In the middle of September of the first year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty.
Good news came from the middle of Shu. Yu Wenquan led his troops up the Han River and entered Hanchuan County. They conquered Xixiang first, but encountered barbarian attacks. They defeated them and beheaded more than a thousand people. The local barbarians ran back to the mountains and forests in fear.
Dare to take the lead.
For the army led by Yu Wenhuo, this was just a small appetizer. The wild people in the mountains came down the mountain with sticks and weapons made of bones to seek death. They only waved their arms lightly and knocked them down.
On the ground.
These are primitive mountain barbarians who have little contact with the people from the plains, but they still help the people from the plains who came first to harass the enemy. This shows that Li Xiaogong is not doing nothing in Sichuan. His gentle policy towards the barbarians in Sichuan has indeed had a certain effect.
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There were not only barbarians in Sichuan, but also "bad" weather. Yuwen Huo led his army to continue to attack Chenggu from the west. It started to rain lightly, which made the army feel cold. It was really cold, and the wind and snow in the north
Completely different, the coolness kept digging into my bones like a bug.
Fortunately, the army was well prepared. They immediately set up camp on the spot, boiled hot water, and boiled prepared anti-cold herbs for the soldiers to dispel the cold.
The road was difficult and the weather was unpredictable, so Yuwen Huo's army moved very slowly without anyone coming out to disturb them.
The distance that can be covered in one or two days took four full days to reach the foot of Chenggu City. Chenggu is barely a big city in the Hanzhong area and has a very long history. There is no need to trace this back.
Especially the transition between states and counties is like the emperors losing their temper. They have to change the names of the regions in the previous generation to feel comfortable.
For example, during the reign of Emperor Wen Yang Jian, this place was under the rule of Liangzhou. When Yang Guang succeeded to the throne, it was quickly changed back to Hanchuan County. After Li Yuan ascended the throne, it was changed to Liangzhou. The regional planning did not change much. It was just changed from a county to a state, or
Changed from state to county.
Li Po was also unavoidable. After he ascended the throne, he refused to recognize Li Yuan's changes and changed all the areas under his jurisdiction back to the county system.
For example, the person guarding the city today is Zhang Shiteng, the governor of Liang. It is said that he is a descendant of Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, he is loyal to Zhang Qian and refuses to leave the city and surrender.
So Yuwen Huo's army attacked the city. There were a lot of soldiers guarding the city, six to seven thousand in number, but their combat effectiveness was really worrying. Yuwen Huo's army came up almost at once, and in less than an hour, they broke into the city and killed Zhang Shiteng.
, the rest all surrendered.
In fact, facing this kind of regular army that fought hard in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the best way is to use the terrain to carry out guerrilla warfare. Unless it is the same elite army as them, the result of a head-on confrontation will be the same, much like what it was like before.
It was not difficult for the Sui army to suppress the bandits.
The fall of Chenggu caused quite a stir in the Hanzhong area. Zhang Shiteng was quite famous in Liangzhou. In the past few years, he had subdued many mountain barbarians through the combination of suppression and appeasement, and had achieved great results, especially in line with Li Xiaogong's strategy, so
Dedicated to praise.
If according to the normal view, Zhang Changshi should be promoted this year due to meritorious service, otherwise he would not be allowed to defend the city.
The city is fortified and Nanzheng is right in front of us.
Yuwen Huo did not hesitate. This time he chose to leave a lot of baggage in the city and led a light force forward. He defeated several reinforcements heading towards Nanzheng around Nanzheng, then surrounded Nanzheng and began to persuade him to surrender.
Not long after, Yuan Renqing, the general manager of Liangzhou, surrendered.
Nanzheng surrendered immediately, and other places lost the fighting spirit to resist. They didn't bother to divide their troops to fetch Yu Wen's wok, so they sent letters asking for surrender one after another.
With almost no effort, Yu Wenquan led his army to pacify Hanzhong.
This is to be expected. The Hanzhong Basin is bordered by the Qinling Mountains to the north and the Bashan Mountains to the south, but it is almost undefeable. Every time the country changes hands, this is not a must-win area. It can only be regarded as the corner of Guanxi and the center of Shu.
Just an enclave.
And there is no Jiang Wei who is good at fighting here...
However, this place can be regarded as one of the important grain-producing areas in Sichuan. The Hanzhong Plain has fertile land and a humid climate, which can be used for military needs.
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When the good news came to the Chang'an Emperor case, there were not many surprises.
Because the bad news had been conveyed before, Liang Wang Xiao Xian revised a letter and sent it to Chang'an, which was more than a day faster than the good news.
Letters sent by southerners are not as straightforward as those from northerners, and are generally quite literary. This is especially true for such very formal diplomatic correspondence.
There is no shortage of envoys, letters, and gifts, which really shows the temperament of the people in Jiangling City.
Is this the first time that I have received letters from princes? Li Po himself did not count them in detail, not too many but not too few. He himself also wrote to other people.
The most stupid person here is Wang Shichong. After defeating Li Mi, he became so swollen that he even wrote to the princes asking everyone to surrender quickly, otherwise he would do whatever he wanted. He behaved and thought like a nouveau riche.
Dou Jiande and Xiao Mian were more polite and gentle in their words...Li Yuan was so arrogant and cunning that they refused to persuade him to surrender and even attacked him secretly.
