Chapter 78 Breaking Through with Bloodshed

“Gao Huizhen?”

Li Kong’s mind went blank for a moment.

Gao Huizhen was not a particularly famous figure in history—perhaps his only noteworthy title was that of Southern Nusa. Even so, his abilities were slightly inferior to those of Gao Yanshou, and so in the annals of history, he was merely brushed over in passing.

But today, Li Kong overturned that judgment. Gao Huizhen’s command of troops was beyond question—indeed, perhaps even superior to Gao Yanshou by a hair. Why, then, had his name failed to be recorded for posterity?

These muddled thoughts circled through Li Kong’s mind before he unceremoniously cast them aside. There were still two thousand cavalrymen left inside the city—one thousand assigned to cover the retreat, one thousand tasked with burning the supplies. He had to deal with Gao Huizhen before these two thousand completed their tasks. Otherwise, if the Goguryeo forces in Jicheng responded, their subsequent operations would become infinitely more difficult.

“So, you are the son of the Southern Nusa? In that case, do you dare to face me in single combat?” Li Kong fixed Gao Huizhen with a cold stare, leveled his spear, and issued his challenge in a loud, provocative voice.

Gao Huizhen sneered. Within the city, he had already gained a direct sense of Li Kong’s martial prowess. Although he himself was no stranger to the art of war and could be counted among the elite in Goguryeo, he knew he was no match for Li Kong.

Thus, faced with Li Kong’s taunt, he merely raised his hand slowly, then waved it forward. Instantly, all the cavalrymen behind him drew their weapons.

Confronted with Gao Huizhen’s refusal to engage, Li Kong fell silent for the first time. They were still in the city; the gate could admit no more than ten men at a time. Yet Gao Huizhen’s force was only twenty paces from the gate—if they attempted to exit, they would be cut down immediately. It was an impossible distance to overcome.

He was left with two options. The first was to withdraw from Shanhai Pass by the same route they had come, though there were still one thousand Goguryeo infantry holding the city. But Li Kong did not regard them as a serious threat; he could deal with them in less than an hour.

The second option was to fight their way out from here and ride straight for Liaodong.

The latter carried greater risk, but by leaving behind only three hundred men to hold Gao Huizhen at bay, he could continue his mission. Yet this would hamper his future operations.

Above all, he could not be sure whether the other Goguryeo units already knew of his presence. If he failed to eliminate Gao Huizhen, his so-called operations behind enemy lines would be utterly compromised.

In his previous life, it had seemed easy for one anti-Japanese base after another to be established, but that was only because they had the support of the people. Liaodong had been abandoned by the Sui for nearly thirty years, then by the Tang for another ten. While the Han people here had not been wholly enslaved, there was little reason to believe they retained any trust in outsiders.

Under such circumstances, with less than five thousand cavalry, the idea of contending with nearly a hundred thousand Goguryeo troops was pure fantasy.

Thus, his only choice was to fight his way out.

One side dared not enter, the other could not exit, and so the standoff lasted for almost half an hour. Only when fires broke out all over the city did Li Kong finally steel his expression and call out, “All men, hear my command! Follow me—break out!”

“General…” a deputy tried to stop him in surprise, but Li Kong had already charged out with more than a dozen of his personal guards.

The deputy had no choice but to lead his men in a rapid assault, seeking to widen the space outside the gate and make room for more to escape.

After nearly half an hour’s rest, Li Kong’s strength had recovered to ninety percent—this was his confidence in daring to make the charge. Moreover, his personal guards were all handpicked by Li Shimin, each one a match for an officer. Li Kong was confident he could hold out for at least a quarter of an hour; as for what came after, it would be left to fate.

Seeing Li Kong break out, Gao Huizhen’s eyes narrowed. He shouted, “All troops, attack! Block them!”

“Kill!” Li Kong roared, toppling three enemy cavalry with a single thrust, then spurred his horse into the enemy ranks. His personal guards followed closely, widening the space around him with each cut, felling enemy soldiers from their saddles.

With the deputy and others joining the fray, a small gap appeared in the Goguryeo formation—enough to declare their interception plan a failure.

But only about two hundred men had managed to exit the gate, and faced with attacks from a thousand enemies, they seemed to falter. Gao Huizhen’s men pressed hard in front, making it ever harder to gain more space.

Watching Li Kong battle furiously within the ranks, Gao Huizhen let a cold smile play on his lips. He raised his hand again, and from the darkness another thousand men surged forth, attacking the gate from three directions with bloodcurdling shouts.

“General, it’s hopeless! We must retreat into the city and reassess!” the deputy called, hacking down several Goguryeo soldiers to reach Li Kong’s side.

Li Kong’s expression barely changed. His eyes remained fixed on Gao Huizhen—this man’s capabilities had far exceeded his expectations. He was even more difficult to deal with than Gao Yanshou; too steady, reminiscent of Li Jing.

“Have the cavalry inside the city dismount and fire into the enemy formation!” Li Kong ordered after a moment’s thought.

The deputy’s eyes lit up, but before he could carry out the command, a large number of silhouettes appeared atop the city wall—arrows already nocked and drawn, raining down on Gao Huizhen’s formation.

“Enemy general below the wall, if you do not surrender now, when will you?” a deep, thunderous voice boomed out. Gao Huizhen felt as if his heart had plunged from heaven to hell.

With a furious cry, he struck his horse’s neck and bellowed, “A fatal mistake—I completely forgot the city walls!”

In truth, it was not only he who had forgotten—even Li Kong had nearly overlooked them. If he had not seen no hope of breaking out, he would not have paid attention to his surroundings, nor noticed the advantage the walls now afforded.

Fortunately, when Gao Huizhen led his troops out, he had withdrawn all the defenders from within the city. Now, Shanhai Pass was essentially under Tang control—a stroke of luck for Li Kong.

With the enemy’s morale faltering, Li Kong seized the moment. “All men, hear my command—attack!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Hundreds of cavalrymen responded as one, their assault intensifying.

On one side, morale soared and killing intent was palpable; on the other, the formation collapsed and spirits plummeted—the balance of power was instantly reversed. In less than the time it took to sip a cup of tea, nearly a thousand Tang soldiers had broken through, while the Goguryeo lines were shattered. Hundreds of Tang troops, swift and decisive, turned and surrounded the enemy formation—including Gao Huizhen himself. By the time they realized what had happened, the opportunity was lost.

…

Meanwhile, the smoke rising from Shanhai Pass spread news of the battle across several hundred miles. Scattered Goguryeo forces in the vicinity reacted at once, surging toward Shanhai Pass…