Chapter 3002: Showing weakness to the enemy
Yeon Gaesumun felt that his mood that had just calmed down became a little anxious again. Thousands of miles away, there really is no good news...
But who would have thought that when the entire Goguryeo massed heavy troops in Far East City, Huaiyuan Town, and Gaimou City, hoping to withstand the offensive of the Tang Army and thwart its edge, the Tang Army would actually go up the Liao River and search for people in the New City area? To forcefully cross the Liao River at the breaching point, then suddenly bypass the Goguryeo defense line and go behind it?
In the final analysis, Goguryeo's national power was limited and it was unable to devote more troops to the northern front line to resist the Tang army's attack...
He raised his head and glanced at his second son, expressionless, and said calmly: "The Tang army is powerful, and Goguryeo is already in a weak position. We cannot take the initiative and can only defend passively. Under such circumstances, the mountain cities will naturally guard their positions and the power will be strong." Try to keep your position intact, and if you are attacked by the Tang army at any point, ask for reinforcements. How can we have so many troops to support you? Let’s just surrender together!”
He doesn't care too much about the gains and losses of a city or a place.
After the former Sui Dynasty finally used this method to conquer Goguryeo, war broke out in the country and all the heroes stood side by side. This gave Goguryeo a rare chance to breathe. It immediately began to work on the area southward along the Liao River and mobilized the entire country to build a border defense system, including With the Thousand Miles of Great Wall defense line and more than 200 solid mountain cities, almost all rivers and roads in Liaodong are tightly locked by the large network woven by these mountain cities.
If the Tang army wanted to penetrate deep into Liaodong, it would have to kill people and tear down mountain cities one by one.
Not to mention how many lives will be needed to fill these mountain cities and whether the Tang army can bear it, but the time required is enough to collapse the Tang army - the autumn and winter in Liaodong come early, when the roads are difficult to travel, the climate is bitter and cold, and the Tang army is heavily loaded with supplies. Transportation was difficult. If the Goguryeo army took the initiative to attack again, the seemingly powerful Tang army could only repeat the mistakes of the previous Sui Dynasty. After leaving corpses everywhere, they retreated to Yingzhou in embarrassment.
This was Yeon Gaesumun's confidence. He firmly believed that under his leadership, Goguryeo could defeat the powerful Tang army and achieve final victory!
By that time, his reputation will rise to an unparalleled peak, and the entire Goguryeo people will know who will bring them victory. Even if he deposes the Treasure King and ascends to the throne himself, everyone will rejoice and work hard. support!
……
At this time, the eldest son Yuan Nan asked for a meeting with his eldest grandson Huan.
Yuan Nanjian originally planned to quit, but immediately changed his mind and stayed. He didn't want his eldest brother to have a chance to show off alone in front of his father, especially the eldest grandson Huan. He was obviously just a lost dog, but he was full of cunning tricks. However, his father still valued him very much, and now he was colluding with his eldest brother...
Boy Yuan and Changsun Huan came in hand in hand and stepped forward to salute one after another.
Yeon Gaesumun was polite to his son, but he was very polite to Changsun Huan. He said with a smile: "The weather has turned warm recently and it rained several times in a row. I must be able to adapt to it, right?"
Changsun Huan said: "The climate in Guanzhong is actually similar to that in Liaodong, except that winter in Liaodong comes later and leaves earlier, and the rest are adaptable."
A waiter came forward to serve tea, and Yuan Gaisu Wen said: "Everyone, sit down and drink tea."
"No."
"Thank you so much."
The three of them sat down. Yeon Gaesumun sighed and said to Changsun Huan with some regret: "It's a pity that the two countries are currently at war, and they are fighting to the death. Otherwise, I will definitely go to Chang'an and see the Tang Dynasty as the best in the world. If you are prosperous, you can also go to the house to make trouble and ask for advice from a great hero like your father.”
Changsun Huan sat upright and said with a smile: "There are no long-term interests between countries, and naturally there is no long-term hatred. Now Goguryeo is endangering the northeastern border of the Tang Dynasty, and war is inevitable. However, after this battle, the two countries will still Let’s work together to develop together, and we can look forward to the day when Da Molizhi will go to Chang’an.”
Neither humble nor arrogant, the response was very appropriate.
Yuan Gaisuwen obviously valued him very much. After hearing this, he nodded slightly and said with emotion: "The heroes of the Tang Dynasty are the best in the world, and no country in the four directions can resist them. If I can be given ten more years to connect the Liaodong Great Wall, Maybe we can win by a few more points Forget it. At present, all the mountain towns in the Liaodong Great Wall can only fight on their own. I am afraid it will be difficult to resist the sharp offensive of the Tang army. Maybe in a few days, the Tang army will arrive at Pyongyang City and take me and the Treasure King as prisoners. "
These words may seem decadent, but they are not simply belittlement.
