The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 826 The war begins

Three months later, Taiji Palace in Chang'an City.

Chengqing Palace.
Several key officials were discussing military intelligence. Li Shimin, who was sitting at the head of the group, threw a military intelligence report on the table and said with a serious expression, "Xue Wanshu, the governor of Yingzhou, reported that Jie Li led an army of 200,000 to the south and has reached the Liaohe River."

Several important officials felt nervous.
Zhang Sun Wuji first said: "Since the Battle of Dingxiang in the fourth year of Zhenguan, Jie Li has been busy cleaning up the mess and has not gone south for five years. Now my Tang Dynasty only borders the Turks along Hebei Road. Could it be that Jie Li wants to attack my Tang Dynasty from Hebei Road?"

This can be seen from the words that Changsun Wuji blurted out.

In the minds of the Tang Dynasty's rulers and ministers, the Ashina Yun tribe in the south of the desert and the Bibi tribe in the north of the desert were not considered as part of themselves. In fact, Jie Li was closer to the Grand Marshal's Office of the South and North Deserts, making it easier to invade.

Although these grassland tribes nominally belonged to the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court actually had no administrative power over them. Now it only regarded those people as its peripheral forces, using them to balance the grassland and buffer the power of Jie Li.

It can also be seen from the side that the Tang Dynasty was not able to truly digest the grassland territories that had been conquered.

The others all looked at Li Shimin with concern.
Li Shimin shook his head slowly: "According to Xue Wanshu's report, Jie Li is not coming for our Tang Dynasty this time, but to attack Goguryeo."

"This time when the Turks marched south, Jie Li mobilized a total of 200,000 cavalrymen, divided into two groups. One group of 50,000 people, led by the Right Wise King, entered the Huaiyuan area west of the Liao River and set up camp on the north bank of the Liao River outside Huaiyuan City, relying on Yingzhou across the water."

"Jie Li's own banner also appeared in Huaiyuan's camp."

"Another army of 150,000, led by Zuo Xian Wang Shi Luodie, launched a fierce offensive against a series of border towns along the northeastern line of Goguryeo."

"Although the cities on the northern border of Goguryeo are strong, most of them are located in the west bordering the Tang Dynasty. There are no large cities in the east. This time, the Turks are attacking from the east, so they are unstoppable."

"In ten days, we captured more than ten cities and penetrated into the heart of Goguryeo."

"The envoys from Goguryeo have arrived at the Honglu Temple, and are eager to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty. The envoys said that Goguryeo is a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, and they hope that the Tang Dynasty can send troops to contain the Turks and ease the pressure on their country."

"Let's discuss this together. What attitude should we take towards Jie Li's invasion from the south? And how should we respond to Goguryeo's request for assistance?"

After summarizing the situation, Li Shimin asked his ministers to discuss it.

Cen Wenben first said: "Your Majesty, Goguryeo has been a mortal enemy of our Central Plains since the end of the Sui Dynasty, which directly led to the demise of the Sui Dynasty. The Turks are not good people either. They are fighting each other, and we are just sitting on the sidelines and watching."

"As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, the big tiger gets hurt and the little tiger dies, both are good for our Tang Dynasty."

"Besides, our Tang Dynasty is currently in a critical period of reforming its internal affairs. I do not recommend interfering in the war between the two countries."

Xiao Yu also nodded: "Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Goguryeo has always despised our Tang Dynasty. Although they were conferred titles by the Emperor Retired during the Wude period, they never took it seriously and never came to the court to pay tribute."

"It was in the fourth year of Zhenguan, after our Tang Dynasty defeated Jie Li, Goguryeo was intimidated by our might, so it sent envoys to show off."

"Strictly speaking, Goguryeo has nothing to do with our Tang Dynasty, and I do not recommend sending troops."

"The two families have a deep blood feud. If we really send troops, we will attack them. There is absolutely no reason to rescue them."

Fang Xuanling, who was sitting at the first position on the left, shook his head and said with a worried look on his face: "Don't forget, everyone, Goguryeo borders our Tang Dynasty. Although it has been hostile to us for a long time, it is weak after all. It is good at defending but not aggressive enough."

"If Jie Li conquers Goguryeo, it means that he has extended his hand to the northeast and can launch an attack on the Hebei Province of our Tang Dynasty at any time."

"It would be even more troublesome then, so I suggest that we should intervene and not let Jie Li annex Goguryeo."

Cen Wenben smiled and said, "Master Fang, you are joking. Jie Li is a grassland wolf. He invaded our Tang Dynasty every year in the past just to plunder people and rob wealth. Now that our Tang Dynasty is strong, Jie Li has retreated to the eastern part of the grassland."

"Whether in the south or the west, it's all the territory of our Tang Dynasty."

"He can only attack Goguryeo to make up for his own deficiencies. He will leave after looting and will not stay in Goguryeo for long."

Zhang Sun Wuji also nodded in agreement: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is common for Jie Li to disturb the border. Now he did not invade our Tang Dynasty, but went to Goguryeo. For us, it is not a bad thing. Let them weaken Goguryeo."

"Only then can Goguryeo make more concessions to our Tang Dynasty, freeing up our hands to deal with them and reducing the burden on us in the future."

The rulers and ministers of the Tang Dynasty all had a consensus on how to deal with the issue of Goguryeo, which was that it would be destroyed sooner or later.

Before, they were busy dealing with their biggest enemy, the Turks. After Jie Li's defeat, they were busy with internal reforms, so they temporarily tolerated their existence.

