After the Li Clan announced its surrender, the situation in Great Sui grew turbulent.
Many factions that had previously held out stubbornly like the Li Clan submitted one after another.
The Li Clan could be called the spark that set Great Sui's downfall in motion. Its strength was enough to wrestle even with Great Sui's Imperial Court.
Now that even this greatest rebel leader had submitted, were they waiting to be destroyed by refusing to follow suit?
Moreover, the effects of the Li Clan's submission went far beyond that.
Previously, Yang Guang's three campaigns against Goguryeo had severely depleted Great Sui's national strength. After returning to court, he had launched vast construction projects and built the Grand Canal, conscripting laborers on a massive scale and leaving countless commoners with shattered families and dead loved ones.
When the Li Clan and other factions raised their banners in rebellion against Sui, their pretext had been that the benighted ruler lacked virtue, and they were carrying out Heaven's justice.
Thus, the Li Clan enjoyed considerable prestige among the people. Across the land, many commoners regarded it as their savior, always hoping it could overthrow the tyrant Yang Guang and restore a clear, bright world.
It would be no exaggeration to call the Li Clan their spiritual pillar.
But now, following Great Sui's Imperial Court, the Li Clan had also announced its surrender to the Great Ming Dynasty, instantly stirring towering waves throughout Great Sui.
The Li Clan, regarded as a savior by countless commoners, had fallen. What meaning was there in continuing to resist?
For a time, countless commoners felt bereft. They no longer resisted Ming's rule at all, as though resigned to their fate.
This made the efforts of Sun Chengzong and the others to bring the territory under control much easier.