"This King of Goguryeo is really naughty. He compares himself to a villain and wants our Tang Dynasty to be the King of Wu!"
"Don't mention it, the King of Goguryeo has always been a puppet, and the war with us was basically done by Quan Gaisuwen and his son. He is a villain, Quan Gaisuwen and his son are King Zhou, and our Tang Dynasty is King Wu, and the title He Yu Song, don’t you think this is a match?”
"Yes! The King of Goguryeo's plan is really perfect. He must have put a lot of thought into it!"
The laughter of his subordinates was heard in his ears, and Wang Wenzuo smiled nonchalantly. He would not seek political advice if he was not in his position. Although the monkey trick played by the King of Goguryeo was beautiful, the host and guest were not him. After all, everyone knew that in the end, he could It was not him who decided the fate of him and the country of Goguryeo, but the British Duke and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. At best, he could only be asked to ask a question as an eyewitness when the decision was being made. Since he has no decision-making power, it will naturally be easy. The only thing Wang Wenzuo needs to care about now is how to let the army enter the city safely, and then defend it until Li Ji's army arrives, then everything will be fine.
Huh!
"What's wrong? Hongdu, are the thieves playing any tricks?" Wang Wenzuo asked. Cui Hongdu was famous for his archery skills and good eyesight among his earliest group of robes. He must have discovered something was wrong.
"Sanlang, wait a moment, let me take another look!" Cui Hongdu rubbed his eyes again, looked carefully, and finally asked in an uncertain tone: "It seems that the King of Goguryeo and the envoy who came yesterday are the same person! "
"Ah?" Wang Wenzuo also took a closer look after hearing this. Sure enough, the naked King of Goguryeo was very similar to the tall Gao Qiang yesterday. As the other person got closer, Wang Wenzuo became more and more sure that he was indeed the same person. .
"What kind of trick is this? Could it be that the King of Goguryeo refused to come by himself and let yesterday's envoy pretend to be himself?"
"How is this possible? We don't know what the King of Goguryeo looks like. Even if he doesn't want to come and wants someone to impersonate him, he can just find someone. Why use someone who has met us before?"
"That's right, we have already come this far, why do we need to play this little trick again? There must be another mystery!"
"I know!" Yiji Lianbod smiled and said: "The Gao Qiang who came yesterday is the King of Goguryeo. He can't trust others on this matter, so he pretended to be an envoy and came to talk to our army camp in person!"
"This guy is so bold!" Cui Hongdu was surprised: "Aren't he afraid that we will find out and detain him in the camp and prevent him from going back?"
Yijilianbode said: "He has been used as a puppet by Izumi Gesuwen all these years. He must be reclusive. Even the Goguryeo people have not seen much of his appearance, let alone us! Even if there are some risks, it is better than being deceived by his subordinates. Still much stronger!”
After listening to Igilian Bode's speculation, Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but nod secretly. The first important thing for ministers to usurp power in ancient times was to isolate China and foreign countries, isolate the emperor from the outside world, and minimize the emperor's contact with other people, so that they could monopolize power. , this is the same at all times and in all countries, and Quan Gaisuwen and his son are no exception. I don’t even know the Goguryeo people, let alone the Tang people. Taking a step back, even if the King of Goguryeo was recognized by the Tang army and captured, his life would not be in danger. In fact, the situation after he dedicated the city would be similar. On the contrary, if you stay in the city and send people to contact the Tang army, the risk of various accidents is much greater. (At this time, Gao Zang had no subordinates he could trust.)
"What a Gao Qiang? He is indeed a good character!" Looking at the King of Goguryeo getting closer and closer, Wang Wenzuo suddenly felt a strange impulse in his heart, wanting to finish the scene with this opponent.
At this time, Gao Zang was only twenty or thirty steps away from Wang Wenzuo's horse. He knelt down, holding the sheep and thatch with his hands tied behind his back, and walked forward on his knees. He stopped when he was only six or seven steps away from Wang Wenzuo. The voice said: "Gao Zang, the unscrupulous boy from the east of the sea, has offended the Kingdom of the Kingdom of Heaven, and has suffered disasters from heaven. The boy is frightened, and as a prisoner of crime, he has his flesh tied to his back, lying down beside the road, and offers a talisman to the General of the Kingdom of the Kingdom of Heaven, where he will live and die. , but begging not to hurt the people in the city, and making a wish to the ancestral mausoleum is enough!"
