Jin Jianshen was completely dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how the Tang Dynasty could have collapsed the sturdy city walls of Liaodong City with just a heavy catapult.
However, just as he was about to organize a resistance, a soldier rushed over and brought him another piece of bad news.
"General, the Tang people have already broken in!"
"What?"
"How come the Tang people are so fast? Are they guarding the city walls?"
No one could answer Kim Geon-sam's question, since the Goguryeo people who were actually guarding the city walls had long been killed by the huge explosion.
Left with no other option, Jin Jianshen ordered the eastern city wall to be opened and led all the troops in the city to break out.
Although the Tang Dynasty had already completely surrounded Liaodong City, he still wanted to fight for a glimmer of hope.
Whether it can run or not, only God knows!
Because the Liaodong commander fled, Liaodong City was thrown into chaos.
Li Jue's troops, who were the first to rush into the city, not only encountered no resistance, but were even informed by enthusiastic Goguryeo citizens of the shocking news that the garrison commander of Liaodong City had fled.
Upon hearing this, Li Jue hurriedly led his men forward and finally caught up with Jin Jianshen's group at the East Gate.
"Your Highness, I will charge into battle for you!"
Xue Shisan was the first to rush out, wielding a horse spear, and charged towards Jin Jianshen's group. Shan Daozhen was not to be outdone; without even a greeting, he chased after Xue Shisan.
"Xue Shisan, you dare to steal my credit, I'll kill you!"
Seeing that these two were so unrefined, Li Jue had no choice but to gather his soldiers, arrange them in formation, and then charge forward.
Although Xue Shisan and Shan Daozhen were very fast, they underestimated Jin Jianshen. In order to escape, Jin Jianshen not only abandoned a large number of troops, but also ordered his men to block the carriages on both sides of the road at the city gate when he ran out of the east gate.
When Li Jue led his men to charge up, Xue Shisan and Shan Daozhen were cursing in anger.
"Your Highness, this fellow is too cunning!"
"Stop talking nonsense, you two, hurry up and come down to clear the city gate!"
"promise!"
With Li Jue personally leading the effort, the group finally cleared the area around the city gate. Seeing that Jin Jianshen had already run far away, Li Jue didn't bother to chase after him. He simply assigned two hundred men to Xue Shisan and Shan Daozhen, while he led the rest of the men to seal off the city lord's mansion, as well as the city's granaries and storehouses, to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to set fire to the grain.
The grain in the city now belongs to the Tang Dynasty; it would be such a pity if it were burned by the barbaric Goguryeo people.
When Li Shimin stormed into the city, he encountered no resistance whatsoever. By the time he arrived at the city lord's mansion, he found that it had already been taken over by Li Jue.
Li Shimin was very satisfied with the sight, but his face still remained gloomy.
"Where is your captain?"
"Your Majesty, the Commandant has gone to organize the land and population records of Liaodong City."
Li Shimin nodded upon hearing this.
"snort!"
"At least this guy has some brains!"
Li Shimin saw Li Jue in the storeroom of the city lord's mansion. When he saw Li Jue marveling at a coral, Li Shimin went up to him and kicked him.
"You brat, who gave you the right to lead the charge!"
"Grandpa's here?"
Stop grinning at me!
"Do you know how dangerous a charge is, especially in a siege?"
"If the enemy sets up an ambush behind the city walls, all of your thousand-plus men will be lost!"
Li Jue chuckled upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, Grandpa, I'm sure they won't be that fast!"
"Only I know when the city walls will collapse; they have no idea I'll attack at that time!"
Li Shimin was furious when he heard this. He cursed inwardly, "Not only do the people of Liaodong not know, but even I, the emperor, don't know!"
"Don't do that again!"
"To put it mildly, this is being greedy for credit and reckless; to put it more seriously, it's disobeying orders!"
"If it weren't for the fact that you are my own grandson, I would have killed you!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue chuckled and then ran over to present the three-foot-tall coral as a treasure.
"Grandpa, look how bright and beautiful this coral is! It would be nice to take it back and put it as a bonsai in your Ganlu Palace!"
"And this pile of ginseng, it must weigh at least several hundred pounds. I'll take it back to nourish your body!"
"These tiger skins are also quite nice, and this pile of pearls..."
Li Shimin's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he quickly regained his senses.
"I am the emperor, how can an emperor care about such trivial matters?"
"Someone, summon the military commander and order him to inventory the treasury's wealth. When I return to the capital in triumph, I will reward the meritorious soldiers according to their military achievements!"
"promise!"
Before long, the military commander immediately led several attendants to the storeroom to count the valuables.
Li Shimin had been quietly observing Li Jue. When he saw that Li Jue only showed a faint look of regret on his face, he immediately called him aside and instructed him.
"What's wrong? Do you feel it's a pity?"
"A little..."
Li Shimin laughed heartily upon hearing this.
"Silly child, as long as you have power and soldiers, why should you be afraid of not having treasures?"
Li Jue looked at Li Shimin with a puzzled expression, while Li Shimin smiled smugly.
"Come, come, let me teach you the ways of an emperor!"
Li Shimin led Li Jue to the highest watchtower in Liaodong City and pointed to the busy Tang soldiers below.
"You look at them?"
"They formed their own formations according to different guards and prefectures, and went door-to-door to clear out the remaining rebels in the city."
"And the people in the city, whether they were wealthy or officials, all knelt obediently on the ground, begging our Tang soldiers to spare their lives."
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