Just as Zhao Shixun's unit won the battle, Li Nian's unit also gained a lot.
Across the Xu River and heading northeast, you will find Gaimayuan in Goguryeo, which was also the junction of Xuantu County and Lintun County in the Han Dynasty. Going further north, across the Yalu River, is the location of Xuantu County in the Han Dynasty.
Later it was renamed Liaodong County.
Roughly from the Xu River to the Han River basin, it was the Zhenfan County in the Han Dynasty.
These were what people later called the Four Han Counties, covering an area of thousands of miles from the northeast of Youzhou, to the sea in the east, and to the northern part of the Liaodong Peninsula in the south.
During the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains regime had a vast territory, as can be seen in the Northeast.
It's just that the actual situation is different. Although the former Han Dynasty established county administrations in these places, there were still worries about management being beyond the reach of the government.
Because it is far away from the Central Plains, with many ethnic groups and impassable roads, the former Han Dynasty nominally had the right to rule here, and even during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it still retained influence here.
However, during those long years, the relationship between the four counties and the Central Plains has always been inseparable, including Khitan, Mohe, Fuyu, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, Turk, Huiqi, Woju, and even Baekje in the southern part of the peninsula.
Silla and other races took turns on the stage.
It's like you sing and I come on stage, amidst the white mountains and black waters, making various efforts for the rise of my tribe.
Because there were too many and too chaotic, people in the Han Dynasty collectively called these northeastern tribes Donghu.
The Central Plains Dynasty was also very annoyed by these foreign tribes. Ever since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to destroy the Wei regime entrenched in the northern part of the peninsula, divided the counties and counties, and claimed control of Liaodong, one or several thorns would appear every few years.
, basically a state of constant failure.
This is roughly the case. For a long time, Liaodong and the peninsula have been enclaves of the Central Plains Dynasty, which are obviously different from the counties of the Central Plains.
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Now that the Tang army is coming again, it is still open to question whether this situation can be changed. Unlike the previous dynasty, the Tang army first landed on the south side of the peninsula, with the intention of annexing the entire peninsula.
However, Li Nian's army was different from the Tang army in the west. They did not build so many camps and brought a lot of food and grass with the army, and their march was relatively slow.
Their top priority was to find a place for the army to stay, and finding traces of the enemy was the next best thing.
Of course, this location has been chosen before.
Hundreds of years ago, Gaima was originally the habitat of the Hui tribe.
Speaking of the tribe of Gui, we can only say that it is widely distributed.
The Uryu are a very ancient indigenous people in the Northeast. They originally lived in the Liaodong area. Because they were oppressed by the Huns, some of them moved south to the peninsula. It is said that they established the Gai Kingdom and the Ma Kingdom, so people later called this place.
For Gaima Yuan.
Regardless of whether they were ruled by the former Han Dynasty or later conquered by the Goguryeo people, well, many people say that the Fuyu people, the main ethnic group of Goguryeo, are actually a branch of the Gui clan. In this way, this nation is actually another ethnic group.
Just blended together.
Anyway, similar to the Yanhuang tribe, the Huixin tribe has many branches, and later generations have been unable to study it. However, unlike the descendants of the Yanhuang tribe, the descendants of the Huixin tribe do not care where they originated from, and the name Huixin has been around for a long time.
It has become history, and today's Goguryeo people no longer mention it, and the nobles and common people will not admit that they are the descendants of Gu Gu.
Only when talking about the origin of the Goguryeo Kingdom, people will briefly mention that King Buyeo went south to conquer Urgyeon.
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The ethnic attributes of the people living in Gaimayuan today are still very mixed, but because Goguryeo has been a country for a long time, they can all be collectively called Goguryeo people.
Li Nian led his army to the north and chose to settle in the middle of Gaimayuan. There was a walled city built by the Goguryeo people called Pushi City.
I don’t know what the Goguryeo people thought. Anyway, after the Goguryeo people occupied the northern part of the peninsula, they did not build many cities. On the contrary, they built many cities in Liaodong. This may have something to do with the fact that the Fuyu people started in Liaodong? Who knows?
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Pushi City is said to be a city, but it is actually several villages connected together. It is located at the northwest foot of Langlin Mountain. To the north are Motian Ridge and Baektou Mountain, which are actually the remnants of Taihuang Mountain.
The Goguryeo people called it Gaimadaeshan, and the peninsula is part of Gaimayuan.
Pushi City is located in the mountainous and hilly area in the northeastern part of the peninsula. The city is mostly made of wood and stone. Unlike the cities in the Central Plains, it can only be said to be a village.
But its role is not small. Most of the various tribes or administrative regions in eastern Goguryeo and the western plains have to transit through Puseok City.
When Li Nian arrived with his army, in addition to looking for a place to stay, he also naturally wanted to cut off the chokepoint for the Goguryeo people to travel between east and west.
After Li Nian's troops arrived, they faced endless mountains and undulating hills. The terrain was so complex that it was impossible to reflect it on paper using today's map drawing methods.