Goguryeo dominates the Far East and is indeed a first-class power. It has gradually transformed from a nomadic nation to an agricultural nation. Over time, even if it cannot be on an equal footing with the Tang Dynasty, it will definitely become a serious problem for the Tang Dynasty. It was fine under normal circumstances, but once there was turmoil within the Tang Dynasty and no time to look outside, it was no longer a fantasy for the Goguryeo people to take advantage of the situation and break through the Great Wall Fortress and invade the Central Plains.
However, no matter how powerful Goguryeo was militarily, it could not hide the fact that it was economically backward. Its semi-farming and semi-nomadic survival situation made it impossible to control national taxation.
The Central Plains Dynasty has a long history of building the Great Wall, which can be traced back at least to the Western Zhou Dynasty. The famous allusion "playing with princes by beacon fire" in Haojing originated from the beacon tower of the Great Wall. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when various countries competed for hegemony and defended each other, the construction of the Great Wall entered its first climax, but at this time the length of the construction was relatively short. After the Qin Dynasty destroyed the six kingdoms and unified the world, Qin Shihuang devoted all his efforts to connect and repair the Great Wall of the Warring States Period, and it became known as the Great Wall.
Since the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall has been expanded and repaired in all dynasties. It stands windingly in the mountains and ridges to resist the Hu people from the north who cannot herd their horses southward. Countless manpower and material resources have been spent on the Great Wall.
Goguryeo also wanted to build its Great Wall as majestic and solid as the Central Plains Dynasty, standing on the top of the mountain and becoming an insurmountable barrier for enemies on the frontier of the empire. However, the national power was limited and the national finances simply could not afford such a construction...
They could only settle for the next best thing, linking the mountain cities in a line to rely on and support each other, and rely on the geographical location to tightly control the transportation chokepoints, hoping to withstand the fierce attack of the Tang army.
However, judging from the current battle situation, Goguryeo is obviously overthinking...
The second son, Yuan Nanjian, frowned and was a little dissatisfied with his father's approach of "destroying his prestige". He couldn't help but said: "My father's words are wrong. Although the Tang army is menacing, how could it not be so in the Sui Dynasty? Liaodong region is vast. , The terrain is very unfavorable for the Tang army, which is fighting in large groups, with mountains and rivers crisscrossing it, making it difficult to exert its strength. In addition, Goguryeo is determined to resist foreign aggression, and its victory or defeat is uncertain. "
Yeon Gaesumun glanced at his second son indifferently without saying anything.
What a fool!
What is the use of such power of words? I said that I welcome the Tang army to enter Pyongyang City. Does this mean that I will not resist?
Ignoring the second son, Yuan Gaisuwen looked at Changsun Huan and asked: "The Tang army went to war without declaring it. This was indeed beyond my expectation. Therefore, we lost the initiative at the beginning of the war. The Tang army captured several cities in succession, including Gaimou." , big cities like the Far East also fell one after another, but the most important thing is. , the Tang army used a brand-new weapon when attacking the city. Just bury it at the base of the city wall and then ignite it. It will explode with powerful force and overturn the impregnable city wall... This kind of weapon was used by the Tang Navy. Thunder? ”
The emergence of firearms can be regarded as the biggest difference between this Eastern Expedition and history.
The mountain cities that were originally spread across the mountains and rivers in Liaodong relied on their thick walls to resist the attack of the Tang army. Countless Tang armies suffered bloody blows under the fortified cities. Not only did countless soldiers die in Liaodong, it also greatly delayed the attack. increased the speed of the advance.
As a result, when winter came, the army was still entrenched in Anshi City and could not advance any further, so it had to return in defeat and return to the court. The Tang Dynasty's first eastern expedition ended in an anticlimactic manner.
However, now, the mountain cities along the Liao River are as vulnerable as paper and clay sculptures in front of the Tang army.
Far East City, which Yeon Gae So-moon had placed high hopes on, fell after being unable to hold on for even one day. Although the Tang army attacked from two sides, which cut off the way to support elsewhere and caused the morale of the defenders in the city to collapse, the more important reason was the use of gunpowder.
The thick city wall fell apart under the power of gunpowder and could not function as a shield at all. This was the main reason.
The Tang army had such powerful siege weapons in their hands. Goguryeo spent the treasury and sacrificed countless civilians to build the mountain city defense system, which was completely reduced to a decoration. It could not stop the Tang army's advance, and it could not even delay the time.
This forced the Goguryeo army to fight in the field with the Tang army.
But when it comes to field battles...the Tang army is invincible. (End of chapter)