Chapter 2519: Destroying the Tang Dynasty (Part 2)
Chapter 2519: Destroy the Tang Dynasty (Part 2)
In the Battle of Longxi, the Qin army sent 60,000 troops and marched in three directions, all achieving great victories.
After the war, statistics showed that the total casualties of the Qin army were less than one thousand, but they achieved the result of killing 13,000 enemies and capturing 27,000 prisoners.
Although many of them were new recruits, this was still a great victory.
After occupying the three counties in Longxi, Da Qin's sphere of influence in Liangzhou also changed from one and a half counties before the Guanzhong War to the current six counties.
The six counties of Liangzhou under the Qin Dynasty are: Beidi County, Anding County, Wuwei County, Longxi County, Hanyang County, and Wudu County.
As for the Sui State's sphere of influence in Liangzhou, it was reduced to six counties, namely: Jincheng County, Zhangye County, Jiuquan County, Dunhuang County, Zhangye Shu Kingdom, and Juyan County.
In addition to these six counties, the Sui State had four more counties in the Qiang region, and also established three new counties in the Western Regions, and had already seized one county in the Qiang region from the Tang Dynasty.
At present, the Sui Kingdom has a total of fourteen counties. Compared with the previous territory, the scope of the territory has been greatly expanded. However, the total population has dropped to 1.8 million, and the overall strength has become weaker.
The reason why the Sui Kingdom experienced such a situation was naturally because the Wuwei and Stability ceded to the Qin Dynasty were the most densely populated and richest areas in the Sui Kingdom.
On the other hand, the five counties of the Qiang region and the newly established three counties of the Western Regions are barren lands with vast territory and few people.
After years of governance and development by the Sui State, although these territories have gradually become richer, there is still a certain gap compared to eastern Liangzhou.
You should know that most of Liangzhou’s essence is concentrated in the east. The further east you go, the richer it becomes and the population is larger, while the further west you go, the poorer it becomes and the population is smaller.
The six counties in Liangzhou now occupied by the Qin Dynasty are naturally not worth mentioning compared to the Central Plains, but in Liangzhou they are all densely populated and fertile places.
Beidi County and Anding County in Liangzhou, after Da Qin's governance, development and vigorous immigration, these two counties alone have a population of 1.3 million.
The new Wuwei County has a population of 150,000.
The total population of the three counties in Longxi is also 300,000.
In other words, the total population of the six counties of Liangzhou in Da Qin alone has reached 1.75 million, which is equivalent to the total population of the fourteen counties of the Sui Dynasty.
On the surface, Da Qin's power in Liangzhou was already equal to that of Sui State. One can imagine how much pressure Yang Guang was under.
It's no wonder that Yang Guang would form an alliance with Tubo, whom he looked down upon. After all, the gap between Qin and Sui was too great. The Sui alone was not even qualified to compete with Qin.
Li Jing, who was in Wuwei and in control of the overall situation, immediately ordered the three armies to station themselves on the spot to stabilize the situation in Longxi after receiving the news that the three counties in Longxi had been occupied.
At the same time, Li Jing mobilized 10,000 troops from each of the three counties, totaling 30,000 troops, led by Wu Qi to support Li Cunxiao at Yangping Pass.
During the period when the Qin army attacked Longxi, Liu Yu had completely solved the problem in Hanzhong.
First, Shi Jingtang rebelled, and after surrendering to Shu, he was made a Marquis by Liu Yu.
Later, Li Siyuan surrendered and was granted the title of King of Longxi by Liu Yu.
It is difficult for anyone with a discerning eye to see that Li Tang's situation is over. After all, even Li Siyuan's clan has been surrendered. This has also made the morale of the remaining Tang troops fall to the bottom, and they no longer have the heart to resist.
At this time, news came out that Li Keyong, who had been captured alive, surrendered and was made a prince by Liu Yu.
Li Keyong would surrender, naturally he was stimulated by the news that Li Siyuan was crowned king.
Li Keyong also had his own ambitions. His ambitions were aroused when he saw that Li Siyuan was crowned king after surrendering and still retained his right to independence.
Li Tang was doomed, and besides, he was not the first clan to surrender. While he still had some influence in the Tang army, it would be best to quickly strive for a higher salary.
So Li Keyong surrendered to Liu Yu.
As soon as the news came out, Li Keyong's old troops surrendered to Shu one after another, and Liu Yu also gave them the treatment of Bunhou and let Li Keyong command these troops.
