Chapter 3120: Constraints everywhere
The thunderbolt was ignited in the line of fire and thrown out with all its strength. After landing, it exploded with a "boom, boom, boom". The bricks and stones in the commander's mansion flew into the sky along with the broken limbs of the Goguryeo soldiers. The tenacious defense was destroyed in an instant. Disintegrate.
Immediately, the crossbowmen on the outside opened their bows and nocked arrows, and a rain of arrows poured out, and a miserable howl suddenly sounded in the commander's mansion.
Then, the Tang army calmly formed a team of three or three, with the shield hand in front and the sword hand in the back. They maintained a suitable distance between the teams and slowly but steadily entered the commander's mansion.
There was no need to worry about Eulji Mundeok's life or death, the Tang army entered smoothly, and all the Goguryeo soldiers who tried to resist were killed, leaving little resistance at all.
Soon, the handsome manor was cleared.
The soldiers turned over the corpses of the enemy soldiers with horizontal knives and spears. When they found those still breathing, they mended them and then threw them aside.
Take no prisoners.
After the general's residence was cleaned, soldiers came forward to tell him that Eulji Mundeok was dead.
Li Ji ordered people to carry the body out and went to check. He saw an old man. His snow-white beard was completely burnt by the gunpowder explosion. His face and the mountain were also scorched black. One arm and one leg were missing. , presumably he was directly killed on the spot by Zhentian Lei.
He also ordered some prisoners of the Goguryeo army to be captured, and they identified him on the spot as Eulji Mundeok. After carefully verifying his identity, Li Ji just ordered: "Cut off the head of this animal, pickle it with quicklime to prevent it from rotting, and present it to Your Majesty for viewing."
This is a real achievement.
Eulji Wende had great achievements. He once defeated the Sui Dynasty's 300,000 troops and was regarded as a "military god" by the people of Goguryeo. Although he is being attacked by Yeon Gaesomun now, he was a close confidant of Yeongaesomun's father Yeon Taejo back then, and he was also ordered to assist Yeongaesomun in times of danger. Unfortunately, power conflicts in recent years have led to the loss of Yeongaesomun's trust.
Such a person's death would be a huge blow to the morale of the Goguryeo army. Li Ji was already thinking in his heart whether to send Ulji Wende's head to Pingjangseong afterwards...
……
At noon, the remaining Goguryeo defenders in Anshi City had been slaughtered to death, and the whole process fell into the hands of the Tang army.
The fall of this fortified city also meant that Goguryeo's rule in Liaodong was uprooted and wiped out. Although there was still a straggler of the Goguryeo army remaining in the vast Liaodong area, it was no longer a climate, and there would be specialized Several armies were engaged in clearing out the enemy.
In Anshi City, the Tang Army began to clean the streets, bury corpses, and clean wells and houses. From then on, this place will be known as an important garrison location of the Tang Army in Liaodong, controlling the entire Liaodong.
The next step is to reorganize the army and continue southward towards the Yalu River.
Li Ji was sitting in the clean and tidy commander's mansion, busy handling official duties. A huge map has been hung on the wall. The red arrows symbolize the movement trajectory of the Tang army, covering most of Liaodong. The arrows at the front are already pointing directly at several cities along the Yalu River.
Along the Yalu River, there are still strong cities such as Bobi City and Dahang City, guarding the Yalu River ferry. Only by capturing these strong cities can we seize the ferry and cross the Yalu River.
When it comes to field battles, Goguryeo is vulnerable. They could only rely on the mountain cities all over Goguryeo to resist the Tang army. Although the Goguryeo army was tenacious, its combat effectiveness was more than one level lower than that of the Tang army. The strategy they adopted was never to defeat the Tang army head-on, but to camp step by step, delaying the Tang army's attack. In the severe cold of autumn and winter, the Tang army had difficulties in logistical supplies, the soldiers could not withstand the severe cold, and the roads were impassable, so they could win without a fight.
Therefore, Li Ji did not pay attention to the several fortified cities by the Yalu River. The next most important battle could only be the siege of Pingrang City.
Victory or defeat depends on this.
Before that, what worried Li Ji the most was His Majesty Li Er’s physical condition...
Although I have not seen it in person, from His Majesty Li Er's erratic mental state, we can know that he must have secretly taken the pill. Although Danmer can temporarily boost the spirit and enhance physical strength like "Five Stone Powder", long-term consumption will have extremely serious backlash on the body.
What if something unexpected happens to His Majesty Li Er during the march because he took the elixir...
That was like a bolt from the blue, and the consequences would be disastrous.
Putting the official duties at hand to an end, Li Ji sat in the commander's mansion and concentrated for a long time before going out and leading his soldiers to the military camp outside the city.
