Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 695 Destruction of the Nation, Massacre (Third Update)

In late autumn, August, the earth is covered in frost.

The Taedong River flowed calmly, its surface now ablaze with fiery red.

Liu Rengui stood atop the city wall of Junbi City, his gaze coldly fixed on Pyongyang City across the way.

Flames shot into the sky from all over the city, and acrid smoke rose directly towards the Taedong River.

Standing atop the city wall, Liu Rengui could still feel the scorching heat.

And there were those incredibly clear shouts of battle.

His eyes were indifferent.

Calm footsteps came from behind. Liu Rengui quickly turned around and respectfully bowed to Su Xu, who was coming from the city, saying, "General!"

Su Dingfang, Liu Demin, Xue Wanche, Gao Kan, Li Jinxing and others stood on both sides.

Looking at Pyeongnam City across the river, Su Xu sighed softly and said, "The Silla people, their ambition is truly unimaginable. It's not enough that they invaded Pyeongnam; they even want to cross the Daedong River."

“Although Silla was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, they actually didn’t have much real contact with the Tang. They knew the Tang was strong, but they didn’t know how much stronger the Tang was than them.” After a slight pause, Liu Rengui sighed and said, “After His Majesty conquered Pyeongrang, he took the initiative to withdraw from Pyeongrang, which gave the Silla people the wrong impression that the Tang was not that strong.”

"That's why they walked step by step into His Majesty's trap." Su Xu's expression turned serious as he asked, "Now that they're inside, the rest is up to us."

"Yes!" The crowd respectfully bowed.

"Where are the remaining 30,000 troops of the Silla?" Su Xu turned to look at Su Dingfang.

"General, they are still two hundred li away from Pingrang City and are rushing here at top speed." Su Dingfang bowed respectfully.

"Oh, are they really that reckless?" Su Xu asked incredulously.

Having served in the military for many years, he was very interested in the strategy used by the army to break through Pingrang City, so he learned some of it.

They naturally understood that after rushing hundreds of miles, their condition would be extremely poor. Even if they were ambushed along the way, they would be in big trouble if they were attacked while they were still establishing themselves in Pingrang City.

"Quangai Suwen's three sons, along with their old subordinates, withdrew to a place a hundred miles away from the battlefield. The wealth that Gao Baozang had accumulated over the years was simply not enough to hold them off. After one victory after another, people's hearts naturally became complacent." Su Dingfang paused slightly and said, "Furthermore, because I sent someone to deliver a message earlier saying that before dawn, the Tang Dynasty would not interfere in the affairs of Pingrang City, they thought it was an opportunity."

"They think that even if they don't leave after dawn, the Tang Dynasty can't do anything to them, right?" Su Xu couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes!" Su Dingfang nodded.

“Very good.” Su Xu looked up and said, “Tomorrow morning, Li Jinxing will lead his troops into Pyeongrang City. The remaining generals will go to ambush the Silla people fifty miles south of Pyeongrang City. Then, they will march on Silla as quickly as possible… Jin Chunqiu still has 50,000 men guarding the border between Goguryeo and Pyeongrang. Once these 50,000 men are defeated, Silla will be difficult to defend.”

"Yes, sir!" The generals bowed respectfully.

Su Xu looked back at Pingrang City and the vast Three Kingdoms land, and said softly, "This place will all belong to the Tang Dynasty, and it will all belong to Your Majesty."

"Everything will belong to the Tang Dynasty, everything will belong to His Majesty!" The generals bowed solemnly.

"Kill!"

……

"Kill!" As dawn broke, amidst the eager gazes of countless Pingrang people, the bridge leading to Pingrang was fully opened.

The next moment, countless Tang cavalrymen headed directly towards the north gate of Pingrang City.

The North Gate, which had been open all night, failed to stop the Tang cavalry from storming in.

Then, with the help of the grief-stricken people of Pyeongnam, a massacre of the Silla people was launched.

After a night of burning, killing, and looting, they were naturally exhausted.

