My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 217 Is there still hope for Goryeo?

"Liaodong City was broken?"

"The prince summoned the thunderbolt to destroy the city in half a day?"

"Someone, this guy lied about military intelligence, drag him out and chop him off."

Hou Junji shouted loudly.

He didn't believe the news that Liaodong City had fallen at all.

Gaimu City here gathered most of the troops for this Eastern Expedition and was also the main force for attacking Goryeo.

Even so, it took ten days and tens of thousands of troops to break into the city.

Liaodong City was the gateway to Goryeo and the eastern capital. It had high walls, thick walls, many soldiers and generals, and sufficient food.

The prince's five thousand cavalry were indeed powerful, but that was a horse battle, not a siege.

Li Daozon was a famous general from the royal family, but he had only about 20,000 soldiers and horses.

Even if all of them are added together, there are still not as many soldiers guarding Liaodong City.

How to break the city, how to break the city.

As for the saying about thunder from heaven, it is complete nonsense.

If there really is a thunder from the sky, then what is the use of generals like them?

"General Manager, please spare me, please spare me."

"This sounds ridiculous, but every word I said is true."

The soldier who reported the news immediately begged for mercy.

Seeing that the guards were about to carry the man out, Li Ji said calmly, "General Manager, let's listen to his detailed explanation."

Hou Junji didn't really intend to kill the messenger.

That is to say, just scare them casually so that they dare not lie.

"Okay, I'll give you one more chance."

"Tell me in detail what you heard and know."

"If you dare to talk nonsense again, watch out for your head."

Hou Junji said unhappily.

The messenger was also a smart man and did not dare to talk about the prince anymore.

It was only said that Liaodong City had been captured by the prince, the flags on the city walls were changing, and the prince's army had entered the city.

The news will spread soon.

"Did the city really break through?"

With this said, the credibility is higher.

After all, such a big news as the fall of Liaodong City will surely spread quickly and will be verified then.

"Reporting to the Grand Steward, the prince has really broken into the city."

The messenger said affirmatively.

He was a little skeptical at first, but he saw with his own eyes that the Goryeo flag on the Liaodong city wall had been replaced with the prince's.

This is something you have to believe.

Li Ji was somewhat suspicious and said, "You keep saying that the prince broke into the city. Wasn't it Li Dao Zong who led the army to break into the city?"

The messenger said, "I have not heard any news about King Jiangxia."

Li Ji continued to ask: "What is the explanation for the thunder from heaven descending upon the earth? How did it come about?"

The messenger replied honestly: "It is said that when the prince attacked the city that day, he summoned dozens of thunderbolts to hit the Liaodong city."

"The tower was crushed by thunder and the city gate was shattered."

"Many people heard a huge noise, the ground was shaking, and under this divine power, the Korean defenders collapsed without a fight."

"The Lord of the Eastern Goryeo, Yuan Junyue, abandoned the city and fled. The entire city was taken over by the Crown Prince."

Li Ji asked again: "Besides this, is there any other news?"

The messenger shook his head and said, "No more."

Li Ji nodded: "Okay, you can go down."

"Yes."

After the messenger left.

Li Ji frowned and said, "It seems that this is the work of Li Dao Zong, and perhaps there is also your majesty's arrangement in it."

"Perhaps something happened that produced unexpected results, which is why Liaodong City was breached like this."

"But I didn't expect that Li Dao Zong, who is not well-known, would have such a plan and be willing to give his fame to the prince."

Although Li Daozon was a famous general from the royal family, he was still inferior to Li Ji and Hou Junji.

After a brief analysis, Li Ji believed that Li Daozon had never participated in the fight for the throne.

But this time, because he had marched with the prince all the way, he might have already stood on the prince's side.

All the credit for capturing Liaodong City was attributed to the crown prince, so naturally he gained his trust.

Hou Junji nodded slightly.

He was initially skeptical, but when he heard that His Majesty might have made some arrangements, he suddenly felt that some of it made sense.

