Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 126: Destroying the City with Homemade Explosives

"Driving away the wolf and swallowing the tiger, what a good strategy!"

After understanding the whole story, Li Ji exclaimed.

The generals also took a breath of cold air.

This strategy is similar to the strategy of "while the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits", but it is much more difficult to implement.

"The northern border cities have been basically taken. Now only Baiyan City, Liaodong City, and Anshi City have not been breached. If we capture them one by one, we can cross the river and attack Pyongyang from the north and south with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xue Wanche said.

"The rainy season is here, and attacking the city is not an easy task. It is better to divide the troops and advance. Yeon Gaesomun has already led his army to the south, and Pyongyang must be poorly defended. The king can lead the troops deep into the city and take it directly."

Li Daozon, as always, wanted to take a risky move.

"No, the main force of the Goguryeo army is still there. If we go too deep, the danger of the entire army being annihilated is too great. We should withdraw and join forces with Zhang Jian's troops to attack Liaodong City and advance steadily."

Li Ji refused. The overall battle situation was now promising and there was no need to take such a risky move.

The grain routes were unobstructed, and grain was transported in by water in an endless supply, supporting the Tang army's war of attrition.

"General Manager Li, please come here at this time. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also asked us to bring a city-breaking artifact. When the time comes, it will help the army in the siege."

The Bad Guys Captain Lin Zhi bowed and said.

"Okay, then I will see what surprises His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will bring him."

Li Ji did not ask any further questions. He was too smart and knew when to advance and retreat. If it was not his job, he would definitely not get involved.

Five days later, Li Ji's army advanced southward and besieged Liaodong City.

Faced with the Liao Great Wall being surrounded by the Tang army, the defenders of Liaodong City remained as calm as ever, no matter how many people came.

The walls of Liaodong City are solid, nine meters high and three meters thick, standing tall above the Liaodong Plain. Unlike a mountain city, it is built of rammed earth like the giant cities in the Central Plains.

The Liaodong Plain is fertile and rich in resources. The city is well-stocked with food and grass, and there are 30,000 elite troops guarding the city.

The city walls are high and thick, the soldiers are well-trained and the food is sufficient, so why can't we resist them?

Emperor Yang of Sui went on three expeditions, but he never managed to capture the city of Liaodong.

When Li Shimin personally led the army to attack the city, he failed after a long siege, so he ordered his soldiers to cut down trees, pile them on one side of the city wall, and attack with fire.

After being burned by the raging fire for a long time, the bricks and rammed earth on the city wall cracked and then collapsed, and were then broken by the Tang army.

The Tang army obviously knew that Liaodong City was easy to defend but difficult to attack, but they did not think of the method that General Tiance Li Shimin had thought of.

Li Ji, Li Daozon, Zhang Shigui, Xue Wanche, Qibi Heli, Zhang Jian, Gao Kan, Niu Dajin and many other generals gathered together to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy.

Lin Zhi was Li Chengqian's spokesperson and was also invited to attend such a high-level meeting.

"Zhang Yunliang, the defender of the Liao Great Wall, is a veteran general who knows the art of war very well. You cannot attack by force, you can only win by wits," said Li Daozon.

"Yes, now Goguryeo's army and civilians are united, the defending army is probably far more than 30,000, and they have abundant food and grass. We cannot afford to fight a war of attrition." Zhang Shigui also expressed his concerns.

All the generals were talking at the same time, and Zhang Jian even described the defenders of Liaodong City as extremely brave, after all, he had experienced it before.

"Generals, as long as you can cover us as we approach the city gate, we will be able to open it."

Seeing the generals arguing, Lin Zhi spoke up.

"There is no joking in the army!" Li Ji said seriously.

"I am willing to issue a military order!" Lin Zhi said firmly. Only the bad guys like them who were the guards knew the power of Thunderbolt.

"Since you are so confident, I will help you rush to the city gate!"

Li Ji agreed.

It is not difficult to get close to the city gate, but the difficult part is to climb to the top of the city.

The entire Tang camp was filled with smoke as people built fires and cooked in preparation for the siege.

"It's a reward from Manager Li. Let's have a drink!"

Inside a tent, Lin Zhi came in holding a jar of wine.

"I never thought that when I was dying, I could drink the wine that only the rich and powerful could drink."

A big man took the jar of wine with a smile, opened the lid, smelled it, and poured several large bowls of it.

"Be careful, it's not like you haven't ignited the Human Torch before, it's not that serious."

Lin Zhi spoke in a comforting voice.

But he knew very well that there was a high probability that these ten or so people would not come back.

"Isn't it good to die on the battlefield? We didn't have this qualification before. We can be worshipped after death. It's worth it."

They are all low-status bad guys with criminal records. How could they join the army?

"This is also our only way to repay you, Captain Lin. Later, when you meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, tell him that we did not bring shame to the Eastern Palace."

After drinking a bowl of wine, they all left the camp and pushed two carriages slowly towards Liaodong City.

Li Ji looked at Lin Zhi and the others arriving, and looked at the tightly covered carriage with confusion.

"Manager Li, escort these two vehicles to the gate of Liaodong City. Just make sure they don't get attacked on the way. They will be able to break through the gate when the time comes."

