There were torches everywhere illuminating the surroundings. The ground was full of corpses, weapons and arrows. The ground was dyed red. A pungent smell of blood filled the air, and even the cold wind could not dissipate it.
Qin Huaidao hurriedly entered the city, and walked into the city under the protection of a group of Yulin guards. He walked along the main street. In front of him was Li Yixie leading 3,000 people to clear the way. Since those coming from outside the city were not enemies, there was no need to stay behind the city wall to waste troops.
Along the way, there were more corpses in front of them. Most of them were shot by arrows. There were also some of his own people. The shouting had stopped. Qin Huaidao was not sure what happened. He walked very fast. He was a little anxious and had some doubts in his heart.
, if it was something bad, why didn’t the troops collapse?
Not long after, Yuchi Baoqi hurried over and shouted excitedly: "Commander Zuo, I got it."
"Why did you shout so loudly just now?" Qin Huaidao asked bluntly.
"The palace opened the city and surrendered. The soldiers were excited and emotional."
"Surrendered?" Qin Huaidao looked at the other party in disbelief. The new king of Goguryeo actually surrendered. Is this impossible? Could it be that he was a master who was afraid of death and asked: "Tell me, what is the situation?"
"It was the commander guarding the palace and a group of courtiers who took the initiative to open the city and surrender. I don't know the details. My eldest brother asked me to report that the people are under control. My eldest brother and Brother Cheng have led their troops to successfully capture the palace."
"Let's go and have a look." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed. Surrendering meant the end of the battle and the demise of Goguryeo. It also meant that no one would die in the battle. His mission was completed and he could return to Chang'an Road.
The group hurried on and trotted near the palace. Luo Zhang hurried over with excitement on his face: "We have surrendered. There are still 30,000 enemy troops in the camp. They all asked for surrender. Do you accept it?"
"Surrender voluntarily, or something unexpected happened?" Qin Huaidao asked curiously.
Luo Zhang hurriedly said: "It's strange to say that at first the enemy resisted tenaciously, but later the enemy's will to resist was very weak. They collapsed at the first touch, fled back to the barracks, and then laid down their weapons and surrendered."
"Tenacious at the beginning?" Qin Huaidao realized something, smiled, and warned: "It seems that the defenders are not monolithic. They encountered the new king's trusted troops at the beginning, but not later. You go back immediately and restrain the troops.
Accept the surrender and stop killing indiscriminately until the Holy One is punished."
"The Holy One is really here?" Luo Zhang asked in disbelief.
"Here we are, just outside the city. Go quickly." Qin Huaidao warned and hurried towards the palace.
The person guarding the palace gate was Cheng Chuliang. When he saw Qin Huaidao coming over, he quickly saluted and said excitedly: "Commander Zuo, does this count as our contribution to the destruction of the country?"
"Of course, why are you here?" Qin Huaidao asked back, according to the plan, we should continue to eliminate the remnants.
Cheng Chuliang hurriedly explained: "Commander Zuo, Chu Bi, Bao Qi and I came all the way. The counterattack was fierce at first, but it couldn't stop us from shooting with crossbows. The resistance behind collapsed at the first touch. Some people took the initiative to defect, and some courtiers even took the initiative to lead the way.
, we successfully killed each other, just in time to open the palace and surrender, so we helped guard it."
"How many defenders have defected?"
Cheng Chuliang hurriedly said: "Several weapons, totaling ten to twenty thousand, are all locked up in a government office. All the weapons have been seized. Chu Bi and Bao Qi are guarding them."
"Thank you for your hard work, it's a good guard." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed and said that he hurried in. He was guarded by his own people along the way. The surrendered palace defenders were gathered in a huge square, there must be thousands of them.
Yuchi Baolin led his men to guard it personally. When he saw Qin Huaidao approaching, he hurried forward and shouted excitedly: "Commander Zuo, it's not us who disobey the military order, it's them who took the initiative to surrender. They couldn't miss the opportunity, so they came in. Is the Holy Spirit here?"
