Tibet

On the fifth day after the 10,000 Guangming Army attacked Yibo Army City, the scouts sent to Suiye received news that the Guangming Army retreated from Suiye.

This news really surprised everyone. Guo Xin sent Yuchi Xi'an to find out the news. Two days later, news came from Yuchi Xi'an that the troops had indeed withdrawn from Suiye.

Guo Xin quickly reported to Li Chenghua that although Li Chenghua and Guo Xin were not in the same system, the military positions here were not one or two levels higher.

Li Chenghua thought for a while and smiled: "It is probably what Governor Guo said before. The reason why the Guangming Army sneaked into Broken Leaf is more complicated. Therefore, we probably can't think of the reason for their withdrawal. We don't need to worry about it so much. Let's recapture Broken Leaf first, and then take back Broken Leaf." Soldiers from Julan City and Gongyue City will bring them back."

Guo Xin said with some worry: "I am worried that the emperor will not be able to find an excuse to send troops to the Western Regions!"

Li Chenghua smiled lightly and said: "You don't have to worry about this kind of thing. The emperor's sending troops to the Western Region is a long-term strategy, not a passion for sending troops. He will send troops whether Suiye falls or not. Besides, your two thousand men were killed by the enemy and more than a thousand were killed. Doesn't it count? Already? The Army of Light has declared war on us, how can we not fight? "

Guo Xin was relieved, and immediately led his men back to Suiye, and sent people with hundreds of camels to Gongyue City and Julan City to recall the scattered troops.

Tang Jun returned to Suiye City again. The whole city of Suiye City, young and old, came out to welcome Tang Jun's return. The city was filled with empty alleys and the streets were crowded with tens of thousands of people.

Some old men pulled Guo Xin's sleeves and cried bitterly, denounced the Sogdian army for their exploitation and persecution.

This time, the Sogdian army occupied Suiye for more than two months. Almost all Han families went bankrupt, and all the wealth they had accumulated over the years was robbed. Many Han women were humiliated, and many families were ruined.

Not only civilians, but official warehouses were also looted. The military cities scattered around Atami were all warehouses, and they were all looted.

The first dilemma Guo Xin faced when he returned to Suiye was to obtain food. Not only the thousand troops in the city, but also the Han people who had been completely robbed, they were also counting on official relief.

Guo Xin quickly found Li Chenghua to discuss. Li Chenghua had just sent the second Eagle Letter back to Chang'an and was preparing to investigate some questions.

Guo Xin hurriedly came to discuss the food issue. Li Chenghua smiled slightly and said: "I remember when I left, Han people accounted for about 30% of the population!"

"Now it's fifty percent!"

"Okay! Even if half of them are Han Chinese, what about the other half? Are they all out of food? Are there any stocks in the shops?"

Guo Xin shook his head, "The other half of the people were also robbed, but not as ruthlessly as the Han people. All the shops were robbed, and even the food stored in the restaurant and the iron pots and pots in the kitchen were robbed."

Li Chenghua frowned, "Are these bastards Shuoshu?"

Guo Xin sighed, "It's almost the same. The Sogdians have always had bad military discipline. They plundered everything wherever they went. This time, the young woman was not snatched away by them. It's a blessing among misfortunes."

Li Chenghua nodded, "Then send someone to Anxi to ask for help, ask for troops and food, and let Yuchi Xi'an continue to complete his unfinished mission!"

That afternoon, Yuchi Xi'an led thirty soldiers to Anxi on a hundred camels. They knew how to cross Lingshan and did not need a guide.

In Chang'an, in the imperial study room, Liu Wutong, the deputy commander of the internal guard, presented Li Ye with an eagle letter just sent from Sui Ye. Li Ye took a rough look at it and was really happy. The key is that Guo Xin is still alive and can be given to Guo Ziyi. One confessed.

Liu Wutong was previously responsible for going to Dengzhou to clear up smuggling and human trafficking. After sweeping away the local snakes, smuggling and human trafficking basically disappeared in Dengzhou. Of course, there was another reason. The Tang army occupied Kyushu Island, and smuggling and human trafficking from Japan Human trafficking will naturally disappear.

As for Silla, due to preparations for war, all supplies were placed under military control, resulting in shortages and skyrocketing prices. The prices were much more expensive than those in the Tang Dynasty, so naturally no one was willing to export.

"How do you feel about General Liu when you first took office?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

Liu Wutong has been protecting Li Ye's parents for so many years. He is loyal and has no selfish thoughts. Naturally, he is a person who can be completely trusted.

