To be honest, Li Chengqian thought that Goguryeo would abandon its capital.
And he also thought that Gao Jianwu would lead his people to rush towards him, trying to break through his own defense line and escape westward.
He even thought that Gao Jianwu would lead his men to break through his own defense line and flee north.
But what he didn't expect was that Gao Jianwu would choose to lead his people eastward to the Japanese country in Japan.
After all, the current navigation industry is not developed, and there is a possibility of a ship being destroyed and left hanging at sea at any time.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for a certain monk to go to Japan, and he wouldn't go to such great lengths.
However, I didn't expect it.
These guys are indeed not doing well either.
In addition to Cheng Huailiang, who discovered their movements, he led his men to pursue them, and Li Xiaogong's troops also pursued and intercepted them.
At the beginning, there were tens of thousands of ministers who ran out of Pyongyang City with Gao Jianwu, along with their family members and soldiers.
But now, less than one-third is left.
The remaining two-thirds were either captured by Datang or killed on the way.
But Gao Jianwu really didn't expect that after they went through all the hardships and went to Silla, they would be rejected by Silla.
King Baekjeong of Silla did not expect that Goguryeo would be defeated so quickly.
Moreover, he sincerely did not want to bring this trouble to himself.
Therefore, when Gao Jianwu came over, Jin Baijing simply adopted a policy of turning a blind eye.
He ignored Gao Jianwu at all, and did not let Gao Jianwu take refuge in the capital of Silla.
And the most egregious one was the Prime Minister of Silla.
After Gao Jianwu entered Silla territory, he immediately ran to the palace and met with King Jin Baijing of Silla.
He said directly: "Now, the Tang Dynasty has shown its kingly attitude, which is to eliminate Goguryeo in one fell swoop and never have future troubles."
"If our country allows Goguryeo to enter the country at this time, it will clearly be provoking the authority of the Tang Dynasty."
"In this case, it is inevitable that We will be resented by the Tang Dynasty, and maybe after the Tang Dynasty destroys Goguryeo, its troops will be directed at our heads in Silla."
"Instead of doing this, it is better to drive them out of the country directly."
"No!"
Before Jin Baijing could speak, his eldest daughter Kinderman stood up and said: "If they are not allowed to enter the country at this time, they will definitely jump over the wall."
"If they cause harm to our military and civilians, it will be more than worth the loss for our country."
Kinderman is Jin Baijing's eldest daughter and his only child.
If nothing else happens, she will become the first queen of Silla in this year.
She has a kind and kind personality, is smart and alert, and can certainly understand the current situation.
She said directly: "Instead of not allowing them to enter, it is better to inform the city lords and county lords to turn a blind eye to Gao Jianwu and his party, let alone allow them to enter the city."
Hearing this, Jin Baijing also nodded his head and said: "That's very good, just do as you say."
Jin Baijing's words completely shattered Gao Jianwu's wish to cross to Japan through Silla.
In fact, Gao Jianwu and the ministers of the DPRK and China did not even have a place to stay in Silla, so they could only continue to flee westward.
But now, the Tang Dynasty is like a tiger descending from the mountain. Who dares to take them in?
Even now, when the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty entered their country to pursue Gao Jianwu, they didn't even dare to fart.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Tang Dynasty relentlessly pursued Gao Jianwu in the territory of Silla.
But Silla was just indulgent and did not go so far as to assist Datang in capturing Gao Jianwu.
If not, no matter how fast Gao Jianwu ran, he would still fall into Silla's hands.
Of course, the military discipline on Datang's side was not lax. They were simply chasing Gao Gao.
Jianwu did not harass local soldiers and civilians.
This is also the only place where Silla feels happy.
If you lose face, just lose face.
It's not too bad to lose face in front of a powerful country.
It's better than being destroyed like Goguryeo, right?
It felt like there was a tacit understanding between the two parties, one party was pursuing Gao Jianwu, and the other party was letting it go.
Since you can’t go to Silla, you can always go to Baekje, right?
Gao Jianwu and others had no choice but to take a detour across the Silla border and escape to Baekje in the west.
Silla did not dare to be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty and accept Gao Jianwu, and the king of Baekje, Buyeo Chang, was even more clueless.
As soon as he heard that Gao Jianwu had fled to Baekje and had attracted soldiers from the Tang Dynasty, he immediately ordered the closure of the border between the two countries to prevent Gao Jianwu from entering Baekje.
But at this time, the ministers of the Baekje court, who had always been at odds with each other, all stood up together.
And their opinions were surprisingly consistent.
That is, even if Baekje cannot be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty, it cannot shut out Gao Jianwu.
The best way is to follow Silla's example and allow Gao Jianwu to enter.
But we refused to accept it, and of course we did not prohibit the Tang Dynasty's troops from entering.
As for where Gao Jianwu fled to in the end, it has nothing to do with Baekje.
Fuyu Zhang did not hesitate and immediately adopted their opinions.
Moreover, Buyeo Chang immediately issued an order to various places to follow the example of Silla and not allow Gao Jianwu to enter any city or town in Baekje.
The Tang Dynasty was pursuing and fighting fiercely, and the affairs of Silla and Baekje had nothing to do with them.
It really made Gao Jianwu despair.
The king of Goguryeo, who was aloof at first, is now running away like a bereaved dog.
What's even more tragic is that now everyone regards them as a plague and avoid them.
The huge Goguryeo was lost to him .
The majestic king of Goguryeo actually had no place to stay.
Is there anything more tragic than this in the world?
After escaping to Baekje, he was completely desperate.
Rather than being a lost dog and being slaughtered by others, it would be better to kill yourself head-on.
However, the ministers below did not want to give up just like that, and they poured chicken soup into him one after another.
"Your Majesty, we can save the green mountains without worrying about having firewood. Let's hurry up and find a boat to cross the sea."
"Your Majesty, when we become bigger and stronger in the future, it will be too late for us to settle accounts with these people."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please don't be discouraged. If you are discouraged, what will we do?"
In fact, when the ministers said this, they were not loyal to the emperor or patriotic.
They just don't want to die.
These people are the best among men. How could they not think clearly about what would happen if the Tang Dynasty's pursuers caught up with them?
As the King of Goguryeo, Gao Jianwu will probably survive, but what will happen to these losers is not certain.
But now, the most critical issue is not the pursuit of troops.
But they have run out of food.
From Gao Jianwu to the ministers and their families, there were more than a thousand people together, and more than 2,000 palace guards accompanied them, making a total of more than 3,000 people.
But I was running for my life all the way, not finding a place to rest, not even a chance to eat in peace.
The food they brought out from Pyongyang has long been eaten up.
Even Gao Jianwu hasn't eaten for two days.
Now without food and water, they can survive for up to three days.
If there was nothing they could do after three days, they would have to starve to death, not to mention waiting for the Tang army to come after them.
"There is no way forward, and there are pursuers behind."
Gao Jianwu looked up to the sky and sighed: "If there were no gods descending to earth, my life would be at an end..."