On the tenth day of April in the first year of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army, under the command of Li Xian and Li Ji, broke through Pyongyang City, killing Yuan Nanjian, the highest authority in Goguryeo, and thousands of soldiers who were unwilling to surrender, and collected more than 20,000 surrendered troops.
People received tens of thousands of grains, jewelry, and equipment, and the Goguryeo regime was declared destroyed.
A few days later, all the counties and counties south of Pyongyang also gave up resistance, accepted the surrender edict jointly issued in the name of the treasure king Hequan boy, and sent soldiers, supplies and household registration to Pyongyang.
At the same time, the Goguryeo general who was in charge of guarding the southern front, Yeon Gaesomun's brother, and the son-in-law of King Hobo, Yeon Jodo, surrendered to Silla Jin Inwen's army.
At this point, the two-year war against Goguryeo ended.
After pacifying Goguryeo, Li Ji did not immediately return to the court with his troops, but reported the details to Gaozong who was in Luoyang, waiting for Gaozong's sanction.
The people who delivered the news naturally did not dare to delay, so they used an eight-hundred-mile expedited delivery, and it took only five days to deliver the battle report to Luoyang.
"Haha, okay, okay. Mei Niang, you see, Li Ji led the army to conquer Pyongyang City half a month ago, and Goguryeo has been pacified. Xian'er also unexpectedly killed the thief chief Quan Nanjian on the battlefield. It's really
He is worthy of being my prince. Haha, I think of the time when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty raised an army of millions and conquered Goryeo three times, but failed in succession. Emperor Taizong also raised more than 100,000 troops and personally conquered Goryeo, but still could not completely pacify Goryeo, and he was ultimately devastated.
Under Xin'an City, I now order Li Ji to lead the army to fulfill Taizong's last wish in one fell swoop, and I can finally explain to the late emperor."
Gaozong, who was on the sick bed, was immediately happy when he heard the good news. He felt that most of his illnesses were cured. He took the good news and said to Empress Wu with a smile.
"That is, your Majesty is so wise and powerful, who can compare with him?" Empress Wu said casually with a faint smile on her face, and then asked: "But has your Majesty considered how to deal with those who have been killed?"
To pacify Goguryeo?”
"Haha, is there any need to say this? Naturally, it will be incorporated into our territory of the Tang Dynasty, a state capital will be established, and it will be under direct jurisdiction. In such a land with barren mountains and harsh rivers, there will definitely be unruly people. It will definitely be inappropriate to restrict people."
Although Emperor Gaozong had a cowardly character, sometimes his ideas were quite clear, and he decided on a plan to deal with Goguryeo without even thinking about it. As for the scene where Izumi asked for help in resetting Goguryeo, it had long been forgotten.
As for this point, Empress Wu actually had the same view, so after hearing what Gaozong said, she immediately nodded in agreement.
However, Empress Wu was concerned about another issue, so she asked: "How should we govern it specifically?"
"Well, I am planning to establish the Andong Protectorate in the hometown of Goguryeo, with several governor's offices under it, and the jurisdiction of prefectures and counties, establishing household registration, collecting taxes, and forcing the people of Goguryeo to move to the mainland for the purpose of monitoring them. I don't know what Mei Niang wants.
how?"
In fact, Gaozong had already discussed these matters with the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, so it was easy to say them now. Since Gaozong had always been a coward, he naturally told all these things honestly.
In fact, Empress Wu knew what Gaozong said better than he did, because the prime ministers in the political hall, Li Jingzong and Li Anqi, were all her people. When Gaozong and the prime ministers were discussing the matter, Li Anqi had already informed them of the details.
Got her.
However, what Empress Wu was most concerned about was not these, but the appointment of personnel in the newly pacified Goguryeo land.
In fact, Empress Wu's life has not been so satisfactory over the years.
First of all, it has to be said that in the events of pacifying Tiele's rebellion and deposing the queen, Empress Wu won two consecutive victories, arranged her people into the court, and at the same time tried her best to exclude Gaozong's trusted ministers, but Gaozong also
He was not as weak as he showed, and he started a long battle with Empress Wu.
