The battlefield was filled with smoke, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the blood-stained earth, reflecting a desolate scene.
The soldiers were exhausted, disheveled, and many of them had wounds on their bodies, but they still persisted in attacking.
After a while, the infantry began to rest.
Behind, catapults one after another began to pour stone pellets continuously. Although it was not as powerful as the artillery, it was still shocking. The strength of Thang Long City was beyond imagination.
The imperial court would not lend out the red artillery for siege.
Moreover, to deal with an Annan, you still need to use red artillery. Isn’t this a cannon to fight mosquitoes?
At this time, in the era of pure cold weapons, siege warfare was indeed an experience for the Qin army.
But 40,000 Qin troops and 5,000 Beijing troops besieged a Shenglong city that was only 20 miles long, and 8,000 people were killed or injured?
How terrifying this is.
Twenty percent casualties!
Thinking of this, he turned his eyes to the group of Qin troops who were not afraid of the flag, and couldn't help but feel distressed in his heart.
The Qin army was built according to the model of the Beijing camp, with a military law department, food and accommodation, a military academy, etc.
Even though prices in Annan are not as good as those in Beijing, the average cost of training a Qin army exceeds twenty silver coins.
For the Qin State, which only had five palaces and millions of people, this was such a huge expenditure, even with funding from the imperial court.
"Perhaps there is no need for so many, just two or three thousand..."
Zhu Jing was as indifferent as ever.
King Qin breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement: "Yes, I believe in General Zhu's strength."
"According to my opinion, after this battle is over, the imperial court will probably grant a count."
Hearing this, Zhu Jing couldn't help but smile: "It's just the size."
When the dynasty was first established, the five ranks of nobility were divided into two types: count, marquis, and duke were hereditary descendants; viscount and baron were inherited for three or four generations.
Therefore, people at that time called those above earl as nobles, viscounts, and barons as well.
In other words, only those above count and above are considered true nobles, viscounts, and barons, and they will eventually fall into the hands of mortals.
In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was not easy to get a count, but now that the war has been eliminated, the only place where wars are frequent in the court is in the northwest. It takes several years of eating dirt and sand to get a few counts.
He has been busy in Annan for two and a half years. In the past three years, he has been promoted from viscount to earl, which is considered enough.
According to statistics, in the past twenty years, the number of barons and viscounts has exceeded four hundred, while there are only about sixty earls, and the number of marquis and dukes together does not exceed fifty.
Earl, this is the position that many viscounts have longed for.
Annan was able to win the war at a low intensity, which made many people envious.
"There are also objections in the court. It is said that Qin is not a native land but a vassal state. Merits do not count, but His Majesty is arbitrary."
King Qin said softly, with quite a bit of envy in his words: "General Zhu's kindness is not shallow!"
His words came from his heart.
As the eldest son of the emperor, he felt that the emperor loved Zhu Jing far more than he did. He still remembered that when he was a child, the emperor asked them to call him brother.
There are even rumors that when Emperor Long Zhan was in the wild, Zhu Jing was the default heir.
In this regard, Zhu Jing could only remain silent.
Suddenly, he picked up the monocular telescope.
At the top of the city, a big man in armor was seen patrolling continuously. Wherever he went, there were cheers, and the morale that had plummeted was restored again.
Looking closely, he was in his sixties, but he was wearing heavy armor. Stone bullets were flying above his head, and he could be wiped out in the blink of an eye. However, he moved around without fear. He was so calm and rare in the world.
"Who is this person?"
"It should be Zheng Zha." Zhu Jing said solemnly: "He is the only one in the entire Shenglong City who has this ability."
"The Zheng family has been in power for a hundred years and has been in power for five generations. This person has also been in power for nearly ten years. He is already very capable."
"Southern Ruan and northern Zheng, but if Annan is divided into ten points, the Zheng family has seven points, just like Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms."
King Qin just listened and nodded slightly: "He can be considered a hero in Annan."
"It's a pity that he met us today."
As they spoke, a burst of catapult bombing ended, and it was the infantry's turn to start exerting force.
At this time, Zheng Zha finished his inspection and began to walk down the city wall.
"Your Majesty, with this intensity, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for a few more days."
The general on the side said hurriedly: "Now that things have come to this, we must prepare for the worst."
"You should swallow these words to your stomach and don't talk nonsense."
Zheng Zha, who was very old, took off his armor and was panting.
He closed his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking.
The next day, the 30,000 Zheng troops outside the city were defeated by the Qin army of less than 10,000 people in full public view.
As a result, the morale of Shenglong City suddenly dropped to the bottom.
Even though Zheng Zha continued to encourage and was generous with rewards, he was not as inspired as he had been in the past few days.
Take advantage of his illness and kill him.
