If the loss of Goguryeo's first and second lines of defense can be said to be caused by Yang Ji's despicableness, then the breakdown of the third line of defense is entirely Goguryeo's own responsibility. If we further subdivide the responsibilities to individuals, the responsible persons are undoubtedly Gao Yuan and Yuan Ziyou. It was the power struggle between the North and the South led by these two that caused everything before us.
First, Yuan Ziyou put the interests of the northern faction first. He would avoid the northern faction losing the Liaodong Plain, which is like the "Longxing Land". He also saw that Goguryeo's strength still existed, and there were Daliang River in the north and Liao River in the west, so he was lucky. ; Negated Gao Yuan's good strategy of abandoning Liaodong and relying on the Qianshan Mountains, Gaimou City and Anshi City to resist the enemy.
Gao Yuan was also lucky. He knew that the land in the south had been allocated. Once the people of Liaodong moved south in large numbers, the few remaining official lands would not be enough. If the land is divided, the majority of the northern people who cannot get the land will be very dissatisfied and gather in groups to make trouble; if not divided, more people will be dissatisfied and make trouble.
In this case, the only way is to take most of the land back into the hands of the state and then distribute it. However, this method will definitely offend the interests of those with vested interests, causing the Gao family to completely lose the hearts of southerners and fall into the dilemma of betrayal and separation.
When Yuan Ziyou and Yuan Zicheng brought this issue to the palace meeting and asked Gao Yuan if he wanted to take back all the fields and redistribute them, the southern civil and military forces who originally supported Gao Yuan's retreat retreated. Gao Yuan was speechless and at a loss for words.
In addition, Yuan Ziyou, Yuan Zicheng and other northern factions vowed that they could defend and continue to defend, so Gao Yuan no longer mentioned giving up Liaodong and retreating to the south. Later, Gao Yuan was restrained by the situation, and at the same time, in order to win the hearts of the northern soldiers and civilians, he spent a lot of money to buy back prisoners and wounded soldiers. Although this move was praised by many, it was also regarded by many as a loss of power, humiliation of the country, and loss of national dignity. And backbone. Thinking that the Sui army's reinforcements were far north of the Xiaoliao River, he ignored Yuan Ziyou's dissuasion and ordered Gao Sengluo and Gao Dayang to send troops.
However, not only did they destroy both armies, the Sui army also took advantage of the situation and marched to the south of Daliang River, capturing Baiyan and other cities. At that time, their forces were scattered and their available troops were very few, so they were unable to resist the Sui army. By the time they gathered their troops, the Sui army had firmly established itself within the third line of defense.
This was what made Yuan Ziyou angry, but he also knew that he was in the wrong. If they hadn't opposed abandoning Liaodong, Gao Yuan wouldn't have even had a chance of defeat.
There are evil causes first and then there are evil consequences, right?
In the side hall on one side of the palace, Yuan Ziyou saluted Gao Yuan respectfully and said, "I see you, Your Majesty!"
Gao Yuan stretched out his hand and said, "No need to be polite to Lu, please sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yuan Ziyou sat down and bowed slightly to Gao Huidun and Song Zun, who were silently saluting. Then he said to Gao Yuan: "Your Majesty, I came to the palace to see you. I want to ask for advice. If I am rude, I hope your Majesty will forgive you!"
"If you have anything to say to Lu, please tell me!" Gao Yuan was mediocre in ability, but he was not a brainless fool. He knew that he had to bear a huge responsibility for the occurrence of this war and for it to reach this point. At this time of life and death, The North and the South must unite sincerely and avoid internal strife. Only in this way can we see a glimmer of victory. Yuan Ziyou, who was so angry that he had not shown up for several days, finally improved a lot and seemed very polite.
"Your Majesty, our country has been fighting against the Sui Dynasty, and the situation has become increasingly unfavorable to us. If all the Sui armies are connected together, our army will have no way to retreat. But what is even more worrying is the Sui army in western Liaoning. If they If we continue to bypass the Liao River and come down from the north, our situation will be even worse. I feel very troubled about this. But I wonder if your Majesty has any instructions?" Yuan Ziyou's thoughts at this time were not the same as Gao Yuan's. However, he was only thinking about how to defend himself against the enemy, and his purpose was also to hope for the good of Goguryeo. He felt that Gao Yuan also wanted to be honest and honest, and silently suppressed the anger in his heart. However, he was unavoidable and seemed to be more cautious in his words.
