Cheng Gongying's consent alone is of course useless, Yang Guang's nod must be given.
Cheng Gongying sent the treaty and agreement back to Liangzhou through flying pigeons. He thought that the Lord Guild would be reluctant to leave the ten counties of Wuwei, but he did not expect that Yang Guang actually agreed.
Now Cheng Gongying had no luck anymore. After tremblingly pressing the national seal on the certificate of credence, he fainted and it was already a day later when he woke up again.
The first thing Cheng Gongying did when he woke up was to prepare to return home. He wanted to question his lord Yang Guang, why he was so weak?
If Yang Guang had been tougher, Cheng Gongying would not have been so passive, and was even sure of only cutting half of Wuwei County.
However, Yang Guang withdrew his troops too quickly, leaving Cheng Gongying without any confidence in the negotiation. It was already very good to be able to negotiate like this.
After Ying Hao learned that Yang Guang agreed to cede the land, he was naturally very satisfied. After all, although Wuwei County is not very wealthy, its geographical location is still very important.
Moreover, after acquiring Wuwei County, Da Qin will also own the three counties of Beidi, Anding, and Wuwei in Liangzhou. It will also semi-encircle the three counties of Longxi. It will be easier to plot against the three counties of Longxi.
Therefore, if Ying Hao could gain access to important places like Wuwei without spending a single soldier, what else could Ying Hao be dissatisfied with?
"I will arrive in Chang'an, inspect Guanzhong, and order the Second Battalion of Iron Guards and Tiger Guards to escort you." Ying Hao said calmly.
"According to the decree."
Ying Hao left Prime Minister Wang Meng to sit in the court and preside over all the affairs of the court, while he personally led Jia Xu, Zhang Liang and other planners, Zhao Yun, Xu Chudianwei and other fierce generals to build two battalions of 10,000 elite soldiers in the Tiger Guard and Iron Guard.
He went to Guanzhong under his protection.
It is worth mentioning that Ying Hao only brought one concubine with him on this trip, and that was Li Xiuning.
The Emperor of Qin traveled openly, and the pomp was naturally very large, so relatively speaking, the process was naturally much more complicated, so that Ying Hao had just entered Guanzhong, and Cheng Gongying and his party had already arrived at Daye (Jincheng) City.
After Cheng Gongying returned to Daye, without taking any rest, he aggressively approached Yang Guang and asked him why he was so weak and whether he agreed to cede the ten cities of Wuwei?
Facing the distressed Cheng Gongying, Yang Guang also felt guilty, but asked: "Military advisor, if there is a war with Da Qin, can Wuwei County be able to defend it?"
Cheng Gongying was startled, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "The terrain of Wuwei is flat and flat. Without stability as a barrier, there is almost no danger to defend except the city. If you fight for a long time, you will lose."
"Since you know you can't hold on, but you still insist on holding on, isn't it stupid?
Without stability, the ten cities in the plain area east of Wuwei were like worthless food to us in the Sui Dynasty, tasteless to eat, and a pity to abandon.
It's better to hand it over voluntarily and trade space for time." Yang Guang said eloquently.
Wuwei County originally had thirteen counties.
After Yang Guang destroyed the Qiang, he moved more than 100,000 Qiang people into Liangzhou and established four new cities in the west of Wuwei.
So now Wuwei actually has a total of seventeen counties.
Although Yang Guang ceded ten cities in the east of Wuwei to Qin, he still owned seven cities in the west of Wuwei.
The terrain of the seven cities in the west is relatively dangerous, and they are easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the Sui army established defenses here, it would obviously be much better than fortifying the ten cities in the east.
Therefore, from Yang Guang's point of view, it is not too bad to abandon the ten useless eastern cities in exchange for Qin's retreat. After all, the Sui Kingdom can take advantage of this gap to expand elsewhere.
Yang Guang also already has a target, which is Li Tang's three Qiang counties and the three counties of Longxi.
"What? My lord, you want to steal Li Tang's chassis?"
Cheng Gongying had a look of astonishment on his face. After hearing Yang Guang's words, he already understood his lord's painstaking efforts, but he still didn't expect that his lord would target Li Tang at this time.
"No, absolutely no.
Now that Liu Yu's army has entered Hanzhong, after learning the news of Li Shimin's death, he will definitely covet the three counties of Hanzhong.
If we, the Sui State, also add insult to injury, Li Tang will probably perish. Then in this northwest land, I, the Sui Dynasty, will really have to fight alone.
