Zhang Liang praised and admired the entire Princess, full of acclaim for many of the ingenious ideas on the ship. Stroking the Eight-Ox Crossbow, he sighed: “Being able to reduce the operation of the Eight-Ox Crossbow from eight people to three, or even two people—this alone is a great achievement. In naval warfare, bows and arrows come first—this is a principle every naval commander understands. It’s precisely because the Eight-Ox Crossbow is inconvenient to operate that it cannot be installed on warships on a large scale. Having four Eight-Ox Crossbows on a single ship is already the limit. Yet Marquis Yun’s forward deck has eight installed, and there are even more in the second-level gun deck. No wonder with just one round of bombardment, this old man’s warship was torn to pieces.”
Yun Ye said with a smile: “The application of new technology is the characteristic of these three warships. Duke of Yun, let’s not mention these trivial matters. This subordinate has prepared some modest wine on the ship. Shall we get drunk together?”
Zhang Liang nodded and readily complied, following Yun Ye to the dining hall. The cook had prepared four small dishes early on, warmed a pot of wine, placed it on the central dining table, and then withdrew, leaving the entire dining hall space to the two men.
After taking his seat, Zhang Liang picked up the wine pot and filled his own cup, then drained three cups in succession before saying: “Liang is already a prisoner. I have no way to repay Marquis Yun’s generous kindness. I offer these three cups of wine to thank Marquis Yun for the grace of not killing my son.”
Since Lai Chuanfeng reported back that no military officers had been discovered, Yun Ye knew that Zhang Liang’s two sons, Zhang Juren and Zhang Juzhi, must be nearby. When Zhang Liang asked Yun Ye whether the Emperor had sent him to capture him, Yun Ye should have immediately dispatched the Qing Que to pursue the remaining two men on the sea surface. They must have taken the family’s remaining elite and fled the battlefield. They must still be floating on the sea now. With the Qing Que’s speed, they couldn’t escape.
Although he didn’t understand exactly what great error Zhang Liang had committed, one thing Yun Ye was very certain of—Zhang Liang would absolutely never engage in the evil act of colluding with foreign countries. As for committing other errors, what did that have to do with him? Making someone’s entire family die out wasn’t a good idea. No matter what, Zhang Liang had rendered service to this country. Pretending to be ignorant and muddling through would suffice.
Zhang Liang’s own proposal to tour the Princess was also to buy time for his two sons. Knowing he couldn’t deceive Yun Ye, he was just using another posture to beg Yun Ye to spare his two sons. Yun Ye made no other moves and readily agreed to accompany him in appreciating the Princess—this was the only response to Zhang Liang’s plea. Now in the dining hall, with only two people and no figures like Assistant Military Commissioners, Zhang Liang could speak plainly.
“Duke of Yun has spent a lifetime campaigning north and south, rescuing the people from fire and flood. Naturally, your lineage cannot be severed. The six warships have all been captured. The rest has nothing to do with me, nor do I wish to be involved with it.”
Zhang Liang chuckled and said: “When I parted with Juren and Juzhi, I told them that their originally certain-death situation would become a nine-in-ten chance of death after encountering Marquis Yun. If it were Liu Yingxing, my former subordinate, it would be absolute death. Ha ha, it’s indeed as I said. I only hope my children can settle down and rebuild their lives in some remote place. Let yesterday’s events drift away with the wind. Living well is the only thing they can do.”
Having said these words, Zhang Liang seemed completely relaxed, busily eating dishes and drinking wine with great enjoyment.
“Duke of Yun, this subordinate truly cannot understand how you could possibly have committed an offense in Goguryeo. The people who most wanted to campaign in Goguryeo should be you father and sons. Why would His Majesty deal such a heavy hand to you, Duke?”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha ha ha!” Zhang Liang laughed heartily, stroking his white beard and saying: “Yeon Gaesomun killed my entire family, young and old. How could this old man let him off? After His Majesty’s great victory at Zhubi Mountain, someone actually persuaded His Majesty to cease hostilities, saying Goguryeo had already submitted, and now with exhausted troops and weary soldiers, it was inappropriate to fight again. This old man observed that His Majesty also seemed to have thoughts of withdrawing troops, so I led my subordinates in continuous attacks and killing. Naturally, along this route, I showed no mercy, because the order this old man gave was to leave no one alive.”
“The result? Ha ha, the result naturally was to provoke the Goguryeo people’s mad counterattack. Zhang Wengqian carelessly fell into an ambush. Over two thousand officers and soldiers died on the battlefield, with only Zhang Wengqian himself escaping. The result was that His Majesty beheaded him. Zhang Junxian was frightened silly by the enemy’s vengeful, frenzied fighting spirit and actually retreated without orders on the battlefield, leading to the death of Left Militant Guard General Wang Jun’e. Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen broke through the encirclement. His Majesty was furious and personally ordered Zhang Junxian beheaded.”
“Although Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen defended themselves by relying on the mountains, they eventually surrendered. His Majesty received thirty-six thousand surrendered soldiers and named the small hill where he had stood during battle Zhubi Mountain. Tell me, with this old man acting so willfully and recklessly, how could His Majesty not be angry? A wonderful opportunity to subdue Goguryeo soldiers without drawing swords was destroyed by this old man. So from that time on, this old man kept avoiding His Majesty. Unexpectedly, a month ago, I received His Majesty’s edict commanding Cheng Mingzhen to replace this old man’s position as Commander-in-Chief of the Pyongyang Campaign, and also to imprison this old man and sons in a prison cart and transport us to Anshi City, where we would presumably be beheaded. Fortunately, this old man’s personal guards were still loyal and hijacked six ships to come to sea, then encountered you. His Majesty’s arrangements are truly watertight—Zhang Liang admires it greatly!”
