"You are right, but you ignore a crucial point!" Yang Ji said to a group of stunned civil and military personnel in the Chinese army's tent: "The terrain of Goguryeo can be divided into three parts. The dividing line is the Changbai Mountain range in the north. , Sashui in the central part: At the northern foot of the Changbai Mountains is the endless Liaodong Plain, which is conducive to large-scale marches; in addition to the five important cities of Xincheng, Xuantu [tu], Liaodong, Jian'an, and Anshi, there are also Yinshan, Nansu, There are county-level cities such as Mudi, Cangyan, Guiduan, Fengfu, Houhuang, Hengshan, Momi, Maigu, Baiyan, Gaimou, etc. The main force of more than 300,000 enemy troops is distributed among these large and small cities. For this part, my strategy is to use thunderous momentum to capture the important city, spare the small and medium-sized cities, and force the defenders in the city to abandon the city and go south."
"As long as we successfully annihilate the enemy forces in the Liaodong Plain, then the main force of Goguryeo will be lost, and the next battle will be easy to fight. However, it is worth noting that Anshi City and Gaimu City, we must not let the enemy forces retreat into these two cities. City, otherwise, it will be difficult for us to invade the hinterland of Goguryeo."
Yang Ji remembered that during the Tang Dynasty's first expedition to Goguryeo, they adopted a three-pronged fighting method and captured many important cities in the Liaodong Plain with overwhelming force. After that, they forced the defenders of small and medium-sized cities to attack. Retreating southward; however, although the regrettable Tang Dynasty occupied the vast Liaodong Plain, they only wiped out more than 40,000 enemy soldiers in the Liaodong Plain. When the Goguryeo soldiers withdrew to Anshi City one by one, the heavy troops gathered in Anshi The city has become the biggest stumbling block in this battle.
The reason why Anshi City was difficult to conquer was that there were many defenders. Goguryeo knew that once Anshi City was conquered, the fate of the country would be unavoidable. In order to protect their homeland, they changed from retreat to a state of unwavering determination.
Second, Anshi City, which is located in the northeast of the Qianshan Mountains, is too dangerous. The Qianshan Mountains connect the Changbai Mountains to the northeast and Laotieshan Mountain to the southwest, roughly showing a northeast-southwest direction. The northwest of the mountains is the vast Bohai Sea; while the mountains, The narrow strip between the sea and the sea is like the Liaoxi Corridor, which is the only way for the land troops of the Tang Dynasty to enter the hinterland of Goguryeo from the Liaodong Plain.
As for Anshi City, it is like Linyu Pass (Shanhai Pass), stuck in the narrowest place between the mountains and the sea. To the north of the city is a narrow and difficult coastline. Even with a million troops, there is not enough terrain. spread out; when the two are superimposed, the Tang army cannot conquer this strong city even if they live or die; in addition, there is a passage across the Qianshan Mountains to the east, and this road can go directly to the west bank of the Yalu River in the east. Therefore, this city is extremely important and critical.
Gaimou City is located on the coast of the Bohai Sea, not far to the southwest of Anshi City. The two are in tandem, blocking the passage.
Compared with everyone in the tent, Yang Ji had the advantage of being familiar with historical facts, and he was the first to regard these two cities as top priority.
Yu Wenshu pondered for a long time, then cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, our previous focus was on the four cities of Xincheng, Xuantu, Liaodong, and Jian'an, especially the tall and heavy Liaodong City where the enemy chieftain is located, which we regard as the core. I have neglected Anshi City and Gaimou City in the south, but I don’t know what’s so mysterious about these two cities?”
Yang Ji glanced at everyone and said slowly: "You can compare them to Linyu Pass!"
"Hiss..." Everyone in the tent had experience in the military. When they heard Yang Ji compare the two cities they ignored to "Linyu Pass", they suddenly broke out in cold sweat, a "Linyu Pass" It’s very difficult to attack, let alone two of them? If Goguryeo's hundreds of thousands of troops were allowed to retreat to these two cities, they would be in trouble!
Even if we finally occupy the entire Liaodong Plain north of the Second City, how will we defend it in the future?
"I hope your Majesty will punish you for neglecting your duties!" Yu Wenshu quickly apologized.
"It's not all your fault!" Yang Ji waved his hand and said helplessly: "According to Gao Jianwu's confession, these two cities were actually just inconspicuous small towns before the Battle of Liaodong. When they lost the Liaodong Plain, In the northern region, Goguryeo realized that there would be a war between the two countries. They were worried that after our army captured the south, they would be able to march in and directly attack the capital, so they spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build these two cities into strong cities. There are two City, even if they lose the plain, they can hold our army to the north of the second city."
Yuwenshu was silent for a while, then frowned and said, "In other words, these two cities are more important than Liaodong City!"
