Chapter 6 What a formidable army!

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were three countries on the Korean Peninsula: Koryo, Silla, and Baekje. Goryeo is the abbreviation of Goguryeo. It was a political power established by the Fuyu people of ancient northeast China in the late Western Han Dynasty. Its territory spanned 3,100 miles from east to west and 2,000 miles from north to south. with the middle. It is worth mentioning that the ancient Koryo and the later Wang's Koryo are not the same thing at all, no matter in terms of historical origin, territorial scope or ethnic composition, there is no essential connection between the two.Ancient Goryeo was a regime established by the ethnic minorities in ancient Northeast China. Two-thirds of its territory was in Liaodong, which is the eastern part of Liaoning Province in China today. The territory of the Korean Peninsula was actually obtained from expansion.The Wang family Koryo was a dynasty founded more than 200 years after the demise of ancient Koryo, and its founder, Wang Jian, had no Koguryo blood at all.Wang Jian claimed in the "Book of Ten Commandments": "I rely on the protection of the mountains and rivers of Sanhan to achieve great things." It can be seen that Wang Jian is from Sanhan and has nothing to do with the ancient Koreans. (The so-called Sanhan people are the general term for the ancient residents in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, including the three branches of Mahan, Chenhan, and Bianhan; the Sanhan people were the main source of later Korean Peninsula residents.)

However, it is ridiculous that in order to get rid of the influence of Chinese culture and to cover up the fact that its historical and cultural resources are relatively scarce, modern South Korea does not hesitate to distort and fabricate history. The political power established by the Chinese people in history even described Northeast China as the historical stage where the Korean nation used to be active. The other two countries on the Korean peninsula, Silla and Baekje, are located in the east and west of the southern part of the peninsula respectively, and their land area is smaller than that of Goryeo, and their strength is slightly weaker.The three countries have been in a state of tripartite confrontation for a long time, and there are many conflicts among them, and wars often break out.

Although they have been vassal states of China since ancient times, they have always paid tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty and accepted canonization from the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. However, since the time of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Goryeo has repeatedly challenged the status of the suzerain state of the Sui Dynasty. "Forcing Mohe and banning Khitan", they sent troops to conquer the west of Liaoxi, and conquered Silla and Baekje in the south, showing a strong tendency to expand. How dare a small country dare to despise the authority of the Celestial Dynasty and attempt to dominate one side?

Of course this is intolerable! So the Sui Dynasty launched four large-scale expeditions to Korea.Among them, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty sent 300,000 troops to crusade, but was forced to withdraw his troops due to epidemics, unsustainable food and grass, and natural disasters. As a result, nine out of ten soldiers were lost before the battle with Goryeo.In the era of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang, who was so successful, went to Korea three times in a row. The army he dispatched for the first time alone was as many as 1.13 million people, and the last two times were said to have more than one million people. However, The result was beyond everyone's expectations—all three expeditions of Emperor Sui Yang failed!

Although the last time achieved a superficial victory, the price paid was extremely heavy. What is even more unexpected to the world is that the three expeditions to Goryeo turned out to be a fatal turning point for the Sui Empire from prosperity to decline.Just a few years later, the once prosperous and powerful Sui Dynasty collapsed due to the exhaustion of national power and frequent civil upheavals. For Yang Guang, the rebellious small country Goryeo is the Waterloo in his life; but for the Tang Dynasty, which prospered after the Sui Dynasty, the damn Goryeo is still not worrying. During the Wude period, there was a short honeymoon period between Goryeo and the Tang Empire.The two sides once exchanged prisoners of war, and Goryeo sent envoys to the table in the seventh year of Takede (624 AD) to enshrine Tang Zhengshuo and promulgate the Tang Dynasty calendar in the country.Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of Tang Dynasty, also canonized Goryeo, Silla and Baekje respectively.

However, the good times didn't last long. From the last years of Wude, Goryeo reverted to its old ways.Not only did it frequently obstruct Silla and Baekje from paying tribute to Tang by land, but it also sent troops to harass Silla and Baekje from time to time.At the beginning of his accession to the throne, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, was unwilling to start the war lightly, so he actively used diplomatic means and sent envoys to mediate among the three countries.On the surface, Goryeo made a gesture of apology and reconciliation, but in secret, it has been actively preparing for war. In the fifth year of Zhenguan (631 AD), a Great Wall of more than 1,000 miles was built on the border. Siping City, Jilin Province), directly reaching the mouth of the Bohai Sea in the southwest.

