The sky-shattering thunder was ignited and thrown out with all its strength. After landing, it exploded with a "boom, boom, boom". The bricks and stones in the commander's mansion flew into the sky along with the broken limbs of the Goguryeo soldiers. The tenacious defense was destroyed in an instant.
Disintegrate.
Immediately, the crossbowmen on the periphery opened their bows and nocked arrows, and a hail of arrows poured out, and a pitiful howl suddenly sounded in the commander's mansion.
Then, the Tang army calmly formed a team of three or three, with the shield hand in front and the sword hand in the back. They maintained a suitable distance between the teams and slowly but steadily entered the commander's mansion.
There was no need to worry about Eulji Mundeok's life or death, the Tang army entered smoothly, and all the Goguryeo soldiers who tried to resist were killed, leaving little resistance at all.
Soon, the handsome manor was cleared.
The soldiers turned over the corpses of the enemy soldiers with swords and spears, and when they found those still breathing, they mended them, and then threw them aside.
Take no prisoners.
After the general's residence was cleaned, soldiers came forward to tell him that Eulji Mundeok was dead.
Li Ji ordered people to carry the body out and went to check. He saw an old man. His snow-white beard was completely burnt by the gunpowder explosion. His face and the mountain were also scorched black. An arm and a leg were missing.
, I think he was killed on the spot by Zhentian Lei just now.
He also asked some prisoners of the Goguryeo army to be captured, and identified on the spot that it was indeed Eulji Mundeok. After carefully verifying his identity, Li Ji just ordered: "Cut off the head of this animal, pickle it with quicklime, and do not use it."
When it is rotten, I present it to His Majesty for inspection."
This is a real achievement.
Eulji Mundeuk has made great achievements. He once defeated the 300,000-strong army of the Sui Dynasty and was regarded as a "military god" by the people of Goguryeo. Although he is now attacked by Yeongaesomun, he was the confidant of Yeongaesomun's father Yeontaejo at that time.
A close confidant, he was once ordered to assist Yeon Gaesumun in times of crisis. Unfortunately, power conflicts in recent years have resulted in him not being trusted by Yeon Gaesumun.
Such a person's death would be a huge blow to the morale of the Goguryeo army. Li Ji was already thinking in his heart whether to send Ulji Mundeok's head to Pingjangcheng afterwards...
…
At noon, the remaining Goguryeo defenders in Anshi City had been slaughtered to death, and the whole process fell into the hands of the Tang army.
The fall of this fortified city also meant that Goguryeo's rule in Liaodong was uprooted and wiped out. Although there was still a straggler of the Goguryeo army remaining in the vast Liaodong region, it was no longer a climate, and there would be specialized
Several armies were engaged in mopping up the troops everywhere.
In Anshi City, the Tang Army began to clean the streets, bury corpses, and clean wells and houses. From then on, this place will be known as an important garrison location of the Tang Army in Liaodong, controlling the entire Liaodong.
The next step is to reorganize the army and continue southward, heading towards the Yalu River.
Li Ji was sitting in the clean and tidy commander's mansion, busy handling official duties. A huge map had been hung on the wall. The red arrows symbolized the trajectory of the Tang army, covering most of Liaodong, and the front arrow was already pointing directly at the duck.
Several cities beside green water.
Along the Yalu River, there are still strong cities such as Bobi City and Dahang City, guarding the Yalu River ferry. Only by capturing these strong cities can we seize the ferry and cross the Yalu River.
When it comes to field battles, Goguryeo is vulnerable. They can only rely on the mountain cities all over Goguryeo to resist the Tang army. Although the Goguryeo army is tenacious, its combat effectiveness is more than one level lower than that of the Tang army. The strategy adopted has never been to defeat the Tang army head-on.
It was a step-by-step approach, delaying the Tang army's attack until the severe cold of autumn and winter, which made it difficult for the Tang army to supply supplies, the soldiers could not withstand the severe cold, and the roads were impassable, so they could win without a fight.
Therefore, Li Ji did not pay attention to the several fortified cities beside the Yalu River. The next most important battle could only be the siege of Pingrang City.
Victory or defeat depends on this.
Before that, what worried Li Ji the most was His Majesty Li Er's physical condition...
Although I have not seen it in person, from His Majesty Li Er's erratic mental state, we can know that he must have secretly taken the elixir. Of course, the elixir can temporarily boost the spirit and strengthen the body like "Five Stone Powder"
physical strength, but taking it for a long time will have extremely serious backlash on the body.
What if something unexpected happens to His Majesty Li Er during the march due to taking the elixir...
That was like a bolt from the blue, and the consequences would be disastrous.