Although there are some absurd remarks at the moment, such as the talk of thunder from the sky, it is probably to build momentum for the prince.

This is a good thing for Hou Junji.

Because he is also a princeling.

When the prince successfully ascends the throne in the future, he will also be able to rise with the tide. The prince had promised him the positions of Grand Marshal and Shangzhuguo.

"It seems that this news is probably true."

"Perhaps there really was thunder from the sky that day that helped the prince. Although it sounds a bit surprising, it is not impossible that the prince is blessed by heaven."

Hou Junji immediately changed his tone and directly defined the matter.

Li Ji looked at Hou Junji deeply but said nothing.

The prince wanted to build momentum, but no matter what the situation was, the capture of Liaodong City must be true.

For things like this, there is no such thing as fake news. A simple check will reveal the truth. There is no possibility of concealment.

If this is the case, it is reasonable for the prince to seek help from gods and ghosts such as God's blessing.

This is the same reason why Emperor Taizu of Han, Liu Bang, killed a white snake and started an uprising.
-
Pyongyang.

After several days of travel, Yuan Junyue, along with more than a dozen personal guards, finally arrived at Pyongyang, the capital of Goryeo.

The reason why he chose to abandon the city and flee.

Yuan Junyue knew very well that once the outer city was occupied by the Tang army, the inner city would have no ability to resist at all.

How can the inner city stop the Tang Prince's thunder weapon?

See the city of Pyongyang.

There was a hint of sadness on Yuan Junyue's tired look.

He vaguely remembered that when he left Pyongyang City, he and Da Molizhi issued a military order.

As long as the city is intact, people are alive; if the city is destroyed, people die.

But now, he broke the oath he made.

Yuan Junyue was not afraid of death, but he was more aware of the threat posed by the Tang Crown Prince's thunder and fire to Goryeo.

With the help of thunder and fire, breaking the city is as easy as walking on flat ground.

Without the defense of the city, how could Goryeo compete with the Tang Dynasty?

He must tell Da Molizhi the news as soon as possible.

After entering the royal capital.

Yuan Junyue did not go to the palace, but went directly to the Damoli branch mansion.

In terms of status, Yeon Jun-yue is Yeon Gaesomun's cousin, and they have a very good relationship.

At this time.

Yeon Gaesomun was in his study.

Listen to and review various intelligence reports of the Tang army.

As early as last year, after Yeon Gaesomun rejected the request of Tang envoy Sangri Xuanjiang, he already understood that there would be a war between Goryeo and Tang.

Yeon Gaesomun was a proud and confident man.

After the Sui Dynasty, Goryeo developed rapidly due to the large number of craftsmen and soldiers who fled from the Sui Dynasty.

It can be said that in the entire East Asian region, if Goryeo is ranked third, no one dares to claim to be second.

Yeon Gaesomun was a very ambitious man.

He is not satisfied with the current territory of Goryeo.

Silla was so weak, why didn't it incorporate into the territory of Goryeo?

Including Baekje was also included in Yeon Gaesomun's plan.

His goal was to make Goryeo even greater, complete the unfinished work of his ancestors, annex Silla and Baekje, and achieve unification.

Only in this way can Goryeo have the possibility of looking beyond the Central Plains.

Therefore, the invasion of the Tang army was already within his expectations.

Back then, the Sui Dynasty's million-strong army failed to conquer Goryeo. Today's Goryeo is a completely different country, so how could it lose to the Tang Dynasty?

Yeon Gaesomun was still very confident about this.

Of course, confidence is confidence, and Yeon Gaesomun still takes the invasion of the Tang army very seriously.

There was no time to save face for the King of Goryeo, and all the information was sent directly to him.

At this time, the servant came to report.

Lord Yuan Junyue from the Eastern Region requested to see you.

Yeon Gaesomun was stunned when he heard this.

Subconsciously asked: "Who do you want to see?"

He felt like he had heard wrongly.