"That's right!" Yang Ji nodded and said: "In the general direction, I plan to divide the East Route Army into two groups, and compete with the Goguryeo Army on land along the way, so as to contain the enemy's main force and attention in Liaodong. On the plain; the other route is dominated by the navy. They set out from Wanghaitun in Liucheng County to capture Anshi and Gaimou for me first. This will not only cut off Gao Yuan's retreat, but also cut off the northward route of Goguryeo's reinforcements. After that, it’s not too late to concentrate our forces to capture Liaodong City. And I plan to leave this task to Li Zixiong.”
During these years of confrontation, out of strategic needs, the imperial court also built warships in Youzhou one after another and established a small navy. Although the strength was only 20,000, according to Gao Jianwu, the defenders of Anshi and Gaimu Each has five thousand men, and they are all miscellaneous soldiers. As long as the navy catches them by surprise and attacks them unprepared, they can capture these two key cities. Moreover, Gao Jianwu himself could make good use of it.
"Your Majesty is wise!" After hearing this, everyone understood what Yang Ji meant when he said, "You are right, but I don't listen." The meaning is that different terrains require different tactics and cannot be generalized. The northern foot of Changbai Mountain The emphasis in this area should be on quick battles and annihilating the enemy's main force.
"The next thing I want to talk about is the Changbai Mountain-Sashui part!" Yang Ji said: "The terrain of this area is high in the east and low in the west, high in the north and low in the south. It is dominated by mountains and hills, with narrow plains and rivers. The rivers are rapid, and important rivers such as the Yalu River and the Sa River, which are very wide, flow into the Wuhu Sea (Yellow Sea) from the northeast. The mountains in this area are steep, and fortresses and fortresses are scattered on the steep mountains and passes; the strategy I plan to adopt The method of playing is what you said before: play steadily and win step by step."
"In my opinion, the fortresses in this area are like nails driven into the earth. As long as the nails are pulled out one by one, the army can safely push to the west bank of Sa River. If they cannot be pulled out, they can walk along the coastline. The grain road is very easy to be destroyed by enemy troops coming down from the mountain."
Speaking of this, Yang Ji couldn't help but look at Yu Wenshu, Yu Zhongwen, Cui Hongsheng, and Xue Shixiong. He remembered that during Yang Guang's first expedition to Goguryeo in history, he personally led the main army to surround Liaodong City; then he divided the nine armies, A total of 310,000 troops marched directly to Pyongyang. Yu Wenshu, who was the marching director of Fuyu Road at the time, was the chief general of this army. Yu Zhongwen, the marching director of Lelang Road, Xue Shixiong, the marching director of Woju Road, Cui Hongsheng, the marching director of Suicheng Road, and the other five marching directors were all under his control. .
As a result, before they reached the Pyongyang Plain, the navy responsible for transporting food and baggage for them fell into Gao Jianwu's plan of luring the enemy deep into Pyongyang, and was defeated inside the barricade of Pyongyang because the commander came to protect his children. However, Yu Wenshu and others went deep into the hinterland and fell into the tragedy of being unable to conquer key fortresses and unable to supply food and grass. After most of the 310,000 troops retreating in an orderly manner were drowned by the flood, the orderly retreat turned into a great rout, and then They were attacked one after another by enemy troops in many fortresses, and in the end only about 3,000 people returned to Liaodong alive.
To be fair, if Laihuer had abided by Yang Guang's rule that "the mother must advance alone with a light army, she will be lost", and if he had listened to Zhou Fashang's advice; Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen, Cui Hongsheng, Xue Shixiong, Jing Yuanheng, Xin Shixiong, Zhang Jin, Zhao Xiaocai , Wei Xuan's military level, as well as the strength of the land and sea army and sufficient supplies, they can definitely win Pyongyang. The first battle of Goguryeo also ended with the destruction of Goguryeo in the Sui Dynasty.
Now compared to the tragedy in his memory, Yang Ji did not have a powerful navy at his disposal, and supplies were mainly transported by land. Even though the grain ships gathering in Liaodong could walk along the coastline, in order to avoid falling into Yu Wenshu and others In view of people's predicament, we decided to remove all the nails in the "Changbai Mountain-Sashui" area one by one.
"Of course, the specific number of troops needed to uproot the many fortresses in this area will depend on the situation and change according to the opportunity." Yang Ji added.
"Here!" Everyone was convinced after hearing this. Goguryeo was wiped out by Yang Ji before with more than 100,000 troops. If they can successfully annihilate the more than 300,000 troops in Liaodong this time, then the next battle will be much easier and calmer. If there are more, there is no need to be greedy for success.
"Your Majesty, what's the reputation of the third area?" Pei Ju asked, stroking his beard.
"The third area is south of Sashui! This area is estimated to be called the 'Sashui Zushui' plain. The terrain here is relatively flat. The terrain is mainly plains and low hills. The main plains include Shun'an Plain, Pyongyang Plain, Pyongyang City is located on the bank of the River River." Yang Ji took a sip of tea and continued: "As long as we cross the Sa River, we will have open terrain to fight, and King Buyeo Zhang of Baekje saw Once our army has reached this point, it will definitely lead its troops northward. Therefore, our available troops in the 'Sashui and Zhushui' plains will not decrease but increase."
