Originally, there was a part of soldiers in Jiangnan who were organized and were preparing to resist the attack of the Tang army. However, after the rows of artillery shells were fired, this part of the army immediately became headless flies.
Many soldiers felt strange, wondering why the shells followed them wherever they ran. In fact, their feeling was wrong. It was mainly because shells were falling everywhere, so they felt that the shells were following them.
Fifty thousand soldiers were the first group to cross the river. They spread out along a seven-kilometer-long front to minimize resonance.
Li Xiang stood on a high place and saw the dense crowds of people crossing the river below. The hegemony of the Tang Dynasty began from then on. Whether it was Tuyuhun or Tubo, they were both our homeland. Of course, this is based on the concept of people in the 21st century. Only by crossing this river can we truly expand our territory.
"It's like a dream. Our advancement is so fast. I thought that occupying the land north of the Yangtze River within a few months would be a victory, but I didn't expect that we would be heading south of the Yangtze River now."
Qin Huaiyu said in disbelief. He also came up from the back, but the task of vanguard had been given to others, so Qin Huaiyu could only follow Li Xiang obediently.
"This isn't surprising. Everything was decided at the beginning of last year. Our strategy back then was to weaken Goguryeo without limit. Unexpectedly, their people cooperated with us, pushing the conflict to its peak. This resulted in Jiangbei having little combat effectiveness. Otherwise, we'd still be fighting so hard. This shows that war isn't just about military matters; it extends to many other aspects."
General Li Jing said, stroking his beard.
After the general finished speaking, everyone looked at Li Xiang with admiration. After two years of hard work, it was finally time to reap the rewards. From this moment on, Goguryeo would follow the name of the Tang Dynasty.
Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang led their men to attack southward. When their war horses were transported over, the two men took the lead and led their men to charge all the way. The Goguryeo army had no will at all. They only wanted to escape. When they heard the shouts of killing from behind, they threw down their weapons and surrendered.
This is also very normal. Among the border troops of Goguryeo, 60% of the people were forcibly recruited. They were originally ordinary people in the border area and had not received a single day of training. Now you ask them to fight on the battlefield. They have neither combat skills nor fighting will. Why don't they surrender?
What's more, in the minds of these people, the Goguryeo court did not treat them as human beings, but only wanted to use them as cannon fodder. How could they possibly work for such a court? In addition, the prime minister and generals had all fled, making it even more impossible for them to work for it.
At noon that day, the pursuing troops finally stopped. They received the latest order from Li Xiang, asking them to set up a defense line on the spot. We have to take a good inventory of the occupied areas. If we just move south like this, it will not be of any benefit to us. After all, we are on someone else's territory, and the price of greed and reckless advance is not small.
In just one morning, the Tang army advanced nearly fifty miles. During this period, the Tang army killed more than 19,000 Goguryeo soldiers, captured more than 84,000 people, and captured countless livestock and border residents.
Although Goguryeo had set up several lines of defense, when the Tang army arrived, the people here had already fled. They would just follow the officials and run away. Even the officials were unwilling to resist. Why should they resist? Many officials had already retreated south without even seeing the Tang army.
"Why are you asking us to withdraw? If we continue to advance, I think we'll reach the Goguryeo capital by nightfall."
Niu Jinda came back on a fast horse. He had never fought such a comfortable battle before. The morale of his soldiers was also high. They were unstoppable all the way. He originally thought that the people of Goguryeo would have some combat effectiveness, especially after entering their hinterland. Unexpectedly, there were starving ghosts everywhere here. Many people were emaciated. Not to mention resisting the Tang army, it seemed that taking a breath would take up half of his strength.
"You're just focused on charging. You need to check the situation behind us. How many prisoners, how many border residents, and how much spoils are there? We haven't even counted them yet. If we keep charging forward, what if we miss any organized resistance forces and let them continue to develop within our ranks?"
After hearing what General Li Jing said, Niu Jinda stood aside and didn't dare to say a word. The army is also a place that respects seniority. In the entire army, Li Jing may be the one with more seniority than Niu Jinda. So when Li Jing spoke, Niu Jinda listened honestly like a primary school student.
In addition to counting these things in the occupied area, there is another more important thing, which is to see the attitudes of Silla and Baekje. Although Li Xiang wants to deal with them together, if the two countries send envoys, Li Xiang is prepared to adopt a more moderate attitude.
That afternoon, Li Xiang deployed more than 50,000 troops on the front line, and the rest of the people began to search back and forth in the occupied area. Whether it was people or livestock, they had to be registered. In addition, Li Xiang ordered people to seal the mountain passes that were impossible to enter, or where the losses might be considerable after entering.
Maybe some people can live in the mountains, but most people have never lived in the mountains, so they are likely to run away. Then we will wait at the exit and catch them one by one. As for the mountains, we will not go in for the time being.
Li Xiang did this for a reason. There are still many enemies on the peninsula, and we don't have the time to clear out the rear. Instead of sending a large number of soldiers into the mountains, it is better to surround them first and deal with them when we have time.
You don't know until you investigate. Once you investigate, you will be scared to death. Goguryeo had a large population. There are more than 1.3 million civilians and soldiers in total, and more than 90% of them have no food to eat. If so many people need to eat, it will definitely not be a small number.
"Why is the pressure of eating on us? They don't eat when we're not here?"
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Niu Jinda was the first to feel depressed...