Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

The arrival of Wang Hanzhang not only meant that the Wang family of Taiyuan officially became an ally of His Majesty the King of Chu, but also meant that they were about to embark on a journey to Goguryeo.

Three days later, outside Yingzhou City.

“Your Highness, the first caravan entering Goguryeo will have about 300 people, 20% of whom are the shopkeepers and clerks of my Wang family. The rest can be led by General Pei to serve as guards for the caravan, so as to conceal their whereabouts and facilitate a smooth crossing.” After receiving the instruction from His Highness the King of Chu, Wang Hanzhang began to plan carefully the relevant matters regarding the crossing of personnel. Under his arrangement, the more than 800 troops under the command of His Highness the King of Chu needed to enter Goguryeo in three batches, which was the safest way.

"Han Zhang, you did a great job." His Royal Highness the King of Chu looked at the long procession of horses, and he seemed to be unable to suppress a certain desire in his heart: "I heard that the capital of Goguryeo was also called Chang'an City (King Pingyuan moved the capital here in 583 AD). Tell me, these bastards have put their ambitions on the table. Can I still tolerate it?"

"That's right, Kuan'er, I can't stand it!" Just when His Royal Highness the King of Chu was about to tell Wang Hanzhang what was in his heart, Li Huairen suddenly popped up and said, "Kuan'er, if you ask me, although we can't attack our own Chang'an City, attacking Goguryeo's Chang'an City is a great achievement, you see..."

"Shut up!" It's not that His Royal Highness the King of Chu is fickle, but Li Huairen, this hot-headed fellow, was aiming for his father's title as soon as he opened his mouth: "If this word gets back to Chang'an, your father's title of Prince of Hejian will probably be demoted to Duke of Hejian, and this is still considered a light punishment!"

"Anyway, my father's title won't be passed on to me, so why should I worry about that?" Li Huairen curled his lips when he heard that - if only his father wasn't so partial... forget it, he would have accepted his fate long ago, why bother with all this.

"That's right," His Royal Highness the King of Chu raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "Then you should try your best to gain more military merits in Goguryeo this time, so that your father will look at you with new eyes in the future."

"Brother Kuan, this is not important." Li Huairen shook his head: "What's important is that I don't need my father to look up to me in the future."

"You kid..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu really didn't know how to reply to Li Huairen.

"Your Highness, it's getting late. Shall we set off as soon as possible?" At this time, Wang Hanzhang on the side suddenly said, "It will take at least half a month to get from Yingzhou to the capital of Goguryeo. Now the weather is getting cooler and it is the autumn harvest season in Goguryeo. At this time, the customs inspections in various places will become stricter. Because they need to resist the attack of the Central Plains Dynasty, the king of Goguryeo will set up various taxes in order to maintain the huge military expenditure. So at this time every year, there are always Goguryeo people who can't pay taxes and leave their hometown and start exile. Some even go to Silla and Baekje..."

"I have read what you said in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Wei Zhi. The Chronicle of Goguryeo." His Royal Highness the King of Chu nodded and said, "But that was the situation of Goguryeo hundreds of years ago... I think... Goguryeo has been able to survive until now, it can't always be like this, right?"

"Cao Wei and Goguryeo fought two wars, so the situation of Goguryeo at that time became what you see in the book. But when the later Central Plains dynasties experienced various turmoil and were still unable to take care of themselves, they were given a chance to breathe. When Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goguryeo for the third time, this pressure returned to Goguryeo, even heavier than before. When the former Sui Dynasty fell, the King of Goguryeo had just restored benevolent rule not long ago, and the Tang Dynasty had you, the King of Chu, who won the world-shocking Battle of Jinshan when no one was optimistic about it. After that, everyone in Goguryeo knew that you were going to take action against Goguryeo next, and you can imagine the pressure they were under..."

"Is that so..." His Royal Highness the King of Chu nodded thoughtfully after hearing this: "Alas, Hanzhang, after hearing what you said, I suddenly feel that the burden on my shoulders has become heavier - I must destroy Goguryeo as soon as possible, otherwise the people of Goguryeo will suffer while they are still alive."

"Ahem..." Wang Hanzhang couldn't help but cough twice after listening to His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu's fresh and unconventional remarks. He then gave him a thumbs up and said, "Your Highness is still far-sighted."

"Of course not." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu raised his head proudly when he heard this: "My grandmother has praised me for my intelligence since I was a child."

"..." When His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu said this, the people around him smiled bitterly and shook their heads. No one dared to refute this.

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Speechless all the way.

Half a month later, outside the capital of Goguryeo.

"Your Highness, we are here." Yuan Tiangang looked at the tall city wall in front of him and said with some emotion: "It is really not easy to come this far."

"It's not easy at all." Ever since His Royal Highness the King of Chu passed through the border and saw the Jingguans that were either on the roadside, in the wilderness, or under the walls of the Goguryeo city, he wanted to chop people down.

And now, before entering the Goguryeo capital, he still has one thing to do.

"Yuwen Qing, do you have any more wine?" His Royal Highness the King of Chu stretched out his hand, and soon, Yuwen Qing tacitly handed the wine jug at his waist to his own patriarch.

"Your Highness, I will go with you." As a former general of the Sui Dynasty, Pei Xingyan regarded these former Sui soldiers who were hastily buried under a thin layer of loess as his comrades, but also as a blood feud that was so strong that it could not be dissolved.

"Brother Kuan, I'll accompany you too." Seeing this, Li Huairen, Cheng Chumo, Hou Yun, Fang Yiai and others followed.

So, Pei Xingyan, Yuwen Qing, Jiang Sheng, Wang Hanzhang, Wang Xuance, and a group of brothers of His Royal Highness the King of Chu immediately followed His Royal Highness the King of Chu and left the team entering the city. They accompanied him to the White Bone Temple a few hundred meters away, and then began to pay tribute to the soldiers of the previous dynasty.

"What are you doing?" - At this moment, a patrol team not far away spotted them. Then, the leading captain shouted coldly at Li Kuan and his men, "From the Central Plains? Get out of here!"

"Everyone, one day, I will take you home." His Royal Highness the King of Chu poured the wine on the ground: "Before I leave this capital, I will definitely come back to see you again."

"Your Highness, do you want to kill them?" Pei Xingyan saw that the soldier was actually planning to rush forward and couldn't help but move his wrist.

"Kill them!" Hou Yun and Fang Yiai had already placed their hands on the daggers at their waists, and while speaking, they were thinking about taking action.

"Everyone, be quiet! A little impatience can ruin a big plan!" His Royal Highness the King of Chu had already made a decision in his mind at this moment: "Jiang Sheng, send them away." (Note 1)