Li Siyuan and Li Keyong surrendered one after another, which became the last straw that broke Li Tang's back.
Within a few days, the three counties of Hanzhong, Shangyong, and Xincheng, and all major cities except Xinzheng, all surrendered to Shu.
Liu Yu almost effortlessly occupied all the territory except Xinzheng.
As for why Xinzheng did not surrender? Of course it was because Li Xiaogong was there.
Li Xiaogong originally wanted to use the Qin army to attack Yangping Pass to force Liu Yu to negotiate peace with him, but he did not expect that Li Siyuan was tempted by the throne and turned directly to Liu Yu.
Li Keyong, who was captured later, also surrendered.
Now Li Tang only has the city of Nanzheng left in Hanzhong. Regardless of whether Li Xiaogong can persist, even if he continues, there is not much meaning.
Li Xiaogong knew very well that in Nanzheng City, countless people were waiting for him to make a decision. If he would rather die than surrender, civil war would break out immediately.
I don't know how many people are waiting to exchange his head for wealth with Liu Yu.
Although Li Xiaogong was sure of quelling the civil strife, once the civil war started and the Shu army launched an attack, Nanzheng City would definitely not be able to defend it.
No matter how dissatisfied Li Xiaogong was with Liu Yu, he still knew that surrendering at this time in exchange for better treatment was the most rational choice.
But Li Xiaogong was really unwilling to surrender like this, so he delayed it deliberately, hoping to force Liu Yu to give Li Zhi and Li Siyuan the same surrender treatment. It would be better if he could also reserve several county fiefdoms for Li Tang.
Liu Yu naturally knew Li Xiaogong's thoughts, but he obviously would not agree.
He could accept Li Siyuan because Li Siyuan had this value.
What is the value of Li Zhi? Just relying on a city of Nanzheng that is bound to fall is obviously not worthy of Liu Yu's title of King of Tang.
Therefore, Liu Yu was not in a hurry. Even if the Qin army had arrived at Yangping Pass and could launch a fierce attack at any time, he deliberately wasted his time with Li Xiaogong. After all, whoever was anxious at this time would be passive.
Li Xiaogong still wanted to continue the consumption, but the eldest grandson Wu Guo Li Zhi and his son did not dare to continue the consumption, so the mother and son begged Li Xiaogong to surrender.
All Li Xiaogong's persistence was for Li Zhi's mother and son. Now that neither mother nor son wanted to persist anymore, what was the point of him continuing to persist? So he sent envoys out of the city to discuss surrender with Liu Yu.
Liu Yu agreed to make Li Zhi a marquis, with a household of 10,000 households, and a salary second only to that of Li Siyuan.
Seeing this, Li Xiaogong did not persist. The next day, he ordered people to open the city gate, personally handed over the household registration list, and surrendered to Liu Yu's Shu Kingdom.
Since then, the Tang Kingdom has been destroyed and officially withdrawn from the fight for world hegemony.
Before the beginning of the Troubled Times, the total population of Hanzhong was only 260,000, and there were only nine cities.
However, under Li Shimin's many years of governance and development, Hanzhong has now grown from one county to three counties, the number of cities has increased to 20, and the total population has reached 700,000.
The ten counties of Hanzhong County have a population of 450,000, the six counties of Shangyong County have a population of 150,000, and the four counties of Xincheng County have a population of 100,000.
After two years of governance by Liu Yu, the Kingdom of Shu also ushered in great governance. Now, with the addition of 200,000 to 300,000 newborns, the total population of the Kingdom of Shu has approached 6.3 million.
If the three counties of Hanzhong are included, the total population of Shu is approaching 7 million, and its overall strength is second only to Da Qin.
Occupying Hanzhong can not only complete the square line, but also expand the power. The only drawback is that it officially borders the Qin Dynasty. No wonder Liu Yu can't resist this piece of fat.
But for Shu, the next step is the real test, because it is about to face the Qin Dynasty, which has a total population of nearly 39 million.
Before Ying Hao cultivated, he increased the total population of Qin to 32 million through population summons.
Daqin has always adhered to the policy of encouraging childbirth, and natural childbirth has produced an increase of nearly three million newborns in the past two years.
At the same time, Da Qin purchased slaves through sea trade to run Luzon Island, conquered and occupied Yingzhou, completely occupied Guanzhong, seized three counties in Longxi, and forced Sui to cede Wuwei County. These measures also increased the population of Da Qin by more than three million.