Although the city has been cleared, the time is too short, and there is no guarantee that the remaining Goguryeo soldiers are still hidden in some hidden corner. It would be tragic if His Majesty Li Er entered the city and was attacked by the enemy. Therefore, His Majesty Li Er still lives in the city. Military camp outside the city.
When Li Ji arrived outside the Chinese army's tent, he learned that His Majesty had just woken up from a nap, so he asked the chamberlain to come in. After receiving the summons, he raised the curtain and entered the tent.
The light inside the tent is a little dim.
Your Majesty Li Er was dressed in regular clothes, his hair was tied back casually, and he was feeling a little tired. At this moment, he was sitting on a chair in front of the window. When he saw Li Ji walking in and wanted to salute, he waved and said: "No need to be polite, come and sit."
Li Ji did not dare to be rude. After bowing and saluting, he sat down on the chair where His Majesty Li Er sat.
The waiter served him some fragrant tea and then left. His Majesty Li Er slightly stretched out his hand to signal Li Ji to drink tea, and then picked up a cup himself.
Li Ji picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then heard His Majesty Li Er ask: "How are the injuries of Duke Lu and Duke Wancheng?"
Li Ji put down the tea cup and said: "Gong Lu is fine, but the injuries are all external. They look dangerous, but in fact they are not serious. He will recover after a while. However, Duke Wancheng's injuries are quite serious. He has many arrow wounds and internal organs, and he fell again." He has just woken up, but his roots have been damaged. Coupled with his old age and weak body, he may suffer from injuries all year round.”
His Majesty Li Er nodded slowly, said nothing, and just took a sip of tea.
A general will inevitably die in battle, and an earthen jar will inevitably break when it leaves the edge of a well. Being in the military means risking one's life for wealth and wealth. Life and death depend on fate, and no one can escape this misfortune. However, Zhang Jian, the Duke of Wancheng County, was a veteran of the two dynasties. He had followed the Li family when they launched their army, and he had worked hard and made great achievements. But now that he was only in his sixtieth year, he ended up like this, which is unavoidable and unbearable.
What's particularly important is that Zhang Jian only has one daughter and no heirs. He even received a generous reward and a title but no one to inherit it...
After thinking for a while, he said: "After returning to Beijing, Maogong reminded me that he ordered his brother to choose a smart, filial and sensitive son among his descendants, and adopt him as his heir to Zhang Jian."
Li Ji understood that Zhang Jian must be a Duke and could not escape the title, so he responded: "Here."
His Majesty Li Er put down his tea cup and asked again: "How is the situation over there at Yalu Water?"
Li Jidao: "Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen led their troops to support Anshi City many times, but they were all repulsed. Now they are guarding Bobi City and Daxing City. Although the two cities are dozens of miles apart, they are close to each other and have strong military strength. Each has more than 50,000 soldiers, and both of them are famous Goguryeo generals. It should be a tough battle.”
The Yalu River is wide, and both sides are swamps, making it difficult to march. If hundreds of thousands of troops want to cross the river, they can only capture the two crossings of Bobi City and Dahang City. These two cities were different from other mountain cities in Goguryeo. They were not built on the mountainside to take advantage of the geographical advantages. Instead, they were built close to the ferry. They were surrounded by dense swamps and crisscrossed rivers, which were not conducive to large-scale wars and were easy to defend but difficult to attack.
His Majesty Li Er thought for a while and asked: "If the navy is ordered to cooperate with artillery to attack the city, what will Maogong think?"
Li Ji was silent.
Obviously, the bloody battle in Anshi City resulted in heavy losses, and even His Majesty felt heartache. It would be unbearable to suffer similar losses when attacking Bobi City and Dahang City.
However, if the navy is activated, as long as Bobi City and Dahang City are conquered in one go, the credit must go to the navy.
How can all the forces in the military agree?
Li Ji frowned in annoyance. The existence of aristocratic families had indeed divided the empire into countless camps, and they were constantly competing for their own interests, regardless of national interests. The aristocratic families regard the achievements of the Eastern Campaign as their own, and they can still fight and rob each other, but they are absolutely unwilling to let the navy intervene to seize the merits.
The Navy and the Youtun Guards were outside the military forces controlled by the clans. Otherwise, when the strategy for the Eastern Expedition was formulated, the Navy would not have been excluded and would have been assigned only some tasks of transporting baggage, attacking cities, and setting out strongholds. Participating in the war was not considered at all.
Li Ji was silent for a long time and sighed: "When we besiege Pingrang City, if the battle situation is unfavorable, then consider whether to allow the navy to participate in the battle." (End of Chapter)