Chapter 82

Attacking the capital city of Goguryeo was undoubtedly a bold and疯狂的计划。

Li Yuncun and Sun Zengyou exchanged glances, but they saw the faint possibility in it.

Luo Shixin whispered, "To win with fewer troops, the key lies in taking them by surprise. Gao Huizhen is already on guard against your rescue attempt, and no matter how well you plan, it's hard to erase their decisive advantage. On the contrary, attacking the capital city can catch them off guard, giving us three major advantages in a difficult situation."

"First..." Luo Shixin raised a finger, "The capital city is one of the few commercial centers of Goguryeo, with thousands of people entering and leaving daily. We can easily sneak in with weapons without anyone noticing."

"Second..." Luo Shixin raised a second finger and shook it, "The capital city is at the heart of Goguryeo, surrounded by strategic fortresses, making it virtually immune to external threats. The defenses are likely to be lax, and most of the troops are training in their respective camps, not participating in the defense. If you consider that tens of thousands of troops are divided into patrols, gate guards, guards at the general's residence, and those training in the camps, how can they gather quickly in a short time? As long as we act swiftly and fiercely, we can gain a numerical advantage."

"Third... Attacking with a clear purpose against an unprepared enemy will be the soul of the army! We can seize the opportunity when the enemy general is not in the camp, launch a decapitation strike, and then capture the city. This will cause chaos among the enemy troops, significantly weakening their combat effectiveness."

"With these three advantages, taking the capital city is not just talk. Even if we fail, we can retreat gracefully due to their lack of preparation, without being completely annihilated." Luo Shixin raised a finger for each point, and at the end, he clenched his fist and said, "If this still fails, we can only give up. We will have done what we should, and if it doesn't succeed, there's nothing we can do."

"I agree!" Li Yuncun said first, "Such a bold plan, even we didn't expect it. How could a mere old dog like Gao Huizhen be prepared? Once we take the capital city, we'll wait for him to cry. By the way, we can set up a decoy, sending more scouts to follow Gao Huizhen, making it look like we are fully focused on the rescue. This might make Gao Huizhen withdraw some troops from the capital city, weakening its defenses."

"Not maybe, but definitely!" Sun Zengyou nodded, "Have you forgotten that at the end of last year, the princess of Silla sent someone to Taibai Mountain, offering high office and rich rewards to your uncle to defect to Silla, which he firmly refused. If we spread the rumor that we have surrendered to Silla and that Silla might send troops to help, do you think Gao Huizhen would dare not reinforce the defenses?"

"Brilliant!" Li Yuncun exclaimed in approval.

Luo Shixin, looking at Li Yuncun and Sun Zengyou who were complementing each other, secretly praised, "They are all talents..." Then he felt a deep sigh, thinking, "Emperor Yang Guang had the most stable foundation, the fullest treasury, and the best civil and military officials, yet he was overthrown in the second generation, which is truly regrettable."

Sun Zengyou continued, "General, this plan is feasible. I will immediately investigate the current situation in the capital city, and Yuncun, you should go up the mountain and inform your second uncle to prepare for the phased infiltration into the capital city."

"I will enter the city first to check the situation and make preparations to help you capture the capital city." Luo Shixin also stated his destination after they had finalized everything.

Li Yuncun and Sun Zengyou exchanged glances and bowed deeply, "We will always remember the great kindness of the General."

Luo Shixin smiled and waved, "I am helping you, but also helping myself. We are all countrymen, so why be so formal here?"

Countrymen!

Li Yuncun and Sun Zengyou each felt a deep emotion. For them, these two simple words carried a weight of a thousand pounds.

After leaving the tavern, Luo Shixin, Pei Qingyi, and Qi Hua left the house and headed for the capital city, with the woman looking back with a lingering expression.

The capital city was not far from the small village. The three of them rode for two hours and reached the city walls.

Luo Shixin gazed at the capital city, which was irregularly square-shaped, with the southern wall curving like the six stars of the Southern Dipper and the northern wall curving like the seven stars of the Big Dipper. The city walls had three gates on each side, making it quite magnificent.

It was nearly dusk, and there were very few people entering the city, so there was no queue. The three of them paid the entry tax and easily entered the city.

"This..." Luo Shixin had a feeling when he looked at the capital city from outside, and it was even stronger once he entered.

The main streets inside the city were connected to the city gates. There were eight main streets, intersecting each other, with water ditches dividing the roads into three lanes. Various trees, such as pines and cypresses, lined the roads, providing dense shade.

"Is this a copy of Han Chang'an?" Luo Shixin had visited the ruins of Han Chang'an, which, after a thousand years, no longer existed in its former glory, but the traces of the streets still showed its former grandeur, so he immediately noticed the difference.

Qi Hua said, "Goguryeo is openly hostile to us, but secretly imitates us. This capital city is built according to the scale of Han Chang'an. It is said that the king of Goguryeo plans to rebuild Pyongyang, this time imitating our Tang Chang'an."

Luo Shixin sneered, "Just a poor imitation. Brother, lead the way to the most luxurious inn. Let's take this opportunity to rest well."

Qi Hua agreed happily and walked down the main street without hesitation, showing his familiarity.

After passing a long street, Luo Shixin saw a large signboard in the distance, with four large Chinese characters: "Yingbin Inn."

There was no need to say that this was their destination.

In Goguryeo, having a signboard with Chinese characters was not an easy feat.

As they approached the inn, Luo Shixin's brows furrowed. His overly sensitive ears were not a good thing.

All kinds of sounds entered his ears, most of which were in Chinese, but the heavily accented and poorly spoken Chinese was almost an insult to the language.

It seemed that this was not only an inn with a Chinese signboard but also a gathering place for the upper class.

The so-called upper class people were proudly speaking "Chinese" to show their nobility and education.

The three of them could not stand this feeling, so they took two rooms and went upstairs together.

As they reached the corner of the stairs, a green shadow fell from above.

Luo Shixin, with his quick reflexes, reached out and firmly grabbed the shadow.

"Ah!"

The green shadow turned out to be an extremely handsome young man. He had rushed down the stairs and, upon seeing someone, couldn't stop in time. Luo Shixin had to lift him to prevent him from colliding and getting hurt.

However, upon closer inspection, Luo Shixin realized that this handsome young man was actually a woman in disguise.

At the corner, another person hurried down the stairs. It was a young man in fine clothing, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a fair complexion and a strikingly handsome face, even more beautiful than the celestial child. He looked very similar to the handsome young man, and he was also a woman in disguise.