Chapter 65: Eastern Capital Express Report

  In eastern Liaoning, the Mid-Autumn Festival already has a hint of autumn flavor. Although the daytime sun is still as scorching hot as in mid-summer, when the day's sun slowly moves to the west and is blocked by the mountain shade, the mountain breeze blows through the forest, quickly blowing away the heat of the day. Although the sky is still bright, a coolness can already be felt.

  The western sky was filled with a red glow, like blood. Accompanied by the western sunset, a knight rode a fast horse, coming from the west with a serious expression. His clothes had long been soaked with sweat, and his mount had long been dripping white foam from its mouth.

  He is a messenger, an express messenger who has come from Luoyang. He has already run to death several swift horses on the way. Originally there were three of them, but in the end two fell down at Zhuo Jun, and he was the last one. Although he felt extremely tired, even had a feeling of wanting to fall to the ground and not get up, he clearly knew how important the letter on his back was.

  He clenched his teeth and told himself to hold on for a while longer, just one more time. He had lost count of how many mountains he had crossed, but all he knew was that the entire Liaodong region was nothing but mountains, with more mountains beyond them.

  One mountain pass after another had almost made him desperate, and he could feel that the swift horse under him was no longer up to it. Although the horses under him were all carefully selected warhorses, and in order to advance quickly, he didn't bring any extra items with him, but at this speed for so long, he knew that this horse would finally be unable to go on.

  It's almost dark, if he still can't reach the big camp, by then the horse will collapse, and he won't know if he can get out of these deep mountains. Even if he can avoid wild beasts and get out, by that time the urgent report may be too late.

  As they climbed over another mountain pass, a feathered arrow suddenly shot out from the woods on both sides. The arrow was not shot directly at him, but rather at a point in front of him. The knight tightly reined in his horse, which had already been exhausted and was now running solely on its last bit of instinct. At this moment, when the knight reined it in again, the horse finally lost control, let out a loud whinny, and raised its front hooves high into the air.

  The knight knew that the horse was done for as soon as he heard its voice, and hastily dismounted, just rolling off beside it. The horse finally collapsed, letting out a mournful whinny as it fell to the ground with foam in its mouth. The knight looked at the horse and prepared to get up from the ground.

  A long spear was placed on his neck, the cold spearhead made him tense up, and before he could speak, a cavalryman dressed in Sui army uniform riding a horse said, "Who are you?" This knight was a Sui army commander, ordered to lead a patrol west of the Liaodong Great Camp. Although this side was the Great Sui, on the battlefield, they also had to guard against the Goguryeo people coming around to attack. But unexpectedly, after almost a month here, usually only seeing large groups of civilians, tonight at dusk saw a fast-riding cavalryman rushing by, thinking of doing a routine check.

  The messenger on the ground saw that the interceptors were Sui army and hastily asked loudly, "Are you Sui army?"

  The cavalrymen jumped down from their horses, looked at the man in front of them who looked a bit tired, saw that he was wearing the uniform of the Sui army and spoke with a native accent. He took out his military ID and showed it to him, "We are the patrol riders of the Liaodong camp, responsible for guarding here, what are you doing?"

  The messenger on the ground took a serious look at the military plate, found no mistake, and immediately said, "I am a messenger from Dongdu, I have an urgent report of 800 miles, and I must report to Your Majesty immediately. Now my horse is dead, borrow your warhorse for me. Lead the way for me in front."

  That team was suddenly heard to be the eight hundred miles urgent report from Dongdu, and it was also a fright. This eight hundred miles urgent report, unless it is a very important matter, is generally not possible to send. These messengers who sent the eight hundred miles urgent report also had great temporary power. If they encountered people on the road who could not avoid being hit, even if they were killed, there would be no problem, and the person who was killed would still have to take responsibility. It's like now, requisitioning his war horse is also a normal thing.

  That team is busy ordering the subordinates to retreat, taking down a jug of water from the horse and saying, "You drink some water first, I will immediately send two people to escort you to see His Majesty. We are on military orders here to be vigilant and cannot all follow you back to the big camp. However, rest assured that it is only tens of miles from here to the big camp, there will be many patrolling cavalry along the way, and you won't encounter any trouble. With the two people I sent with you, you can also avoid being questioned along the way."

  After the messenger drank water, the team on the other side had already prepared three horses for them, and two cavalrymen escorted him over. Xinyi got on his horse, cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, brother, for your help. If it weren't for my brother's help, I would have definitely missed this errand today, and my head wouldn't be guaranteed either. This is a lifesaving favor to me, great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, but I will remember it in my heart. I am Wang Gui, but I don't know your name, brother?"

  "This doesn't count for anything, it's what should be. In the letter from the lower reaches of the Han River, we'll meet again if fate allows."

  With the letter of introduction from General Zong, and with two cavalrymen as escort, although they encountered many roaming riders along the way, they were able to get past them without much trouble. By the time the moon rose, he finally arrived at the main camp in Liaodong.

