Chapter 293: Wang Jian Leads Troops to Confront Liaohe River

Gao Zang took the memorial handed over by Prime Minister Li Zhenghao, flipped through it casually and closed it again.

In fact, he didn't need to read the memorial to know what kind of "justifiable" words Cui Dongyuan, the general of the Goguryeo Dynasty, would use to ask for war?

At the beginning, Cui Dongyuan, who was just a small county governor, took the opportunity of the civil strife in the Great Xin Dynasty and took the initiative to lead his troops to the West. He annexed the four counties of Liaodong, Xuantu, Lelang, and Daifang of the Great Xin Dynasty, and was named the General of the Western Expedition by himself;

At present, Cui Dongyuan has already regarded the Tang army on the other side of the Liaohe River as a stepping stone for his further rewards. How could he miss such an opportunity to make achievements?

In this regard, Cui Dongyuan, the general of the Western Expedition of Goguryeo, and the treasure king Gao Zang have something in common.

Cui Dongyuan hopes to make achievements on the battlefield, and Gao Zang also hopes to take advantage of the godsend opportunity when the Tang Dynasty was just founded and the country was in need of reconstruction to expand the territory of Goguryeo.

The northeastern region, which was not obedient to the Central Plains Dynasty, and the rich Baishan Heishui, were exactly the "feng shui treasure land" that Gao Zang wanted to take into his pocket.

From Gao Zang's heart, he was more inclined to the war faction in the court.

Let me ask, as an emperor with unprecedented national strength and 600,000 troops under his command, how could he not have any ambition?

If it weren't for the limited population and resources in Goguryeo, Gao Zang wanted to march west to the Central Plains when the Great Xin Dynasty was in civil strife;

Even if he couldn't conquer the world, at least he could fish in troubled waters to get a share and make a lot of money.

Now, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is once again in front of him. As long as the front-line army of Goguryeo can defeat the Tang army on the other side of the Liaohe River, he will have a great chance to enter the northeastern region of the Central Plains Dynasty and take that rich land for himself.

After closing the letter of request for battle from Cui Dongyuan, the general of the Western Expedition, Gao Zang once again asked: "Li Xiangguo, what are the opinions of the peace faction in the court?"

Hearing this, Li Zhenghao took out another memorial and handed it to Gao Zang and said: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial of Lord Gai!"

Lord Gai?

Gao Zang's expression suddenly became serious. After taking the memorial from Li Zhenghao, he began to read it word by word.

Lord Gai's name is Gai Shiwen, and he is a representative of the aristocratic class in Goguryeo.

There is no specific official position in the court of Goguryeo, but he has a decisive voice in domestic affairs.

At the beginning of the founding of Goguryeo, a political situation with the three powers of kingship, prime ministership and aristocracy had already formed.

The royal power is supreme, and it has the final say on domestic affairs.

The aristocratic power is because there is a strict aristocratic hierarchy in Goguryeo. In order to ensure the interests of the aristocracy and maintain political stability, the aristocracy is given the right to decide when dealing with national affairs.

The prime minister's power is an auxiliary to the royal power, responsible for acting as a mediator and buffer when conflicts arise between the royal power and the aristocratic power, so as to avoid direct and fierce confrontation between the royal power and the aristocratic power.

Therefore, when Treasure King Gao Zang heard that Gai Shiwen, who represented the interests of the aristocrats in Goguryeo, chose to stand on the side of the pro-peace faction in the court and personally handed him a memorial, he could not help but pay attention to it.

In Gai Shiwen's memorial, he elaborated in detail on the various experiences of Chen Huaian, Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, since he started his army in Longcheng, his fiefdom, to fight against the Great Xin Dynasty.

Gai Shiwen, who was only sixty years old, could be called the mainstay of the aristocrats in Goguryeo.

In the early years, in the peace talks with Emperor Zhao Mang of the Great Xin Dynasty, it was Gai Shiwen who represented the Goguryeo Dynasty and finally signed the peace agreement with the Great Xin Dynasty;

Over the years, Gai Shiwen's spies have been active in Jinling, the capital of the Great Xin Dynasty.

So, Gai Shiwen still made great efforts to understand Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian, who started an army as the crown prince of the previous dynasty, overthrew the Great Xin Dynasty and finally founded the Great Tang Dynasty.

In Gai Shiwen's memorial, the achievements of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian in destroying the Turkic state, expedition to Tubo, and pacifying the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions were recorded in detail;

In addition, the battle process of the Great Tang (Longcheng) Navy Fleet in the Yellow Sea to wipe out the Japanese Navy (pirates) entrenched there was also mentioned;

The news that the Great Tang Navy Fleet was equipped with red cannons naturally spread with the battle to wipe out the Japanese Navy (pirates).

In Gai Shiwen's memorial, a detailed comparison chart of the population, armaments, economy and other aspects of the Tang Dynasty and the Goguryeo Dynasty was listed. The final conclusion was that the Goguryeo Dynasty was more than capable of protecting itself with its geographical advantages, but not capable of taking the initiative to fight!

Moreover, Gai Shiwen also proposed a foreign policy towards the Tang Dynasty - it was okay to pay tribute, but not to pay tribute!

In Gai Shiwen's view, the Tang Dynasty Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian stationed troops in Liaodong, but he was just looking for face to regain the face of sending envoys to Goguryeo three times without success.

In this case, give him this face. Anyway, there is no substantial loss for the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute, the Goguryeo Dynasty and the Treasure King Gao Zang.

As for paying tribute, that is absolutely impossible!

Gai Shiwen was sure that the Tang Dynasty had just been established and was in a period of reconstruction. Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian would never waste people's money and money on an expedition to Goguryeo just for a mere tax tribute.

After all, during the reign of Emperor Taizu Zhao Mang of Daxin, three expeditions to Goguryeo were unsuccessful.

He did not believe that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian could be more courageous than Zhao Mang, who conquered the world on horseback.

Let's get back to the story.

After Gao Zang finished reading Gai Shiwen's memorial, he frowned and hesitated to make a decision.

On the one hand, he felt that Gai Shiwen's words made sense;

On the other hand, Gao Zang felt that the Tang Dynasty was only stationed in Liaodong, and there was no substantial military action to attack the Goguryeo Dynasty. As a king, it would be a loss of status for him to take the initiative to negotiate peace and submit to the emperor;

In addition, the group of young generals in the court were all pro-war factions. If he surrendered and negotiated peace without fighting a battle, he would only arouse public resentment and mutiny.

At this moment, Baozang King Gao Zang, who had decided to take the initiative when he picked up the letter of request for war from Cui Dongyuan, the general of the Western Expedition, fell into a dilemma after closing the memorial of Lord Gai, who represented the interests of the domestic nobles.

Gao Zang wanted to solve this matter by delaying.

However, the Tang army stationed in Liaodong would not give him this opportunity.

At the same time, the Tang army camp in Liaodong.

As the supporting force of the Tang Navy Fleet and the surprise attack on Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, the commander of the army, Duke Qin Wang Jian, was full of energy but had nowhere to go.

This was the first time that Wang Jian led troops to conquer a region on his own behalf of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, Wang Jian was still not the protagonist in this expedition to Goguryeo, but a supporting role responsible for setting the stage for the Tang Navy Fleet.

Even as a "supporting role" to make a feint to the east and attack the west, Wang Jian still meticulously dispatched the army and made preparations before the feint attack.

This day.

The front line of the Liaohe River, in front of the Tang army.

Commander Wang Jian held a monocular telescope and stared at the armaments of the Goguryeo defenders on the other side of the Liaohe River. He also asked the deputy general beside him: "Deputy General Liu, is there any news from the navy?"