Chapter 189 Reward (asking for monthly ticket)

I can run away from the monk, but I can't run away from the temple.

Although Yeon Gaesomun ran away, the troops under his command are still there.

As the Tang army led by Xue Rengui charged from both sides, the morale of the Goguryeo army completely collapsed to the bottom.

We are already at the bottom, and no matter how we go, we are heading upwards.

The leaderless Goguryeo army no longer had the will to resist and surrendered to the Tang army one after another.

The Battle of Phoenix Mountain ended with a complete victory for the Tang army led by Li Xiang.

Facts have proved that having a large number of troops is not necessarily helpful. The Goguryeo army was already considered good, being able to withstand 30% of the deaths without collapsing.

In the era of cold weapons, an army that could withstand a 20% death rate without collapsing was considered an iron army.

The total number of troops of Gao Bai's coalition forces at Fenghuang Mountain was more than 160,000; those who did not cross the Yalu River numbered more than 90,000.

The Tang army beheaded more than 5,000 people in total, and the total number of beheadings for the whole day plus the night raid in the early morning of the next day was just over 10,000, a considerable number of which were caused by shooting and catapults.

In this era, cold weapons were used. It was not like the "Battle of Xiangji Temple" boasted by marketing accounts in later generations, where 30,000 to 40,000 Tang soldiers were killed in battle and 60,000 enemy soldiers were beheaded...

In fact, the only battle in history with more than 1916 casualties in a single day was the British army's losses in the Battle of the Somme in .

Even the meat grinder of Verdun did not say that 100,000 people died in a day.

Human power is limited, and the Tang army's swords are not nuclear-powered...

The battle here ended, and the capture operation over there soon produced results.

In the afternoon of the next day, the cavalry that was sent out brought back Yeon Gaesomun.

It's quite funny to say that when Yeon Gaesomun was running away, he stepped on a hunter's trap and was hung on a tree. It was the Tang army that rescued him.

As for his personal soldiers... they were all falling in the bear pit. It looked like ketchup was all over the pit. It was obvious that they were not going to survive.

If you say Yeon Gaesomun was unlucky... he was actually quite lucky, he just felt dizzy after being hung for two hours; if you say he was lucky... he even stepped into a trap.

Li Xiang did not say much, but just asked the navy to distribute the Goguryeo soldiers according to proportion among the prefectures and counties in the Bohai Rim Economic Zone, and finally left 30,000 people in Dengzhou.

As for the more than 10,000 soldiers who surrendered voluntarily, they were also arranged to Dengzhou and would be used when Li Xiang returned.

Those who surrender will be treated well, and those who resist will suffer the consequences.

They definitely cannot be released back to Goguryeo. After all, Li Xiang is not Li Shimin, and he will not be so kind.

What's more, Goguryeo is now leaderless, and who knows if a Quan Gaisumun will emerge among these soldiers.

"Da Molizhi, we meet again." Li Xiang looked at Quan Gaisuwen who was standing below him and waved his hand to signal the soldiers not to force him to kneel.

"There's no point in talking any more, let's get started!" Quan Gaisuwen held his head high and chest out, looking like he was going to die bravely.

"Why are you doing this? Da Molizhi is my honored guest." Li Xiang tapped the table with his fingers. "It's just that you refused to surrender last time when I asked you to do so, so forget about the treatment of being crowned a king. I'd rather report to the Saint and crown you a Marquis of Disobedience... Yeah, that's pretty good."

Quan Gaisuwen just raised his head, said nothing, and pretended to be an expert.

"Take him away and take good care of him - oh, and keep him away from Quan Nanjian and Quan Nanchan." Li Xiang advised earnestly.

Hearing this, Quan Gaisuwen finally couldn't hold it anymore.

"You...what did you say?" His voice trembled: "My son's surname is obviously Yuan!"

He never thought that just because he lost a battle, even his surname would be changed.

"Marquis Quan should withdraw. Since you have entered the Tang Dynasty, you must be cautious." Li Xiang said coldly: "Longquan Sword is no exception, let alone you?"

Quan Gaisuwen was taken away with grief and anger, but no matter how angry he was, it was of no avail.

When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Changing your surname is just the first step. As for whether you will go to the Tai Chi Palace to dance later, that is another matter.

Judging from his expression, he probably won't do that. After all, not everyone is as thick-skinned as Jie Li Khan.

The next morning, Li Shimin finally arrived at the Tang army’s base in Fenghuang Mountain with 5,000 cavalry.

When Lao Li saw the Tang army cleaning the battlefield and settling the prisoners of war, his eyes widened.

"You...are you done fighting?" Li Shimin asked Li Xiang tremblingly in the general's tent.

