Vol 2 Chapter 2507: Sui and Tubo allied

Chapter 2507 The alliance between Sui and Tubo

Chapter 2503: Sui and Tubo alliance

 Just Cheng Gongying’s agreement is of course useless, Yang Guang’s nod must be given.

 Cheng Gongying passed the letter through flying pigeons and sent the treaty and agreement back to Liangzhou. He thought that the main guild would be reluctant to leave the ten counties of Wuwei, but he did not expect that Yang Guang actually agreed.

Cheng Gongying had no luck at this time. After pressing the national seal on the certificate of credence tremblingly, he fainted and it was already a day later when he woke up.

The first thing Cheng Gongying did when he woke up was to prepare to return home. He wanted to question his lord Yang Guang, why he was so weak?

If Yang Guang had been tougher, Cheng Gongying would not have been so passive, and was even sure of only cutting half of Wuwei County.

However, Yang Guang withdrew his troops too quickly, leaving Cheng Gongying without any confidence in the negotiation. It is already very good to be able to negotiate like this.

Ying Hao was naturally very satisfied after learning that Yang Guang agreed to cede the land. After all, although Wuwei County was not very wealthy, its geographical location was still very important.

Furthermore, after acquiring Wuwei County, Da Qin will also have the three counties of Beidi, Anding, and Wuwei in Liangzhou, and will also be semi-encircling the three counties of Longxi. It will also be easier to plot against the three counties of Longxi.

 Therefore, if Ying Hao could obtain such important territory as Wuwei without spending a single soldier, what else could Ying Hao be dissatisfied with?

"I will arrive in Chang'an, inspect Guanzhong, and order the Iron Guard and Tiger Guard battalions to **** you." Ying Hao said calmly.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ient.

Ying Hao left Prime Minister Wang Meng to sit in the court and preside over all affairs of the court, while he personally led Jia Xu, Zhang Liang and other planners, Zhao Yun, Xu Chudianwei and other powerful generals to form two battalions of 10,000 elite troops in the Tiger Guard and Iron Guard. Went to Guanzhong under his protection.

 It is worth mentioning that Ying Hao only brought one concubine with him on this trip, and that was Li Xiuning.

The Emperor of Qin traveled openly, and the pomp was naturally very large, so relatively speaking, the process was naturally much more complicated, so that Ying Hao had just entered Guanzhong, and Cheng Gongying and his party had already arrived at Daye (Jincheng) City.

After Cheng Gongying returned to Daye, he aggressively approached Yang Guang without taking any rest, asking him why he was so weak and why he agreed to cede the ten cities of Wuwei?

Facing the distressed Cheng Gongying, Yang Guang also felt guilty, but asked: "Military advisor, if there is a war with Da Qin, can Wuwei County be able to defend it?"

Cheng Gongying was startled. After a moment of reflection, he replied: "The terrain of Wuwei is flat and flat. Without stability as a barrier, there is almost no danger to defend except the city. If we fight for a long time, we will lose."

“Since you know you can’t hold on, but you still insist on holding on, isn’t it stupid?

Without stability, the ten cities in the eastern plains of Wuwei were like worthless food to us in the Sui Dynasty, tasteless to eat, and a pity to abandon.

　　It is better to hand it over voluntarily and exchange space for time. "Yang Guang talked eloquently.

 Wuwei County originally had thirteen counties.

After Yang Guang destroyed the Qiang, he moved more than 100,000 Qiang people into Liangzhou and established four new cities in the west of Wuwei.

 So now Wuwei actually has a total of seventeen counties.

Although Yang Guang ceded ten cities in the east of Wuwei to Qin, he still owned seven cities in the west of Wuwei.

The terrain of the seven cities in the west is relatively dangerous, and they are easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the Sui army fortified it here, it would obviously be much better than fortifying the ten cities in the east.

Therefore, from Yang Guang's point of view, it is not too bad to give up the useless ten cities in the east in exchange for Qin's retreat. After all, the Sui Kingdom can take advantage of this gap to expand elsewhere.

Yang Guang also already has a target, which is Li Tang's three counties in Qiang region and the three counties in Longxi.

"What? My lord, are you going to steal Li Tang's chassis?"

Cheng Gongying had a look of astonishment on his face. After hearing Yang Guang's words, he already understood his lord's painstaking efforts, but he still didn't expect that his lord would target Li Tang at this time.

 “No, absolutely not.

Now that Liu Yu's army has entered Hanzhong, after learning the news of Li Shimin's death, he will definitely covet the three counties of Hanzhong.

