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Text Chapter 76 The Last Battle (Part 1)

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    There is no free lunch in this world. Silla and Baekje took advantage of the situation and annexed all the Goguryeo territory east of Pyongyang.  Perhaps because of the series of victories, the commanders of the two countries were stunned. They thought that Goguryeo, which had been extremely tyrannical in front of them, had now become a dead dog that could be slaughtered. Therefore, the two countries occupied the eastern territory and returned.  Somewhat unwillingly, while the Tang army was still on the way to Pyongyang, they unexpectedly marched towards Pyongyang, launching attacks from the south and the north almost simultaneously.

    But as the saying goes, a centipeded insect never dies. In order to defend against the Tang army, the Yuan clan in Pyongyang City transferred all the elite troops east of Pyongyang City to the city. As a result, Silla and Baekje took advantage of the loophole. Otherwise, they would have lost their lives.  The troops of such a small country could not possibly be a match for the Goguryeo people. Now they dared to take the initiative to attack Pyongyang City. They were simply desperate.

    In order to teach the two small countries a harsh lesson, and at the same time to boost the morale of those who had been hit successively by the Tang army, under the personal leadership of Yeon Gaesumun, a total of 150,000 troops were assembled in Pyongyang City and surrounding areas, while Silla and Baekje  The total number of people in the country was only 120,000. As a result, the number and quality of the soldiers were not as good as those of the Goguryeo people. They were defeated by the troops led by Yeon Gaesumun. They retreated for more than 200 miles before they dared to stop.  Come down.

    The Goguryeo people achieved brilliant results in this battle, annihilating nearly half of the 120,000 armies of the two countries in one fell swoop. Among them, the Baekje troops sent 70,000 troops, but only more than 20,000 people were able to escape in the end. The commander of Silla, Kim Yu-shin, was also considered  When one person saw that the situation was not right, he decisively sent people to cut off the rear, and he took most of the people to escape overnight, so the situation was better.  Only more than 10,000 people were lost, and the remaining 30,000 people can still retain most of their combat effectiveness.

    When Li Shimin swept all the way and wiped out the Goguryeo territory east of the Yalu River and west of Pyongyang City, and then rushed to Pyongyang City with his army, what he saw were tens of thousands of defeated troops from the two small countries of Silla and Baekje.

    Li Shimin was extremely annoyed with these two small countries that had little success but more than failure.  The Tang army was forced to go on an expedition, so it was naturally impossible to use too many troops.  Originally, Li Ji and Niu Jinda each had an army of 50,000, which added up to just 100,000. Later, although he brought an additional 30,000 from Chang'an.  But because of the winter in Liaodong, many soldiers suffered severe frostbite, so the 30,000 soldiers he brought were to replace those injured soldiers.  The army has always maintained a strength of 100,000 people.

    However, as he fought along the way, every time he occupied a place, some people had to be left to garrison. Adding in a small number of casualties, the troops he could use now were less than 70,000.  Originally, according to Li Shimin's plan, when he attacked Pyongyang City, with the Tang army as the core and combined with the 120,000 Silla and Baekje troops, the number of troops exceeded the Goguryeo troops.  But now the two small countries only have 60,000 remaining soldiers, which is not only small in number.  Moreover, morale was completely lost. It was probably good enough not to run away on the spot when facing the Goguryeo people, let alone expect them to fight a tough battle.

    Li Shimin, the father, was annoyed, but Li Min, the son, was gloating.  Even when chatting with each other, many generals in the Tang army often laughed at Silla and Baekje for overestimating their capabilities. They were not satisfied with swallowing up the land east of Pyongyang, and even wanted to use their vulnerable army to take away the richest land.  The capital city of Goguryeo also swallowed it, and now it finally suffered.

    The original plan was shattered.  The Tang army had to face more than twice the enemy force alone. However, Li Shimin and the lieutenants did not care about this at all. They were the elite of the Tang Dynasty. Both the quality of the soldiers and the equipment were much better than the Goguryeo people.  , coupled with the help of gunpowder weapons, even if the number of enemies is doubled, they are confident that they can defeat them.

    As soon as the Tang army came into contact with the Yuan army, several small-scale conflicts broke out. Both sides were using this method to evaluate each other's strength. Although there was a winner or loser in this conflict, unless the number of Goguryeo troops was several times that of the Tang army,  , otherwise the only consequence would be to be annihilated by the Tang army.

    After several days of contact and preparation, both sides were getting impatient. Today finally came the day of the decisive battle, and the location was on the vast plain outside the west gate of Pyongyang City.  Yuan's 150,000-strong army lined up with its back to Pyongyang City and would fight to the death with the invading Tang army. If defeated, Goguryeo would be destroyed. If defeated, Goguryeo would have a glimmer of hope.

    The 70,000 Tang army also had high morale. Facing the Goguryeo army that was twice their own, they showed no fear at all, especially when they saw the neatly arranged rockets and thunder cannons in their own army, as well as the grenadiers wearing light armor.  There was even a sense of relief on the battlefield. The early wars had fully demonstrated the power of gunpowder weapons, and most of the Tang army had already accepted the existence of gunpowder weapons.

