My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 216: Breaking the City and Plundering for Three Days

At the foot of Gaimou City.

With the thundering drums.

The Tang army rushed towards the city walls of Gaimu City like a tide.

There was a suffocating tension in the air.

The Goryeo defenders were on high alert, with swords and spears at their disposal and shields tightly connected together, like a steel barrier.

This is not the first day of siege.

The brutal siege lasted for eight days.

Under the city wall, the corpses of the Tang army were piled up, and a foul stench was already emanating.

Hou Junji and Li Ji joined forces, with a total of 85,000 infantry and cavalry, more than 10,000 Hu soldiers, and more than 400,000 civilian laborers.

The shocking scene of 500,000 troops gathered together was no different from the sea at first glance.

The total population of Gaimu City is only over 100,000.

At the beginning of the siege, the shouts of the Tang army shook the earth.

The vanguard troops carried huge ladders and rushed towards the city wall under the cover of arrows.
The Goguryeo defenders on the city wall showed no sign of weakness. They drew their bows and shot arrows like rain.

The Tang soldiers who were at the front were instantly covered by arrows, and many of them fell in a pool of blood without even having time to scream.

When the ladders approached the city wall, the defenders pushed down huge rocks and poured boiling oil and water. The ladders were broken, and the soldiers fell one after another, being smashed to pieces. The city was instantly filled with incomplete corpses, and blood flowed, dyeing the ground red.

The Tang army that followed was not frightened by the tragic scene before them. They continued to advance. The battering rams, pushed by the soldiers, made dull thumping sounds and rammed the city gate again and again. Each impact was accompanied by the soldiers' roars and expectations, but the city gate remained as solid as a rock.

The defenders on the city wall used long poles, grappling hooks and other weapons to continuously attack the Tang army approaching the city wall, pulling them onto the battlements and then brutally beheading them.

Wave after wave of Tang troops rushed up the city walls, but were quickly defeated and driven back.

The attackers often have to bear greater casualties.

behind.

Hou Junji and Li Ji watched this scene with cold eyes.

The death of a large number of Tang soldiers did not shake their minds. Such scenes had long been commonplace.

Thousands of people died in almost every day of siege.

This is normal.

Because war is cruel.

Historically, this siege lasted a total of twelve days.

Although there is no record of the exact number of deaths, it is definitely not a small number.

The Tang army was in high spirits, but the Goryeo defenders were also determined.

The attackers had to bear greater casualties, and it often took several Tang troops to replace one Goryeo defender.

After eight days of fierce attack, the Tang army suffered heavy losses, and the defenders of Gaimu City also suffered heavy losses.

Of the more than 20,000 defenders, only about 10,000 are left.

During the siege, we could still see a large number of wounded Goryeo defenders participating in the battle, which meant that Gaimu City was already at the end of its strength.

"The defenders of Gaimu City are already overwhelmed. The city will be breached within five days."

Li Ji calmly expressed his analysis.

Hou Junji nodded.

"Three days later, the elite troops will come to the fort and capture the city in one fell swoop."

Up to now, Hou Junji and Li Ji's most elite troops have never been on the battlefield.

The people who attacked the city were guards from various Zhechoufu tribes and Hu soldiers.

Most of them are militiamen who have received temporary training.

The elite army is not only the strongest soldiers under the general, but also needs to stabilize the morale of the army.

Because only with elite troops can the other militias be controlled.

There is never a reason to send out your elite troops at the beginning of a war.

It is normal to use militia to consume resources.

Besides, after taking Gaimu City, we still need to take Liaodong City.

The Gaimu City here has only 20,000 defenders, while the Liaodong City has 50,000 defenders and more solid and taller city walls.

The manpower consumed will require more.

Although there will be a lot of losses in conquering Gaimu City, the Crown Prince and Li Daozon still have a large number of troops.

As long as Liaodong City and Gaimu City are captured, the door to Goryeo will be completely opened.

Subsequent attacks will be much easier.

There were a total of 176 cities in Goryeo, but not every city had such strong defenses and military forces.

Most of the cities had only two to three thousand or even fewer defenders, and the city walls were only ten feet high, which was completely unable to stop the Tang army from breaking into the city.

