Xiangxi was pacified by Shi Zhuang. Many local tribes, including Ding Sheng, and bandits who had been entrenched in the mountains for many years, were captured in one go. Ding Sheng died silently. The Tang Weekly only said to the outside world that Ding Sheng fled to the mountains after his defeat and was chased by the Datang Mountain troops. He was eventually defeated and died, which was considered to be a shame for him. The other captured generals were not so lucky.

Chang'an specially retrieved a large number of people from the Ministry of Justice. Chunyu Yue personally led the team and accompanied by the internal guards. I don't know what methods were used to collect countless crimes committed by these people in the past, and all the witness testimony was properly made, which was as solid as a mountain of evidence.

Then these officials from the Ministry of Justice from Chang'an began public trials one by one.

This is the first time that the Tang Dynasty's criminal law has played the role it really deserves to play in the western part of Xiang.

As the heads fell to the ground and blood splattered, the majesty of the Tang Dynasty's laws was truly established in this area.

The families that were originally intimidated in this area were wiped out, and the power system that had been imprisoned here for many years was completely broken. The system dominated by surnames and tribes was destroyed, and a new top-down management system of counties, townships, and villages began to operate normally.

The court first let the people in this area see what war is, and then used the law to let everyone understand what obedience is. With several big sticks, they completely made the people in this area honest. Then, it was naturally the old routine. They started feeding candied dates. With the strong support of all parties, this area represented by Jishou began to vigorously develop its economy.

Before leaving, Chunyu Yue engraved the Tang Dynasty's criminal law on it with several large stone tablets as high as meter outside the last entrenchment of Ding Sheng's troops.

This also became the real place that the Tang Dynasty had always been free from the rule of the government and truly included in the system.

The Tang Dynasty did not allow any place beyond the law.

The destruction of Ding Sheng from Xiangxi made the loose organization, which was already unstable in the Southern Alliance, even more shaky.

At this time, in the southwest, Tian Mantang, a general of Yizhou who had just inspected the front line, returned to Yiling City with exhaustion and a team of personal soldiers.

Zhu Youzhen occupied Yizhou and regarded Yizhou as his nest. At the same time, he also extended two large tongs, one was a large army led by Cao Bin in Hanzhong and Xiangyang, and the other was Tian Mantang's troops stationed in Yiling and threatening Jingzhou and other places.

These two armies each have 50,000 troops.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to attack Yizhou, it had to first cut off one of these two troops.

Of course, for Chang'an, Hanzhong and Xiangyang were the top priority they must win, and Tian Mantang in Yiling was second.

This is because Tian Mantang is covered with mountains and ridges, and it is difficult for the land army to enter from this route. Even when walking on the waterway, the turbulent water flow and narrow mouths after another, it is daunting for everyone.

From a strategic perspective, Chang'an cannot use the direction of Yiling Tianmantang as the key direction of the attack. Instead, it is necessary to be wary of Tianmantang's possible army out of Yiling and attack Jingnan at any time.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty also had heavy troops stationed in Jingnan. The former left-leaning guard led by Min Rou is now stationed in Zhijiang.

The left-leader's guard originally had 30,000 troops, but after reorganizing the original Jingnan army, it once reached nearly 50,000. With this round of disarmament wave, the left-leader's army greatly reduced 20,000 troops, causing the entire army to be reduced to more than 20,000. Now Min Rou has withdrawn his troops and has been incorporated into the Third Corps, and Min Rou is also the deputy commander of the Third Corps, whose status is only below Shi Zhuang.

Minrou's residence was chosen in Zhijiang, which was a short distance from Yiling City.

In this area, small troops will be frustrated from time to time, and small-scale battles will occur from time to time.

Zheng Wenchang's navy, after the Han River entered the Yangtze River, came to Jingzhou all the way. After several battles on the Yangtze River, the Tang Dynasty navy won a complete victory, causing the Yizhou navy to retreat into the port of Yiling City and never dared to leave the port again.

But Zheng Wenchang could not go further.

Because the gorges that lie across the Yangtze River and the extremely turbulent water flow became the biggest resistance for him to go up. Tian Mantang set up multiple catapult strike positions on both sides of the narrowest part of the Yangtze River, completely closing the mouth of the Yangtze River Gorges. It is almost impossible to pass through this area.

So the focus of the war returned to the land again. Without destroying the main force of Tian Mantang's troops, the navy could not enter the upper reaches of the Yangtze River on a large scale.

