Despite his young age, Chen Longxiang's decisive character is a perfect blend of the genes of his father, Chen Polu, and his brother, Chen Huai'an, both Princes of Jin. He is also keenly aware of the changes between the enemy and his own forces on the battlefield.
Clearly, the fact that the Goguryeo Dynasty had even mobilized its royal guards to defend the capital city of Pyongyang proves that there are no other troops coming to the aid of the king.
The battle at Shanhai Pass just now directly killed Tuoba Liuyun, the number one warrior of the Goguryeo Dynasty and commander of the Imperial Guard. The morale and fighting spirit of the Goguryeo Imperial Guard have probably already collapsed.
If we don't seize the Goguryeo capital now, when will we?
Yuan Kai, the Vice Admiral of the Tang Dynasty Navy and Marquis of Tongwu, was a veteran who had served in the military for many years, so he naturally understood the unspoken meaning behind Prince Chen Longxiang's words.
He also understood that if they could press their advantage and capture Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, with a vanguard of 20,000 naval troops, they could severely damage the morale of the Goguryeo army.
They might even be able to capture King Gojang of Goguryeo alive, staging a scenario of "using the emperor to command the princes," subduing the enemy without a fight.
However, Qi Jiguang, the Admiral of the Tang Dynasty Navy and Duke of Dingguo, gave him the military order to bring back Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin at all costs.
As a soldier, one should take obedience to orders as the guiding principle in all actions.
If Yuan Kai, as the deputy admiral of the navy, cannot even enforce orders, how will he lead troops into battle and discipline his subordinates in the future?
Chen Longxiang, who was standing to the side, seemed to have noticed the hesitation of the deputy admiral Yuan Kai.
A maturity beyond his years flickered in his eyes. He then clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said to Yuan Kai, "Vice General, as the Vanguard General of the Tang Dynasty's Navy, Long Xiang has the authority to decide on matters concerning the battlefield as appropriate."
"The blitzkrieg attack on Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, was entirely the work of Long Xiang alone."
"Vice General, Vice General, just pretend you never saw the dragon and elephant at Yipianshi!"
With that, Chen Longxiang waved his hand and shouted sternly, "Eagle Strike Commander—(a military rank below general, responsible for leading troops in campaigns)."
"Your subordinate is here!"
At Chen Longxiang's command, another young general, who was only just over twenty years old, hurriedly rode forward to await the vanguard general's orders.
This man was named Zhang Xuan, a servant of the Prince of Jin's mansion in Longcheng. He had accompanied the young second son, Chen Longxiang, to Longhu Mountain for cultivation under the arrangement of the late Emperor Chen Polu.
After Chen Longxiang was appointed by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an to become the vanguard general of the Tang Dynasty's navy, he was also incorporated into the army and served as Eagle Strike Sima under Vanguard General Chen Longxiang, commanding eight hundred personal guards of the Prince of Jin's mansion in Longcheng.
Chen Longxiang said, "Issue my order: the army shall discard all baggage and proceed lightly into battle, and follow me straight to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo."
Zhang Xuan asked, "General, what should we do with these prisoners?"
In the Battle of Shanhai Pass, more than half of the 20,000 Goguryeo Imperial Guard cavalry were lost, and in addition to those who died in battle and those who fled, there were also thousands of prisoners.
Upon hearing this, Chen Longxiang's eyes flashed sharply, and he ordered, "All warhorses are for our use. As for prisoners, if the deputy general needs them taken back for questioning, hand them over to him."
"If the deputy general finds it a burden, then you can handle it yourself!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Zhang Xuan immediately clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.
After speaking, Chen Longxiang did not linger any longer, but spurred his horse and chased after the Goguryeo Imperial Guards who had fled in panic.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan, the Eagle Strike Commander left to handle the aftermath, had no choice but to steel himself and approach Deputy General Yuan Kai, asking, "Deputy General, what do you think—"
Cough cough!
Yuan Kai glanced at Chen Longxiang's disappearing figure, then at the captured Goguryeo Imperial Guard cavalry, before looking at Eagle Strike Commander Zhang Xuan with a complicated expression and sneering, "This general has never been to Yipianshi!"
After saying that, Yuan Kai spurred his horse and rode away without looking back.
In the end, Zhang Xuan simply summoned a personal guard commander with a blank expression, gestured to him as if to slit his throat, and then ordered, "All soldiers, listen to my command—"
"Unload all supplies except weapons and equipment, and advance at full speed towards Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Soon, the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty navy, which had assembled in the vicinity of Yipianshi, mounted their warhorses (the captured Goguryeo warhorses were also requisitioned) and marched in a mighty procession straight to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, which was fifty or sixty miles away.
Let's look at it from both sides.