The siege lasted until almost sunset, when Hou Junji ordered the troops to retreat.

The wounded who are still alive will be placed in the wounded camp for treatment.

The wounded camp was always filled with wailing and groaning.

Every night, countless people die in the dark and are buried on the spot.

The cruelty of war is vividly demonstrated at this moment.

Engineers were also responsible for building new equipment and maintaining used siege equipment.

evening.

Generals such as Hou Junji and Li Ji then opened a military council.

Analyze the situation of the Goryeo defenders today.

In tomorrow's siege, how to attack Goryeo's weak points.

Including the replenishment of new siege troops.

The next day.

The siege soldiers, who had had a full meal, felt refreshed.

Another attack on Gaimu City was launched.

Although the city of Gaimu was already on the verge of collapse, it still held on tenaciously.

However, as the siege intensified, they were clearly not as strong as before, as can be seen from the gradually decreasing number of casualties among the Tang army.

However, bad news soon came.

Goryeo deployed 40,000 infantry and cavalry.

We can reach Gaimu City tomorrow.

Of course, the city of Gaimu is now under siege, and it is impossible for the Goryeo reinforcements to enter the city.

The only way was to engage in a field battle with the Tang army in order to achieve the goal of rescuing Gaimu City.

Another day of siege.

evening.

The candlelight flickered in the tent, and the light and shadows swayed on the map.

Hou Junji frowned and stared at the mark of Gaimu City on the map with sharp eyes.

"Forty thousand reinforcements from Goryeo are rushing to Gaimu City to rescue it. What do you think?"

"Should we stop the siege first and fight the enemy, or should we fight at the same time?"

Hearing this, many generals began to discuss.

"The city is about to fall. Giving Gaimu a chance to catch his breath will only result in greater casualties for our army."

"What about the Goryeo reinforcements?"

"With sufficient troops, how can we not fight on two fronts?"

"The Goryeo reinforcements have no strong defenses. Do we still have to be afraid of Goryeo in a head-on battle?"

"Maybe we can take the initiative to attack it."

After discussing for a while, Li Ji said: "The enemy has come from a long distance, their troops are exhausted and their horses are tired. They underestimate the enemy because of their numbers. We should attack decisively."

Forty thousand reinforcements against an army of five hundred thousand was like an egg hitting a rock.

But that’s not actually how it’s calculated.

In the battle on Goryeo's home ground, when 40,000 reinforcements were on a forced march, they were basically composed of combat soldiers, and the logistics were supplied by other cities.

On the side of Hou Junji and Li Ji, there were only 90,000 soldiers who could be considered as soldiers, and the loss in the siege was nearly 20,000.

The situation was naturally not good as they had to face Goryeo reinforcements while attacking the city.

Once the Goryeo reinforcements gain a foothold, the Tang army will have to devote most of its energy to dealing with them.

If Gaimu City could recover, the situation would easily turn into an unfavorable one.

After a brief discussion, Hou Junji decided to launch an offensive against the Goryeo reinforcements first.

Such a strong attack and raid would naturally be mainly based on cavalry, supplemented by infantry.

Li Ji and the marching commander Zhang Junyi jointly led 4,000 cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Goryeo reinforcements.

The next day.

Four thousand cavalrymen headed straight for the Goryeo reinforcement camp.

Just as Li Ji had guessed, the Goryeo reinforcements were not only unprepared, but their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced due to their rapid march.

Although the Tang army had only 4,000 cavalry, the Goryeo reinforcements had 40,000 infantry and cavalry, a ten-fold difference in strength.

However, it is not possible for all 40,000 cavalrymen to be deployed at once.

Especially when being attacked by surprise, many soldiers did not even have time to put on their armor.

The Tang army only needed to raid each camp one by one.

The cavalry had a huge advantage over the infantry. After several charges, one camp after another was razed to the ground by the Tang army.

Generals like Li Ji are well versed in the art of surprise attack.

Whenever he saw soldiers being organized, he would immediately lead the Ti cavalry to charge and break their formation.

This made it impossible for them to organize effective resistance.

But at this time.

The Goryeo cavalry, numbering about three thousand, suddenly attacked from the flank.

It happened to be the right side of the Tang army.

