Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 341 Stable Order is the Most Efficient Means of Exploitation

The Tang army quickly took control of the entire city of Hanoi.

The gentry and wealthy families in Hanoi city vied to come and ask to see Chen Yucheng, the commander-in-chief of the Tang army.

Although the Tang army behaved harmlessly after entering the city, the gentry and wealthy families in Hanoi were still uneasy.

They want to get some sense of security from Chen Yucheng!

However, Hanoi had just been captured, and a large amount of military affairs needed to be handled by Chen Yucheng personally, so Chen Yucheng refused the requests for a meeting from these Vietnamese gentry.

He just ordered Lin Weijia and others to come forward to appease the people.

"Master Lin, this... this Tang Army commander refused to meet us, but does he have any objection to us?"

A portly gentleman asked with a somewhat anxious look on his face.

Upon hearing this, several other gentry and wealthy families nearby spoke up in agreement.

"Please help me wait, Master Lin."

"Yes, Lord Lin, please help us pass the message. We just want to see Commander Chen once."

"..."

Unlike the Vietnamese in Vietnam, the northern part of Vietnam is generally pro-China due to historical issues.

Especially among these gentry and wealthy families, a considerable number of their ancestors were Chinese, and they all have a considerable amount of Chinese blood.

In addition, I have been influenced by Chinese culture since childhood.

These people are naturally friendly to China.

It is not obvious under normal circumstances, but once the Chinese army enters Vietnam, this goodwill can easily evolve into "loyalty."

Well, all gentry in the world are the same!

When foreign enemies invade, they are often the first to kneel.

Lin Weijia looked at the people in front of him and let out a breath.

"Hey, fellow villagers, you don't have to do this."

"I have just gone to see Commander Chen. Commander Chen is very busy with military affairs and does not have the energy to spare the time to meet with you all."

"But Commander Chen said that since he has already agreed to Hanoi's surrender, he will naturally enforce military discipline on the army."

"No need to worry!"

Lin Weijia actually said nonsense.

After the Tang army entered the city, they enforced strict military discipline and maintained order, which was visible to everyone.

What these gentry and wealthy families were worried about was not the Tang army's massacre and looting of the city, but the fact that the Tang Dynasty would liquidate them after the war.

Seeing that the gentry and wealthy families still looked worried, Lin Weijia continued to speak.

"In addition, Commander Chen also instructed me to collect food and fodder near Hanoi and prepare for transportation."

"If the gentry and local people want to show their loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, then this may be an opportunity."

Why did the Tang army attack Vietnam?
On the surface, it was to teach Vietnam a lesson and make the Vietnamese emperor give up his imperial title, and to maintain the international order (tributary system) in the entire East Asia and Southeast Asia region.

But in fact, it’s just two words: food!
The Tang Dynasty now needs enough food to provide disaster relief and fill the domestic food gap.

Otherwise, people in the Tang Dynasty would starve to death!
Therefore, as soon as Chen Yucheng entered Hanoi, he ordered Lin Weijia to collect food and prepare to transport it north.

This is also the reason why the Tang army could easily capture Hanoi but eventually chose to surrender.

It would be easy for the Tang army to attack Hanoi, or even to massacre the people of Hanoi just to vent their anger.

With the Vietnamese troops in Hanoi, it was impossible to stop the rampage of the Tang army.

But the problem is that if the Tang army does not surrender Hanoi and obtain the help of the official system in Hanoi city, it will be almost impossible for the Tang army to stabilize the entire Red River Delta and obtain a large amount of food and fodder from the Red River Delta in a short period of time.

By the same token, it is easy to vent your anger by massacring a city, but it is difficult to re-establish order after the massacre.

Without a stable order, it would be difficult for the Tang Dynasty, the invader, to squeeze food from the Vietnamese people.

After all, we can't expect the Tang army to roll up their sleeves and rob directly, right?

On the one hand, the means are too rough.

On the other hand, even if we don’t consider the means and reputation, the efficiency of direct robbery is too low.

A stable ruling order is always the most efficient means of exploitation and oppression, without a doubt.

Killing can solve many problems, but it cannot solve all problems.

However, appeasement can solve many problems that even killing cannot solve.

War is always a continuation of politics and must serve politics.

We cannot fight for the sake of fighting, and we cannot kill for the sake of killing.

How to say it? After all, even the Qing Dynasty knew to win over the gentry when they entered the Central Plains, and the Japanese knew to set up a maintenance association when they invaded China. Naturally, when the Tang Dynasty attacked Vietnam this time, it would have to collude with local forces.

When several gentry and wealthy families heard what Lin Weijia said, their eyes lit up and they spoke immediately.

"Don't worry, Master Lin. We understand!"

"I wonder how much food the Tang Dynasty needs?"

Lin Weijia said while stroking his beard.

"Commander Chen said, the more the better."

"Even in the future, when the Tang Dynasty selects officials in Hanoi, the amount of grain you have contributed will be one of the important criteria."

"If you want to serve as an official in the court in the future, you should think carefully about what to do this time!"

