Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Liucheng is a remote area, with the Liao River in front and the Liaoze behind, which makes the population here even more scarce.

In the minds of Li Shimin and his court officials, Liucheng served more as a defensive stronghold to resist Goguryeo's invasion of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the imperial court did not spend much effort to build this remote city.

On the low city wall.

Du He and Li Chengqian stood side by side. They watched the soldiers setting up camp under the city for a while, and then turned their gaze to the tall city wall opposite the Liao River.

Li Chengqian said with emotion: "No wonder Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty failed to win in his three expeditions to Goguryeo."

"It's hard to walk across the Liaoze Lake, it's hard to cross the Liaoshui River, and it's hard to attack the city walls that are several feet high!"

Looking at the marching map doesn't seem like a big deal, but after the actual march you realize how difficult it is.

Especially for the soldiers who were transporting food and loads, the 200-mile swamp made them suffer terribly, and when they arrived at Liucheng, all the soldiers were almost exhausted.

Du He smiled and said, "Fortunately, Duke Ying and King Jiangxia have led their troops across the Liao River, otherwise we would have to sacrifice many lives to capture the Huaiyuan City opposite."

When Li Ji and Li Dao Zong were mentioned, Li Chengqian suddenly frowned and said, "I don't know how the battles of Li Ji and Li Dao Zong turned out. I haven't received any military reports from them for several days."

"Also, there has been no news from Zhang Jian who went south to attack Jian'an City. I don't know what the situation is like over there."

Before Du He could say anything, Hou Junji's personal guards suddenly ran up.

He said hurriedly, "Reporting to His Royal Highness, the Liaodong Road Army Chief Li Ji and Liaodong Road Army Chief Zhang Jian have sent someone to deliver the military report!"

"General Hou is already waiting in the tent. Please ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Consort Du to go to the tent to discuss matters."

Upon hearing this good news, Li Chengqian hurriedly said, "Du He, let's go to the tent and see how the two armies are doing."

"it is good."

Du He nodded, with some anticipation in his heart.

The guards standing by quickly brought over the wide sedan chair and let Li Chengqian and Du He sit on it.

Li Chengqian's legs are not very useful, so he needs to carry a sedan chair wherever he goes.

As Li Chengqian's good brother, Du He was also invited by Li Chengqian to sit together.

In the dental tent.

Hou Junji stood quietly in front of the marching map, his hands behind his back tightly holding a military newspaper filled with text.

As soon as Li Chengqian entered the tent, he hurriedly asked loudly, "Duke Chen, how is the battle situation of the two armies?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Hou Junji quickly turned around.

He quickly walked towards Li Chengqian and handed the military report to Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, the Duke of Ying has led his army to capture Xuantu City, killing more than 1500 enemies and capturing more than 6000 soldiers and civilians!"

"King Jiangxia captured Xincheng, killed more than 1000 enemies, and captured more than 4000 soldiers and civilians!"

"Now the Duke of Ying and the King of Jiangxia have joined forces to attack Gaimu Castle, an important city in the north of Goguryeo!"

Both Xuantu City and Xincheng are small cities with few defenders and civilians.

Hou Junji's face suddenly showed excitement, and his voice became much louder.

"Zhang Jian, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Road, has led an army of 2 foreign soldiers and has captured Jian'an City!"

"In this battle, we wiped out more than 3000 enemy troops and captured more than 8000 enemy troops and civilians!"

When Li Chengqian and Du He heard the battle results from Hou Junji, they both showed excitement on their faces.

I didn't expect the battle to go so smoothly. After several battles, more than 5500 enemy troops were wiped out!

Li Chengqian quickly glanced at the military report and said with trembling lips: "In this battle, our army suffered 305 casualties! And 283 of them were casualties of the foreign army led by Zhang Jian!"

He was speechless and asked: "Are the Goguryeo soldiers so vulnerable?"

Before going on the expedition, he read a large number of history books and learned about Goguryeo, a semi-agricultural and semi-nomadic country.

Especially when he saw that Emperor Yang of Sui led an army of one million but failed to conquer Goguryeo, he thought that this expedition to Goguryeo would result in heavy casualties.

I didn't expect it to be so weak.

Hou Junji shook his head and said, “Your Highness, this does not mean that Goguryeo is weak.

"Because in these three battles, we crushed the Goguryeo army with an absolute advantage in military strength, and we launched surprise attacks, so it's not surprising that we achieved such results."

"The next city that the Duke of England and his men are going to attack is Gaimu, but it won't be so easy to defeat."

Li Chengqian nodded and put away his contempt.

After reading the military newspaper, he handed it to Du He.

"Du He, you take a look too."

After saying that, Li Chengqian walked to the coach's seat and sat down with a happy smile on his face.

Judging from the current situation, there will be no problem in conquering Goguryeo.

"Li Tai, Li Tai, let's see how you can compete with me for the throne!"

Li Chengqian thought secretly in his heart, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

At this moment, he felt extremely happy and was proud of his decision to try his best to go on the expedition.

...

Opposite Liucheng is the Goguryeo city, Huaiyuan City, across the river.

Inside the luxurious city lord’s mansion.

Several Goguryeo generals in armor were sitting inside discussing matters with sad faces.

Although there were several piles of charcoal burning inside, the atmosphere in the hall was extremely cold and solemn.

I don't know how long the silence lasted, but the Huaiyuan City commander who was sitting in the first seat slowly stood up and spoke.

"Generals, the Tang army in the north has captured Xuantu City and Xincheng, and is now besieging Gaimu City."

"The Tang army in the south has captured our Jian'an City and is now heading straight for our Huaiyuan City."

"And in Liucheng across the way, tens of thousands of Tang troops arrived today."

"Tell me what we should do!"

A few days ago, a group of Tang troops made a big fuss in Liucheng opposite, which frightened the defender of Huaiyuan City so much that he hurriedly sought help everywhere.

But just when the 2 reinforcements arrived, the Tang army quietly left.

Moreover, the Tang army captured several of their cities in an instant with lightning speed.

The defenders of Huaiyuan City knew that they had been fooled by the Tang army, and now they felt like they had been slapped in the face by the Tang army, and it was burning with pain.

Next, Sun Yicheng, the deputy general of Jian'an City, said in a deep voice: "Gaimu City is our big granary in Liaodong area. There are more than 100,000 dan of grain stored in it. If the Tang army breaks through Gaimu City, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"There are 4 soldiers in Huaiyuan City now. I suggest sending 2 soldiers north to support Gaimu City, and 1 soldiers south to resist the other Tang army."

"Huaiyuan City is protected by the Liao River and the city walls. Leaving 1 defenders to resist the Tang army shouldn't be a big problem."

The suggestion of Sun Yicheng, the deputy general of Jian'an City, was instantly agreed upon by the other generals.

A general with a face full of flesh shouted: "The food and drink of our army all depend on the food stored in Gaimu City. We must do our best to rescue Gaimu City!"

"Otherwise, Gaimu City won't be able to hold out for a few days if it is attacked by tens of thousands of Tang troops!"

Although the commander of Huaiyuan City wanted everyone to stay and help him defend Huaiyuan City, many of the soldiers who came to help came from Xuantu City, Xincheng and Gaimu City.

Now that Xuantu City and Xincheng have been captured by the Tang army, everyone wants to go back to aid Gaimu City, the big granary.

In desperation, he had to agree: "Let's follow General Sun's advice!"