Chapter 2963: Divine soldiers descend from the sky
Boy Yuan expressed concern about the Tang army's offensive. His current position is on the side of the Tang Dynasty, and he does not want the Tang army to follow the old path of the Sui army and suffer a blow to the head as soon as they come up, which will demoralize them. The land of Liaodong is full of swamps and crisscrossed by mountains, which is not suitable for large-scale battles. Once the morale of the Tang army collapses and the war drags on, Goguryeo will most likely win in the end.
However, Changsun Huan disagreed with this.
"The eldest son does not understand Xue Wanche as a person. This person is indeed rough and stupid, but that is only in terms of human relations and sophistication. In war, he is a famous general with both wisdom and courage. The vanguard of the army represents the sharpness of the entire army. Datang The emperor was familiar with military affairs, He knows people well and cares deeply about the Eastern Expedition, so how can he appoint an incompetent person to be the vanguard of the army? The eldest son will wait and see. When the war begins, Xue Wanche will definitely surprise Goguryeo."
When saying this, Changsun Huan actually felt a little proud.
Although he was wanted by the Tang Dynasty for treason, after all, he was also from the Tang Dynasty, and he looked down on foreign tribes like Goguryeo.
Xue Wanche is a famous general who has been praised by His Majesty Li Er. He has made many military exploits in these years of conquering the east and west. How can you Goguryeo soldiers and crab generals stop him?
There was something else he didn't say. Boy Yuan looked down on Xue Wanche and believed that the Great Wall in Liaodong could stop the attack of the Tang army's vanguard. However, in his opinion, famous generals like Xue Wanche would definitely use their strengths and avoid weaknesses, maybe bypassing the Great Wall in Liaodong and attack directly at the rear. Goguryeo town.
After all, the Liaodong Great Wall has not yet been completed and cannot be integrated into the mountains like the Great Wall of the Tang Dynasty to resist the southward movement of the Hu people from the north. There are gaps everywhere. As long as you choose a place and launch a surprise attack, you will definitely shake the Goguryeo government and the public in one fell swoop...
The debate in the main hall gradually subsided. From time to time, ministers walked out with a sullen face. They must have received a certain task. Boy Yuan gave Changsun Huan a wink, stopped this "rebellious" conversation, and tidied the things on the table honestly. Official documents.
After a while, more than a dozen ministers walked out of the main hall surrounded by Yeon Gaesowun, who was tall and had a square face and a wide mouth.
Boy Yuan stood up in a hurry and stood at the door of the check-in room with Zhang Sunhuan, letting Yuan Gaisuwen see him so that he could give any instructions.
As Yeon Gaesumun walked, he talked with the ministers around him. When he saw the eldest son and eldest grandson Huan at the door of the duty room, he paused slightly, but did not stop and walked straight out.
Boy Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little relaxed and a little depressed.
His father, Yeon Gaesumun, had a profiteering and impatient personality, and would often beat him or scold him if something went wrong. Especially in recent years, his actions have become increasingly invisible to his father, and his status has plummeted. What makes him depressed is that this contemptuous attitude makes him very ugly. After all, the whole of Goguryeo knows that he is the heir of Damolizhi, but he still cannot get his father's trust...
Changsun Huan took in the boy Yuan's expression and said softly: "Young Master, there is no need to worry. Everything depends on human effort. My destiny is up to me and not God!"
Boy Yuan was stunned for a moment, then clenched his fists fiercely: "Yes, my fate is up to me!"
What will happen if my father despises me again? Such ignorant people clinging to the power of Goguryeo and trying to go against the powerful Tang Dynasty are actually a recipe for death!
Look, the glorious bloodline of the Yuan clan will have to be inherited and carried forward by me, your son who you look down upon, in the future!
*****
The Liao River flows out of the Dishi Mountain, flows east from the north of Sai, and flows into the sea in the southwest of Liaodong.
It was called one of the "Six Rivers" in ancient times.
What is "Six Rivers"? "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Youshi Lan": "Heshui, Chishui, Liaoshui, Heishui, Jiangshui, and Huaishui are the six rivers, which take an overview of the world's hydrology."
There has been little rain this spring, and the Liao River is rolling. It is no longer the torrential tumbling in spring and summer in the past. Many of the riverbeds on both sides are exposed to the outside, covered with wormwood that has just been exposed, and water birds perch on it to feed.
A group of cavalry rumbled across the open field, rolling up smoke and dust behind them, breaking the silence by the river. Wild ducks and waterfowl were frightened so much that they fluttered their wings and fled in panic.
"Xu..."
Xue Wanche, who was wearing a helmet and armor, came to the river first, clamped the horse's belly and tightened the reins. Thousands of cavalry behind him also slowed down, separated from the two sides and slowly moved forward. Finally, they all ran to the river, looking at the undulating mountains on the other side. .
