Chapter 328

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The Jin army split into eastern and western routes to attack Goryeo: the eastern route advanced along Helan Road, the western route along Posu Prefecture Road. Specifically:

Eastern Jin army: advance along Helan Road. The southwestern boundary of the Helan Road Inspectorate borders the northeastern tip of Goryeo. The eastern Jin army departs from Hamheung and other locations, crosses southwestward across the Jin-Goryeo border, and heads straight for Goryeo's northeastern stronghold to seize grain and supplies. Depending on circumstances, they will then pass through Silleng Pass and strike directly for Goryeo's capital, Kaegyong.

Western Jin army: advance along Posu Prefecture Road. Posu Prefecture Road borders the Yalu River, with the lower reaches of the Yalu forming the boundary between it and Goryeo's northwestern region. The western Jin army departs from Posu Prefecture, follows the Yalu River downstream, uses boats to cross the river, and attacks Goryeo's northwestern frontier, aiming to seize key riverside strongholds such as Laiyuan City, thereby securing logistical routes for subsequent troops and supplies and stabilizing their offensive foundation.

After the battle plan was set, Wanyan Aguda appointed Wanyan Zonghan as vanguard of the western Jin army and Wanyan Zongwang as vanguard of the eastern Jin army.

Soon, the western Jin army crossed the Yalu River, swept through Baozhou, Linzhou, and other prefectural cities, then entered Goryeo territory.

Goryeo's border garrisons urgently reported to the court: "The Jin have sent envoys; their main army and envoys advance together, penetrating deep into our Goryeo heartland, and will reach the Western Capital in no time — we cannot stop them!"

Upon hearing the news, the Goryeo court was shaken. The Western Capital was Goryeo's shield; if it fell, the Jin army could march straight in.

King Zhao Yu immediately dispatched General Taku Jyeong to defend the Western Capital and urgently summoned civil and military officials to deliberate on a response.

In the imperial hall, the atmosphere was solemn; ministers debated fiercely but could reach no consensus.

Some advocated holding the Western Capital, conserving strength to strike back when the Jin forces grew weary; others proposed launching a preemptive strike, using offense as defense to disrupt the Jin formation while they were still unsteady.

Soon after, urgent reports arrived from Helan Dian: the eastern Jin army had already swept through Goryeo's northeastern strongholds, seized vast quantities of grain and supplies, and returned them to Jin — now they were advancing rapidly toward Goryeo's heartland.

The battle reports exploded like thunder in the Goryeo court; the already solemn atmosphere grew heavier, ministers' faces turned ashen, and both factions — those advocating defense and those advocating offense — fell silent, filled with dread.

The Jin were no longer the Jurchen tribes that once skirmished with Goryeo along the border; they were a mighty dynasty that had just crushed Liao and absorbed its territory.

Goryeo had for generations recognized Liao as its suzerain; Liao's collapse was a thunderclap that revealed to all Goryeo the overwhelming military might of the Jin — the power capable of toppling a century-old suzerain, far beyond Goryeo's capacity to resist.

King Zhao Yu had taken his eldest and second daughters as concubines. The second daughter bore the crown prince Wang Kai, and thus her father, Li Ziqian, rose rapidly to power: appointed Vice Minister, Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Duke, promoted to Grand Master of the Imperial Household, Guardian of the Grand Tutor, and concurrently Chief Secretary of the Secretariat with equal authority to the Chancellery, later added the title Guardian of the Grand Marshal and bestowed the honorific "Merit-Bringer of Divine Aid." He stepped forward and said: "Our Goryeo is small and weak; now the Great Jin shines like the midday sun — we cannot resist. In my view, we should temporarily agree to pay tribute to ease their military pressure…"

Before Li Ziqian finished speaking, the Central Secretariat Secretary Kim Bok-sik stepped forward and fiercely rebutted: "Your Majesty's father-in-law speaks falsely! Though the Jin are strong, Goryeo has stood for centuries; the Western Capital has natural defenses, Kaegyong has ten thousand elite guards — how can we surrender without a fight?"

As soon as Kim Bok-sik finished, the Hanlin Academician and Draftsman Zheng Jichang stepped forward and said: "The Central Secretariat Secretary understands only war, not strategy. The Great Liao spanned ten thousand li, with a million soldiers, yet still could not withstand the Great Jin. Our Goryeo's forces are less than one or two percent of Liao's — how can we resist? When Liao was strong, we served Liao; now Jin is strong, we serve Jin — this is Goryeo's way to preserve the state."

