Chapter 117 Defeat
It was precisely because of the defects of the military system that Yuwen Shu and others suffered a crushing defeat. When they were crossing the Sa River, they were ambushed from behind by Goguryeo, and the soldiers, who were already morale-destabilized due to lack of food, were defeated.

Originally, after Yuwen Shu and Yu Zhongwen let Yiji Wende escape, they had planned to withdraw their troops. However, Goguryeo cheated them and gave them seven consecutive victories. There was no reason for them to withdraw their troops when they were winning. The envoy to accept the surrender, Liu Shilong, also refused to agree.

Helplessly, they fought to the outskirts of Pyongyang. Although the food and grass had not been exhausted, they were indeed running low. Just when they were hesitating whether to fight to the death and attack the city, Goguryeo sent an envoy to say that they would surrender if they withdrew their troops.

No one could resist the surrendering Goguryeo people, and no one dared to refuse to accept the surrender, so they withdrew their troops. As expected, Goguryeo went back on its word and attacked them halfway.

General Xin Shixiong of Youtunwei was killed in the battle. Fortunately, Wang Rengong led his personal troops to defend the country at the risk of their lives and intercepted the Goguryeo army. However, this army was no longer able to fight.

When Yuwen Shu and his men fled back to the emperor, only 2,700 people were left out of the nine armies of more than 300,000.

Of course not all of them died. The more than 2,000 people were officers and soldiers on horseback. Yuwen Shu and others were afraid of death, so after hastily crossing the Sa River, they did not summon their soldiers at all. Instead, they mounted their horses and fled all the way back. Naturally, those with two legs could not catch up with those with four legs.

Not only were the soldiers left behind, but also a huge amount of supplies and equipment were lost.

The emperor was furious and had all the military officers above the sixth rank among the more than 2,000 people shackled and detained, and the envoys who had been so majestic to accept the surrender were all beheaded as a public display.

But this could not save His Majesty's face. Yang Xuangan and Li Jiancheng silently bowed their heads and stood below with the others, listening to the emperor's curses and threats.

In fact, the emperor still has 700,000 to 800,000 troops at his disposal. Apart from anything else, it will be no problem to capture Liaodong City before the rainy season arrives.

But the emperor had obviously lost his patience. He wanted to withdraw his troops and come back next year!
Yang Guang still looked down on Goguryeo, thinking that this defeat was only due to a slight flaw in the strategy and the fact that his soldiers were all good-for-nothings, which allowed them to escape by trickery and survive. He would wait until next year to avenge today's shame.

Yes, it was a shame. The Western Turks and Gaochang Kingdom were made a laughing stock of themselves. The emperor's majesty was also tarnished. It was a great shame!
.........

Li Jiancheng said helplessly: "You really overestimate Jiancheng. Your Majesty is furious now, and I dare not go to plead for mercy."

Right Imperial Guard General Zhang Jin bowed and said, "Of course not now. I only hope that you can say a few good words for us when Your Majesty is in a good mood. This battle...ah, it is indeed not our fault."

These generals have now been demoted and become common people. A real man cannot be without power for a day, and this is especially true for those faction leaders in the army. So they asked for help from people everywhere, and today they came to Li Jiancheng.

General Jing Yuanheng of the Left Guard said angrily: "If I were to lead the army alone, I would not be able to defeat Goguryeo, and I would not cry out for injustice even if I was cut into pieces. Now, humph!"

"Brother Jing!" Another general stopped him and said, "Misfortune comes from the mouth. You have said too much these days."

"I have already been demoted to a commoner, do you still want to kill me?"

Li Jiancheng tried to smooth things over: "Don't worry, everyone. When we return to Zhuo County, I will persuade Your Majesty to reinstate you."

Several people's faces did not relax when they heard this. Their positions were very prominent, and many people were eyeing them covetously. If they did not sit back, they would be worried for the whole day.

And the rest of the people they asked got the same answer, which was really hard to believe.

Li Jiancheng was also very interested in these people, so he said, "In fact, there is another plan, I don't know if I should tell you." "Sir, just speak frankly. Whether it is useful or not, we can only be grateful."

"If the blame for the defeat is concentrated on one person, the others may be safe. Li Jiancheng said meaningfully: "It's better than everyone being punished together."

Sacrifice the rook to save the king. Several people looked at each other, their eyes brightened slightly. Yes, if they throw one out to let His Majesty vent his anger, things will not be settled.

They wanted to talk more, but Li Jiancheng had no intention of getting involved any further, so he stood up and sent them away.

When the army returned to the territory of the Sui Dynasty, Li Jiancheng's strategy was obviously effective. Several generals were reinstated, but the one who was abandoned was not Yuwen Shu.

Instead, it was Yu Zhongwen, the former General of the Right Guard. Apparently, everyone knew that Yuwen Shu was favored by the emperor, so they chose Yu Zhongwen, who was indeed at fault.

Yu Zhongwen naturally refused to accept the blame, but all the generals blamed him for the defeat. How could an arm twist a thigh? He could only plead guilty in anger.

After returning to Zhuo County, the emperor immediately issued an order to the counties to transport millet and grain from the warehouses in Liyang, Luoyang, Luokou, Taiyuan and other places to Zhuo County, and then from Zhuo County to Wanghaidun in Liaoxi.

It was obvious that he wanted to wait until the spring to attack Goguryeo again. The close ministers and generals were not surprised at all, but the local officials and officials who stayed in Chang'an and the Eastern Capital could not stand it.

God knows how difficult it was for them to maintain the Sui Dynasty when the emperor led a million troops to fight in person and they had no soldiers or food.

So they wrote letters of advice one after another, no longer caring about the emperor's mood. At this time, the Sui Dynasty was not only plagued by frequent banditry, but also by severe droughts and epidemics in Shandong and other places. How could they continue to waste money and food on wars?

Li Jiancheng also received many private letters, some from old friends and some from scholars and officials he had never met. In short, they all meant the same thing, hoping that he would go and advise the emperor.

To be fair, Li Jiancheng did not want to go, because the emperor would not listen to him, but he had to go. Reputation is a double-edged sword. He had enjoyed the convenience in the past, but now he had to bear its sharpness.

So at the court meeting in the Linshuo Palace, after several other high-ranking officials who were also well-known throughout the world had made their reports, Li Jiancheng stepped out of the line and bowed, saying: "Things have priorities and urgency. I think the most urgent task is to suppress the rebellion and pacify the people, while we can wait for a good opportunity to attack Goguryeo."

Yang Guang said coldly, "Are you going to watch these barbarians humiliate your king and father?"

Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment and then said: "The barbarians were disrespectful, which is my fault. However, a crossbow with a thousand pounds of force would not be fired by a mouse. How can you personally humiliate a thousand chariots to fight a small bandit?
"But if the emperor humiliates me, I will die. I have received the emperor's grace for a long time. I now swear to help your majesty to pacify Goguryeo. If I fail to do so, my ancestors will despise me and I will become a lonely ghost after my death!"

Everyone present was so shocked that they were speechless. Everyone could discuss the matter, but was there any need to be so harsh?

Yang Guang pointed at Li Jiancheng and said, "If you have such a heart to serve the country and the emperor, how dare the Goguryeo not respect me?"

...............

(End of this chapter)