The officer leading the cavalry on the right was Zhang Junyi, the marching commander-in-chief.

It is obvious that this cavalry team is the elite cavalry of the Goryeo reinforcements, well-equipped and with excellent riding skills.

Before the marching commander Zhang Junyi could react, it was already in front of him.

Just one charge.

The cavalry formation of Zhang Junyi, the commander-in-chief of the army, was broken.

These elite Goryeo cavalry were well versed in tactics.

After breaking through the Tang army's formation, they immediately began to split up and encircle and annihilate the cavalry led by Zhang Junyi, the marching commander.

You know, at this time, the Tang army was not only facing cavalry.

They also have to face infantry who can form formations at any time.

Once the infantry formed a phalanx, the cavalry would be greatly restricted.

Seeing this, the marching commander Zhang Junyi suddenly made a bold decision.

When faced with the powerful Goryeo cavalry, he became frightened and turned around and ran away.

When Zhang Junyi ran away, the cavalry following him naturally retreated.

But if that's the case, it would be selling out your teammates.

Li Ji had already penetrated quite deep into the enemy's territory at this point, and Zhang Junyi's departure had cut off Li Ji's retreat.

The Goryeo cavalry commander was also a shrewd man.

Seeing this situation, they immediately gave up the encirclement and annihilation of Zhang Junyi and instead charged at the incoming cavalry.

"Zhang Junyi, you're a bitch."

Li Ji couldn't help but curse loudly, this was really going to kill him.

Even if we retreat, we must at least cover him and retreat together.

How could he escape like this?

The Goryeo cavalry moved quickly and dealt a direct blow to Li Ji's troops.

Three thousand versus two thousand, the advantage is on Goryeo.

Moreover, after Li Ji broke into several Goryeo camps, he suffered huge consumption of both manpower and horsepower.

The Goryeo cavalry were new to the battlefield and were full of energy, so they did not cause much trouble to Zhang Junyi's side.

Even though Li Ji tried his best to resist, he could not escape the result that his cavalry formation was broken.

However, as a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, he fought battles almost all his life.

I have seen all kinds of unfavorable situations.

Even though defeat was inevitable, he remained calm and effectively organized his cavalry formation to fight against the Goryeo cavalry.

The Tang cavalry was slightly superior to the Goryeo cavalry in terms of personal skills and armaments.

Especially Li Ji's hundreds of personal guards, all wearing Ming Guang armor, were full of momentum.

With only one thousand more cavalry, Goryeo could not gain an absolute advantage and crush Li Ji. Li Ji was still able to put up a tenacious resistance.

But the situation is very bad now. If it goes on for a while, Li Ji will be too busy fighting with the Goryeo cavalry to take care of the infantry.

Now, these Goryeo infantrymen were quickly forming their battle array without being restrained.

Moreover, some of the infantrymen who had already formed up their array began to approach Li Ji's cavalry.

The infantry can effectively occupy the position of the Tang cavalry.

It is very difficult for cavalry to charge against infantry that are already lined up. If they charge directly, they will easily be trapped in the infantry's phalanx and then hacked to death.

"General, break out. The brothers will escort you out."

The guard shouted loudly.

At such a critical moment, all the guards could do was to fight their way out and escort Li Ji away.

Li Ji gritted his teeth slightly and looked in the direction he came from.

A large number of Goryeo infantrymen have gathered there, trying to completely cut off his retreat.

If we break out at this time, there is indeed a certain possibility of breaking out.

But almost all of the 2,000 men under Li Ji's command were killed here, and less than one or two out of ten were able to escape.

Exchanging cavalry for infantry is a huge loss no matter how you look at it.

"Do not."

Li Ji rejected the advice of his personal guards and made a bold decision instead.

"Commanders, charge with me!"

Li Ji led the cavalry team, turned towards the Goryeo cavalry and charged directly into them.

Faced with disadvantages in all aspects, Li Ji chose to fight with cavalry.

It was not that he was too soft-hearted, but Li Ji understood that even if he really broke out, he would still face the pursuit of the Goryeo cavalry. In this situation where he was well-rested and waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, his chances of escape would be very slim.

