Chapter 3418 Shameless
In the "Little Chang'an" area in the West City, flames shot into the sky and black smoke rose under the bombardment of countless kerosene bombs. The heavy snow in the world melted before it fell to the ground. The Goguryeo soldiers and slaves who had no time to escape were killed on the spot or alive. Burnt to death, there are charred and carbonized corpses everywhere, black and exuding a strange and nauseating smell of meat...
Under the impact of the heavy infantry, the Tang Army's navy finally captured the city gate area. The soldiers behind them poured into the city like a steady stream, and one group after another attacked along the streets and alleys towards the city. From a distance, they used muskets and thunderbolts to strike. At close range, heavy infantrymen in heavy armor were leading the way. Some Goguryeo soldiers hid in private houses and attacked with bows and arrows. In the blink of an eye, they were blasted into the sky by a thunderbolt. .
Without the defensive advantage of the city wall, the Goguryeo defenders could not organize an effective offensive when it came to street fighting. The Tang army was invincible. Wherever they went, there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, walls and houses collapsed, and they were completely unstoppable.
After the Tang army had captured the west city gate, completely controlled the area inside the gate, and began to advance into the city, reinforcements composed of the last private soldiers, slaves, and even prisoners organized by Jian Moucen arrived belatedly. As a result, these rabble-rousers, who had not received much formal training and seriously lacked military equipment, were scattered by the heavy infantry of the Tang Army after just one encounter. Under a volley of muskets, they left corpses on the ground and dispersed like birds and beasts.
The morale of the Tang navy that rushed into the city skyrocketed. While occupying the city wall and clearing out the remaining defenders, they advanced toward the central area of Pingrang City with the heavy infantry opening the way. Along the way, small groups of Goguryeo soldiers kept coming to intercept and block the attack, but they all quickly collapsed under the Tang army's offensive, allowing the Tang army to advance straight in.
It is true that the defenders in Pingrang City are insufficient in strength, and all the elite troops went north to pursue the Tang army. The defenders, which are composed of soldiers and private soldiers and slaves, are mixed and lack of weapons and leather armor. The defensive power of Pingrang City is greatly reduced. The master's fierce and unparalleled combat power is the key to being able to be so unstoppable.
The heavy infantry opened the way, and the Goguryeo army, which lacked heavy ordnance, could not inflict any damage on them. They could only watch these tough "iron men" rampage all the way, as if they were in an uninhabited land. The musketeers and sword and shield men followed closely behind. Enemies who were slightly farther away fired with muskets, and when they were slightly closer, they bombed with thunderbolts. The firepower increased layer by layer, and the defense was impregnable. Not to mention the mob in front of them, even Goguryeo was the strongest. The elite "Wang Zhuang Army" is also difficult to show its edge.
Under the heavy snow, the navy of the Tang Army rushed straight towards the palace.
The entire western half of Pingrang City has fallen into complete chaos. First, kerosene bombs fell from the sky and ignited most of the houses. Many merchants, officials, and ordinary people had to brave the heavy snow to hide in the streets and were burned to death by the fire. Immediately afterwards, the Tang army blew down the city gate and broke into the city. The defenders were unable to resist, and the crowds who had no time to retreat ran around in the streets.
General Jian Moucen, who was defeated by the Tang army in a single encounter, his eyes lit up, and he quickly ordered the few remaining soldiers under his command to set up a defense line along the street, driving the chaotic crowd towards the direction of the Tang army's attack.
In his opinion, the Han people have always flaunted their morality, and the "teacher of benevolence and righteousness" is the consistent image of the Han army. Although it is a state of war, the Tang army cannot massacre unarmed civilians, right?
If the Tang army ignored the civilians and attacked them all, their reputation as a "teacher of benevolence and righteousness" would be gone forever, and they would be slandered and criticized by the whole world, which would have a great impact on the Tang army's strategy of subduing the barbarians. If they dare to let go of the massacre, these panicked ordinary people will overwhelm the Tang army's formation. By then, they will organize a counterattack, and they may not be able to fight.
There is no need to annihilate the Tang army, but only to delay the return of reinforcements from the elite cavalry chasing the main force of the Tang army to the north. This Tang army's navy will inevitably be attacked from both sides and be completely defeated.
……
Xi Jun bought a helmet and armor, held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, followed closely behind the heavy infantry and advanced towards the palace. The battle went smoothly, which made him feel a little excited.
At present, the defenses in Pingrang City are empty, and the defenders in front of them are all a mob, unable to compete with the elite navy soldiers, and the navy's tyrannical tactics are even more invincible. All he had to do was storm into the palace and capture alive Yeon Gae So-moon, who had just ascended the throne as king... That would be the achievement of destroying the country and capturing the king!
Throughout the ages, apart from "conquering the stone Yanran" and "sealing the wolf to live in Xu", this attack to destroy the country and capture the king is undoubtedly the most powerful!