After several days of fierce siege battles, the Qin army finally reached the top of Shenglong City after laying down two thousand corpses, and the outer city was captured.
The inner city is also in danger at this time.
Even though he still held an army of 30,000 men, Zheng Zha knew that Shenglong had become a dead end and he could not hold it at all.
His son Zheng Gen was dressed as a military general, with blood all over his body and a burly figure. He said in a rough voice: "Father, we can't win this battle."
"I know." Zheng Zhu looked a few years older now. He glanced at his son and said, "This battle is not my fault, but the Ming Dynasty used the big to bully the small."
"I thought I could repeat the old events of the Li Dynasty, but I took a closer look at the Qin army. It seems that they are all from Annan, and many of them are from the Ruan army."
"I can't fight anymore."
Zheng Zhuo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Time is also destiny. Li Shi is the emperor, and I, the Zheng family, are the king. I will never be able to climb up in my life."
Zheng Gen raised his head and opened his lips, but the pain in his arm made him calm down. He could only lower his eyes and remain silent.
"Sell it for a good price!" Zheng Zha sighed: "A century-old foundation has been destroyed by my hands!"
A few days before the rainy season, Zheng opened the gate of the inner city and surrendered to Qin.
The King of Qin was overjoyed, and according to the agreement, he was granted the title of Duke of Shunming, and then the Li family was granted the title of Duke of Shunyi, which was regarded as an explanation of his old power.
The Zheng family surrendered, and Li Weiyu, the nominal owner of Annan who was trapped in the palace, was the happiest.
You must know that over the years, the Zheng family has been in power, and the Li family has suffered countless disasters. Even as the head of the country, they are not able to live in peace. They are always under coercion and are frightened.
Now that I am finally out of this embarrassing situation, even as a minister, I am extremely happy.
Sitting in the Thang Long Palace, looking at its over-the-top style, King Qin directly ordered it to be changed and replaced to make it conform to the prince's standard.
"The Mo family in Gaoping and the Wu family in Xuanguang seem to no longer need the command of the general."
Zhu Jing acted responsibly and handed over the command to the King of Qin, including the capital camp which originally had 5,000 troops but now only has 4,000 left.
These Beijing-based soldiers will take root in the country and either hold important positions or receive land entrustments. They can be said to enjoy wealth and honor.
At the same time, they are also the most powerful pillars of King Qin.
"In addition, Your Highness, in my humble opinion, although the Zheng family and the Li family surrendered and were ennobled, their impact was really too great. How did the Mo Dynasty fall? We have to investigate."
"What do you mean?" King Qin asked casually, with some thinking in his eyes.
"I will take you back to Beijing." Zhu Jing thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "His Majesty will re-canonize them, so that the two surnames can live in the Ming Dynasty, and they will not be able to affect the Qin State in any case."
"This is a good idea." King Qin agreed: "But now is not the time to wait until the Wu family and Mo family are captured, and then send them all to Beijing."
"If it doesn't work, I can also throw it to other vassal states."
After the death of Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang sent his son Chen Li to North Korea, killing two birds with one stone.
Zhu Jing's method is a reprint of it, or even a re-read of the book.
No matter what, this method is really wonderful, much better than killing directly.
At this point, the entire Annan, except for the Mo family who occupied Gaoping Mansion and the Wu family of Xuanguang, the rest of the land was taken over by the Qin State.
The five provinces in the south are Saigon, Champa, Phu Yen, Hue, and Tan Binh (Quang Tri).
The fourteen northern prefectures, Jiaozhou Prefecture, Bac Giang Prefecture, Langjiang Prefecture, Sanjiang Prefecture, Jianping Prefecture, Xin'an Prefecture, Jianchang Prefecture, Fenghua Prefecture, Thanh Hoa Prefecture, Zhenman Prefecture, Lang Son Prefecture, Xinping Prefecture, Yanzhou Prefecture,
Yi'an Mansion.
Together with Xuan Guang and Gao Ping, that is the Sixteenth House.
The entire Annan has a total of 21 prefectures, 36 prefectures, and 190 counties.
The population controlled in the north is almost three million according to the Thang Long household department.
In fact, including hermit households, slave households, etc., there are at least five million people.
In other words, the total population of Qin State is at least six million.
This kind of regional division still follows the standards of the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, after more than two hundred years of war, the actual territory and regional divisions have long been imitated, and many people have changed their names and places.
Therefore, for the Qin State, the most important thing at present is to redesign the territory and regulate the division of prefectures, counties, and Zhili prefectures.
In order to show its legitimacy, the King of Qin not only had to restore the old system of the Ming Dynasty, but also revised the history books and denounced the Li Dynasty and others.