  At this time, the battle under Liaodong City was still fierce. The Sui army had successfully occupied a section of the city wall, and although the Liao people launched several fierce counterattacks, they were repeatedly repelled by the Sui army, which continued to pour in reinforcements from behind. They even used that section of the wall as a foothold, constantly charging and killing on both sides. As long as the number of people on the city wall reached a certain level, the Sui army would be able to drive the Goguryeo people off the wall at one stroke.

  Although Liaodong City has two layers of inner and outer walls, the defensive strength of the inner city is simply incomparable to that of the outer city. The inner city is not only small, but its city wall is also not as high or solid as the outer city's. Once the outer city falls, taking down the entire Liaodong City would be as easy as turning over one's palm.

  The Sui army understood this principle, so the Sui army was extremely excited. The soldiers seemed to have already seen the rewards after the city was broken. One by one, they pushed forward towards both sides like they had nothing to lose.

  Gao Jianwu also understood the situation at this time. In order to capture Liaodong City, the Goguryeo Dynasty spent more than 200 years in the past to plot and seize it. After capturing the city, the Goguryeo people spent another 200 years consolidating it. This Goguryeo castle can be said to be the first fortress in the Far East, a truly military stronghold, and its solidity far exceeded that of Pyongyang Castle, the capital of Goguryeo.

  However, most of the defenses of Liaodong City were set up in the outer city. If the outer city was breached, the inner city would not be able to hold out for much longer. Gao Jianwu looked up at the sky and saw that a new moon had already appeared. As long as they could hold on for a little while longer, they would be able to take advantage of the night to break through and escape back to Pyongyang.

  "Pass on my order, instruct the 3,000 reserve troops to mobilize and drive the Sui army off the city walls. Also, go into the city and spread the word that the Sui army has already climbed over the walls, and have all men, women, old and young come up to participate in the defense. Tell them that Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui dynasty has issued an order to slaughter the city, and if Liaodong falls, not a single one of the 200,000 soldiers and civilians will be able to escape. If they help defend today, General Yuchi Jingde will arrive with 100,000 troops tomorrow and we will definitely repel the Sui army. Go quickly!"

  Since he had already made up his mind to retreat, the people of Liaodong City would not have a good outcome if they stayed in the city. It's better for them to die with the city than to be taken away by the Sui people and increase their strength. Even if it means killing one more Sui soldier, it can reduce the enemy's strength for Goguryeo.

  The last three thousand reserve troops climbed up the city, and immediately suppressed the Tang army's offensive on the city head. With the addition of these fresh troops, they even began to push the Sui army back. The two sides fought back and forth, engaging in a fierce tug-of-war on the city wall. The space on top of the city wall was limited, no matter how many people there were, it was impossible to form a battle array, and it could only be a chaotic melee.

  For both sides, every time one fell, someone immediately filled in behind. After Gao Jianwu's mobilization, nearly 50,000 armed civilians were added to the four city walls of Liaodong at this time. Although they are no longer robust, but in this melee, they can also play a considerable role.

  The Sui army's follow-up troops were even more numerous, and the city walls occupied by the Sui army were lined up with cloud ladders, with elite soldiers climbing up like ants. If it weren't for the fact that the top of the city was too small, and the two sides were tightly blocked by the Goguryeo people, the Sui army would have taken the city long ago. Now, although the Sui army had many men, they were squeezed on the city wall and could only advance step by step. And the Sui army that was squeezed behind, at this time, had already begun to prepare to pull up the cloud ladders, directly put the cloud ladders on the top of the city, and send the soldiers who were squeezed on the top of the city to enter the city directly.

  In this way, even if the entire city of Liaodong is filled with people blocking the city walls with their bodies, as long as the Sui army inside the city gathers to a certain number, they can directly kill towards the city gate. As soon as the city gate opens, tens of thousands of Sui soldiers will enter the city, and no matter how many people you have, it's just a matter of time before you're finished off in one meal.

  Gao Jianwu was like a desperate gambler at this time, staring with bloodshot eyes at the increasingly numerous Sui army on the city wall. He looked at the Sui army on the city wall and then at the moon that had just risen, feeling as though the moon was rising slower than ever before. The 3,000 reserve troops had all been deployed, but only a short time had passed, like the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

  "Your Highness, it's not good! The Sui army is using cloud ladders to jump directly into the city from above the city walls!" A blood-soaked Goguryeo soldier rushed in front of Gao Jianwu and exclaimed.

  Gao Jianwu was shocked. If the Sui army rushed into the city, he would have no soldiers to stop them. "You, immediately lead my guards to block them, and then recruit civilians from the city to bring oil and hay from their homes to burn those Sui soldiers who enter the city."

  Gao Jianwu now felt like he was on a sinking ship with leaks everywhere, no matter how hard he tried to plug them, as soon as he fixed one hole, another would spring up. He was busy running around in circles, but still couldn't keep up with the leaks. Gao Jianwu let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky again, wondering if heaven really wanted him to perish.

  The year is almost over, anyone giving out red envelopes? First say a 10,000-word blessing... then stretch out your hand to ask for red envelope rewards.