It was originally thought that Li Xiang's army of just over 40,000 would be stretched to the limit to deal with the 250,000-strong Goguryeo army, and would be wiped out by the Goguryeo if they were not careful.

I never expected that he would actually win?

And it wasn't just a simple defeat, but a complete victory!
Not only did they capture 70,000 to 80,000 people, but they also captured Goguryeo King Go Zang, Baekje King Buyeo Ui Ja, and Goguryeo's Daemok branch Yeon Gaesomun.

"Yes." Li Xiang thought that by the time you come, the opportunity will be gone. He signaled Pei Xingjian with his eyes to submit a detailed record of the battle, along with a military report with statistics on the casualty ratio.

Li Shimin took it and flipped through it quickly. After a while, he handed the booklet back to Pei Xingjian with a look of emotion.

"I...have a successor!"

Li Shimin was truly pleased with Li Xiang's excellence.

In Lao Li's eyes, Li Xiang is even a bit like an enhanced version of himself.

Li Xiang just didn't know what Lao Li was thinking, otherwise he would have definitely refused.

He hasn't reached that level yet, and he truly believes that he is not as good as Lao Li.

After hearing Li Shimin's comments, Su Dingfang and others looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes.

Great, only if the prince becomes your majesty's successor, the Tang Dynasty can go further!

Li Shimin expressed his satisfaction with the treatment of Quan Gaisuwen, and believed that the title of Marquis of Weiming was very suitable for Quan Gaisuwen.

As for Goguryeo King Go Zang and Baekje King Buyeo Uija, they were respectively given the titles of Sunmyeong Prince and Seungmyeong Prince.

Li Xiang felt that there was something weird about Old Li, but he had no evidence.

Both kings have been captured by the Tang army, and the consequences are devastating.

When the cities of Anshi, Wugu and others saw that their king and Damolizhi had been captured by the Tang army, they no longer had any will to resist and immediately surrendered.

Since it was only the end of June and there was still plenty of time, the Tang army continued to advance towards the peninsula. Wherever they went, everyone surrendered, quickly and efficiently.

Even if we encountered some individuals who refused to give up and wanted to resist, they were easily defeated.

All the fighting soldiers in Goguryeo had been killed by Yeon Gaesomun in Phoenix Mountain. In mid-August, the defenders of Pyongyang surrendered the city. From the second year of Jianzhao of Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, to the eighteenth year of Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo, which had been entrenched in Liaodong for more than 600 years, was officially declared extinct.

After the Tang Dynasty conquered Goguryeo, it divided its territory into nine military governorates, 42 prefectures, and 100 counties, and established the Andong Protectorate in Pyongyang to govern it.

At the end of September, one and a half months after the fall of Goguryeo, Baekje was also declared destroyed.

From King Onjo to Buyeo Uija, Baekje lasted for 662 years and was ruled by 31 generations.

The Tang army established five military governorships in Baekje, namely, Ungjin, Mahan, Dongmyeong, Gimryeon and Deok'an, which were under the jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate.

Things went smoothly, which was beyond Li Xiang's expectations. According to his idea, it would take at least a long time. He never expected that both countries could be destroyed in one fell swoop.

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Shimin appointed Li Xiang as the Protector-General of Andong, responsible for pacifying the local people of Goguryeo and Baekje.

In his opinion, Li Xiang was the only one in the Tang Dynasty who had this ability.

Li Xiang also had a plan in mind, but he was not in a hurry. He had to wait until he returned to Beijing to have a good chat with his third uncle Li Ke, sixth uncle Li Yin and others during the New Year.

This time, Li brought many important civil and military officials with him to the Goguryeo expedition. After meeting Li Xiang, the officials, led by Zhangsun Wuji, praised Li Xiang, saying that Li Xiang was exactly like the saint of the year. Even the usually aloof Li Shiji couldn't help but praise Li Xiang.

The Tang allied troops, such as Huihe, Pugu, Adie, Tongluo, etc., treated the Tang Dynasty more respectfully and were more humble when facing Li Shimin and Li Xiang.

As long as Li Xiang is around, the Tang Dynasty will continue to be strong. At least before Li Xiang's generation, the Tang Dynasty will still maintain absolute pressure on them.

But this kind of conviction was not entirely due to coercion, but also because of Li Xiang's care for them.

After all, in their view, Li Xiang did not treat them like beasts to guard against, but had a mind as broad as the Khan and treated them as his own sons.

The news that Li Xiang led his army to a great victory at Phoenix Mountain was also brought into the Tang Dynasty along with the falling leaves.

Upon hearing the news, Li Chengqian, together with the court officials who stayed in Luoyang, held a banquet in the Luoyang Palace for the first time to celebrate the great victory of Prince Hengshan.

