After capturing Liaodong City, the Tang army, after a brief rest, quickly conquered many other cities and finally arrived at Anshi City.
Li Shimin personally led Li Jue to scout out the city of Anshi and explained to him the special features of the city.
"You unfilial grandson, can you figure anything out?"
"Reporting to Grandfather, this city is not large, only comparable to a county town in our Great Tang Dynasty."
Li Shimin smiled upon hearing this.
"This city is indeed not large, but it can be called the most difficult city to conquer in Goguryeo!"
"Look at the location of this city. It sits on a hill, and its four walls are built along the mountain ridge. It can be said that the natural terrain has been used to its fullest extent!"
Li Jue curled his lip in disdain upon hearing this.
"There's nothing special about this, is there?"
"If we besiege it for a few days, the city will run out of water and food, and we can easily take it over."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin affectionately patted Li Jue's little head.
"Silly child, do you think that what you can think of, others can't?"
"This is the most difficult part of this city to conquer. The city is low-lying and has many wells where water can be obtained. There are also terraced fields built along the mountainside where grains and vegetables can be grown. It wouldn't be possible to besiege it for more than a few days, or even for several years!"
"ah?"
Upon hearing Li Shimin's words, Li Jue immediately looked towards Anshi City. He was genuinely a little shocked; he hadn't expected the Goguryeo people to have built such a fortified city!
“Grandpa, if what you say is true, then Emperor Yang of Sui did not lose unjustly…”
Li Shimin smiled bitterly upon hearing this.
"It's more than just not unjust..."
"Goguryeo is surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it extremely difficult to conquer."
"Don't be fooled by our current rapid progress; we might just come to a halt here!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue smiled confidently.
"Won't!"
"As long as your grandson is here, he will surely make sure you march into Pyongyang and capture Yeon Gaesomun alive!"
Li Shimin laughed heartily upon hearing this, but he didn't believe Li Jue's words at all. However, he was still very pleased that Li Jue had such lofty ambitions.
"Li Jue, remember this: if I die beneath this city, you will lead the remaining army back to the country and ascend the throne. In a few years, when the Tang Dynasty has recovered its strength, you can come back and avenge me!"
Li Jue was startled when he heard this.
"Grandpa, what do you mean by this?"
"It's just a small city called Anshi..."
"Small?"
"Silly child, you'll find out when the actual attack begins..."
Li Shimin led Li Jue on a tour, showing them the inner and outer defenses of Anshi City before returning to camp.
As soon as the two returned to the camp, a scout came to report.
"Your Majesty, Pyongyang has dispatched 150,000 troops to relieve Ansi City!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin asked calmly.
Who is the general leading the troops?
"Your Majesty, according to our scouts, it seems to be Generals Gao Huizhen and Gao Yanshou."
"How is the military situation?"
"Your Majesty, the elite Goguryeo forces number around 40,000 to 50,000, plus 50,000 temporary auxiliary troops, and another 50,000 Mohe people."
"The Mohe people?"
Li Shimin truly loathed the Mohe people. Originally, the Mohe relied on the Tang Dynasty, but somehow they betrayed the Tang and went to Goguryeo.
Li Shimin hated traitors more than anything else in his life, and before the battle even started, he sentenced the Mohe people to death.
"Fuji, when you return to the capital in triumph, remember to remind me that we should head north and give the Mohe people a good beating!"
Changsun Wuji's illness had long since healed, or rather, after he missed Luoyang as his stop, his illness healed itself without any medicine.
He dared not gamble, not gamble whether Li Shimin truly wanted him to stay in Luoyang, or whether he was just testing him and then finding an excuse to kill him.
Therefore, for the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to follow Li Shimin to Goguryeo.
"promise!"
"Your Majesty, I have noted it down. Once we capture Yeon Gaesomun alive, we'll wipe out the Mohe people on our way back!"
At this point, Changsun Wuji had settled into his task, no longer pondering the trivial matters of the court, but focusing wholeheartedly on fighting alongside Li Shimin.
After all, if he were to be indecisive at this moment, it wouldn't just be Li Shimin who would die; Changsun Wuji might also be left in Goguryeo forever.
"Go and call everyone else here. Let's discuss how to devour these 150,000 people!"
"promise!"
Changsun Wuji had no reaction to these words and immediately went out to call for reinforcements. However, after Changsun Wuji left, Li Jue was furious.
"Grandpa, what did you just say?"
"You want to eat these 150,000 people?"
Li Shimin replied matter-of-factly upon hearing this.
"certainly!"
"How can we attack Anshi City with peace of mind without consuming these 150,000 people?"
"Grandpa, there are 150,000 people on the other side!"
"We only have about 40,000 men under our command right now, right?"
Li Shimin was slightly surprised upon hearing this.
"Is there only 40,000 left?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue almost fell to the ground. Had this old man gone mad? Did he not even know how many people his family had left?
“Grandpa, some people stayed in Liaodong City to garrison, while others guarded the Liaohe pontoon bridge and Gaimou City, etc.”
"We only have 40,000 people left now, so I'll try to say as much as possible, grandson..."
Li Shimin laughed heartily upon hearing this.
"That's enough!"
"Back then, I only had a few thousand men, yet I still defeated Dou Jiande's army of over ten thousand. Now, we have a full forty thousand elite troops; the advantage is on our side, hahaha!"
Li Jue rolled his eyes inwardly upon hearing this. He didn't know whether to criticize Li Er for being too optimistic or for being too arrogant.
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