This is the first time that many people have described it as a failure. However, the military action of Emperor Taizong's first conquest of Koguryo, from a strategic point of view, can only be said that it failed to fully achieve its goal, but it was a brilliant victory at the tactical level.
This battle, Emperor Taizong? There are 70,000 people in Zhaogaoli (Goguryeo), and three states have migrated to China: Xuantu, Hengshan, Gaimou, Medog, Liaodong, Baiyan, Beisha, Maigu, Yinshan and Houhuangshicheng. Xincheng, Jian 'an and Garrison fought three wars and beheaded more than 40,000 people? (Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume198); ? In June, Chen Bing went to Anshi City. Ding Si and Gao Li sent Gao Yanshou and Gao Pai150,000 soldiers to Anshi to refuse. Li Ji led his troops to attack fiercely. From the peak, he led the army to face it. North Korea was defeated and killed. ? ("Old Tang Book"? In the annals of Emperor Taizong, Tang Jun beheaded more than 20,000 people, captured 36,800 people and killed 3,300 people? Get 100,000 horses and cattle and 10,000 bright armour. Han was frightened, and then Huang and Yin got out of trouble, and there was no smoke for hundreds of miles. Biography of the New Tang Dynasty, p. 145.
And what is Tang Jun's loss? How many soldiers died? . In other words, the battlefield loss ratio of Emperor Taizong to Koguryo army was 1: 20! It can be said that although Li Shimin did not achieve the goal of destroying Koguryo through this World War I, it did have an unparalleled presence on the battlefield.
Then why did Emperor Taizong play so beautifully on the battlefield, but failed to achieve the strategic goal of conquering Koguryo? This ancient man has made a summary. The weather on the left side of Liaoning is cold, the grass is dry and the water is frozen, it is difficult for horses to stay for a long time, and food will be exhausted. ? Child TongZhiJian volume 198.
To deal with the vernacular, it was freezing, the troops could not stay any longer, and there were problems in logistics, so they had to retreat. Specifically, Koguryo is located in Northeast Asia and belongs to temperate monsoon climate, so the precipitation in summer is much larger than that in other northern regions. Moreover, the western Liaoning corridor and Liaodong area leading to Koguryo are swamps. According to the records of the Tang Dynasty, there are some in the lower reaches of Liaohe River. Liaoze is muddy, so cars and horses can't get through? ,? Hundreds of miles west of Liaodong? .
This kind of terrain is not conducive to transportation logistics supply, and it is easy to breed plague. It will freeze in winter and the supply of land logistics is basically hopeless.
Therefore, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, troops were sent to Koguryo in February and March before the rainy season. For example, when Emperor Taizong conquered Goguryeo for the first time, Zhenguan sent troops at the end of March in the 19th year.
To make matters worse, Koguryo is still in mountainous terrain, and many mountain cities are built that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. As a result, Emperor Taizong could only chew through one city at a time, and naturally the progress was slow.
To tell the truth, Emperor Taizong was a little proud at this moment. When a minister suggested that land and water should go hand in hand, he still believed in his command ability and Tang Jun's combat power and decided to fight all the way.
As a result, even though Emperor Taizong was invincible in various field battles, he was dragged into winter by the mountain city of Koguryo.
Facing the coming winter and increasingly tense logistics, Emperor Taizong chose a good time to stop and began to withdraw troops on September 19.
Therefore, Emperor Taizong conquered Koguryo for the first time. For example, some people want to get more than 700 points in the college entrance examination and go to Tsinghua Peking University. As a result, the score is not as high as expected. He only got 670 and 680 in Tongji and Shanghai Jiaotong University. You can say that he failed in Tsinghua Peking University, but can you say that he failed in the college entrance examination?
The key is to know that Koguryo was a powerful country in Northeast Asia at that time, with a population of several million, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and even elite armor and riding equipment. This is a serious threat comparable to the late Ming Dynasty and the late Jin Dynasty. However, many times, Emperor Taizong lost his temper in other places.
In addition, Emperor Taizong conquered Koguryo for the first time, although he did not achieve all the strategic goals, but he still had a second time.
In the second conquest, which began in the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong changed his tactics and stopped gnawing at the mountain city. Instead, he sent a small number of elite army troops to harass and sent water troops to land for combat. As a result, Goguryeo was exhausted at home, forcing King Goguryeo to send his son to Datang to apologize and beg for mercy.
In July of the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong ordered people to prepare a naval force. In the second year, he planned to use 300,000 troops to go hand in hand with land and water, and annihilate Koguryo, which was already weakened and badly equipped. Unfortunately, every day is a holiday. In the spring of the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin died. Koguryo just escaped.
Koguryo was finally set in the era of Tang Gaozong and Li Zhi because Li Shimin's two conquests greatly damaged Koguryo's national strength. And Tang Gaozong continued the correct tactics of Emperor Taizong's land and water, and his elite harassment.