    Li Min, who was riding a horse, looked at the few flying thunder cannons in front of him and felt a little proud. Although the flying thunder cannons had a shorter range and consumed gunpowder, they were powerful and extremely convenient.  Its operability has been recognized by Li Shimin and most generals, and it has now become a standing weapon of the army. Unfortunately, due to the productionDue to issues of time and space, the number of equipment in the army is not large. Now the entire army together only has fifty units.

    "Father, I have something that I don't understand. Could you please give me some advice?" Li Min looked back and suddenly turned to Li Shimin next to him and asked.

    "Oh? What's wrong with you, Min'er?" Li Shimin turned around and smiled.  He knew that although his son was smart, he knew almost nothing about marching and fighting. He had asked himself a lot of military questions along the way, and this time was definitely no exception.

    "Father, the Goguryeo people know that our Tang army is elite, and even with an army twice as large as ours, they are not sure of victory. If this is the case, why don't they defend the city with the help of the tall and strong walls of Pyongyang City?  , doesn¡¯t it give you a better chance of winning?¡± Li Min asked, looking at the tall Pyongyang city wall in the distance.  He had never been able to figure out this question. Defending a city was obviously easier than fighting in the field, but why did the Yuan family choose the easier thing over the harder one?

    "Well, that's good. Being able to ask this question means that you have some understanding of the art of war, but you are still far from truly knowing the art of war!" After hearing this, Li Shimin pointed at Li Min and laughed.

    "My son is stupid!" Li Min felt depressed. At least he led the troops to win the battle of Dengzhou, but when he arrived at Li Shimin's side, he became a man who didn't know how to fight.

    "Haha, actually this is very simple. Although defending the city seems easy, it is actually passively beaten. The Goguryeo soldiers are psychologically weaker than us, and the commander-in-chief of the other side also knows that we have blasting tubes for destroying the city, no matter how tall we are.  The city walls of Goguryeo were sometimes broken by us. Once the city wall was broken, the fighting spirit of the Goguryeo soldiers defending the city would be greatly affected.  It will make the opponent's soldiers have no intention to fight. When the time comes, as long as we attack the city with all our strength, we will definitely make the opponent's soldiers surrender!" When Li Shimin talked about the art of war, he immediately became very energetic, showing off the elegance of a military commander.  .

    "Therefore, if the opponent defends the city, we can save a lot of time and energy. Yeon Gaesooun in the opponent's army is indeed a rare handsome man. It's enough to see through this. He actually has the courage to fight with him outside the city.  Let's fight to the death. Such a brave and resourceful person can't be used by me. It's really a loss for our Tang Dynasty!" At the end of Li Shimin's words, he started to cherish his talents again. There were many generals in the Tang Dynasty, but really  There are only a few people who can be called handsome, such as Li Jing, Li Xiaogong and Li Ji. The others, such as Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Niu Jinda and others, are only generals at best.

    After Li Min heard Li Shimin's explanation, he secretly admired it in his heart. The ancient art of war was indeed profound and profound, and even psychological warfare was taken into consideration. It seemed that leading troops to fight was really not something that a layman like him could do.  .

    After the two armies were deployed, the generals did not run out for a duel like in later TV series. Instead, with the sound of war drums, the two armies lined up in a neat formation and slowly approached. With each step forward, the murderous intent on the battlefield became stronger.  As the momentum of both sides reached its peak, a big battle finally began.

    "Light up!" When he saw the Goguryeo troops entering the range of the rockets, the general in charge of commanding the rockets gave the order. The soldiers who had already prepared torches immediately lit the fuses. With a strange roar, one rocket after another flew into the air.  It shot out, drew an arc in mid-air, and then hit the Goguryeo troops hard. Then there were thunderous explosions, countless human limbs flew up, and painful groans were heard.

    The Goguryeo people already knew something about weapons like rockets. They knew that although these weapons were powerful, they were limited in quantity, and that as long as they fought with the Tang army, the other side would stop firing. Therefore, driven by the generals, the Goguryeo soldiers attacked  The companions who were killed in the explosion turned a blind eye and ran forward desperately, trying to get closer to the Tang army.

    Sure enough, when the two armies were less than a hundred steps apart, the rockets could only attack the Goguryeo army behind due to range issues. However, the soldiers in the front were not happy for long. They only heard a dull roar from the Tang army, and everyone screamed blackly.  The shouting thing was thrown up from the opponent's formation, and then landed in the Goguryeo military formation. Then this black thing made another huge explosion. Even if it was not killed on the spot, it was exploded within a few feet.  The loud noise caused my ears and nose to bleed, and I couldn't even stand steady.

    At this time, the archers on both sides also began to shoot, and bursts of arrows passed through the air, hitting the armor or shields of the opposing soldiers. From time to time, the unlucky ones were shot, and there were roars and screams.  In one piece.

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