Just as Chen Longxiang was talking with Yuan Kai, the deputy admiral of the Tang Dynasty navy, the remnants of the Goguryeo imperial guards cavalry, who had suffered a crushing defeat at Yipianshi, also fled in panic for several miles and finally joined forces with the remaining 30,000 Goguryeo infantry who had come from the capital Pyongyang.
Faced with the miserable state of the Imperial Guard cavalry, General Kim Dae-jung of Goguryeo, who commanded the remaining 30,000 troops, was also greatly surprised.
Just as Chen Longxiang had predicted, when the Goguryeo Imperial Guard cavalry, who had been routed at Yipianshi, brought back news of the army's crushing defeat and the death of their first warrior and commander of the Imperial Guard, Tuoba Liuyun, the morale and spirit of the entire Goguryeo Imperial Guard plummeted to rock bottom in an instant.
In particular, when these rank-and-file Imperial Guards learned that the mighty Tang Dynasty naval general had sent their "God of War," General Tuoba Liuyun, to his death with just two hammer blows, they lowered their heads in fear.
That was the greatest warrior of the Goguryeo Dynasty!
That was General Tuoba, whom no one in the royal guards could rival!
Such a valiant man was killed in just two moves by the fierce general of the Tang Dynasty navy. This directly caused the Goguryeo imperial guards to develop a deep fear of the yet-to-be-revealed Tang Dynasty navy general, creating a strong psychological shadow. How could they possibly muster the courage to fight against him?
Kim Dae-jung, the deputy general of the Ministry of War of the Goguryeo Dynasty, also keenly noticed the changes in the mentality and morale of the soldiers in the camp. He knew that he could not go to the naval camp at Nampo Port.
Given the current morale of the Imperial Guards, going to the naval camp at Nanpu Port would be nothing short of handing over their heads to that valiant Tang Dynasty naval general.
Therefore, Kim Dae-jung made a decisive decision, ordering his army to return to the capital and defend the royal city.
"Someone, pass down the order: the rear guard of the army becomes the front guard, and the troops return to the city!"
Subsequently, the Goguryeo Imperial Guard infantry, who had set off from the capital Pyongyang overnight and marched in a grand procession straight to Nampo Port, turned back again, returning to the capital in disgrace.
Another hour passed, and it was nearly noon.
Among the Goguryeo imperial guards who were returning to the city in triumph, someone suddenly stopped and pricked up his ears to listen alertly to what was happening around him.
Faintly, one could hear the clattering of horses' hooves.
Before long, more and more Goguryeo infantrymen began to stop in their tracks, listening intently and turning around to try to figure out where the increasingly clear sound of hooves was coming from.
Clang, clang, clang!
Gradually, the ground began to tremble; it was the vibration caused by the approaching iron hooves of warhorses striking the ground repeatedly.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the Vice General, something terrible has happened! The Tang army, the Tang cavalry has caught up and is less than two miles away from the main force!"
Wow!
As the news arrived from the Goguryeo scouts, who were galloping away on horseback, it immediately caused a great uproar among the demoralized Goguryeo Imperial Guards who were on their way back to the city.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Kim Dae-jung, the deputy general of the Goguryeo Ministry of War, raised an eyebrow and felt a jolt in his heart.
Two miles, at full speed on a warhorse, can be reached in less than half an incense stick's time.
The forehead and back of the deputy general, Jin Dazhong, were damp with a fine layer of sweat. He didn't care about ordering the enemy to engage. His first thought was to hurry back to the capital and report the news to General Ma Xidong and King Gao Zang.
Kim Dae-jung shouted sternly, "What are you all standing there for? Pass down the order to have the army disperse and hide on both sides of the main road!"
"Once the Tang cavalry gets going, our tens of thousands of infantry won't even be enough to fill their teeth!"
"Scatter and hide!"
With that, Kim Dae-jung turned his horse around, slammed it against its belly, and galloped headlong toward the royal city of Pyongyang without looking back. He whipped the horse hard on its back, as if trying to squeeze out the last bit of strength from the horse.
"Disperse and hide—"
It wasn't until Vice General Kim Dae-jung had almost disappeared from sight that the Goguryeo generals behind him suddenly realized what was happening and loudly ordered the Goguryeo soldiers crowded on the official road to disperse and hide on both sides.
At this moment, the Goguryeo soldiers, who had just realized what was happening, were thrown into chaos like ants on a hot pan, driven by fear and despair to make instinctive escape reactions.
They disregarded the repeated orders from their superiors not to trample on the seedlings in the fields before the expedition, and scattered in all directions to escape for their lives.
Clang, clang, clang.
A moment later, the sound of hooves, like the death knell's call, exploded in the ears of the 30,000 Goguryeo infantrymen like rolling thunder.
On the back of the galloping warhorses were rows of gleaming sabers, fluttering "Great Tang" battle flags, resolute faces with unwavering determination, and chilling roars: "Great Tang Cavalry Vanguard, charge!"
