Pyongyang City.
King Rongliu, Gao Jianwu, sat on the throne.
Civil and military officials stood on either side below the hall.
Kneeling in the center was Wu Zhixing, the commander of Dandong.
Your Majesty! The Tang army is powerful and wields the might of firearms. It is not that your humble servant dares not fight, but that we truly cannot win!
Wu Zhixing was very aggrieved.
Facing the Tang army's firearms, defending the city? That was digging one's own grave!
After one round of artillery fire, one could be buried alive!
The lucky ones might remain intact.
More often than not, it was a pile of flesh and blood mixed together.
One couldn't even distinguish who was who!
Fled without fighting! And you have the audacity to justify it? You are a useless waste!
A person emerged from the ranks of civil officials, pointing at Wu Zhixing and scolding him.
Your Majesty, please behead this man! To uphold military law!
Merely scolding was not enough; he directly clamored for King Rongliu to have Wu Zhixing killed.
Your Majesty! The Tang army's firearms are truly terrifying! A month ago, in a battle outside Shenyang City, the Tang army could kill enemies at four hundred paces. It is truly impossible to counter them!
Wu Zhixing kowtowed to King Rongliu, Gao Jianwu, while explaining himself.
King Rongliu on the throne also knew the situation clearly.
What Wu Zhixing said was the truth.
It was indeed not his fault for not fighting.
To defend would be to court death, and at the same time, it would endanger the lives of the city's inhabitants, who would be caught in the artillery fire.
However, Wu Zhixing's abandonment of the city and his retreat was something that no person in power could accept.
Drag him out! Behead him!
Gao Jianwu could only accept the civil official's suggestion.
Speak, all of you! The Tang army is advancing aggressively, how should we resist?
In fact, ever since the news of Yuan Gaesumun's death spread,
Goguryeo had been in constant discussion.
Some advocated for a fierce resistance without retreat.
Others, likewise, advocated for peace negotiations.
Gao Jianwu was conflicted.
If they resisted fiercely without retreat, they clearly could not win.
If they sought peace, Goguryeo's six hundred years of inheritance made him feel ashamed to face his ancestors.
Your Majesty! The Tang army's reliance is nothing more than firearms!
Although our country's firearms are not as sharp as the Tang army's, they are not entirely useless.
Your humble general has a plan, which may be feasible.
A person walked out from the military formation and spoke to King Rongliu.
Oh? Speak quickly!
King Rongliu looked at him with anticipation.
The general spoke with confidence.
Reporting to Your Majesty, we simply need to do this and this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dandong was nearly six hundred li from Pyongyang.
And it also required traversing the Changbai Mountain range.
Ten days later!
Fang Er, leading the army, finally arrived outside Pyongyang City.
A li away, he gazed at the city of Pyongyang.
It was indeed a six-hundred-year-old dynasty.
Although it had only developed stealthily for six hundred years.
Whenever the Central Plains dynasties were in turmoil, or when Baekje and Silla were fighting,
Goguryeo would always sneak out and take a bite.
It was precisely because of this that the Sui Dynasty launched three campaigns against Goguryeo.
Similarly, Baekje and Silla would occasionally unite and fight against Goguryeo.
Let's use an analogy.
It was like four brothers.
The Central Plains Dynasty was the eldest brother.
Goguryeo was the second brother.
And Silla and Baekje were the third and fourth brothers.
Among the four brothers, the second brother was always restless.
Taking advantage of the eldest brother's slumber, he would sneak in and steal some things.
Then, with nothing else to do, he would bully the third and fourth brothers.
That's roughly the idea.
Thus, over several hundred years, this second brother managed to accumulate a solid fortune!
But now!
Heh heh, it was time to settle the score with this second brother~!
Go tell Tie Lao Ba to bring the artillery battalion up! Let them bombard for a few rounds first!
Fang Er, mounted on his horse, said to Guan Chang by his side.
Brother, shouldn't we set up camp before attacking tomorrow?
Cheng Yaojin asked curiously.
Moreover, he hadn't found any artillery that the Sky Fire Army carried on this march?
Soon, Tie Lao Ba arrived at the front of the army with three hundred artillery soldiers.
They stopped at a distance of four hundred paces from Pyongyang City.
Skillfully, they took down the wooden boxes on their horses.
The mortars were set up.
Shells were taken out, and fuzes were carefully attached.
Tie Lao Ba first estimated the distance.
After adjusting the muzzle of the cannon, he casually picked up a shell and slid it into the barrel.
Boom!
With a cannon blast, the shell landed less than ten paces from the city wall.
With a bang, soil and shrapnel splattered everywhere.
The defending troops on the city wall were stunned!
What the hell!
They're shooting from this far?
Quickly inform His Majesty, the Tang army is attacking!
The general defending the city pulled over a soldier and shouted urgently.
That soldier dared not delay and ran all the way towards the royal palace.
Old Tie, you're not doing well!
Yang Zhihua, behind Tie Lao Ba, started arguing when none of the shells hit the city wall.
Hey! What's the hurry, watch my second shot!
Tie Lao Ba adjusted the muzzle of the cannon slightly.
Then came the second shot.
Boom!
Boom!
The second shot directly hit the city wall!
The brick and earth city wall directly developed a crack!
The general on the parapet turned pale!
This is too damn much!
What do you say, Old Yang?
Tie Lao Ba raised his eyebrows at Yang Zhihua.
Old Tie! No problem!
Yang Zhihua gave him a thumbs-up.
Four hundred paces, two direct hits, it must be no problem!
Tie Lao Ba's face instantly darkened!
When the artillery battalion took baths, Tie Lao Ba discovered that everyone else had hair.
Afterward, he found Fang Er and asked shyly if he had any illness.
When Fang Er found out, he just smiled and said, No problem!
Alright! Old Tie has no problem! This saying spread throughout the artillery battalion!