If our country, the Sui Dynasty, also adds insult to injury, Li Tang will probably perish. Then in this northwest land, our country, the Sui Dynasty, will really have to fight alone.

Your Majesty, you must not lose a big thing because of a small thing. Just because you have lost the ten counties of Wuwei, take advantage of Li Tang's weakness to get it back from Li Tang. This is an act of demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall. "

Cheng Gongying's attitude was very clear, that is, he opposed Yang Guang's annexation of Longxi and Qiang lands.

In Cheng Gongying's view, these six counties are not wealthy places, and even if they are obtained, they will not gain much benefit. On the contrary, they will put themselves into a situation of fighting alone, which will definitely be more than worth the gains.

Cheng Gongying explained everything thoroughly and tried to persuade Yang Guang for a long time, but Yang Guang had no intention of changing his mind.

Cheng Gongying was completely anxious and said to Ban Gu and Gao Jiong: "Two gentlemen, please advise my lord quickly. Don't lose the big for the small."

Hearing this, Ban Gu and Gao Jiu looked at each other, and then Ban Gu stood up and said, "Master Cheng, I am the one who persuaded the lord to annex the Qiang land."

Cheng Gongying was startled and pointed at Ban Gu. He was so angry that he couldn't speak. He turned to Gao Jiong and said, "Why don't you give me some advice? Sir, you are not such a short-sighted person."

Gao Yan smiled and said, "Brother Cheng, don't be anxious. The situation in the northwest has changed. I'll let you know what's going on."

 “Hmph, then I would like to hear your opinion.”

After snorting coldly, Cheng Gongying found a chair and sat down, but when he heard what Gao Qiao said next, he stood up in shock.

 “What? You said Tibet was unified?”

“That’s right, Songtsen Gampo has unified all the Tibetan tribes and has taken the initiative to send envoys to communicate with me in the Sui Dynasty.”

Although Songtsen Gampo was a Tibetan, he greatly admired the culture of the Central Plains.

When Li Tang was the overlord of the northwest, he proposed to Li Shimin and wanted to marry Li Xiunian, but was directly rejected by Li Xiuning.

When the Qin Dynasty was founded, Songtsen Gampo not only sent envoys to Luoyang, but also disguised himself as an entourage to watch the ceremony in person.

The prosperity and power of the Qin Dynasty made Songtsen Gampo yearn for it. After returning home, he proposed marriage to the Qin Dynasty and wanted to marry the princess Ying Hongye, but was rejected by Ying Hao again.

Songtsen Gampo felt deeply humiliated after being rejected for marriage twice in a row, so he worked hard to become stronger and finally unified the Tubo tribes. After unification, Tubo had a population of three million and a military strength of 250,000. It was considered a powerful country in the northwest region.

However, in terms of science and technology and culture, Tubo was still too backward. Songtsan Gampo wanted to learn the advanced techniques of the Central Plains, so he took the initiative to send envoys to contact the Sui State.

This connection frightened Songtsen Gampo. The Tang State that he had once looked up to, as well as the Tang King Li Shimin, died in the war with Da Qin, and the scope of Da Qin's strength had extended into Liangzhou, which was far away. Tubo is not far away either.

Songtsen Gampo believed that Qin was a very aggressive country, and he did not think that the plateau terrain alone could stop the iron hoofs of Qin's warriors.

When he thought that Da Qin was about to attack his home, Songtsen Gampo was so anxious that he couldn't even sleep. After all, with the wealth of Tubo, it might not be enough to fight against the giant Da Qin.

At this time, the Sui State took the initiative to form an alliance and provide mutual assistance in offense and defense. For Songtsen Gampo, this was nothing less than the sound of heaven.

 Gao Jiong personally came to Tubo and signed an alliance with Songtsen Gampo. With Tubo as an ally, the Sui Kingdom naturally no longer needed Li Tang.

It is precisely because of this that Yang Guang had the idea of ​​annexing the Qiang region and Longxi. After all, if the Sui State was not strong enough, it would not be able to dominate the alliance with Tubo.

Tibet had a population of 3 million and an army of 250,000.

  The Sui State now has a population of 2.6 million by encouraging births and plundering people from the Western Regions.

As for the army, although the Sui State only had 160,000 troops, it was only to save military expenses and use them to develop internal affairs.

If it really expands its army to the extreme, the Sui Kingdom can also expand to 250,000.

It's just that when the Qin and Sui Dynasties went to war, the Sui Kingdom lost half of Anding County and the ten cities of Wuwei, and at least 200,000 people were lost.