In fact, Yang Ji also had an immature idea, which was to squeeze the living space of Goguryeo to the south of the 39th parallel, and then let the three peninsula countries with equal strength continue to coexist and fight.
His idea was mainly based on the lessons of Li Zhi. After Li Zhi destroyed Goguryeo and Baekje, Silla no longer had a natural rival. When Silla saw that the Tang Dynasty, the suzerain state, was not as strong as before, it did not pay enough attention to the peninsula. , thus completely occupying the peninsula, and this rising force was more fierce than the previous Goguryeo; later, it finally developed into one of the great enemies of the Tang Dynasty.
It cooperated tacitly with Tubo in the east and west, and attacked the Tang Dynasty from time to time, which made the Tang army exhausted. Xue Rengui, who was born in the era of the decline of famous generals, was like a fire extinguisher. Before the war on one side was over, he had to run to the other side.
In fact, similar mistakes seemed to have been made by the Central Plains Dynasty a thousand years later. They worked hard to help the Annan Monkeys unify the world, but in the end they created a powerful enemy for themselves.
As for the Great Sui Dynasty, the current population of the Great Sui Dynasty is not large, and the focus of development is in the west and north. Therefore, even if he destroyed Goguryeo this time, the Great Sui Dynasty will definitely be the same as the Zhou Dynasty after Li Zhi shortly after the war. Just like the Tang Dynasty, the poor and cold peninsula no longer attaches importance to; over time, it will be completely eaten away by the re-emergence of Baekje, Silla, or newly emerging forces.
In view of this, Yang Ji believed that instead of taking advantage of potential opponents and cultivating a strong enemy for himself, it would be better for them to continue to maintain a three-legged stance and coexist in a small space.
The three parties are in constant dispute, and one or two of them can only try their best to please the powerful Sui Dynasty instead of attacking.
However, Yang Guang asked him to fight the battle to destroy the country after all, and the whole army now regarded the destruction of Goguryeo as the supreme honor. If he expressed this idea at this time, it would dampen the morale of the soldiers. Yang Ji decided to fight It will be brought up after the Pyongyang Plain.
"Your Majesty, since we have a battle idea in the general direction, when will we send troops?" Yu Zhongwen fully agreed with Yang Ji's arrangements, but the issue he was currently concerned about was obviously when to start the war.
These words also represented the aspirations of everyone. When everyone heard the words, they all looked at the aloof Yang Ji expectantly.
"No rush, no rush!" Yang Ji shook his head and said contentedly: "We now have the advantage of being surprised and unprepared. Now the whole army knows that once a war starts, it will be a war to destroy the country. And what about Gao Yuan? He He wanted to fight but was afraid of fighting, and he was uneasy. His bipolar mentality showed that he did not have the courage to take the initiative to attack, and the Goguryeo army was at a disadvantage because of this."
"In this delicate situation, the more fully prepared we are, the more advantageous we will be in the subsequent battle. If we are not fully prepared and rush to attack and break the situation, we are likely to fall into the dilemma of being unable to follow up."
After a pause, he continued: "During this period, Li Zixiong and Yang Lun are in charge. They are responsible for attracting the enemy's attention and strength. In addition, if Gao Jianwu is to send military information to Gao Yuan, let me, Yang Ji has been captured by the imperial court because he is good at killing officials. Youzhou and the East Route Army are in chaos without a leader. But our main task is to recharge our batteries. If we don't move, we will be exhausted. If we move, we will be thunderous!"
"Here!" Everyone responded loudly.
"During this period, we must make all preparations." Yang Ji looked at Yuwenshu, nodded and said: "General Yuwen!"
】
Yu Wenshu stood up quickly, cupped his fists and said, "The general is here!"
"The important task of spying on the military situation of Goguryeo is left to you. You must also have a clear grasp of the intelligence of the cities in the northern and central parts of Goguryeo and the situation of army mobilization."
"General, I will obey your order!" Yu Wenshu solemnly obeyed his order.
Yang Ji looked at Wei Jin and said in a deep voice: "Wei Changshi."
"The official is here!" Wei Jin responded.
"The fighter plane is fleeting, but our supplies arrive too slowly!" Yang Ji said coldly: "In order to prevent the enemy from noticing, you ask all counties and transportation teams to transport the food supplies to the designated location as soon as possible. Land. Otherwise, military law will be dealt with."
Wei Jin felt awe-struck, cupped his hands and said: "I obey your orders!"
Yang Ji nodded and said: "Today's meeting ends here. After the generals who have no tasks go down, let the armies prepare for war. If there is any change in our army or the enemy's army, be sure to report to me as soon as possible."
"Here!" The generals stood up and responded!