"Here we are, Haosheng is in custody and waiting for His Majesty's fate." Qin Huaidao warned, asked for the location of the surrendered courtiers, and hurriedly walked towards the main hall in front.
Cheng Chumo's people were guarding the entrance of the main hall, and they all saluted with wild eyes.
Qin Huaidao waved his hand and quickly entered the hall.
There were many red candles in the hall, which were as bright as day. A large number of courtiers gathered together in silence. Qin Huaidao glanced at them and didn't recognize any of them. When Cheng Chumo came up, he simply stopped and waited.
Cheng Chumo clasped his fists and said: "Commander Zuo, the palace guard leader killed Yeon Gaesumun, controlled the courtiers and the new king, and led the army to surrender. What should we do next?"
"Let the guards come over."
Cheng Chumo nodded and left, and quickly brought a general. He was still wearing armor with blood on the armor. He was tall and burly. When he came up, he said in relatively proficient Tang dialect: "Foreign Minister Gao Jianyi has seen this general."
"Gao Jianyi, this name... is from the royal family, right? Why did you defect?" Qin Huaidao asked calmly. It would be impossible to be the commander of the palace guards, such as being a confidant of the new king, otherwise it would be impossible.
"My lord, I am indeed from the royal family. Yeon Gaesumun rebelled, supported the new king, and recommended me to be the commander of the palace guards. He also proposed a marriage between the two families, saying that he trusted me and wanted to be friends with me, but I knew in my heart that
Yeon Gaesoo's real purpose is to control the new king through his subordinates. In fact, the new king is not willing to take over the throne. He is forced to have no choice but to ask the general to find out." The other party quickly explained.
"Why did Yeon Gaesumon choose you?" Qin Huaidao asked curiously. He felt uneasy if he didn't understand this kind of thing. Who knows if it might be another conspiracy?
Gao Jianyi also understood Qin Huaidao's worries and said bluntly: "Back to the general, I have no children and only one daughter. I love him very much. Firstly, I can't bear to marry Yuengai Suwen's bastard son. Secondly, I am worried about the future of marriage with Yuengai Suwen."
If you give birth to a grandson, you will not be able to bear to refuse in the future and end up becoming an accomplice. Yeon Gaesomun has a disobedient heart. It is better for Goguryeo to die in the hands of its destroyer Yeongaesomun. This is what the king wants."
"Gao Jianwu?"
The other party nodded slowly.
Qin Huaidao immediately understood that this guy had received Gao Jianwu's letter, and he couldn't bear to lose his daughter and become an accomplice of Yeon Gaesumun in the future, so he simply turned against him.
It has to be said that Yeon Gaesomun was very scheming. After the mutiny, he supported the new king as a puppet. The situation in the court was inevitably unstable, so he appointed a royal family to serve as the commander of the palace guards. Naturally, the courtiers had nothing to say, and they could stabilize the new king, but
He also married Gao Jianyi and married his only daughter. Once they married and gave birth to a child, he would push Gao Jianyi's son-in-law to the top in the future. Naturally, it would be difficult to oppose him and he would even become an accomplice.
If it weren't for his own army to suppress the territory, given time, Goguryeo would definitely change hands.
The mechanism was exhausted, but Qingqing's life was wasted.
With his mind turning, Qin Huaidao said sternly: "Your defection in the face of battle has saved many people from dying, which is a great contribution to the Tang Dynasty. Next, you need to help stabilize the situation. Are you willing?"
"I am willing to serve, but I wonder if you can let my family live?" Gao Jianyi asked.
Qin Huaidao thought for a while and said: "How to deal with it is a matter for the Holy One, but I will intercede on your behalf."
"Thank you, sir!" Gao Jianyi could see that Qin Huaidao was not lying to him, so he waited a moment.
