When the news of a series of defeats in the north reached Liaodong City, Gao Yuan, the King of Goguryeo, turned pale in an instant. He slumped on the throne and said in a dejected voice: "Song Zun of the Xifeng camp was defeated, and Quan Ming, the lord of Changtu City, was defeated." , Momi City and Maigu City, the life and death of Yi Bao, the lord of Momi City and Maigu City, were uncertain, and the Sui army led by Yang Yichen successively captured Changchun Tun, Nanshan City, Nansu, Mudi, Cangyan, Ganwu and other cities and fortresses. It was really God's death for me. also."
Yuan Ziyou and other civil and military officials also felt numb at this time. As they said before, a weak country may not be unable to defeat a strong country, but as a weak country, Goguryeo's national strength is far inferior to that of the Sui Dynasty, even if there is a slight defeat. , will have irreversible effects, so they must walk on thin ice and be cautious every step they take. The total loss of the north was not a simple loss of a piece of land or a simple loss of "a little strength", but a loss of more than 40% of the national strength, and the morale and will of the soldiers and civilians to resist were also dealt a fatal blow.
The northern Sui army won the battle, but was able to march straight into the north bank of Daliang River. Once the Sui army on land is stationed at a certain point on the west bank of the Liao River, the Sui army soldiers and food supplies on the other side will be able to cross to this side safely and in a steady stream. By then, their pressure will be countless times heavier than it is now.
He reviewed the topography of Liaodong in his mind, and said to the earth-colored Gao Yuan with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, the 'Guiduanshui-Changchuntun-Longgangshan' defense line has been broken. Lishan and other large and small cities can no longer be defended, and our soldiers will be defeated one by one by the Sui army. According to the opinion of the veteran, let the soldiers and civilians in each city retreat to the south of Daliang River as soon as possible."
"Our army once again uses the south bank of Daliang River and the east bank of Liao River as the defense line, focusing on guarding the five cities of Taizi, Xiabao, Baiyan, Yanzhou, and Liaodong. At the same time, we will use Hengshan City as a logistics center to ensure the safety of logistics. No worries.”
The Daliang River was called Yanshui in ancient times and is one of the largest tributaries of the Liao River. This river originates from the western foothills of the Changbai Mountains east of the Liaodong Plain. Since the terrain of the plain is high in the southeast and low in the northwest, the Longxumian River crosses the plain and merges into the plain. To the west is the Liao River. The presence of these two integrated rivers in the north and west of the southern plain is equivalent to a natural "moat", and the five cities of Taizi and Xiabao mentioned by Yuan Ziyou are the key nodes behind the "moat".
Gao Yuan tried hard to calm down, staggered to the map and stood still. His eyes followed the "moat", then passed over the plains, and finally focused for a long time on Gaimou City and An, sandwiched between the Qianshan Mountains and the Bohai Sea. City.
After being silent for a long time, he looked back at the many civil and military personnel below, and asked Yuan Ziyou, who was standing at the front, directly: "Da Dui Lu, how many troops and horses does our army still have in Liaodong?"
Yuan Ziyou did not answer immediately. He made an estimate in his mind and then settled the account with Gao Yuan: "Your Majesty, since the end of the war that year, our country has successively transferred 350,000 troops to Liaodong. , plus the 70,000 troops brought by Yuan Zicheng, the eldest brother of Silk Head, from the south, the total strength is 420,000. After subtracting the troops in the enemy's territory, there are still 200,000 elite troops available to fight. about;"
"Of the more than 200,000, 70,000 are deployed in Xincheng, Guiduan, Xuantu, Lishan and other cities on the north bank of Daliang River. The rest are all on the south bank. If we add nearly 200,000 auxiliary troops, Counting the young men and women among the people, there are more than 400,000 men who can fight and can be used."
To be honest, it is quite normal that there are so many warriors in Liaodong. Because since the southern part of the Liaodong Plain named Mozhou in the Sui Dynasty was lost, Goguryeo not only sent elite troops to Liaodong one after another, but also mobilized a large number of young men to build cities and walls. 【Note】
When Gao Yuan and His Highness Wen Wu heard the last "more than four hundred thousand", their tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed.