These words were reserved, left room for speech, and gave Gao Yuan enough face. However, the problem itself is very acute, and it is also something that Gao Yuan and Yuan Ziyou cannot avoid.
"I am also very aware of this problem. The main reason is that we lost too many troops before, but the Sui army only had tens of thousands of troops, and the losses were not large. When the Sui army continued to march towards Liaodong, our military strength was somewhat stretched. Nowadays, we have mobilized and mobilized in time. Although there are still more than 200,000 troops of varying quality, after being divided into various places, there are still very few available troops." Gao Yuan sighed and said: "I am now worried that the Sui army will conquer At a certain important point, there is a dilemma with no troops to support."
Yuan Ziyou nodded silently. Their Goguryeo army had many generals, strong soldiers and horses, and the war took place on the Liaodong Plain that they had occupied for hundreds of years. Regardless of the favorable weather, location, or people, they had the upper hand. However, they were killed by the outnumbered Sui army in a short period of time and suffered heavy losses, losing a large area of land. However, the 60,000 elite soldiers of the Sui Dynasty fought from Xifeng Camp to Changchun Tun, and then from Changchun Tun to Changgong Ridge. They hardly encountered a decent opponent, which exposed Goguryeo's improper deployment.
In addition, they did not anticipate enough in advance, did not prepare for large-scale battles, and did not carry out large-scale mobilization. Therefore, they clearly had more people and more soldiers. However, due to problems such as the dispersion of troops, the Sui Dynasty, which was prepared and had fewer troops, was defeated. The army was defeated steadily.
Looking back now, I find that except for those key nodes, the troops they deployed on the three lines of defense were very few in other places. When these key nodes were broken one by one, there was almost no need for the Sui army to go to other places. After the war, the defenders surrendered the city.
After a while, Yuan Ziyou said in a deep voice: "When the two armies are fighting, victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists. Of course I hope that our army can defeat the Sui army and recover the lost ground. But now, we are not only facing the same problem as before, but also The territory, military morale, morale, and the eliteness of the soldiers are not as good as before. Even Hengshan, an important area of grain, grass and supplies, was taken away. On the other hand, the Sui army fought more and more, and the more they fought, the stronger they became. If you don't pay attention to the problems mentioned by the king, the consequences will inevitably be greater. Very serious."
Finally, Yuan Ziyou asked: "With the current situation, where does your Majesty think Yang Ji's next target will be?"
Gao Yuan pondered for a long time and said: "I think Yang Ji's next target is Liaodong City. After all, we are all here. As long as we are all here, it will be easy to handle. What do you think of Lu?"
"My views are different from those of the king!" Yuan Ziyou slowly shook his head: "I believe that Liaodong City and Liaodong Plain are not the focus. The focus should be on the Liaodong Peninsula, Qianshan Mountains and Yalu River."
Gao Yuan's expression changed drastically. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, "Why do you see it?"
"I have three reasons." Yuan Ziyou introduced one by one: "The first is Yang Ji's military style. This man uses his troops like a god, leaving no trace to escape, but no matter how he leaves no trace to escape, there are rules. I After careful analysis of the battles he fought in the past, he found that each time he used a thunderous force to annihilate the enemy's vital forces first, and then used a certain point as a bait to lure the enemy to come for reinforcements, while he waited for work to annihilate the reinforcements. , and finally the key points that lure the enemy are pulled out in one fell swoop and decided in one battle, and then the dangerous cities and fortresses cannot play their due role because they have no troops to defend them."
After introducing Yang Ji's style, Yuan Ziyou reviewed the topography of Goguryeo in his mind, and then said: "The area from the Qianshan Mountains to Yalu River is very steep, and it is also a natural barrier for us to defend the Central Plains dynasty; all dynasties The sages of the past dynasties were afraid that after the fall of Liaodong, our country would be unable to defend it, so they built one or two hundred cities and fortresses in this area. If each city has sufficient troops and preparations, even if there are millions of soldiers in the Central Plains, they will not be able to defeat these cities and fortresses. The only option is to return to Liaodong. Yang Ji doesn't know about this area, so how can he compete with us there?"
