss countermeasures.
"Your Majesty, please surrender!"
After a long silence, Yuan Taizuo finally said something that was difficult to say, "We can no longer fight the Sui army. If we continue to fight, our country will be destroyed. Let's surrender! Although it is not decent, at least Goguryeo can be preserved."
Gao Yuan was silent too. He wanted to surrender too! But if he surrendered, could Goguryeo still be saved? Could he still keep his throne?
"Second brother, what's your opinion?" Gao Yuan turned his head with difficulty and asked his brother's opinion.
Gao Jianwu had a gloomy face and said coldly after a while: "They want to use the excuse of restoring the four counties of the Han Dynasty to destroy our country. Will surrender be useful?"
Gao Yuan trembled all over. This was what he was most worried about. Even if surrender was useful, the Sui Dynasty would occupy Goguryeo under the pretext of restoring the four counties of the Han Dynasty. The four counties of the Han Dynasty included the city of Pyongyang.
At this time, Yi Zhi Wende sighed softly and whispered: "Your Majesty, I have actually sent people to Liaodong to check. All the supplies and food have been transported away by the Sui army. The supply tents have also been dismantled and the military camps have been burned to the ground. Do you understand what I mean?"
Gao Yuan understood that if the epidemic in Liaodong was gone, then the epidemic in the northern part of Goguryeo would most likely be gone too.
"What does General Eulji think?"
"I think it will be difficult for the army to capture the various mountain cities, especially Wugut City. It is impossible for them to capture it!"
Yuan Taizuo asked coldly: "What if the Sui army bypasses Wugut City and attacks Pyongyang directly? Or attack from the water like last time, how can we resist?"
Yizhi Wende said without hesitation: "Then throw the plague corpses to them and let them perish completely. Even if we destroy the country, let the Sui army die completely in Goguryeo!"
Yuan Taizuo shuddered and fell completely silent.
Gao Yuan finally gritted his teeth and said, "It's decided now, General Yizhi, you lead the army north!"
(End of this chapter)