Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 140: Do the Four Powerful Paths Want to Be Independent?
Winter passed and spring came, and in the blink of an eye, it was already March of the 19th year of Zhenguan.

The snow melted and the warm sun shone on the earth, but it still couldn't blow away the chill.

"All the important roads are heavily guarded. If Yeon Gaesomun wants to break through, he will definitely have to pay a heavy price."

Heichi Changzhi stood not far from Qiuyi City, looking at the crumbling city.

"Your Highness has already occupied Pyongyang. Leave Yeon Gaesomun a way out. Don't let him go crazy. Otherwise, both sides will be destroyed and our army will suffer."

Pei Xingjian said calmly that the situation was under his control.

"I will inform everyone immediately. Yeon Gaesomun's food supply has been cut off. There is no food or grass left in the city. They may be able to break out in the next few days."

Cold winter season.

Pei Xingjian and Heichi Changzhi pressed forward step by step, eliminating the Goguryeo strongholds deployed outside one by one, and forced them all into Qiuyi City.

Then surround it with ten.

However, the army led by Pei Xingjian was only comparable in strength to that of Goguryeo, and it was impossible for him to besiege and kill Yeon Gaesomun in Qiuyi City.

"Father, news came from the Tang army that Pyongyang has been breached, causing the army's morale to waver. Our army can only retreat to Pyongyang," said Yuan Nanjian.

"Break out at night and leave 10,000 soldiers in the city to tie down the Tang army."

Yeon Gaesomun made a heroic effort to cut off his own arm, and only in this way could he buy enough time for them to escape and avoid being hunted down.

Inside Qiu Yi City, the soldiers were in low spirits, with hostility evident in their eyes.

Yeon Gaesomun did not notify the entire army, but instead ordered his death squad to lead 10,000 soldiers to defend the city.

The main force took advantage of the night and left through the north gate.

"General Pei, I am willing to lead a thousand men to hunt down Yeon Gaesomun."

Heichi Changzhi asked for his life.

Yeon Gaesomun was able to deceive his own people, but he was exposed to the eyes of the Tang army.

The 10,000 soldiers left behind did make Pei Xingjian afraid to attack with his entire army.

"Be careful, General!"

Pei Xingjian naturally would not miss the opportunity to hunt him down.

Night battles and surprise attacks are Heichi Changzhi's specialties. Facing the defeated army, Heichi Changzhi does not feel any burden at all.

After leaving the marching camp, he led a thousand elite cavalry towards Pyongyang City.

"Pass the order down, besiege the city, and kill all the soldiers inside the city without mercy!"

Pei Xingjian's face was full of coldness. The soldiers in the city should have starved to death long ago, but they survived by taking extraordinary measures. They could no longer be called human beings, but evil spirits.

"promise!"

Kim Yu-sin also bowed and left. This battle was to destroy the last remaining force of Goguryeo.

……

"Your Highness, Taishan City, Wugu City and dozens of other cities have surrendered to the Tang army. Only Anshi City and Qiuyi City have not made any moves yet."

During the cold winter, it is impossible to march and fight, but this does not affect the Tang army's efforts to surrender.

The capital was occupied and the king surrendered. What reason did they have not to surrender?
"There are only two fortified cities left. They won't be able to do much. Let's upload the victory report."

"Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo have been destroyed by our army and have all returned to Tang territory, which has been divided into Baekje Province, Silla Province, Pyongyang Province, and Liaodong Province."

The overall situation has been decided. Li Chengqian told Li Er about the arrangements and wanted to give him a report.

"In addition, these four provinces have just been pacified, and there are still rebellious forces that need a large army to suppress. The Eastern Expedition Army will not return to the court. This prince will temporarily serve as the Minister of the Four Provinces, commanding all affairs of Baekje, Silla, Pyongyang and Liaodong, and will not return to the court."

Liu Rengui's face changed. Dividing states and roads and appointing state and road governors were powers only the emperor had.

Li Chengqian's behavior was criticized. "Your Highness, this is inappropriate. We should first report the victory to His Majesty, and then let His Majesty make the appointments and divisions in accordance with the procedures." Liu Rengui said.

"When a general is away from home, he may not obey orders from his sovereign. This trip will take at least two or three months. Are we going to just ignore the newly conquered land?"

"You should all keep your minds at ease! Now we have many soldiers and generals, and sufficient money and food. Those people will not talk nonsense."

Li Chengqian was fearless. Before going into battle, he talked a lot with Li Er.

Now is the critical moment, there shouldn't be any problem.

However, Li Chengqian's confidants looked at each other in confusion when they heard this. Was he hinting at something to them?

"We are willing to obey your orders!"

Li Zhen and Cheng Chumo said in unison.

Only Liu Rengui pretended not to hear anything, but no matter how calm he was, the sweat on his forehead betrayed him.

"Liu Rengui, you are where you are today because of the promotion of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Don't you want to repay the favor?"

Li Zhenmo glanced at Liu Rengui with an unfriendly look.

"Why are you so nervous? This is not a rebellion. I am just stating the facts so that you can do your job freely."

Li Chengqian smiled, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

"Liu Rengui, don't think too much. I am the crown prince, and I am considering the overall situation. That kind of thing will never happen. Before I leave, His Majesty gave me the right to act at my own discretion."

Liu Rengui wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed to admit his guilt: "Your Highness, please punish me!"

Some things cannot be pointed out.

He didn't know whether this was a test from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Li Zhen, Cheng Chumo and Li Dejian also felt uneasy as their whole families were still in Chang'an City.

"Why should we talk about punishment? Just go ahead and do it. All the land in Baekje, Silla, Pyongyang and Liaodong will be nationalized. We will sort out the household registration, distribute it according to population, implement the household contract responsibility system, and distribute the tax according to the land area."

Goguryeo must be defeated, and Li Chengqian must redistribute all the resources here.

"May I ask, Your Highness, why is the land tax distributed according to the acreage?"

Li Zhen asked, this is a new term, they have never heard of it.

"The tax system is to abolish the poll tax and link the people's tax to their land. The more land you have, the more tax you will pay."

Li Chengqian explained that this was to complement the contract system implemented in Baekje and change the tax system.

At the same time, it also directly hit the soft spot of the aristocratic families. Previously, the tax was levied based on the number of people, so the aristocratic clans concealed their population.

Since the population cannot be found, the land can be measured.

All of this is done to achieve relative fairness and eliminate polarization.

This could be perfectly implemented in Goguryeo and Baekje, where all their systems had been shattered.

Those so-called big names dare not show their heads. If anyone shows up, he will be killed.

"That's great. In a few years, this place will be prosperous again."

These people are all knowledgeable people. They know that once these two policies are implemented, they will greatly stimulate people's production.

"The war has been basically settled. Li Zhen, you arrange a dozen more warships to go to South America, which I mentioned before, to look for sweet potatoes and potatoes. In addition, other spare fleets should also go to various sea areas to open sea routes."

Institutional reform can only lead to improvement.

If we want to completely change the current situation and increase the population, we must introduce high-yield crops.

The more it develops, the more roads it must open up, and sea routes must be opened up.

(End of this chapter)