Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 430 Just after capturing Anshi City, Li Er sent an imperial decree. [Requesting monthly votes]

The wind on the city wall suddenly became fierce. Yang Wanchun looked at the hundreds of dark and shiny iron pipes below the city wall, his knuckles turning white from gripping the bronze sword so tightly.

His gaze slowly swept over the streamlined metal casings, but his mind was uncontrollably filled with images of his confrontation with Li Shimin last year.

It was the same Anshi City, and the same army of the Tang Dynasty, yet the scene before my eyes was completely different from what I remembered.

At this time last year, although Li Shimin's army was also very powerful and well-armored, the most conspicuous things on the front line were only catapults and ballistae.

At that time, Yang Wanchun stood on the city tower, watching the Tang army repeatedly use catapults to smash boulders against the city wall, listening to the dull thuds of stones hitting the blue bricks. Although he was vigilant, he was never afraid.

He could even see the anxious expressions on the faces of Li Shimin's generals across the moat.

Their firearms were sparse and cumbersome, producing thick smoke when fired, yet they couldn't even break through the cracks in the city wall.

On one occasion, the Tang army finally managed to push a cannon to the front of the battle line, but while loading gunpowder, they accidentally set it on fire, causing their own men and horses to fall to the ground. The defenders on the city wall laughed heartily at the sight.

At that time, Yang Wanchun always felt that Li Shimin's so-called "General of Heavenly Strategy" was nothing more than a show of force with sheer numbers, and that his firearms were nothing more than decorative items that looked good but were useless.

But now, the things Li Chengqian brought sent a chill down his spine.

He recalled the scout's trembling words: "They were all armored cavalry, and many strange firearms."

I recall the deafening roar of the thunderclap, and the flying debris and blood at the breach in the city wall.

Those things were nothing compared to the scrap metal that Li Shimin had last year.

When the first thunderbolt struck, he tried to block it with his bow and arrow, but the arrowhead struck the dark shell and was bounced away with a crisp "ding".

At that moment, he truly understood that Li Chengqian's firearms were indeed deadly weapons capable of destroying the city.

"General, look at their cannon barrels. They're a whole size thicker than last year's, and they're so shiny you can see right through them!"

Jin Shun's voice, trembling with tears, interrupted Yang Wanchun's thoughts.

Yang Wanchun followed his gaze and saw that in the Tang army formation, the soldiers were skillfully loading something into those iron pipes, their movements were uniform and there was not a trace of panic.

He suddenly remembered Li Shimin's artillery battalion from last year.

Back then, it took five or six people half a day to load a cannon for the Tang army, and they would often make mistakes. But these soldiers, one in charge of loading and another in charge of aiming, were ready in no time.

It turns out that it wasn't that firearms were useless, but that Li Shimin didn't know how to use them.

The thought exploded in Yang Wanchun's mind like a thunderbolt, making him tremble.

Last year, when Li Shimin attacked Anshi City, his food supplies were exhausted and his morale was low. But Yang Wanchun knew that what really prevented the Tang army from conquering the city was that their firearms were too useless.

If Li Shimin had possessed such thunderbolts and a skilled firearms battalion back then, the city walls of Anshi would probably have been breached long ago.

But Li Shimin squandered his winning hand.

He neither knew how to improve firearms nor how to unleash their power. He simply treated them as ordinary siege weapons, placing them haphazardly in front of the battle lines, thus wasting the initiative.

Li Chengqian, however, used firearms to their fullest potential.

Yang Wanchun recalled the discussions among the soldiers below the city wall.

The Tang army brought new firearms, far more powerful than the previous ones.

He recalled Li Chengqian's cold words just now.

[Last chance: Surrender, or massacre the city.]

He suddenly realized that Li Chengqian was far more terrifying than Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was impatient and arrogant; he would get furious if he couldn't capture a city.

But Li Chengqian was different. He was calm and ruthless. He first cut off the food and water supply to wear down the morale of the defending troops, and then used firearms to intimidate them, gradually driving Anshi City into a desperate situation.

Such an opponent is a hundred times more difficult to deal with than Li Shimin.

"General, perhaps..."

Jin Shun's voice trembled, and before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Yang Wanchun's cold gaze.

Just as Yang Wanchun was about to speak, a commotion suddenly arose below the city wall.

Several soldiers dragged a wounded man up the city wall. The man was clutching half a blood-stained flatbread in his arms. He was the same soldier who had tried to break out to seek help earlier.

"General, the reinforcements from Wugu City were intercepted and wiped out by Li Jing's troops. They're all gone."

The soldier was barely breathing; after speaking, his head lolled to the side, and he was gone.

This news was like the last straw, completely crushing the will of the defending troops.

On the city wall, someone threw down their weapon and squatted on the ground, sobbing softly.

Some even secretly peered down from the city walls, their eyes filled with hesitation.

"General! You must make a decision quickly!"

Jin Shun's cries came again.

Yang Wanchun ignored him and just looked down at the city gate.

Li Chengqian was riding his horse, his gaze calmly fixed on the city wall, as if he were looking at prey that was about to be captured.

