Chapter 160 Changes
The King of Goguryeo came back exhausted from court, and his younger brother Gao Jianwu followed behind him with a gloomy face. After Gao Yuan sat down, Gao Jianwu could not help but said, "Royal brother, why do you have to endure those old bastards!"

"What do you want?"

"Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. As long as the emperor gives the order, I will go and capture Chen Shi Baizhe. If they dare to disobey, I will kill them immediately and take back the military power!"

"and then?"

Gao Jianwu was stunned and stammered: "Of course... I will lead the troops to defend. Their army has already retreated. As long as... as long as we can repel the Sui army outside Pyongyang..."

"What about next year? What if Yang Guang continues to send troops to attack us next year?"

Gao Jianwu was silent for a moment: "The Sui Dynasty wants us to be bigger, but no matter how big our family business is, it will not last long with the Sui Emperor's expedition. Now it depends on who can hold on longer. Brother, we have persisted for so long, we are not afraid of another two years!"

Gao Yuan smiled with relief. Although his younger brother was cruel and vicious to outsiders, he had been loyal to him for so many years.

"We can't hold on any longer. Internal and external troubles are coming at the same time. If you want to preserve the prosperity of Goguryeo, then I must die. This will both quell the external troubles and resolve the internal troubles."

Gao Jianwu's expression changed drastically: "No, my brother, it's not that bad yet!"

"Outside, Silla, Baekje, Mohe, Khitan, and Shiwei, the countries we originally hoped to nibble at, have seen our weakness and have begun to think about sending troops to counterattack us.

Inside, the noble families have suffered heavy casualties, and there must be an explanation, otherwise they will overthrow our Gao family without waiting for outsiders to come."

Under his brother's expectant gaze, Gao Jianwu asked, "How can we resolve the external threat?"

This was to acquiesce that Gao Yuan was going to die. Gao Yuan said cheerfully: "I am one with the world. The Sui Dynasty is conquering us. It doesn't mean that I don't respect the Sui Emperor. If I respect the Sui Emperor, this matter can be resolved. I am more humble than the former Turkic Qimin Khan. For the sake of my Gao family's great cause, what does it matter if I imitate Gou Jian?

The Sui Dynasty conquered us only because we were too strong, which had already affected the Sui Dynasty's status, so they had to force us to submit. Since we really couldn't defeat them nor outlast them, we had to show weakness and surrender.

As long as this is the case, the Sui Dynasty will not sit back and watch us being annexed and another Goguryeo rising. As long as they don't want to face that crazy Sui Emperor, neither the Mohe, Khitan, or Shiwei will dare to do anything to us."

Gao Jianwu looked sad: "Can't my Goguryeo have the luck to dominate the world?"

Gao Yuan was very calm: "We have tried and it didn't work. Our ancestors and descendants can't blame us. At present, the most important thing is to protect our Gao family's ancestral temple and country.

"Jianwu, you go to Liaodong City. We also need noble relatives in the Great Sui Dynasty to speak for us. You must carefully consider selling this good head of mine at a high price."

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

Outside Liaodong City, Zhang Huli also led his troops and horses to the camp with his confidants. Outside the camp, Luo Yi was hesitant and conflicted. Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao had both gone in, but no one called him.

But it seemed that no one stopped him from entering the tent. The familiar general's tent now felt to him like a den of dragons and tigers. There were treasures in it, but also huge dangers.

Luo Yi thought a lot and kept reminding himself that it would never go wrong to stay within the law. However, his legs and feet seemed to have their own ideas and he walked straight in.

As expected, he received everyone's attention. In the dead silence, Luo Yi wanted to find a military report to make, but he couldn't say the words.

Li Jiancheng looked at them for a while and said, "Okay, we are all family. Zi Yan, sit down." Zi Yan was Luo Yi's courtesy name. It was the first time he heard Li Jiancheng call him by his courtesy name, and he felt relieved immediately.

Zhang Huli continued, "Goguryeo's Grand Minister Baizhe hopes that we can withdraw our troops and allow him to transfer the troops in Liaodong City back to Pyongyang. He is willing to offer Gao Yuan's head and accept the emperor's title and pay tribute."

I heard the good news as soon as I arrived. No matter whether I want to reach an agreement with that great minister or not, it doesn't prevent me from pretending to be nice and occupy Liaodong City first!
Li Jiancheng shook his head: "It's a delaying tactic. As far as I know, the commander of Liaodong City is a member of the royal family of Goguryeo, loyal to Gao Yuan, and not a Baizhe man."

"Why not give it a try and let the Liaodong defenders leave?"

Wang Long, the former counselor of the King of Qi, said: "It is not appropriate. We only have 30,000 soldiers. Even if we include General Zhang's soldiers, there are 60,000 to 70,000 people. It is not a small number, but most of them are cavalry, and we are not good at attacking or defending a city.

If the Liaodong City defenders who were released do not return to Pyongyang to kill Gao Yuan, but instead attack Lai Huer from behind, then we will have no choice but to withdraw our troops."

Li Jiancheng waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to talk about it for now. Everyone shut up and waited silently for his instructions.

After waiting for a long time, I only heard one sentence: "Wait and see."

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

The emperor returned to Chang'an to dispatch troops, promoted Zhang Xutuo and others, and ordered them to wipe out the bandits in the world as soon as possible.

But the emperor really didn't like Chang'an, and there was no good news from Li Jiancheng to Huer. What came every day were reports from various counties requesting troops and food.

The emperor was upset and decided to tour the Eastern Capital again. He also took the opportunity to take his army to the Turks as he had done in the past, so that the new Khan, who was not very peaceful and respectful, could know what the majesty of an emperor was.

The emperor repeatedly asked Shibi Khan to send troops to attack Goguryeo, but he did not even send a single horse and was extremely disrespectful to the court envoys.

Therefore, Yang Guang felt that since the Goguryeo issue had been resolved, he had to intimidate the Turks so that he could feel at ease and stabilize the internal troubles.

But the court officials could not bear it, and regardless of the threats from Yuwen Shu and others, they wept and advised: "The people are exhausted from the previous campaign against Liao. Your Majesty should pacify the interior of the country and let the people work hard on farming. In three to five years, when the country is slightly prosperous, then you can inspect the province. That will be the best way!"

But if the emperor could understand the difficulties faced by court officials and the people, the world would not have reached its current situation. At the emperor's instruction, Yuwen Shu and others started another major purge.

In the past, being an official in Beijing was considered prestigious, but now things have changed. Everyone is seeking to be transferred to other places, even if it is to a lower rank or two, as long as they are as far away from the emperor as possible, and it would be best if they never have to see him again in this life.

The emperor returned to his Eastern Capital as he wished, and enjoyed the Western Garden built for him by Yang Su and others. He became more and more fond of drinking, and would not stop until he was unconscious. Anyone who dared to stop him would be punished.

Only Empress Xiao still remained somewhat respectable, but gradually, the emperor no longer wanted to see her.

The emperor's face, which was originally as handsome as a god, was gradually eroded by alcohol and sex, and became as dull as a precious jade covered with dust. Some officials who had not seen the emperor for a year or two and rushed from other places to meet him in person could hardly recognize him.

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

　Happy New Year o(^▽^)o
　　I hope everyone is healthy, safe and prosperous!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)