But looking at it from another angle, as long as we can disperse or even repel the Goryeo cavalry, without their restraint, we can truly break out.

How can two legs compare with four legs? At that time, Goryeo could only watch Li Ji lead his troops away.

And there is another side to this.

Li Ji was the vanguard, and Hou Junji was already on his way with his troops.

As long as he holds out long enough, he will receive reinforcements.

"Fight to the death and never retreat!!!"

Li Ji roared loudly.

At the same time, while charging, he moved sideways with the horse, picked up a spear on the ground with his toes, jumped onto the horse and held the spear tightly.

Then he threw it with one hand, and the powerful force directly hit the head of the horse of a Korean cavalryman in front of him.

The warhorse rolled over and the Goryeo cavalry rolled to the bottom. Before they could get up, they were trampled to death by a group of cavalrymen.

The horseshoe with the horseshoe nailed on it obviously has a stronger force when stepped on.

After Li Shimin learned about the method of making horseshoes, he quickly ordered people to pass it on to those who came before him.

For the time being, only a few cavalrymen made horseshoes.

The war horses of Li Ji's cavalry were all equipped.

Li Ji's brilliant individual kill greatly boosted the morale of the troops.

Nearly two thousand cavalrymen shouted in unison: "Fight to the death!"

The strong will moved the Goryeo cavalry. Faced with such a death charge, they actually showed a trace of panic.

A famous general is one who can accurately grasp every opportunity in the war.

Li Ji grasped this opportunity very well. He was originally preparing to attack the flank, but he temporarily changed his route and rushed towards the core of the Goryeo cavalry.

The Goryeo cavalry commander hesitated for a moment.

In his eyes, Li Ji's cavalry team had become a trapped beast.

It's not worth fighting with them at this time.

So he ordered to avoid the enemy's attack.

The brave wins when we meet on a narrow road.

While avoiding their sharp edge, it also represented a decline in the morale of the Goryeo cavalry.

Even with more manpower and horsepower, they still seemed unable to withstand the charge of the Tang cavalry.

In a short time, the Goryeo cavalry were cut off their horses one after another by the Tang cavalry.

The Goryeo cavalry commander regretted his decision.

Wrong decisions have resulted in many unnecessary losses.

However, it is more difficult to organize now.

In desperation, the Goryeo cavalry led the cavalry into the infantry phalanx and reorganized themselves.

They surrounded the Tang army but did not kill them.

This gave Li Ji a chance to catch his breath.

Because war horses cannot charge all the time, they also need to rest.

But even if he could rest for a moment and let his horse recover some strength, the possibility of Li Ji breaking out would be greater.

But at this moment.

Suddenly, shouts of killing were heard in the distance.

It was Hou Junji who led a large army to come for support.

The Tang army arrived like a tide.

At the front were the three thousand cavalrymen led by Hou Junji.

There were at least 20,000 Tang army infantrymen in an endless stream.

Moreover, here are the elite troops led by generals such as Hou Junji.

The phalanx that Goryeo had temporarily organized was completely unable to resist the attack of the elite Tang army and was immediately shattered.

The Goryeo soldiers blocking the front fled, abandoning their weapons and armor.

The phalanx that was blocking Li Ji's breakout was gone, but at this moment Li Ji no longer needed to break out.

"Commendations, are you still able to fight?"

Li Ji laughed out loud and asked loudly.

The soldiers responded loudly with great momentum: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Li Ji pointed his sword at the Goryeo cavalry again: "Kill!"

The Goryeo side was in chaos and was defeated by the Tang army.

Because of the forced march, many soldiers were already very tired, and the war broke out suddenly, and the soldiers behind them could not provide support.

The cavalry was completely suppressed by the Tang army.

How can we fight if the army’s morale is broken?

In desperation, they retreated one after another.

There's no such thing as not chasing a desperate enemy. This is the perfect time to strike back at a fallen enemy.

Hou Junji and Li Ji worked together to chase the Goryeo army for more than 30 miles until sunset, when they stopped and withdrew their troops.

As for the Goryeo reinforcements, more than half of them were lost. After gathering their forces, the original number of 40,000 has dropped to less than 20,000 now.

How can 20,000 troops provide support to Gaimu City? They can only retreat first.

evening.

