Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 684 Continue to attack
In the imperial study of the Sui Dynasty, candlelight flickered. Jia Changsheng sat behind a large desk, frowning. The red pen in his hand tapped the table lightly, making a crisp and rhythmic sound. Spread out in front of him was the latest battle report from the island country. The Kyoto city had been uncaptured for a long time and the war had reached a stalemate, which made him quite unhappy.

"Hmph, a mere island country is so difficult to deal with." Jia Changsheng muttered to himself with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly raised his head, with a gleam of determination in his eyes: "Pass on my order, and dispatch two more armies. We must take over the island country in the shortest possible time!"

Soon, the Great Sui Empire assembled two elite divisions again. One division, led by General Gao Jiong of the Left, set out from Qingzhou and attacked two important towns on the eastern coast of the island country - Haiyang City and Fengyang City; the other division, led by General Han Qinhu of the Right Guard, set out from Chuzhou and attacked Mingshui City, Cuishan City and Yunyan City in the southern part of the island country.

The army led by Gao Jiong was sailing on the sea with warships like a forest. The sea breeze was howling, the military flags were waving, and the faces of the soldiers were filled with determination. Gao Jiong stood at the bow, looking at the sea ahead, silently thinking about the battle plan in his mind.

"Your Majesty has placed high hopes on this expedition, and we must not let him down." Gao Jiong said to the deputy general beside him.

"General, rest assured. We will fight to the death and capture Haiyang City and Fengyang City." The deputy general replied firmly.

At the same time, the army led by Han Qinhu was also rapidly approaching the southern part of the island country. Han Qinhu rode on a tall warhorse, wearing heavy armor, looking majestic. His eyes were like a hawk, staring ahead, as if he had seen the dawn of victory.

"Pass the order down, speed up the march, and make sure to reach Mingshui City before the enemy is prepared." Han Qinhu ordered loudly.

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded in unison, and the team's marching speed suddenly increased a lot.

Soon, the two armies of the Great Sui Dynasty arrived at their respective target cities. The army led by Gao Jiong took the lead in launching an attack on Haiyang City. On the city wall, the island country's defenders had already been ready, holding bows and arrows and spears, and watching the Great Sui army under the city vigilantly.

"Attack the city!" Gao Jiong gave the order, and the Sui soldiers rushed to Haiyang City like a tide. The siege vehicles rumbled, and the huge battering rams hit the city gates again and again; ladders were quickly set up, and the soldiers climbed up bravely; archers kept shooting at the city walls from below the city, providing cover for the soldiers attacking the city.

The island country's defenders were not to be outdone, they shot arrows and threw stones in an attempt to stop the Sui army's attack. For a time, the battlefield was filled with shouts of killing and smoke.

The attack and defense of Haiyang City was extremely fierce. Although the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty were brave and fearless, the island defenders relied on the solid city walls and favorable terrain to resist tenaciously. The two sides fought back and forth, with casualties on both sides, and the battle fell into a stalemate.

Gao Jiong was a little anxious when he saw that the city had been unsuccessful for a long time. He personally came to the front line to encourage the soldiers' morale: "Soldiers, don't retreat, we must take Haiyang City! Fight for the glory of the Sui Dynasty!"

The soldiers were encouraged by the general and launched another fierce attack on Haiyang City. However, the resistance of the island defenders was still very tenacious, and the Sui army was unable to break through their defense line.

At the same time, the attack of the Sui army in Fengyang City also encountered obstacles. The walls of Fengyang City were taller and stronger than those of Haiyang City, and the fighting power of the defenders should not be underestimated. Gao Jiong had to send part of his troops to support the attack on Fengyang City, but still failed to make substantial progress.

In the southern part of the island country, the army led by Han Qinhu also fought fiercely with the defenders of Mingshui City, Cuishan City and Yunyan City. The defenders of Mingshui City used the water system in the city to set up many obstacles, making it difficult for the siege equipment of the Sui army to work. Han Qinhu tried many offensive methods, but they were all resolved by the defenders one by one.

Cuishan City is located in a strategic location, easy to defend but difficult to attack. During the attack, the Sui army encountered stubborn resistance from the defenders and suffered heavy losses. Han Qinhu had to change his tactics and adopt a siege strategy, trying to cut off the connection between Cuishan City and the outside world and force it to surrender.

