On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 299 The Defeat of Liaodong

Liaodong City (today's Liaoyang, Liaoning) was originally the Han Dynasty Xiangping City. After Goguryeo took over Liaodong, Xiangping City was renamed Liaodong City.

The city was filled with an atmosphere of panic. The Sui Dynasty gathered 300,000 troops in Yingzhou with great fanfare. Everyone, young and old, knew of their intention to conquer the east.

The current Sui Dynasty is undoubtedly the overlord of the entire East Asia.

The northern forces such as the Turks, Kumoxi, and Tuyuhun either surrendered or were beaten to the point of fleeing.

Its illustrious reputation was forged by its great victories since its counterattack against the Turks in the third year of the founding of the Emperor.

It was not just the soldiers and civilians of Liaodong City who were facing the Sui army who were afraid. In Pyongyang City, ministers gave advice one after another, hoping that Gao Yuan would send envoys to sue for peace with the Sui Dynasty.

But he was rejected by Gao Yuan, who had been in charge of Goguryeo for seven years since he inherited the throne in the 10th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign.

The civil strife that had plagued Goguryeo for half a century had long since been put down, and this ambitious monarch also wanted to break ranks with the Sui Dynasty.

Gao Yuan recruited more than 10,000 Mohe cavalry and more than 100,000 soldiers, and personally led the army to Liaodong City to appease people's hearts.

The Mohe people have lived among the white mountains and black waters for generations, and some of them were under the rule of Goguryeo. Of course, during the Five Dynasties period, they had a more famous name, Jurchen.

With the arrival of Pyongyang's army, people in Liaodong became somewhat calmer.

In contrast, the 300,000 Sui troops complained endlessly during the Eastern Expedition.

Traveling in western Liaoning has been difficult since ancient times, not only because you have to cross mountains and rivers, but also because the west bank of the Liaohe River is a muddy land, more than 200 miles from east to west and a thousand miles from north to south, which is inaccessible to people and horses, so it is called Liaoze Land.

It was precisely because of the difficult roads in Liaoze that the Central Plains fell into civil war during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Goguryeo's expansion momentum could only stop on the east bank of the Liao River.

It was really difficult to carry out large-scale military operations in Liaoze. When Goguryeo invaded Yingzhou before, it was unable to really mobilize a large army. It could only dispatch small groups of troops to form an alliance with the Khitan.

The landscape of western Liaoning was a barrier against Goguryeo in the past, but now it has become an obstacle to the Sui army's eastern expedition.

The soldiers traveled thousands of miles of mountain roads to reach Yingzhou. They were already exhausted. Now they had to cross more than 200 miles of Liaoze, a land that is said to be inaccessible to people and horses. The hardships are evident.

When we arrived at the west bank of the Liao River, we were already exhausted.

But compared to the fatigue of the soldiers, the discord among the generals was the biggest problem of the Sui army.

King Yang Liang of Han was named Marching Marshal, but just like Yang Guang when he conquered Chen, he was only a nominal commander.

He hoped to establish his own influence by conquering Goguryeo, so unlike Yang Guang, Yang Liang was not willing to be a puppet.

Such clues can be seen if he doesn't recruit Boling's cavalry.

After dispatching troops, Yang Liang often expressed his opinions to Gao Jiong.

But in Gao Jong's view, Yang Liang, a young boy, could also handle military matters in front of him. When he served as the supervisor of the army to put down Yuchi Jiong's rebellion, Yang Liang was still playing in the mud.

The two often clashed, and Gao Jianyi should not adopt Yang Liang's suggestions, whether they were reasonable or unreasonable.

The soldiers were complaining because the road was difficult to walk, but now the generals are at odds, which has seriously affected the morale of the army, causing the morale of the army to be low.

After resting for a while on the west bank of the Liao River, Gao Jiong immediately ordered the construction of a pontoon bridge. When he was halfway across the river, the Mohe cavalry stationed in Liaodong City suddenly rushed towards him.