"Kill them!"
On the vast fields, 20,000 cavalrymen of the Tang Dynasty's vanguard navy faced 30,000 infantrymen of the Goguryeo Dynasty. One side was pursuing the enemy with high morale, while the other side was demoralized and its troops were scattered.
The outcome of this encounter in the wild was predictable.
It was a completely one-sided massacre, with the Tang cavalry responsible for the indiscriminate slaughter and the Goguryeo imperial guards responsible for the killing.
However, these 30,000 Goguryeo infantrymen, at the cost of their lives, bought half an hour for Kim Dae-jung, the deputy general of the Ministry of War, who was rushing back to the capital Pyongyang to report the news.
As the battle drew to a close, Kim Dae-jung scrambled back to the palace.
Inside the main hall of the royal palace, King Gaozang was holding his daily court assembly with all the civil and military officials.
While the civil and military officials of Goguryeo were discussing how to deploy defenses on the Daedong River to prevent the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet from advancing eastward along the river, Kim Dae-jung, the deputy general of the Ministry of War, who had not even had time to remove his armor, was dragged into the royal palace by several imperial guards.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
Kim Dae-jung's voice arrived before he did.
Wow!
Immediately afterwards, the Goguryeo civil and military officials in the palace all turned their heads and looked in the direction of the sound.
Whether it was from being terrified by the Tang cavalry or from the numbness in his limbs caused by running, Jin Dazhong, unable to recover for a moment, was dragged sprawled out to the middle of the hall and forced to kneel.
Desperate and helpless, he continued, "Your Majesty, the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty's navy have arrived in the vicinity of Flying Tiger Ridge, less than thirty li from the capital."
"Your Majesty, hurry and take your family members out of the city to avoid the Tang army's advance!"
With tears streaming down his face, Kim Dae-jung said, "My greatest warrior of Goguryeo, General Tuoba Liuyun, commander of the 100,000 Imperial Guards, has died on the battlefield;"
"The 50,000 Imperial Guards that set off for Nanpu Port last night have also been almost entirely wiped out;"
"The vanguard of the Tang cavalry will be at the gates of Pyongyang in at most two hours. Once the Tang cavalry surrounds you, it will be extremely difficult for Your Majesty to leave the city!"
boom!
The words of Kim Dae-jung, the vice-general of the Ministry of War who had just returned from the front lines, struck the Goguryeo court like a bolt from the blue.
Some timid civil officials were even so frightened that they took a step back.
Upon hearing this news, King Gaozang, the Treasure King, almost instinctively wanted to stand up from his throne.
In the end, considering the dignity of being the king and the need to stabilize the hearts of the people, he sat back down, his face now deathly pale.
Among the panicked Goguryeo officials, there were still some who remained clear-headed.
For example, there's General Ma Xidong of the Ministry of War, Lord Gai Shiwen, and Grand Admiral Gao Wu of the Navy who withdrew from Nanpu Port yesterday.
The first to react was General Ma Xidong of the Ministry of War, who asked sternly, "Vice General Jin, have you thought carefully about what you're saying?"
"The court of the Goguryeo Dynasty is not a place for you to spout nonsense!"
Jin Dazhong replied weakly, "General, everything I have said is true. If anyone dares to deceive the emperor, Your Majesty may exterminate my entire clan at any time."
After a pause, Jin Dazhong continued, "In the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty navy, there was indeed a fierce general clad in golden armor and wielding twin hammers. General Tuoba only lasted two moves against him before dying on the spot."
"Your Majesty, my lords and generals, that fierce general of the Tang Dynasty truly possesses the courage of ten thousand men. I beg Your Majesty to heed my advice and immediately lead the royal family out of the city to temporarily avoid the Tang army's advance."
"As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Goguryeo civil and military officials in the palace hall became even more somber and solemn.
Only the face of the naval commander-in-chief, Gao Wu, was filled with sneers and disdain. His gloating eyes seemed to say: Now you believe what I said? Where were you before!
"Your Majesty, I believe that Your Majesty should also leave the city in time to avoid the Tang army's advance!"
At this moment, the highly respected senior minister Gai Shiwen stepped forward and said firmly, "The Tang army has come with overwhelming force, showing no sign of stopping until the capital is breached."
"Your Majesty has no need to risk your life. Leaving the city in time will preserve the strength of the Goguryeo royal family. Let this old minister remain in the capital to negotiate peace with the Tang army that has come!"
hehe!
With that, Gai Shiwen chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Back then, wasn't it I who went alone to make an alliance with Emperor Gaozu of the Great Xin Dynasty, Zhao Mang?"
"While these old bones of mine can still move, let me guard the royal city for the past kings of the Goguryeo Dynasty and serve the Goguryeo Dynasty one last time!"
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