I Can Control My Ancestors

Chapter 528 - 48: Patricide for Survival, a Century of No Return

"Clang——"

Yeon Gaesomun’s entire body trembled violently, his pupils suddenly constricted to pinpoints!

The hunting knife he held for half his life, stained with blood countless times, slipped from his momentarily paralyzed fingers and fell heavily to the ground.

Whether it was the excruciating pain from being betrayed by his own flesh and blood, or the overwhelming fear of impending doom, he couldn’t tell.

But at this moment, it was too late for anything.

"Kill!!!"

Several beast-like roars suddenly exploded!

In the darkness, blades instantly pierced through Yeon Gaesomun’s body, taking his life.

By the next morning.

The entire city of Pyongyang, its gates wide open.

Yeon Gaesomun’s eldest son, accompanied by Goguryeo ministers, carried Yeon Gaesomun’s head, walking slowly out of the city, kneeling before the Tang Army camp.

"We surrender, having captured and killed the traitor!"

"We humbly ask the unmatched Emperor of Great Tang, the supreme Celestial Khan, to spare our lives!".....

...

Inside the main tent of the Tang Army.

Upon hearing the news that Yeon Gaesomun was assassinated by his own son, Li Shimin sat at the head seat, his brows tightly knit.

"Killing a father to survive?" His deep voice carried a tone of incredulous frosty chill.

Gu Jing bowed and responded: "Your Majesty, I too did not foresee the situation unfolding this way. I originally thought there would be a few more bloody coups within Pyongyang before everything settled."

He paused slightly, with a hint of cold judgment in his tone, "I never imagined that Yeon Gaesomun would be so... mediocre."

Indeed, mediocre.

From Gu Jing’s perspective, given the current situation, there were clearly better ways to handle it.

Li Shimin’s eyes focused, instantly capturing the underlying implication in Gu Jing’s words: "An Zhi’s words... have a greater intention?"

"Your Majesty is discerning." Gu Jing bowed again, his voice steady yet carrying undeniable weight, "Though Goguryeo has lost its leader, it still has close to a hundred thousand troops, its foundation unscathed, and can still be called the foremost power in Liaodong."

"Simply exterminating Yeon Gaesomun’s clan is not enough to shake its core!"

"Massacre the captives?" Li Shimin furrowed his brows even tighter, a barely noticeable complex light flashed through his eyes as he weighed the cost and necessity of such a bloody method.

"Yes!" Gu Jing answered with resolute certainty, without hesitation.

He bowed deeply, his posture respectful, yet his words were as clear and heavy as a stone falling to the ground: "Your Majesty need not hesitate, the infamy of a thousand years—臣,愿承举之!"

His meaning was already quite clear, he wished to bear all the burden himself.

After all, this decision would indeed generate significant controversy.

However, such a thunderous method, for the Great Tang, for the people of Kyushu, was currently the most beneficial path!

It could completely break the spine of Goguryeo, making it unable to regain strength for centuries, while also ensuring the balance between the three countries in Liaodong, bringing long-term peace to the region.

Li Shimin remained silent.

He did indeed care about his posthumous reputation, as evidenced by his interference in the historians’ records of the Wude era.

Though he did not deliberately conceal the events of Xuanwu Gate,

it did intensify the defamation and framing by Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji against him.

Such behavior, though seemingly insignificant, actually revealed Li Shimin’s character.

This decision could indeed easily attract criticism.

Seeing Li Shimin’s silence, Gu Jing assumed the Emperor had tacitly agreed, refraining from saying more, he bowed, turned, and was about to lift the curtain and leave the tent.

But as his fingertips barely touched the curtain —

"An Zhi!"

Li Shimin’s voice suddenly resounded once more.

Gu Jing froze abruptly, immediately turning around, bowing deeply: "What other orders does Your Majesty have?"

Li Shimin suddenly stood up, his gaze as sharp as lightning, staring directly at Gu Jing, each word firm and resolute: "Transmit my imperial edict —"

"Yeon Gaesomun, a usurper of the throne, defies ethical norms, disobedient to imperial commands, his sins are unforgivable!"

"His progeny, who kill their father to survive, less than beasts and demons, are intolerable by heaven and earth!"

"His minions and claws, colluding with evil, should all be executed!"

"Order the three armies to prepare immediately, eradicate the remaining followers, leave none alive!"

Hearing this, Gu Jing was deeply shaken.

He never imagined that Li Shimin would so decisively... issue such an exterminating command personally!

Li Shimin’s gaze did not falter in the slightest, instead, it grew deeper and more determined, locking onto Gu Jing’s eyes, his gaze churning with complex and heavy emotions: "Ziyuan has already sacrificed too much for me."

His voice lowered, carrying an unyielding protection, "This blood-stained infamy, this millennial shame—"

"How could I let you bear it alone?"

He paused slightly, his chest heaving, once again declaring with a voice that resonated like a striking oath: "This decree, is a decision I make for the stability of Kyushu, for the eternal peace of the Great Tang!"

"As for the controversies and praise or blame to come, the immense criticism—朕,自当一肩担之!!!"

He gestured for Gu Jing to refrain from speaking further.

Seeing this.

Gu Jing took a deep breath, then cupped his hands towards Li Shimin: "I accept the order!"

The imperial decree was issued—Tang Army followed Gu Jing in full force.

The Goguryeo army, who had always been waiting to surrender, never anticipated such an event.

According to their understanding, regardless of when they surrendered, the forces of Kyushu would spare their lives, this was the understanding of Kyushu.

But this time it was entirely different.

Rampant slaughter.

This was a massacre without any chance of survival.

How could the Goguryeo army resist the Tang Army?

Even without any preparation, even if they faced each other in battle, they were no match for the Tang Army, now they had no ability to resist.

Complete chaos.

Some tried to flee, others attempted resistance, but all in vain.

Yeon Gaesomun’s sons were almost instantly slaughtered.

Then were Yeon Gaesomun’s confidants and the Goguryeo nobility.

In the chaos, none could escape the encirclement of the Tang Army, but to accept the death coming upon them!.....

——————

"In the autumn of the 20th year of Zhenguan, September, the royal army besieged Pyongyang.

Under the city, the banners of the Gu Clan and the imperial banners stood side by side, the traitorous crowd terrified, trampling each other.

Yeon Gaesomun’s son, Mo Lizhi of Goryeo, defying familial bonds, led his followers into the mansion by night, assassinated his father Gaesomun, coerced the masses to open the gates and surrender.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was enraged, issuing an edict: "Yeon Gaesomun usurped titles, abused the common people, and opposed our royal army, a crime beyond pardon."

"His son, with a heart of a beast, killed his father, betrayed his lord, despised by both man and god! Such villainy, how can it be tolerated in the realm? Should be handed over to the authorities, to execute all his party, to warn against disloyalty!"

The Tang Army then followed Assistant Marshal Jing to launch the attack.

The surrendering ones, unprepared in panic, were met with immediate assault.

In this campaign, the beheaded were beyond count, corpses piled up, blocking rivers from flowing.

From then on, the elite of Goryeo were utterly lost, their vitality greatly diminished, and the scourge of centuries was thus created."

— "Tang Book. Records of Taizong"