Not long after Shangguan Yi's death, Emperor Gaozong launched his first counterattack, ordering Prince Youzhong to protect and inspect the school's Xitai Minister Le Yanwei, and Xitai Assistant Sun Chuyue to work with the East and West Taiwan Third Rank.
Naturally, Empress Wu was not willing to lose power. She combined the power of Xu Jingzong and others. First, she promoted Jiang Ke, who had made great achievements in war, to the position. Later, she removed Le Yanwei and Sun Chuyue from the position and replaced them with his close confidant Lu Dunxin.
At the same time, Empress Wu ordered Xu Jingzong and others to write to Gaozong, requesting for a Zen title, and with the help of Ya Xian, requesting for a knighthood and other events to expand Empress Wu's influence among the ministers. At this time, Empress Wu's prestige could be said to have increased unprecedentedly.
.
However, Emperor Gaozong did not give in completely. When he issued a general amnesty to the world because of the Zen Ceremony, Emperor Emperor Gaozong specifically issued an edict that no one who had lived in a long life could be pardoned. This caused Li Yifu, who was in the long life, to die of sorrow and anger, and could never return to the throne.
Returning to the court, Empress Wu completely lost this arm.
Later, Lu Dunxin also resigned under the strong pressure of Emperor Gaozong. Emperor Emperor Gaozong took the opportunity to appoint Liu Rengui as his right minister, thus beginning to control the court again.
Not only that, Gaozong also struck while the iron was hot and appointed five prime ministers in one fell swoop, namely Yang Wu, the minister of West Taiwan, the minister of Dao Guogong, the prince of the inspection school, Zuo Zhong, who protected Dai Zhide, who was admonishing the officials, the assistant minister of Dongtai, Anping
Duke Li Anqi and Dongtai Minister Zhang Wenguan.
As a result, except for the elderly Xu Jingzong and Li Anqi, who was still Empress Wu's confidant, there was no other party in the political hall.
It was precisely because of this that Wu Cai decided to take advantage of the opportunity to pacify Goguryeo and deploy people as soon as possible to rebuild his own power.
"Your Majesty is wise, and I think so too, but I don't know who your Majesty wants to use to guard the Anton Protectorate?" Empress Wu finally figured it out and revealed her true purpose.
"Haha, originally I was interested in Li Sikong, but this gentleman is too old after all. At the age of eighty, he has been fighting for more than two years, so he should take a rest. Li Ji gave me a list of his military exploits.
, General Zuo Wuwei Xue Rengui is the most important, so I want to make him the chief protector of the Andong Protectorate. I wonder what Mei Niang wants?" Gaozong did not hide it, and directly stated his intention with a smile on his face.
looked at Empress Wu.
"Why Xue Rengui? Your Majesty, although Xue Rengui has the highest military exploits and is brave in battle, I think Qibi Heli is better at pacifying the border areas. For example, when Tiele was defeated last time, Xue Rengui used violence to fight violence, but the result was not
Qibi Heli only used dozens of horses to win, and it was decided with just one shout. From this, it can be seen that Qibi Heli was better than Xue Rengui in attracting people's hearts, not to mention that Heli's meritorious service in this battle was not small.
Second only to Rengui, it is reasonable to order him to control the Andong Protectorate. If Your Majesty is still hesitant, it is better to wait for the ministers to decide the matter at the court meeting." Naturally, Empress Wu would not let go of such an opportunity to promote a close confidant.
, and quickly took the opportunity to recommend this warrior to Emperor Gaozong.
Gaozong naturally knew that Empress Wu was still very powerful in the court. If it were resolved through court discussions, the matter would probably go against his will. However, Gaozong was not stupid. How could he hand over the power of personnel affairs like this?
What about giving in? So he hesitated for a moment and then said with a faint smile: "The court meeting can only be held in three days. It will be too late to discuss it by then. Goguryeo's more than 100,000 troops are all stationed. Every extra day will consume more money."