The court officials were naturally celebrating. With such a saintly grandson around, the Tang Dynasty would not follow the same path as the Sui Dynasty and perish in the second generation. Instead, it would continue to prosper and become stronger.

Before proving his military ability, the Prince of Hengshan also proved his ability to govern and to lead his people to prosperity.

It is foreseeable that after the Zhenguan Reign, there will surely be an era of prosperity.

The Central Plains, which has been in turmoil for hundreds of years, is finally ushering in a long period of peace.

At the end of September, Li Shimin set out from Xiongjin City and embarked on the journey back to the capital.

As for Li Xiang, he remained in Liaodong, planning to go back when things were almost arranged and handed over.

Everyone has a problem, especially leaders. They are all the same as Dai Ying. They use people to the utmost when they are useful. Li Xiang is no exception.

He originally wanted to bring Feng Qing to Liaodong, but then he thought that the development of Dengzhou also depended on Feng Qing, so after much deliberation, he could only transfer some officials from Dengzhou, and transport some residents of Liaodong to the inland, and then recruit some people from the inland.

The price offered by Li Xiang was very high. The people who came to Liaodong to open up the land could not only be allocated 100 acres of land, but they could also be exempted from taxes and labor service for five years.

After hearing about the price and Li Xiang's repeated promises that the army of Andong Protectorate would protect them, many tenant farmers from the inland suddenly came to the registration office to sign up.

Li Xiang scratched his head for a moment, then suddenly realized.

It seems... there must be a noble family who took advantage of the chaos in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty to create a lot of hidden households.

He kept this matter in mind. It was not something he needed to focus on right now. The top priority now was to fill up the Andong Protectorate.

In early December, Li Xiang finally finished part of the affairs of the Andong Protectorate and handed over the affairs of Liaodong to Su Dingfang, the chief officer of the Grand Protectorate, and Liu Rengui, the deputy governor of the Grand Protectorate. He then returned to Dengzhou with Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui.

From the time he left Dengzhou in February this year to December this year, a total of ten months have passed, and Dengzhou has changed dramatically.

If you don’t look at the name, but only look at the scale, you would think Dengzhou is Chang’an.

There was a constant stream of traffic at the city gate, and the merchants coming and going were blocking the way.

Dengzhou seems to have shown signs of becoming the first metropolis with a population of one million besides Chang'an, and no one would doubt it.

When I saw Feng Qing, he was still busy as ever.

But even though he was so busy, Feng Qing still did not lose his dignity as a senior official of the third rank. He was dressed in sleek clothes and looked very ostentatious.

According to Feng Qing's report, Dengzhou's current permanent population has reached 250,000 and is still growing.

People are the foundation, no matter what we do.

As long as more and more people start to come to Dengzhou, the subsequent development will not be a problem.

I'm afraid that no one...

Li Xiang did not say much. While he was impressed by the rapid development of Dengzhou, he also knew that Feng Qing was very busy, so he did not waste any words. After giving Feng Qing a few words of encouragement, he left Dengzhou without stopping.

When leaving Dengzhou, he did not forget to bring Feng Yingying with him.

Feng Yingying said that she missed Princess Jinyang and Princess Gaoyang very much, and also wanted to see the prosperity of Chang'an. Li Xiang didn't think much about it and took her along.

Li Xiang, who is now about to turn seventeen, is finally taller than women.

After fighting on the battlefield for ten months, he grew taller.

He is now conservatively estimated to be over 1.7 meters tall and has just surpassed Feng Yingying.

Before leaving Dengzhou, Li Shimin's edict also arrived in Dengzhou, which roughly meant that Li Xiang should return to Chang'an as soon as possible and not go to Luoyang. He had already brought Li Chengqian back to Chang'an.

He also told him not to forget to bring Li Tai and Li Zhi with him. The two of them were now working hard in the Bohai Rim area, rolling up their sleeves and forgetting to eat and sleep.

So before leaving Dengzhou, Li Xiang went to find Li Tai and Li Zhi, took them with him, and returned to Chang'an together.

Li Tai and Li Zhi not only worked day and night, but they even felt like they didn't want to leave their homeland. When it came to returning to Chang'an, they were somewhat reluctant.

Chang'an is not as free as Bohai Bay! You can do whatever you want here, and there are countless seafood to eat...

Chang'an? I'm not familiar with it.

This time I went back to Chang'an, not just to celebrate the New Year.

There are also rewards during the grand court meetings.

Li Xiang was very interested in the reward he was about to receive.

He really wanted to know what tricks Li Shimin could play and what kind of precious rewards he could give him.

(Well……)
(End of this chapter)