Xue Wanche rode on the shore, looked at the other side, and asked the scouts around him: "What time is it now?"
The scout looked at the sky, then looked down at the shadows on the ground, and replied: "It's almost late."
Xue Wanche asked again: "How far is it from the new city?"
The scout said: "After crossing the river, it is less than eighty miles."
Xue Wanche made some mental calculations and realized that it would only take an hour to reach the eighty-mile distance by galloping, but by then the men and horses would be tired and their combat effectiveness would be reduced. If you want to maintain sufficient combat power, you cannot travel at full speed. It will take about an hour and a half to reach the new city.
It was already late at this time, and it was almost the end of Shenshi and the beginning of Youshi when we arrived at the new city. It was getting dark before our eyes. It would be difficult to conquer the new city before it gets dark...
But today is the third day of March. I think His Majesty has already sworn sacrifices to heaven in Chang'an. If I can't win the battle for His Majesty, it will be a bad luck. Wouldn't I betray His Majesty's trust in me?
Immediately he gritted his teeth, picked up the horse's reins, and said loudly: "Follow me across the river to kill the enemy!"
"Here!"
Thousands of cavalry followed, wading across the river.
Scouts had already inquired about the road conditions and found that this was a very wide place on the Liao River. However, because there was less water flow, the river bed was low and shallow, allowing horses to pass through.
Three thousand cavalry spent less than half an hour crossing the Liao River, adjusting their formation on the other side of the river, and then charged straight towards the new city with murderous intent.
Everyone in the world knew that His Majesty would take the oath to fight in Chang'an today. No one would have thought that at almost the same time, the Liaodong army would launch an attack brazenly before His Majesty Li Er arrived at Liucheng.
Not to mention that Xue Wanche actually bypassed Far East City, an important town on the seaside of the Liao River, which was heavily walled and heavily guarded. He went directly upstream for hundreds of miles to the vicinity of the new city where Goguryeo's troops were weakest, and crossed the river to launch a surprise attack.
The so-called "soldiers rely on speed", and the so-called "integration and surprise", Xue Wanche knew nothing about the world, but he was a rare genius in marching and fighting.
Avoiding Far East City was, on the one hand, to avoid the reality by exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and on the other hand, it was to leave Far East City to His Majesty Li Er, who would later personally command the army.
By then, he would have led three thousand cavalry across the land of Liaodong, and the enemy forces would be forced to deal with them if they were restrained by him. When His Majesty Li Er stormed the Far East City, he would surely succeed with one blow.
Xue Wanche's plan was not only to leave the first victory to His Majesty Li Er, but also to drive straight into the city to attack the stronghold.
Of course, how to march is what he is good at, but leaving the Far East City to His Majesty Li Er was something Fang Junqian ordered when he set off from Chang'an...
Three thousand cavalry headed straight for the new city along the muddy road. They encountered many farmers on the way, who were so frightened that they all fled in all directions. There were no scouts from the Goguryeo army. After all, no one expected that the Tang army would break into the Great Wall defense line that the Goguryeo people were proud of here. The peasants' legs were not as fast as the Tang army's horses anyway. No need to worry about notifying Xincheng's troops as soon as possible. Guards, so the Tang army still restrained the speed and maintained physical strength, marching towards the new city.
An hour and a half later, a mountain city halfway up the mountain was seen in the distance.
Throughout the Liaodong region, there are countless mountain cities like this built on the mountains. Goguryeo has been attacked by the Central Plains Dynasty many times. Although it managed to survive every time, it also knew that it was not the opponent of the Central Plains Dynasty and could not defeat it every time. They were so lucky, and field battles in the plains were all in vain. They could only build mountain cities with difficult terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, to offset the mobility of the Central Plains dynasty.
Liaodong suffered hardships, with rainy summers and severe cold winters. Goguryeo did not need to fight against the armies of the Central Plains Dynasty. It only needed to be able to hold on until winter came, and half of the victory was already won...
In the past, this kind of mountain city built with huge rocks, easy to defend and difficult to attack, did bring a lot of trouble to the Central Plains dynasty.
When the former Sui army attacked Goguryeo, they had to clear out these mountain cities one by one, so they fell into a protracted war quagmire and ultimately failed.
But now, this kind of mountain city can no longer be a roadblock to the Tang army's progress.
The three thousand cavalrymen advanced slowly. When they were about a few miles away from the mountain city, they were spotted by the soldiers on the mountain city who were responsible for the lookout. There were sounds of horns and puffs of smoke rising from the mountain city to warn the nearby people. The mountain city issued a warning that there was an invasion of foreign enemies.
Xue Wanche calmly ordered: "Charge!" (End of Chapter)