Zhang Liang also saw that Yun Ye seemed very unfamiliar with the situation in Goguryeo. He couldn’t help but feel great resentment in his heart. To guard against himself, Li Er had actually kept Yun Ye—who was most familiar with Goguryeo—hidden away until now before deploying him. After a bitter smile, he had Yun Ye bring out a map and explained all the battle situations in Goguryeo one by one.
Only now did Yun Ye learn about affairs in Liaodong. In a situation of utter helplessness, Li Er had abandoned attacking Pyongyang and instead led troops to join Li Ji and the others in attacking the reinforcements. Now he had set his sights on Anshi City, planning to capture Anshi City together with the combined forces before seeking other strategies.
A war that could have ended early was delayed by a full three or four months because of Zhang Liang. They spent the entire harsh winter in Liaodong and were still engaged in fierce battle with Yang Wanchun even now.
Wanting to provision troops from the enemy in Goguryeo was impossible—Goguryeo itself was full of starving corpses everywhere. The army’s grain and fodder all depended on Zhang Jian, because only the cavalry under Zhang Jian’s command could break through the blockade of the Mohe rebel army and deliver supplies. The rest needed to be supplied by the Dengzhou naval forces.
Yang Wanchun had actually found a method to overcome gunpowder—it was to pierce soldiers’ eardrums deaf. Those soldiers could only fight mechanically, fearless and unafraid. Once they discovered Tang troops using gunpowder, Goguryeo soldiers with pierced eardrums would immediately rush forward, launching suicide attacks. Many soldiers actually dared to run around carrying lit gunpowder packages. Although they themselves would be blown to pieces, such behavior greatly boosted Goguryeo morale.
Only the Lingnan fleet had equipment with gunpowder loaded onto crossbow bolts. Such weapons were invincible in naval warfare because they only needed to face wood. But facing the solid Anshi City, their use wasn’t great—only piling heaps of gunpowder at the base of the city walls would be effective.
Li Er dug tunnels, but it turned out Yang Wanchun had dug a very deep moat outside Anshi City before the war began. Li Er wanted to tunnel under the moat, but ended up digging into groundwater, drowning over a hundred Tang troops. He had no choice but to fight a conventional siege battle with Yang Wanchun in proper form.
The grand unification theory Li Er promoted wasn’t accepted by the Goguryeo people. Yang Wanchun had the common people of Anshi City stand on the city walls and curse Li Er. This was an humiliation Li Er had never suffered since ascending the throne. So he ordered the three armies that after breaking through Anshi City, they should leave no one alive. When this news reached Anshi City, even five-year-old children carried earth and stones to pile behind the city walls, preparing to build a second city wall. With no other choice, Li Er ordered Li Daozong to also construct an earthen mountain outside Anshi City. Once the earthen mountain was completed, cavalry could directly assault into the city and rapidly penetrate deep inside, thoroughly crushing the Goguryeo people’s fighting spirit.
Li Er’s luck was bad to the extreme. Li Daozong had painstakingly piled up a tall earthen mountain, but then a jinx named Fu Fu’ai went up to observe. As a result, the earthen mountain actually collapsed and even crushed a section of Anshi City’s wall. For some unknown reason, Fu Fu’ai not only failed to seize the opportunity to lead his subordinates in attacking the city, but actually ran away. The entire earthen mountain became a new salient point for Anshi City. Yang Wanchun exploited this earthen mountain’s function to the fullest—harassment, surprise attacks, spreading rumors, using every means possible.
To atone for his errors, Li Daozong personally led teams in frenzied attacks for three days and nights but still couldn’t capture the earthen mountain. When Li Er saw the barefoot, wound-covered Li Daozong, he had no choice but to order a halt to the attacks and seek other strategies.
Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun were continuously gathering troops, preparing to rescue Anshi City. The Tang army was also extremely exhausted. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before they withdrew back to their country.
Shaking his head, Yun Ye said to Zhang Liang: “With the battle fought to this point, there’s absolutely no reason to rashly withdraw. One punch can’t kill someone, so the next punch can? Great Tang is conducting a distant campaign. Each campaign exhausts the people and drains wealth. We gain no replenishment from Goguryeo. Continuing like this, we’ll quickly squander the foundation the state has accumulated these years. The Nine Provinces are at peace, with only this one corner lacking. His Majesty’s statement is correct—this is the last piece of our Chinese land being trampled by others. How can we not take it back? Although Anshi City is solid, it’s not without methods to breach it. Shields exist to be pierced by spears.”
“What’s your plan?” Zhang Liang asked Yun Ye while picking his teeth. Being a dead pig now, standing outside the affair, he could naturally be carefree.
“I don’t know yet. I heard Yang Wanchun wants to cook and eat me. I want to go see Anshi City and see whether this fellow can actually eat me. I want to personally go ask him.”
Zhang Liang clapped his hands and laughed heartily, saying: “Perfect! This old man also wants to go to Anshi and ask His Majesty—this old man avenged his entire family, what wrong is there in that? Although I killed many Goguryeo people, this is war. Life and death are like falling leaves drifting—who cares? Yang Wengan didn’t prepare himself and was ambushed by the enemy—how can that be blamed on this old man? Wang Jun’e was born with the face of a dead man. Going onto the battlefield, one should be prepared to die in battle. This old man can forgo titles, can forgo fiefdoms—I only want to seek justice for my entire family. What wrong has this old man committed?”