In the early and middle stages of Zhenguan, the Tang Empire had no time to take care of Liaodong because the Tang Empire implemented a policy of recuperation internally and actively managed Mobei and the Western Regions externally. However, Li Shimin has been paying close attention to every move of Goryeo.He once said to his courtiers: "Goryeo was originally the land of four counties in the Han Dynasty, but later the country became a foreign land due to lack of military force. If we send tens of thousands of elite soldiers to attack Liaodong, Goryeo will rescue them with all-powerful soldiers. It is not difficult for a navy to go straight to Pyongyang from Dongnae, and attack by sea and land. It is just that the Central Plains are still in decline, and I can't bear to start a war and make the people suffer."

It can be seen that once the time is right, Li Shimin must conquer Korea and complete the unfinished work of the two emperors of the Sui Dynasty! In November of the sixteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 642), the opportunity finally appeared. A coup broke out in Koryo. The governor of the east, Yuangai Suwen, killed the king Gao Jianwu, and supported Gao Jianwu's nephew Gao Zang to succeed him. This Yuangai Suwen was an extraordinary figure. He is not only a scheming minister, but also an extremely fierce warrior.History books say that he is "majestic in appearance, noble in spirit, wearing five knives on his body, and no one dares to look up" (Volume 196).

A person is actually carrying five knives with him, which is really mighty enough.Not to mention his kung fu for the time being, this aura alone makes people fearful. This fierce man usually has a habit. Whenever he dismounts, the ministers and generals on the left and right must lie on the ground as his dismounting stone.No matter how high your official rank is, you are all pedals and mats in front of Mr. Yuan! Whenever he went out, Mr. Yuan was even more majestic and full of style.The leader of the guard of honor began to drive away pedestrians from a long distance. If it is on the street, passers-by can hide on both sides, but if they encounter a narrow mountain road, the pedestrians will be miserable. No matter whether there are cliffs or abyss on both sides, you have to Jump down with your eyes closed!

When such a fierce man came to power, the subjects of Goryeo were really miserable. Yuangai Suwen's regicide, usurpation of power and arbitrariness of power undoubtedly provided an excellent excuse for the Tang Empire to send troops to Goryeo. However, just when Li Shimin set his sights on Korea, a series of domestic political crises erupted one after another.Li Shimin suddenly fell into a dire situation.It was not until the end of the summer of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, when all internal problems were completely resolved, that Li Shimin thought of Goryeo again. He said to Changsun Wuji: "It is intolerable that Yuan Gai Suwen murdered the king and usurped power. With our current military strength, it is easy to defeat him, but I don't want to waste the people and go on an expedition, so I consider recruiting troops from Khitan and Mohe to attack. Gory, what do you think?"

Changsun Wuji replied: "Yuan Gai Su Wen knew that his crime was unforgivable, and he was always worried about our crusade. Now he must take strict precautions. Your Majesty can bear it for now. As long as Yuan Gai Su Wen thinks he is safe, he will become more arrogant and violent. It is not too late for us to send troops to attack." Li Shimin listened to his opinion, and immediately issued an edict, canonizing Gaozang as the king of Liaodong County and the king of Koryo, expressing his approval of the new regime, and at the same time trying to paralyze Yuangai Suwen. There are actually two real reasons why Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji are not using troops at this moment: first, the crisis of the crown prince has just subsided, and the court still needs a certain amount of time to stabilize the political situation; It tends to be tense, so we must be prepared to fight Xue Yantuo.Under such circumstances, the Koryo issue can only be shelved, otherwise it may fall into the unfavorable situation of internal and external difficulties and two-front warfare. However, just a few months later, the situation on the Korean peninsula changed suddenly, forcing Li Shimin to put the Koryo issue on the agenda again. In September of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (AD 643), Silla sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, saying that Baekje sent troops to capture more than 40 cities in Silla and formed an alliance with Goryeo. Send troops to rescue. Li Shimin immediately sent an envoy Xiangli Xuanjiang to go to Korea with the edict.In his edict, he issued a stern warning to Goryeo: "Silla is a vassal state of China, and it has been paying tribute all the time. You and Baekje