Chapter 475: Recent Situation in Liaodong

The emperor's personal envoy, the imperial guard, Jia Yanzhong, was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission. He returned to Chang'an from Liaodong, but before he could go home, he was summoned to the Daming Palace for questioning.

Jia Yanzhong met the emperor Li Chengqian in the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace. "Your Majesty

, I, the imperial guard, Jia Yanzhong, greet you! Long live the emperor!" Jia Yanzhong bowed and paid his respects. "

Your Excellency, you have traveled all the way to Liaodong. You must have worked hard! Please stand up and take a seat." Li Chengqian said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Jia Yanzhong bowed and thanked him. He sat down and the palace maids served him tea and snacks.

"This is the new tribute tea this year, and the snacks are also newly developed by the kitchen. They taste good! Please try them, my dear." Li Chengqian said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I am a little thirsty and hungry, so I will not be polite!" Jia Yanzhong finished speaking, then took a sip of the teacup, ate a piece of snack, and praised the tea and snacks.

"My dear, you are on this diplomatic mission to Liaodong. I wonder what the current situation of my troops is?" Li Chengqian asked.

He is very concerned about the war situation in Goguryeo. Although he also knows that this time the troops will be able to pacify Goguryeo and completely eliminate this cancer in Liaodong of the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. This time I am on a diplomatic mission to Liaodong, our army's morale is high and we are eager to fight. We will definitely be able to destroy Goguryeo." Jia Yanzhong said.

"Oh! How do you know that you are so confident that you can destroy Goguryeo this time? You should know that Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty failed to conquer Goguryeo three times in the past. When the previous emperor was alive, he also sent troops to conquer Goguryeo, but he still failed to destroy Goguryeo as he wished." Li Chengqian asked.

He wanted to hear what Jia Yanzhong's opinion was and what made him so sure that Goguryeo would be destroyed this time.

Jia Yanzhong bowed and said, "The reason why Emperor Yang of Sui's eastern expedition was unsuccessful in the past was because he launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, which caused people's disunity and resentment; it led to the demise of the Sui Dynasty and the war."

"As for why the previous emperor's eastern expedition was unsuccessful, it was because Goguryeo itself had not yet shown signs of collapse. The previous Goguryeo Da Molizhi Quan Gai Suwen was a general who was both civil and military, so it was not surprising that the previous emperor failed."

"It can only be said that the time has not come and Goguryeo's fate has not yet ended."

"Now Goguryeo King Gao Zang is weak, and the ministers who control the government have monopolized power; after Quan Gai Suwen's death, Quan Nanjian and his brothers attacked each other for supremacy, and Quan Nansheng was willing to return to the Tang Dynasty and serve as our army's guide. We know their true intentions very clearly."

"This is the best opportunity God has given to your Majesty to destroy Goguryeo."

"Relying on your majesty's wisdom, the country's prosperity, and the soldiers' efforts, taking advantage of the current internal turmoil in Goguryeo, we will surely win in one fell swoop, and there is no need to wait for a second time."

"Moreover, Goguryeo has suffered from famines for years in recent years, and ominous disasters have occurred again and again, which has caused panic among the people. The destruction of Goguryeo is just around the corner!"

Li Chengqian felt that what Jia Yanzhong said made a lot of sense. Quan Nanjian's ability to govern the country and maintain peace was far inferior to Quan Gai Suwen.

Not to mention his father Quan Gai Suwen, his brother Quan Nansheng was much stronger than Quan Nanjian. With Quan Nanjian in charge of Goguryeo's power, and Goguryeo suffering from famines for years,

it would be unacceptable if Goguryeo could not be destroyed even in this way.

"My dear, who do you think is the most capable and virtuous general in your mission to Liaodong?" Li Chengqian asked again.

"Among the generals, Xue Rengui is the bravest among the three armies; although Pang Tongshan is not good at fighting, he is strict in managing the army; Gao Kan demands diligence and frugality from himself, is loyal, decisive and has strategies."

"Qili and Heli are calm, resolute and decisive, although they are very jealous of those who are stronger than themselves, but they have the ability to command; however, they are careful day and night, forgetting about themselves and worrying about the country, and none of them can compare to Li Zhen." Jia Yanzhong gave his own comments.

"You are right, my dear minister! They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and Li Yu is indeed a handsome man who can lead the army well. When you came back, did the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty attack the city of Pyongyang?" Li Chengqian said.

"When I returned, the army had not yet attacked the city of Pyongyang, but the general of the Zuo Wuwei, Xue Rengui, personally led the troops to capture Buyeo City." Jia Yanzhong said.

"Oh! What happened that day? Tell me in detail." Li Chengqian said.

"I obey your order!" Jia Yanzhong said, "On that day, when I was about to leave for the capital, I happened to meet Xue Rengui who was going to attack Goguryeo's Buyeo City."

"When Xue Rengui's subordinates learned that he was going to attack Buyeo City, they tried their best to dissuade him, saying that they had only 3,000 soldiers, while the enemy in Buyeo City had tens of thousands of soldiers."

"The difference in strength between the two sides was too great. Going to attack Buyeo City like this would undoubtedly be like hitting a rock with an egg, and would be a dead end."

"Who would have thought that Xue Rengui would ignore the advice and was determined to attack Fuyu City with 3,000 soldiers and horses. So, Xue Rengui told them that the quality of the soldiers is more important than the quantity. As long as they are used properly, 3,000 soldiers and horses can easily defeat tens of thousands of enemy troops. After Xue Rengui finished speaking, he led 3,000 soldiers and horses to attack Fuyu City."

"What happened later?" Wang Quan asked hurriedly.

"Later, Xue Rengui did capture Buyeo City. In this battle, Xue Rengui led the troops and killed or captured more than 10,000 Goguryeo soldiers." "

After this battle, our army became very famous, and more than 40 cities near Buyeo River surrendered."

"If everything had gone well, General Li Li and his men would have met at the foot of Pyongyang, and Goguryeo would be destroyed soon." Jia Yanzhong said.

What he said was absolutely right. Since Xue Rengui captured Buyeo City with 3,000 soldiers, cities near Buyeo River surrendered one after another, and no one had the courage to fight Xue Rengui.

Later, Xue Rengui made great progress, mainly because no one dared to challenge him, which enabled Xue Rengui to kill all the way to the city of Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, and successfully joined forces with Li Yan and others.

Quan Nanjian was unwilling to lose Buyeo City. You must know that Buyeo City is one of the main cities of Goguryeo. Losing Buyeo City is equivalent to tearing off a large piece of fat from Goguryeo.

Therefore, Quan Nanjian ordered Quan Nanchan to lead 50,000 troops to take back Buyeo City from the Tang army.

The two sides met at Xuehe River, and an inevitable battle started.

The two sides fought, the morale of the Tang army was high, the battle was fierce, and they quickly defeated the Goguryeo army, killing and capturing more than 30,000 people.

The Tang army took advantage of the victory and conquered Daxingcheng. Then, the troops from all directions gathered at the foot of Pyongyang. As long as they could capture Pyongyang and capture the Goguryeo King Gao Zang and the Goguryeo leader Quan Nanjian alive,

Goguryeo would be completely destroyed and the entire Goguryeo would be incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, on this peninsula, except for Silla, all other places were the territory of the Tang Dynasty.