The black-armored cavalry behind him stood in neat rows, their spears gleaming coldly in the sunlight, while their dark iron pipes were all pointed at the city wall.

Yang Wanchun felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, and a suffocating feeling washed over him.

He knew that he had no way out.

If they resist, the flames spewing from those iron pipes will turn the entire city of Anshi to ashes.

If he surrenders, his lifelong reputation will be ruined.

But as he looked at the trembling soldiers on the city wall and heard the cries of the people in the distance, he also thought of the scout who had just died.

Yeon Gaesomun's reinforcements have been intercepted and killed. Ansi Fortress is now an isolated city. Continuing to resist will only increase casualties.

He suddenly felt utterly hopeless.

This despair was not due to the large number of Tang troops, nor because Anshi City was about to fall.

It was because he finally realized that the gap between Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty was no longer about the gain or loss of a single city or battle, but a world of difference in resources and strategies.

Li Shimin's inability to use firearms was a blessing for the Tang Dynasty, but a misfortune for Goguryeo.

This gave Li Chengqian the opportunity to hone his firearms into invincible weapons.

Now, this weapon is aimed at Ansi City, and also at the future of Goguryeo.

"General."

Jin Shun was still pleading. Yang Wanchun took a deep breath and slowly loosened his grip on the bronze sword.

The sword fell to the ground with a clang, the sound particularly clear on the silent city tower.

He closed his eyes, and the image of Li Shimin's disheveled retreat last year flashed through his mind, as did Li Chengqian's cold smile just now.

"Open the city gates."

His voice was hoarse, tinged with a sense of powerless exhaustion: "For the sake of the people in the city, we surrender."

Jin Shun suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief, which then turned into ecstatic joy. He immediately turned around and shouted down towards the city walls, "Open the city gates! We surrender!"

As the city gate slowly opened, Yang Wanchun opened his eyes and looked down at Li Chengqian below the city.

He saw a faint smile appear on Li Chengqian's lips, a smile that contained not the ecstasy of victory, but a calm composure as if everything was under control.

Yang Wanchun suddenly realized that from the moment Li Chengqian arrived in Liaodong with these new firearms, the fate of Anshi City was already sealed. And it was all due to Li Shimin's mistake back then.

The mistake of not knowing how to use firearms ultimately cost Goguryeo the heaviest price.

Standing on the city wall, Yang Wanchun watched as the Tang soldiers took over the city gate in an orderly manner, and watched as Li Chengqian rode slowly toward the city gate. He felt a mix of emotions.

He knew that his resistance was over, and the war between Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty was perhaps coming to an end.

This time, Goguryeo faced an opponent who knew how to use firearms and how to strategize, an opponent far more formidable than Li Shimin.

The wind blew across the city wall again, and Yang Wanchun pulled his armor tighter around himself, feeling a chill run down his spine.

He gazed at the distant horizon, the direction from which Li Shimin had once retreated his troops, but which had now become the starting point for Li Chengqian's advance.

He didn't know what the future held for Goguryeo, only that the fall of Ansi Fortress might just be the beginning.

A new era belonging to Li Chengqian and to the firearms of the Tang Dynasty has arrived.

"May the Tang Dynasty last ten thousand years!"

"The Great Tang will surely prevail!"

"Welcome, Your Highness, into the city!"

As the city gates slowly opened, a unified shout rang out from the Tang army ranks.

Li Chengqian reined in his horse and looked at Yang Wanchun as he stepped out. He said calmly, "General Yang, a wise man knows when to yield. I promise not to kill surrendered soldiers or disturb the people."

"On behalf of the soldiers and civilians of Anshi City, I thank Your Highness the Crown Prince."

With a hoarse voice, Yang Wanchun bowed respectfully, then led Jin Shun and the other surrendered generals and soldiers to kneel down with a clatter.

The sound of Tang army horses entering the city gradually subsided, and smoke rose again from the chimneys in Anshi City, but the tension of the past was gone.

Li Chengqian's temporary command tent was set up inside the former Anshi City Lord's Mansion.

The tent was brightly lit by candlelight, and a map was laid out on the table. The location of Wugu City was circled in red, and the terrain and the deployment of the garrison were marked densely next to it.

That was intelligence that Sun Daiyin had compiled overnight.

“Your Highness, although Wugu City is not as fortified as Anshi City, it is located in a strategically important position, backed by Wandu Mountain and with the Boiling Water in front, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.”

Sun Daiyin stood bowing beside the table, his finger tracing the rivers on the map:

"More importantly, the commander of Wugu City, Yeon Nam-geon, is Yeon Gaesomun's younger brother. He is a man of strong character and is extremely good at defending cities. Last year, when Your Majesty attacked Ansi City, he led reinforcements to harass the Tang army's rear, which gave Your Majesty a lot of headaches."

Li Chengqian's fingertip touched the three characters 'Black Bone City', his gaze deep and serious:
“I know him. It is said that in order to defend the city, he once used all the grain in his house as military rations, and even his young son was so hungry that he was pale and thin. He is a tough guy.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain was lifted, and Yang Wanchun walked in dressed in plain clothes.

