Chapter 421: Dividing Forces Between the North and the South

When all the artillery of the artillery battalion landed on the west bank of Liaoshui, Zhang Yunwen discovered another problem, that is, the problem of the road in eastern Liao.

Although Liaodong began to be initially developed during the Han Dynasty, when Goguryeo took control of Liaodong, it was not enthusiastic about the construction of this road. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Goryeo, he beat the already rotten Liaodong Post Road to a tattered state. It has not yet recovered.

Along the way, I saw a pit in the east and a depression in the west, and in some places it was even completely dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and there was no road at all. Horses pulled artillery and walked on the ground with difficulty.

Seeing this, Zhang Yunwen had no choice but to divide some soldiers to tidy up the road with weapons in front. Whenever he saw the soldiers bending down to fill in the pits, he always thought to himself, how nice it would be if there were sappers!

In this way, a road of more than 50 miles, they walked slowly, and at noon on the second day, they arrived at the foot of Liaodong City.

Go to Li Shimin's place to report first, after all, he hasn't appeared in front of him for two days, and then he will spit out his bitterness and tell about this evil road.

When Li Shimin heard Zhang Yunwen say this, a pair of sword eyebrows couldn't help frowning: "In this way, if you want this artillery to march like infantry, it is impossible?" ”

Zhang Yunwen said helplessly: "These roads in Liaodong are really bad!" I can't help it! ”

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, but asked Zhang Yunwen: "Yunwen, if it is a large-caliber cannon, can it destroy cities such as Xincheng and Gaimuzhou?" ”

Zhang Yunwen smiled: "If those cities are like Liaodong City, built with bluestone giant trees, it is a little difficult, but like those city walls in Xinchengzhou, it is only equivalent to the city wall of Xiazhou City in the Tang Dynasty, and it should not be a big problem to collapse a section of the city wall by several shells in a row!" Even if you can't collapse the city wall, there's nothing wrong with destroying the city gate with one shot! ”

"Good!" Li Shimin patted the cases in front of him and said to everyone in the big tent, "Can you Aiqing hear Yunwen's words?" I decided to divide the army into three routes, two to sweep the north and south, and after the middle route to capture Liaodong, advance to the east. Of course, among the three armies, they are all equipped with artillery, mainly in the middle road, and the other two armies are mainly to annihilate the living forces of Goryeo, waiting for the opportunity to attack the city, but not to attack, if anyone is greedy for merit because of the desire to fight, and breaks too many soldiers and horses, I will not spare him! ”

As soon as these words fell, all the generals bowed their hands, but Li Ji stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister has something to say." ”

Li Shimin said with a smile: "Li Aiqing is straightforward! ”

Li Jidao: "If the three-way army is mainly in the middle road, and the other two roads are maneuvering in the north and south, annihilating the enemy's living forces, waiting for the opportunity to attack the city, the old minister thinks that it is better not to bring the heavy artillery!" Wouldn't it be bad if our army was attacked by Goryeo and heavy artillery fell into the hands of the enemy? Besides, the troops of the north and south roads are mostly wandering between the cities, carrying heavy artillery, which will delay the speed of our army's march! ”

After Li Ji finished speaking, Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said: "Shiyun's words are also reasonable!" Okay, Shiyun, you are the general manager of the march of Liaodong Dao, and this matter will be done as you say! ”

As a result, Li Shimin divided the northern and southern armies, each with 30,000 people, of which the cavalry accounted for a quarter, and the scouts sent even more, nearly 1,000 people. This was to ensure that the army would not be discovered by the Koreans to the greatest extent. Among them, the Northern Route Army was led by Xue Wanche, and the Southern Route Army was led by Li Daozong.

Shortly after the departure of the two armies, the generals who had been in the cities returned as well.

When Zhang Yunwen left the camp, they led hundreds of cavalry to gallop through the cities of Liaodong, carrying the big banner embroidered with the word "Tang", turning around in front of the city of the Goryeo, and then coming back. It's a psychological tactic. When the Tang army crossed the Liaoshui, the whole country of Goryeo was shocked, and various cities closed their cities one after another, fearing that the Tang army would suddenly appear. Now, when these big flags embroidered with the word "Tang" floated under the city, the people in the city panicked, which can be imagined. This is also a common method used in warfare in ancient times.