However, there is an advantage. Since Annan's history books are all written in Chinese characters, and the same is true among the people, there is no need to burn books and history, which saves a lot of material resources.
On the day when Annan was captured, King Qin announced that the country would be renamed Qin, and its full name would be Ming Qin.
And he changed the name of Shenglong Prefecture to Jiaozhou Prefecture.
The capital of the country is called Hanoi.
The reign title of the Li Dynasty was abandoned and changed to the eighteenth year of Shaowu.
This can be described as an explosive day for the entire Annan.
Countless scholars sighed, it was difficult for their words to be independent, and they returned to the dark northern period.
But the scholars' rebellion lasted ten years.
Under the suppression of King Qin who had a strong and iron-blooded army, all public opinion came to nothing.
Facing the Qin army's pressure on the territory, the Wu family still resisted and did not want to give in. Even in the face of the prince's inducement, she was not moved.
In this way, it would be logical for the city to be destroyed and the clan to be destroyed.
This was a huge impact on Mr. Gaoping Mo.
Gaoping has a special geographical location, it is close to the border of Ming Dynasty. In order not to irritate the Ming Dynasty, the Zheng family has been reluctant to move him.
This also means that Gaoping Mo's dependence on Ming Dynasty was too strong.
In this way, under the pressure of Ming and Qin, the Mo family could not move at all and had no choice but to give in.
Mo Jingyao surrendered his land and was granted the title of Guihua County Duke.
So, on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month in the Xia Dynasty, the eighteenth year of Shaowu's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Annan was changed to Qin.
Folks call it the first year of King Qin.
It was precisely because of his great achievements that Qin King Zhu Cunmei was given the temple title: Gaozu after his death.
He is called King Gaozu of Qin.
But unifying Annan was only the first step for the Qin State. The real difficulty was to integrate the millions of people in Annan into one body, so as to consolidate the country forever.
To put it simply, when Lao Zhu’s family came back, they didn’t want to leave.
Whether it is the subsequent surname granting order, "household registration order", "land granting order", "taxation order", "land reclamation order" and other series of policies, it is easy to formulate but difficult to implement.
Because the people who formulated it were all high-level officials of the Qin State, who were born in the Ming Dynasty, and the lower-level bureaucrats who implemented it were mostly local officials.
This is also the current situation after the unification of the entire Qin State:
The decision-making is made by the Han people, and the execution is made by the local people.
Easier said than done, and the road ahead is long and arduous.
…
At the same time, a decisive battle was also going on outside Bukhara.
Unlike Zheng who clung to Thang Long, Abdullah Khan led the remaining soldiers out of the city for the final decisive battle.
Its scale reached fifty thousand.
There is no way. The Bukhara people are basically nomadic people and are not good at defending the city. They do not have the various laws and regulations like the Han people.
Wengcheng? No.
Bridle paths, no.
Its city only emphasizes two points, height and thickness.
After all, as long as the city is high and the city is strong, defending the city is easy.
It's a pity that they didn't expect the shortage of food.
After guarding the city for seven or eight days, the entire city of Bukhara ran out of food.
It's better to go out of the city and fight to the death.
Li Dingguo did not dare to be careless, he understood the principle of fighting even when a trapped animal is trapped.
Therefore, he played conservatively and defended instead of taking the initiative.
"Out--"
Sure enough, the city gate opened and groups of cavalry walked out.
"What's wrong!" Li Dingguo raised his telescope and felt puzzled.
After taking a closer look, he realized: "These people are all old, weak, sick and disabled."
"What happened? I fell into a trap——"
"You mean, Abdullah Khan escaped?"
Jia Daihua said in shock.
"You don't know something." At this time, Reinhardt, who was sitting at the back, said with a big belly:
“This ancestor of Abdullah Khan came from the Astrakhan Khanate, belonged to the Golden Horde, and was a descendant of Jochi Khan.
After his khanate was destroyed by the Rakshasas, Prince Zanibo fled to the Bukhara Khanate, and Inskander Khan married his daughter to him, and their sons inherited the khanate."
"By the way, both are descendants of Genghis Khan. How can people with the same surname get married?"
Jia Daihua said in confusion.
"It's just Tatars, why do you still care so much?"
Li Dingguo was angry. Is this the point of this sentence?
"What he means is that this Abdullah Khan is not desperate. Perhaps he is eager to return to his ancestral land and gather his troops again!"
Li Dingguo said in a deep voice: "It is also possible to go south and borrow troops from Persia."
"Send someone to chase him and make sure you find out where he went."
"Yes!" Jia Daihua nodded hurriedly.
Sure enough, the rangers came to report that a cavalry force of ten thousand people left the city of Bukhara.
At this time, Li Dingguo pointed to the city of Bukhara with a serious expression: "Now our task is to occupy this city, including the entire river area——"