The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 814 The battle to destroy the country
The Northern Defense Commander of Silla was named Choi Hong-hyeon, a veteran general in his fifties with extensive combat experience. Although he also came from the sacred Choi family, he was far more capable than the noble prince Kim Sung-kyung.

Upon receiving the king's urgent letter, Choi Hong-hyun also led his army south at breakneck speed. However, he sent a vanguard of 3,000 men to scout out the ambush situation ahead, which was much more reliable than Kim Seong-kyung, who had lost 30,000 Silla soldiers due to his inexperience.

Three days later, the three armies arrived at Dongluo River and began to build a pontoon bridge in preparation for crossing the river. Their method of building the pontoon bridge came from Goguryeo, using large sheepskin rafts.

Two hours later, a pontoon bridge was successfully built, and the army began to cross the river in a grand procession. Three miles away, on a high ground, Fei Qingnu used his clairvoyance to watch the enemy army crossing the river in the distance. Behind him was a naval force of 10,000 men. They were blocked by the high ground and, although they were very close to the enemy, they were not detected.

Of the 30,000 enemy troops, 7,000 to 8,000 had already crossed the river. The time was ripe, and Fei Qingnu immediately ordered, "Send the signal!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three gunpowder arrows flew into the sky and exploded with a "bang!" "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The war drums sounded, and ten thousand naval troops, who had been lying in ambush behind the high ground, rushed out and charged towards the enemy army three miles away. At the same time, another naval force of ten thousand men came from the north and attacked the eight thousand Silla troops who had just crossed the river from both the north and south.

At this moment, the two ramming ships sped toward the pontoon bridge at high speed, heading straight for it. Both ramming ships were equipped with iron rams, were huge, and were driven by paddlewheels, making them extremely fast. In just a moment, they approached the pontoon bridge, and the soldiers on the pontoon bridge screamed in terror.

"Boom! Boom!"

The two ships struck the pontoon bridge one after the other, breaking the one-mile-long bridge into three sections, and the soldiers on the bridge fell into the water.

At this moment, 20,000 naval troops surrounded 8,000 Silla troops, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting. Wooden-handled fire bombs exploded among the Silla troops, causing the soldiers to scream in agony, and the troops could not regroup at all.

On the opposite bank, Cui Hongxian was caught off guard and attacked halfway across the river. He was furious and anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

Just then, a soldier reported, "Reporting to the general, a Sui army of 30,000 men is marching towards us!"

Cui Hongxian was taken aback and asked urgently, "How much further?"

"They've already arrived!"

Cui Hongxian hurriedly looked south and indeed saw a black line. He immediately ordered, "Order the entire army to assemble and prepare for the decisive battle!"

Twenty thousand Silla troops quickly assembled, while thirty thousand Sui troops appeared two miles away.

The two armies faced each other from a distance. Three thousand cavalrymen slowly advanced, with two thousand archers in front of them. As they drew closer, Cui Hongxian also ordered five thousand archers to prepare.

Two hundred and fifty paces apart, the arrow and mortar crew crouched down, aiming a thousand arrows and mortars at the enemy.

"emission!"

The Sui army launched a thousand arrows, which soared into the air and rushed towards the Silla army. However, they did not shoot at the archers in front, but at the spearmen behind them.

Arrows and mines exploded one after another in the army formation, causing chaos among the soldiers. Cui Hongxian's warhorse was hit in the leg by a poisoned nail, let out a loud neigh, and reared up, throwing the unsuspecting Cui Hongxian to the ground.

The guards rushed to his aid, but Cui Hongxian was also struck on the forehead by a poisoned nail, causing blood to flow freely.

In the chaos, the soldiers were at a loss. As they approached, a second volley of a thousand arrows and lightning bolts came. This time, most of the arrows and lightning bolts exploded above the soldiers' heads. Then came the third and fourth volleys of arrows and lightning bolts, and even the archers were hit by poisoned nails.