Instead of doing this, it is better to send the consumed food and grass to the people of Goguryeo. Therefore, in my opinion, it is better to leave this matter to the political hall for discussion."
When Empress Wu saw that Gaozong had rejected her, she was naturally very dissatisfied. However, she also knew that Gaozong today was no longer the Gaozong of the past. Now that he had great power and was comforted by his tender sister Wu Shun, it could be said that he was
Satisfied with ambition.
"Hmph, Wu Shun is such a vixen. He keeps pestering him all day long, which makes him treat me less than before. If I don't get rid of this person as soon as possible, it will always be a trouble."
At this time, Empress Wu no longer cared that Wu Shun was her sister, and directly compared her to a vixen. At the same time, she became murderous and decided to kill Wu Shun. She believed that as long as Wu Shun died, Gaozong would be affected by grief and return to his old illness.
She will definitely relapse, and if she seizes the opportunity to intervene in the court again and regain power, she will definitely be invincible again.
Of course, Empress Wu could not get any benefits, so she asked Gaozong to grant Guo Dai a reward on the grounds that he had also made great contributions. After all, Gaozong had a cowardly character, so in order to make up for his guilt, he agreed to grant Guo Dai a reward.
He was named General Zuoweiwei. Seeing this, Empress Wu could only do this.
Not to mention how Empress Wu arranged to kill Wu Shun after returning to the palace, it is said that after some discussions with the Political Affairs Hall, Emperor Gaozong finally issued an order for the army to form a division. At the same time, Xue Rengui was awarded the title of General Youweiwei and the title of Pingyang County Duke.
He inspected the Andong Dufu Prefecture and led 20,000 troops to guard Pyongyang. He also divided the old land of Goguryeo into nine governors' prefectures, 42 prefectures, and 100 counties.
In addition, Emperor Gojong also issued an edict to Silla's civil and military king Kim Bo-min to establish the Jilin Province Governor's Office in Silla to implement Jisi rule. He also established the Wuongjin, Mahan, Dongmyeong, Geumnyeon, and De'an five provinces in the old land of Baekje.
There is a governor's office under the jurisdiction of 37 prefectures and 250 counties. Wang Wendu, the right guard general, is still the governor of Xiongjin, commanding troops to control the whole territory. He also orders Liu Renyuan, the left guard general, to lead 10,000 troops to guard Baekje.
City, appoint local chiefs to serve as governors and governors, and implement Jisi rule.
At this point, the entire Sanhan homeland was completely under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, and the prestige of the Tang Dynasty was far greater than before.
Of course, Guo Daifeng, Hao Chujun, Qibi Heli and others also received rewards for their merits, and the two hundred royal guards under Li Xian also received rewards respectively, from those who were in the sixth rank and joined the army to those who were in the fourth rank and were Zhonglang.
Among the generals, Xue Na was also awarded the title of Zhonglang General of Youweiwei for his outstanding achievements. Li Duozuo was awarded Sima of the Yingzhou Governor's Prefecture because of his clan's surrender, and was awarded the title of Third-Rank Guide General (Wu Sanguan).
The two most important figures next to Li Xian, Zhang Wuchen and Dou Xiantong, were only promoted to the rank of Lord because they were low-key and gave up on meritorious service. However, for these two people, as long as they stayed with Li Xian, it didn't matter how big or small their official position was.
Li Xian originally achieved great success by destroying the city of Pyongyang, surrendering King Baobao, and killing Yuon Namjian and Yuonnam Chan. However, because he deliberately distributed the credit to his subordinates, in addition to granting an additional 200 households a fiefdom, he also granted him
There is no special reward for holding ten horses.
Li Xian didn't care about this. Anyway, he gained a lot from this expedition. He not only gained prestige and conquered several generals, but also made a lot of money.
It was about to leave here, but there was one thing that Li Xian had to explain before leaving. Therefore, Li Xian came to Xue Rengui's camp and solemnly confessed one thing to him. (To be continued.) This chapter has been completed!