Chapter 599 Taking Over the Battle Flag
Chapter 599 Taking Over the Battle Flag
The air in the royal tent seemed to freeze, and dozens of ministers dared not even breathe. Emperor Yang Guang was furious and chopped the furniture in the tent into pieces with his sword.
After venting his anger, Yang Guang finally calmed down, threw away his sword, and asked Yu Shiji: "Prime Minister Yu, tell me! What should we do now?"
Yu Shiji said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the most urgent task now is to withdraw the troops, the sooner the better!"
Fan Zigai also said, "Your Majesty, Yang Xuangan has already captured Hulao Pass. He will definitely lead his army to attack Luoyang. I know that the remaining garrison commander Yin Shishi is very good at defending the city. He should be able to hold on for a while. Anyway, we can no longer attack Goguryeo. We might as well withdraw our troops immediately. I suggest that we withdraw by water, which is much faster than by land. We can withdraw the troops by large ships first, and then pick up the civilians and supplies."
At this time, the son-in-law Xiao Zhurong said: "Your Majesty, Jian'an City is not far from here. There are 6,000 garrison commanders there. We can let them take charge of the aftermath and prevent the Goguryeo army in Wugut City from counterattacking."
Pei Yun frowned and said unhappily, "Won't these supplies belong to King Jin again?"
Fan Zigai said quickly, "Your Majesty, we can exchange supplies with the King of Jin and ask them to send troops to support Luoyang. Jian'an City should have a pigeon messenger method."
Yang Guang nodded and said, "Prince Jin is my son after all. He has mobilized the fleet to assist us. As long as they can keep the 100,000 civilians safe, it's fine to give them these food and supplies. Immediately notify the Jian'an City garrison and let them take care of the aftermath."
That night, Yang Guang led 300,000 troops on board, and 1,500 large ships loaded with troops sailed towards the mouth of the Zhangshui River.
Yang Guang left Fan Zigai behind and waited for the handover with the Sui army in Jian'an City.
On the third day after Emperor Yang Guang left, Xiao Xia led a thousand warships and thirty thousand troops to arrive at the Liaodong camp.
Xiao Xia's arrival really surprised Fan Zigai.
On the bank of the Liao River, a 20,000-stone ship slowly approached the shore and Xiao Xia walked down from the ship.
Fan Zigai hurried forward, bowed, and asked, "Why are you here, Your Highness?"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "I heard about Yang Xuangan's rebellion in Donglai County, so I set off for Liaodong. Has the emperor received the news?"
Fan Zigai nodded, "The emperor received the news three days ago and left that night. He also left a decree for Your Highness. I'll leave it in the big tent. Please follow me, Your Highness!"
The two walked towards the camp together, and Xiao Xia asked, "Excuse me, Minister Fan, how is the war against Goguryeo going?"
Fan Zigai sighed deeply, "We had just taken Liaodong City and Anshi City and were preparing to march to Wugut City when we heard the news of Yang Xuangan's rebellion. It was such a pity. This time the attack on Goguryeo went smoothly and we should have been able to destroy Goguryeo. It's a pity that this happened in the court. It's God's will!"
When they arrived at the military tent, Fan Zigai handed the emperor's order directly to Xiao Xia. Xiao Xia opened the order and took a closer look. The content was very simple. The emperor gave him food supplies and tens of thousands of war horses on the condition that he sent troops to rescue Luoyang and settle the people and return to Hebei.
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "The emperor wants me to send troops. In fact, I have issued an order in Donglai County, ordering the old general Huer to lead 30,000 troops to Xiangyang to prevent Yang Xuangan from going south to occupy Jingxiang.
He also ordered General Luo Shixin to lead 20,000 elite troops north along the canal to seize Hulao Pass and cut off Yang Xuangan's retreat.
Fan Zigai hesitated for a moment and said, "But we are worried that Yang Xuangan will seize Luoyang!"
"No!" Xiao Xia smiled confidently, "Unless Yang Xuangan can launch a surprise attack on Luoyang, he has no siege weapons, and Master Yin Shi is guarding the city. How can he possibly capture Luoyang? I estimate that he will go west to Hongnong County, or to Chang'an. If he can't pass Hangu Pass, he will have to turn back."