Qin Huaidao looked back at Li Yixie and shouted: "Li Yixie?"
"Here!" Li Yixie hurried forward.
"Leave your men behind and quickly send an order to Uncle Li, asking him to leave 10,000 men to guard the city gate. You can take 5,000 men to the barracks to assist Luo Zhang in guarding the surrendering troops. The remaining 5,000 men will be led by Uncle Li and go to the government office.
Assist Chu Bi and Bao Qi, just in case." Qin Huaidao solemnly warned that with thousands of people guarding tens of thousands, the risk is too great, and something might happen over time.
Li Yixie also understood the danger and hurried away knowingly.
"Gao Jianyi?"
"The foreign minister is here."
"You lead the way and bring all the officials of the fifth rank and above in the court here." Qin Huaidao looked at Gao Jianyi.
Gao Jianyi did not dare to resist and quickly agreed.
Qin Huaidao looked at Cheng Chumo: "Li Yixie's three thousand troops are outside. Go and notify them and ask them to follow Gao Jianyi. Anyone who dares not to come will be killed without mercy!"
If you dare not come, you are being disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty and the Holy Spirit, and will never be allowed.
A defeated country must have the appearance and attitude of being defeated, and must come to accept Li Er's treatment.
"Follow the order!" Cheng Chumo agreed knowingly and signaled Gao Jianyi to go out.
Not long after, Cheng Chumo returned and nodded to Qin Huaidao to indicate that the arrangements were made. Qin Huaidao glanced at the courtiers and saw one person who was dressed differently than the others. He was probably the new king, hiding in the crowd, looking a little timid and nervous. No wonder Yuan Yuan
Gaisu Wen supported him as the new king, so timid and easy to control.
Although Goguryeo has surrendered, you cannot interfere in how to deal with it, otherwise it will be a taboo.
Qin Huaidao didn't want to talk too much with everyone, and whispered to Cheng Chumo: "Keep an eye on them, stabilize the situation, and I will go and greet the Holy One."
"Don't worry." Cheng Chumo agreed.
Qin Huaidao hurried out of the palace under the escort of Yu Linwei, and soon left the city. When he saw the army gathering outside the city, they could attack at any time. He didn't know that he was worried about his own safety and was afraid of affecting his deployment.
Warm, hurry up and step forward.
Li Er had already put on his armor and looked majestic. He was followed by Li Jing, Xue Wanche and Niu Da. Behind him were other generals. Under the light of torches, they were all anxious. When he saw Qin Huaidao coming out, Li Er came up to meet him anxiously.
Asked: "What's going on now?"
"Going back to the Holy Land, the loud noise just now was caused by the palace opening the door to surrender. The soldiers couldn't help themselves."
"Surrendered?" Li Er asked in disbelief.
"Yes, we surrendered. At the beginning, the resistance was fierce, but the enemies behind them collapsed at the first touch, and many even defected. There were 20,000 to 30,000 surrendered troops in the military camp, and 10,000 to 20,000 in the government offices. They were concentrated and guarded. Additional manpower has been deployed to ensure nothing goes wrong.
, please ask Your Majesty to send more manpower." Qin Huaidao quickly explained, then gave a solemn salute and shouted: "Welcome Your Majesty to the city to accept your surrender!"
"Welcome Your Majesty to the city to surrender." Everyone reacted and shouted one after another, looking at Qin Huaidao with envy in their eyes. This was the result of the destruction of the country.
Li Er smiled with satisfaction, slapped Qin Huaidao on the shoulder, his eyes full of appreciation, and praised: "Not bad, he is indeed my son-in-law, I am very satisfied."
This is the first time that Qin Huaidao's identity has been publicly acknowledged, which shows that he is determined.
It is also enough to explain Li Er's love, trust and favor for Qin Huaidao.
It is also telling everyone that Qin Huaidao will be his family from now on, and Jane will be in the heart of the emperor. Although you are senior, you cannot bully Qin Huaidao with your qualifications, otherwise I will be the first to refuse.