But what is strange is that the merchants on both sides can still pass through this golden waterway and maintain endless commercial exchanges. Although the armies of both sides will conduct routine inspections on these merchant ships and collect necessary taxes, they have never cut off this waterway. You must know that as long as one of the two sides in the confrontation is unwilling, they can easily cut off this business road completely.

This situation started last year.

In this paradoxical situation, Tian Mantang was naturally placed on the fire and roasted.

But Tian Mantang had no choice but to do anything, because if he didn't do this, he would die faster.

All this began in the first year of Xinghua in the Tang Dynasty, when Tian Mantang led his troops to Yiling and began to threaten the Jingzhou area for a year.

A demonic wind blew from nowhere and raging in Yizhou.

The content of the rumor is naturally about Tian Mantang. It is said that Tian Mantang is dissatisfied with Zhu Youzhen's killing his second brother Zhu Yougui and snatching Yizhou. Although he had to surrender under the circumstances, he gained Zhu Youzhen's trust and led his troops alone to the outside town, and then became unwilling.

At first, both sides naturally didn't care.

Whether it was Zhu Youzhen or Tian Mantang, they naturally believed that this was just a clumsy plan of alienation by the Tang Dynasty. For this reason, Zhu Youzhen also wrote a letter to Tian Mantang and promoted the title to show his absolute trust in Tian Mantang. In order to repay him, Tian Mantang personally led his troops out of Jingnan and fought several times with Min Rou. Neither side gained much advantage.

Because this kind of war is a sign of loyalty for Tian Mantang, and he did not really capture Jingzhou's ambition. Tian Mantang knew very well that it was a great pleasure to defend the Yiling army's important land with his own strength and ensure the military security of Yizhou in this direction. Therefore, his focus has always been on defense.

However, for some reason, the Tang army led by Min Rou seemed to be dealing with these battles with Tian Mantang. In the eyes of real military experts, these battles between the two sides seemed to be more like playing house, or more like playing a play for some people to see.

Tian Mantang probably never expected that it was his several loyal attacks that made Yizhou truly suspicious of him.

Since then, rumors on the surface have indeed disappeared under the strict ban on the official side. But in private, they have become more and more popular.

Rumors stop at the wise.

But wise men are not always present.

A wise man may also become less confident under the influence of time and time.

Zhu Youzhen is one of them.

But after Heren's command, the Dianqiansi, obtained more and more evidence of some unfavorable things for Yizhou and some unfavorable things, this doubt deepened little by little.

Hao Ren's technique is very clever. On the surface, the things he found do not seem to target Tian Mantang directly, but some things cannot be investigated in depth. After exploring them, the truth inside slowly surfaced, and then pointed at Tian Mantang little by little.

Zhu Youzhen's confidence was shaken, even if Sheng Zhonghuai patted his chest and promised that Tian Mantang would be fine.

Therefore, the military supplies of the troops in the Tianmantang were gradually decreasing, and the military pay was gradually declining.

The territory under Tian Mantang's army is quite large, but it is all mountainous areas, with limited production and limited population, so it is impossible to supply the needs of tens of thousands of troops on its own.

Tian Mantang's days became more and more sad day by day.

As a general, if you cannot let your subordinates have enough food and cannot let your subordinates receive salary, will you still be far from being betrayed by the relatives?

It was under such circumstances that a brave smuggling merchant took a ship of cargo downstream and headed straight to Jingzhou. He sold the goods on the ship and brought back a whole ship of grain.

And grain was what Tian Mantang needed now. So he knew that there must be some problems in it, but he still had to grit his teeth and eat the ship of grain.

Since then, this almost open smuggling has begun.

Many of the smuggling ships running on this river are controlled by Tian Mantang's army themselves.

Later, many people from Yizhou also joined this smuggling route. This trade route has also become the only channel for Yizhou goods to leave Yizhou.

Tian Mantang's military pay and the food crisis were temporarily lifted. He could collect heavy taxes on these ships and buy food through these smugglings. But how could he explain the strangeness of this matter to Zhu Youzhen in Yizhou?

He can't explain.

He could only tell himself that the clear one is clear, and the turbid one is turbid.

But this can only comfort him.

Yizhou sent him a deputy general. He knew that this was to divide his power and monitor him, so he endured it. As soon as the deputy general arrived, he began to win over his generals everywhere, and he endured it.

He just wanted to tell Zhu Youzhen through these things that I really didn't betray you. My current actions are all because of your blind suspicion. Tens of thousands of troops, if they can't eat enough, don't wear warm clothes, and can't get military pay, it will happen to a big deal.

Since mid-last year, Yizhou went to Zhaotian Mantang to report his work in Yizhou.

He said he didn't dare to go.
Chapter completed!