Of course, Xiao Xia would not tell Fan Zigai openly that his strategic intention was actually very clear, which was to drive Yang Xuangan's rebels into Guanzhong, occupy Guanzhong in advance, block Li Yuan's position, and prevent Li Yuan from spying on Guanzhong. At the same time, it would also divert the court's attention to Guanzhong rather than Jiangnan.
Fan Zigai nodded and asked again, "Your Highness, are you going back to Donglai County?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "Attacking Goguryeo is what the Central Plains Dynasty must do. Now that Goguryeo is weak, it is a good opportunity to destroy it. Now that the emperor has returned, I will take over! This is also what I promised the late emperor. If my father cannot destroy Goguryeo, then I will take over and continue the attack!"
Fan Zigai was deeply moved. He stood up and said, "I have 10,000 soldiers under my command. I am willing to assist Your Highness and fulfill the late emperor's last wish!"
Xiao Xia immediately took over the camp and became the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition Army.
This time, the Sui army also brought 10,000 camels with them on the eastern expedition. These were the camels that Xiao Xia had donated to the imperial court in order to obtain fodder support from the imperial court.
This time it came in handy. That morning, Fei Qingnu also led 6,000 troops from the Liaodong Peninsula to the camp.
Xiao Xia ordered Fei Qingnu and Fan Zigai to guard the camp together. He led 30,000 cavalrymen with 10,000 camels and marched towards Wugut City, 200 miles away.
Wugut City is known as the first military city of Goguryeo. It took twenty years to build. It is a canyon basin city and also the western route to Goguryeo. Of course, it can also be bypassed from the sea. This is what the scouts on the western line did. They took a boat around to the south bank of Yalu River.
To the east is Goguryeo Mountain and to the west is Phoenix Mountain. It is actually a canyon with a very flat and wide bottom, about five miles wide and ten miles long. The mountains on the north and south sides converge, leaving two gaps.
The Goguryeo people transformed it into a military city and built two-meter-high thick walls on the surrounding mountains. They were all made of huge stones and were extremely solid and steep, which ensured that it was impossible for the enemy to climb over the mountains and enter the canyon.
The two gaps in the north and south were also built with four-meter-high walls made of huge stones, but this was not the only defense. There was also a narrow valley path about one mile long in the north. Goguryeo built high wall fortifications at the entrance of the valley, and also built fortifications on both sides of the narrow valley path. If the Sui army conquered the high wall at the entrance of the valley and entered the narrow valley path, they would also be attacked by huge stones from the mountains on both sides, and there would be nowhere to hide.
Siege of Wugut City is not an option either, as there is land and water in the city, as well as all kinds of facilities such as houses, warehouses, barracks, markets, ponds, quarries, etc. A large tract of fertile land has been opened up on the gentle hillside to the east for growing crops, and there are also enough reserve supplies in the city to feed the soldiers for several years.
Since the construction of Wugut City, no one has ever been able to capture it. Later, a coup d'état occurred within Goguryeo, and the powerful minister Quan Nansheng presented Wugut City to the Tang Dynasty.
The reason why Yilji Mundeok was confident in dealing with the Sui army was because of this mountain city. At this time, Yilji Mundeok personally led 10,000 troops to garrison Ugut City. Yilji Mundeok was also under great pressure because most of Goguryeo was destroyed by the plague, nearly 60% of the population died, and all the people in the north fled south. The area north of the Cheongcheon River has become an uninhabited area. Currently, the remaining nearly two million people of Goguryeo mainly live around Pyongyang and south of the Taedong River.
Although Goguryeo still had an army of more than 100,000, most of these troops were deployed in the south to prevent Baekje and Silla from taking the opportunity to invade the north. The remaining tens of thousands of troops were used to defend Pyongyang.
The king could only give him 20,000 troops to go north to defend against the Sui army. This was the limit of what he could give. But even with 20,000 troops, 10,000 of them were wiped out by the Sui army. Now he was the only one left to lead 10,000 troops and rely on Wugut City to defend against the Sui army. Yiji Wende felt under tremendous pressure.
Whatever you fear, it will eventually come true. At noon that day, Yizhi Wende received news that a 30,000-man Sui army was already 30 miles away from Wugut City.
But what surprised Yi Zhiwende was that the commander of this army was actually King Jin Xiao Xia. Yi Zhiwende was really shocked and didn't understand what was going on.
(End of this chapter)