The Yanliao army saw their main generals fall, and having been abandoned by Goguryeo, their morale instantly vanished.
White flags hung from the city walls.
They surrendered directly.
Luo Yi watched everything before him, tears streaming down his face.
He had never imagined he would end up like this.
The eighteen riders of Yan Yun remained by Luo Yi's side, silent.
Clearly, they no longer wished to flee either.
Fang Er, observing the events on the city walls, found Chai Shao.
"Duke Chai, I'll leave this to you. I'll take my men to pursue Yuan Gai Suwen."
"Alright, be careful!"
Chai Shao agreed.
The Annihilation Army, Fang family's musketeer corps, under the command of Yuchi Baolin.
One thousand men marched towards the sea.
Along the way, Goguryeo soldiers shed their armor and helmets, fearing they were not running fast enough.
But Fang Er still caught up to them.
The musketeers fired at will.
The fleeing soldiers, hearing the gunshots behind them, cursed themselves for not having more legs.
They pursued them all the way to the sea.
Yuan Gai Suwen stood at the bow of the ship, watching the approaching Tang army, and shouted at the helmsman.
"Set sail! Sail faster!"
Thousands of Goguryeo soldiers on the shore, who had not made it onto the ships, watched as the warships slowly began to move.
Pulling away from the shore.
One by one, they desperately ran into the water.
"Stop, stop quickly!"
"Let me on!"
"I don't want to die! Stop quickly!"
Goguryeo soldiers watched in despair as the ships sailed further away.
"Damn it!"
Fang Er cursed under his breath.
He could only watch helplessly as the white sails disappeared into the distance.
The despairing Goguryeo soldiers looked at Fang Er's troops. Suddenly, someone shouted.
"Rob their horses! Only then can we return!"
This sentence gave the desperate Goguryeo soldiers a sliver of hope.
Countless Goguryeo soldiers rushed towards Fang Er and his men.
On their escape route to the sea, their weapons and armor had long since been discarded.
Without weapons, they charged directly, grabbing Tang soldiers, trying to pull them off their horses.
But what greeted them were the merciless blades.
Fang Er watched the charging enemy troops coldly.
"Charge out! Surround and kill!"
He pulled on his horse's reins, charging through the Goguryeo soldiers who were rushing at them.
Along the way, countless Goguryeo soldiers were knocked to the ground by the warriors, then trampled by their own men.
Fang Er, having broken through the enemy lines, turned his horse to face these stragglers.
"Surrender and live! Otherwise! Not one will be spared!"
"Surrender and live!"
"Surrender and live!"
"Surrender and live!"
The thousand men behind him shouted in unison.
These Goguryeo soldiers, their faces ashen, looked at the thousand Tang soldiers not far away.
They slowly knelt down.
Yuchi Baolin and his subordinates stripped the Goguryeo soldiers of their outer garments.
They used knives to cut them into strips.
Then they tied them together, forming ropes.
They bound the hands of these Goguryeo soldiers and strung them together.
All were escorted back to Beiping City.
Chai Shao also gathered all the Goguryeo soldiers abandoned by Yuan Gai Suwen.
He was now on the west city wall, looking at Luo Yi, who was slumped on the ground.
Because of him, Goguryeo had gained advance warning of firearms and cannons.
And now there was a cannon unaccounted for in Goguryeo.
For this alone, Chai Shao felt like skinning him alive.
"Duke Chai, I apologize. This boy let Yuan Gai Suwen escape."
Fang Er found his way to the city wall and said to Chai Shao.
"Someone! Take Luo Yi away!"
Chai Shao waved his hand. Two soldiers came forward and escorted Luo Yi down the city wall.
"Old Chai, the cannons have been recovered. All seven are here."
Cheng Yaojin also arrived and encountered Luo Yi.
He did not speak to him, only gave Luo Yi a cold smile.
"The prisoners are all bound. The Yanliao army had twenty-eight thousand men, and the Goguryeo side had over sixteen thousand in total."
Zhang Gongjin walked onto the city wall.
The four of them stood on the city wall, feeling the northeast wind, and looked towards Goguryeo.
"Do you think we should continue fighting?"
Chai Shao spoke.
"Fight! Why not? What's wrong? Are you tired, Old Chai, or are you scared?"
"Heh heh."
Chai Shao showed a wry smile.
"I am indeed scared! But not scared of Goguryeo!"
"Have you thought about it? The last time Big Black fought Jie Li, plus our current march north, how many prisoners have we captured?"
Cheng Yaojin and Zhang Gongjin exchanged glances.
They began to calculate the numbers in their minds.
"Hiss!"
It wasn't until they started calculating that the two of them gasped in unison.
Previously, Yuchi Gong had captured twenty thousand prisoners from Jie Li!
The last time they fought Liang Shidu, over ten thousand were sent back.
This time, in the Beiping battle, over forty thousand were captured!
In total, nearly eighty thousand were taken back?
Cheng Yaojin and Zhang Gongjin also wore wry smiles.
It was true, this war was unwinnable!
Due to the drought, there was already a shortage of grain.
And the most important objective of this expedition was to make money!
As a result, not only did they not make money, but they also brought back eighty thousand burdens?
If they dared to kill all eighty thousand prisoners,
Then Li Er Min would likely become the second Bai Qi!
Fang Er watched from the side, bewildered.
"What's wrong? Looking at your expressions, can't continue fighting?"
"Brother, with your firearms, you've captured eighty thousand prisoners in total. If we continue fighting, let alone making money to relieve the people, the grain deficit will likely be even larger!"
Cheng Yaojin said to Fang Er with a wry smile.
"Damn it!"
When did fighting too smoothly become a bad thing?
Are there times when you fear having too many prisoners?
"Uh!"
Fang Er was speechless.
This was indeed a problem.
Li Er was so poor he had to borrow military grain from him.
Where would he get the grain to feed these prisoners?
But he was unwilling to simply release them.
If he didn't release them, he couldn't afford to feed them.
Headache!
"In that case, you all go back. I'll take my men on a tour of Goguryeo."
"That remaining cannon must be found!"
Fang Er spoke.
Chai Shao was shocked.
"Unacceptable!"
"Captain Fang, I admire your courage, Old Zhang, but this is truly unacceptable!"
Cheng Yaojin and Zhang Gongjin quickly spoke to stop him.
Fang Er smiled slightly.
"It's fine, I'm confident."
He was confident of nothing!
It was just that the remaining cannon in Goguryeo always made him feel insecure!
In fact, he also understood that at Goguryeo's current level, it would take a long time to manufacture such a thing.
And gunpowder was not that easy to produce.
But he just wanted to find it and destroy it!
Chai Shao stared at Fang Er.
He remained silent.
In Li Er's secret letter to him, the purpose of Fang Er's trip was made very clear.
Cannons!
Must be brought back, or destroyed!
Goguryeo must not have this thing!
Not even the slightest possibility!
"Since that's the case, choose your men as you wish. Whatever you need, I will find a way to provide it."
Chai Shao said calmly.
"Old Chai!"
Cheng Yaojin was anxious.
"Old Cheng, don't rush. It's no use to rush. Once Goguryeo learns how to manufacture it from that cannon, think about the consequences."
Zhang Gongjin also understood Fang Er's meaning.
"But! But Anzhi is only in his teens! He hasn't even married and had children yet! If you must go, I, Old Cheng, will go!"