The Sui army, which had fought against the Turks in the past and was overwhelming, fell into a bitter battle due to various reasons.

If the armies on the west bank hadn't crossed the river one after another and stabilized their position, they would have allowed the Mohe cavalry to fight back to the west bank.

Although the Sui army suffered heavy losses, they managed to cross the Liao River. The Sui army quickly advanced eastward and surrounded Liaodong City.

Under Gao Jun's personal supervision, the Sui army attacked Liaodong City fiercely for several days, causing heavy casualties. Liaodong City was crumbling, but it could not fall down.

After half a month of siege, the crisis finally broke out, and the Sui army camp was short of food.

In order to provide logistics, Li Jing, the general manager of Youzhou, specially recruited more than 100,000 civilians and all the vehicles in the jurisdiction.

However, after being trampled by 300,000 troops in Liaoze, it would rain heavily every day, and the wheels would get stuck in the mud, making it impossible for grain-carrying vehicles to pass through.

If the grain carts were abandoned, it would be impossible for civilians to carry grain and grass across Liaoze.

Over whether to withdraw their troops, Yang Liang and Gao Jiong once again had a fierce conflict.

Yang Liang naturally advocated withdrawing the troops. He was only the coach in name. Even if they were defeated, it had nothing to do with him.

But if his efforts were in vain, Gao Jiong would have to bear full responsibility.

The situation between him and Crown Prince Yang Yong was already difficult. Now that he was pointing to a big victory to prove his worth, how could he be willing to retreat easily?

Within one day, Gao Jiong sent seven envoys to urge the logistics, and at the same time ordered the soldiers to continue to attack Liaodong City.

Until the food and grass in the camp were about to be exhausted, and there was still no food transport team crossing the Liao River. Gao Qiao saw that Liaodong City could not be captured. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only order the withdrawal of the troops.

The Goguryeo people in the city held on for more than 20 days, suffering heavy casualties and making it difficult to pursue them.

For the Sui army, the road back to western Liaoning was also a death march.

Exhaustion and hunger destroyed the will of the Sui army, and countless people fell on the way home. The 300,000-strong army marched eastwards in a mighty manner. In the end, only more than 100,000 people fled back to Yingzhou in embarrassment.

When Wei Chong saw Gao Jiong, he was surprised at how old he was.

The result that more than half of the 300,000 soldiers were killed was unacceptable to Gao Jiong. If he had known that the first battle between the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo was supposed to be an army of 300,000 people, and nine out of ten soldiers died, he might be able to get some comfort.

But it is undeniable that this was the biggest defeat the Sui Dynasty had experienced since its founding seventeen years ago, and it was also the only defeat since the death of Li Chong, the governor of Youzhou.

The Sui Dynasty's disastrous defeat in Liaodong undoubtedly shocked the various ethnic groups in Monan. They were surprised to find that the Sui people were not invincible, they were also human beings.

After Cui Che learned the news, he left 30,000 infantry to guard the border and led 50,000 cavalry to patrol the northern border. Only then did he frighten the grassland tribes who were about to make a move.

Now that the land route has been defeated, and without Gaojun's army to hold back the main force of Goguryeo, the Qingzhou Navy can no longer go to Pyongyang and has no choice but to return home.

When Cui Che went south and returned to Youzhou, all he saw along the way were numb and defeated soldiers.

"Gao Jiong is finished."

Cui Che said to Cui Qiji.

He was already at odds with Yang Jian and his wife because of the issue of abolishing the crown prince. Now he suffered a disastrous defeat and even disappointed the public. Gao Jiong will not have the opportunity to prove himself again.

Han Wang Yang Liang and Gao Jiong had already left early and rushed back to Daxing to plead guilty. The conflict between the two had long been irreconcilable and they did not even get together.

Only the soldiers and their families were left in sorrow and misery.

Parents cry for their sons, wives mourn for their husbands, and children mourn for their fathers.

(End of chapter)