"Everyone!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I heard that as a gentleman, you don't hurt the injured, and you don't capture the gray-haired old man. Although I dare not compare with the gentlemen and sages of ancient times, I also don't want to kill the insulted people. People come here to show off their martial arts. Besides, there is nothing worse for a general than to kill someone who has surrendered. Bai Qi and Li Guang are both good generals, but they did not end well. We must stop them!" After that, he jumped off the horse, He drew his sword and cut the rope that tied Gao Zang's arms behind his back. He took off his cloak and put it on Gao Zang's body. He said loudly: "The three armies are listening to the order. I have been ordered by the emperor to attack Buchen. Now that Goguryeo has surrendered, if there is any Anyone who kills someone recklessly should be beheaded!"
After Wang Wenzuo's words, the three armies were solemn and silent. Wang Wenzuo turned to Gao Zang and smiled softly: "No wonder I thought that the messenger was extraordinary. It turned out that it was King Gao who came, but I can't recognize Mount Tai." !”
"I don't dare to be called a general!" Gao Zang bowed and said: "The situation is forcing me, and I have no choice but to ask for your forgiveness, general!"
"I know!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will order each army to guard the four city walls and not enter the city. I will only let my soldiers guard the arsenal and other key places. This should not harm the people in the city. , but the generals under my command have worked hard after hundreds of battles, so they must be rewarded with some gold and silk!"
"That's easy to say! The treasury in Pyongyang city is quite full. Whatever the general needs, we will send it immediately!" Gao Zang heard Wang Wenzuo say that the Tang army only controlled the city gate and did not go down to the city. He was relieved. He was most worried about the Tang army's advance. After that, the city will be burned, killed, looted, and caused riots. No matter what happens in the end, he, the King of Goguryeo who surrendered at Kaesong, will become the object of hatred of the Pyongyang army and people. In this way, his hope of gaining a county and continuing to guard the ancestral temple of the former king will be shattered. . If the Tang army only stayed near the city walls and gates, they would naturally not enter residential areas, let alone conflict with residents. As for using money to work for the army, this is the right thing to do. Anyway, the savings in the treasury are not yours. It is best to spend money to eliminate disasters!
"This is the best!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "There is another thing. As far as I know, your country's army has a proton law. Those who are generals outside must stay in Pyongyang with their wives and children as hostages. Please send these generals to Pyongyang as hostages. The whole family is gathered in one place and guarded by my people!”
"The general is considering that Xiao Wang will obey orders!"
"Also, I hope that Your Majesty can write down the matter of surrendering and dedicating the city into a message, and distribute it as soon as possible, so as to avoid unnecessary bloodshed!"
"As you command!"
"If there are any Sui prisoners in the city who were left behind by Emperor Sui Yang when he conquered Liao, as well as their wives, young or old, please release them all and send them to the military camp!"
"As you command!"
Wang Wenzuo made five or six more requests, and Gao Zang obeyed them one by one. Wang Wenzuo saw his respectful submission and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the emperor of our country is magnanimous and has a universal mind. Your obedience will not harm anyone." Life, just wait with peace of mind!"
The Tang army entered the city in an extremely strange atmosphere. No matter how obedient and respectful the King of Goguryeo had been before, the Tang army was very nervous from top to bottom when entering the city. This Pyongyang city had passed through Goguryeo for hundreds of years. After years of construction and repair, it has become a very complete military fortress. There are complete facilities such as urns, horse faces, and hanging doors at the four gates. The slightest change will bring disaster to the attackers. Fortunately, the Goguryeo people did not resist. By noon, the Tang army had controlled key locations in the city such as the four gates, the arsenal, and the palace.
"Cui Hongdu, Shen Faseng, and Hei Te Changzhi, you three will each lead a thousand people to guard the east, west, and north gates. I will guard the south gate, and the main camp will also be at the south gate! Li Bo, take the government officials to guard the arsenal. This time, the wives, children, and families of the Goguryeo generals will also be escorted to the arsenal, and they will be guarded by you so that nothing can go wrong, do you understand?"
"As you command!"
"As you command!"
"As you command!"
The four people responded in unison, and then Wang Wenzuo said to Ijilianbod: "Immediately copy forty copies of the message sent by Gao Zang, and then distribute it through the Goguryeo people's inns as quickly as possible. Also, find A strong clipper ship will transport the situation and messages here to Datang by sea, and then send them to the British Crown Prince as soon as possible!"
"As you command!"
After issuing the order, Wang Wenzuo took a long breath and said to Cao Wenzong, who had been standing beside him: "Now that I have done everything that needs to be done, the rest will be decided by God!"
