Chapter 162 Pyongyang
After that day, there was no news for several days, but Li Jiancheng did not rush to ask for help. He always gave Gao some time to discuss the matter.

However, Li Jiancheng also made preparations for a large-scale siege. The siege equipment was piled not far from Liaodong City. Although there was no siege, the meaning was clear.

In fact, Goguryeo did not understand the situation in the Central Plains. Seeing that Yang Guang had not ceased fighting for three consecutive years, they thought that the Sui Dynasty still had spare strength. After all, no matter how ambitious they were, they had to admit that they envied the wealth and prosperity of the Central Plains.

In September, during another ordinary siege, the Sui army entered Liaodong City. This mighty city that had blocked the emperor's army of hundreds of thousands was finally captured.

There was no ambush in the city. The soldiers had all left, leaving only the civilians, and they were hungry. After Li Jiancheng entered the city, he immediately forcibly requisitioned food from the wealthy and powerful families. Anyone who violated the rules would be executed along with their entire family.

Unexpectedly, the amount was so large that it had obviously come to this point. They would rather keep enough food for themselves to eat for several years than give any to the soldiers in the city.

These wealthy families were all prominent in Goguryeo, but their network of connections did not extend to Li Jiancheng, so they fell into famine like the rest of the people.

Li Jiancheng also didn't want an empty city. After destroying the original order in the city, he began to arrange people to set up porridge stalls to provide relief and build a new order.

When there is no need to worry about anything, things will be quite easy and simple. No one will impeach Li Jiancheng, and no great scholar will speak up for the Goguryeo people. The truth is under the sword.

Leaving Qin Shubao and Wang Long to guard Liaodong City, Li Jiancheng led an army of 40,000 straight to Pyongyang, but the speed was not fast. Occasionally, when encountering heavy rain, they would stop for two days.

Lai Huer, who received the news, did not urge him, but intensified the siege on his own. He did not want to share the credit with anyone else.

In Pyongyang, Gao Jianwu, who returned alone, said to his brother: "I have already arranged the troops of Liaodong City in a valley not far away. It is very secretive and the Sui people will not know about it.

"Brother, in my opinion, if we can really drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger, and let Li Jiancheng and Lai Huer fight each other, can we..."

Gao Yuan shook his head: "Even if tens of thousands of soldiers were killed, it would not hurt the Sui Dynasty at all. It would only make the Sui Emperor even angrier and lead his troops to attack again."

"We can only drink poison to quench our thirst. Why is God so cruel to our Gao family?"

Gao Yuan ignored his brother and thought for a long time before saying, "Li Jiancheng's side is more suitable. Your troops can also serve as a check and balance, so that he dare not go any further.

.........

When the news of Li Jiancheng's conquest of Liaodong City reached the Eastern Capital, the emperor was so delighted that he immediately issued an edict to commend him and promote him to a higher official position, without even drinking any wine. Fortunately, his ministers persuaded him to stop.

Not only the emperor, but also the civil and military officials were very excited. Finally, something good was going to happen. The city of Liaodong was broken, and Li Jiancheng and Lai Huer's troops would join hands to capture Pyongyang. Then they would return to the court and jointly rule the country with Zhang Xutuo to protect the country. Then there was still hope for the continuation of the Sui Dynasty.

But seeing his ministers behave like this, the emperor became unhappy again, and even developed a grudge against Li Jiancheng and Lai Huer. When I personally led the troops, they were all like incompetents.

When I'm not here, they're unstoppable. Does that mean I've delayed state affairs?
But the situation now is different from before. The emperor knows very well that it will take some time to re-establish his authority, so he is magnanimous and does not care about it, but he also does not want to stay in Luoyang.

This place is just like Chang'an, nothing goes as he wishes. After inspecting the northern border, he wants to go back to Jiangdu, which is where he feels at ease.

So he issued an order, just like the regulations in the past, that after the New Year he would go on a northern tour, and the Guanfengxingtai and other things should be prepared early, and they should be better than those in previous years! The Guanfengxingtai was easy to prepare, it was nothing more than being bigger and decorated with gold, silver and jewelry, but there was no way to gather a million soldiers and horses to accompany him.

Even 100,000 or 200,000 troops would be difficult, because there were rebellions everywhere in the country. It was easy for the court's troops to be dispersed, but it was difficult to call them back. Moreover, whether it was to be summoned or to be toured to the north, where would the food and grass come from?

Due to the drought in Shandong and Hebei, the imperial court did not have enough grain to provide relief. Although Lai Huer and Li Jiancheng had few troops, they were far away from the country at that time. Of the ten stones of grain transported there, at least seven or eight stones would be lost on the way.

The emperor was furious, but after killing six or seven officials, he still had no other solution. Yang Guang knew that there was really no other solution, and it was not the ministers who were provoking him, but he did not want to resolve such trivial matters, so he returned to the Western Garden and died drunkenly.

…………

No matter how slowly they arrived in Pyongyang, Lai Huer came to see them in person. After the greetings, they sat down. The two had known each other for a long time, and it had been more than ten years.

Lai Huer said frankly: "In the past two or three years, I have lost four sons, and another evil son is still missing. The rest are useless, so I would like to ask you, my lord, to let me take over Pyongyang."

Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment and then sighed, "Since you have spoken, how can I refuse? I will respond from outside the city and witness the great general's unparalleled military exploits!"

Lai Huer stood up and thanked him solemnly: "I will never forget this kindness and love. I will definitely help you, my dear."

Lai Huer thought that the fundamental conflict between the two had been resolved, so he relaxed quite a bit and even talked about his children's marriage.

"I heard that your Sanlang is quiet and elegant. After returning to the court, I would like to invite you to bring Sanlang to your house for a banquet."

It is obvious that they want to form an in-law relationship. The family of military honors has always been so simple and straightforward. Everything they say is false. Forming an in-law relationship first is more reliable than any promise.

Because everyone is watching, and even your in-laws are being harmed, who would dare to make friends with you? The other in-laws will also be wary. Everyone wants to pass down the family for thousands of years, so how can it be possible with just one family and one surname?

Of course Li Jiancheng would not refuse, since that day would never come anyway.

The old general, who was in high spirits, also treated his nephew with concern and said, "Jiancheng, you are a good person, but you still don't have any children. I know that the daughter of the Xiao family is noble, but your Li family is not bad either. You don't have to be afraid of her. When you go back, you can marry more concubines and have more children."

Li Jiancheng replied, "That's what I had planned, but my grandmother passed away. Although Your Majesty has appointed me to do this, I don't have to stay at home to observe mourning. However, due to the filial piety system, I am not allowed to have children within three years. I can't let my eldest son be cursed as soon as he is born."

Lai Huer was not a very disciplined person, so he whispered, "Then you should raise a few sons outside first. Anyway, they can't inherit the family business. Look at the natural disasters and man-made disasters. No matter how many sons you have, it will not be enough. While they are young, encourage them!"

Li Jiancheng bowed in response, and the two of them set up a banquet. Shan Xiongxin had also worked under Lai Huer, so everyone had a great time together. Lai Huer felt sorry that Qin Shubao didn't come.

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

(End of this chapter)