Chapter 499: Liaodong Han

Although Guo Xiaoke swept away Yanqi with lightning speed and brought Yanqi under the rule of the Anxi Protectorate, however, in the face of the fierce Qiuci and the Western Turks, he did not continue to launch the war to exterminate Qiuci. It's not that I don't want to, but I can't, and he won't continue to go until Datang thoroughly digests Yanqi, and he Guo Xiaoke will continue to dispatch.

When Zhang Yunwen brought the battle report of the Western Regions to Li Shimin, Li Shimin read it, laughed, and said loudly: "Filial piety is really my thousand-mile horse!" Then, Li Shimin ordered the establishment of the Quli Governor's Mansion in Yanqi, which was under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Governor's Mansion. As for those Yanqi royal families, I am afraid that they will spend the rest of their lives in Chang'an.

At this time, Li Shimin said again: "Whether it is the countries of the Western Regions or the nine surnames of Zhaowu, they are all not to be feared, only the Western Turks, a hundred-legged insect, die but not stiff, and the combat power is acceptable." After breaking the countries of the Western Regions, I will destroy the Western Turks in one fell swoop! ”

The countries of the Western Regions in Li Shimin's mouth refer to Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuzi, Shule and other countries, and the nine surnames of Zhaowu refer to the west of Shule and the many small countries south of the Western Turks. These small countries originally belonged to the Western Turks, but the Western Turks declined, and many small countries had ties with the Tang Dynasty.

In Li Shimin's view, as long as the Western Turks are defeated in one fell swoop, the Western Regions can be determined. However, to the west of the Western Turks, there is still the ancient kingdom of Persia, and to the west of Persia, there is still the Great Eclipse that is expanding wildly. However, it is difficult to get a glimpse of the world in one place.

Historically, Li Shimin did not capture the Western Turks, but Li Zhi sent troops to capture them. Later, Persia was attacked by the Great Eclipse and asked for help from the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty set up the Persian Governorate in Persia. At this time, Datang's westward expansion reached its extreme. However, it didn't take long for Persia to fall, and Dashi advanced eastward, finally defeating the Anxi coalition led by Gao Xianzhi in the Battle of Hengrus. Since then, the Tang forces have withdrawn from Central Asia. Islamization began throughout Central Asia, and Confucian culture, which could have been extended to Central Asia, finally failed to break out of the Western Regions, and finally did not even hold the Western Regions.

Of course, Zhang Yunwen would not say these words to Li Shimin, and even if he did, it would be useless. It's better to wait until the Persian prince asks for help from the Tang Dynasty, and then talk about it.

The snowflakes fell in Chang'an City, and as far as the eye could see, they were all white.

With the arrival of winter, Andong Metropolitan Gofu also ushered in the coldest season of the year.

In the city of Pyongyang, Su Dingfang sat by the stove, roasting his palms so that his fingers would not be stiff and weak when turning the pages, and he picked up a somewhat yellowed book and studied it carefully.

He has been serving as the protector of Anton for more than a year. During this year, he oversaw the military administration of the entire Liaodong Province and Pyongyang Province, and at the same time closely monitored the two countries of Silla and Baekje, suppressing the remnants of Goguryeo. This burden is not heavy.

Fortunately, Li Shimin attached great importance to the two places he personally fell, asking people to give people, money to money, and grain to food. Nearly 100 capable officials from the two departments of the Ministry of Etiquette and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and a large number of young officials from Jinshi were sent to Pyongyang in Liaodong, and together with the local officials recruited from the local area, the personnel structure of the entire Andong Metropolitan Protectorate was gradually completed. As for money and grain, Li Shimin was not stingy and allocated a large amount of money and grain for the two uses.

In the first half of this year, the population and land statistics of Pyongyang, eastern Liaodong, were completed, and the entire eastern Liaoning was divided into eight prefectures and 52 counties, and Pyongyang Province was divided into seven prefectures and 46 counties, and a complete administrative system was established. This time the statistics are more detailed and take longer. According to statistics, the population of the entire Liaodong and Pyongyang regions is more than 30,000 more than the original Goryeo statistics, and the amount of cultivated land is more than 500 hectares. As for those areas that have not yet been cultivated, but with a little consolidation, they can form new arable land, which is more than 200,000 hectares. This made Datang gasp up and down. It's amazing how much arable land there is in this area.

At the same time, Su Dingfang also promoted the Chinese dialect and broadcast Confucianism in the two languages. Those who can speak Chinese are often treated better than those who cannot speak Chinese. In this way, people in these two regions are unconsciously divided into three classes, the first class of Han Chinese, the second class of Koreans who can speak Han, and the third class of Koreans who cannot speak Han. As a result, throughout Liaodong and Goryeo, people learning Chinese can be seen everywhere. Those babbling children directly put aside Goryeo dialect and learned Chinese.