Hou Junji set up camp on the spot.

At the same time, let the soldiers clean up and collect.

There was a burst of laughter in the military camp.

"Goryeo is well aware that we are short of supplies and armaments, so they sent us gifts on purpose."

The soldiers laughed.

The baggage of 40,000 people is a very substantial number, even if the amount carried is not much because of fighting on the home front.

The most important thing is that this time the Tang army captured more than 10,000 prisoners.

These tens of thousands of people can serve as cannon fodder to attack Gaimu City.

Just thinking about using Goryeo's soldiers to fight Goryeo makes me feel good.

Li Ji was very angry.

I searched for a long time but couldn't find Zhang Junyi.

So he asked Hou Junji, "What crime should Zhang Junyi be punished for for deserting the battlefield?"

Zhang Junyi was the military commander under Hou Junji.

Li Ji naturally went to Hou Junji to hold him accountable.

Upon hearing this, Hou Junji immediately said to the guards beside him, "Bring the things here."

Li Ji was a little confused and didn't know what Hou Junji was up to.

Soon, the guard came over holding a wooden box.

Hou Junji said casually: "See for yourself."

Li Ji snorted coldly: "You are just being mysterious. I want to see what tricks you have."

Having said that, he opened the box.

I saw a huge head inside.

It’s really Zhang Junyi.

"This"

Li Ji was suddenly speechless.

Hou Junji said: "He deserted the battlefield and put his comrades in danger. What use is there for such a villain? He will be punished according to military law."

Li Ji bowed and said, "I admire you."

Hou Junji shook his head slightly: "I misjudged others, which is why this villain succeeded."

"When I saw you leading the cavalry back, I immediately felt something was wrong. After interrogating you, I learned that you were acting so absurdly. So I cut off his head and ordered the army to march quickly."

"Fortunately, we still caught up."

Having said this, Li Ji's anger naturally dissipated.

Let's talk about their siege.

"The Goryeo reinforcements were defeated, and the morale of Gaimu City must be even lower."

"Maybe we can take the city in one fell swoop."

Hou Junji smiled and said, "That's what I thought too."

The next day, Hou Junji led the army back and launched another attack on Gaimu City.

This time, a large number of captured Goryeo soldiers were used as cannon fodder and driven to attack the city, causing great chaos in the morale of the army in Gaimu City.

Seeing the right opportunity, Hou Junji directly sent out his elite troops with unstoppable force.

Compared with the historical time when Li Ji and Li Daozon took twelve days, Hou Junji arrived two days earlier this time.

Before sunset on the tenth day, they captured the city of Gaimu.

It is obvious that Hou Junji's ability in using troops is superior to that of Li Daozon and Li Ji.

Hou Junji's main army is also the strongest elite force in the Tang Dynasty.

He once followed Hou Junji to successively destroy Tuyuhun and Gaochang and defeated Tubo.

He has rich experience in siege warfare.

He is now the most prestigious general in the Tang Dynasty after Li Jing, but his moral character is slightly lacking.

After taking the city, Hou Junji ordered his soldiers to plunder for three days.

Upon hearing this proposal, Li Ji immediately dissuaded it.

"Has the chief steward Hou forgotten the disaster that happened in Gaochang?"

"Now those civil officials in the court are probably keeping a close eye on Chief Eunuch Hou."

Hou Junji didn't care: "Let them say whatever they want. The brothers have worked so hard, can't they be happy now that the city has been conquered?"

"Okay, Deputy Manager Li, please don't ask about this matter."

Although Hou Junji's moral character is not very good, he is really good to his subordinates.

Isn't it normal to relax a bit after a big battle?

This is also why Hou Junji's subordinates are very loyal.

If you follow a boss like this, who wouldn't work hard for him? If there are good things, he will really give them to you.

For ordinary soldiers, isn't this the time to make a fortune by fighting in wars?

This is just like Yuwen Chengdu during the Sui Dynasty.

Who doesn’t want to be Yuwen Chengdu’s soldier?

In the wounded soldiers' camp, anyone who could still move was struggling to get up, wanting to feel the joy at all costs.

It was also at this time.

The news of the fall of Liaodong City finally came.

(End of this chapter)