Diqin Designer

Chapter 353 The Sui Dynasty ends and the Tang Dynasty is coming!
Goguryeo has become Yang Guang's inner demon. If he cannot conquer it, he will feel itchy all over.

I don't know where he got his confidence from, as if all the problems he created could be solved as long as Goguryeo was defeated.

It seemed that by defeating Goguryeo, all the internal problems of the Sui Dynasty would be resolved, and the country would return to its heyday in an instant. He also became an emperor respected by everyone.

But how is this possible?

Even if they defeated Goguryeo, the Sui Dynasty would have already been riddled with problems, and many of them would still exist. They would not disappear just because of victory.

Those who died will never come back to life, those lost supplies will not be replenished out of thin air, and the boiling public grievances will never be calmed down!
Yang Guang probably thought that as long as he defeated Goguryeo, everything could be saved and he could start over again.

All we can say is that Yang Guang’s thinking is different from others.

"In March of the tenth year of Daye, Yang Guang arrived at Zhuo County again. However, this time, not only the conscripted civilians could not bear it, but also the Sui army officers and soldiers could not bear it. The history records that 'soldiers died on the road one after another'."

Wang Ben analyzed: "The morale of the Sui army has been extremely low after two unsuccessful campaigns against Goguryeo. In addition, the two campaigns have caused heavy losses. The national strength of the Sui Dynasty must not be as strong as before. There may be problems with food, military pay, and military equipment. With a shortage of food, military pay, and military equipment, how can the soldiers be willing to work for Yang Guang again?"

The wars of conquest were launched for three consecutive years, resulting in huge losses of materials. It was impossible to obtain sufficient replenishment in such a short period of time, and production and manufacturing also took time.

Then, there will definitely be problems with the Sui army’s supply of materials!

Let the soldiers fight against the Goguryeo people with rusty weapons, hungry stomachs and without pay. It would be strange if they didn't flee!

"After Yang Guang arrived at Linyu Palace, he offered sacrifices to the Yellow Emperor and killed the fleeing soldiers, but he still could not stop the Sui army from escaping."

"In July, Yang Guang's carriage arrived at Huaiyuan Town. At that time, the Sui Dynasty was in chaos, with uprisings breaking out everywhere. Most of the soldiers Yang Guang had recruited failed to arrive on time, but fortunately, Goguryeo was also in trouble because of Yang Guang's repeated turmoil."

Unless the victorious side can suck blood from the defeated side, this kind of national war will be a drain on both countries, and will become a competition of who has a richer financial foundation and who has greater endurance.

Although Yang Guang tried his best to squander his wealth, the Sui Dynasty was still richer than Goguryeo.

Therefore, in this tug-of-war, the Sui Dynasty did not fare well, and Goguryeo was also dragged into a state of declining people's livelihood and domestic difficulties. Once a small country falls into a difficult situation, it will be more difficult for it to get up than a large country.

"Although the Sui Dynasty was also in trouble, Goguryeo's troubles were even greater than the Sui Dynasty's. The Sui army had the upper hand in this expedition!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shi Huang and others were surprised. How could the Sui army gain the upper hand?

Could it be that Yang Guang’s campaign against Goguryeo was not successful as they thought?

Li Nian continued, "The Sui general Huer led his army to the city of Bitshe and fought with the Goguryeo army. He defeated them and wanted to take the opportunity to march towards the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang. The Goguryeo king Gao Yuan was terrified and sent envoys to Yang Guang to surrender. He also sent back Hu Sizheng, a member of Yang Xuangan's group who had fled to Goguryeo."

Hearing this, the First Emperor said in a strange tone: "This is a delaying tactic of the Goguryeo people, trying to delay the attack of the Sui army, consuming the Sui army's supplies and taking the opportunity to restore their own vitality. This plan is simple, so Yang Guang didn't really believe what the Goguryeo people said?"

This is such a crude delaying tactic. Anyone with normal intelligence and a little knowledge of military tactics can see through it. Yang Guang shouldn't fall for it, right?
According to common sense, he shouldn't have been infected, but is Guangshen an ordinary person?