Putting the official duties at hand to an end, Li Ji sat in the commander's mansion and concentrated for a long time before going out and leading his soldiers to the military camp outside the city.
Although the city has been cleared, the time is too short, and it is difficult to guarantee that the remaining soldiers of Goguryeo are still hidden in the hidden corners. It would be tragic if His Majesty Li Er entered the city and was attacked by the enemy. Therefore, His Majesty Li Er still lives in the city.
Military camp outside the city.
When Li Ji arrived outside the Chinese army's tent, he learned that His Majesty had just woken up from a nap, so he asked the chamberlain to come in. After being summoned, he raised the curtain and entered the tent.
The light inside the tent is a little dim.
His Majesty Li Er was dressed in regular clothes, his hair was tied back casually, and he was a little tired. At this moment, he was sitting on a chair in front of the window. When he saw Li Ji coming in and wanted to salute, he waved and said: "No need to be polite, come and sit down."
.”
Li Ji did not dare to be rude. After bowing and saluting, he sat down on the chair where His Majesty Li Er sat.
The waiter served the tea and then withdrew. His Majesty Li Er slightly extended his hand to signal Li Ji to drink tea, and then picked up a cup himself.
Li Ji picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and then heard His Majesty Li Er ask: "How are the injuries of Duke Lu and Duke Wancheng?"
Li Ji put down the tea cup and said: "Gong Lu is fine, but the injuries are all external. They look dangerous, but in fact they are not serious. He will recover after a while of rest. However, Duke Wancheng's injuries are quite serious, with many arrow wounds and internal organs on his body, and he fell again."
He has just woken up, but his roots have been damaged. In addition, he is very old and his body is weak. I am afraid that he will suffer from injuries all year round in the future."
His Majesty Li Er nodded slowly, said nothing, and just took a sip of tea.
It is inevitable for a general to die in battle, and for an earthen pot to be broken when leaving the edge of a well. Being in the army means risking your life to fight for wealth, and life and death are determined by fate. Success or failure is determined by heaven, and no one can escape this disaster. However, Zhang Jian, the Duke of Wancheng, was a veteran of two dynasties.
, when the Li family started the army, they followed them loyally and worked hard and achieved great results. But now that they are only sixty years old, they have ended up like this. It is unavoidable that it is sad and unbearable.
What's particularly important is that Zhang Jian only has one daughter and no heirs. He even offered a generous reward and no one to inherit the title...
After thinking for a while, he said: "After returning to Beijing, Maogong reminded me that he ordered his brother to choose a smart, filial and sensitive son among his descendants, and adopt him as his heir to Zhang Jian."
Li Ji understood that Zhang Jian must be a Duke and could not escape the title, so he responded: "Here."
His Majesty Li Er put down his tea cup and asked again: "How is the situation over at Yalu Water?"
Li Jidao: "Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen led their troops to support Anshi City many times, but they were all repulsed. Now they are guarding Bobi City and Dahang City. Although the two cities are dozens of miles apart, they are close to each other and their military strength is strong.
Each has more than 50,000 troops, and both of them are famous Goguryeo generals, so it should be a tough battle."
The Yalu River is wide, and both sides are swamps, making it difficult to march. If hundreds of thousands of troops want to cross the river, they can only capture the two crossings of Bobi City and Dahang City. These two cities are different from other mountain cities in Goguryeo.
It was not built on the mountainside to take advantage of the geographical advantages, but it was tightly choked by the ferry. It was surrounded by dense swamps and crisscrossed rivers, which was not conducive to large-scale warfare and was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
His Majesty Li Er thought for a while and asked: "If the navy is ordered to use artillery to attack the city, what will Maogong think?"
Li Ji was silent.
Obviously, there was a bloody battle in Anshi City with heavy losses, and even His Majesty felt heartache. If we attack Bobi City or Daxing City and suffer similar losses, it is really unbearable.
However, if the navy is activated, as long as Bobi City and Dahang City are conquered in one go, the credit must go to the navy.
How can all the forces in the military agree with this?
Li Ji frowned in worry. The existence of the aristocratic families had indeed divided the empire into countless camps. They were constantly fighting for their own interests, regardless of national interests. The aristocratic families regarded the achievements of the Eastern Expedition as their own, and they fought against each other.
There is still time to fight and plunder, but they are absolutely unwilling to let the navy step in and seize the merits.
The navy and Youtunwei are independent of the military forces controlled by the clans. Otherwise, when the strategy for the Eastern Expedition was formulated, the navy would not have been excluded, and would only be assigned some tasks of transporting baggage and attacking cities and villages.
Participating in the war was not considered at all.
Li Ji was silent for a long time and sighed: "When Pingrang City is besieged, if the battle situation is unfavorable, let's consider whether to allow the navy to participate in the battle."