Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The news of the fall of Beisha City spread like wildfire throughout the Liaodong Peninsula in just half a day.

But this is just the beginning.

For the Goguryeo generals who were used to defensive battles and to stalling for time with the enemy in the freezing cold, the Tang army's subsequent actions completely shattered their understanding of war.

There was no bugle call to signal the setting up of a camp.

There was no smoke rising from the firewood being searched for to start a fire for cooking.

They didn't even have time to count their spoils or rest.

After landing in Beisha City, the Tang Dynasty's expeditionary force was like a killing machine turned on at its highest speed, without any pause.

"All troops! Maintain advancing formation! We'll eat on the march!"

Cheng Yaojin rode a tall horse, brandishing his Xuanhua axe, and galloped back and forth beside the procession in a rough voice.

Under his command, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty displayed a terrifyingly efficient marching pace.

As they marched in unison, they skillfully pulled out a gleaming tin can from a cloth bag hanging from their waist.

With a "click," the lid was pried open with a bayonet.

The rich aroma of meat instantly filled the air in the cold wind.

The soldiers marched along, chewing heartily on the tender braised pork and luncheon meat. Some even pulled out a pot of hot soup in an insulated sheepskin bag and took a delicious sip.

The fact that they could eat hot meat while walking in the freezing cold of minus ten degrees Celsius fueled their morale to the extreme.

At the very front of the column was Xue Rengui, the newly appointed naval vanguard.

He rode a white dragon steed, holding a halberd stained with blood, which resembled a white blade piercing the sky, pointing straight to the north.

"Report! Goguryeo cavalry, numbering approximately 5,000, have been spotted five miles ahead, attempting a flank attack!"

A scout rode up at breakneck speed.

"Five thousand cavalry?"

Xue Rengui didn't even lift his eyelids. He didn't order the army to stop advancing, nor did he set up a defensive formation.

He merely turned his head slightly to look at a general beside him wearing dark green leather armor.

That was the commander of the Shenji Battalion's musketeer team.

"Musketeer battalion, advance one hundred paces."

Xue Rengui's voice was calm and undisturbed.

"promise!"

The musketeer commander accepted the order.

Three thousand Shenji Battalion soldiers quickly bypassed the front-line swordsmen and shieldmen.

They didn't shout, nor did they panic. They formed three neat rows in the snow, their dark gun muzzles level, like a dead forest.

Before long, accompanied by the dull sound of horses' hooves, five thousand Goguryeo cavalry charged down the hillside on the flank.

They brandished their scimitars, emitting deafening screams, attempting to use the cavalry's charge to tear apart the Tang army's marching ranks.

"These Tang dogs didn't even bother to put up barricades. Do they really think they can stop the iron cavalry of Great Goguryeo on flat ground?!"

The leading Goguryeo general laughed wildly, as if he could already see the horrific scene of the Tang army being trampled into mincemeat by horses' hooves.

One hundred and fifty steps.

One hundred steps.

Eighty steps.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!"

When the distance closed to eighty paces, the first platoon of musketeers from the Shenji Battalion pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The deafening gunfire instantly ripped apart the clamor of the battlefield.

A thousand plumes of white smoke rose from the front lines.

The dense barrage of lead bullets, like a deadly storm, carried terrifying kinetic energy and slammed into the charging cavalry formation.

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

The dull thud of lead bullets piercing flesh mingled with the sound of bones shattering.

The Goguryeo cavalry at the forefront were riddled with bullets before they could even scream.

The once imposing charging formation collapsed instantly, as if it had crashed into an invisible steel wall.

The warhorse neighed and collapsed into the snow, throwing its rider off its back. Those behind couldn't stop in time and were all tripped and tumbled, turning the entire flank into a chaotic battlefield in an instant.

"Second row! Place it!"

The musketeer commander's cold voice rang out once more.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Another salvo.

This tactic of queuing and firing without any suspense, in the face of the absolute technological gap between firearms and cold weapons, demonstrated an extremely cruel one-sided efficiency of slaughter.

Only two rounds of volleys.

Of the five thousand Goguryeo cavalry, more than half fell.

The remaining men were utterly terrified by the overwhelming firepower. In panic, they turned their horses around, attempting to flee this terrifying place.

"Trying to run away?"

Xue Rengui snorted coldly and suddenly squeezed the horse's belly with his legs.

"Great Snow Dragon Riders! Follow me and kill!"

Three thousand Snow Dragon Riders, like a white torrent bursting its banks, instantly crossed the musket formation and pursued the fleeing Goguryeo cavalry.

This was a hunt with no suspense whatsoever.

The Tang Dynasty's expeditionary force used this brutal, simple, yet extremely efficient method to launch a frenzied sweep across the Liaodong Peninsula.

When encountering mountains, build roads; when encountering rivers, build bridges.

Upon encountering a city, the red-clad cannons blasted open the city gates, the musketeers swept the ground, and the snow dragon riders reaped the harvest.

Three cities captured in one day!

On the flagship of the treasure ship in the Bohai Sea.

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, who was originally tormented by seasickness and could only lie dead in the first-class cabin.

At this moment, she was leaning weakly against the bed, holding a bowl of steaming ginger soup in her hand.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

The old eunuch practically tumbled into the cabin, clutching a stack of still-dripping victory reports, his voice trembling with excitement.

"A great victory! A great victory at the front!"

"General Xue, leading the vanguard, has already captured three important towns: Beisha, Jian'an, and Gaimou!"

"Goguryeo's southern defenses have been completely breached!"

"puff--"

The ginger soup that Li Shimin had just drunk sprayed directly onto the old eunuch's face.

He stared wide-eyed at the stack of victory reports, his bloodshot eyes wide with disbelief, and even the nausea he felt in his stomach vanished instantly.

"What...what did you say?"

Li Shimin suddenly sat up straight and snatched the victory report.

Looking at the rows of extremely eye-catching results, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"This...it's already been breached?"

Li Shimin felt that his worldview had been greatly impacted.

He spent his life on the battlefield, fighting countless tough battles. During the Battle of Hulao Pass, he endured countless days and nights before the opportunity for the decisive battle arrived.

But now?

He, the mighty Khan of the Tang Dynasty, even took off his dragon robe in order to personally lead the expedition against Goguryeo, and ran to the ship in a very disheveled state to suffer from seasickness.

As a result, he hadn't recovered from his seasickness yet.

The front lines have already swept away three major towns of Goguryeo.

"I...I'm still seasick. Is this war...almost over?"

Li Shimin stared blankly at the top of the cabin, his tone filled with extreme resentment and a deep sense of defeat.

He suddenly realized that his sneaking out this time was a complete joke. This wasn't a royal expedition; it was clearly a sea voyage with a quick vomiting session!

Just when Li Shimin was so depressed that he wanted to find a block of tofu to smash his head against and die.

On the official road outside Pyongyang.

The Tang Dynasty's vanguard, which had been advancing triumphantly and seemingly unstoppable, came to an abrupt halt.

The silence before the battle was shattered by a rapid clatter of hooves.

A messenger from the Great Snow Dragon Riders tumbled and scrambled off his warhorse.

His face was ashen, and he didn't even know where his helmet had fallen off. He ran wildly to Li Chengqian's luxurious palanquin.

"Your Highness! Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The messenger's voice was hoarse, carrying a chilling terror.

"There's been an accident up ahead!"