The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 885
Yang Tong was very pleased with what he saw along the way.

Although the world is not unified, in the hearts of the people of the Great Sui Dynasty, they are just lingering bandits. As long as the invincible and invincible Great Sui army goes out, the Puppet Tang Dynasty will definitely be destroyed overnight.

The belief that the great Sui army must win the battle and win quickly, invisibly made the Sui Dynasty peaceful, and did not worry about the Sui Dynasty and its own destiny. Everyone felt that they were living in a peaceful and prosperous age.

As the capital of Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei Dynasty, Western Jin Dynasty, Northern Wei Dynasty and Sui Dynasty, although Luoyang was not prosperous in the past because of Wang Shichong and Li Mi's many years of fighting, it was in the Sui Dynasty. Its orthodox position is unmatched by other cities, not to mention Jiangdu, Yecheng, Zhuojun, and Taiyuan, the four accompanying capitals. Even Daxing City, the former capital of the Great Sui Dynasty, is still comparable to Luoyang in terms of political significance. It is a lot worse than Luoyang, and the speed of recovery was unexpectedly caught by Luoyang. This is the convenience brought by the head of politics, economy and culture and the heart of the world.

When Yang Tong's inspection team arrived in Yanshi, it was already dusk the next day. After all, this time it was a relaxed inspection, and the time didn't need to be as rushed and urgent as it was during the war.

This also means to be able to observe carefully, instead of just looking at flowers on horseback. Since the end of the war to regain the Central Plains, the land of Henan County Luo, which has gained the benefits of heaven and earth, and the capital and people, has been governed quite well, although it cannot be compared with Luoyang before the chaos of the world. Compared to, but compared to when Yang Tong served as the left-behind, he was a bit more popular.

According to Gu Yan, the governor of Henan County, the population of the entire county has exceeded 80.

It doesn't sound like much at all. After all, the city of Luoyang alone had a population of one million, and the entire population of Henan County exceeded two to three million. Compared with that, Henan County today is far behind.

However, Henan County is the central population of the Central Plains, and Yang Tong lured them to Jizhou, Youzhou, Liaodong, and Bingzhou one after another. In order to obtain Yang Tong's food and war horses, Wang Shichong even exchanged soldiers with poor people, and these people were already in the north. Settling down, of course, will not return.

Gu Yan, the governor of Henan Province, and Jing Zhaoyin can almost be said to have started from scratch. He was able to recover to a population of one million in such a short period of time, which is commendable.

Looking along the official road, you can see not only busy farmers in the fields, but also many cattle.

The cattle from the grasslands used to be wild and untamed, and they needed to be further domesticated to be used as farming cattle. Later, a 'bull nose ring' was added, and they were all extremely honest. Parents, cows and horses raised by the people, and calves and horse cubs running with their mothers can be seen from time to time.

There are not many farmers in Henan County that specialize in breeding, and some of them are poultry breeding such as chickens, ducks and geese. The real large-scale ones are still in Liaodong, Hexi, and northern Yongliang and Youbin.

The Great Wall of the Sui Dynasty has been built to the north of Yinshan Mountain, and the Monan area once occupied by the East/Turks belongs to the northernmost county in the past. It only needs to draw the county-level dividing line straight to the north to divide it.As the Great Sui Xiong dominated the world and beat up opponents one after another, not only did the Turkic ministries dare not go into the sphere of influence to graze, even the herdsmen of the Great Sui went deep into the Turkic territory to graze, and the Turkic did not dare to intervene.

Thinking about it carefully, although the imperial court fought wars last year, it had little impact on the land of Heluo that was recovered the year before last. After all, they used ships and slaves to transport food, grass and military equipment, and did not recruit civilian husbands, which reduced the damage to local people's livelihood. Therefore, Henan, Xingyang, Hongnong, Xiangcheng, Fuyang, etc., which were recovered first, were very peaceful even in the south, and even had a lot of development.

Before taking over Yizhou, what the Sui Dynasty needed to do was to further develop agriculture. Although the main tax of the imperial court was commercial tax, agriculture was the foundation of everything, and if agriculture flourished, all industries would prosper. If relatives couldn’t even eat enough, Who is in the mood to be a soldier, do business, or study?
Even if the people are willing, Yang Tong does not dare to let too many people go to engage in miscellaneous industries. At least 80.00% of the population must be engaged in farming, mulberry and animal husbandry to ensure the people's livelihood of the Sui Dynasty. This is why every large-scale battle will be devastated. The reason for this is not that the army will massacre innocent people, but that the princes from all walks of life frequently conscript civilians, resulting in fewer people farming and more people eating dry food, and the small amount of food produced must be given priority to support the army.

Take today's Sui Dynasty as an example, if Yang Tong wanted to fight a Goguryeo battle on the scale of Daye Emperor, and the logistics were all in the hands of civilian husbands, with the current family background, it would take less than a year for him to fall back into the age of wars .

