CHAPTER 1463: 1380 HAS IT TOUGH, TOO

"Ladies and gentlemen, you can see! After our army entered the nine cities, we were warmly welcomed by the local residents..." On the TV screen, the embedded journalist from Tang Country stepped aside and pointed to the Tang Army troops behind him.

Tanks and armored vehicles were neatly lined up, moving forward one after another, with Tang Army soldiers marching in step on both sides of the vehicles, ignoring the cheers on either side of the road and just moving forward step by step.

On both sides of the street, the local civilians of Shu Country were enthusiastically waving their arms to welcome these liberators from afar.

They truly welcomed the arrival of the Tang Army because, as the war continued, the tyranny of the Qin Country people gradually became apparent, causing great dissatisfaction among the civilians of the Shu Territory.

The other side forcibly conscripted soldiers, even violating their original promises. The Qin Country side had promised the officials of Shu Country that they would not conscript more than 500,000 soldiers in the Shu Territory.

But the situation is obviously different now; the guarantee from Qin Country seems outdated: Qin Country has already conscripted 1.1 million troops in Shu Country, and this number is still on the rise.

In fact, Qin Country plans to conscript 3 million soldiers in the Shu Territory, but this goal is clearly unattainable. However, it is a target to strive for, similar to an action plan.

As for whether the conscripted soldiers from Shu Territory can fight or how effective they might be, Qin Country really has no idea.

Previously, when they were within Dahua’s territory, Qin Country suffered setbacks in this regard; they couldn’t properly utilize Dahua’s auxiliary troops, fearing the auxiliary troops while guarding against them, eventually making these auxiliary troops serve as cannon fodder.

For Liu Zhian, those auxiliary troops with ulterior motives from Dahua were more of a hindrance than a help, but for Qin Country, they desperately needed some men to make up for their battlefield losses.

Recruiting soldiers solely from within Qin Country would not only impact the operation of Qin Country’s own industry but would also waste valuable manpower, greatly affecting subsequent operations.

In addition to conscripting troops, Qin Country was frantically amassing wealth in Shudi: Tang Country had a solid industrial base and a vast domestic and international market; if Tang Mo wanted, he could easily sell some technology to earn money.

But Qin Country didn’t have so many ways: they could only maintain trade of a certain scale with the Orc Empire, and the previously highly anticipated sea route to Dorne had now become a complete joke.

Economic backwardness put Qin Country in a passive position, and Ying Duo had no choice but to plunder and scrape together wealth wherever possible to cover Qin Country’s wartime expenses.

In fact, one reason Qin Country was unwilling to retreat from Chu Territory was that they were frantically exploiting Chu Territory’s mineral resources and plundering Chu Territory’s wealth.

Wherever the Qin Army passed, it was like being washed by water, and robbing food and money was nothing unusual; murder and arson were also commonplace.

Precisely because of this, the reputation of the Qin Army in Chu Territory quickly collapsed. The local civilians supported the Tang Army’s actions, guided the Tang Army, reported on Qin Country’s movements, and were even willing to participate directly in the fight against the Qin Army.

Under such immense pressure, Zhang Xuan became so passive, retracting his forces and ultimately fleeing in panic, with only a fortress group in Xishan still struggling to hold on.

In contrast, the Tang Army was completely different. The Tang Army’s conduct was supported by a strong logistics system and almost endless wealth, so they disdained exploiting the locals.

Tang Country’s ambitions also prompted them to make more correct choices: they were unwilling to provoke conflicts with the locals and preferred to promote the concept of "Tang People," treating those in occupied areas as subjects.

In reality, Tang Country also had oppression and conflicts, but its rulers cleverly redirected these conflicts onto the "Orcs and Goblins," limiting the Empire’s exploitation to the "Beastmen and Goblin" range.

As for humans, they were treated equally under the Great Tang Empire. Everyone was human, and also Tang people, without distinctions of status or differences among them.

Of course, this method of ethnic integration was not without drawbacks; the interests of those who were the first to become Tang people would be diluted by the influx of new populations.

People are selfish and they feel that their benefits have been divided with undeserving others. Although the Great Tang Empire tried its best to use an expanding pie and dividends to satisfy vested interest groups, the insatiable nature is a concept that exists at all times.

This is a lengthy process that requires continuous adjustment and appeasement. Compared to the hasty oppression, expulsion, massacre, and intimidation, the assimilation tactics adopted by the Great Tang Empire required more patience and had slower results.

Under normal circumstances, this influence would need to continue for hundreds of years to become evident, but the times have fabricated success: The excellence of the Great Tang Empire itself and the contrast with its opponents made the entire process exceptionally swift.

On one hand, the Great Tang Empire was so wealthy, like the Lighthouse Country on the Blue Planet, naturally attracting a group of pragmatists eager to join the strongest country, which was an objectively existing phenomenon.

On the other hand, the Great Tang Empire had money, food, enough jobs, and enough patience to manage the population in occupied areas. Therefore, with the support of a stable public opinion, the rule of the Great Tang Empire over the occupied territories was evidently easier and more effective.

Conversely, the opponents of the Great Tang Empire were too weak; they oppressed the populace in the occupied areas, didn’t regard them as humans, plundered wantonly, harassed frequently, and even carried out massacres... In such a situation, the advantages of the Great Tang Empire were highlighted.

Therefore, in Shu Territory, in Chu Territory, and in Dahua, the army of the Great Tang Empire was welcomed by the local people as if returning home, enjoying what was known as the home field advantage.

"It seems that the war is indeed coming to an end." Watching the cheers of the people of Shu Territory on the television, an engineer having breakfast and watching the news commented while chewing his fried dough stick.

His wife, feeding two children, nodded and said, "Yes, meat prices dropped a bit again yesterday. Previously everyone was nervous and hoarded some, but now it seems there’s no need."

"It’s still good to have some reserves." The man paid no mind; his income was relatively high in Tongcheng, after all, it was a technical job.

However, the pressure to upgrade industrial technology has been significant lately, and he has to keep learning continuously to ensure he can meet the latest technical production demands.

The Great Tang Empire was constantly progressing, advancing with immense strides. Those who couldn’t keep up would be eliminated, which could be seen as another kind of cruelty... Living in the Great Tang Empire, having a good life isn’t as easy as it seems.

He had no choice; he had to support the whole family.