Although he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he refused to wear Tang army armor and met the emperor in plain clothes.

He walked to the map, his gaze falling on the mark of Wugu City, and his brows furrowed slightly: "Your Highness, Wugu City should not be attacked hastily."

The tent fell silent instantly.

Sun Daiyin turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with wariness.

Although both he and Yang Wanchun were surrendered generals, Yang Wanchun had only just surrendered, and his frank discussion of the war situation at this moment inevitably aroused suspicion.

Li Chengqian raised his hand to signal Yang Wanchun to continue, and said in a calm tone, "Tell me your reasons."

"Firstly, Wugu City is different from Anshi City."

Yang Wanchun's finger landed on Mount Wandu on the map:

"This city is backed by mountains, and the garrison can obtain water and firewood along the mountain paths. Even if the supply lines are cut off, they can survive for several months on wild vegetables and fruits from the mountains and forests."

"I had dealings with Yuan Nanjian at the end of last year. He is most skilled at using mountains as obstacles and has set up dozens of traps in the mountain paths. If the Tang army rashly enters the mountains, it may suffer heavy losses."

He paused, then pointed to the boiling water:

"Secondly, it is already late spring, and the flood season of the Boiling Stream is approaching. If the garrison of Wugu City builds a dam in the river and suddenly releases the floodwaters when the Tang army crosses the river, our army will suffer heavy losses."

“Although Yuan Nanjian is strong-willed, he is not reckless. He will surely make use of the terrain…”

General Yang is mistaken!

Sun Daiyin immediately retorted: "Our army has new-style artillery and thunderbolts. Even though Wugu City has a treacherous terrain, as long as we concentrate our firepower to bombard the city gate, we can break through the city in less than three days."

"As for the boiling water, our army can send the Wolf Fang Guard to cut off the upstream water source in advance, so that his dam construction will be useless!"

"General Sun only knew the advantage of firearms, but forgot about the 'right time and the right place'."

Yang Wanchun turned to look at Sun Daiyin, his eyes sharp. "Although the artillery is powerful, it needs to be set up on flat ground. The area around Wugu City is all mountainous, making it difficult for the artillery to advance."

"Although the thunderbolts can collapse the city walls, Yuan Nanjian must have built two lines of defense behind the city walls. Even if a breach is blown open, our army will still be ambushed when it charges."

"As for cutting off the water source, there are many mountain springs in Wandu Mountain. Even if the boiling water is cut off, the garrison can still survive on the mountain springs. This method is completely useless."

The two men each held their own version of events, and the atmosphere inside the tent gradually became tense.

Li Chengqian did not interrupt them, but stared at the map in deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the table.

He only spoke after Yang Wanchun and Sun Daiyin had both stopped:
"General Yang spoke of 'caution,' and General Sun spoke of 'courage,' both of which are valid. But what I need is a combination of 'caution and courage.'"

After saying that, he raised his hand and drew a line on the map, starting from Anshi City, bypassing the upper reaches of the Boiling Stream, and going straight to the mountain road on the west side of Wugu City: "Sun Daiyin, you, Yu Gushe, and Pei Xuan, lead the Wolf Fang Guard and the Firearm Guard to set off early tomorrow morning and advance covertly along this mountain road."

"Remember, do not alert the garrison. Simply set up gunpowder traps on both sides of the mountain path."

"The objective is not to kill, but to cut off their reinforcements' supply lines."

"If we find that Yuan Nanjian's people have joined the army, we don't need to fight them head-on. We can just use thunderbolts to blast the mountain path down."

"promise!"

Sun Daiyin bowed and accepted the order, the wariness in her eyes gradually fading.

He then realized that Li Chengqian had neither ignored Yang Wanchun's reminder nor given up the advantage of firearms.

Li Chengqian then looked at Yang Wanchun:
"General Yang, you will be stationed with me in the central army. You are familiar with Yuan Nanjian's tactics, so you can help me draft a countermeasure, especially how to guard against his use of boiling water and mountain paths to set up an ambush."

"In addition, you can write a letter to Yuan Nanjian, urging him to surrender."

"Of course, I know he may not surrender, but at least I can disturb his mind."

Yang Wanchun was stunned. He did not expect Li Chengqian to trust him so much, not only letting him participate in military affairs, but also letting him draft countermeasures.

He looked down at the map, then looked up at Li Chengqian's calm eyes, and felt a warmth in his heart. He bowed and said, "This subordinate obeys."

Moonlight streamed through the window and fell on the Wugu City marker on the map.

Li Chengqian gazed at the red circle, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He knew that Yeon Nam-geon was not easy to deal with, but he had to win this battle.

Taking Wugu City would open up a passage to Pyongyang, and the demise of Goguryeo would be imminent.

"Your Highness! General Li and Pei Xingjian request an audience!"

"Please!"

Just as Li Chengqian was finalizing the battle plan, Li Jing and Pei Xingjian walked in from outside.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has issued an edict ordering General Li Jing to return to Chang'an!"

(End of this chapter)