This is also one of the reasons why Yang Tong is cautious about Yizhou. When ox carts and horse carts cannot drive into the middle of Shu, the logistics supplies of the army from the south can only be carried by civilian husbands. If several armies attack at the same time, the rear must at least Conscripting millions of people to transport supplies, of course, if you can seize Li Yuan's granaries, or if Li Jing seizes the gorge and builds a logistics base in the west of Badong, then the logistical pressure will be much lighter. Of course, you can also use Feitian The Shenzhou made a surprise attack on several fortresses, but if it is used once, the Tang army will have a defense, and then it will lose the effect of surprise. Therefore, only when the flying Shenzhou troops form a certain scale can they be replaced by lightning-like movements with lightning speed. To open a way.It's just that no matter what happens after the war, the early preparations must be adequate.This is also the reason why Liu Xie only mobilized [-] elite troops to attack the rear of Li Mi's army in the Southern Expedition by sea. The purpose was to maintain the logistics support for two months.

Already seeing the outline of Luoyang City from a distance, Yang Tong suddenly saw a group of female soldiers rushing forward from behind the official road. Li Youwei, Fang Xiuzhu, Zheng Liwan, and Yaoyao also started to exercise their muscles and bones to warm up, and then spontaneously lined up and went back and forth. Under the astonished gazes of the pedestrians and the Xuanjia Army, they abandoned their horses and galloped one by one.

"Human?" Yang Tong, who had already received the news, was riding a horse, looking at those galloping figures leisurely, shaking his head helplessly.

This group of female soldiers from the Asura Guards and the Rakshasa Battalion have become masochistic after hard training.

"I think we are incompatible with other women. It's just that we have no training in the morning, and we have a feeling of discomfort and want to vent. Not only that, everyone's personality is between a man and a woman... and The former good friends are also drifting away, feeling out of place with them, and I have nothing to talk about."

Yang Qinfang said to use herself as an example, "Let's take me as an example! I used to quarrel with Kong Xuan, Yang Mi, Yang Zhi, and the others, and even fought, but in the end we made up as before, better than our relatives. Sisters are still close; when Kong Xuan, Yang Mi, and Yang Zhi quit the Rakshasa camp, they also said that they would be good sisters for the rest of their lives, but when they got together later, they could no longer agree, and they were as polite as strangers. , no contact with each other."

After finishing speaking, Yang Qinfang turned her head to look at Yang Tong, and asked with a little doubt, "Why is this?"

Why?

This question really stumped Yang Tong.

"Probably this is the difference between an adult and a child." Yang Tong looked at Yang Qinfang and said casually, "The world of adults is always so quiet when we part."

"Actually, the reason why you and Kong Xuan, Yang Mi, and Yang Zhi are drifting away is because you live in a way that you can't understand each other." Yang Tong said seriously: "In the past, your living environment and goals were the same, so naturally there are endless things to talk about. topic."

"But after we separated, you continued to serve in the army, and they were already married. They each lived in different fields with different responsibilities and missions. Unknowingly, the fields they were in would be polished into different appearances. When they meet again, they will become The most familiar stranger. No matter how hard you try to find a topic, you can’t change the embarrassment and alienation between you.”

Speaking of this, Yang Tong hesitated for a moment, and then continued: "Time is a cruel thing, it allows you to meet many people, and it also makes these people leave you quietly, parting may be the normal state of life, the so-called It’s always just everyone’s wishful thinking.”

These words directly hit Yang Qinfang's saddest part, especially "parting may be the normal state of life, the so-called forever is just everyone's wishful thinking." This sentence made her feel very uncomfortable, and her mood suddenly became depressed.

She bit her lips lightly, and just opened her mouth. But when the words came to her mouth, she didn't know how to say them.

Taking another sneak peek at Yang Tong, he couldn't help but tighten his mouth.

you.
You're not going to leave me, are you?
Speechless all the way.

Enter the city from Hui'an Gate, the west gate of the North City, go south to the Luoshui River, then turn west, and enter the Yingtianmen Hengjie Street in Ziwei City from Binyao Gate. .

………………

Yang Tong's original itinerary was to start from Dongping County, visit Jiyin, Liang County, Qiao County, Huaiyang, Yingchuan, and Xiangcheng, and then enter Henan County from Yiqueguan. The inspection was terminated from Liangjun and returned to Luoyang.

When he arrived in Ziwei City, he didn't care about taking a break, and immediately sent people to bring the chief officials of the three provinces to the Tongming Palace from various government offices in the imperial city.

Not long after, the guards reported at the door, "Your Majesty Qi Zuo, all ministers are here!"

"Please come in!"

All the ministers stepped into the hall quickly, bowed and saluted, "My ministers see the Holy One."