My lord, you must not lose a big thing because of a small thing. Just because you have lost the ten counties of Wuwei, take advantage of Li Tang's weakness to get it back from Li Tang. This is an act of tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall."
Cheng Gongying's attitude was very clear, that is, he opposed Yang Guang's annexation of Longxi and Qiang lands.
In Cheng Gongying's view, these six counties are not wealthy places. Even if they get it, they won't get much benefit. On the contrary, it will put themselves into a situation of fighting alone, which is definitely not worth the gain.
Cheng Gongying explained everything thoroughly and tried to persuade him for a long time, but Yang Guang had no intention of changing his mind.
Cheng Gongying was completely anxious and said to Ban Gu and Gao Jiong: "Two adults, please advise my lord quickly. Don't lose the big for the small."
After hearing this, Ban Gu and Gao Jiong looked at each other and then Ban Gu stood up and said: "Master Cheng, I am the one who persuaded the lord to annex the Qiang land."
Cheng Gongying was startled, pointed at Ban Gu, and was so angry that he could not speak. He turned to look at Gao Jiong and said, "Why don't you give me some advice, Sir? Sir, you are not such a short-sighted person."
Gao Yan said with a smile: "Brother Cheng, don't be anxious. The situation in the northwest has changed. I'll let you know what's going on."
"Humph, then I would like to hear your opinions."
After snorting coldly, Cheng Gongying found a chair and sat down, but when he heard what Gao Jiong said next, he stood up in shock.
"What? You said Tubo was unified?"
"That's right, Songtsen Gampo has unified all the Tibetan tribes and took the initiative to send envoys to communicate with me in the Sui Dynasty."
Although Songtsen Gampo was a Tibetan, he admired the Central Plains culture very much.
When Li Tang was the overlord of the northwest, he proposed marriage to Li Shimin and wanted to marry Li Xiunian, but was directly rejected by Li Xiuning.
When the Qin Dynasty was founded, Songtsen Gampo not only sent envoys to Luoyang, but also disguised himself as a follower to watch the ceremony in person.
Gu Ling
The prosperity and power of the Great Qin made Songtsen Gampo yearn for it. After returning home, he proposed marriage to the Great Qin and wanted to marry the eldest princess Ying Hongye, but was rejected by Ying Hao again.
After being rejected for marriage twice in a row, Songtsen Gampo felt deeply humiliated, so he worked hard to become stronger and finally unified the Tubo tribes.
After unification, Tubo had a population of 3 million and a military strength of 250,000. It was considered a powerful country in the northwest region.
However, in terms of science and technology and culture, Tubo was still too backward. Songtsen Gampo wanted to learn the advanced techniques of the Central Plains, so he took the initiative to send envoys to contact the Sui State.
This connection frightened Songtsan Gampo. The Tang State that he had once looked up to, and the Tang King Li Shimin, died in the war with Da Qin, and the scope of Da Qin's strength had extended into Liangzhou, which was far away.
Tubo is not far away either.
Songtsen Gampo believed that Qin was a very aggressive country, and he did not think that the plateau terrain alone could stop the iron hoofs of Qin's warriors.
When he thought that Da Qin was about to attack his home, Songtsen Gampo was so anxious that he couldn't even sleep. After all, with the wealth of Tubo, it might not be enough to fight against the giant Da Qin.
At this time, the Sui State took the initiative to form an alliance and provide mutual assistance in offense and defense. For Songtsen Gampo, this was nothing less than the sound of nature.
Gao Jun personally came to Tubo and signed an alliance with Songtsen Gampo. With Tubo as an ally, the Sui Kingdom naturally no longer needed Li Tang.
It was precisely because of this that Yang Guang had the idea of annexing the Qiang region and Longxi. After all, if the Sui State was not strong enough, it would not be able to dominate the alliance with Tubo.
Tibet had a population of 3 million and an army of 250,000.
After encouraging births and plundering people from the Western Regions, the Sui Kingdom now has a population of 2.6 million.
As for the army, although the Sui State only had 160,000 troops, it was only to save military expenses and use them to develop internal affairs.
If it really expands its army to the extreme, the Sui Kingdom can also expand to 250,000.
It's just that when the Qin and Sui Dynasties went to war, the Sui Kingdom lost half of Anding County and the ten cities of Wuwei, and at least 200,000 people were lost.
