"Please stand, envoys. Now that we have made our stance clear, we are still one family. Now, I ask you two to obey my orders. Immediately write a letter and have the generals of your armies come here. I will assign combat missions, and you must also fulfill your obligations as a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty."
After listening to Li Xiang's words, the two men knelt down and kowtowed. They also knew that it was impossible to leave this time. Li Xiang had no intention of letting them leave. Since you two dared to enter the Tang Dynasty military camp, you should have been prepared for this.
Before the two men arrived, one of their subordinates had warned them that if Li Xiang captured them, what would become of the army? They didn't want them to join the Tang army, but they still felt it was unlikely. As the saying goes, "Engagements should not be executed when two countries are at war." How could Li Xiang attack them? The Tang Dynasty was the Celestial Empire, a nation known for its strict adherence to rules.
But they didn't expect that they would fail in this regard. Li Xiang was not so abiding by the rules. Instead, he came up and explained his rules to you. As a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, it was not just signing an agreement. During the war, you had to fight with the Tang army. Now you have brought the army here, so it is normal for Li Xiang to use them as cannon fodder.
"Master Gao, why did you hold me back? Even if we both die here, we can't let our army become cannon fodder for Li Xiang."
In another tent, the two adults had finished writing the letter. At this moment, Li Tan felt a little uncomfortable.
"I know Lord Li is willing to sacrifice his life for his country, and I'm not afraid of death, but has Lord Li ever considered whether our deaths would benefit the entire country? You know the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. If we give him an excuse, he'll likely storm from north to south, and our two countries would be plunged into war in an instant. How can a mere tens of thousands of soldiers be a match for the Tang army?"
Every word Lord Gao said was heartbreaking. As a small country, no matter how they calculated, they could only survive in the cracks between the big countries. Perhaps even being in the cracks would not be possible in the future. The Tang army had already reached their north. After Goguryeo was destroyed, they would have to count the days.
"But what's going on now? He's already issued an order for 60,000 soldiers from your two countries to be the first to attack the city. If we fight like this, how many of our 60,000 soldiers will survive?"
Lord Li said with great sorrow that these two countries were small and weak, and their populations were not large. These 60,000 soldiers already accounted for a large proportion. If these more than 60,000 people died on the battlefield, Li Xiang would only need to send 20,000 to 30,000 troops to control these two countries.
"When His Highness spoke of the obligations of a vassal state, you and I had already lost. If we had resisted, the agreement between our two countries would have been void, and we would have been doomed. Now these 60,000 people may have perished, but at least our country has survived. It all depends on what His Highness thinks next. We will definitely not be free in the future, but it would be good if we could keep our lives."
Lord Gao saw very clearly that Li Xiang was using an open conspiracy. No matter how you answer, you must suffer certain losses. The only difference is the size of the losses. Now, using the lives of 60,000 people in exchange for the continuation of the two countries is still very cost-effective.
Moreover, in the opinion of Lord Gao, it is impossible that all 60,000 people would die in attacking the capital of Goguryeo. However, if they were to become enemies with the Tang army, according to Goguryeo's casualty standards, it is very likely that more than half of these 60,000 people would not survive. At that time, our losses would be even greater. Even if the Tang army retreated, without these young and middle-aged people in the country, would it still be a country?
Goryeo capital
Gai Yuansuwen stood dejectedly on the city wall. He thought that his strategy could prolong the life of Goguryeo. With the help of these two countries, at least Goguryeo could continue. Even if it helped these two countries defend the northern border, it would still be of some use. Li Xiang had to give these two countries some face.
But he hadn't expected that only two hours later, the armies of the two countries had already begun to encircle the Goguryeo capital from the south. This was something Gai Yuansuwen hadn't expected. In his mind, weren't you all here to help? So you're here to help the Tang Dynasty?
"Hasn't there been any letter yet?"
Gai Yuansu Wen said anxiously that he thought this was a strategy of the two countries, but if it was a strategy, you should have sent some letters, but so far nothing has been seen. This is not a matter of letters at all. It is obvious that the two countries have changed sides at the last minute.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister..."
The men under his command were so desperate that they could not even cry. Many of them sat on the city wall. They did not know where their future lay, especially when there were so many troops outside the city. The area around them was filled with Tang Dynasty crossbows. They had seen this kind of thing on the battlefield. It would only take two rounds of volleys to destroy the Goguryeo city wall.
"Heaven is truly destroying me. The king is right. I shouldn't have been so conceited. I still thought I could rely on the influence of these two countries to defend the capital of Goguryeo and wait for the king's return. Now it seems that I was too naive. Order the people below to open the city gates. Let's go together to welcome the Tang army. There is no need to fight anymore..."
When Gai Yuansu Wen said these words, the rest of the people breathed a sigh of relief. They were afraid that this guy would resist to the end. If he resisted to the end, how many of us would be left alive?
Outside the city walls, hundreds of thousands of troops were watching covetously. As long as their generals ordered the artillery to fire, the capital of Goguryeo would instantly become a ruin, and a large number of troops and civilians in the city would die.
Black smoke was everywhere inside the city wall. Ever since the Tang army began to besiege the city, the whole city had been in chaos. Many people felt that they were going to die anyway, so they started looting, robbing one house after another to cover up their own mistakes.
At first, it was possible to suppress the rebellion, but later, even the government troops joined in the looting, and the only ones who suffered were the people of Goguryeo. In this situation, how could you expect to hold on to the city? When the fighting got intense, maybe the people in the city would even help the Tang army...