Yang Tong said with a smile: "This is not a formal meeting, so there is no need to be polite, everyone sit down!"

"Thank you, Lord."

"I haven't had any new news from the court of the fake Tang Dynasty for several days. I heard that Li Yuan wiped out Li Jiancheng's forces. How is the situation now?" Although Yang Tong has always kept in touch with the court, it is better to have a face-to-face meeting.

Ling Jing smiled slightly: "Reporting to the Holy Majesty, after I released Liu Wenqi back to the enemy's territory, I received a report from the secret agent in Chengdu. Li Yuan sent Liu Wenqi to prison for interrogation. Later, there was news that Liu Wenqi was accused of betraying the false Tang military information to me. The Sui Dynasty not only led to the failure of more than 2000 assassins including Li Xiaoji and Dou Fengjie, and wiped out the entire army, but also wiped out the puppet Tang Dynasty espionage... The 'crime' is serious and has been executed."

"Liu Wenqi is Liu Wenjing's younger brother, and Liu Wenjing has a good relationship with Li Jiancheng. I'm afraid it will end." Yang Tong said with a smile. With a strong enemy, this suspicion will be a hundredfold.

"Liu Wenjing is finished."

Yang Tong was taken aback for a moment, then said, "So fast?"

"Exactly!" Ling Jing said: "I heard that Liu Wenjing secretly sent someone to deliver a letter to Li Jiancheng, but the letter was intercepted. Li Yuan sent troops to arrest him and bring him back to Chengdu for trial. Chen Shuda, Xiao Yu, Dou Gui, and Dou Lukuan all believed that Liu Wenjing was not a conspiracy But Li Yuan was suspicious of Liu Wenjing, and he listened to Pei Ji and Li Shentong's slander, Liu Wenjing's family has already been imprisoned, and Wu Chuansi will try this case."

"The king is suspicious, the treacherous ministers are framed, and the cruel officials are judging the case. Liu Wenjing has no way out." Yang Tong nodded, and Liu Wenjing still did not escape Pei Ji's disaster. At that time, the "Edict of Honorable Ministers" promulgated the "Seventeen Meritorious Officials of Yuanmou in Taiyuan", and said, "Shang Shu Ling Jin Wang Li Shimin, Shang Shu You Pu She Pei Ji, Na Yan Liu Wenjing Shu two deaths... Zuo Xiaowei General Sun Shunde, You Xiao General Wei Liu Hongji forgives the first death, but I want to see if Li Yuan will forgive the second death."

"I'm afraid Li Yuan is going to backtrack." Ling Jing said with a smile: "My lord, Liu Wenjing is very capable! Would you like our people to work a little bit?"

"The collusion with the Turks was the idea of ​​Liu Wenjing and Li Shimin. Why would such a talented but profit-seeking person come here? Let him fend for himself."

"Here."

Yang Tong asked again: "Is there any news about Li Shimin?"

Ling Jing shook his head and said: "There has never been any news about Li Shimin, Li Yuan seems to have completely forgotten him."

"The more casual Li Yuan is, the more it shows that he fears Li Shimin in his heart. Otherwise, why would he bring an army of tens of thousands to the north? If I'm not mistaken, Li Yuan is already thinking about how to deal with Li Shimin."

Fang Xuanling next to him also smiled and said, "What Your Majesty said is very true. Li Yuan used to balance among the scholars and let them fight on their own, but the successive fiascos have made the shrewd Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin tired of him. Tang, he did not hesitate to break with Li Yuan, and Li Jiancheng gradually became disobedient. He felt that the second son was out of his control, and he had the idea of ​​abolishing the crown prince and the king of Jin. Before that, Li Shimin was indeed abolished by him in Xiangyang. But Li Shimin went to Dangchang first to gain a foothold. As a result, in the orthodox court, Li Jiancheng’s family dominated the situation, so Li Yuan turned to deal with Li Jiancheng. In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, he must continue to let Li Jiancheng, who was imprisoned in the East Palace, occupy the seat. The rest of the disciples knew that Li Jiancheng's loss of power and resignation was inevitable, and their eyes turned from him to other threatening brothers. In order to keep everyone on the same level, and also for his own throne, Li Yuan tried every means to weaken Li Shimin. Nature is the next step."

"My lord, what should we do next?" Yang Gongren asked, they had reached this conclusion before, and they didn't think it was new, now it depends on what Yang Tong means.

"We can't let Li Yuan monopolize the power. We need to help a group of Li Shimin so that he can continue to take root in Dangchang." Yang Tong pondered for a long time and said, "Let Xue Wanche mess with Li Shimin."

"My lord..." Yang Lun looked at Yang Tong, hesitating.