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The helmet's face protector limited his field of vision. Quanyuan Nanjian could only see straight ahead. When he turned his head, he could see the dark silhouette of the cavalry crossing the ridge on the right. They were the Mohe cavalry chasing the Silla people.
Victory, a brilliant victory!
In Quanyuan Nanjian's memory, the last time he won such a glorious victory was when his father personally led the troops to defeat the Tang army a few years ago. No, that victory could not be compared with this one. There were at least 10,000 Silla corpses. On the battlefield, there will be no fewer prisoners than the dead, and there are countless armored weapons and equipment left on the battlefield. The only drawback is that he cannot lead the troops to pursue, attack the city, and draw the fertile banks of the Han River into In the bag. When he thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"Da Molizhi! Now we can turn around and deal with the ten thousand Tang army!" Gao Jishe's voice came from behind. Quanyuan Nanjian nodded feebly. Of course he knew that Gao Jishe was right, but he I didn’t think that the Tang Army would be stupid enough to stay where they were. The news that the Silla people were defeated could not be hidden for too long. When the Tang Army learned about it, the only option was to retreat as soon as possible!
"If you give me a cavalry, three thousand cavalry is enough. I can pursue this Tang army!" Gaojishe seemed to have guessed Quanyuan Nanjian's thoughts: "You can return to Pyongyang immediately!"
This time Gaojishe scratched Quanyuan Nanjian's itch. Compared with chasing the 10,000 Tang troops, he was more concerned about the safety of Pyongyang City, which was related to the life and death of his family and Goguryeo. He happily looked at this young general who liked him: "Just do as you say! But you have to remember, don't chase the poor!"
"My subordinate understands!"
Like an overfed beast, the Goguryeo army's actions became quite sluggish after their victory. They only finished cleaning the battlefield on the afternoon of the second day and embarked on their way back to Pyongyang on the morning of the third day. The marching speed on the way back was only twenty miles a day. After all, there were many wounded in the army, and the soldiers' baggage train was full of trophies. It was impossible for such an army to march at high speed.
On the evening of the third day, the forward of the Goguryeo army arrived at Chengshan Fort, an important stronghold near the road leading to Pyongyang. There, Quanyuan Nanjian received the shocking news-Pyongyang City had fallen into the hands of the Tang army.
"This is impossible!"
The bottle on the table flew out and hit the bronze mirror. The bronze mirror was stained with wine and twisted Da Molizhi's face into a strange look. The general took a careful step back and distanced himself from Quan Yuan Nanjian. He did not want to become a victim of the furious man who was driven into the abyss.
"When I left the city, there were still 20,000 defenders in the city, which was twice as many as the Tang army. Not to mention the solid walls of Pyongyang City, even the 100,000 Tang army could not attack it in a short time! This must be a rumor!"
"According to what the messenger said!" The town general said slowly: "The Tang army did not attack the city. When the Tang army arrived at the city, a coup occurred in Pyongyang. The victor opened the city gate to the Tang army, so that the Tang army entered the city. .”
"There was a coup in Pyongyang? The winner opened the city gates?"
In fact, Izumi Yuannanjian is not a fool. At least he has a mind above the national level and immediately analyzed the correct answer from the known information. Despair immediately took over his heart: "It's Gao Zang, it's the king! Could it be him?"
The general did not speak, but silence itself was an answer. Quanyuan Nanjian covered his face, let out a desperate cry, and fell to the sky.
"Da Molizhi, Da Molizhi! Get up, get up! Stop crying. What's the use of crying at this time? Come up with an idea!" The town general helped Quanyuan Nanjian up from the ground and comforted him. Said: "You still have an army of 50,000 to 60,000 men! The morale of the soldiers is also very strong. If we fight with all our strength, there is still hope of a comeback!"
"It's impossible!" Quanyuan Nanjian sobbed: "The families and children of my generals are all hostages in Pyongyang City. When the time comes, the king only needs to push these hostages to the city wall, and my army will collapse without a fight! Not to mention there are only 50,000 or 60,000 people, even if there are 100,000 people, what’s the use?”
"What about the general? He also has 100,000 people in Wugu Mountain City!"
"Isn't that different?" Quanyuan Nanjian said with a bitter smile: "The wives of his subordinates are also in Pyongyang City. Who will fight to the death for him? Besides, the Tang Army on the northern front will not stand still once they find out. It's over, everything It’s all over!”
"Then you can't just lie on the ground and cry, can you?" The general advised: "Since we can't fight, we have no choice but to escape. Now you can take advantage of the fact that no one knows that Pyongyang has fallen, and escape quickly!"
(End of chapter)