But times have changed, and Xiao Mian seems to have rushed towards Wang Shichong's old path. The well-written letters cannot cover up the arrogance of the Liang Emperor.
After reading the letter, Li Po's first thought was that the princes had formed an alliance. Dou Jiande, Du Fuwei, and Li Xiaogong were all flirting with Xiao Xian. No wonder the tone of the letter and the envoy was so loud.
If they all sincerely surrender to Xiao Xian, then the situation is indeed dangerous, but how is it possible?
Li Po almost didn't need to think about it to know that there was an exaggeration in this. Du Fuwei had the habit of asking others for titles, but he never let go of the eagle when he saw the rabbit, so he could ignore it for the time being.
Dou Jiande probably just showed his favor to Xiao Mian, and might even instigate Xiao Mian to march into Henan. The possibility of an alliance between the two was high, but they definitely had their own agendas.
Li Xiaogong in Shuzhong... This person has the greatest chance of surrendering to Xiao Mian. The Li family in Longxi is related to the Xiao family in Lanling. Since they are unwilling to bow to him, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, it is normal for him to switch to Xiao Mian.
As for what the letter said about the heroes of the world fighting against Qin together... that is just bullshit and there is no need to pay any attention to it.
Yes, this is a letter to persuade Li Po to surrender. At the end of the letter, he also wants Li Po to send Empress Xiao to Jiangling to show his sincerity in surrender.
What made Li Po quite amused was that the movements of Dou Jiande, Li Xiaogong, Du Fuwei, and even Xiao Mian himself were placed on his desk.
As long as you can distinguish its authenticity a little, you can use it. Such important information was not obtained by the Military Intelligence Department that has been established for several years, but was sent to him by the princes. Don't you think it's funny?
Who are the people in charge of Jiangling City now? Their king is acting so recklessly, doesn’t anyone give him advice?
While they quickly sent Zhang Lun the news that Li Xiaogong had promised to surrender to Xiao Mian, they also summoned Cen Wenwen and asked him to tell him who his old colleagues were and what kind of person Xiao Mian was.
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When Yuwen Huo's good news arrived in Chang'an, Xiao Xian's envoy had already left.
The Lanling Xiao family had many relatives and old friends in Chang'an, but no one dared to interact with Xiao Mian's envoy at this time.
Xiao Mian's envoy also wanted to visit Empress Xiao, but was severely rejected by Xiao Yu and other members of the Xiao family, and was so upset that he almost failed to return to Jiangling.
Afterwards, Xiao Yu also told people that Xiao Mian was just a poor man at the beginning, and he only got an official position by borrowing the name of a relative. It is really disgusting that such a person can steal the title of a prince.
This is obviously meant for everyone to hear. Our Chang'an Xiao family has nothing to do with that fellow Xiao Mian... But the arrogance of the noble family children revealed in the words is actually very offending.
For example, if you say you are an emperor with a humble background, and you don't even look down on Xiao Mian, then in your mind, am I not even as good as Xiao Mian?
The cautious emperor made a note to Xiao Yu that he would try his best when the opportunity comes.
Xiao Mian's envoy came and went in a hurry and did not leave many traces in Chang'an. In fact, this also showed that in the eyes of the emperor and his ministers, although Xiao Mian, who had Jiang Biao, was powerful, he was not a qualified opponent.
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After that, Li Po just sent an order to Buqun, Zhang Liang, Zhang Shigui and others stationed in Tongguan, asking them to pay attention to the movements of Xiao Xian and Dou Jiande, and to report immediately if anyone wanted to invade Henan.
In fact, the north has already entered the depth of winter, the weather is severely cold, and the roads are blocked by heavy snow. Even if Xiao Mian is as rampant as he is, it is impossible to invade Henan at this time, and he will only be able to deliver the message happily.
At this time, Li Po was relieved. He could not imagine the huge harvest this year, and he was so busy that he could finally take a break.
Whether it was military operations or issuing government orders, everything slowed down in winter. The emperor still had many things at hand, but they were not so urgent.
Li Po briefly reviewed this year of ups and downs and couldn't help but sigh. For him, this was really a turning year.
During this year, he led his army into Chang'an and forced Li Yuan to death. He also took advantage of the situation and proclaimed himself emperor, reaching another peak in his life.
The people of Kansai were not as unruly as he thought. In just a few months, he had established a firm foothold in Kansai.
The Liang Kingdom in the northwest was destroyed, and the Hexi Corridor was suddenly in his hands, but he did not bother to manage it carefully.
The Turks came and went, causing him some trouble, but they were like a tiger that had lost its claws, looking a little useless.
It can be used in the future, Jieli Khan Ashina Qura...an opportunist who doesn't care much about the consequences. The higher the prestige of such a person, it may be a disaster for the entire Turks.
As long as you use it properly, it can be broken easily.
Unlike when he led his troops in the border areas to struggle for survival, now that he was caught up in the internal strife in the Central Plains, he really had no time to have too much entanglement with the Turks.
Those heroic words back then seemed like a joke when looking back. The emperor and the generals were originally two different creatures, and their thoughts were naturally not within the same time and space.
No one can truly predict the future, and no one can change the past. This year, Li Po has been blessed with good luck, and he himself doesn't quite know how far he can go.