My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 224 Yeon Gaesomun: Capturing the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty

An army of 220,000.

Overwhelming is not enough to describe it.

This required all of Goryeo's national strength.

The entire Goryeo was paying for these armies.

Every day's consumption is a huge burden for Goryeo.

There are also 20,000 cavalry troops here.

In history, even Yeon Gaesomun had never been so outrageous when dealing with Li Shimin.

Because even if they won, Goryeo would be severely damaged, and it was unknown how many years it would take to recover.

Yeon Gaesomun didn't want to do this, but the pressure from the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was too great.

Cities kept falling, and now most of the Goryeo region has fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

Any city would have almost no resistance to the thunder and fire.

Given the current situation, Yeon Gaesomun sees no hope at all and can only give it his all and fight to the death.

If the battle of Anshi City is lost, the royal capital will not have to resist and can surrender directly.

night.

Yeon Gaesomun couldn't sleep, so he climbed up the city wall of Anshi City.

Below, there were densely packed military camps connected together, and a large number of bonfires lit up the night sky.

There were 220,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of civilians, a total population of over one million.

The small city of Anshi naturally cannot accommodate so many people.

Therefore, the plain outside the city is already filled with military camps.

"With so many people, even if it's you, the Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Lei Huo, can you defeat me?"

The firelight shone into Yeon Gaesomun's eyes, making him a little dazed.

These words seem to be asking others as well as myself.

Even so, Yeon Gaesomun still did not have the confidence that he could defeat the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

"Father, we will definitely win."

The person who answered the phone was Yeon Gaesomun's eldest son, Yeon Nansheng.

He was also the son that Yeon Gaesomun relied on the most.

However, in history, it was this son who was eventually expelled because of his two younger brothers. He finally joined the Tang Dynasty, changed his name to Quan Nansheng, and became a guide, enabling Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, to destroy Goryeo.

Of course, at this time, with his father Yeon Gaesomun around, his status in Goryeo was equivalent to that of the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, and he was the legitimate heir.

"We have no retreat."

"For Datang, even if they fail this time, they can still try again next year."

"With siege weapons like Thunderfire, they can send fewer troops and less burden to attack us."

"By then, will we still be able to resist?"

“I hesitated for a long time about this.”

"Is it worth it to take such a gamble?"

Yeon Gaesomun spoke in a flat voice, but everyone could hear the sadness in it.

Yuan Nansheng comforted him, "With an army of 220,000, no matter how powerful the Crown Prince of Tang is, he will never be able to defeat us."

"He only has over 100,000 troops. Intelligence says that there are still many defenders left in those cities."

"So the actual number of troops that can fight will never exceed 100,000."

"We still have 20,000 cavalry."

"We will not lose, Father."

This battle is no longer a siege, but a field battle against the Tang army.

How can we lose with twice the number of troops?

Their soldiers also have sophisticated armor and weapons.

Most of the Tang prince's troops were from the Goryeo garrison.

As long as a certain advantage is gained, the captured Goryeo defenders can be forced to rebel.

"Boys, this is different."

Yeon Gaesomun shook his head slightly, and then continued: "For us, repelling the Tang army does not mean victory."

"I have received relevant information about the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. No one knows about these thunder and fire, even in the Tang Dynasty."

"There is also some news about the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps there is a gap between the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and they are on guard against each other."

"These lightning and fire objects were secretly made by the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. Even the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was unaware of it."

"This is the biggest crisis for us, but also the biggest opportunity."

"if."

Having said this, Yeon Gaesomun's voice couldn't help but tremble.

"If, we can defeat the Crown Prince of Tang Dynasty."

"If we can capture the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty alive."

"Then we will get the method of making this thunder fire."

"Just like the prince of the Tang Dynasty is attacking our city now, we can also break through the city of the Tang Dynasty more easily."

At this moment, Yeon Gaesomun's eyes became sharp, and under the moonlight, they even became bright like a cat's eyes.

There was no hiding of his huge ambition in his words.

"This is why I am so desperate."

In fact, when Yeon Gaesomun faced pressure from the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, he had many other ways to deal with it.

The first strategy discussed was to delay.