should withdraw your troops immediately. If you invade Silla again, you will definitely send troops to attack you next year." In the first month of the eighteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 644), Xiangli Xuanju arrived in Pyongyang, the capital of Korea, and conveyed Tang Taizong's will to Yuangai Suwen, and reiterated the Tang Empire's solemn position on this incident. Yuan Gai Suwen glanced coldly at the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and said disapprovingly: "When the Sui Dynasty invaded our country, Silla took the opportunity to stab in the back and occupied 500 miles of our country's land. I'm afraid it won't end." Xiangli Xuanju said tit-for-tat: "It's all old and old, why bother to worry about it? If you have to care about it, then the land of Liaodong was also a county in China. Now China doesn't care about it. Why should Goryeo have to pursue it?" What about going back to the old place?" However, Yuan Gai Suwen couldn't listen to a word, and still insisted on a tough attitude. In February, Xiangli Xuanju returned to China sadly, and the Tang Dynasty's diplomatic mediation failed. Li Shimin was furious: "Yuan Gai Suwen murdered the king, usurped power, and abused the people against the sky. Now he violates my order and invades neighboring countries. We must attack him!" Later, Taizong Li Shimin made a decision that shocked the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty—— He wants to go on a personal conquest to bring down Goryeo! Xuan Suiliang was the first to stand up to remonstrate. He said: "Korea's crime is serious, and it should be punished honestly, but ordering two or three fierce generals to lead four to fifty thousand people, relying on His Majesty's reputation, is easy to obtain, and there is really no need to go out personally. What's more, the prince Newly established and still young, it is even more inappropriate for the emperor to march in person." At the same time, the ministers also persuaded him one after another. However, Li Shimin has made up his mind, and no one can persuade him. He immediately ordered war preparations: on the one hand, he ordered the master craftsman Yan Lide to supervise the construction of 400 warships in the south, which were used to load the army rations; , Mohe and other tribal forces broke into Liaodong and launched a tentative attack on Koryo; at the same time, they ordered Taichang Qing Wei Ting and others to be responsible for transferring grain and grass from Hebei and Henan states to the front line. In November of the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin appointed Zhang Liang as the general manager of the Pyongyang Road March. He led 500 warships and 43,000 naval personnel, sailed from the military port of Laizhou (now Laizhou City, Shandong Province), and crossed the Bohai Sea to the Liaodong Peninsula. Appoint Li Shiji as the general manager of the Liaodong Road March, and Li Daozong as the deputy general manager, leading a total of 60,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Liaodong by land. Li Shimin was full of confidence that he would win, and before he left, he issued a special edict to the world, boldly proclaiming the five reasons why the Tang Empire would surely win this war - defeating the small with the big; suppressing the adversary with the obedient; taking advantage of the chaos with order; Use ease to fight labor; use joy instead of complaints! He firmly believes that the unfinished business of the Sui Empire's four expeditions will be completed in his hands! (Volume 197: "The courtier said: 'Liaodong is the land of China, and the Sui family went out four times and couldn't get it; I am going to the East now, and I want to avenge my children for China, and the shame of Gao Lixue's father!'" ) This is the first time that Li Shimin puts on military uniform and goes to the battlefield in the 18 years since he has ruled the world. Galloping on the magnificent and desolate winter field, the pride of leaping horses and slashing swords in his youth and smashing the battlefield once again stirred in his chest. Tang Taizong Li Shimin at this moment is the same as Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, and he doesn't pay attention to the small country of Goryeo at all. This is exactly the same self-confidence as Yang Guang. No one knows what the outcome of this confidence will be. In the spring of the nineteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 645), Li Shimin ordered Fang Xuanling to stay in Chang'an, Xiao Yu to stay in Luoyang, and Prince Li Zhi to supervise the country and sit in Dingzhou (now Dingzhou City, Hebei). Ma Zhou and others settled in the state to assist the prince. After arranging all this, Li Shimin immediately led the Sixth Army to the north and marched to the Liaodong battlefield in a mighty way.The accompanying ministers included Changsun Wuji, Cen Wenwen, Yang Shidao and others. In March, Li Shiji's