Glancing at Gao Yuan, who was slowly recovering, Yuan Ziyou emphasized again: "Your Majesty, things will change without further delay. Our country should gather its troops and civilians as soon as possible. If the troops and civilians in the cities north of Daliang River are defeated one by one by the Sui army on land, Our country's available troops will be stretched thin.
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Yuan Ziyou's younger brother Yuan Zicheng immediately came out and agreed: "As long as the army and the people are here, the lost land can be regained slowly. If the army and the people fall into the enemy's hands, what we will lose in the future will , there will be more and more.”
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"The general seconded the proposal!"
"The general seconded the proposal!"
"..."
"If you save the land and lose the people, everyone and the land will be lost; if you save the people and lose the land, everyone and the land will survive." This warning saying was said by a great man, and naturally does not exist in this era; but the truth contained in it is understood by everyone who has entered the center. .
After all, population means everything these days. Population means soldiers, food, and taxes. Therefore, no matter which country or tribe it is, population is a top priority.
Compared with population, land and other things are in an unimportant position.
Gao Yuan turned around and looked at Bing Bi Jing Yuan Zi You, with a trace of undetectable disgust and resentment flashing in his eyes.
When he conquered the Sui Dynasty in the 18th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign, it was this person who was deliberately passive and slack, and deliberately allowed the northern forces to obey and disobey, which made him unable to follow up and lost to Wei Chong. In the end, he had to retreat miserably and suffered a huge loss of face. , the result of great loss of face.
Last time, he also marched against Sumo Mohe and Khitan without authorization, which provoked Yang Ji's revenge, causing Goguryeo to lose hundreds of thousands of troops and Mozhou. And every time he saw him, Gao Yuan would unconsciously think of Eulji Mundeok who was killed by him. Comparing the two, Yuan Ziyu was naturally even more unbearable.
However, what made him feel helpless and troublesome was that the northern group headed by the Yuan family was in full swing, and they had a vague intention of competing with him and ruling across the river. What's more important is that Gao Yuan has no one to use except the northern generals headed by Yuan Ziyou and Yuan Zicheng.
After enduring it for a long time, Gao Yuan put on a solemn face and said: "The advice given to Lu to preserve his strength is indeed the best policy. But I think our army will not be able to fight even if there are dangers in the Liao River and the Daliang River. The Sui Dynasty, which dominated the world, what do you think of Lu?"
Yuan Ziyou was stunned for a moment, vaguely thinking of something in his mind, but he still asked in a solemn voice: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my ignorance. I really don't know your Majesty's intention?"
"Da Duilu, what I mean is that we don't want Liaodong. It's best for us to take advantage of the time when the Sui army has not yet entered the country in large numbers, and move all the troops, civilians, and materials as quickly as possible to the south of Gaimu City and Anshi City. Then, we can use these two cities to compete with the Sui army." Gao Yuan said: "In this way, our army will have very few places to defend, and it can also defend against the Sui army that is likely to come from the sea."
As soon as these words came out, the palace hall was in an uproar. The Yuan clan's civil and military factions opposed it.
Although the Yuan brothers didn't speak, their faces were extremely ugly.
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[Note: I read a lot of information, historical materials, and papers. Historians all said that Goguryeo had more than 600,000 combatable men, so I used this data above, but many readers thought it was impossible.
Spurred by the "impossibility" of these readers, I read the information carefully. Finally, I found that the strength of Goguryeo during the Sui Dynasty was even more terrifying, because the more than 600,000 I mentioned was the data when Li Shimin launched the War of Goguryeo, not the data during the Sui Dynasty.
】
I can't find out how long it was during the Sui Dynasty. However, although the two wars launched by Yang Guang ended in failure, Goguryeo also paid a heavy price, so Goguryeo should have more than 60 capable men during the Sui Dynasty. Ten thousand more would be right. 】
