Boy Yuan expressed concern about the Tang army's offensive. His current position is on the side of the Tang Dynasty. He does not want the Tang army to follow the old path of the Sui army and suffer a blow in the head, which will demoralize them. The land of Liaodong is full of swamps and mountains, which is not suitable for
Once the morale of the Tang army collapsed and the war dragged on, Goguryeo would most likely win in the end.
However, Changsun Huan disagreed with this.
"The eldest son does not understand Xue Wanche as a person. This person is indeed rough and stupid, but that is only in terms of human sophistication and war. He is a famous general with both wisdom and courage. The vanguard of the army represents the sharpness of the entire army. The Tang Dynasty
The emperor is well versed in military affairs, knows people well, and is very concerned about the Eastern Expedition. How can he appoint an incompetent person to be the vanguard of the army? The eldest son will wait and see. When the war begins, Xue Wanche will definitely be able to surprise Goguryeo."
When saying this, Changsun Huan actually felt a little proud.
Although he was wanted by the Tang Dynasty for treason, after all, he was also from the Tang Dynasty, and he looked down on foreign tribes like Goguryeo.
Xue Wanche is a famous general who has been praised by His Majesty Li Er. He has made many military exploits in these years of conquering the east and west. How can you Goguryeo soldiers and crab generals stop him?
There was another thing he didn't say. Boy Yuan looked down on Xue Wanche and believed that the Great Wall in Liaodong could stop the attack of the Tang army's vanguard. However, in his opinion, famous generals like Xue Wanche would definitely use their strengths and avoid weaknesses, maybe bypassing the Great Wall in Liaodong and attack directly at the rear.
Goguryeo Town.
After all, the Great Wall of Liaodong has not yet been completed and cannot be integrated into the mountains like the Great Wall of the Tang Dynasty to resist the southward movement of the Hu people from the north. There are gaps everywhere. As long as you choose a place and launch a surprise attack, you will definitely be able to
In one fell swoop, Goguryeo's ruling and opposition parties were shaken...
The debate in the main hall gradually subsided. From time to time, ministers walked out with a sullen face. They must have received a certain task. Mr. Yuan gave Changsun Huan a wink, stopped this "rebellious" conversation, and tidied the things on the table honestly.
Official documents.
After a while, more than a dozen ministers walked out of the main hall, surrounded by the tall, square-faced and broad-mouthed Yeon Gaesoo Wen.
Boy Yuan stood up in a hurry and stood at the gate of the check-in room with Chang Sun Huan, letting Yuan Gaisuwen see him so that he could give him any instructions.
As Yeon Gaeso Wen walked, he talked with the ministers around him. When he saw the eldest son and eldest grandson Huan at the door of the duty room, he paused slightly, but did not stop and walked straight out.
Boy Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little relaxed and a little depressed.
His father Yeon Gaesowun has a profiteering and impatient personality, and is always beaten and scolded if he goes against his will. Especially in the past few years, his actions have become increasingly invisible to his father, and his status has plummeted. The depression is due to this contempt.
His attitude made him very ugly. After all, the entire Goguryeo knew that he was the heir of Da Molizhi, but he still could not get his father's trust...
Changsun Huan took in the boy Yuan's expression and said softly: "Young Master, there is no need to worry, everything depends on man-made things, my fate is up to me and not to God!"
Boy Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then he clenched his fists fiercely: "Yes, my fate is up to me!"
What could his father do if he despises him again? Being ignorant of current affairs and clinging to the power of Goguryeo in an attempt to go against the powerful Tang Dynasty is a sure way to die!
Look, the glorious bloodline of the Yuan clan will have to be inherited and carried forward by me, your son, who you look down upon in the future!
*****
The Liao River flows out of the Dishi Mountain, flows east from the north of Sai, and flows into the sea in the southwest of Liaodong.
It was called one of the "Six Rivers" in ancient times.
What are the "Six Rivers"? "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals·Youshi Lan": "Heshui, Chishui, Liaoshui, Heishui, Jiangshui, and Huaishui are the six rivers, which cover the world's hydrology."
There has been little rain this spring, and the Liao River is flowing turbulently. It is no longer as turbulent as in spring and summer in the past. Many of the riverbeds on both sides are exposed to the outside, covered with wormwood that has just been exposed, and water birds perch on it to feed.
A group of cavalry thundered across the open field, rolling up smoke and dust behind them, breaking the silence by the river. Wild ducks and waterfowl were frightened so much that they fluttered their wings and fled in panic.
"Xu..."
Xue Wanche, who was wearing a helmet and armor, came to the river first, clamped the horse's belly and tightened the reins. Thousands of cavalry behind him also slowed down, separated from the two sides and slowly moved forward. Finally, they all ran to the river, looking at the undulating mountains on the other side.