"Shao Guogong has something to say, but it's okay to say it." Yang Tong smiled and looked at Yang Lun. When Yang Lun was young, he was also the number one fierce man in the royal family. Li Jing, Huangfu Wuyi and other elders recognized Yang Lun's talent very much, and suggested that Yang Tong be granted a real job and give him a chance to display his talent.Yang Tong has always attached great importance to this type of master, and since no one in the Ministry of War is in charge of government affairs, he was awarded the post of inspector of the Ministry of War.

"As ordered!"

Yang Lun bowed slightly, and said in a deep voice: "The infighting in the Puppet Tang Dynasty is raging like a raging fire, making Chengdu the core of the Puppet Tang Dynasty. In view of the huge difference in strength between the Sui and Tang dynasties, the various factions in the Tang Dynasty will definitely abandon their previous suspicions and join hands to fight against the Sui Dynasty. As far as I know, Li Yuanji is a selfish person who has no sense of the overall situation. Collusion, plotting Li Yuan and Li Shimin together? Let him become a family thief who consumes the power of the puppet Tang Dynasty"

"Conspired with Li Yuanji to plot against Li Yuan and Li Shimin?"

"That's right." Yang Lun nodded and said, "The puppet Tang Dynasty is in a slump. It can be defended by taking advantage of the terrain, but it can't be counterattacked. According to my opinion, General Pei Xingyan was dispatched from Jiangyuan to the east and General Xue Wanche went south from Jiangyuan to Li Yuanji. General Yu Chigong marched westward, and then used the Yiling Navy to attack Badong along the river. If this happened, Li Yuan would be unable to respond first and last, and would not be able to take into account the internal political situation. If Li Yuanji initiates a change in the court at this time, Li Yuan will definitely have no power to fight back. Our army retreated to the original place, and Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong decided to attack Li Yuanji, who had a bad name and bad words. The disputes between the Three Kingdoms and the overall strength of the puppet Tang Dynasty were greatly reduced, and our army can easily regain Yizhou."

Yang Tong's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help looking at Yang Gongren.

"Shao Guogong's words are quite in line with the military strategy, but..." Yang Gongren shook his head and said: "Even if Li Yuanji agrees and succeeds in usurping the throne, he is definitely not the opponent of Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong. They even push Li Jian to become emperor."

"But why?" Yang Lun was stunned.

Yang Gongren said: "First of all, Li Yuanji doesn't have much power in the army except Wu Chuan, even if he wins the throne, he can't get the support of the army, and it is two or three days away from Dangchang to Chengdu. Li Shimin It is quite easy to break a city with almost no soldiers; secondly, Yizhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there are fortresses everywhere. Only a few elite soldiers can keep our army out. In a short period of time, our army cannot Break through all the way, when Li Shimin returns from the rebellion, maybe our army will not be able to break through a hurdle; third, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Xiaogong have chests and valleys, and their views on right and wrong are very strong. Before the three of them are defeated, they will never engage in internal fighting If we help Li Yuanji to launch a change in the court, and instead promote the puppet Tang Dynasty to unite, if Li Yuan exists, this trend of division will definitely continue until its demise."

Yang Gongren's words also dispelled Yang Tong's idea of ​​supporting Li Yuanji, and looked at Yang Lun in a daze, "Mr. Shao, don't worry. You haven't had a thorough understanding of the general trend of the world since you returned to the Central Plains from Jiaozhou not long ago."

To be honest, Yang Lun’s method is not only okay, but very good. If this method had not wiped out Li Mi, Lin Shihong, and Meng Haigong before the Great Sui Dynasty, it would definitely split the Li and Tang dynasties; The estimate is seriously underestimated, so Yang Gongren is naturally not as good at understanding Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong's mentality.

As enemies of the Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong, who had been defeated repeatedly, knew how terrible the Sui Dynasty was, and also knew that internal fighting was a dead end, so they would never make Li Yuan's mistakes again.

Yang Lun nodded bitterly and did not speak again.

At the moment, the decision to let Xue Wanche do something on the border made Li Yuan feel worried and dare not attack Li Shimin rashly.

At this moment, there was a muffled sound of thunder in the eastern sky, and everyone went out to look in surprise, only to see black clouds billowing in the distant sky, as black as ink, covering the entire sky.

Yang Gongren looked towards the western sky, and found that the sky seemed to be stained with blood, he said in shock: "No, there will be a severe drought, there will be a severe flood, and there will be floods!"

After a while, dark clouds covered the entire sky, and heavy rain fell from the sky.

"It's really not as good as man's plan!" Looking at the downpour, Yang Tong smiled wryly and announced the emergency preparations: "Temporarily suspend military operations, and make all troops on standby! Order the officials in the Yellow River, Jingshui, Weishui, and Huai River basins twelve For an hour, pay attention to the area of ​​responsibility, and at the same time order the county soldiers and militia to gather and stand by..."

"Here!"

All the ministers obeyed the order awe-inspiringly and rushed back to their official residences.

(End of this chapter)