The Goguryeo monarch Gowon was deeply disgusted with the behavior of Yeon Taejo and Yeon Gaesumun who controlled the government and had no king. When Cao Cao presented Yuan Gaisuwen's head, he was overjoyed and immediately rewarded Cao Cao heavily and entrusted him with important tasks.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao was frightened on the surface, but secretly took advantage of the destruction of the Yuan family and the chaos of the Goguryeo court to recruit and recruit rebels to develop his power.
A few months later, when Cao Cao consolidated his power, he launched a palace coup, poisoned Gao Yuan, made Gao Yuan's less than three-year-old son King of Goguryeo, and named himself Molizhi, just like Yuan Tai. Jo, Yeon Gaesumun and his son generally dominated the state affairs of Goguryeo.
The Jinyiwei lurking in Goguryeo passed the news back through unique messaging channels. However, Yang Gao, who learned about this, did not show much interest in it.
In fact, as early as when Cao Cao invaded Goguryeo, Yang Gao had already anticipated the current situation in Goguryeo. It is true that the father and son Yuan Taizuo and Yuan Gaisuwen can be regarded as outstanding men of their generation, but compared with the talented and resourceful Emperor Wu of Wei Cao Cao in history, they are still far behind.
In addition, the Li Tang Dynasty has not yet been destroyed, Guanzhong and Hebei are still undecided, and the people of the world are still worried about the consequences of Yang Guang's three conquests on Goguryeo. It is definitely not the best idea to conquer Goguryeo at this time. Therefore, Yang Gao does not pay much attention to the changes in Goguryeo. superior.
What's more, the Tang army has just retreated, Luoyang is newly settled, and there are still a lot of aftermath matters that need to be dealt with by Yang Gao. He doesn't have much thought to pay attention to the changes in the situation in Goguryeo thousands of miles away.
The first problem Yang Gao had to face was how to revitalize the now dilapidated eastern capital of Luoyang. Luoyang was once the capital of the Sui Dynasty and the political and economic center of the country. It connects to Jiangdu in the southeast, Shandong in the northeast, and Chang'an in the west. It is the transportation center of the Grand Canal, where rich businessmen gather, the sky is like a cloud, and all industries are flourishing, making it very lively. .
But all this prosperity came to an end with the chaos in the world. First, Wagang Li Mi invaded, and then the Tang army marched eastward. Luoyang and its surrounding areas have been in constant war.
Faced with the coming powerful enemies, Wang Shichong could only focus on developing the military. Luoyang alone had to support his army of 100,000 people, so one can imagine the heavy taxation of Luoyang. To this day, there is no rich household in Luoyang City. Materials are scarce, prices have soared, and the people are miserable.
In order to restore the people's livelihood in Luoyang, Yang Gao immediately ordered the opening of granaries to release grain, provide relief to the victims, suppress grain prices, and issued an imperial edict to exempt Luoyang from taxes for one year. He also promoted Zeng Guofan, who had outstanding performance in the Luoyang battle, to the position of prefect of Luoyang.
Secondly, although this battle in Luoyang failed to capture Li Shimin, the number one boss of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it still captured a large number of Tang army generals. Yang Gao adopted differentiated treatment methods for these captured Tang troops.
As for the Tang soldiers who were originally from Guanlong, their whole family was under the rule of Li Tang. Even if they were forced to surrender due to the situation today, they would turn against the enemy if they were unable to protect themselves in the future.
Therefore, Yang Gao did not choose to recruit these prisoners, but punished them all as coolies to repair city defenses, dredge water transportation, and dig mines. It can also be used as a bargaining chip to hit Li Yuan hard in the future.
As for those refugees from various places who had no choice but to join the army in order to make a living, or the old troops of Wang Shichong who had defected to Li Tang in previous battles, Yang Gao disrupted them and incorporated them all.
Dealing with ordinary captured soldiers is actually very simple. Yang Gao just made a general decision-making direction, and the specific execution was responsible for military generals such as Xue Rengui, Chang Yuchun, Meng Gong, and Lin Renzhao. Only a few captured senior generals of the Tang Army were really dealt with by Yang Gao.
The first prisoner of the Tang army that Yang Gao met was Li Shimin's confidant, Sun Wuji, the famous Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty in history.
Although Yang Gao has been in this world for many years and has heard the name Changsun Wuji many times from military intelligence reports from various places, this interview is the first time that Yang Gao has met Changsun Wuji.
Looking at the calm young Confucian scholar in front of him, Yang Gao secretly turned on the system, concentrated on sending instructions: "Test Changsun Wuji's four-dimensional ability for me."
"Ding dong, the system is executing the character detection program. The detection target is the local character Changsun Wuji. Please wait patiently for a moment."
"Ding dong, the system test is completed. The subject, Changsun Wuji, has a command score of 85, a force of 73, an intelligence of 94, and a politics of 97."
"This ability is really great. He is worthy of being valued by Li Shimin!"
Yang Gao sighed secretly in his heart and said slowly: "Changsun Wuji, your father Changsun Sheng used to be an important minister of our Sui Dynasty. He sent many envoys to the Turks to protect the peace of our northern territory of Sui Dynasty. I remember that in the past, General Changsun For this meritorious service..."
Before Yang Gao could finish speaking, Changsun Wuji interrupted loudly: "Young man Yang Gao, there is no need to say more! Kill him if you want. I, Changsun Wuji, will never be a thief who betrays his master!"
"Be bold!"
Yuwen Chengdu, the general who was standing by to protect the palace, heard the words and immediately shouted sharply: "Changsun Wuji, you are the villain of the tiger. You have made many suggestions for Li Yuan and Li Shimin, the traitorous father and son, with the intention of overthrowing the country of the Sui Dynasty. Now that you are captured, you are under the control of the Sui Dynasty. According to the law, you were supposed to be put to death in Ling Chi as a warning to others. Your Majesty, thinking of the merits of your father, General Changsun, condescended to surrender to you. You thief, don’t be ignorant of good and evil!"
Changsun Wuji showed no fear on his face, looked directly at Yuwen Chengdu, and said loudly: "The foolish emperor Yang Guang has no way, which has caused chaos in the world. The Sui Dynasty has exhausted its energy, and the Tang Dynasty is about to rise. I, Changsun Wuji, can meet the needs of the troubled times. It is truly a blessing to be a wise master like the King of Qin. Even though he dies today, he has no regrets!"
"What a traitor!"
Yu Wen Chengdu was so angry that he gritted his teeth and turned back to Yang Gao and said: "Your Majesty, this traitor is determined to follow Li Shimin all the way to the dark side. From Yi Weichen's point of view, there is no need to waste time with him and make him a canon as early as possible." The punishment is to uphold the law of the country!"
Yang Gao knew that it was tantamount to wishful thinking to easily subdue Changsun Wuji with Li Shimin's monarchy charm. Then he waved his hand and said: "That's all, for the sake of old general Changsun, let's spare his life. Go down and prepare a clean cell for Changsun Wuji. Don't neglect his good care!"
After hearing this, several guards immediately took Changsun Wuji into custody and took him out of the palace gate. Changsun Wuji turned his head, looked at Yang Gao and snorted coldly, saying: "Yang Gao, don't do these small favors in front of me. Changsun Wuji will never betray his master!"
Yang Gao shook his head helplessly, and then ordered: "Come here, bring Pei Renji to me!"
Not long after, Pei Renji, who was still wearing armor, walked into the hall under the supervision of several guards. Before Yang Gao could speak, Pei Renji knelt on his legs and kowtowed his head loudly: "The guilty minister Pei Renji, See Your Majesty!"