"So by combining the two, I believe that Yang Ji will use Liaodong City and our Goguryeo monarchs and ministers as bait this time to lure the southern armies to come to help, so that he can take down the area from Qianshan Mountains to Yalu River without bloodshed, and from there At present, this is the situation.”
"Secondly, we have transferred the troops from the Liaodong Peninsula, Qianshan Mountains to Yalu River to Liaodong. They are in a state of empty troops. It will be easy to capture them at this time..."
"Da Dui Lu, please forgive me for the offence!" Gao Huidun interrupted Yuan Ziyou, bowed deeply to him, and then said: "I agree with what you said, but with the current strength of both the enemy and ours, I The army still has the upper hand. No matter how bold Yang Ji is, he is not so bold as to completely ignore the army of more than 200,000, right? "
"This is a good question, and it also involves the third reason I want to talk about!" Yuan Ziyou let out a long sigh and said something that made people break out in a cold sweat: "Yang Ji In the Sui Dynasty, he was just a general, and the real leader was Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. We did not include Yang Guang's army in the war because of his northern tour, but now Yang Guang has canceled it in order to fight this war well. Patrol the north and withdraw to Luoyang. Seeing Yang Ji's victory, he will definitely send troops to help and defeat our country in one fell swoop."
Yuan Ziyou had come closer to what he wanted to express step by step. He looked at Gao Yuan and said: "Your Majesty, judging from the actions of building the Northern Navy before the Sui Dynasty, the reinforcements are most likely to be the Northern Navy; given the encounter with Zhou Luohu Judging from the lessons of the storm, as well as the urgency of the war and lack of time, I believe that the reinforcements must refer to the Liaodong Peninsula, which is short of troops, short and safe, and not to Pyongyang, the capital of our country."
"I understand what Da Duilu means!" A sinister light flashed in Gao Yuan's eyes, and he pretended to be calm and asked: "Dai Duilu means giving up Liaodong in time, retreating to the Liaodong Peninsula, and then relying on natural dangers to defend the enemy? "
Yuan Ziyou understood Gao Yuan's dissatisfaction, but still nodded: "For the current plan, this is all we can do. Other than that, there is no other way. I believe that everything should be done to preserve strength."
Although Gao Yuan guessed the answer correctly, he was so depressed that he almost vomited blood. If he had known this, why would he have to stick to Liaodong in the first place? If we had known this, why did we object in the first place? But he also knew that now was not the time for accountability and support, and retreating was the only way out, otherwise, he would inevitably fall into the hands of the enemy.
Gao Yuan finally calmed himself down, and then said in a calmer tone: "The 'three reasons' that Da said to Lu are reasonable and reasonable, and they also touch on his key points, but it is not easy to retreat now! "
"The fall of Gaimou City and Anshi City completely interrupted the 'Qianshan-Bisha River' road and the Liaodong Bay Coastal Road. The entrances of the 'Qianshan-Dayang River' road and the 'Qianshan-Wugujiang River' road were skyscrapered Although the ridge is still in the hands of our army, the army cannot march. What do you think we should do? How to retreat?"
By the end, Gao Yuan was already a little angry.
Yuan Ziyou was silent for a long time, saluted Gao Yuan, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, the cities of Muyang and Bisha in the Liaodong Peninsula, as well as Gaimu City and Anshi City were deceived by the prince (Gao Jianwu). If not, , Yang Lun wouldn’t take it so quickly.”
"This..." Gao Yuan was speechless. Although he hated his younger brother Gao Jianwu deeply, Gao Jianwu was still a member of the Gao family, and he still used his status as a royal member of the Gao family to defraud those key cities. Gao Yuan and the Gao family must be held responsible for the heinous crime he committed.
Yuan Ziyou mentioned this not to stimulate and ridicule Gao Yuan, but because he did not want to waste time in meaningless disputes and accusations, so he used Gao Jianwu to tease Gao Yuan. At this time, Gao Yuan was stunned and speechless. Word.