It is said that this is a great honor, and someone else would definitely be grateful, but Qin Huaidao felt depressed when he heard it, but in front of so many people, it was not easy to openly resist the order, and his face looked ugly.
Li Jing was worried about Qin Huaidao's stubborn temper, so he quickly came to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, state affairs are important. There are still a lot of things in the city waiting for the Holy Majesty's judgment, and the soldiers are also waiting for the Holy Majesty's care."
"Let's go into the city!" Li Er thought about the victory of Goguryeo, and that he had become an emperor who expanded the territory and achieved the hegemony that the previous dynasty had failed to achieve. He was excited and heroic, and strode forward.
, while shouting: "General Xue - take 10,000 people to the barracks to help guard the prisoners. Remember, it is assistance."
"According to the order!" Xue Wanche didn't dare to ask for help, so he quickly agreed.
"General Niu!"
"Here!" Another general trotted up quickly.
"Lead another ten thousand people to the government office to help guard the surrendered troops. There must be no mistakes."
"I obey the decree!" Niu Da solemnly agreed. Although it would be shameful to assist in defense, the imperial decree cannot be violated.
"Pharmacist, Huai Dao, follow me into the city."
"I obey." Li Jing and Qin Huaidao quickly agreed and followed.
Li Jing patted Qin Huaidao's eyes, gave a thumbs up secretly, and praised Qin Huaidao for doing a good job. He did not accept the surrender of Goguryeo first, but gave the opportunity to the Holy Emperor. This has a profound meaning.
If he really accepted the surrender first and then invited the Holy Lord to enter the city, Li Er would never have been so happy and satisfied just now, and he might even be convicted. He was not as good as the weak crown, but he could grasp the scale, understand the general situation, and know how to advance and retreat. Li Jing was completely at ease with Qin Huaidao.
, full of joy.
When the group entered the city, they all came from the army. When they saw the corpses everywhere, they knew they had experienced a bloody battle. The victory of Pyongyang was not a fluke, but a real sword and a real gun, and the opponent surrendered.
Li Er's eyes were sharp. He saw that most of the corpses on the ground were enemies. He became more and more satisfied and asked: "Huaidao, how many troops have been invested in this battle? How many casualties will there be?"
"Look back, around 50,000, our army's casualties in this battle will probably be around 10%."
"Are you sure?" Li Er's expression changed. One achievement is about five thousand, which is not too much, but too little. In all of Li Er's combat experience, the attacking side often needs to pay a huge price to win such a huge city.
A Pyongyang city is worth more than half of its 50,000 yuan, but it only costs 5,000 yuan. How is that possible?
Li Jing didn't believe it either, and reminded him: "With Taoism, you should not speak nonsense in front of a saint."
Qin Huaidao really didn't know how much he had lost. He didn't have time to count the losses, so he said uncertainly: "It should be about the same. I'll report it to the Holy One as soon as the statistics are ready."
"Where do you get your confidence?" Li Er asked with great interest.
"Back to the Holy Spirit, it's a repeating crossbow. Street fighting in the city is different from field battles. The advantage of troops cannot be used. However, our army has repeating crossbows that are good at close combat. As long as the repeating crossbows can keep firing, it will be useless no matter how many enemies there are. It will only add casualties. It is just for fighting.
To prepare for this battle, I collected all the iron from Longchuan County, Yanzhou, Gaozhou and Xicheng and used it all to make arrows, ensuring that each company of crossbowmen carried fifty arrows, a total of millions." Qin Huaidao explained seriously.
road.
"Millions of arrows, that's it." Li Er looked at the arrows nailed to the corpses all over the ground, some with multiple arrows on them, and realized in his heart that a million arrows would be shot out, not to mention a hundred thousand, even an army of 200,000.