These people brought back the news that the two big cities of Gaimu City and Xincheng in the north of Liaodong City each sent 5,000 troops and were coming to Liaodong.

After hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but smile: "This Xue Wanche is going to fight a good battle now!" I don't know if reinforcements will be sent from the south side as well! ”

Everything was going according to plan, and the Tang army besieged the Liaodong city without attacking it for ten days. In the past ten days, the Tang army continued to send scouts to reconnoiter the defense of the Liaodong City, from the ravines outside the city to the approximate number of defenders at the head of the city, all of which needed to be investigated.

When these circumstances were clarified, that is, when Li Shimin attacked Liaodong City.

The arrangements for attacking Liaodong City were all handed over to Li Ji by Li Shimin.

Li Ji did not shirk, planned carefully for two days, came up with an attack plan, and presented it to Li Shimin for review. After Li Shimin took a closer look, he said with a smile: "Shiyun's battle plan is quite decent, using artillery to forcibly bombard the city wall, using infantry to add to the earth, removing obstacles, and concentrating on attacking one side!" ”

Li Ji also smiled: "Now that there is artillery as a guarantee, there is no need to find another way, and the sword will go sideways!" ”

Li Shimin nodded: "That's the same!" The power of this artillery, you and I have seen it with our own eyes, although the city wall of Liaodong City is thick, but under the attack of artillery fire, it is just a chicken and a dog! ”

On May 28, the morning was fine and the sun was shining.

To the west of Liaodong City, the Tang army lined up. The artillery was at the forefront, followed by the infantry responsible for the siege, and the cavalry on the flanks.

This artillery was also divided into two parts, the front and the rear. In front were mortar positions, behind which were siege artillery. The former was responsible for suppressing the Goguryeo soldiers at the head of the city, and the latter was responsible for destroying the city walls.

In front of the mortar position, there is a winding trench that can be used to trap horses. Rows of sharp and heavy horse-repellent walls were scattered between the trenches.

The Goryeo people could see that the Tang army was in a strict atmosphere, standing there, Yue Zhi Yuan, this kind of weather alone was something that the Goryeo army could not learn, and they couldn't help but worry for a while. And seeing the artillery placed at the front of the military formation, these Goryeo people couldn't help but feel uneasy, is this the artillery of the Tang Army? It looks like an iron tube!

The prestige of the artillery of the Tang Army has become famous in all directions with one war after another. The Koreans had only heard of it, but they had not seen it in real form. It is said that the place where the cannon was cast was kept in strict secrecy, and outsiders could break into it and kill them.

Li Ji stood beside Li Shimin and looked at Liaodong City from afar. I saw him wave his hand, and a knight rode out and galloped in the direction of Liaodong City.

The knight reached the front of the mortar position and removed from the saddle an improvised iron horn, like a cone. Put it on his lips and shouted loudly: "Listen to the people in the city, my Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has an order, if you wait for your acquaintance, you will immediately open the city and surrender, and you can still spare your life!" If you are obsessed, don't blame the artillery fire is ruthless! ”

The knight's voice was already loud, but now he was shouting with this simple trumpet, and the Koreans, who were more than a hundred feet away from him, could hear it clearly. When he heard this, he could not help but be furious, and he swung the crossbow of the bed at the head of the city, and aimed it at the knight, and shot a crossbow arrow.

The bed crossbow that the Tang army was equipped with before had a range of up to 200 zhang, but after 100 zhang, the penetrating power would be greatly weakened. The bed crossbow of the Goryeo people was worse than the bed crossbow of the Tang army, but the condescending shot was also inserted into the mortar position. Less than a foot away from the knight. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Seeing this, Li Ji looked at Zhang Yunwen to see what countermeasures he had. After all, the mortar position was within range of the opponent's bed crossbow. However, he only saw Zhang Yunwen's smiling face.

Seeing this smiling face, Li Ji'an calmed down.

By this time, the shouting knight had returned to the formation.

In Li Ji's eyes, a glimmer of light flashed, and he shouted: "Pass my order and start attacking!" ”