This was a very beautiful victory in itself, and we were about to report the victory to Chang'an City. But suddenly we were faced with a big problem. If these more than one million people could not eat, they might go hungry for one or two meals, but over time these people might rebel. How did they live when we were not here?
"General, we've investigated this matter. Most people eat grass roots and tree bark, so their daily consumption is extremely limited. We don't need to give them too much food. Just let them eat a little every day. About ten people can consume the same amount as one of our soldiers."
Li Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the answer from his quartermaster. You know, there are more than one million people here. Even if the supply they receive is a little worse, it is by no means a small number. Now if only one tenth of the food is needed, then many things will be easier to deal with.
"Distribute the seeds I brought. We can't let them sit idle. If we let them sit idle, they'll have all sorts of things to do every day to keep them busy. We'll also have to mobilize 400,000 people to transport them to Jiangbei."
Li Xiang thought for a while and said, if the people in the prisoner-of-war camp have something to do, then they will have less time to think independently every day, but if you don’t assign them work, then these people may think about freedom and rebellion every day, so Li Xiang has to keep them busy.
The time for sowing normal seeds has passed this season, but Li Xiang's seeds were exchanged from the system, so there would be a harvest if they were planted at this time, and there would be a harvest in three months. As for these three months, they could only eat some thin porridge every day.
Goguryeo has a large population in the south of the Yangtze River, but has more land in the north of the Yangtze River, so Li Xiang has to reconcile it and transport all these hundreds of thousands of people to the north of the Yangtze River and let them cultivate the local land. Even if all of you die there, as long as you can exchange it for a granary for the Tang Dynasty, it is worth it. I am not afraid of any infamy.
"It's cold in the north right now. If we send them there, we'll have to equip them with cotton-padded clothes. That money..."
Su Dingfang said with some distress, "Our soldiers are all wearing a lot of cotton-padded clothes, but if we equip these Goguryeo people with them as well, wouldn't that be a bit too much? You know, many ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty don't have cotton-padded clothes yet."
"We have to invest when we need to, otherwise how can we expect to reap the rewards in the future? Some of our soldiers are going to continue south, so what are they going to do with their cotton-padded clothes? Are they going to sweat in the south? We can also search all the surrounding villages. Millions of people live in this area, and it shouldn't be difficult to find clothes that can be worn by 400,000 people. We can just consider it as a loan to them, and they can pay us back when the crops they grow are harvested."
Li Xiang's words made everyone nod their heads. Li Xiang's method was acceptable. We were not sending all the people over there, only a part of them. If a part was sent over from several places, the problem of these people's warm clothing would be solved.
After they go there, we will also provide them with basic living security. Of course, it also depends on their ability to complete the task. If nothing is reclaimed after they go there, then you will freeze to death in the ice and snow. This world is a world where the strong prey on the weak, and there are not so many human rights to speak of.
After arranging these things, the generals in the tent went out to work. Although it sounded simple, it was enough to keep the generals busy for several days, and it might not even take several days to finish.
"What is the General thinking?"
When Li Xiang turned around, he found General Li Jing staring at the map in a daze.
"Your Highness, come and see. We are now in this position. The remaining territory of Goguryeo is less than 300 miles from north to south, not to mention the army. I think the next battle may be a tough one."
General Li Jing frowned and said, we came from Jiangbei and caught Goguryeo off guard, and coupled with Gai Yuansuwen's policy mistakes on the front line, we have achieved our current results. If we continue to advance south, we may have a hard battle, because Goguryeo's land has shrunk, and a large population has gathered in this land, then every step forward we may face a large number of Goguryeo soldiers and residents.
"The general is right. Even if only a few of them resist, it will not be a small number for us. From the beginning of the attack until now, our casualties can be said to be negligible. However, in the next battle, our casualties may increase."
Li Xiang was the one who was most reluctant to let his troops suffer casualties, but it was impossible to fight a war without casualties. Even in the 21st century, all countries emphasized zero casualties. However, in real combat, no matter how advanced your technology was, you could only minimize casualties as much as possible, but it was impossible to achieve zero casualties.
"So what do you think? They did manage to get a lot of people back. This area is already overloaded. Originally, it could only hold over a million people, but now it's holding over four million. They're already out of food. So, should we temporarily suspend the attack and seal off this line in the north? At the same time, write to Silla and Baekje and ask them to seal off the southern defense line to trap these people."
General Li Jing thought for a while and said, although we all emphasize a quick victory, judging from the current situation, if we really want a quick victory, the losses of the Tang army will definitely not be a small number. If we besiege for a month or two, internal fighting may arise, and then we may not be able to occupy this place without any effort.
"What the general said is correct. This is also a very good method. We can block the northern defense line, but will Silla and Baekje listen to us? Both countries have small populations. This is a good opportunity to increase the population."
Li Xiang said with some doubt that the two countries have expressed their willingness to become vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, but they may not be obedient when it comes to handling these matters. Now population is the most important resource. The reason why Goguryeo was able to dominate the peninsula was because its population far exceeded that of the other two countries.
Now that Goguryeo has collapsed, the other two countries also want to gain some advantages in this catastrophe, so absorbing Goguryeo's people is the most important channel.