The campaign of erecting walls and clearing the fields dragged on until deep winter, forcing the Tang army to retreat.

But after learning some information about the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Yeon Gaesomun rejected all objections and finally chose a war to save the country.

His goal is to obtain the thunder and fire from the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

With this kind of siege equipment.

Destroying Silla, conquering Baekje, and unifying the Liaodong Peninsula was just the beginning.

Yeon Gaesomun's biggest goal was to invade the Tang Dynasty from the south.

Hearing these words, Yuan Nansheng's breathing couldn't help but stagnate.

He didn't expect that his father's ambition would be so great.

Earlier, Yuan Nansheng also opposed his father's idea of ​​mobilizing troops across the country, but he had to give in because of his father's dominance.

Now, he understood his father's intentions.

But he was worried: "What if the prince of the Tang Dynasty surrounded us but did not attack?"

This is the biggest problem facing the 220,000-strong army.

This was also the key reason why the ministers and generals opposed it before.

With millions of people, the daily consumption is enormous.

A steady supply of food was transported from every existing city in Goryeo.

In order to provide sufficient consumption, Yeon Gaesomun issued the most stringent grain collection order.

The seemingly powerful Goryeo army was actually built on the hunger of a large number of people.

From the perspective of countless Korean common people, the last grain of rice in their homes was forcibly confiscated.

Yeon Gaesomun forced all the nobles and royal families of Goryeo to donate all their grain.

Some who were unwilling even sent troops to rob them by force.

This is the end of the road.

If the Battle of Ansi City was lost, Yeon Gaesomun would have no chance to make a comeback.

The Goryeo nobles would no longer support him, and he had completely lost the support of the Goryeo people.

This is also a gamble for Yeon Gaesomun.

Hearing his eldest son's question, Yeon Gaesomun said firmly: "With the pride of the Tang crown prince, he will not wait."

Yeon Gaesomun understood that if it were him, he would not wait either.

There is no need to wait.

Continuous victories can easily dazzle and confuse people.

Under such circumstances, how could the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty wait?

"The most important thing is that between the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he needs a big victory to prove himself." "So he won't wait. What he wants is a complete victory."

"This is our opportunity."

Done.

Yeon Gaesomun also lost interest in chatting.

"Go back. When you return, take a good look at the information about the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."

"Also, make more preparations for the upcoming war."

Yuan Nansheng said, "Yes, father."

After returning home.

Yuan Nansheng followed his father's instructions and began to study the intelligence of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

This information was obtained at the cost of huge amounts of money and manpower.

Including the various deeds of the Crown Prince of Tang in Chang'an last year, the conflict with the King of Wei of Tang, and even the speculation about treason, all are recorded in detail.

It is obvious that there are bad people in the Tang Dynasty families.

This information involves the secrets of the Tang Dynasty royal family and cannot be found out by just a few spies.

Yeon Gaesomun also spent a lot of money to obtain this information.

Just watching, Yuan suddenly felt a little emotional.

The situation of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is so similar to his current situation.

The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had three legitimate sons.

My father also has three legitimate sons.

He is the eldest son, just like the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is the eldest son.

The intelligence analyzed why the Crown Prince of Tang Dynasty wanted to lead the army in person. It was because his position as Crown Prince was threatened by the King of Wei, so he wanted to prove himself and surpass the King of Wei.

The conflict between the emperor and the prince.

Yuan Nansheng is also feeling the same thing.

Since his father seized power in Goryeo, he has actually become the King of Goryeo.

His father was Da Molizhi, and he was Molizhi.

But he, Mo Lizhi, has almost no power at hand.

Because of his father's arrangement, even his younger brothers Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanchan have more power than him.

Mo Lizhi and Da Mo Lizhi have exactly the same power, which means that he is completely marginalized by his father.

"The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty can prove himself through war."

"How can I prove myself?"

Yuan Nansheng's tone suddenly became sad.

He was somewhat envious of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

At least now the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty can still prove himself.

But he doesn't even have military power.

An army of 220,000.

His two younger brothers each had tens of thousands of soldiers under them, but he was the only one in charge of logistics.

My father is so unfair.