If the lost part of the population cannot be replaced, the Sui Kingdom will naturally not be able to expand its army to that number, and now the only thing it can annex is Li Tang's base.
Cheng Gongying did not expect that so many things would happen during his absence. After thinking for a long time, he said: "My lord, it is indeed a good thing to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Tubo, but my subordinates still do not agree with the annexation of Tang Dynasty." .
Although Li Tang is now extremely weak, he is still a great help in resisting Qin. The Great Sui Dynasty should unite all the forces that can be united."
"But military advisor, have you ever thought about it? Now that Li Shimin is gone, Li Tang is in chaos, and whether it can survive is a question.
Even if I don’t add insult to injury, will Qin and Shu still not add insult to injury?
Rather than being swallowed up by the Qin and Sui countries, it would be better for me, the Sui Dynasty, to take action in advance."
Yang Guang said in a deep voice, his words full of determination.
"well……"
Cheng Gongying sighed and did not try to persuade him, because what Yang Guang said was indeed reasonable.
On the same day, Yang Guang ordered Yang Su of Wuwei County to give up the ten cities of Wuwei little by little, but not too fast to buy time for the Sui army to move the people behind.
The ten cities in the eastern part of Wuwei County have a total population of more than 200,000. It is impossible for Yang Guang to completely abandon them to Da Qin, and at least he would have to secretly move away more than 100,000 people.
At the same time, with Yang Su Wuwei attracting the attention of the Qin army, Yang Guang could boldly plot against the three counties of Qiang and Longxi.
But what Yang Guang didn't know was that he thought that after the Qin army captured Guanzhong and the Ten Cities of Wuwei, it would stop fighting and recuperate again, but he didn't expect that Ying Hao would also keep an eye on the three counties of Longxi like him.
The next day, Yang Su withdrew all the defenders of Zuli City and evacuated all the treasuries, but did not move away the people.
The Sui State's relocation plan was not to move from the front, but from the rear.
After all, in the case of relocation in the past, after the Qin State settled in the first city and counted the household registrations, it would soon be discovered that the population was not counted, and it would be difficult for the Sui State to move people away by then.
Therefore, Yang Guang directly moved people from the six counties in the rear. When Yang Su retreated to the rear one by one, almost all the people who should be moved had already been moved.
After Li Jing successfully took over Zuli City from Yang Su, he immediately reported to Ying Hao who had arrived in Chang'an.
After Ying Hao received the news, he ordered Li Jing to lead his army in Wuwei and Meng Tian to fight in Anding County to attract the attention of Yang Su and Yang Guang.
At the same time, Ying Hao also ordered Gongsun Xuanyuan to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Zuli City in Wuwei County, Long Qie to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Wushi City in Anding County, and Wu Qi to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Chencang City in Youfufeng County.
As soon as the opportunity came, the Qin army divided into three groups to advance. Gongsun Nan Xuanyuan attacked Longxi County, Long Qie attacked Hanyang County, and Wu Qi attacked Wudu County. The three armies worked together to capture the three Longxi counties.
As for when the time will come? Naturally it will be when Liu Yu takes action against Hanzhong.
Ying Hao actually thought about taking the opportunity to send troops when the Shu and Tang Dynasties broke up and capture the three counties of Hanzhong as well.
However, the three counties of Hanzhong are easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the Tang army also strictly defended Daqin. There were garrisons at all the major passes, so the losses of a forced attack would be too great.
In addition, it may force Li Tang to completely defect to Shu. If this is the case, the gains will really outweigh the losses.
Therefore, Ying Hao retreated and settled for the next best thing. Instead of attacking the three difficult Hanzhong counties, he instead captured the less difficult three Longxi counties.
With the cavalry power of the Qin army, it was easy to capture the three counties of Longxi.
After acquiring the three counties in Longxi, Daqin would surround Hanzhong on three sides. It could send troops from three directions: Youfufeng, Wudu, and Nanyang, and the difficulty of capturing Hanzhong would be minimized.
It's nothing more than that if we get to Long to look at Shu. But once we capture Hanzhong, will Yizhou still be far behind?
In addition, after taking the three counties of Longxi, Da Qin had six counties in Liangzhou.
After three more years of cultivation, even if Sili's grain and grass are not used, the grain reserves of the six counties alone should be enough for Da Qin to complete the Western Expedition.
Therefore, for Da Qin, no matter from any aspect, taking over the three counties of Longxi would be of great benefit.