The defenders of Yunyan City were good at night attacks. They took advantage of the night and sent out small groups of troops to harass the camp of the Sui army many times, making the Sui soldiers exhausted. Han Qinhu strengthened the defense of the camp, but still could not completely avoid the night attacks of the defenders.

For a time, the Sui army was in a stalemate under the five cities of the island country. On the battlefield, soldiers from both sides fought bloody battles, and the blood dyed the ground red. Every day, countless soldiers fell, but new soldiers were replaced. The cruelty of the battle was beyond imagination.

Jia Changsheng was in the Great Sui Palace, constantly receiving war reports from the island battlefield. When he learned that the war had reached a stalemate, his face became increasingly gloomy.

"Pass on my order. Tell Gao Jiong and Han Qinhu to try their best to break the deadlock as soon as possible and capture these five cities. Otherwise, they will be punished by military law!" Jia Changsheng's voice was full of majesty and anger.

The battle report was quickly passed to Gao Jiong and Han Qinhu. After reading the report, they both felt a huge pressure in their hearts.

"We must carry out His Majesty's orders. It seems we have to change our tactics." Gao Jiong said to Han Qinhu.

Han Qinhu nodded and said, "Yes, it will be disadvantageous for us to continue fighting like this. We must find a way to find the enemy's weakness and then break through in one fell swoop."

So Gao Jiong and Han Qinhu began to carefully study the enemy's defensive deployment and combat characteristics. They sent a large number of scouts to go deep into the enemy's rear to collect intelligence. After several days of hard work, they finally discovered some weaknesses of the enemy.

In Haiyang City, the island country's garrison troops were mainly concentrated in the front of the city gates and walls, while the side defenses were relatively weak. Gao Jiong decided to take advantage of this and sent an elite force to launch a surprise attack from the side.

In Fengyang City, the garrison's food and grass reserves were mainly stored in the warehouse in the north of the city. After Gao Jiong learned of this, he made a plan to sneak attack the grain and grass warehouse. He selected a group of agile soldiers, sneaked into the north of the city under the cover of night, and successfully burned down the enemy's grain and grass warehouse.

When the defenders of Fengyang learned that their food and grass had been burned, they immediately lost their morale. Gao Jiong took the opportunity to launch a general attack. The Sui army quickly broke through the enemy's defenses like a tiger descending from a mountain and captured Fengyang in one fell swoop.

At the same time, in the southern part of the island country, Han Qinhu also found a way to defeat the enemy. He found that although the defenders of Mingshui City used the water system to set up obstacles, their water source mainly came from a river outside the city. Han Qinhu sent people to cut off the river upstream, causing the defenders of Mingshui City to fall into a water shortage dilemma.

The Mingshui City defenders were short of water and their fighting capacity was greatly reduced. Han Qinhu took the opportunity to launch an attack and successfully captured Mingshui City.

In Cuishan City, Han Qinhu had been besieging the city for a long time, and the defenders in the city had run out of ammunition and food. Under the powerful offensive of the Sui army, the defenders of Cuishan City finally laid down their weapons and surrendered. The defenders of Yunyan City learned that the other four cities had been breached one after another, and their morale was low. Han Qinhu seized this opportunity and launched a final attack on Yunyan City. Under the fierce attack of the Sui army, the defenders of Yunyan City quickly collapsed, and the Sui army successfully occupied Yunyan City.

As Fengyang City, Mingshui City, Cuishan City and Yunyan City were successively captured, the defenders of Haiyang City fell into an isolated and helpless situation. Under the strong pressure of the Sui army, the defenders of Haiyang City finally chose to surrender.

At this point, under the command of Jia Changsheng, the Sui army successfully broke the stalemate with the five cities of the island country and won a brilliant victory. This victory not only laid a solid foundation for the expansion of the Sui Empire, but also made Jia Changsheng famous.

The atmosphere in the meeting hall of the Great Sui Palace was warm and solemn. Jia Changsheng sat high in the main seat, his eyes swept over the civil and military officials below, his face showing some satisfaction of victory, but also a hint of contemplation.

"Now, our Great Sui has successfully captured several cities on the island country, but this is just the beginning. How can we appease the people in this newly occupied land and stabilize the situation? Do you have any good ideas?" Jia Changsheng's voice was steady and powerful, echoing in the hall.

As soon as he finished speaking, General Gao Jiong of the Left Wuhou came out first, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the most important thing is to enforce strict military discipline. Our soldiers must not harm anyone in the city and treat the people with courtesy. Only in this way can we initially win the hearts of the people."