Once the situation in the Tang Dynasty stabilized, it would definitely conquer Goguryeo. After all, the Tang Dynasty succeeded the Sui Dynasty, and Li Yuan became emperor only after accepting the abdication. Naturally, the hatred of the Sui Dynasty fell on the Tang Dynasty. Most of the Tang Dynasty's subjects now have experienced that shameful era.

Attacking Goguryeo was also a move to win the hearts of the people and expand the territory. For both public and private reasons, Li Shimin had to take on this mission.

Seeing that most of the ministers were gnashing their teeth in hatred when they mentioned Goguryeo and were against sending troops, Li Shimin nodded slowly. He also thought so in his heart. It would be beneficial for the Tang Dynasty if Jie Li and Goguryeo consumed each other. "Well, if that's the case, let's wait and see."

Liaodong City!
The city is tall and has strong walls. It is the most important border town in the north of Goguryeo.

Shi Luodie arrived here three days ago with an army of 100,000. After some persuasion for surrender, he launched an attack on Liaodong City.

After three days of fierce fighting, the war has entered a white-hot stage with both sides fighting for supremacy.

The city walls were covered with blood and gaps, the ramparts were pierced with arrows, broken limbs were everywhere under the city, corpses covered the ground, the battlefield was soaked with blood, and the siege ladders and battering rams that were leaning to the left and right at the city gate were swallowed up by the kerosene that poured down from the city.

A large group of Turkic soldiers, their bodies covered with kerosene and being burned by flames, screamed miserably like ghosts and wolves howling and rolled on the ground.

The cruel scene is like the Asura hell, which makes people shudder.

Before sending out troops, Jie Li appeased the Right Wise King through marriage, stabilized the upper power and mobilized troops, and then personally sat in the Right Wise King's camp on the north bank of the Liao River, leaving all the opportunities for achievement to Shi Luodie.

This was also the first time that Schrodie independently commanded such a large battle.

The day before the expedition, Jie Li and Shi Luo Die, the father and son, had a frank discussion on the transfer of power of the Khan. Shi Luo Die was Jie Li's only son, and there was no other heir to compete with him, but this did not mean that Shi Luo Die could secure the Khanship.

Military ability is Shi Luodie's biggest weakness. Without great achievements, people would not be convinced even if he became the Khan.

Even if Li Yan does not fight, there is still a group of tribal leaders who are good at fighting.

Therefore, Xu Sheng would not give up in this battle, and Jie Li transferred all his elite soldiers and generals to Shiluodie, asking Shiluodie to win a beautiful victory, so as to tell everyone in the Turkic Khanate that he is qualified for the position of Khan and can lead everyone to glory.

Shiluode had already made up his mind to shine in this battle, conquer the Three Kingdoms of Korea, establish his prestige in the Turkic Khanate, and clear the obstacles for his future succession to the throne of Khan.

After more than ten days of conquering more than ten cities, Shi Luodie's confidence increased.

The Liaodong City in front of us is the core town in the north of Goguryeo. As long as it is conquered, we can enter the heartland of Goguryeo.

After a few days of probing, Shi Luodie and his generals have already figured out the strength of Liaodong City. Today they have mobilized a large force to capture the city in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, Liaodong City seemed to have hidden its strength. At the critical moment, it actually recruited countless reserve forces from inside the city, and stabilized the city that was about to be breached. Some soldiers who climbed up the city wall with siege ladders were also surrounded and killed.

Afterwards, endless kerosene was poured towards the city, and countless bricks, stones, beams and wood removed from the houses fell like raindrops, completely breaking the Turkic offensive. Human lives were quickly wiped out in the fight between the two sides like steam under the scorching sun.

In just one day, more than 5,000 people were killed or injured.

The ten thousand-man teams attacked in turns without stopping. Although they caused great damage to Liaodong City, their own losses were also enormous.

Shi Luodie, standing on the command platform, was furious. He gritted his teeth in hatred, looked angrily at the city wall in the distance, with murderous intent in his eyes.

Even though there were heavy casualties and the war losses were constantly increasing, Shi Luodie continued to issue orders to urge the troops to move forward.

After the front team was crippled and lost its combat effectiveness, they immediately retreated to the rear.

Then they called in fresh troops, and rushed to the top of the city in waves. After the few battering rams were burned, they carried bamboo ladders and climbed to the top of the city at the risk of their lives.

Anyone who hesitated or retreated in the slightest would be ruthlessly killed by the law enforcement team behind them.

Shi Luodie no longer cares about the battle losses. He doesn't care how many people died. What he wants is Liaodong City and merit.

The biggest obstacle on the grassland, King Youxian, had been solved by his father Khan using his sister, and then he was given the opportunity and stage to make achievements. The rest he had to do by himself.

The city before him has become the biggest obstacle to his becoming the Khan. No matter what the cost, he must take it. Shi Luodie hates the stubborn Goguryeo natives so much that he has already made the decision in his mind to massacre them all after he captures the city.

"King Zuo, we can't fight like this anymore. Our brothers have suffered heavy losses!" A general wearing a tiger-skin felt hat said with some heartache as he looked at the tragic scene outside the city.

Another man, who was as sturdy as an iron tower, also advised worriedly: "Lord Zuo, we are advancing too fast and we don't have enough siege equipment. We are simply using our brothers' lives to fill the gap."

"There are many catapults and crossbows left over from the Sui Dynasty in the cities we captured before. We should urge them to transport them here as soon as possible. These things are the nemesis of a strong city. When they arrive, we can attack again and we will surely be able to take it down in one fell swoop."

"Yes, King Zuo, it's just the beginning of winter. There's still plenty of time. There's no need to rush." ​​More than a dozen generals surrounding Shi Luodie advised.

(End of this chapter)