Seeing Gao Shun's mercy, Lord Jin couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his brother, his eyes full of concern.

And Jin Xia was secretly glad to have escaped, but he had a look of resentment on his face. When he looked at Lord Jin, there was still a bit of resentment in his eyes, as if he felt that Lord Jin had surrendered to Gao Shun and lost them.

The reputation of the Jin family.

The look in Jin Xia's eyes was like a needle piercing King Jin, which made her feel a sense of grievance in her heart.

The changes in the expressions of his brother and sister could not escape Gao Shun's eyes.

When Jin Xia was taken away, Gao Bian sighed: "You did not hesitate to put down your dignity in order to save him, but people still blame you for damaging the reputation of the Jin family. Princess Jin, I really feel that you are not worth it."

Gao Shun's words hurt King Jin even more. She bit her red lips silently and looked gloomy.

Gao Shun didn't want to talk to her anymore, so he ordered the Lord Jin to be taken away together, and he joined Ma Yun and headed towards the ferry city.

At this time, Jinxia and the seven thousand capable Korean troops had been completely overrun. What was left in the Dukou city was only a few thousand remnant soldiers who had lost their combat effectiveness, and a city of civilians who were so hungry that they had to eat.

Without even a single soldier, Gao Shun's army successfully entered the Dukou City.

This strategic location on an inland river, an important town guarding the throat between Pyongyang and Seoul, has finally once again planted the "high" flag.

This time, Gao Shun used his absolute strength to occupy Dukou City, and he was not only confident to defend Dukou City, but also wanted to build this place into an advanced base for his march into North Korea.

After the Dukou City was captured, the remaining people in the city naturally became Gao Shun's subjects. Gao Shun, who had plenty of food and grass, immediately ordered the release of food to help the victims.

These hungry people had reached the point where they could eat each other. The grace of survival made them quickly forget their identity as Gaoshun invaders. They were grateful to the new ruler and worshiped them in every possible way.

In addition to tens of thousands of civilians, there were nearly 5,000 Korean soldiers in Dukou City. Including the previous captures, Gao Shun captured nearly 8,000 soldiers in total during this battle with Jintian.

These eight thousand surrendered soldiers are all elite men who are familiar with naval warfare. If they can be incorporated into his own army, coupled with the hundreds of warships captured from the Korean army, Gao Shun's naval strength will be

Take it to the next level.

So after appeasing these surrendered soldiers and making them well fed, Gao Shun dismantled the eight thousand surrendered soldiers into several battalions and sent them to Jiangling, Xiakou, Xiangyang and other places for reorganization.

Shortly after the capture of Dukou City, Gao Shun rewarded the three armies and the meritorious generals and celebrated the hard-won victory.

While Gao Shun was immersed in the joy of celebrating his victory, Jin Tian and his North Korean generals in the Pyongyang Fortress were licking the wounds of the disastrous defeat.

Twenty thousand people were lost in the water battle, and Jinxia's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses were lost. In the battle of Dukou City, Jintian lost almost more than one-third of his troops.

This heavy loss is almost irreparable for Jintian, who only owns Yangzhou.

When the news reached Pyongyang City, the three Koreas were shocked. Even the three-year-old children did not dare to cry anymore when they heard the name of Gao Shun.

Pyongyang Fortress, in the Chinese military tent.

Jin Tian's face was gloomy and gloomy, his blue eyes flashed with anger and helplessness, and tightly clutched in his hands was the intelligence just sent from Dukou City.

When Dukou City fell, clan brother Jin Xia and his sister Jin Guozhu were both captured by Gao Shun. Thousands of Korean soldiers also surrendered to Gao Shun.

Jin Tian hates O. He not only hates Gao Shun, but also resents Jin Xia for being incompetent and continuing to stand firm despite his general's orders.

In anger, Jin Tian cursed his brothers and put all the responsibility for the fall of Dukou City on Jin Xia.

The generals listened silently, but secretly sighed in their hearts, and all of them were secretly aggrieved by Jin Xia.

During the more than 20 days since Dukou City was besieged, Jin Tian finally gathered more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in Pyongyang, claiming that he would never abandon Dukou City, let alone Jinxia and the more than 10,000 besieged soldiers.

, once the time is right, they will surely raise their troops and march westward to break the siege of Dukou City.

However, although Jin Tian shouted slogans loudly, he actually seemed to be frightened by the recent tragic defeat and never dared to send a single soldier to Dukou City.

All the generals know that there is not much food in Dukou City, and it is very difficult for Jinxia to be able to defend for a whole month with no food. Now that the food and grass are cut off, it is helpless to lead the army to break through and be captured.

.

After Jin Tian lost his temper, he seemed to feel a little better, and he tore the information into pieces and threw it on the ground.

"Dukou City is our gateway to Pyongyang and cannot be lost. I vow to take it back. If you have any good strategies, please feel free to speak out."

Jin Tian gasped and shouted slogans again, but his confidence was clearly not that strong.

All the generals knew that with such a heavy loss of troops and low morale, it was almost impossible to recapture Dukou City, but they were afraid of offending Jin Tian, ​​so no one dared to say anything.

When Jin Tian saw that all the generals were silent, he said displeasedly: "What are you all doing with a grimace? Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. Could it be that just because of one defeat, you were frightened by Gao Shun and dared not fight again?"

."

The generals looked at each other in shock, and no one said a word for the whole day.