Li Nian said, "Yang Guang was very pleased to see the King of Goguryeo send an envoy to beg for surrender, so he sent an envoy with a seal to summon Lai Huer to return to the army. But Lai Huer thought this was a great opportunity to defeat Goguryeo, and did not want to obey the order, and wanted to continue to march to Pyongyang. However, his generals were afraid that they would be punished by Yang Guang if they did not obey the order, so they all persuaded Lai Huer to obey the order and return to the army."

After hearing this, Wang Jian and others shook their heads, feeling unfair for Lai Huer, but not surprised at Yang Guang's actions: they just felt that this was in line with Yang Guang!

As expected of Yang Guang, nothing unexpected happened, and the operation was still so "normal"...

"This was the closest Yang Guang came to success in his campaign against Goguryeo, but it was still ruined by Yang Guang."

"Yang Guang believed that the Goguryeo king had surrendered to him because he had truly convinced him and would always be loyal to him. Therefore, after accepting the Goguryeo king's surrender, he returned to the court with great pride."

Wang Jian, who had been closing his eyes as if resting, opened them at this moment and asked, "Yang Guang accepted the surrender of the King of Goguryeo, but did not make any demands on Goguryeo? Did he not mention compensation, ceding territory, or sending hostages?"

If you didn't make any demands on Goguryeo and didn't take any substantial benefits, then why did you launch three consecutive expeditions against Goguryeo, which cost you a lot of manpower and resources?
Just to satisfy your own vanity and make the other person say "Big brother, you are so awesome. I surrender to you"?
Li Nian smiled and said, "It's not that he didn't mention it. After returning to Xijing, Yang Guang remembered that he wanted to make a request to the King of Goguryeo. He issued an edict to summon the King of Goguryeo to the court, but the Sui army had already withdrawn. How could the King of Goguryeo listen to Yang Guang? He simply ignored it."

"So Yang Guang ordered his generals to dress up and prepare to attack Goguryeo again!"

Yang Guang treated military and national affairs as a joke, and decided whether to conquer a country based on his personal likes and dislikes. The reason he wanted to conquer Goguryeo again was simply because he felt that he had been deceived and humiliated by the King of Goguryeo.

"But this expedition failed to take place because after ten years of unremitting efforts by Yang Guang, the Sui Dynasty had reached its end."

How many years would it take to destroy a unified and prosperous dynasty?

Yang Guang’s answer was only ten years!

In fact, it didn't even take ten years. In the ninth year of Daye, the Sui Dynasty was already dead. It seemed that there were still a few years left, but that was just the corpse of the Sui Dynasty rotting and stinking.

"Due to Yang Guang's various actions over the past ten years, uprisings broke out all over the Sui Dynasty. Although the Sui Dynasty still existed, its body had actually been gnawed out with holes one after another. It was just dead but not yet dead, using gorgeous clothes to cover up the stench of corpses."

"Yang Guang was not a fool. He also saw that the Sui Dynasty was doomed. In the eleventh year of Daye, he went to Jiangdu again and became even more licentious and disorderly. He ordered people to select beautiful women from the people to fill his harem, hoping to indulge in pleasure in his last days."

"He knew that his end was near. He once looked at himself in the mirror and said to his queen and ministers: 'What a nice neck. Who should chop it off?'"

"In the 14th year of Daye, Yuwen Shu's son Yuwen Huaji launched a mutiny. Yang Guang was strangled to death by Linghu Xingda at the age of 50. He reigned for 14 years and successfully brought the Sui Dynasty from prosperity to its end."

The First Emperor and others did not have any sympathy for Yang Guang's death. This man should have died earlier, which would have been a contribution to the world and the people.

"According to historical records, when Yang Jian died, the Sui Dynasty had nine million households. But when the Sui Dynasty was destroyed and the Tang Dynasty was established, there were only two million households during the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty. As the emperor of the Sui Dynasty after Yang Jian, Yang Guang should bear the main responsibility!"