Today, the total population of Da Qin has reached 39 million, and it will soon reach the 40 million mark.
It should be noted that before the beginning of the troubled times, the total population of the Han Dynasty was only over 55 million, not counting the hidden household registrations of aristocratic families. If included, it could reach 65 million.
With the promotion of new grain varieties and the increase in grain production, various countries have implemented policies to encourage childbirth, which has also greatly increased the fertility rate of the population.
In the past two years, the world as a whole has been in a peaceful stage. All countries have worked hard to cultivate their internal strength, concentrate on development, and increase their population through various methods such as encouraging births internally and plundering externally.
After two years of cultivation and development, the total population of the world has increased from 58 million to 68 million.
In two years, the world's population has increased by ten million, which is more than the total population of the Han Dynasty in its heyday before the beginning of the troubled times.
It has to be said that all countries are not idle, and they all want to shorten the gap between them and Great Qin, but they did not expect that the gap will widen instead.
Among the 10 million new people, the Qin Kingdom alone accounted for nearly 6 million, while the combined total of all countries only accounted for 4 million.
If things continue like this, even if Great Qin does not expand, it will still only get stronger and stronger.
Perhaps it was also because he felt pressure that Liu Yu swallowed Hanzhong at all costs, but did not give up any opportunity to expand his strength.
But after occupying Hanzhong, the only expansion direction for the Shu Kingdom was the Qin Kingdom.
Attacking the southern barbarians in the south, regardless of whether they win or not, even if they win, it will not increase the national strength much, and it will do more harm than good to Shu.
Every time he thought about this, Liu Yu was extremely worried. After all, the speed of internal development was too slow, and the direction of external expansion was lost. How could Shu shorten the gap with Qin?
When Liu Yu thought about this problem, he felt that the wine in the cup was no longer fragrant. He suddenly looked down at the eldest grandson Wugao below. He couldn't help but think of taking her as his concubine and Li Zhi as his adopted son.
Why was Liu Yu able to stabilize the Shu Kingdom so quickly? Wasn't it because he married Lu Fei and recognized Liu Ying as his son that he completely conquered Liu Ji's civil and military ambitions?
Therefore, Liu Yu prepared to repeat his old tricks, marry his eldest grandson Wugu, and recognize Li Zhi as his adopted son, in order to appease the surrendered civil and military ministers of Li and Tang Dynasties.
Liu Yu did not put forward his idea in public, but found an opportunity to talk to Changsun Wugao alone. Naturally, he was rejected by Changsun Wugao.
The eldest grandson Wugu is not Lu Fei. She does not have such a strong desire for power. Her husband's body is still cold, so she simply cannot accept a second marriage.
Liu Yu was rejected by Changsun Wugou, but he did not force him. He admired Buddhism and looked down upon female sex.
He wanted to marry his eldest grandson Wugou just to appease the general, not because he was coveting his eldest grandson Wugou's beauty.
Since the eldest grandson Wugou is unwilling, he will naturally not forcefully marry a woman, otherwise it will damage his reputation if word spreads.
After Liu Yu stabilized many matters in Nanzheng, he was ready to go to Yangpingguan to take charge, but he did not want to receive the news of Li Xiaogong's suicide before leaving.
Li Xiaogong was still alive just to atone for his sins. Now that the Tang Dynasty was not only dead, but also surrendered by him personally, so he had long lost the motivation to live, so he committed suicide by hanging himself.
Liu Yu originally planned to reuse Li Xiaogong, after all, which king wouldn't love such a loyal minister? Moreover, using Li Xiaogong to rebel against Qin, and letting Li Xiaogong and Li Maozhen kill each other, would also disgust Ying Hao.
But he didn't expect that before his idea was implemented, Li Xiaogong had already committed suicide.
Everyone was already dead, so it was too late to say anything. Liu Yu could only give Li Xiaogong a grand burial and posthumously named him Marquis of Nanzheng.
Soon afterwards, Liu Yu led his army to Yangping Pass, and Zhang Ren, Liu Er, Kong Peng, Xing Tian and other generals had also arrived at Yangping Pass ahead of him.
Liu Yu had just arrived at Yangping Pass, but unexpectedly he received the news that Han Xin had captured four counties in Xincheng County, and the Qin army on the eastern front was directly targeting Shangyong County.