Even if Li Nian and others were mentally prepared, they were unable to do anything when they arrived.
Li Nian knew that the enemy was hidden in the mountains, but no matter how elite the Tang army was and dared to fight, they would not be able to get into such deep mountains and old forests to tangle with the local indigenous people.
Li Nian followed Li Bi and Li Po to Liaodong as a battalion captain.
Now it is a return trip to the old place. The place where the 300,000-strong army was defeated was in the plain area to the west of Gaimayuan. The more than a thousand people who came from Mayi did not go so far, but wisely stopped at the Sa River.
Stopped.
When the army in front collapsed, they immediately followed Li Po into the mountains and forests...
Li Nian never wanted to think about what the situation was like in the mountains. Even if the indigenous hunters of Goguryeo wanted to wipe out the Sui army one by one in the mountains and forests, it would not be easy.
Li Po led them to fight with the enemy in the mountains and forests, slaughtering more than ten villages in the mountains, and killed countless enemies who were chasing them. Then they escaped from the encirclement and fled back to the north bank of the Yalu River.
No one can tell how many people died and how much blood was shed during this process, but everyone can say with certainty that it was a hellish journey. Once you have gone through it, you will never want to go through it again.
That kind of.
What left a deep impression on Li Nian was the terrifying enemies who were running around in the mountains and forests, setting traps, launching cold arrows, and appearing mysteriously.
Meeting those people on the plains is nothing, but in the mountains and forests... they have become the most difficult opponents.
Of course, what is even more terrifying is the person who led them to escape. No matter how cunning and fierce the enemy is, they will bow before him and kneel on the ground and call him grandpa. Therefore, when everyone is walking in hell, they still have to be careful.
Can laugh out loud.
Because His Majesty the Emperor has turned everyone into a part of the hell ghosts...
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The Goguryeo people's idea was also very clear. They just wanted the Tang army to enter the mountains and fight.
When he saw Pushi City that had been burned to the ground, Li Nian muttered silently, "The bastards haven't changed, they are still as cunning as ever..."
After that, tens of thousands of Tang troops stationed themselves at the Pushi City ruins and rebuilt a camp.
The Tang army in the west faced a siege, but here in the east it was a different scene, which tested the patience of the leaders.
The strategy of the Goguryeo people is not worth mentioning in Li Nian's opinion. The royal city of Goguryeo is right there. As long as Pyongyang City is conquered...
No matter how deep the Goguryeo people hide in the mountains, what can they do?
From a war to destroy the country, it has turned into suppressing bandits and quelling chaos. It's just a matter of seeing who can outlast whom.
Therefore, Li Nian was not in a hurry. He ordered people to build the camp and sent people out to investigate, making plans to stay here for a long time.
Just two days later, before the news of Zhao Shixun's victory in the battle had reached Li Nian's army, he had gained something.
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"There are only 40,000 people. If we cut off our retreat, we will become a lonely army. General Li must be careful."
"There are more than 200,000 troops behind us. It is not easy to cut off my retreat. Hey, General Xun and his troops all walk on four legs. Maybe they can run faster when in danger?"
"General Li can rest assured. Although the military orders given to me by the Commander-in-Chief are to act according to the situation, I have not the habit of abandoning my comrades and running away. Therefore, General Li must not panic when encountering the enemy. I will definitely be nearby. Just wait."
I can just lead my army to help."
"Hmph, if General Xun says so, why don't we change it? It's not like I haven't led a cavalry before..."
This was when Xun Xiang led three thousand cavalry and separated from Li Nian. The conversation between the two sounded a little angry. In fact, everyone had a hunch that this battle would not be easy to fight.
Especially since they had all been ordered by Li Jing to act independently without supervising each other. According to the military custom, Xun Xiang could only have a few words with the general Li Nian.
When they arrived at Pushi City, Xun Xiang, who had arrived here first, greeted Li Nian briefly and then led his army to continue north along the foothills of the mountain.
Until this day, the Tang Army in Pushi City.
"Under the command of Youyi Weifu in the Great Sui Dynasty, Lin Zhengde, the leading military commander, met with the general."
"Gao Hong, the honorary guard under the Zuo Imperial Guard Mansion of the Great Sui Dynasty, meets the general."
The two gray-haired men beat their chests and then fell down in front of Li Nian. Gao Hong burst into tears and cried bitterly.
Needless to say, this is obviously the defeated Sui army that was left on the peninsula when the Sui army retreated.
The 300,000 Sui troops who were routed thousands of miles back then were mostly under the command of the Left and Right Yiwei. Yu Wenshu was the general of the Zuo Yiwei, and Yu Zhongwen was the general of the right Yiwei.
These two generals were defeated in a single battle and fled back hundreds of miles with their cronies, leaving the army behind. It can be said that their reputation was ruined for a lifetime.
As for the more than 300,000-strong army, countless people died in battle, and even more died from freezing and starvation. The only remaining people who could escape back to the Sui Dynasty were more than 2,000 people led by Li Po, and the rest stayed in the mountains and forests of Goguryeo.