This struck a chord with many Goryeo ministers; murmurs of agreement rose. Some recalled past battles with the Jurchens in Helan Dian, when victories were mutual; but the Jin of today were no longer the same — even Liao had not withstood their assault, let alone Goryeo?

Others whispered privately that the Jin army's overwhelming advance might demand more than just silk and grain — perhaps they would demand Goryeo's submission and royal hostages. If we fight, and the city falls, the consequences will be unbearable; if we surrender, though we lose face, we may still preserve our ancestral temples.

The thoughts of war and surrender churned endlessly in King Zhao Yu's mind, yet he could not decide — to fight was to risk a futile clash; to surrender, how could he face the legacy of the Liezulie Sect?

At that moment, another urgent report reached the hall: Wanyan Zonghan's western Jin army, after crossing the Yalu River, had captured three more riverside fortresses including Laiyuan City and was now advancing westward along the Taedong River toward the Western Capital.

This report doused the last flicker of hope in the hall. The voices of those advocating battle grew fainter; those urging temporary retreat multiplied. The atmosphere in the hall had shifted from initial debate to spreading fear and helplessness.

King Zhao Yu immediately sent envoys to seek peace, declaring Goryeo's willingness to submit to the Jin as it once had to Liao, and sent lavish gifts to Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang.

Unfortunately, the Jin's campaign against Goryeo was not aimed at securing submission — it was meant to drain Goryeo's blood to restore their own strength.

Thus, King Zhao Yu's envoys could not halt the advance of either the eastern or western Jin armies.

Faced with Goryeo's peace petition and gifts, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang both sneered coldly and dismissed them, continuing to direct their troops as they marched deep into Goryeo's heartland.

Wanyan Zongwang moved with extreme speed: upon encountering a city, he first probed with fierce assaults; if the defenders resisted fiercely and the city could not be taken quickly, he unhesitatingly bypassed it, marching silently and swiftly toward the next target. His forces were like a sharp blade, driving straight into Goryeo's core. Along the way, surrendered and routed Goryeo troops streamed in, absorbed into his Meng'an-Mouke units, swelling his ranks — by the time he reached Gyoju, his army had grown to fifty thousand. When attacking cities thereafter, he no longer needed his two thousand elite Jin troops — he merely watched Goryeo forces slaughter each other.

In less than a month, the eastern Jin army reached the gates of Kaegyong.

Kaegyong was Goryeo's capital — its walls high, its moats deep. Though the defenders were terrified, they knew that if the city fell, the nation would perish, so they fought to the death.

Seeing this, Wanyan Zongwang did not rush to storm the city; instead, he first sent surrendered troops to shout demands for surrender, while dividing his forces to clear out outposts around Kaegyong and defeat reinforcements coming to aid the capital, encircling the city completely.

Wanyan Zonghan's tactics, however, differed entirely from Wanyan Zongwang's. He firmly believed every city he passed must be captured, leaving no rear threats.

Thus, after crossing the Taedong River, the western Jin army swept through every city along the way, sending vast quantities of seized grain, supplies, and captured civilians back to Jin.

In this process, Wanyan Zonghan selected the strong and fit, expanding his forces and rapidly restoring the troops lost to the Song army.

When they reached the Western Capital, its commander, Taku Jyeong, knowing the city's fate was tied to the nation's survival, led soldiers and civilians in a desperate defense, refusing to surrender.

Wanyan Zonghan led the western Jin army in a furious assault for over a month; though the Western Capital suffered heavy losses, it never fell.

At this point, Wanyan Zonghan received Wanyan Zongwang's battle report: the eastern Jin army had reached the gates of Kaegyong.

Fearing that Wanyan Zongwang might snatch the glory of Goryeo's destruction, Wanyan Zonghan grew frantic. He knew opportunity could not be missed; he left ten thousand troops to continue besieging the Western Capital and personally led sixty to seventy thousand men southward.

Along the way, Wanyan Zonghan still attacked every city he encountered, though his pace had greatly accelerated.

When the western Jin army arrived at Kaegyong, the eastern Jin army had already cleared all key points around the city, crushed all relief forces, and laid siege for over twenty days.