Chapter Five Hundred and Five Wu Gong Shicheng shook the world
The failure of the second expedition to Goguryeo dealt a huge blow to the prestige of Yang Guang and the Sui Dynasty.
The result was that the entire hinterland of the Central Plains and the north of the Yellow River were completely in chaos. Among them, Wagangzhai was the most famous, and its leader Zhai Rang was even more famous. He was as crazy as the number one rebel in the Central Plains.
Posture.
Seeing that the Sui Dynasty was about to end, Lei Hu became less scrupulous in his actions. After returning to the south, he directly used Yang Guang's imperial edict to clear the way and personally took action to consolidate the management power of the remaining three of the six counties in Jiangdong.
If you are honest and obedient, I will give you a chance to go to the government affairs school under the rule of the Duke to study further. If you have the right opportunity in the future, you will naturally have a chance to make a comeback.
For those who refused to be honest and obedient and hand over the power in their hands, Lei Hu would not be polite to them. He would directly replace them with his confidants and remove all the original officials. If anyone was dissatisfied, he would use his fists to speak.
What a joke!
In the entire six counties of Jiangdong, there is still no one who can fight with Thunder Tiger. Even if Song Que takes action, there is no need to worry about accidents.
It only took less than three months for Lei Hu to quietly bring the other three of the six counties in Jiangdong under his control!
The news did not spread, and the Duke's office deliberately kept a low profile and did not make an uproar, but the high-level officials who should know knew it immediately.
The six counties in Jiangdong have fallen into the hands of Duke Wu!
This shocking news spread wildly among the senior officials of wealthy families all over the country, causing an uproar.
The territory controlled by Wu Guogong has included all the essence of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. It can be said that Wu Guogong at this time is comparable to the Lord of Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period!
How did this happen?
The surrounding forces were just envious and jealous, wishing they could replace him with their own lives, but the top officials who had ambitions and intentions for the great lands of the Central Plains suddenly changed their minds.
Before they even start taking action, Wu Guogong has basically unified the best places south of the south. How should they deal with it in the future?
In particular, the three great nobles in the North were filled with anger and envy. They secretly resorted to many tricks, and even whispered words into Yang Guang's ears from time to time, hoping that the Sui Emperor, who was acting almost crazy, would take back his life.
It is a pity that Yang Xuangan's rebellion at a critical moment not only completely destroyed the second expedition to Goguryeo, but also made the relationship between Yang Guang and the Guanlong military group extremely bad.
It is impossible to say that Yang Guang does not feel distressed about giving up three of the six counties in Jiangdong as trading partners.
But the disciples of the three powerful men kept talking in his ears all day long, which not only failed to resonate with him, but instead aroused the resentment of this arrogant emperor.
If it weren't for the secret actions of the Guanlong Military Group, his expedition to Goguryeo would definitely be successful. By then, with the threat of a great victory, Lei Hu would be forced to give up most of his power, and at the same time, all the rebels who had jumped out of the Central Plains would be wiped out. This was what Yang Guang had in mind.
Book a long-term plan.
As a result, Yang Xuangan's rebellion was all in vain. As for the forces that Yang Guang hated the most and wanted to suppress the most at this time, the Guanlong Military Group and the three great clans of Beidi could not escape.
There was prejudice in their hearts, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not make Yang Guang's heart sway.
Are you kidding me? Is Wu Guogong Thunder Tiger an existence that can be easily frustrated?
If he really pissed off the world's best master and forced him to put down his face and carry out the assassination, there would probably be no one in the entire Eastern Land who could escape the fate of death.
Don't think that the battle between Lei Hu and Goguryeo's Yijian master Fu Cailin can be concealed from the well-informed senior officials of the major forces.
Although I don’t know how Fu Cailin was defeated silently, I later learned through various channels that Fu Cailin was indeed seriously injured. He was almost split in half with a knife, but the injury was somehow revealed.
The top leaders of the major forces who heard the news all took a deep breath.
Although Fu Cailin did not personally confirm it, the fact that his injury required at least a year of recovery could not be faked, and the top leaders of the major forces were shocked.
Moreover, Lei Hu's feat of splitting open Liaodong City with one sword was widely spread throughout the world, making his reputation as the best master in the world even brighter.
Being able to use such a powerful posture to break through a strong military town with high walls and thick walls by one person, Lei Hu's martial arts is so powerful that it can be said to be extraordinary and holy, and cannot be compared to ordinary martial arts people.
No matter which high-level force is in charge, if they want to go against Lei Hu, as long as they think of his terrifying strength, they will naturally stop their extreme thoughts.
Not to mention, the forces under Lei Hu are not vegetarian. The army under the command of Duke Wu is known as the strongest army in the world. Although on the surface, the number of troops is less than 100,000, in fact, the number of the army under Lei Hu is...
It can easily exceed 300,000!
It can be said that Wu Guogong, who occupied the six counties in Jiangdong, has become completely powerful!
Even if Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty wanted to suppress him, he could only take advantage of the fact that Wu Guogong had only occupied three of the six counties in Jiangdong for a short period of time. Before he could fully digest it, he raised all his troops and went south with all his strength. Otherwise, there would be no force in the entire Sui Dynasty to stop Lei.