Lin Zhi pointed to the two carriage roads.

Thunderbolt is top secret and no one is allowed to explore it, so no matter what time it is, there are always trusted people from the East Palace transporting it.

"Siege!"

Li Ji said calmly, his expression did not change much. The Tang army surged towards Liaodong City like a tide, with drums beating and flags covering the sky.

The defending general Zhang Yunliang looked at the endless Tang army without any ripples on his face. He slowly said, "Let the Tang army get closer, then fight, shoot and kill more of them, and take the opportunity to consume their strength."

After saying that, Zhang Yunliang turned and left. Over the past few months, the Tang army had been attacking the city with such great fanfare, but it was all just a lot of noise but little results.

The Goguryeo soldiers were already used to it.

The Tang army advanced quickly and the moat had already been filled up.

The Goguryeo army started shooting arrows when the Tang army was only a hundred steps away from the city wall.

The shield formation moved forward, blocking a large number of arrows, but preventing them from causing much damage.

However, the huge rock that flew down from the sky could smash the shield into pieces.

"That's the Tang army's siege equipment. Smash them all."

The special armament of the carriage also attracted the attention of the Goguryeo defenders.

At one time, almost all the boulders came crashing down to destroy it.

Their intuition was correct, but the Tang army had deployed heavily armored shield soldiers on the two carts, so even if such huge rocks fell, they could not break the special shields made of fine iron.

Facing the Goguryeo soldiers' indiscriminate bombardment, the carriage continued to move forward steadily.

"Pour in the kerosene!"

On the top of the city wall, boiling kerosene poured down, penetrating every hole, and soldiers were set on fire in an instant.

The soldiers dispersed and two carriages were pushed to the city gate.

"boom!"

Along with this deafening roar, the entire Liaodong city trembled, and all the noisy sounds disappeared in an instant.

Many soldiers only felt a tinnitus, buzzing in their ears, and a complete loss of hearing.

At the gate of Liaodong City, flames were burning blazingly, rising straight into the sky, making that place the focus of everyone's attention.

A huge gap has been blown out at the originally solid city gate, like the open mouth of a giant beast.

Lin Zhi looked at the scene in front of him and was amazed in his heart. The power of this earth bomb far exceeded his expectations. Not only did it blow up the inner and outer city gates, but it also blew down a large section of the solid city wall, and the rubble was scattered all over the ground.

"Manager Li, give the order for a general attack." Lin Zhi was no longer so surprised, but reminded Li Ji who was seeing the power of the homemade bomb for the first time.

"Charge the entire army!"

Li Ji drew his sword and ordered the entire army to advance.

For an army of tens of thousands, the gap was still too small, and soldiers on both sides were fighting for it.

Zhang Yunliang, who had been calm and composed, had to go to the battlefield to command the battle in person. All of a sudden, the survival of Liaodong City had become a matter of life and death.

"Xue Li, did you see that? Taking over this gap is a great achievement. It is also your chance to prove your bravery to General Li Ji. Then you will be granted a title of nobility and appointed as a general."

Zhang Shigui said to the young general in white robe beside him.

"Thank you, Duke Zhang, for reminding me. Xue Li knows what to do!"

Xue Rengui spurred his horse and rushed forward alone, dressed in a white robe, holding a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, slashing his way forward. All the people in front of him fell down. Xue Rengui rushed into the city with his personal bravery and blocked the front of the pass.

But how could the Goguryeo army give up like this? Countless soldiers rushed forward.

This is the consequence of being the first to reach the target. You have to face attacks from all enemies, including swords and arrows.

Xue Rengui did not retreat, but rushed forward to meet the enemy. He was dressed in a pure white battle robe and was instantly submerged by the surging crowd.

The Tang army soldiers behind him also attacked bravely and continued to pour into the battlefield.

In just a short moment, the pass that had been blown open had piled up like a mountain of corpses. On this mountain of corpses, Xue Rengui was carrying a war spear on his back and holding a bloody sword pointing forward, which was chilling.

The mountain of corpses beneath his feet were all created by him alone.

In the eyes of everyone, this is simply beyond the limits of human beings.

"kill!"

Xue Rengui's power was awe-inspiring, and he exuded a strong bloody smell, as if a ghost had descended.

His roar frightened the Goguryeo soldiers so much that they dropped their weapons and armor and fled, some even losing the courage to fight him.

"If he is indeed a tiger general, he should be entrusted with important tasks!"

Li Ji's eyes were bright, as if he had seen gold.

Before I saw Xue Rengui in actual combat, I thought he was just so-so.

But now, his definition of martial arts has been refreshed.

People can really be so strong that one man can block the passage of ten thousand.

Without any resistance, the Tang army advanced straight in and soon poured into Liaodong City, causing countless casualties among Goguryeo soldiers and civilians.

The city gates were blocked on all sides, and not many Goguryeo soldiers were able to escape.

This is a war of annihilation.

The defending general Zhang Yunliang was besieged in the city, and Xue Wanche, Zhang Jian and Gao Kan attacked from several directions.

Even this battle-hardened veteran was powerless to save the situation.

(End of this chapter)