Yang Guang was the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. If he hadn't done anything outrageous, how could the Sui Dynasty fall from prosperity to the end of the world, causing so many people to become homeless and lose their lives? Although he didn't kill these people one by one, he created the environment for the end of the dynasty, which was influenced by him!
Li Nian smiled and said, "When later generations discussed the fall of the Sui Dynasty and Yang Guang's merits and demerits, some people stood up for Yang Guang, saying that it was the aristocratic family that held Yang Guang back, causing Yang Guang's achievements to fail and the Sui Dynasty to end."

"The aristocratic families are indeed a strong force, but compared to Yang Guang's power as an emperor, they are still inferior. At least in the beginning, the aristocratic families could not influence Yang Guang."

"Was it the noble families who made him build those extravagant palaces, or was it the noble families who made him build those luxurious dragon boats?"

"During the first expedition against Goguryeo, did the aristocratic families tell him to divide the army into three groups, or did they tell him to 'appease and accept Goguryeo if it surrenders, and not to attack again'?"

"During the third expedition to Goguryeo, victory was clearly within sight, but was it because of the aristocratic family that he fell into the Goguryeo king's delaying tactics?"

"Tang Taizong once commented on Yang Guang: 'Emperor Yang of Sui inherited the legacy of Emperor Wen, and the country was prosperous. If he could stay in Guanzhong, how could he have fallen? So he ignored the people, went on an unscheduled trip, and went straight to Jiangdu. He did not accept the advice of Dong Chun, Cui Xiang and others, and was killed and his country was destroyed, making the world laugh.'"

"'At the beginning of Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, the country was strong and powerful, but he abandoned virtue and used military force to overthrow the country. Jie Li was close to me and had a large territory. He was full of ambition and ambition. He was caught in a disaster and chaos. He lost his great cause and became my vassal. Yehu Khan was also very powerful. He relied on his wealth and status to send envoys to ask for marriage. He lost his way and indulged in chaos, and was eventually destroyed.'"

"The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty also commented: 'Emperor Yang of Sui rashly raised an army to conquer Ryukyu, killing the barbarians, burning their palaces, and capturing thousands of men and women. The land he obtained was not enough to provide for his needs, and the people he obtained were not enough to command. He only pursued empty reputation and damaged China. This was recorded in the history books and was ridiculed by future generations.'"

However, Emperor Hongwu's evaluation of Yang Guang should be intended to express his own thoughts.

When hearing Li Nian mention "Emperor Taizong of Tang" and "Hongwu of Ming", everyone knows that these are two emperors of later generations, especially "Emperor Taizong of Tang". The dynasty after Sui was Tang!
The First Emperor also made his evaluation of Yang Guang: "I think Yang Guang's greatest flaw is not his indulgence in pleasure and wine and sex, but his desire to accomplish great things but his lack of the corresponding ability!"

Indeed, although the three expeditions to Goguryeo were due to Yang Guang's vanity, it can also be said that Yang Guang wanted to accomplish something. Unfortunately, Yang Guang's talent and character were not enough for him to accomplish this, and he was actually a drag in the process.

If Yang Guang had put Hu Hai in that position, the Sui Dynasty might have lasted longer. Although Hu Hai was not a good person, he was not as troublesome as Yang Guang.

Li Nian said: "Your Majesty is right. Having ambition is not a problem, nor is incompetence. What is a problem is people like Yang Guang who are ambitious and incompetent. The more power they have, the greater the disaster they will cause."

"The harm done by Yang Guang still existed during the Tang Dynasty. His expedition against Goguryeo failed, and many Sui soldiers were captured or killed by Goguryeo. Goguryeo cut off the heads of the slain Sui soldiers and built a Jingguan. Later, when the Tang Dynasty attacked Goguryeo, the unburied corpses of the Sui soldiers could still be seen."

"In the 16th year of the Zhenguan reign, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent Chen Dade to Korea, where he met many living Sui army soldiers. They often said, 'My family is from a certain county. I joined the army at the end of the Sui Dynasty and died in Korea...'"

This was also the sin of Guangshen. Those who said that Guangshen's "sins are in the present, but his merits will last for generations" just didn't become a head in the Jingguan.