A few days ago, intelligence came that the Tang prince led a 100,000-man army to the city of Liaodong. Yeon Gaesomun believed that the Tang army was trying to contain their forces.

The real target of the Tang army should be Gaimu City.

Therefore, Yeon Gaesomun has arranged 40,000 troops to support Gaimu City.

However, Yeon Gaesomun had a vague feeling that with the size of the military force in Gaimu City, it might not be able to withstand the main force of the Tang army.

Defeat may only be a matter of time.

So these days, he has been thinking about how to better resist the Tang army.

As long as it drags on until deep winter, the Tang army will be forced to withdraw.

For Goryeo, it only needs to hold on for three months to stabilize the war situation.

The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty only has 20,000 to 30,000 troops, which are just used to contain Liaodong City. Yeon Gaesomun did not take it too seriously.

At this time, how could Yuan Junyue, as the Lord of the East, suddenly return to Pyongyang? Isn't this pure nonsense?

Yeon Gaesomun looked at his servants with some displeasure.

How could there be such an idiot in the palace?

"My Lord, it's General Yuan Junyue from the Eastern Region."

The servant said again with certainty.

Feeling the gaze of his master, he felt a little frightened, but the person he wanted to see now was Yuan Junyue.

"what!"

"Can you say that again!"

"who is it!"

After receiving a positive answer, Yeon Gaesomun stood up suddenly and asked.

"My Lord, it is General Yuan Junyue."

"I am waiting in the hallway for the master to summon me."

Seeing their master angry, the servants began to tremble as they spoke.

Yeon Gaesomun suddenly had a premonition in his heart.

"Quick, call him in."

"No, I'll go myself."

Yeon Gaesomun could not wait any longer. He was eager to know what had happened.

Yuan Junyue, who was supposed to be guarding Liaodong City at this moment, suddenly returned to the royal capital.

This is definitely not good news.

Yeon Gaesomun hurriedly took two steps at a time and walked towards the hall.

Soon, in the hall, he really saw Yuan Junyue.

Yuan Junyue was covered in dust and looked tired. When he saw Yuan Gaesomun, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"Liaodong City has been broken, please ask Da Molizhi to impose the death penalty."

This news made Yeon Gaesomun feel as if his eyes were darkening and he almost lost his balance.

Liaodong City.

Eastern capital.

Goryeo Gate.

It is also the place that Yeon Gaesomun looks forward to most.

He also hoped that the Tang army would not be able to conquer Liaodong City just as it had done against the Sui Dynasty.

But now, how long has it been?

Goryeo's largest military city was breached just like that?
"How dare you come back?"

"When you left, you told me that the city is intact as long as the people live, but it will be destroyed if the people perish."

"Why don't you just die!!!"

Yeon Gaesomun, who had recovered a little, could no longer hold back and cursed at Yeon Junyue.

Yuan Junyue knelt on the ground and replied: "It is not a pity for me to die, but I know better that I must bring back the most critical intelligence from the Tang Dynasty."

"After the outer city was captured by the Tang army, I knew that Liaodong City could not be defended, so I immediately abandoned the city and fled, just to let Da Molizhi know about the Great Tang Crown Prince as quickly as possible."

Yeon Gaesomun felt a tightness in his chest.

"You just failed to defend the outer city, and you even ignored the inner city. Are you crazy?"

"So you are now telling me that the food and military equipment that I have stored in Liaodong City for many years now belong to the Tang Dynasty?"

"When you left, didn't you even have time to arrange for someone to set a fire?"

Yuan Junyue, who was kneeling on the ground, shook his head bitterly and said, "It's too late. There's not even time to set the fire."

"Even if it's just one moment later, I might not be able to come back."

Yeon Gaesomun pointed at Yeon Junyue and yelled, "Why did you come back? Why did you come back?"

Yuan Junyue said in a sad voice: "Da Molizhi, why don't you ask how long it took the Tang army to capture Liaodong City?"