Jia Changsheng nodded slightly and agreed: "General Gao is right. Discipline is the foundation of the army and the key to gaining the trust of the people. Instruct all troops that anyone who disturbs the people will be severely punished."

At this time, Prime Minister Yang Su stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, in addition to military discipline, we must also give practical benefits to the people. I suggest opening the granaries to release grain to help the people who are suffering in the war and relieve their urgent needs."

"Well, Yang Aiqing's plan is feasible." Jia Changsheng's eyes flashed with approval, "Pass the order down, check the granaries in the city, and distribute the food to the affected people as soon as possible."

However, the Minister of Revenue Su Wei showed a worried look on his face. He stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, opening the granaries to release grain can solve the problem temporarily, but in the long run, the land distribution in this island country is uneven, and most people have no land to farm, making it difficult to make a living. If this continues, there may be unexpected changes."

This made everyone fall into deep thought. Jia Changsheng frowned slightly and asked, "Lord Su, in your opinion, how should we solve this land problem?"

Su Wei paused, carefully considered his words and said: "Your Majesty, I heard that in this island country, most of the land is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful families. They rely on their power to oppress the people, and the people are suffering. We might as well..." Su Wei paused slightly here, and a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

"What do you think? My dear Lord Su, just go ahead and say it." Jia Changsheng urged.

Su Wei gritted his teeth and said, "Why not implement the policy of 'beating the local tyrants and distributing the land'? Confiscate the land of those powerful families who are rich but cruel and oppress the people, and distribute it to the landless people. In this way, the people will have land, live and work in peace, and will be grateful to our Great Sui, and the newly occupied land will be stable for a long time."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall. Some ministers looked surprised, obviously shocked by this bold proposal; some nodded slightly, as if thinking about something; and some looked worried and whispered.

Han Qinhu, the general of the Right Guard, could not help but say, "Minister Su, although this policy of 'beating the local tyrants and distributing the land' may benefit the people, how can those powerful families accept this? They will definitely resist strongly, and this may lead to new unrest."

Su Wei's expression was firm, and he retorted: "General Han's words are not without reason, but those powerful families have been doing evil on the island country for a long time and have long lost the support of the people. When my Great Sui soldiers arrived, they were already panicked. Now we follow the will of the people and punish these bullies, and the people will surely applaud. Even if they resist, how much trouble can they cause in front of the powerful military of my Great Sui?"

Prime Minister Yang Su also spoke up: "Although Minister Su's plan is risky, it is a good strategy in the long run. If the people can live and work in peace and contentment, it will be the foundation of our Great Sui's rule over this island country. However, we must act with caution in the implementation process and try to reduce unnecessary conflicts."

Jia Changsheng leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes and said with a firm look: "I have made up my mind to implement the policy of 'beating the local tyrants and dividing the land'. However, this matter is of great importance and must be carefully arranged."

He looked at Gao Jiong and said, "General Gao, you must immediately select elite soldiers and form a patrol team to patrol the city and maintain order. If you find any powerful clans resisting, suppress them immediately."

"I obey your order!" Gao Jiong took the order and withdrew.

Then, Jia Changsheng said to Yang Su: "Lord Yang, you are responsible for organizing officials to check the land accounts of the powerful families to ensure fairness. At the same time, you must do a good job of propaganda among the people to let them know that our Great Sui is doing this for their welfare."

"I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust." Yang Su replied respectfully.

Finally, Jia Changsheng said to Su Wei: "Lord Su, you will be responsible for coordinating the specific matters of land distribution. Make a detailed distribution plan to ensure that every landless citizen can get land."

"I obey your order." Su Wei replied solemnly.

Under Jia Changsheng's arrangement, the policy of "fighting the local tyrants and distributing the land" was quickly implemented in the island nation of Xinzhan City. The soldiers of the Great Sui Dynasty went door to door to publicize the policy and inform the people of the upcoming changes. The people were skeptical at first, until they saw that the Great Sui army really began to check the land of the powerful families, and then they gradually believed it was true.

The powerful and wealthy families who usually acted tyrannically were furious when they learned that their lands were going to be confiscated. They gathered together to discuss how to resist.

"The Sui Dynasty is simply going too far! How can the land passed down from our ancestors be confiscated just like that?" A fat and powerful family roared angrily.

"That's right, we can't just sit there and wait for death. Gather our servants and fight them!" Another tall and thin powerful family also echoed.

(End of this chapter)