Gai Yuansuwen's plan completely failed. Although he captured 50,000 civilians, there were too many elderly, weak and sick among them, and they did not have much fighting power.
As for the other common people around, they have now received the news and all fled south with their families, or directly ran into the mountains and forests. Although Gai Yuansu Wen ordered the interception at the checkpoints, people can still pass through other places except the checkpoints. As long as they are willing to risk their lives, it doesn't matter if they travel through the mountains.
Some people even ran directly to the sea. Although they only had a few small boats and were not very capable of sailing on the sea, it was still much better than the current situation. As long as they were caught by those soldiers, would they still have a chance of survival? At least they could still fight on the sea.
Upon hearing this news, Li Xiang was at a loss for words. "People always say Gai Yuansuwen is a smart man, but how could he do such a thing? We haven't even started attacking yet, and you've already killed 20,000 men. Most importantly, you've scared away the civilians. If you don't have the support of the people during a war, you're just playing away."
When the Tang army arrived here, it had no support from the people. Li Xiang was still thinking about how to resolve Goguryeo's advantage. Unexpectedly, we don't have to think about this problem anymore. Gai Yuansuwen has solved it for you. If Goguryeo is conquered, Gai Yuansuwen will be the main contributor!
"Your Highness, a lot of people have appeared on the opposite bank of the river. Please go over and take a look."
When Li Xiang was reading in the tent, his scouts came over. It was already very cold outside at this time of year. The temperature was below zero at night, but it could still be above zero during the day. So Li Xiang didn't go out. Isn't it better to read by the fire in the tent than outside?
After listening to the report from his subordinates, Li Xiang immediately asked someone to carry a horse, and then called Niu Jinda and a few others to see what tricks Gai Yuan Su Wen was up to next.
When they arrived at the riverside, they could vaguely see a row of people standing on the opposite side. They were actually slapping the river water with the weapons in their hands.
"Are these guys trying to stop us from crossing the river in this way?"
Niu Jinda looked at them as if they were fools.
The others were also filled with disbelief. "The river has been covered in thin ice for the past few days, and the Goguryeo people are actually using weapons to break it up. The weather isn't too cold these days, so you're still able to break it. But when it gets colder, the ice will be half a meter thick. Do you still have the ability to do that?" "What's more, we're not attacking right now. I wonder who gave them this idea?"
"Let them do whatever they want. They're standing on the edge of a cliff right now. Any advice from anyone is like the last straw. We need to grab it first."
Li Xiang smiled and said, there are thousands of people splashing in the river water on the opposite bank. It is impossible for the water to freeze even when the temperature is above zero during the day. It is better for you to be here at night.
But human power is ultimately limited. Even if you keep flapping here, the entire river surface might freeze over. While the area in front of you might not freeze, the river upstream will also freeze. Can you keep the entire Taedong River from freezing? If so, it would probably require millions of people. Does Goguryeo have such people?
"Ballista."
Everyone heard Li Xiang say this out of the blue, and no one knew what Li Xiang wanted to do, but four crossbows were already lined up behind him.
Li Xiang just wanted to play a trick on these people. "Aren't you working by the river? Then I'll fire a few shots at you. In this situation, no matter what you want to do, I'll have to hinder you."
"The target population was free to fire."
After Li Xiang gave the order, four shells were immediately launched into the air. The river surface was about two hundred meters away, which was not a problem for the crossbow, and it could directly explode among the crowd.
After only four artillery shells, thousands of people on the opposite side went crazy, shouting loudly that the Tang army was attacking. They dropped their weapons, and some even took off their clothes and ran backwards like crazy. The troops behind didn't understand what was going on, so they followed and ran together, trampling countless people to death.
"If we can't take down Goguryeo with this kind of scum, we'll be too embarrassed to face the elders of the capital."
Su Dingfang saw clearly that two years ago, Goguryeo's army was still very elite. Although there was a gap between them and the most elite troops of our Tang Dynasty, if they really met on the battlefield, it would never be such a scene. The current war is like harvesting. In fact, Goguryeo's defeat had already been decided. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's plan to pacify Goguryeo came out, their defeat was already decided.
"Right now I just hate that the weather isn't cold enough. As long as it's cold enough, and freezes to a certain degree, we'll just charge right over. No matter who's guarding the other side, I believe they won't be able to do much. If people lose their morale, it's useless for anyone to guard."
Niu Jinda went down and knocked on the ice on our side, and a small hole appeared immediately. The ice is still very thin now, and it only becomes a little thicker at night, so the army cannot pass through.
Gai Yuansu Wen also heard about what happened on the riverside, so he did not dare to slack off. He quickly brought his men over to see if the Tang army was really going to kill them. When he came over, he also saw Li Xiang's carriage opposite.
"May I ask if that's His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Tang Dynasty?"
If Gai Yuansu Wen wanted to convey this message across the river, he had to shout loudly. When the soldiers on our side heard someone talking on the other side, they all shut their mouths. Although they couldn't hear it clearly, they could still hear it vaguely.
"It's the same old trick again. Let's go back."
Gai Yuansu Wen definitely wanted to talk to Li Xiang, but Li Xiang ignored him. In front of tens of thousands of soldiers from both armies, Li Xiang simply whipped his horsewhip and returned to the barracks with his men.
The corner of Gai Yuansuwen's mouth twitched. This kid was really arrogant. After all, he was a powerful official of Goguryeo, no worse than you royal children, but he didn't even give him a chance to speak.
The Goguryeo soldiers also witnessed this scene, and they were also upset. If the Tang Dynasty was really as rumored, not even giving them a chance to surrender, would we have any hope if we continued to resist? Think about that powerful weapon just now, how can we defend against it?