The governor-general Su Dingfang naturally deserves the title of Duke of the country, and he must also be able to be awarded a title for his merits and shine in history...
Unless Mr. Xi is superficial, soldiers should aim at military merit. Whether they are defending their homeland or expanding their territory, how can they be brave and brave without fear of death if they don't have any desire to win merit?
However, the longing was still lingering in his mind, and he saw countless poor people and slaves in ragged clothes and disheveled faces rushing over from the other end of the street. There were even Goguryeo defenders waving their weapons behind them to drive them away.
Xi Junmai understood the enemy's sinister intentions in an instant, but he also fell into a tangle...
The soldiers around him were also a little confused and asked: "General, what should we do?"
Even a top soldier knows that "slaughtering civilians" has always been frowned upon by the people in the world. No matter how great the military exploits are, once they are involved in this crime, they will often not end well. It would be fine if they were barbarians and barbarians. After all, the morals of non-human beings are no different than that of animals. Even the initial anger and resentment of the people are also appropriate. However, the Han people have been flaunting "benevolence and righteousness" since ancient times. How can they raise a butcher's knife against unarmed civilians?
They themselves don’t get over the hurdle in their hearts...
Xi Junmai was also so anxious that he was sweating profusely, but if he didn't give the order, he would see these panicked Goguryeo civilians rushing forward and breaking up his formation. If the defenders followed closely to cover them up, they would have to kill them. You cannot suffer a big loss.
There happened to be a scream next to him, and a musketeer was shot in the neck by a cold arrow from nowhere and fell to the ground.
An idea flashed in Xi Junmai's mind...
He immediately ordered people to carry several corpses of Tang soldiers who died in the battle, and threw them hard into the oncoming crowd of Goguryeo civilians. However, people shouted: "Everyone, please pay attention, there are enemy troops mixed among these civilians!"
"Goguryeo is despicable and shameless, using common people as a shield!"
"Inspiring the civilians to sneak attack our army, Yeon Gaesumun is a thief who steals the country, he is so shameless!"
Jian Moucen, who was hiding in the distance and commanding the soldiers to drive the civilians towards the Tang army's array, heard this and immediately shouted "No!" With Tang Junlai's move, wouldn't it mean that the responsibility was shifted to his own side? He urged the people to use their bodies as cover, and took advantage of the Tang army's "teachers of benevolence and righteousness" who couldn't bear to massacre the people to attack and kill the Tang army at close range... This not only made himself infamous for thousands of years, but also helped the Tang army get out of a disadvantageous situation.
Even though there were civilians in front of them, since the Goguryeo army mixed in with the civilians and attacked and killed the Tang army, they couldn't still ask the Tang army to maintain "benevolence and righteousness" and fight back even to the death, right?
Sure enough, after the Tang army shouted so loudly that everyone could hear it clearly, there was a thunderous sound of muskets, and streams of gunpowder smoke spurted out from the muzzles of the guns, turning into a dark cloud rising above the Tang army's array.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"Hulu is cunning and pretends to be a commoner!"
"Kill me, Paoze, and pay with blood!"
"Kill!"
The heavy infantry at the front suddenly rushed into the crowd of Goguryeo civilians, slashing and beheading with swords in their hands as if they were trained horses. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the remaining limbs were spattered. They attacked the unarmed Goguryeo civilians like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. Cold massacre.
The muskets, crossbows, and thunderbolts behind them were fired at the same time. The civilians driven by the Goguryeo army experienced a baptism of blood and fire. Countless civilians screamed and fell in a pool of blood, with their heads disemboweled and disemboweled. .
When the heavy-armed infantry of the Tang Army, covered in blood and fighting through the crowd, arrived in front of the Goguryeo defenders who were driving behind them, these soldiers looked at the devil-like Tang Army infantry in front of them and were so frightened that their faces turned green and their lips turned white. I don't know who suddenly made a sound. Shouting, everyone immediately dropped their weapons, turned around and ran away.
The navy of the Tang Army rushed forward like a strong wind sweeping away fallen leaves. When they reached the gate of the palace, they encountered the obstruction of the imperial guards around Yeon Gaesumun.
In Goguryeo, it is not only the "Wang Zhuang Army" that can be called the trump card. As the royal guards of the previous Goguryeo kings, no matter how thorough Yeon Gaesomun collects and transforms the "Wang Zhuang Army", it is inevitable that there will be people loyal to the Go royal family among them. , if it is allowed to stay next to the guards, it will inevitably lead to great worries.
Therefore, in addition to the "Wang Zhuang Army", there is also a truly confidant guard, with a number of more than 10,000 people, who has always been guarding him. They are powerful and loyal.
Now that the Tang army has arrived in front of the palace, Yeon Gaesumun has no choice but to put this most confidant and last armed force into battle... (End of this chapter)