Chapter 2768 Surrender
The soldiers outside the door rammed it more than twenty times. Under the continuous impact of the battering ram, and with Brigadier General Qian and others inside moving some of the bolts away, the bolts of the gate finally fell down with a clang. The big pillar could not control itself and rammed inwards, and if it hit a person, it could smash the person's internal organs.
The gate opened and the army rushed into the city in an instant.
The belated reinforcements stopped the people on the street, and the two armies fought here with constant shouts and cries of killing.
At this time, Prince Guang took the King of Goguryeo to a high platform in the palace and pointed at that place and said, "Brother, do you see that? The Jin army has already entered the city. Even if we have a large army in the city, we can't resist them. The city is bound to fall."
The Goguryeo king's expression changed and he asked, "How did they break into the city?"
Prince Guang said, "They were able to rescue the five princes and the envoys from the prison, and they also set fire to the inner city. How difficult would it be to open the city gate?"
The King of Goguryeo then learned about the Heavenly Prison. He looked at King Guang in disbelief and then looked at his confidants.
The confidant immediately wanted to go to the Heavenly Prison for questioning, but before he could leave the palace, a soldier came rushing in with a report, "The west gate has been breached, the Jin army has entered the city, Gao Nuosa has led his troops to resist, and told the king to take his ministers and leave quickly..."
The confidant could only hurry back to report. Things have different priorities, and this matter is obviously more urgent than going to the Heavenly Prison.
The King of Goguryeo confirmed the incident at the West City Gate and no longer worried about whether Lao Wu had escaped. He asked King Guang with a sullen face, "Are you here to persuade me to escape?"
"No," Prince Guang said, "the world is so small, where can we escape to? Besides, the ancestral temple cannot be abandoned."
He said, "Your Majesty, for the sake of the ancestral temple, we must surrender!"
The Goguryeo king's face darkened. "Am I going to be the king of a fallen country?"
He was obviously not happy about it. In the two generations of his grandfather and father, the former had the suzerain state destroyed, and the latter cut off the pilgrimage routes of Silla and Baekje, and directly made the two countries his vassals.
Even if he can't compare with them, he shouldn't be too bad. At least he can maintain his status quo, right?
Prince Guang said: "At least we can save the ancestral temple and the lives of all the clan members. As long as we are alive, everything is possible."
He whispered, "Brother, if we anger the Emperor of Jin, he'll slaughter the royal family and we'll be left with nothing. On the contrary, if we surrender, we might even be able to manage this land. In time..."
He looked at me with a long gaze and said, "There will always be a time when the Jin State needs to change its emperor, and there will also be times when a tyrant ruler will appear..."
The King of Goguryeo's eyes flashed and he fell into deep thought.
This is indeed what Prince Guang is thinking. Zhang Hui cannot threaten him or bribe him, but he can list the facts to him. He will seek benefits and avoid harm and choose the best path for the ancestral temple and the Gao family.
The King of Goguryeo hesitated for a while, and finally, when it was completely dark and he was shocked by the shouts and screams from the west and the flames from the inner city, he closed his eyes and agreed.
So first his confidant took the imperial edict he wrote to the west city gate to announce it, and then he personally appeared on the battlefield wearing a white robe.
The soldiers of the two armies, who had temporarily stopped fighting, looked at the King of Goguryeo who appeared.
Duke Zhao snorted coldly, turned his head and ordered, "Report this to His Majesty."
Someone immediately responded and left.
Manbao was treating someone's wounds when he heard soldiers on horseback running towards the main tent, shouting, "The King of Goguryeo has surrendered, the King of Goguryeo has surrendered—"
The surrender came so unexpectedly that not only Bai Erlang but even Manbao was stunned. "Is this the end?"
Lord Fang, who was passing by, heard this and nearly vomited blood. "Do you still think it's too early? Do you know how much we have sacrificed for this day and how long we have been preparing for it?"
Let’s not talk about the siege before, let’s talk about the arrangements they made after the enemy’s morale was boosted again after Qibi Heli was injured.
The city of Guonei is now occupied by the Jin army on three sides, just to put pressure on them, not to mention that they have been releasing Kongming lanterns every day these days. In order to copy the contents, these civil servants almost broke their hands.
There are also the one hundred brave warriors who sneaked into the inner city through the moat, and the calculations and strategies of Zhang Hui and others. Which of these is easy?
Lord Fang glanced at the two of them, and finally his gaze fell on Zhou Man. "Lord Zhou is busy, but when you are always busy with one thing, you think things are simple."
But these officials who did the paperwork, wrote imperial edicts, reviewed and distributed memorials knew that they had made countless preparations, both openly and secretly, and had naturally sacrificed a lot in order to achieve today's results.
Bai Erlang asked, "Isn't Master Fang busy now?"
Lord Fang immediately said, "Hurry, there are some discrepancies between your medical bills and ours. Come and check with us. The King of Goguryeo has surrendered, the war is over, and we must prepare for our return journey. By the way, how is Lord Bai's injury?"
Manbao said, "It will be fine soon, don't worry."
Lord Fang was not at all worried, but said: "If Lord Zhou has a good prescription, remember to give it to him and let him return to the Secretariat as soon as possible."
He is very busy and now has to share nearly half of Bai Shan's work. During the time when Bai Shan was injured, he slept no more than three hours a day.
Manbao looked at his face and probably felt embarrassed, so he said: "His wound is shallow and has been scabbing over for a while. He can do some less tiring work."
Lord Fang was overjoyed, "Really?"
Manbao nodded.
Lord Fang decided to go to Bai Shan in person to discuss the issue of working hours after returning to the small town.
Soon, however, they received word that everyone was being escorted directly into the inner city, including some officials and Bai Shan who had stayed behind in the smaller city. The emperor then moved directly into the Goguryeo palace, and the entire Go clan was temporarily confined, including Prince Guang's family. Only the Goguryeo king remained free, having been brought into the palace by the emperor.
But the King of Goguryeo was not happy at all. He felt that the Emperor of Jin was tempting him to kill the Emperor, or that the Emperor wanted to kill him.
So even if he slept in the place he was most familiar with, he didn't feel safe and couldn't sleep all night.
The emperor didn't know whether he really didn't know or was pretending not to know. With a worried look on his face, he asked Zhou Man, Imperial Physician Lu, and Imperial Physician Zheng to go and examine the King of Goguryeo together.
After they had all finished reading, the emperor left Zhou Man alone to talk.
For some reason, the emperor rarely concealed his ill intentions in front of Zhou Man, so he asked directly: "Is the King of Goguryeo a person of longevity?"
Man Bao was stunned for a moment before shaking his head. "He's been indulging in pleasure, and his kidneys are weakened. How could he possibly live a long life?"
The Emperor: "...Mr. Zhou, although you are the imperial physician, you are also a woman. You should be more tactful when speaking about kidney essence."
Manbao: "Is his waist not good?"
The emperor ignored this question and asked, "How long can he live?" He hoped only two or three years, not too long.
Man Bao: "...How can you be sure of a person's lifespan? What if he learns from his mistakes and starts taking care of his body? He could live another 20 or 30 years. But what if he gives up on himself and spends his days drinking, drinking, and women? Then he'll be dead in a few years, right?"
The emperor seemed to be thinking about it, so the next day he sent all the concubines of the King of Goguryeo and the beautiful maids in his palace to him, under the pretext that they could not be separated and that lovers would finally get married.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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