Several gentlemen looked at each other and saw the deep meaning in each other's eyes.

This surrender was the right decision.

They might even be able to serve as officials in the Tang Dynasty in the future.

...Inside the Hening Governor's Mansion!

Chen Yucheng was writing a battle report at his desk, preparing to report the victory to the court.

Just at this moment, Zhang Guoliang and Fang Haiyang knocked on his door outside.

Following a response, Zhang Guoliang and Fang Haiyang walked in together from outside.

"Commander, the results of the Battle of Hanoi have been counted."

"Please take a look, Commander."

As he spoke, Zhang Guoliang handed a military report to Chen Yucheng.

Chen Yucheng took the battle report and began to read it.

[In the Battle of Hanoi, the Tang army wiped out a total of 32,000 Vietnamese troops, including killing more than 15,000 and capturing more than 17,000 enemy troops.]

[In addition, Shang captured 231 heads of high-ranking generals of the Vietnamese army, including Huang Weiqi, the general of Taiyuan, Wan Yuanzhi, the garrison commander of Caoping, and Shang Zhixin, the garrison commander of Haiyang...]

After reading the military newspaper, Chen Yucheng slowly exhaled, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Haha, after this battle, the main force of the Vietnamese army in northern Vietnam was defeated by our army."

"The remaining Vietnamese troops are no longer a threat!"

Although the Vietnamese army mobilized as many as 60,000 troops in the Battle of Hanoi.

The Tang army annihilated only 32,000 people, which was almost half of them. But in a sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that the main force of the Vietnamese army in northern Vietnam was defeated.

This is because an army's ability to sustain damage has an upper limit.

With the level of the Vietnamese army at that time, after half of the troops were wiped out, the remaining people were basically unable to fight.

Even if someone could organize them, they would most likely collapse at the first blow or surrender after encountering the Tang army.

It is quite normal for Chen Yucheng to say that they are not a big threat.

Seeing this, Fang Haiyang asked.

"Commander, how do you think our army should proceed?"

The battle of Hanoi was over, so it was naturally impossible for the Tang army to continue gathering in Hanoi. Instead, they had to continue to attack the surrounding areas.

After hearing this, Chen Yucheng pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"The most important task of our army's expedition to Vietnam this time is to collect food and transport it back to the country."

"In this case, the next move of our army is to sweep the entire Red River Delta with the Red River as the center."

As he spoke, Chen Yucheng walked over to the map hanging in the room.

I began to look at the symbols on the map and began to think.

After a moment, Chen Yucheng began to speak.

"Since the main force of the Vietnamese army in the north has been defeated, I think our army may be able to divide its forces to fight next."

"Except for the remaining part of our land forces stationed in Hanoi and along the Red River."

"The rest of the troops should be divided into two groups. One group should advance westward along the Red River to capture Yong'an and Anpei."

"We will march northwards and capture Bac Ninh, Tai Nguyen, Bac Giang and other places in order to expand our army's actual control over Vietnam."

"In addition, send another fleet to sweep the northern coast of Vietnam from north to south and capture Haiphong, Tu Son, Yantian, Longzhou, Thanh Hoa and other places..."

"What do you think?"

Chen Yucheng told Fang Haiyang and Zhang Guoliang about the battle strategy he had been thinking about for a long time and sought their opinions.

Fang Haiyang and Zhang Guoliang thought for a while and then nodded in agreement.

Although it may seem wasteful to divide the troops into several groups, it is actually not a problem if we consider that the Tang army had just defeated the main force of the Vietnamese army in northern Vietnam in one go in Hanoi.

In the current northern Vietnam region, as long as the Tang army does not take the initiative to go into the deep mountains and old forests with complex environments, there will be no force that can threaten the Tang army.

This time, the combat targets set by Chen Yucheng were all the Red River Delta region with convenient transportation.

The Red River Delta is basically a developed land that has been fully developed.

There are no deep mountains and old forests with complex environments!

Afterwards, the three of them gathered together to discuss the specific combat plan.

At the same time, the news of the end of the Battle of Hanoi spread rapidly, with Hanoi as the center.

……

The tenth day of March in the fourth year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.

Three days after the Battle of Hanoi.

The news of the Vietnamese army's disastrous defeat was delivered to Hue on a fast horse, and then to the Vietnamese royal palace.

Nguyen Phuc Thi looked at the 800-mile urgent military report in his hand with a pale face, his face twitching constantly.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

Hanoi is lost, Hanoi is actually lost!
But soon, a feeling of panic quickly surged up.

If Hanoi is lost, northern Vietnam will probably be gone, and the Nguyen family’s rule will inevitably be shaken.

What should I do next? !
In a panic, Nguyen Phuc Thi spoke to a trusted eunuch beside him.

"Quick, go and pass on my order!"

"Go and summon Minister Zhang, Scholar Ruan and others to the palace to discuss matters!"

"Quick! Go now!"

Upon hearing this, the trusted eunuch immediately knelt down and agreed.

Then he hurriedly left the palace and went to convey Nguyen Phuc Thien's order.

(End of this chapter)