Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 507: Small Matters Big
The next day, dawn.

Yuwen Tai woke up from the temporary camp, looked at the rising sun, and ordered the drums to gather the troops.

The fishermen in Incheon had never heard such loud drum sounds. When they saw the neatly organized army assembled, they all knelt down and shouted "Long live the army".

Yuwen Tai also couldn't understand the mentality of these small countries admiring the strong, but the fishermen in Incheon were so obedient that it saved him a lot of effort.

Yuwen Tai left a small army to guard Incheon and the ships, and then led the entire army to march towards Pingcheng at high speed.

At the same time, Su He was continuing to argue with Bao Yanjun.

Baoyan Jun said proudly: "Your Excellency, the envoy of the false emperor is about to arrive in Pingcheng. The left prime minister has been wanting to meet the king these days and ask the king to form an alliance with Erzhu Rong. If I hadn't stopped him, the left prime minister would have already knocked on the palace gate."

Su He looked at Baoyan Jun's smug look with cold eyes. He had already received the news that Yuwen Tai had landed and was on his way. This was also Baoyan Jun's last act of arrogance.

But now we still have to keep this guy steady, especially since the King of Goguryeo is in poor health. Baoyanjun is the most legitimate heir, and he must be kept firmly in our hands.

Su He had already made a plan. He said to Bao Yanjun:
"Thank you for your kindness, my Lord!"

Then Su He said:
"Today, please have a banquet at Su's place."

Bao Yanjun heard that there were all kinds of people in Su He's delegation, and they refused to eat the meals provided by the hotel. Instead, they brought their own chefs to cook for them when they arrived at the restaurant every day.

The Western Wei delegation became famous in Pingcheng for the fragrance of their dishes, which could be smelled ten miles away.

Baoyan Jun also wanted to try the food of the Central Plains delegation, so he said:

"Then I will hold a banquet here today."

Su He immediately called the cook, and the entire kitchen of the guesthouse began to get busy. The aroma of food aroused Bao Yanjun's hunger.

While Lord Baoyan was having a banquet at the Guest House, Yuwen Tai's troops were about to reach Pingcheng.

Incheon is less than a hundred miles away from Pingcheng. Yuwen Tai set out early in the morning. After half a day of rapid march, the cavalry had already seen the city wall of Pingcheng.

Yuwen Tai was exhausted from the journey. He took out his telescope and climbed up to investigate. As expected, as the information Su He had sent him, the capital of Goguryeo was actually undefended!

There were not even any decent soldiers on the city wall. The wall of Pingcheng was not high and the gate was wide open.

Yuwen Tai suddenly lost interest. Being able to have a hearty battle with an equally powerful opponent on the battlefield is what every outstanding general looks forward to most.

However, the fact that Pingcheng was so undefended saved Yuwen Tai a lot of energy. He did not even wait for the infantry behind him to catch up, and directly led the cavalry to attack Pingcheng.

It can be said that there were no surprises in this battle. When Yuwen Tai's cavalry arrived, the defenders of Pingcheng had no idea where the enemy came from.

Whether it is the southern route or the northern route, one has to pass through many passes before reaching Pingcheng. By that time, Pingcheng would have already received the news.

As for bandit rebellions, most of the people in Goguryeo were similar to the fishermen in Incheon. How could they have the ability to attack the city?

So when this group of armored cavalry appeared under the city wall, the defenders of Pingcheng collapsed at once.

Even if one or two archers tried to fight back, their arrows could not penetrate the cavalry's armor.

At this time, Goguryeo was in a period of decline in history. It had not yet experienced the baptism of Emperor Yang of Sui. Both its military capabilities and military technology were far behind those of the Central Plains.

Faced with Yuwen Tai's army, which was considered the first-tier army in the Central Plains, the Goguryeo army was quickly defeated.

The defenders were defeated and someone finally remembered to inform their superiors.

But at this time, Baoyanjun, the first heir to the throne of Goguryeo and the regent of the current small court, got drunk at Suhe's banquet.

Yuwen Tai had already obtained the complete map of Pingcheng drawn by Su He. He personally led his men to the palace, while his men each led a team to control the residences of the high-ranking officials of Goguryeo.

When the sun set, Baoyan Jun woke up from his drunkenness and opened his eyes to see Yuwen Tai in full armor.

Su He stood beside Yuwen Tai and looked at Baoyan Jun with a smile.

"Guard! Guard!"

No matter how stupid Bao Yanjun was, he knew something was wrong at this moment.

Su He finally let out a sigh of relief. He sneered and said:

"Your Majesty, there is no need to waste your breath. Your guards have been asked to go down and rest."

Baoyan Jun still didn't understand why Su He dared to kidnap him in the capital of Goguryeo? Could he still walk out of Pingcheng alive?
Besides, what’s the point of kidnapping yourself?
Su He added: "This is General Yuwen, the governor of Shanhaiguan of my Great Wei." Then, Su He told Bao Yanjun a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue.

"General Yuwen led his troops to land from the sea and has now taken control of the entire Pingcheng. Your king is waiting for His Majesty to sober up and come to the palace to sign the treaty together."

Now Bao Yanjun completely understood that the general in front of him, whose surname was Yuwen, had landed in Korea from the sea and led his troops to directly capture Pingcheng!