Unable to stop it, it’s no wonder that many enemy troops finally chose to surrender. There may be other factors, but the powerful continuous crossbow shooting is definitely the main reason.
Thinking of this, Li Er said with satisfaction: "It's good to be prepared for a rainy day, but what about the dirt slope outside the city?"
Qin Huaidao continued to explain: "When I returned to the Holy Land, I also collected one hundred thousand cloth bags from all the cities along the way. They packed the soil and piled it into a slope. I was worried that it would not be enough. There were many wood and stones in the middle. The defenders resisted fiercely. In order to reduce casualties, they let
The surrendered troops who had taken refuge in the cities along the way were transported. Two people held shields to cover one person, and they also gave two taels of silver to boost their morale. They then arranged archers to suppress the city wall defenders. Finally, they piled up, and then let the crossbowmen rush up to clear the way, tearing a gap.
Kouzi, finally captured Pyongyang."
"This method of warfare is quite innovative. Please talk to me about it when you have time." Li Er said with emotion. He wished he could drag Qin Huaidao to ask about every detail and talk for three days and three nights, but he also knew that now was not the time.
Along the way, Li Er kept asking about other things, and Qin Huaidao answered them one by one.
Everyone arrived at the palace unknowingly, and Li Er finally stopped asking. Cheng Chuliang recognized Li Er and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him: "I have seen the Holy Majesty!"
"The second son of the Cheng family, you did a good job this time. You didn't disgrace your father, and your temper is much calmer. It seems that you have made a lot of progress during this period, not bad, not bad." Li Er praised continuously.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise. They are all well cultivated by Your Majesty."
"Hey, the horses are also good at martial arts. If Cheng Laohei knew about it, I'm afraid he would laugh out of his dreams. Yes, do a good job and I will be richly rewarded when you return to Chang'an." Li Er said happily.
"I don't dare ask for a reward for my little merit. Next time you do something good like this, please remember me and let me go." Cheng Chuliang had a naive expression on his face, but his eyes shone with a shrewd light.
Li Er nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "It seems that you have really made progress, not bad." As he said that, he strode forward.
Qin Huaidao secretly gave a thumbs up and followed him in.
Li Jing patted Cheng Chuliang on the shoulder and whispered: "Xiu is right. You have really made progress during this period."
"Thank you Uncle Li for the compliment. I learned it all from Brother Qin."
Li Jing nodded with satisfaction and caught up.
The group hurriedly arrived at the main hall, and Cheng Chumo quickly saluted: "Your Majesty!"
"I'll talk about it later in my life." Li Er said and looked at the courtiers in the palace. His eyes quickly fell on a person. He was dressed differently than ordinary people, but his eyes were averted. At first glance, he was a coward. He thought of many things in an instant, and slowly looked up.
He walked away from the throne and asked: "Where is Gao Jianwu?"
"Go back to the Holy Land and be detained in a prison camp."
"Bring it here." Li Er said and sat down on the throne with an air of indignity.
Qin Huaidao hurried out to give a few words to Captain Yu Lin, who hurried away. Qin Huaidao immediately returned to the main hall and waited beside him without talking or making any random comments.
At this time, there was a commotion outside. Li Er looked at Qin Huaidao, and Qin Huaidao quickly explained: "Your Majesty, the palace guard Gao Jianyi is from the royal family. He killed Yeon Gae Suwen who supported the new king, and led his army to open the gate of the palace and surrender.
I asked him to lead the way and bring the officials of the fifth rank and above in the court to wait for their departure. They may be coming from outside."
"That's right, let them in." Li Er became more and more satisfied, this kid can do something good.
Li Jing also smiled with satisfaction, thinking that he did not have a legitimate daughter, and was full of regrets. If he could take her as his son-in-law, he would have no regrets in this life, and it seemed that he could only become a saint easily.
Soon, a large number of officials came in, and Qin Huaidao shouted: "Stand in your usual court position, and move quickly."