Jin Tian's face became even more expressionless, and he glanced at the generals, his eyes finally fixed on Zhang Gao.

"Zhang Gao, tell me how we can take back Dukou City." Jin Tian asked.

Zhang Gaoqian coughed a few times, took a deep breath, and cupped his hands and said: "It is natural to take back Dukou City, but I think that with the current strength of our army, we want to take back Dukou City without a period of recuperation.

I’m afraid it’s unlikely.”

Zhang Gao finally dared to tell the truth despite his different status. When he said this, the other generals also nodded.

Jin Tian frowned and said in a deep voice: "If we don't take back Dukou City, are we just going to wait for Gao Shun to march east from Dukou City and invade our Korean hinterland?"

"Gao Shun has been fighting with our army for several months, and his soldiers probably need to rest and recuperate. Su thought that we might as well take this opportunity to make peace with him, so as to buy enough time for our army to regain its strength."

As soon as he heard Zhang Gao mention Yan He, Jin Tian's expression immediately changed and he was about to get angry.

At this time, Zhang Gao didn't wait for Jin Tian to speak, and said first: "Back then, Gou Jian was able to defeat Fu Cha and achieve hegemony by lying down on the salary and tasting courage. The general is an unparalleled hero in the world. For the sake of the great cause in the future, there is no harm in being a little patient.

"

Jin Tian also knew that he could not recapture Dukou City with his current strength, so the reason why he kept clamoring for a counterattack was just to save face.

Zhang Gao was also smart and knew that his general wanted to save face, so he cleverly laid the groundwork for Jin Tianxia.

Sure enough, Jin Tian, ​​who was about to get angry, calmed down in the blink of an eye. He frowned and thought hard for a long time, but then sighed softly.

"Gao Shun has the upper hand now. Even if we want to make peace, he may not be willing." Jin Tian said worriedly.

Zhang Gao said hurriedly: "I have a plan, maybe I can make Gao Shunyan reconcile."

"What's the plan?" Jin Tianyi said happily.

Zhang Gao coughed a few times and said two words:

"Make peace." "Make peace?"

Jin Tian looked confused and didn't understand what Zhang Gao meant for a moment.

"Su heard that Gao Shun had always been lustful, and that Princess Jin had the appearance of conquering the country and the city. Now that Princess Jin has unfortunately fallen into Gao Shun's hands, Su thought, why doesn't the general just go with the flow and marry Princess Jin to Gao Shun?

, that Gao Shun, seduced by beauty, might agree to make peace with us."

Zhang Gao spoke unhurriedly and eloquently about his so-called marriage plan.

Jin Tian's expression suddenly changed, and he waved his hands and said angrily: "This plan is absolutely impossible. My daughter of the Jin family will not marry that husband Gao Shun. Moreover, if this matter is spread, everyone in the future will know that I, Jin Tian, ​​was the one who was raped."

If I have no choice but to marry my sister to my enemy, how will my reputation in Jintian survive?"

In the final analysis, Jin Tian still cares about face.

At this time, Zhang Gao patiently advised: "As the saying goes, only those who can bend and stretch can be a true hero. The general's decision today is actually an expedient move. In the future, Gao Shun will be wiped out and revenged. Today's humiliation will only make Yao subordinates

I admire the general’s magnanimity even more. For the sake of the overall situation, I kindly ask the general to think twice.”

Zhang Gao built a ladder for Jin Tian with good intentions. After these words, Jin Tian's expression, which was originally expressionless, gradually softened.

He stood up, walked around the tent, thinking hard, and seemed to be making a difficult decision.

After thinking for a long time and weighing the pros and cons of Ban Yao, Jin Tian let out another helpless sigh.

When he turned around, his frown had relaxed, leaving only a little worry.

"Doctor Zhang is right. I, Jin Tianruo, don't even have such magnanimity, how can I achieve great things? But this matter is a matter of life for my little sister. I don't dare to make the decision privately. I have to send someone to inform my mother first."

The mother Jin Tian mentioned was none other than the Queen of Korea.

Zhang Gao then said: "The situation is urgent now. Going from Pyongyang to Moling will take a lot of time. As the saying goes, the eldest brother is the father. Wei Chen thought that Princess Jin's marriage should be announced first and then announced."

Jin Tian thought about it. Dukou City was only a few dozen miles away from Pyongyang, and Gao Shun's army of more than 50,000 might launch an attack at any time. There was no way to delay the marriage.

After thinking again and again, Jin Tian gritted his teeth and shouted: "Who is coming, please send the civil servant here quickly."

...Dukou City.

The celebration banquet had lasted for three days, and the exhausted soldiers' bodies and minds had recovered a lot due to the festive atmosphere.

In the military mansion, Gao Shun was already discussing with the civil and military officials on when to raise troops to launch an attack on Pyongyang.

While they were discussing the use of troops, pro-soldiers outside the hall came to report that they were envoys from East Korea, civilian officials, asking for an audience.

"Jin Tian sent civil servants here at this time, it must be to seek peace." Gao Shun immediately came to a conclusion.

The generals seemed unconvinced, so Gao asked the general to pass it on to the civil servant.

Not long after, a middle-aged scribe walked into the crowd, bowed to Gao Shun, and said with a smile: "I am a civil servant under the Marquis of Joseon, and I pay my respects to General Gao."
Chapter completed!