The Silla soldiers were terrified and finally realized what was happening. A large number of soldiers turned around and fled. The army was already in low spirits after being attacked by the Sui army while crossing the river. When they were hit by powerful firearms, the army collapsed in an instant.

Wang Junkuo brandished his sword and shouted, "Kill!" Three thousand cavalrymen charged out first, bypassing the archers and mortar crews from both sides. The cavalrymen charged towards the enemy, and the main army behind them surged out amidst the deafening sound of drums.

The Sui army refused to accept surrender and wanted to exterminate the enemy. The Silla soldiers fled in despair, but they could not outrun the cavalry. The cavalry mercilessly slaughtered the enemy as they galloped, spears piercing their vests and swords splitting their heads. Ahead was a tributary river, and countless Silla soldiers fled into the river to survive, but many drowned. Thousands of corpses blocked the river.

Many soldiers collapsed while running, their bodies affected by the poison gas. Even the commander-in-chief, Cui Hongxian, died from the poison gas attacking his heart.

In the Battle of Dongluo River, the Silla army suffered a major defeat, with more than 27,000 of its 30,000 troops killed and only more than 2,000 managing to escape. The Sui army did not take prisoners and even executed the wounded soldiers who were not yet dead.

Three days later, 50,000 Sui troops arrived at the city. At this time, the Silla court urgently recruited 20,000 new soldiers, which, together with the 10,000 troops that had previously guarded the capital, brought the total number of troops in the city to 30,000.

Whether it was the Battle of Huoshao Valley or the Battle of Dongnaksu in the north, both were far from the capital of Silla. The Silla king and his ministers were unaware that the 60,000-strong army had been completely annihilated, and they were still hoping that the 60,000-strong army would return to defend the king.

Inside the main tent, Luo Shixin was discussing battle plans with his generals. They all agreed that they could not give the enemy a chance to surrender and that they had to win quickly.

"We must not let the enemy surrender. We must annihilate the enemy on the battlefield. We must not delay. The sooner the better. We shall act today. Send down the order: the old, weak, women and children shall not be killed, but all men shall be executed. Anyone who dares to rape or plunder shall be severely punished according to military law."

"Follow the order!"

The generals were eager and ready for the final battle.

At the first watch of the night, 50,000 troops lay in ambush two miles away. A dozen soldiers gradually approached the city gate. Silla's city had no moat, so the soldiers crawled forward, and the guards above did not notice them.

At the city gate, the soldiers held a giant fire mine weighing two to five hundred pounds against the gate, lit the fuse, and immediately turned and ran. At this moment, the guards on the city wall spotted them and shouted loudly.

Before they had run a hundred paces, a dozen soldiers jumped into a deep pit, picked up the large shields that had been prepared beforehand, curled up in a ball, covered themselves with the shields, and tightly covered their ears.

Just then, a burst of red light shot out violently, and a tremendous explosion erupted at the city gate. The earth trembled, and a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

Countless bricks, stones, and wood chips flew up and then fell like raindrops. Many mangled corpses also fell from the sky, and the shields of the soldiers hiding in the deep pit were hit by the falling bricks and stones with a crackling sound.

When the smoke cleared, the entire southern city had vanished, leaving only two empty sections of the city wall. The iron-fire bomb had blasted a gap dozens of feet long, and the powerful shockwave caused the houses near the city wall to collapse.

Most of the thousands of soldiers guarding the city walls were stunned by the shockwave, and the entire city of Jin was awakened by the huge explosion and the shaking of the earth.

Luo Shixin brandished his great iron spear and roared, "Kill!"

"Kill!"

Fifty thousand soldiers rose from the ground and surged into Jincheng. The Silla capital fell, and the city was filled with shouts of battle and explosions. Enemy soldiers begged for mercy in despair, but to no avail; they were mercilessly stabbed to death by spears.

General Wang Bodang led three thousand soldiers and was the first to storm into the palace.

King Kim Jinpyeong of Silla was filled with remorse and committed suicide by poison in despair. Kim Jinpyeong had no sons, only one daughter, and no nephews, thus ending the royal line of Silla.

(End of this chapter)