vanguard army attacked from the important border town of Liucheng (Yingzhou Government, now Chaoyang City, Liaoning), which opened the prelude to the Battle of Liaodong. In order to catch him by surprise and attack him unprepared, Li Shiji adopted the tactic of suspicious troops and sent some troops to Huaiyuan Town (now Liaozhong County, Liaoning) on ​​the east bank of the Liaohe River.Just when the Koryo army was gathering here and waiting for this front line, Li Shiji's main force quietly turned around and went north. Shenyang, Liaoning). Goryeo's defense was focused on Zhengxi. At this moment, the main force of the Tang army suddenly rushed from the direction of Zhengbei, which was really beyond their expectations. The whole country of Koryo was shocked, and all the cities in Liaodong were closed behind closed doors. On April 15th, Li Shiji and Li Daozong launched an attack on Gaimu City (now Fushun City, Liaoning). They captured it in only ten days, captured more than 20,000 soldiers, and seized more than 100,000 grains. The first battle of the Imperial Expeditionary Force has been won! Gaimu City is one of Goryeo's important military towns in Liaodong. The victory in this battle made the morale of the Tang army unprecedentedly high. On the southern front, Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou, also led the Khitan, Mohe and other ethnic minority troops across the Liaohe River, attacked Jian'an City (now Gaizhou City, Liaoning Province), and wiped out thousands of Goryeo troops. At the same time, Zhang Liang's fleet has also crossed the Bohai Sea and successfully landed at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula.General Cheng Mingzhen of You Xiaowei immediately led his troops to Beisha City (now Dalian City, Liaoning). Beisha City is a fortified castle that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and only Ximen can climb it.After carefully observing the terrain, Cheng Mingzhen decided to use the cover of night to launch a strong attack on Beisha City from the west gate. In the middle of the night, Wang Dadu, the general of the Tang army, led a death squad to climb from the west gate.When the Koryo defenders noticed it, the Death Squad had already climbed up the city gate, and the two sides immediately started hand-to-hand combat.After a bloody battle, Wang Dadu finally occupied the west gate, and Cheng Mingzhen immediately led his army into the city and fought fierce street battles with the Koryo defenders.By May 2, the Tang army wiped out all the enemies defending the city and captured more than 8,000 people. In the first stage of the battle, the Tang army won consecutive battles and victories, while the Koryo military strongholds in Liaodong fell one after another.Next, the focus of contention between the two sides was Liaodong City (now Liaoyang City, Liaoning).The Koryo army built strong fortifications here and stationed heavy troops. On the day Cheng Mingzhen conquered Beisha City, Li Shiji led his troops to rush southward and besieged Liaodong City. On the same day, Li Shimin drove to Liaoze (now west of Liaoyang City, Liaoning).This is a swamp with a radius of more than two hundred miles, and people and horses cannot pass through it.Li Shimin immediately ordered Yan Lide to pave a road with dry soil, so the army passed smoothly and advanced to the west bank of the Liao River on May 3. The Tang army came in a menacing manner, and they were about to swallow Liaodong City in one bite. Yuan Gai Suwen realized with horror that once Liaodong City fell, the whole Liaodong's door would be completely opened! Therefore, he must keep this important town no matter what. On May 8, a 40,000-man mixed infantry and cavalry regiment from Goryeo crossed the Yalu River and rushed to the aid of Liaodong City.The Tang Army Command responded immediately and ordered Li Daozong to lead 4,000 cavalry to stop the Goryeo reinforcements. Four thousand versus forty thousand, with such a disparity in strength, how should this battle be fought? Although the fighting power of the Tang army is second to none, the Koreans are not soft-hearted, as evidenced by Yang Guang's million-dollar army falling into the sand in Liaodong.Therefore, the generals suggested to Li Daozong that they should take a defensive position and use deep ditches and high fortifications to resist the Goryeo reinforcements, and wait for the emperor's army to arrive before fighting the enemy decisively. Li Daozong glared at them: "We are forwards, and we are originally scavengers. It is our duty to clear obstacles for the emperor. How can we be a turtle and leave the enemy to the emperor?" As soon as the words fell, Captain Guo Yi Ma Wenju stepped forward and said with emotion: "If you don't meet a strong enemy, how can you show yourself a strong man!" Everyone looked at each other, speechless.Li Daozong led his troops to set off immediately.After the battle started, Ma Wen took the lead and slashed and