Yeon Gaesomun's anger subsided slightly after hearing this.

He realized that things were not as simple as he thought.

I just received information about Liaodong City a few days ago, and Yuan Junyue came back today.

This means that Liaodong City was breached within two days at most after the intelligence was sent out.

"No matter what the reason is, you are guilty of a capital crime and cannot be pardoned."

"What's the point of any excuse now?"

"Tell me what you want to tell me."

Yeon Gaesomun had already sentenced Yeon Junyue to death in his heart, even though he was his cousin.

But even he couldn't cover up such a serious crime.

If the battle lasted for more than ten days and Liaodong City suffered heavy losses before he escaped, he could still be allowed to make amends for his crime.

But in the current situation, the only thing he can do is to atone for his crime with his death.

Yuan Junyue didn't care about these.

Thinking of the previous memories, a look of fear and terror appeared on his face.

This made Yeon Gaesomun's heart skip a beat.

Having followed him for many years, Yeon Gaesomun knew very well that his cousin was not a coward.

What on earth did he go through.

"Half a day, just half a day."

"It all happened so suddenly, I never even thought that something like this would happen."

"For three days in a row, he just pulled the soldiers out to form a battle array, and then let the crossbows continuously shoot crossbow arrows without arrowheads."

“Those crossbows always had cloth bags hanging on them, filled with rocks.”

"The strange actions of the Tang prince make me feel a huge conspiracy."

"I summoned all the generals and counselors to discuss the matter, but I couldn't figure out why the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty did this."

"Yeah, how could I have thought of such a thing?"

"That was the fourth day, the fourth day after the Tang army arrived. In the morning, someone came to report that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty suddenly appeared in the Tang army's formation."

"I sensed that the Tang army was about to attack the city, so I quickly went to the city wall to give orders."

"Three hundred phalanxes, some siege weapons, and only thirty thousand people. This doesn't make me feel worried at all."

"The Tang army did not attack the city immediately. They used catapults and crossbows as before."

"The crossbow arrows hit the city gates and towers, and rocks fell into the city. Everything seemed normal, nothing special."

"However, just when I thought nothing would happen."

"Sudden."

Having said that, Yuan Junyue's words suddenly stopped.

His lips were trembling, his face was filled with panic, and his pupils were dilated.

Yeon Gaesomun asked hurriedly, "Tell me, tell me, what happened?"

The shout brought Yuan Junyue back to reality.

He swallowed subconsciously. His throat became extremely dry at this moment, so that Yuan Junyue's voice was a little hoarse.

"It was like a fireball exploding suddenly, or thunder falling from the sky."

"No sound could be heard. The sky was shaking, and the ground was shaking as well, as if it was a divine punishment. The city towers were torn apart, and the city gates were torn apart as well, as if by a pair of invisible giant hands."

"I was terribly scared. Everyone was terribly scared. They were all running away. I was running away too. I ran down the city wall."

"There was a sound of the Tang army attacking the city from outside the city."

"I led the supervision team, killed many people, and forced them to go back to defend the city."

"I thought that even if this was the Tang army's trump card, such a method could not be used all the time."

"But the Tang army started again. Their crossbows carried something wrapped in cotton cloth, perhaps collected from the thunder in the sky."

"There was wave after wave of attacks, and they never stopped. The soldiers were completely panicked, and no one dared to stop the Tang army."

"I retreated back to the inner city, but I knew that the inner city could not be defended. They could easily blow up the city gate."

"I sent an envoy to ask the Tang prince for surrender, but I knew he would not agree. I rode on my horse and did not dare to stop day or night."

“Just wanted to bring this message back.”

At this point, Yuan Junyue lowered his head and said in a desperate voice: "Please allow me to die, Great Molizhi."

At this moment, Yeon Gaesomun was stunned.

This is simply a bizarre myth, absolutely ridiculous.

But Yuan Junyue's current expression told him that this was probably true.

But if this is really the case, is there still hope for Goryeo?

(End of this chapter)