Therefore, when they died, they had little power to resist.

Su Dingfang and Xue Wanche each led 10,000 cavalrymen to attack the south of Pyeongrang City from the left and right flanks. At the same time, they also issued orders to Quan Nansheng, Quan Nanjian, and other generals of Goguryeo to surround and kill the 30,000 soldiers of Silla.

There was no ambush at all. Su Dingfang and Xue Wanche led 10,000 cavalrymen and charged straight in, breaking through in the shortest amount of time.

Of the 30,000 soldiers, no more than 3,000 were cavalry.

On the plains, the two sides clashed, and it was nothing short of a massacre.

With Tang cavalry charging ahead, Goguryeo displayed unimaginable fighting prowess, slaughtering all 30,000 Silla soldiers in a single massacre.

Not a single survivor was left.

Following closely behind, Su Dingfang led them to the border between Silla and Goguryeo.

Kim Chun-chu's 50,000 soldiers are still stationed on the border between the two countries. Only by killing them all will the entire Silla Kingdom completely lose its ability to resist.

Ultimately, the country was destroyed.

Su Xu remained standing atop the city wall of Junbi City, watching Su Dingfang and the others depart into the distance, and said softly, "The final battle for the return of the three kingdoms of Dongdao to Tang has finally begun." "Yes!" Liu Rengui bowed calmly.

"Have you reached an agreement with the three Quan brothers?" Su Xu turned slightly to the side.

"It's already agreed that after destroying Silla, we'll take the opportunity to attack Baekje. Once Baekje is destroyed, they'll use the excuse that Go Bojang and the entire Go family are incompetent in governing the country to offer the whole of Goguryeo to Your Majesty." Liu Rengui cupped his hands and said, "There are no strong opposition groups left in Goguryeo, only the Prime Minister Kim Sangcheon."

Su Xu nodded and said, "Let Jin Shangquan handle the matter of surrendering the country. He is more representative. As for the three Quan brothers, which of them do you think will betray the Tang Dynasty in the future?"

“The second brother is Quan Nan Jian.” Liu Rengui nodded with certainty and said, “Many of the Qianniu Guards are around the three brothers. The eldest brother, Quan Nan Jian, is thinking about establishing the family in Chang’an in the future. The third brother is indecisive. Only the second brother is ambitious.”

“Very well, then let all those who are hostile to the Tang Dynasty gather under Quan Nanjian’s command.” Su Xu clenched his fist slightly and said, “In this way, we can wipe them out completely in the future.”

"Yes!" Liu Rengui bowed seriously.

"Alright, it's time to write a letter to Chang'an." Su Xu smiled and said, "It's also time to report to His Majesty that Silla has no way to invade Goguryeo and massacre more than ten cities."

"Yes!"

……

In early winter, snow was falling in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the Liangyi Hall, looking out of the hall, and said softly, "Even if there is a disaster next year, it won't be too serious after this snowfall."

"Yes!" The officials knelt on both sides of the hall and bowed slightly to the emperor.

Li Chengqian turned to his ministers and said coldly, "This year, all officials who have concealed their fields and households, or who have not done their best in farming, will be sent to Tuzhou. Although there is still some time before Goguryeo is destroyed, the Tang Dynasty needs to conduct a thorough investigation of the assets of Goguryeo and Silla."

"Your Majesty, we obey the decree." The officials bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian stepped onto the steps, picked up the memorial that Su Xu had just sent before leaving for the army, and looked at the assembled officials, saying, "With Su Dingfang's abilities, defeating Jin Chunqiu's 50,000 men is no problem. The key is to be quick and not give Silla any chance to delay using their advantageous terrain."

Silla had been at a disadvantage in its wars with Goguryeo for many years, and they had plenty of experience in fighting against a stronger enemy.

Once they are given the opportunity, the entire war could escalate for an unknown period of time.

“Yes!” Cui Dunli stepped forward and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting.

