Xia Xia's warships were in the formation of a fishing net, advancing forward as if they were fishing. This was especially so for the formation of twenty warships, which spanned across the entire Datong River, making it impossible for the Goguryeon warships to avoid them.
This was Cui Guanglie's fishing net tactic.
He wanted to capture all of the Goguryeon warships in one fell swoop.
There were two main reasons why Cui Guanglie chose to use this tactic. First, Xia Xia's warships were sturdy enough. Once they collided with the Goguryeon warships, the Goguryeon warships would either be damaged or capsized. Second, Xia Xia's warships were fast enough. Once the two sides began a chase, the Goguryeon warships would be unable to avoid them.
Cui Guanglie stood on the deck of Jiaolong and gazed ahead. The twenty warships he was leading were still around two hundred steps away from the dozens of Goguryeon warships. Such a distance wouldn't take long for a warship traveling at full speed. Thus, when the Goguryeon warships crossed the river and charged forward, the Goguryeon warships were dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Xia Xia's warships weren't docking at all. Instead, they were charging straight at them.
At this moment, the soldiers on the Goguryeon warships were completely dumbfounded. In fact, they felt even more terrified.
"Shit, they're going to crash into us. "Shit!"
"Xia Xia's warships are going to crash into us!" "Run!"
"Run away, run away!" "Run!"
One by one, the Goguryeon soldiers began shouting. Their voices were filled with uncontrollable fear and panic. At this moment, everyone's hearts were filled with fear and unease. They were extremely worried.
The situation was far from good.
One by one, the Goguryeon warships quickly turned around and retreated.
They didn't dare to stay here any longer.
Even though they managed to open up some distance with their escape, the speed of the warships was simply too fast. Even though the Goguryeon warships managed to open up some distance between them, the distance between them and the Goguryeon warships was swiftly closing.
A hundred steps!
Eighty steps!
Sixty steps!
When the distance between them was reduced to less than forty steps, the soldiers on the Goguryeon warships began to panic. Unable to maintain their composure any longer, they began discussing with one another anxiously, their faces filled with panic.
On every warship, there were soldiers discussing.
Everyone on the warships was in a state of panic.
When the last warship was overtaken by Xia Xia's warship, which was chasing after it from behind, the last warship was caught up. The towering warship crushed the Goguryeon boats, causing them to capsize. The soldiers fell into the water, but the warship continued forward, crushing the Goguryeon soldiers to the bottom of the ship. They didn't even have the chance to get up.
After the first Goguryeon warship was struck, the second and third Goguryeon warships soon followed suit. It would have been better if the Goguryeon warships were knocked into the water, but those that were smashed to smithereens were even worse off.
This sight fell into the eyes of the Goguryeon soldiers.
Many people were even more panicked.
They all panicked.
Just a moment ago, they were only saying that they were about to be crushed, but in the blink of an eye, warships were being crushed one after another. Under such circumstances, the Goguryeon soldiers were even more flustered.
"Dive, dive and swim away. "
"If I had stayed on the boat, I would have been crushed to death immediately." "
"I'm jumping off the boat. "
As the Goguryeon soldiers discussed, a soldier jumped into the water. With the first person jumping into the water, the other Goguryeon soldiers quickly followed suit, abandoning the warship and jumping into the water.
After leaving the warship, they quickly swam away to avoid being crushed by the warship.
The Goguryeons on the river were in complete chaos.
Xia Xia's warship was still unstoppable.
When all the Goguryeon soldiers jumped into the water, all the warships were destroyed and capsized in the river. This sight fell into the eyes of Xia Xia's soldiers, and Xia Xia's soldiers on the northern shore immediately cheered.
Cheers rose and fell one after another.
Cheers filled the air.
The same sight fell into the eyes of the Goguryeon soldiers on the southern shore. All the Goguryeon soldiers were dumbfounded, and some of them even had looks of horror on their faces.
Xia Xia's warship was too powerful.
Was this the strength of Xia Xia?
The Celestial Empire was indeed different.
Yeon Gaesomun's expression froze, a deep sense of exhaustion appearing in the depths of his eyes. Yeon Gaesomun had originally held out a sliver of hope for this blockade on the river, but now, Yeon Gaesomun no longer had the slightest hope.
He had truly witnessed Xia Xia's strength.
Tyrannical beyond compare.
Whether it was in terms of weapons, equipment, or warships, they were all far superior to the Goguryeons.
At this moment, Yeon Gaesomun began to doubt whether he had really made the right choice in contending against Xia Xia. But as soon as this thought arose, Yeon Gaesomun suppressed it and regained his composure.
Song Yunde said, "Generally speaking, it will be very difficult for us to face Xia Xia's army head-on. This subject suggests that we withdraw from the Datong River and defend the pass in the rear. Then we can consider stopping Xia Xia's army. "
After a pause, Song Yunde continued, "On the Datong River, Xia Xia's warship is on the northern shore. Xia Xia's firearms are on the northern shore. If our soldiers try to stop them on the shore, they will be bombarded. Thus, for now, we should withdraw first and consider stopping them later. " "Yes."
Wang Xiangxiong's heart was still thumping non-stop because his heart was still shaken. His heart was frightened by the previous scene. The courage in his heart had been completely worn away. He opened his mouth and said, "Facing Lu, this general also suggests withdrawing." For now, we should withdraw first and consider stopping Xia Xia's army later. " "Yes."
The other civil officials and generals also spoke in unison.
Each and every one of them had a look of lingering fear. They were all intimidated by Xia Country.
Yeon Gaesomun looked around, and when he saw the faces of the officers around him, he frowned. Back in the day, when his father had led the Goguryeo army to stop the attack of the Emperor of the Great Sui, although the Great Sui army had been powerful, Yeon Gaesomun clearly remembered that the Goguryeo officials and generals had been brimming with fighting spirit, unafraid of battle. Thus, even though the battle had not been easy, they had still won in the end.
But this time, it was different.
Xia Xia's weapons were simply too powerful.
The Goguryeo army had been dealt a blow right here at the Datong River, and the morale of the Goguryeo soldiers had been affected. Fear had already crept into the hearts of all of them.
This was an unacceptable situation.
It had to be stopped.
Yeon Gaesomun quickly considered the situation. Now that the morale of the army had been shaken, it was no longer possible to turn the tables. Thus, the best course of action was to withdraw and avoid Xia Xia's sharp edge. Once they had set up camp and stabilized the morale of the army, they could consider continuing to deal with Xia Xia.
Yeon Gaesomun ordered, "Withdraw! Withdraw! "
When Wang Xiangxiong received the order, he immediately arranged for the entire army to turn around and quickly leave.
On the northern shore, Du Qi watched the Goguryeo army withdraw, and his lips curled into a smile.
Yeon Gaesomun had retreated.
Did he want to stop them again? Alas, Yeon Gaesomun could not stop them this time. Du Qi was leading the army south to attack Pyongyang in one go. He would not give Yeon Gaesomun any chance to escape.
Alas, Yeon Gaesomun had left.
Otherwise, Du Qi would have asked Yeon Gaesomun why he had not committed suicide after promising to do so.
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