Chapter Twenty: Secret Order to Withdraw Troops

That night, Yang Guang spoke to Yuwen Shu: “Yuwen, my loyal subject, Yang Xuangan has rebelled in Liyang County and gathered tens of thousands of troops, preparing to attack Luoyang. I intend to withdraw our forces and return to support the Eastern Capital. What are your thoughts?”

Yuwen Shu paused briefly, steeled himself, and replied, “Your Majesty, the siege of Liaodong City has reached a crucial moment. Our soldiers are exerting themselves and may break through at any hour. It is not advisable to retreat now.”

“So, Yuwen, you mean to say I should abandon my grandson and the families of my ministers, and instead launch a fierce assault on Goguryeo?” Yang Guang noticed that Yuwen Shu ignored the suggestion he had offered, insisting on pressing the attack on Liaodong City. He felt somewhat displeased.

“I am dull-witted and failed to grasp Your Majesty’s profound strategy. Please forgive me,” Yuwen Shu hastily knelt, bowing his head to the ground, daring not to utter another word.

Yang Guang nodded and said, “This withdrawal will be entrusted to you, Yuwen. I shall personally lead the Elite Guard back to the Eastern Capital for reinforcement, and have General Yang Yichen lead his troops to eradicate the rebels in the counties of Shandong. You and Xue must come swiftly.”

That day, Yuwen Shu dispatched swift riders to contact Xue Shixiong on the northern route and Yang Yichen, who was stationed by the seaside, awaiting the fall of Liaodong City to launch a direct naval assault on Pyongyang. He conveyed the emperor’s orders, then delegated the details of the withdrawal to several of his deputy generals, and followed Yang Guang with his own guards, retreating into the Linyuguan Pass.

Those deputies understood that the eastern campaign was no longer feasible; staying behind would likely mean death. They announced to the entire army the abandonment of the assault on Liaodong City and ordered a retreat toward Linyuguan, then each took their own guards and withdrew ahead to the pass.

Li Wenyuan and Xue Ju had just returned to the camp to report, only to find Yuwen Shu gone and clusters of soldiers whispering in groups. Li Wenyuan casually asked a soldier, “What’s happened? Why haven’t I seen General Yuwen?”

The soldier, recognizing Li Wenyuan’s officer’s garb, whispered, “To answer you, General Yuwen left the camp for Linyuguan with his personal guards a while ago. The Emperor left early as well. We’re to withdraw to the pass ourselves.”

Li Wenyuan was startled. Unbeknownst to him, the expedition had ended. According to history, this was the time Yang Xuangan rebelled. Thus, Liaodong was not a place to linger. He released the soldier, mounted his horse, and sped back to Xue Ju’s camp, saying, “Brother, the Emperor has left the camp, Yuwen Shu as well. Yang Xuangan must have raised his rebellion. This is no place to stay; let’s prepare to withdraw.”

Xue Ju nodded, ordered his men to pack, and prepared to march, though he did not specify a retreat back to the pass. That night, scouts watching the Sui army’s camp at Liaodong City reported that countless soldiers poured out, each carrying sacks of grain and rice, not to attack the city but to flee desperately toward the Liao River.

Yuan Taizuo stood atop the city wall, gripping the parapet as he looked outside, puzzled. The Sui army had not launched an attack for a whole day, and the defenders on all sides reported that the camp’s cookfires were noticeably fewer than the day before.

Yuan Taizuo frowned deeply at the news. Could the Sui troops, frustrated by their failed assault, be employing the tactic of reducing their cookfires to lure him into a sortie, hoping to break the siege of Liaodong City? Uncertain of the true situation, he decided to watch and wait. He issued orders that no defending force was to leave the city without his command, to strengthen the defenses and prevent the Sui from feigning retreat and then raiding the city.

The next evening, Xue Ju and Li Wenyuan led their Golden Fortress cavalry to the camp below the city wall. They saw even more soldiers fleeing with sacks of grain. Li Wenyuan, mounted, watched the distant fleeing troops and said, “Brother, the army’s morale is shattered. There’s nothing more to be done. Let’s proceed as planned.”

Xue Ju gazed at Liaodong City nearby and said, “I cannot resign myself to this. So many Sui soldiers have fallen beneath these walls. We were on the verge of capturing the enemy chief, yet now we must retreat.”

Li Wenyuan hurried to persuade him, “Brother, you are more clear-sighted than I. Yuan Gaesomun’s army is encamped not far from here, their numbers roughly equal to our central army in this campaign. They remain inactive only because Yuan Gaesomun wishes to use us to eliminate his own father. If we truly take Liaodong City and capture Yuan Taizuo, Yuan Gaesomun would use this to rally his troops, launch an assault to retake the city, and we’d be locked in another bitter struggle. Whether we could hold Liaodong City is uncertain. Better to withdraw now and return another day to destroy Goguryeo.”

Xue Ju gritted his teeth, then sighed heavily, “Your words are wise, my brother. We’ll follow your plan and cross to the other side of the Liao River.”

Five thousand Golden Fortress cavalry followed Xue Ju and Li Wenyuan, galloping through the night toward the river. At dawn, they reached the ferry landing on the bank. This ferry was called Emperor’s Ford, newly built by Yang Guang for the expedition to Liaodong.

Xue Ju and Li Wenyuan hurried to the riverbank, dispatched scouts along the river, and finally found three small boats. None of the Golden Fortress troops knew how to operate a boat, but fortunately, Xue Ju had brought some cavalry who happened upon a group of fleeing soldiers from Jiangnan.

Li Wenyuan was overjoyed, for this was the most critical step in his plan. He had the Golden Fortress troops escort the Jiangnan soldiers onto the three small boats to row across and fetch more than fifty large ships from the opposite bank. These vessels had been specially constructed by Yang Guang for the conquest of Goguryeo—each could carry five hundred men, and their hulls were large and stable enough to bear an extra hundred or two without risk of capsizing in the river.

He promised each Jiangnan soldier, now pressed into boatman’s service, ten strings of cash apiece, asking only that they ferry Sui soldiers across and ensure their safety. After transporting two thousand Golden Fortress troops under Xue Ju to the other bank as support, Li Wenyuan led three thousand more