killed bravely. Wherever he passed, the enemies fell down one after another. With such a warrior leading the battle, the morale of the Tang army was finally stabilized. However, where there are warriors, there must be cowards. At this moment, one of Li Daozong's subordinates named Zhang Junyi is a coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death.From the very beginning, he believed that the battle would be defeated, so he took advantage of the melee and secretly led his subordinates to leave the battlefield. Tang Jun was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, but Zhang Junyi's run made the situation even more dangerous.The Tang army gradually ran out and began to retreat.Li Daozong was fearless in the face of danger, and regrouped the scattered soldiers while retreating.Later, Li Daozong climbed a hill to observe the enemy's situation, and found that although the Goryeo army was large in number, its formation was chaotic, so he made a decisive decision and personally led dozens of elite cavalry into the enemy's formation. The offensive of the Goryeo Army. However, the Goryeo army relied on its large number of people and quickly surrounded them again. At this critical moment, Li Shiji led the reinforcements to arrive and immediately launched a counterattack against the enemy.The Koryo army couldn't resist and was quickly defeated. More than a thousand people were beheaded by the Tang army, and the rest were forced to retreat. On May 10th, Li Shimin personally led the six armies across the Liaohe River, and then ordered the demolition of the bridges on the river to show his determination to fight to the death, which greatly strengthened the soldiers' will to fight. Li Shimin's army camped in Mashou Mountain (now west of Liaoyang City, Liaoning).After listening to the battle report ahead, Li Shimin ordered to reward Li Daozong, promoted Guoyi Duwei Ma Wenju to Zhonglang General, and at the same time beheaded Zhang Junyi who had escaped from the battle.Later, Li Shimin personally arrived at the city of Liaodong with hundreds of cavalry. At this moment, the siege of the city is going on fiercely, and the soldiers are carrying big sacks filled with sand to fill the trenches around the city wall.Seeing this, Li Shimin immediately got off his horse and ordered the soldiers to put the bag on the horse's back. Then, holding the rein with one hand and the sack with the other, he personally transported the sand to the side of the ditch. The emperor himself joined the ranks of filling the trenches!The incredible and exciting news quickly spread among the soldiers. The soldiers were all greatly moved and encouraged.Bag after bag of sand was quickly thrown into the trench.Soon, a large section of trenches under Liaodong City was filled with flat ground.Li Shiji immediately commanded the army to transport large siege equipment such as trebuchets and crash cars through the trenches, and launched a more violent attack on Liaodong City. However, the bravery and tenacity of the Koryo defenders also greatly exceeded Li Shimin's expectations. The Tang army attacked day and night for twelve days, enclosing the city with three floors inside and three floors outside. Arrows and boulders rained down like rain, and the sound of war drums and shouts of killing was earth-shattering, but Liaodong City was still as solid as gold. Among the siege weapons of the Tang army, large catapults are what the Koreans fear most.This weapon can throw a boulder weighing three hundred catties at a range of one mile.In order to resist the catapults, the Goryeo defenders built rows of battle towers on the city wall, and also built towers on the outer edge of the city wall as the first line of defense. Li Shiji found that scattered stone catapults could not fully exert their power, so he ordered all the catapults to be arranged densely, and then launched boulders at the same time. It worked.As countless boulders fell from the sky densely like raindrops, the battle towers on Liaodong City were smashed down one after another.Li Shiji seized the opportunity of the battle, quickly dispatched to crash the car, and knocked down the towers on the edge of the city wall one by one. The Korean defenders had to retreat into the city and gave up the first line of defense. In order to strengthen the siege force, Li Shimin personally led more than 10,000 armored cavalry to join the siege ranks. On May 17th, that is, the fifteenth day when the Tang army besieged Liaodong City, God finally sided with the Tang army. Suddenly a strong southerly wind blew that day.Li Shimin keenly seized the opportunity, sent a death squad to the top of the rush pole (a relatively strong siege ladder), and set fire to the southwest tower of Liaodong City.Under strong winds, the fire quickly spread into the city.The Koryo defenders were terrified and rushed to put out the fire, causing chaos in the city. At this moment, Li Shimin quickly issued an order