If the lost part of the population cannot be replaced, the Sui Kingdom will naturally not be able to expand its army to that number, and now it can only annex Li Tang's base.

Cheng Gongying did not expect that so many things would happen during his absence. After thinking for a long time, he said: "My lord, it is indeed a good thing to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Tubo, but my subordinates still do not agree with the annexation of Tang Dynasty." .

Although Li Tang was now extremely weak, he was still a major force in the fight against Qin. The Sui Dynasty should unite all the forces that could be united. "

“But military advisor, have you ever thought about it? Now that Li Shimin is gone, Li Tang is in chaos, and whether it can survive is a question.

Even if I don’t add insult to injury, will Qin and Shu still not do it?

Rather than being swallowed up by the Qin and Sui countries, it would be better for us, the Sui Dynasty, to take action in advance. "

Yang Guang said in a deep voice, his words full of determination.

"well…"

Cheng Gongying sighed and did not try to persuade him, because what Yang Guang said was indeed reasonable.

On the same day, Yang Guang ordered Yang Su of Wuwei County to give up the ten cities of Wuwei little by little, but not too fast to buy time for the Sui army to move the people behind.

The ten cities in the eastern part of Wuwei County have a total population of more than 200,000. It is impossible for Yang Guang to completely abandon them to Da Qin, and at least he must secretly move away more than 100,000 people.

At the same time, with Yang Su's Wuwei attracting the Qin army's attention, Yang Guang could boldly plot against the three counties of Qiang and Longxi.

However, what Yang Guang didn't know was that he thought that after the Qin army captured Guanzhong and the ten cities of Wuwei, it would stop fighting and recuperate again, but he did not expect that Ying Hao would also keep an eye on the three counties of Longxi like him.

 The next day, Yang Su withdrew all the defenders of Zuli City and evacuated all the treasuries, but did not move away the people.

The Sui State’s relocation plan was not to move from the front, but from the rear.

After all, if we moved in the past, after the Qin State settled in the first city and counted the household registrations, we would soon find that the population was not counted, and it would be difficult for the Sui State to move people away.

Therefore, Yang Guang moved people directly from the six counties in the rear. When Yang Su retreated to the rear one by one, almost all the people who should be moved had already been moved.

After Li Jing successfully took over Zuli City from Yang Su, he immediately reported to Ying Hao who had arrived in Chang'an.

After Ying Hao received the news, he ordered Li Jing to lead his army in Wuwei and Meng Tian to fight in Anding County to attract the attention of Yang Su and Yang Guang.

At the same time, Ying Hao also ordered Gongsun Xuanyuan to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Zuli City in Wuwei County, Long Qie to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Wushi City in Anding County, and Wu Qi to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Chencang City in Youfufeng.

As soon as the opportunity came, the Qin army divided into three groups to advance. Gongsun Nanxuanyuan attacked Longxi County, Long Qie attacked Hanyang County, and Wu Qi attacked Wudu County. The three armies worked together to capture the three Longxi counties.

 As for when the time will come? Naturally it was when Liu Yu took action against Hanzhong.

Ying Hao actually thought about taking the opportunity to send troops when the Shu and Tang Dynasties broke up and capture the three counties of Hanzhong as well.

However, the three counties of Hanzhong are easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the Tang army also strictly defended the Qin Dynasty. All major roads and checkpoints were defended by garrisons, so the losses of a forced attack would be too great.

In addition, it is possible that Li Tang will be forced to completely turn to Shu. If this is the case, the gains will really outweigh the losses.

Therefore, Ying Hao retreated and did the next best thing. Instead of attacking the three difficult Hanzhong counties, he took down the less difficult three Longxi counties.

With the cavalry power of the Qin army, it was easy to seize the three counties of Longxi.

After acquiring the three counties of Longxi, Daqin will be surrounded by Hanzhong on three sides. It can send troops from three directions: Youfufeng, Wudu, and Nanyang, and the difficulty of capturing Hanzhong will be minimized.

Getting to Long and looking at Shu is nothing more than this. But once Hanzhong is captured, will Yizhou still be far away?

In addition, after taking over the three counties of Longxi, Da Qin now has six counties in Liangzhou.

 After three more years of training, even without using Sili's grain and grass, just the grain reserves of the six counties should be enough for Qin to complete the Western Expedition.

 So, for Da Qin, no matter from any aspect, taking over the three counties of Longxi would be of great benefit.

 (End of this chapter)