Generally speaking, Su Dingfang is doing quite well in Pyongyang Province, Liaodong Province.

"Lord Su! There's information about the remnants of Goryeo! At this time, I heard a low voice outside the door. Su Dingfang knew that this was sent by an official who specialized in managing intelligence in the Andong Metropolitan Protectorate. This person is a former member of the Investigation Institute arranged by Zhang Yunwen after Su Dingfang arrived, and is responsible for intelligence collection under Su Dingfang.

"Alright, let's send it in!" Su Dingfang put down the scroll and said lightly.

When Su Dingfang read the information, he smiled coldly and said to the door: "Ask Captain He to come and see me!" ”

The guards outside the door, wearing thick cotton jackets and cotton caps, heard the words and immediately turned to leave. A moment later, a tall lieutenant entered Su Dingfang's room.

Su Dingfang didn't say anything, just handed this information to this Lieutenant He.

After Captain He finished reading it, he put down the information, and Su Dingfang said: "This is the task that Ben will give you!" You have to distribute the troops yourself, and you must wipe out all these remnants of Goryeo! If anyone dares to shield them, they will be dealt with quietly! ”

Captain He pondered for a moment, got up and saluted, and said resolutely: "Please rest assured, the general will complete the task with humility!" ”

Su Dingfang was also very relieved. This Captain He was born as a scout, and the two hundred soldiers below him were all scouts. With them out of the horse, those remnants of Goryeo will not escape.

The so-called remnants of Goryeo refer to the former Goguryeo royal ministers who opposed the Tang Dynasty and the Baekje people who colluded with them. In that year, Zhang Yunwen broke through the city of Pyongyang and slaughtered Jingyuan and Suwen and his family, but in order to maintain order in Pyongyang, he had to appoint some Goryeo officials. Among these people, there are many people who are respectful on the surface and secretly rebel. After Li Shimin entered the city of Pyongyang and the Tang army controlled the entire Liaodong of Goryeo, many of them turned from light to darkness and went underground, and also wanted to restore Goguryeo.

However, when Li Shimin returned to the Central Plains, he brought all the Goguryeo royal family back to the Central Plains, and even if they wanted to restore it, they could not find a monarch.

Therefore, in Su Dingfang's opinion, these people are just scabies! He is still worried about the climate in Liaodong.

This winter is much colder than last year. In the eastern Liaodong region, the snow on the flat ground is three feet deep, and it is almost impossible to walk. Countless houses have been crushed by heavy snowfall. When the Liaodong Provincial Inspector sent a report on the loss to Su Dingfang and asked him to jointly write to Chang'an and request for the allocation of materials, Su Dingbian felt that his head was big. This position of Anton Metropolitan Protection is really not easy to sit in! The people's livelihood and military affairs have to be managed in everything, and they must always pay attention to the two countries of Silla and Baekje, and it is really difficult for Su Dingfang to make these two countries fight each other.

In the end, Su Dingfang still signed the joint letter, hoping that Chang'an could bring enough materials as soon as possible, especially cotton fur and other cold things.

When this joint letter was sent to Chang'an, it was already December. After Li Shimin saw this letter, he directly ordered the transfer of 8,000 stone of grain, 3,000 stone of cotton and 3,000 pieces of cotton cloth to Liaodong.

However, something unexpected happened. When the convoy carrying supplies arrived in Xiangping, Liaodong, nearly half of the grain and two truckloads of cotton cloth were robbed of the official road outside Xiangping. The reason why they were not all looted was because at the critical moment, the local garrison arrived. Sadly, they arrived late.

The soldiers saw only a few fur-clad warriors walking through the snow into the mountains.

The Tang army tried to pursue, but on the knee-deep snow, they could not catch up with the marauders who lived in the mountains and forests all year round. I had to watch them leave.

This news made Su Dingfang, who was in Pyongyang, and Li Shimin, who was in Chang'an, furious. The former was angry that the material had been looted in front of his eyes. And the latter is because these marauders actually ignore the Tang Dynasty and ignore Li Shimin, which cannot but make Li Shimin angry.

After more than ten days of investigation, it was finally learned that the stolen materials were a tribe of Sumo people living in the mountains and forests. And in this mountain, there are still two or three such tribes. The size of the tribe is small, only a few hundred people, however, they are hidden deep in the mountains and old forests, and it is difficult to clear them.

Li Shimin was furious at the court meeting and threatened to lead the army to level that tribe. The ministers below knew that this was his angry words, and they didn't say anything, so they were all silent.

Eventually, in the midst of a falling snowfall, the matter was settled.