for a general attack.The soldiers of the Tang army climbed up the ladder one after another and rushed to the city wall.Although the Koryo defenders resisted desperately, they still couldn't stop the powerful offensive of the Tang army. After a day of fierce fighting, Liaodong City was finally captured by the Tang army.More than 10,000 Koryo defenders died in battle, and more than 10,000 soldiers and more than 40,000 civilians were captured.Li Shimin then set Liaodong City as Liaozhou. The fall of Liaodong City was definitely a blow to the morale of other Koryo defenders in Liaodong! On May 28, after a short rest, the Tang army took advantage of the victory to attack Baiyan City (now west of Dengta City, Liaoning) to the northeast of Liaodong City.Sun Daiyin, the guard of Baiyan City, thought that he was not the opponent of the Tang army, so he sent someone to ask Tang Taizong to surrender.However, most of the generals in Baiyan City were firmly opposed to surrender.Faced with the resistance of the crowd, Sun Daiyin was forced to change his mind.When Li Shimin led the Tang army to the city, ready to surrender, what he saw was the Korean army waiting in full battle. Li Shimin was furious, and immediately issued an order: "After capturing Baiyan City, reward the men, women and all property in the city to the besiegers." On the twenty-ninth day, General Ashina Simo of the right guard took the lead in attacking Baiyan City, but he was hit by a stray arrow.Upon hearing the news, Li Shimin immediately went to visit him in the barracks, and sucked the blood for him himself. This move once again moved the soldiers. Whether it was transporting sand or sucking blood, as a ninety-five-year-old emperor, Li Shimin's performance really won the hearts of all soldiers.Some people will definitely say that this is a show, but isn't it enough to show Li Shimin's excellence if he can make a show to this extent? After Baiyan City was besieged, Wugu City (now Fengcheng City, Liaoning Province), located in the hinterland of Liaodong and west of the Yalu River, immediately sent more than 10,000 people north to support Baiyan City. Li Shiji immediately ordered Qibi Heli, General of the Right Xiaowei, to lead 800 elite cavalry to block the attack. Eight hundred to more than ten thousand. It's another fierce battle with outnumbered enemies and few good luck! Even though Qibi Heli was unmatched in bravery, and even though all the soldiers of the Tang army were brave enough to outnumber ten, the Koryo army was not vegetarian.Among the troops that reinforced Baiyan City this time, a Korean general named Gao Tubo was equally brave.When Qibi Heli rushed into the battle formation of the Goryeo army desperately, Gao Tubo stopped him with a gun.The two sides fought for a long time, Gao Tubo saw the opportunity, and stabbed Qibi Heli's waist fiercely. Qi Bi He Li immediately fell off his horse heavily.At this juncture of life and death, Xue Wanbei (Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche's younger brother) single-handedly killed Gao Tubo, and saved Qibi Heli's life amid thousands of troops. Qibi Heli, who had never been stabbed off his horse, suddenly burst into anger.He turned his back to the sky, let out a long and terrifying howl, then tore off a corner of his battle robe, wrapped it around the bleeding wound, got back on his horse and fought again.Inspired by it, the left and right soldiers all fought bravely, and finally defeated the Goryeo reinforcements. In the end, this cavalry force of hundreds of people not only chased the 10,000-strong Goryeo army out for tens of miles, but also captured Gao Tubo alive, and cut off more than a thousand heads along the way. It wasn't until dusk covered the land that this group of red-eyed Tang warriors reined in unwillingly. Under the bloody setting sun, a surge of fighting spirit and anger still burned in their eyes. What a formidable army! Li Shiji led the army to launch a fierce attack from the southwest of Baiyan City for three consecutive days, while Li Shimin personally commanded from the northwest.Seeing that the Tang army's offensive was so powerful, and the reinforcements from Black Bone City had been repelled by the Tang army, Sun Daiyin completely lost the will to resist. On June 1, Sun Daiyin secretly dispatched his confidants again to go out of the city to ask Emperor Taizong to surrender, and expressed his difficulty—the generals refused to surrender.Li Shimin ordered people to take out the flag of the Tang army and told the emissary: ​​If Sun Daiyin really wanted to surrender, he would put the flag of the Tang army on the top of the city. Sun Daiyin followed suit.When the defenders in the city saw it, they thought that the Tang army had already attacked the city wall, and they lost all fighting spirit, so they obediently disarmed and surrendered. Just when Li Shimin was about to enter the city to accept surrender, the gloomy Li Shiji suddenly stopped his