The tiger becomes the lord of the south.
Unfortunately, at this time, Yang Guangxiang was a gambler who had lost his sights. He simply ignored Wu Guogong Lei Hu, who had become the lord of the south. Instead, after quelling Yang Xuangan's rebellion with lightning speed, he once again proposed the expedition to Goguryeo.
Crazy idea.
This idea is indeed crazy!
Although Yang Xuangan failed too quickly and did not cause much damage to the hinterland of Heluo, Yang Guang still had hundreds of thousands of elite Sui troops in his hands, could still sweep across the Central Plains and intimidate the outside world, and was still the most powerful in the entire Sui world.
However, the time between the three expeditions to Goguryeo was too short. The last one took almost a year. There were also counter-insurgency and various other chores. Even a tough man couldn't bear it.
At this time, the hundreds of thousands of Sui troops under Yang Guang, although elite, were truly tired troops and were in urgent need of rest and rejuvenation.
Although wars were raging all over the Sui Dynasty at this time, the country's foundation was not lost. At least there was no shortage of food, grass, ordnance. As long as Yang Guang could lurk and accumulate for a period of time, it would not be easy to reintegrate the resources of the North, but it would be possible.
Haven't lost hope yet.
It's just that this man really doesn't look like an emperor. He only cares about his own preferences and doesn't pay attention to the actual situation. He only wants to regain his face. As soon as Yang Xuangan's rebellion is over, he immediately starts the third expedition to Goguryeo.
Of course, although Yang Guang's Sui army was exhausted in this battle, the chance of victory was still over 70%.
Compared with Goguryeo, the overall strength of the Sui Dynasty was too powerful.
According to a more popular modern saying, the Sui Dynasty could afford to be defeated once, twice or even three times, but Goguryeo could not afford even one defeat. It is a reality that the gap in national power is too large.
Moreover, although the first two expeditions of the Sui Dynasty ended in failure, they were not without any effect.
Yang Guang's move of recruiting millions of troops at every turn may seem a bit pretentious to real military experts, but it must be said that the effect is still very obvious.
At least, facing the might of the Sui Dynasty's million-strong army, which was as powerful as Mount Tai, Goguryeo had to use all its strength to mobilize all its forces every time, just to barely be able to fight.
Anyone who is not confused knows that extreme mobilization is extremely harmful to the country's economy and people's livelihood. In just two years, Goguryeo, a small country with a small population and a small population, was forced to carry out two extreme mobilizations. It also damaged its strength and vitality.
Do you still have the foundation to continue using extreme mobilization and other methods?
If Yang Guang could take advantage of the situation to destroy Goguryeo and set up counties according to the old practices of the Han Dynasty, he would be able to save a lot of his reputation.
No matter how you say it, it is the result of the destruction of the country, and the officials and people of the Central Plains really do this.
By that time, Yang Guang's reputation had been restored and he had a rightful name. It was unrealistic to reunify the domestic forces, but it was not a problem to suppress the southern forces and continue the Sui Dynasty.
Therefore, although Yang Guang's third expedition to Goguryeo was far less powerful than the previous two, it still attracted the attention of senior leaders of major forces.
…
Lei Hu, however, had no intention of paying attention to Yang Guang's mess. No matter whether this person would make a huge international joke like in the official history, he ended up in an undefeated situation and lost his last hope.
They were all completely defeated and had nothing to do with him.
If it were not for the connection with the Grand Canal, the distance between the land south of the Yangtze River and Liaodong would still be too far, and the traffic conditions at this time would not have an effective impact.
It is easy to capture the remaining three of the six counties in Jiangdong, but the subsequent governance is not that simple.
Even if the Duke's Mansion has accumulated enough wealth over the years, and there are also sufficient talents of all kinds, there is no hope that the three new counties will be fully integrated into the governance system within three to five years.
This is assuming everything goes smoothly and nothing happens in the middle, otherwise it will only take longer.
Of course, the officials in the Duke's Mansion already have experience, but they are just assigning governance and construction tasks in an orderly manner according to the specific conditions of the three newly incorporated counties.
For a time, the non-governmental production and construction corps in the three counties were established in full swing, and a large number of materials were gathered in the three counties through water and land channels. It did not take long for the three counties to become a bustling construction site.
It is just a matter of slowly absorbing and digesting the three newly included counties according to the previous model of accepting Kuaiji and Danyang counties.
"Ahu, you are really amazing!"
When Song Que appeared in front of Lei Hu again, he couldn't help but sigh and said with mixed emotions: "I didn't expect that before I knew it, you were already as good as the Lord Wu from the Three Kingdoms period!"
“I still don’t have enough background!”
Lei Hu smiled and waved his hand, shook his head and said: "It will be troublesome just to digest the Xinna territory, otherwise it will develop even more rapidly!"
"You are too harsh, especially towards the local nobles. It is difficult to get their help and loyalty!"
Song Que couldn't help but point out: "It's better not to go too far. After all, the gentry is the foundation of the place, and it is not easy to suppress them!"
Lei Hu smiled softly and said leisurely: "But I just can't see them taking advantage in vain. If you want to gain something, you have to work hard enough. This is my son-in-law's consistent purpose. There is no need to change his ways for the sake of the nobles!"