After hearing these words, the eyes of Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian and others turned cold, and the First Emperor also frowned.

Although the times were different, the Sui Dynasty was the dynasty that succeeded the Qin Dynasty, and they were both descended from the same bloodline.

After the death of the Sui soldiers, the Goguryeo people chopped off their heads and built a Jingguan. Isn't that just beheading the descendants of the Qin people and building a Jingguan?

The First Emperor asked, "Are there any Goguryeo people now?"

Li Nian knew the Emperor's intention and replied, "The name of Goguryeo should not have existed, but their ancestors should have existed. According to historical records, in the second year of Jianzhao of Emperor Yuan of Han, Go Jumong, a Buyeo native, established Goguryeo in Heseunggu Castle by the Boilyu River. Although Jumong may not necessarily be a Buyeo native, Goguryeo and Buyeo people did have exchanges!"

The First Emperor said forcefully: "It's good to have it. As the ruler of the Great Qin, I shall eliminate the disaster for the people of the Great Qin!"

Although the Goguryeo people should not be blamed for their ancestors' later faults, the First Emperor and the Qin Dynasty were not reasonable emperors and countries.

Moreover, it is difficult to reason when it comes to issues such as the survival of a nation and a country. You may be willing to be kind and give others a way to live, but others may not necessarily be willing to give you a way to live.

The struggle between countries and nations is not beautiful and friendly, but often bloody!

Seeing that the First Emperor did not continue to ask, Li Nian continued: "In the 14th year of Daye, after Yang Guang was killed, the Great Sui Dynasty was considered to have perished. However, there were still several Sui emperors who were supported. If you think that the Sui Dynasty has not completely perished, you can also think so. Li Tang supported a Sui emperor!"

"In the 13th year of Daye, Li Yuan, the governor of Taiyuan and Duke of Tang, raised an army in Jinyang and occupied Chang'an in November. He supported Yang You, the third grandson of Yang Guang, as the emperor. Li Yuan appointed himself as prime minister and was promoted to King of Tang."

After hearing this, Qin Shi Huang and others perked up. The Tang Dynasty that Li Nian had been talking about was finally here!
People in later generations often miss the Han and Tang dynasties.

We have heard of the glory of the Han Dynasty, but we don’t know much about the Tang Dynasty, which was on par with the Han Dynasty.

According to the information about the Tang Dynasty revealed by this kid Li Nian, it was a great dynasty that was as powerful as the Han Dynasty, and it was also a peak of Chinese culture.

There are immortals in poetry, saints in poetry, and Buddhas in poetry...

Even standing at the forefront of history, one can still feel the heroic romance of the Tang Dynasty.

The smell of wine, chivalry, sword spirit, and poetry!

When wine enters his heroic stomach, seven parts of it turn into moonlight, and the remaining three parts turn into sword energy. When he speaks out of his embroidered mouth, it is half of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

This dynasty also had another emperor who was great throughout history as Li Nian mentioned, Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was revered as the "Heavenly Khan" by other ethnic groups.

The First Emperor had long wanted to know what achievements the Emperor Taizong of Tang had made and how powerful the Tang Dynasty was under his rule.

"This Li Yuan is the founder of the Li Tang Dynasty. What is his relationship with the Great Tang Emperor Taizong?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "Li Yuan is indeed the founder of the Tang Dynasty. He and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty are father and son. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty is named 'Li Shimin' and is the second son of Li Yuan!"

When he heard the words "second legitimate son", the First Emperor keenly realized that he seemed to have heard them not long ago. Then he recalled that Yang Guang, who brought the Sui Dynasty to the end, was Yang Jian's second legitimate son?
Could it be that Li Yuan had a legitimate eldest son, and that this Emperor Taizong of Tang also had the same story as Yang Guang?
The Sui and Tang dynasties were so close, and both dynasties had two second legitimate sons ascend the throne. The history of later generations is truly amazing!
The First Emperor did not know that the relationship between Sui and Tang was closer than he thought, and that Li Yuan and Yang Guang were actually relatives.

(End of this chapter)