horse with dozens of officers and soldiers. Li Shimin immediately understood what was going on. At the beginning, Sun Daiyin repented, and Li Shimin made a promise to loot Baiyan City in a fit of anger, but now once Baiyan City surrenders, all the spoils that the officers and soldiers expected will be lost.Therefore, at this moment Li Shiji came to ask for rewards on behalf of the soldiers. In other words, they came to "coerce" the emperor to fulfill his promise. Sure enough, Li Shiji said as soon as he opened his mouth: "Your Majesty, the reason why the soldiers risked arrows and stones, regardless of life and death, was to get their own share of the spoils after breaking the city; now that the city is about to break down, it is really hard to accept their surrender." It is to make the soldiers feel chilled!" Asking for rewards before the battle, whether it is big or small, if it is not handled properly, it may trigger a mutiny. But this kind of thing can only be regarded as a piece of cake for Li Shimin. As soon as Li Shiji's words fell, Li Shimin immediately got off his horse. He first apologized to the soldiers, and then said: "What the general said is true! However, I really can't bear to kill people and plunder other people's wives and children. Please don't worry. I will definitely use the money and goods in the treasury to reward the meritorious people under the general's command, so as to redeem this city from the general." The emperor has already talked about this point, so of course Li Shiji and others have nothing to say. After the Tang army was surrendered, more than 10,000 residents of Baiyan City were properly resettled. Li Shimin even ordered that the elderly over 80 years old be rewarded with cloth.As for the Koryo soldiers stationed in other cities to assist in the defense of Baiyan City, Li Shimin gave them dry food, and let them stay as they wish. Later, Li Shimin set Baiyan City as Yanzhou and appointed Sun Daiyin as the governor of Yanzhou. On June 3rd, Li Shimin set Gaimu City, which was first captured, as Gaizhou. Long before the Tang army broke through Gaimu City, Yuangai Suwen once sent a 700-member task force from Jiashi City (southwest of Pyongyang, North Korea) to garrison the city.When the city was broken, these people were willing to join the Tang Army and serve the Tang Empire.But Li Shimin didn't agree. He said: "Your families are adding corpses. If you fight for me, Yuan Gai Suwen will definitely kill your family members. I can't bear to kill a family by myself. " Immediately distributed travel expenses and dry food, and released them all. Judging from these post-war treatments, Li Shimin deserves to be a generation of Mingjun. Because the above performance is indeed full of humanitarianism. Of course, these practices can also be said to be out of a need for political propaganda, for example - to show the demeanor of the king of the Tang army, and to win the hearts of the people with a gesture of slandering the people, thereby disintegrating the fighting spirit of the soldiers and civilians in other cities of Koryo. ,etc.However, no matter how much political intentions are mixed in Li Shimin's motives, as long as these actions can avoid loss of life and save the lives of innocent civilians to the greatest extent, then no matter what time it is, these actions are worthy of our admiration and moving. However, although Li Shimin spared most of the civilians and prisoners of war, there was one person he did not want to let go. This person is Gao Tubo. Li Shimin sent Gao Tubo tied up in front of Qibi Heli, and asked him to kill Gao Tubo himself to avenge that shot.Unexpectedly, Qibi He Li said to Li Shimin: "For his lord, he braved swords, guns and arrows to fight with the minister on the battlefield. Although he stabbed the minister, he was a loyal and brave man. The minister and he had never known each other before." , let alone any resentment, it’s just that each is his own master, please forgive him, Your Majesty.” Qibi Heli can be called a true hero.Because he not only has a kind of bravery that would risk his life, but also a kind of generosity and open-mindedness that surpass ordinary people. This is called general demeanor, also called warrior spirit! Only those with such demeanor and spirit are worthy of the word hero. Under Li Shimin's personal command, the Datang Expeditionary Army swept across Liaodong with an invincible force. Tang Jun's iron cavalry galloped freely between the white mountains and the black waters. The solid and vast land of Liaodong trembled. The smug Li Shimin turned his attention to the last important military town in Liaodong - Anshi City (now Haicheng City, Liaoning).As long as it is captured, the Datang Expeditionary Army can wipe out the Liaodong Peninsula, and then cross the Yalu River to capture Pyongyang in one fell swoop! In Li Shimin's view, most of this war has been won. It was only a matter of time before Goryeo was conquered.