Li Chengqian looked ahead and said, "Silla massacred more than ten cities of Goguryeo. The Tang Dynasty had a reason to intervene and make Silla give Goguryeo an explanation. However, Goguryeo, in its anger, destroyed Silla in one battle... Remember, it was Goguryeo, not the Tang Dynasty, that destroyed Silla."

“Yes, sir!” Li Ji stepped forward and solemnly accepted the order.

Silla was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. It could be reprimanded and attacked for its crimes, but it was inevitable that some criticism would arise from its conquest and incorporation into its territory.

"Finally, it's about people's hearts." Li Chengqian's eyes turned cold as he said, "Now that more than a dozen cities of Goguryeo have been captured, there will definitely be problems with next spring's planting. Let them plant enough to survive, but not enough to eat. Only in this way, after stirring up people's hearts, will they be willing to come to the Tang Dynasty."

“Yes!” Zhao Yuankai stepped forward to accept the order.

"Then, there is the matter of governing the Three Kingdoms after they are united with Tang." Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, you should be in charge of selecting people. Once the Three Kingdoms are united, Tang officials will need to enter the Three Kingdoms. At the same time, the Three Kingdoms need to be completely re-divided, including how many prefectures and counties to divide them into, and what methods to use for the division. All of these need to be properly arranged."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Changsun Wuji bowed deeply.

"I think we can relax a bit. All officials of the fifth rank and below who go to Dongdao to serve will be promoted one rank. Those who have not yet entered officialdom but are willing to go to Dongdao to serve as officials can be appointed as county military advisors, or even county clerks, county lieutenants, and county assistants." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "If you want to send people to poor and remote places, you should naturally give them some benefits."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji nodded.

"Finally, there is the strategy of using the Fubing (府兵) system." Li Chengqian tapped heavily on the imperial desk and looked at the assembled officials, saying, "We will select loyal people from Goguryeo to join the Fubing system. These people will be stationed in Goguryeo first. There will also be some who are not so loyal, stationed in Baekje, and let them oppress the Baekje people. As for Silla, we will station our own troops there."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed in unison, sensing the emperor's high regard for Silla.

Indeed, whether it was during the Sui Dynasty or the reign of the previous emperor, the biggest problem for the Tang Dynasty in attacking Goguryeo was the high mountains in the eastern part of Goguryeo's territory. Goguryeo had stockpiled a large number of soldiers and grain in the mountains. It was only after the Tang Dynasty conquered Pyeongrang that it was with the help of Gao Baozang that these mountain cities were gradually leveled.

Silla, on the other hand, was entirely situated in the mountains.

“By the way,” Li Chengqian raised his hand and said, “If any of our soldiers are willing to serve in Goguryeo, they can also be transferred to local positions. Don’t be stingy with the soldiers.”

"Yes!" The ministers relaxed slightly.

"Let me say a few last words that shouldn't be written down." Li Chengqian turned to look at Shangguan Yi and Pei Yan beside him, and the two immediately stopped writing.

Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Although there are many arrangements in the court, the Eastern Islands will ultimately be based on the people of the Tang Dynasty. Small clans and large aristocratic families are the foundation for the complete stability of the region. Therefore, the basic approach for the three kingdoms of the Eastern Islands in the future will be to have large aristocratic families as the main force, with smaller families rising up everywhere. All the benefits will eventually be sent to Pingrang, and then from Pingrang to the court. Therefore, the court will use Yangzhou, Dengzhou, Pingzhou, and Liaozhou to govern the region in order to protect the court's tax revenue."

This is the distribution of benefits among the people.

“Eastern Island is too large. Even if the people of the Tang Dynasty were to migrate there, it would probably not be enough even after a hundred years. Therefore, it can accommodate a lot of distribution of benefits.” Li Chengqian’s gaze swept over the ministers in the hall, and then he said indifferently, “The imperial family, the princes, the Li family of Longxi, the Li family of Zhao County, and the families behind you all, you should act quickly. Now is the best opportunity.”

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed deeply.

When it comes to dividing up the spoils of a conquered nation, no one would complain about getting too much.

(End of this chapter)