In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Report!!"

"Your Highness, the imperial court has suddenly dispatched troops, sending three cavalry columns to advance, bypassing Anshi City, and launching attacks on Daling Town to the south, Changyangpo to the northwest, and Luosong Town!"

"The three locations have completely fallen. According to reports from scouts at the front, the enemy is still advancing north and south at a rate of fifty li per day!"

Li Yuanchang's expression changed slightly: "Open the sand table!"

Immediately, the city lord's mansion was in a flurry of activity.

The pre-battle prediction was that the imperial army would besiege Anshi City, and they had hardly considered attacking from other places. Therefore, Li Ji's move completely disrupted the initial preparations.

A huge curtain was pulled back, revealing a massive sand table map with mountains, rivers, hills, and various red and blue markings, encompassing almost the entire Goguryeo Kingdom.

This type of map production requires a lot of manpower, but it is 3D and much easier to use than 2D maps.

"Your Highness!"

Jin Minda and others arrived one after another.

Li Yuanchang lay on the sand table and waved.

"How are the garrison troops doing?"

"Your Highness, the casualties are not great. Our troops are not many to begin with. The largest number are stationed at Changyangpo, with a hundred soldiers, who are used as a relay station for messengers."

"When the Tang army arrived, they sensed it in advance and retreated."

"It's very strange that the Tang army suddenly attacked these places. It was pointless, there were no resources there, and even if they took them, they would still have to send people to garrison them."

"yes."

Even a renowned general like Kim Min-da couldn't figure it out.

Because these two routes are not suitable for large-scale military marches, even if Li Ji were to completely open them up, they still wouldn't reach the Central Prefecture.

In other words, if they can't break into Anshi City or the capital, conquering more places won't mean they've won; instead, it will only deplete their strength.

Li Yuanchang carefully examined the sand table.

"Are they trying to provoke a war?"

"The road to the northwest leads to Sanyang City, and the road to the south leads to Shenshui Pass. Only these two places seem to be the targets."

"Sanyang City has 30,000 people, Shenshui Pass has 10,000 people, and each has 3,000 garrison troops. I have met both of these city lords."

"Their strength is definitely not enough to defend against it."

Li Yuanchang muttered to himself, this was the only explanation he could think of.

"By the way, where is Tang Jun now? Was that news from a few days ago?" He suddenly realized.

In ancient times, news transmission was delayed, unlike in later times when news could be received immediately even from thousands of miles away.

"Your Highness, this news is from three days ago!" the scout said, clasping his hands in greeting.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang's expression changed.

"not good!"

"Ashina She'er led the Shuofang Army. At their speed, they can cover at least 300 li in three days, not to mention the delay in getting the news back..."

The voice just fell.

"Report!!"

Another scout rushed in.

"Your Highness, Shenshui Pass is under siege! Lord Park Soo urgently requests our assistance!"

really!

Li Yuanchang was startled.

Li Ji had no shortage of strategists, so he dared not fight Anshi City head-on and instead set his sights on other areas, forcing the Han army to send reinforcements.

But as soon as they leave the city, they will definitely be ambushed.

"Your Highness, you cannot go!"

"Let them abandon the city and flee. Shenshui Pass is nothing to worry about," Jin Minda said.

"Your Highness, the enemy's intentions are clear; they are forcing us into battle. I still feel we cannot go!"

Li Yuanchang frowned: "I know that's true, but what if Li Ji's men really keep fighting like this?"

"That's impossible. They need troops stationed in every location, and their logistics are already difficult. If they expand the battlefield recklessly like this, how will they resupply?"

"This constitutes a three-pronged advance. Even an ordinary general wouldn't dare to do this, let alone someone like Li Ji."

"That's right, I also think the enemy is just putting on a show to see if we can hold our ground," Lu Zhong said.

"They are really recklessly stretching out their lines. They may not be able to hold out until winter; their logistics will collapse, even if there are no wounded soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang pondered for a long time.

My subordinates were right; this was indeed not a conventional choice.

But if it came from Li Ji, he was afraid it would be a risky move.

After some thought, he ultimately decided to give up some less important cities to stall Li Ji and see what he was going to do before making a decision.

"Send messengers to order Shenshui Pass and Sanyang City to abandon their cities and retreat. Do not resist; they are no match for the Tang army!"

"Remember, this is a direct order; you must retreat!"

He was extremely stern, worried that these local city lords would refuse to retreat for the sake of their family businesses, but if they did not retreat, the entire army would be wiped out.

Their cities didn't have the natural defenses of Anshi City, nor were they guarded by the main force of the Han army.

"yes!"

"..."

Once the order was given, battle reports continued for the next ten days!

The vanguard of the Tang army launched a sweeping offensive, conquering more than ten places in succession, including Shenshui Pass and Sanyang City.

According to Li Yuanchang's calculations, at this distance and along this battle line, the Tang army's logistics should already be facing significant problems.

After all, with the cavalry charging ahead, the supply wagons behind couldn't keep up.

But just as he feared, the Tang army continued its rampage, showing no signs of stopping!

They seemed unconcerned about stretching the battle lines too far, dispersing their forces, being defeated one by one, or logistical issues; they were attacking with the mindset of taking as much territory as they could.

The pressure instantly fell on Li Yuanchang.

Although these territories are not important, how long will it take to abandon them like this? The city lords in various places will definitely have opinions about not helping those in distress.

There was no other way but to surrender directly to the imperial court.

Most importantly, casualties began to occur.

Some Goguryeo troops in various regions were unwilling to give up their homes and property, or they retreated with large amounts of gold, silver and valuables, which resulted in them being overtaken by the Tang army vanguard.

The civilians were relocated, and the soldiers were executed!

On May 18th, the latest battle report stated that the city lord of Sanyang City had his entire army killed in battle because 300 horse-drawn carriages delayed the city's progress, and 20,000 civilians were relocated.

The Tang army continued its assault on Xuanhe City.

boom!

Li Yuanchang slammed his fist on the table in anger: "That bastard, what's he doing dragging three hundred carriages around? Is he going on vacation?"

"Does this guy even deserve to be the city lord?"

"And you're making ordinary people bear the brunt??"

He cursed repeatedly, saying that this was the biggest loss they had suffered in all the years of war.

The annihilation of three thousand troops was an attack on Goguryeo's local aristocratic forces, who were still auxiliary troops.

Moreover, the relocation of 20,000 people was another great loss.

The news will spread and affect morale in various places, causing further damage.

But all of this could have been avoided. He had already given the order to retreat completely. Even when Shenshui Pass was under attack, they successfully retreated. The safer Sanyang City was completely wiped out.

The generals dared not speak.

Li Yuanchang vented his anger for a long time, cursing the ancestors of the city lord of Sanyang City for eighteen generations. It was truly a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch.

"How is Xuanhe City now?" He calmed down and regained his composure.

What has already happened cannot be changed; we can only deal with what comes next.