His goal had been achieved. It was inevitable that Gao Yuan would come to his senses to argue again or to hold himself accountable. He quickly stated his plan: "The Sui army on the South Road only has about 30,000 people, and the two cities of Gaimu and Anshi have 5,000 each." , there are only five thousand in the entire Liaodong Peninsula, which takes away half of Yang Lun's troops. Now there are still five thousand in Lishan City, and the other ten thousand are wandering outside."
"We have 60,000 troops in Jian'an City, and we have the advantage of city defense. We can send out at least 50,000 troops to fight outside the city. I plan to divide these 50,000 people into two groups, and fight and contain the cruising along the way. The 10,000 Sui troops outside the army attacked Anshi City all the way. In order to prevent accidents or failure to capture Anshi City, I suggested that the king let the Wugu City defenders go north along the "Qianshan-Bisha River" road and attack Anshi City from behind. Shicheng and Gaimou City;”
"At the same time, order the defenders of Bobei City to go north along the coast to recover the Liaodong Peninsula before the Sui Dynasty navy arrives, and then be responsible for defending the Sui Dynasty navy."
Having said this, I bowed deeply to Gao Yuan.
Gao Yuan thought about it carefully and found that this was indeed a good strategy. He glanced at the respectful Yuan Ziyou, suppressed the urge to scold his mother, and said with a smile: "Da Dui Lu's method is good, but here I A few more questions.”
Yuanziyou said in a solemn voice: "Your Majesty, please speak!"
Gao Yuan said slowly: "Before, we did not move the defenders of Bobi City and Wugu City because Bobi City is north of the mouth of the Yalu River. The defenders wanted to prevent the Sui Navy from sailing along the Yalu River. The water goes north and goes straight to the hinterland; secondly, once the war in the north is unfavorable, the defenders can take over the various city defenses in the Qianshan Mountains and the Liaodong Peninsula, ensuring a smooth retreat for us and at the same time stopping the Sui army's momentum to move south."
After talking about the mission of the defenders of the second city, Gao Yuan asked Yuan Ziyou: "Da Duilu, if we mobilize the defenders now, the Qianshan Mountains and the Liaodong Peninsula will really have no troops to defend. If the Sui Dynasty Navy It’s not the attack on the Liaodong Peninsula, but on the Yalu River, what should we do?”
Yuanzi came well-prepared and naturally considered this issue. Hearing this, he immediately clasped his fists and said: "Bobi City is located downstream of the Yalu River. Its city defense can be handed over to the upper reaches of the inner city defenders. The inner city defenders can go south by boat. , will arrive soon.”
"Compared with the defenders of Bobei City, the main responsibility of the defenders of Wugu City is to prevent the Sui army from conquering Lishan City and Lianshanguan from passing through Qianshan-Dayang River and Qianshan-Wugu River. ' March, but as long as General Go Hye-jung and 10,000 defenders firmly guard Yesanseong and Mocheoling, this problem will no longer exist. However, in order to prevent this from happening, the lord of Oguseong City Eulji Indeok can recruit young men as soldiers. , seize the time to train the way of defense."
The huge pressure had already made Gao Yuan exhausted mentally and physically. He was helpless and had no idea what to do. At this moment, when he heard that Yuan Ziyou had thought everything through, he thought for a moment and said, "Well, leave everything to Da Dui Lu, Da Dui." Lu, let’s arrange it this way!”
"Here! I obey!" Yuan Ziyou clasped his fists in response and left with peace of mind.
Gao Yuan was silent for a long time, then took out a command arrow and handed it to Song Zun, saying: "I have given an order to Yuan Zicheng, the eldest brother in silk clothes, to march eastward and take charge of the Daliang water defense line. In addition, I will give you 10,000 elite soldiers. You have the order to mobilize troops and go back to assist Yang Wanchun as soon as possible!"
"Here!" Songzun got the answer he wanted, and immediately saluted and left: "I will leave at the end!"
In the side hall, only Gao Huidun was left. Gao Yuan glanced at him and told him: "With this arrangement, Lishan City and Motian Ridge have become our vital lifeblood. You must quickly pass on my order and order Gao Huizhen to defend Lishan City with all his strength without any slack." .”
"Here!" Gao Huidun saluted and left in a hurry.