Yuan Nansheng inexplicably felt a bit more resentment in his heart.
-
Li Chengqian sat in the central army carriage.

Surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, they advanced towards Anshi City.

This time, he did not bring his eldest grandson Li Xiang, but instead asked him to stay in the rear and be responsible for the management of the Goryeo cities that had been conquered.

A hundred cities sounds exaggerated, but in fact most of the so-called cities are very small, just the size of a tribe, with a total population of only a few hundred people.

In most cities like this, there is no resistance. As long as the army arrives, no matter whose army it is, they will surrender directly.

A city with a population of over ten thousand can be called a big city.

On Li Chengqian's side, there are only seven large cities with a population of over ten thousand, including Liaodong City.

Su Dingfang's military intelligence said that three cities were captured in a row, referring to large cities with a population of over ten thousand.

In a real siege, if 2,000 soldiers are needed to defend the city, at least 10,000 soldiers will be needed to besiege it, and even then it is not certain that they will be able to take it down.

In the famous Ming Dynasty's Defense of Hongdu, Zhu Wenzhen led about 20,000 men and withstood the attack of Chen Youliang's 600,000-man army for two full months.

You should know that by the early Ming Dynasty, there were already relatively mature firearms for sieges.

Therefore, in an actual siege, if the morale of the defenders is high enough, it will be very difficult for the attackers.

"Your Highness, Yeon Gaesomun has accumulated more than 200,000 soldiers in Anshi City. He wants to fight us to the death."

"I think we don't need to rush to attack him."

"There are now millions of people in Anshi City, and the daily consumption is huge. This is difficult for Goryeo to afford."

"We only need to surround them but not attack them, and Goryeo will surely collapse without a fight."

Helan Chushi expressed his thoughts.

Following him were Su Dingfang, Li Dejian, and Chen Yunchao.

When Li Chengqian personally led the army to Anshi City, the three original vanguard armies also moved closer to Li Chengqian's central army and joined forces to attack Anshi City.

Intelligence from all sources also continued to arrive.

Helan Chushi was somewhat envious of the three people because he also wanted to lead the army alone, but unfortunately the prince did not give him this opportunity.

So today, I started to offer suggestions.

Su Dingfang and Li Dejian looked at each other and remained silent.

Strategically speaking, this is a very good and stable approach.

However, neither Su Dingfang nor Li Dejian had any intention of bringing it up.

Because they knew in their hearts that the prince would not choose this.

"Surround but not attack?"

"Then how long do you think it will take?"

"Yes, Yeon Gaesomun has gathered a large number of troops, and the losses are huge every day."

"Delaying the time will indeed cause huge losses."

"But do you know how long they have been preparing the food?"

Li Chengqian asked calmly.

Helan Chushi was at a loss for words and could only say, "I don't know."

Li Chengqian asked, "If he prepared food for a month, I have to wait for a month?"

"If they prepare two months' worth of food, then I will have to wait two months."

"Wait until deep winter. If Goryeo hasn't collapsed by then as you said, then there's no point in fighting."

"Are you going to return to Chang'an like this?"

Helan Chushi said in panic: "Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Now the prince's power is becoming more and more powerful.

He is completely different from when he was in the East Palace.

Helan Chushi felt that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger.

He himself knew that in terms of military ability alone, both Su Dingfang and Li Dejian were far superior to him.

After all, he is Hou Junji's relative.

The fact that he was able to get the position of a Qianniu in the Eastern Palace was entirely due to his father-in-law's reputation, and had little to do with his own abilities.

Li Chengqian said calmly: "The plan remains unchanged, march as normal."

"After arriving at Anshi City and resting for a day, we will launch the general attack."

"Yeon Gaesomun wanted to challenge me to a duel, so I followed his wishes."

"It just so happens that I also planned to complete this battle and completely destroy Goryeo."

Li Chengqian didn't want to delay.

Because in his opinion, the entire Goryeo was already in his pocket.

What Yeon Gaesomun did wasted his money and food.

I feel so sad every day.

If the consumption is too great, even if we win, what's left is a mess.

How could we support Li Chengqian to continue to conquer Silla, subdue Baekje, and unify the Liaodong Peninsula?

(End of this chapter)