Everyone walked to their positions one after another. In this way, the level was clear at a glance. The higher the level, the higher the position before the exam, which made it easier for Li Er to observe and understand.
The Yulin guards stood on both sides, holding repeating crossbows and being on guard. Anyone who dared to mess up would be shot directly.
The courtiers lowered their heads and remained silent, each with their own thoughts.
Changing dynasties will inevitably lead to major changes and reshuffles. It is uncertain what will happen in the future, but no one wants to die, not to mention that the country has been destroyed and the king has surrendered. There is no need to struggle or resist anymore.
Li Er looked at everyone with satisfaction and high spirits. This was a country that the previous dynasty had failed to win several times. Thinking of the vast territory of Goguryeo, he was very excited. Then he thought of Baekje and Xinsheng, which were nothing to worry about.
He is even more energetic and passionate.
This battle is enough to leave a mark in history.
This battle is enough to wash away the bad reputation of brother-killing.
Li Er's eyes fell on Qin Huaidao, and he sighed in his heart, back then, Qin Qiong helped him conquer the world, and now, Qin Huaidao helped him conquer such a large territory. Two generations of loyal ministers, how lucky I am!
The next moment, Li Er's eyes fell on Li Jing, the military god of the generation, but his temples have turned gray, and time is not forgiving. Fortunately, I have Huai Dao, and Huai Dao is my next Li Jing, the next generation of military god.
No, you must have such great talents around you, otherwise you will feel uneasy.
Thinking of this, Li Er became more and more determined to recruit a son-in-law, but now was not the time to talk about this. He exhaled and shouted: "Everyone, I am the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. When the court appoints people, I am willing to ignore past grudges and use my wealth to do my best."
Yes, are you willing to work for Datang?"
Goguryeo had just been destroyed, and the top priority was to win over people's hearts.
Li Er, the founding emperor, was the best at this.
When everyone saw that Li Er was willing to put aside their previous suspicions and re-employ him, they were all overjoyed. Seeing the opportunity, they quickly shouted: "I pay homage to the Holy One, and I would like to share my worries with the Holy One!"
"Being a minister of the Tang Dynasty is a blessing for a lower official."
"The lower official is willing, thank you, Holy Master, for not giving up!"
"..."
Various expressions of surrender and compliments came one after another, and the hall suddenly became a mess, but no one stopped him.
Seeing the expression of enjoyment on Li Er's face, Qin Huaidao did not stop him. When he saw a person being escorted in from outside, it was Gao Jianwu, he reminded him: "I haven't seen the Holy Lord before long!"
After all, writing letters has helped me recruit and surrender many people, so I would like to help if I can.
Gao Jianwu nodded gratefully, hurriedly stepped forward, and solemnly shouted: "The guilty man, Gao Jianwu, the king of Goguryeo, used weapons to provoke war between the two countries, disrespected the Tang Dynasty, and caused countless people to suffer. He knew that he had sinned deeply and regretted it.
I am willing to surrender and hope that the sage of the Tang Dynasty will show mercy!"
"allow!"
Li Er said with satisfaction, as for the new king Gao Jianwu, he was just a puppet supported by someone after a mutiny. They had only been together for a few days. The law does not allow it and the identity is embarrassing. It can be ignored. The king of Goguryeo is still Gao Jianwu in law. If Goguryeo wants to surrender, only
It is only legal if Gao Jianwu comes forward.
"Thank you, Lord!" Gao Jianwu also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Datang was willing to accept surrender, he would not be killed and would have a chance to survive.
"Take him down and keep him in good custody." Li Er flicked his sleeves, showing off his heroic spirit and swallowing up the mountains and rivers.
Qin Huaidao signaled to the Yulin Guards, and two Yulin Guards quickly came up and took Gao Jianwu down.
This departure means the complete end of a kingdom.
It also means the complete end of a generation of kings.
It also means the integration and rebirth of a nation!