"Your Majesty, please."

Su He made a gesture of invitation, but the soldiers behind Yuwen Tai made the sound of armor colliding impatiently. Facing these fully armed strong men, Bao Yanjun lost all the remaining momentum. He could only follow Yuwen Tai and Su He dejectedly and walked towards the Goguryeo palace.

When he entered the palace, the King of Goguryeo saw his younger brother and showed a sad expression.

At this time, Baoyan Jun had no time to compete for power with his brother. He was more sad because of his brother's solidarity. The capital palace, court and ministers had all been controlled by the Western Wei army. Goguryeo was already doomed to failure from then on.

King Anzang had been bedridden for many years, but he still had some of the bearing of a king. He took his brother's hand and said:

"The foundation of our ancestors was destroyed in my hands. When I meet them in the future, I will naturally explain it to them."

King Anzang looked at Yuwen Tai and said, "General Yuwen, please bring the treaty here and I will sign it."

Yuwen Tai looked at this weak monarch who had been bedridden for many years, and suddenly a subtle emotion arose in his heart.

It is difficult to be a monarch of a small country. Relying on the support of a big country, one can only survive in the cracks.

The Central Plains is truly the number one Shura field in the world. Just look at what kind of monsters are killed here?
Su Ze and Erzhu Rong, one defeated a hundred thousand with only five thousand, the other defeated a million with seventy thousand, and there were also people like Chen Qianzhi who conquered thirty-two cities along the way in the Northern Expedition. Only such monsters could stand in the center of the stage in the Central Plains.

Yuwen Tai thought he was not bad, but he was captured alive by Chen Chong in Youzhou, and finally could only compete with Gao Huan in a corner of the stage in Liaodong.

However, Yuwen Tai, a marginal character on the Central Plains stage, was able to destroy an entire country by himself. It can only be said that the intensity of the chicken-eating contest in the Northern and Southern Dynasties had reached a new height at this moment.

Yuwen Tai had no intention of humiliating the King of Goguryeo, so he handed his men the alliance treaty that had already been prepared.

In fact, the content of the covenant is very simple.

First, Goguryeo continued to pay tribute to the Wei regime in Guanzhong, but there was an additional layer of vassal relationship than before. In the future, the new king of Goguryeo had to be enthroned by the Wei before he could succeed to the throne, which meant that the Wei court had the right to interfere in the succession to the Goguryeo throne.

Secondly, Goguryeo immediately ceased hostilities with Silla and Baekje in the south, and Suhehui continued to march south on behalf of the Wei court to persuade Silla and Baekje to cease hostilities. The three kingdoms organized a coalition to march north to fight against the Khitan.

The third was to declare an all-out war against the Khitans. Yuwen Tai personally drafted a fiercely worded manifesto. When King Anzang and Lord Baoyan heard it, they both broke out in cold sweats. This manifesto could be said to have severely scolded the Khitans, from their ancestors to their descendants, from the upper class to the lower class. Goguryeo and the Khitans were already enemies for generations, so one can imagine how this manifesto would anger the Khitans.

Regarding this treaty that almost completely tied Goguryeo to the chariot of the Western Wei Dynasty, King Anzang picked up the pen, and whether it was because of his weak body or because he was shocked by the content of the treaty, he finally signed it tremblingly.

Yuwen Tai did not continue to force the King of Goguryeo, but left the guards behind and said:

"Let the prince stay in the palace and take care of the king. I have other things to do. I'll take my leave now!"

After saying this, Yuwen Tai simply saluted and left the palace in a hurry with his men. There were still many things to do to support a puppet regime. Although Pingcheng had been captured, there were still garrisons at the nearby passes, and there were also resistance forces inside Pingcheng that needed to be cleansed. These were not only military matters, but also political matters.

If handled well, you will get twice the result with half the effort; if handled poorly, it will backfire.

After Yuwen Tai led his men away, King Anzang looked at his brother with tears in his eyes and said:
"I have always been unwilling to pass the throne to you. Now you know why, right? There is an old saying in the Central Plains: 'When the city gate is on fire, the fish in the pond will suffer.' Every time the Central Plains is in turmoil, it is the most difficult time."

Baoyanjun remained silent.

King An Zang also said: "If it is normal, a small country can survive by relying on the support of a big country. But in this chaotic world, if you stand on the wrong side, you will be doomed."

"But it's okay now. We are forced to take sides. From now on, life and death are up to fate."

Seeing Baoyanjun coughing violently, his brother hurried forward to support him. King Anzang's health was not good to begin with, otherwise he would not have let Baoyanjun be the regent. He was frightened again this time and it seemed that he would not live long.

King Anza took his brother's hand and said:

"Leave the palace now and cooperate with General Yuwen to take over the various armies. You should be able to take the throne after I die."

King Anzang said again:

"Remember the passage in Mencius that our father asked us to read when we were little? 'Only the wise can use the small to serve the great. That is why the great king served Xunyu and Goujian served Wu. Those who use the big to serve the small are optimistic; those who use the small to serve the big are fearful. Those who are optimistic protect the world, and those who fear the heaven protect their country.'"

Baoyan Jun nodded with tears in his eyes and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)