It must be said that Yi Jeong-ho, the prime minister of the Goguryeo Dynasty, had a very clever plan. With just a few words, he put the Goguryeo Dynasty in a position where it could advance or retreat at will and was invincible.
His opinion also reflected the sentiments of King Gōzō of Shōhō.
At the age of thirty, Gojang was at the peak of his energy, physical strength, and ambition, and he wanted to take this opportunity to become the first person in the seven hundred years since the founding of the Goguryeo Dynasty.
Even if Gao Zang were to lose the war against the Tang Dynasty and ultimately have to re-sign the alliance and become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, he would not suffer any loss.
It's simply making the same choice as our ancestors over the past seven hundred years.
If he succeeds, he can make the Goguryeo Dynasty independent of the Central Plains Dynasty. Then Gao Zang will surely achieve great success and become the greatest figure in the history of the Goguryeo Dynasty.
Just as no warlord in the Central Plains dynasties could resist the temptation of the eight characters "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous," Gojang, as the king of the Goguryeo dynasty, naturally could not resist the temptation of "establishing an independent country and becoming emperor."
Therefore, Gao Zang, sitting on the throne in the main hall, immediately made the decision, saying, "Prime Minister Li is right. Regarding diplomatic relations with the Tang Dynasty, we shall proceed as Prime Minister Li has suggested."
Then he said to Gai Shiwen, "Lord Gai, you should also start making preparations. With Lord Gai in charge, the soldiers on the front lines will surely be able to put aside their psychological burdens and fight bravely against the enemy!"
"Your subject obeys!"
With things having come to this point, the clear-headed Gai Shiwen had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the order.
However, no one noticed a fleeting trace of sorrow in Gai Shiwen's cloudy eyes.
He knew that winning this battle would be good, or even just holding his own against the Tang army, but he absolutely could not afford to lose.
Otherwise, sitting at the negotiating table of the Tang Dynasty would be like sitting on pins and needles!
Thus, on the 20th day of the third month of the first year of the Zhaowu era of the Tang Dynasty, the Goguryeo Dynasty, under the personal approval of King Bojang, finalized its diplomatic strategy with the Tang Dynasty of the Central Plains.
Immediately afterwards, Ma Seok-dong, the Grand General of the Ministry of War of the Goguryeo Dynasty, began to mobilize troops and send 200,000 reinforcements to Uiju City. He even packed up all the fireworks and firecrackers in Pyongyang City and sent them to Uiju for military training.
Just as the Goguryeo Dynasty was busy mobilizing its troops and sharpening its swords in preparation for a decisive battle against the Tang army that was launching an eastern expedition in Uiju, little did they know that the Tang navy, which was truly responsible for the surprise attack on the Goguryeo Dynasty, had already bypassed the Yellow Sea routes without anyone noticing, and its sword was aimed directly at the capital, Pyongyang.
On the 21st day of the third month of the first year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty, at dawn.
After a seven-day voyage, the naval fleet led by Qi Jiguang, the Duke of Dingguo of the Tang Dynasty, finally rounded the Changshan Islands and arrived at the near-shore waters outside Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
On this day, the sea was calm and the rising sun slowly rose above the horizon, its round, red shape resembling a large red lantern hanging on the horizon.
On the deck of the Tang Dynasty's super warship "Destroy the Japanese" in the naval fleet, the third Prince of Jin, Chen Longxiang, wearing a golden armor, was holding the young former Emperor Lingwu, Chen Lingwu. He stood proudly on the deck of the "Destroy the Japanese" with his firm gaze fixed on the coastline of Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
Chen Longxiang, full of vigor, pointed to the coastline outside Pyongyang and said to Chen Lingwu in his arms, "Little Lingwu, how about I take the island across the sea and give it to you as your fiefdom?"
“You are my brother’s adopted son, which makes you a prince of the Tang Dynasty. Like your uncle, you should have your own fiefdom!”
"Uncle, look, the Goguryeo Peninsula is great. How about you stay on that island from now on?"
"good!"
Chen Lingwu nodded as if he understood, and answered Chen Longxiang's question in a crisp voice.
As he spoke, Chen Longxiang felt a delicate fragrance, like orchids and musk, wafting from behind him.
Immediately afterwards, a pair of slender, white hands reached around from behind him to the front and draped a scarlet cloak over Chen Longxiang's shoulders, even thoughtfully tying the cloak's drawstrings for him.
"Your Highness, it's cold, please put on a cloak!"
Behind them came the soft, sweet Jiangnan accent of the former Empress Dowager Su Wan'er.
Chen Longxiang was momentarily stunned, his ears turning uncontrollably red, and without turning his head, he said, "Thank you!"
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, the Duke requests your presence!"
Suddenly, the appearance of a messenger broke the somewhat awkward and ambiguous atmosphere on the deck of the "Destroy the Japanese" ship.
Upon hearing that Duke Qi Jiguang was looking for him, Chen Longxiang hurriedly returned Chen Lingwu to Su Wan'er, looking at her with burning eyes, but ultimately he couldn't utter a single word.
Then, under Su Wan'er's mournful gaze, he left the deck without looking back and hurried to the small boat that had come to pick him up to go to the Duke of Dingguo's ship for a meeting.
Eh—
Su Wan'er's sigh was filled with complex emotions.
Ever since Chen Longxiang and Su Wan'er first met in Jiaozhou City, Su Wan'er clearly sensed the special feelings that Chen Longxiang, the younger brother of the reigning emperor Chen Huai'an and the Prince of Jin of the Tang Dynasty, had for her.
Born into this chaotic world, and being a mother and son duo—the former empress and the young emperor of a fallen dynasty—it was impossible for them to gain a foothold and secure a place in the new dynasty without a powerful backer.
Having grown up rapidly through the trials of life and the experience of exile, Su Wan'er naturally understood this point as well.
Therefore, when she discovered that Chen Longxiang, who was in the throes of youthful innocence, was showing her unusual feelings, she began to intentionally or unintentionally close the distance between herself and Chen Longxiang, maintaining an ambiguous relationship that was neither too close nor too distant.
Qi Jiguang, as the Duke of Dingguo and the Admiral of the Navy of the Tang Dynasty, was naturally well aware of this.
However, he did not mention this matter in the memorial he submitted to Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an.
On the one hand, with a major battle imminent, Qi Jiguang, as the commander-in-chief, did not want to shake the morale of the vanguard general Chen Longxiang's army.
On the other hand, as a subject, he couldn't really interfere in the emotional entanglements of the imperial family, and could only let things develop as they were.
Soon, Chen Longxiang arrived at the "Datang" super warship where Qi Jiguang was located in a small commuter boat.
This super warship has the same model and configuration as the "Destroy the Japanese".
On the deck of the super warship "Datang", Duke Qi Jiguang, wearing bright armor and the imperial seven-star Longyuan sword at his waist, stared intently at the approaching coastline.
"Lord Governor——"
At this moment, Chen Longxiang, who had boarded the "Datang" ship, took the initiative to greet Qi Jiguang.
"General Chen has arrived!"
Qi Jiguang turned around, looked at Chen Longxiang clad in golden armor, and said with a solemn expression, "In another half hour, our Great Tang naval fleet should launch a landing operation against Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo."
"You'll lead the charge in the landing operation!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
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