Moreover, he and Li Chenghua were in-laws, so the handover between the two would be easier. Li Ye was just worried that he would not be able to control his subordinates, after all, he was junior.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Li Dutong has formulated various regulations, and the ministers are doing things according to various regulations, and everything goes smoothly."

"Inner guards must not only have regulations, but also have their own characteristics. I hope you can make a difference!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, after becoming familiar with various regulations, Wei Chen will definitely perform better. Now that he is not familiar with various regulations, Wei Chen is still learning!"

This is a good attitude. Li Ye nodded, "Go! Send this eagle letter to General Guo. I hope you will finish your studies as soon as possible!"

"Wei Chen will definitely live up to His Majesty's great trust!"

Liu Wuzhou bowed and retreated.

Li Ye picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. At this time, the bell of the next court rang, and the day's court affairs were over.

It was already December 26th, four days before the New Year. There had been several heavy snowfalls in Chang'an, and it was already covered with snow. However, as the New Year approached, the streets were particularly lively.

Carriages drove out of the Daming Palace one after another, returning to their respective mansions, or going to various restaurants for parties.

One of the ordinary carriages drove out from the palace, with only two mounted guards on both sides.

It was Li Ye who was in the carriage. Logically, he should go back to the harem directly, but he still wanted to see with his own eyes the situation on the streets before the New Year.

He did not plan to go on a private visit, but just sat in the carriage and took a quick tour, and then returned to the palace.

Although it was just a quick tour, he could still see many details, such as the beggars on the street, the people's clothes, their complexion, etc.

Generally, the end of the year is when every household is willing to spend money, and it is easier to make money, but after the New Year, they have to pay household taxes, and generally they have to pay several strings of money. This makes every household want to spend money during the New Year, but they dare not spend money, which is very stressful.

But since the complete abolition of household taxes, everyone has no pressure from household taxes, and this year's spending is also particularly smooth.

The effect of tax reduction is immediate, and everyone responded that this year's New Year is particularly prosperous and lively. Of course, it is also related to the abundance and cheapness of goods. A large number of sheep are put into the Chang'an market, so that every household can easily buy a sheep for the New Year.

This is the benefit that the war brings to the people of the victorious side.

The carriage drove out of the East Gate, or more precisely, the East Inner Gate. After the city was expanded, Chunming Gate became the Inner Gate. However, unlike the West Inner Gate, Chunming Gate involves a wall passage. In the past, a wall passage was also built in the city wall. There is an additional gate in the city wall, and soldiers guard it. Once the emperor's carriage arrives, the soldiers will immediately close the city gate in the city wall, maintain order in the city wall, and not allow anyone to approach. After the emperor's convoy passes, the gate will be reopened.

Li Ye's carriage drove out of Chunming Gate and entered the outer city area. After a few months, the outer city has been completed. More than a dozen streets are built very straight, dividing the outer city into more than 20 squares. People have begun to build houses, but it is almost the New Year, and all construction sites have stopped working. The entire outer city is empty.

Several main roads were paved with stone slabs. This was also because the court had ample finances. They began to make some renovations in Chang'an. Thick stone slabs were laid on all 13 streets in Chang'an. Of course, the project was huge and would take several years to complete.

The Tangzhi Road from Chang'an to the Western Regions was the same. It had been under construction for a year and a half, with an investment of one million guan, but only 30% of the project had been completed. It would take at least five years to finally be completed.

After a rough look, the carriage began to turn back to the palace. The carriage arrived at the easternmost part, where was Qujiang Lake. The former Qujiang Lake had completely become a lake in the city, surrounded by city walls, but this area was still dominated by gardens, with no neighborhoods, and garden houses surrounding the lake.

The owners of the garden houses also changed dramatically. They used to be relatives of the emperor. After the two removals of the order of nobility, most of the former relatives of the emperor fell below the third rank and were no longer qualified to live in the garden houses. The court took back 80% of the garden houses and redistributed hundreds of garden houses. Basically, they were generals and high-ranking officials who had made great contributions. This is called a new emperor and a new minister.

At this time, hundreds of guards came up to meet them. The carriage entered the wall road from Furong Gate. Although it had to pass through Xingqing Palace, Li Ye's parents were not in Chang'an. The emperor took a boat to inspect education in various parts of the world, and the empress dowager followed. Of course, the old couple also traveled around the world and should be in Bashu now.

The carriage did not stop at Xingqing Palace and drove all the way to Daming Palace.