.
Xue Wanche rode on the shore, looked at the other side, and asked the scouts around him: "What time is it now?"
The scout looked at the sky, then looked down at the shadows on the ground, and replied: "It's almost late."
Xue Wanche asked again: "How far is it from the new city?"
The scout said: "After crossing the river, it is less than eighty miles."
Xue Wanche calculated in his mind that it would only take an hour to reach the eighty-mile distance by galloping, but by then the men and horses would be tired and their combat power would be reduced. If he wanted to maintain sufficient combat power, he would not be able to travel at full speed. It would probably take more than 1 hour to reach the new city.
An hour and a half.
It was already late at this time. It was almost the end of Shenshi and the beginning of Youshi when we arrived at the new city. It was getting dark before our eyes. It would be difficult to conquer the new city in one fell swoop before it got dark...
But today is the third day of March. I think His Majesty has already sworn sacrifices to heaven in Chang'an. If I can't win the battle for His Majesty, it will be a bad luck. Wouldn't it be a betrayal of His Majesty's trust in me?
Immediately he gritted his teeth, picked up the horse's reins, and said loudly: "Follow me across the river to kill the enemy!"
"Here!"
Thousands of cavalry followed, wading across the river.
Scouts had already inquired about the road conditions and found out that this is where the water surface of Liao River is very wide, but because there is less water flow, the river bed is shallow and shallow, allowing horses to pass through.
Three thousand cavalry spent less than half an hour crossing the Liao River, adjusting their formation on the other side of the river, and then charged straight towards the new city with murderous intent.
Everyone in the world knew that His Majesty would take oath to fight in Chang'an today. No one would have thought that almost at the same time, the Liaodong army would launch an attack brazenly before His Majesty Li Er arrived at Liucheng.
Not to mention that Xue Wanche actually bypassed Far East City, an important town on the seaside of the Liao River, which was heavily walled and heavily guarded. He went directly upstream for hundreds of miles to the vicinity of the new city where Goguryeo's troops were weakest, and crossed the river to launch a surprise attack.
As the saying goes, "Soldiers rely on speed" and "Integration leads to victory by surprise." Xue Wanche knew nothing about the world, but he was a rare genius in marching and fighting.
Avoiding Far East City was, on the one hand, to avoid the reality by exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and on the other hand, it was to leave Far East City to His Majesty Li Er, who would personally command the army later.
By then, he would have led three thousand cavalry across the land of Liaodong, and the enemy forces would be forced to deal with them if they were restrained by him. When His Majesty Li Er stormed the Far East City, he would surely succeed with one blow.
Not only could he leave the first victory to His Majesty Li Er, but also allow himself to march straight into the city to attack the stronghold, Xue Wanche's abacus clicked.
Of course, how to march is what he is good at, but leaving the Far East City to His Majesty Li Er was something Fang Junqian gave him when he set out from Chang'an...
Three thousand cavalry rushed straight to the new city along the muddy road. They met many farmers on the way. They were so frightened that they screamed and fled. They did not encounter the scouts of the Goguryeo army. After all, no one expected that the Tang army would break into Goguryeo here without any trace.
In the Great Wall defense line that people are proud of, the legs of the farmers are not as fast as the horses of the Tang army. No worries, they notified the garrison of the new city as soon as possible, so the Tang army still restrained the speed and maintained its physical strength and marched towards the new city.
An hour and a half later, a mountain city halfway up the mountain was seen in the distance.
Throughout the Liaodong region, there are countless mountain cities like this built on the mountains. Goguryeo has been attacked by the Central Plains Dynasty many times. Although it managed to survive each time, it also knew that it was not the opponent of the Central Plains Dynasty and could not defeat it every time.
Their luck was so good, and field battles in the plains were all in vain. They could only build mountain cities with difficult terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, to offset the mobility of the Central Plains dynasty.
Liaodong was suffering, with rainy summers and severe cold winters. Goguryeo did not need to fight the armies of the Central Plains Dynasty. It only needed to be able to hold on until winter came, and half of the victory was already won...
In the past, this kind of mountain city built with huge rocks, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, did bring a lot of trouble to the Central Plains dynasty.
When the former Sui army attacked Goguryeo, they had to clear out these mountain cities one by one, so they fell into a protracted war quagmire and ultimately failed.
But now, this kind of mountain city can no longer become a roadblock to the Tang army's advance.
The three thousand cavalrymen advanced slowly. When they were about several miles away from the mountain city, they were discovered by the soldiers on the mountain city who were responsible for the lookout. There were blasts of horns and puffs of wolf smoke rising from the mountain city, threatening the nearby people.
The mountain city issued a warning that there was an invasion of foreign enemies.