Tibet

The news that the 60,000-strong army was once again wiped out completely wiped out the last glimmer of hope for the Nanzhao court.

The court was filled with mourning, and all the officials were silent.

Zheng Hui said sadly: "Weak ministers have repeatedly persuaded small countries not to humiliate big countries. Big countries can still recover after nine defeats, but small countries will be destroyed once defeated. However, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty did not listen. They all thought that Nanzhao could replace the Tang Dynasty. Now the big country Disaster is imminent, Nanzhao will be destroyed!"

Ge Luofeng cried and said, "I already knew I was wrong, but now it's come to this, it's too late to regret!"

Zheng Hui sighed and said, "Wei Chen, please go talk to Tang Jun again! Try your best to save Nanzhao."

Ge Luofeng stood up and saluted, "I'll leave everything to you, sir!"

Zheng Hui took a carriage and rushed out of the city. At this time, the people all over the city were fleeing, helping the old and young to flee to the countryside and mountainous areas. The people who were originally crowded outside the city were basically all gone.

Zheng Hui struggled to squeeze out of the city gate, and the carriage moved all the way. Twenty miles away from the city, Zheng Hui met the Tang army who was cleaning the battlefield.

Some soldiers took Zheng back to see Li Sheng. They met Li Sheng at the gate of the marching tent. Zheng Hui quickly stepped forward to salute.

Li Sheng smiled and said: "I've heard of Mr.'s name for a long time. Are you here on behalf of King Nanzhao?"

"Exactly!"

"Please come in and talk later!"

The two entered the tent and sat down respectively. A soldier came in and served tea.

Li Sheng smiled and said: "The emperor forbids me to be rude to you, so you don't have to worry. The Zheng family's property and personal safety will be protected by the Tang army!"

Zheng Hui begged: "General, can you let King Nanzhao and the people go?"

Li Sheng said calmly: "The Tang army will not harm ordinary people. This is a consistent principle. Sir, don't worry about this. As for the king of Nanzhao and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, I can't decide. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty must decide their fate." ”

"Will Nanzhao still exist?"

"This is not something I can decide. Before the emperor makes a final decision, the Nanzhao court must stop all court affairs and let the Tang army occupy Nanzhao. Once the emperor makes a decision, I will strictly implement every decree of the emperor."

Zheng Hui sighed, "General, can you give us a suggestion?"

Li Sheng pondered for a moment and said: "My suggestion only has two words, sincerity. Show sincerity. The emperor may consider the overall situation and let Nanzhao continue to exist."

Zheng Hui stood up to say goodbye and walked out of the tent to meet his nephew Zheng Xu who came to visit after hearing the news.

He quickly pulled Zheng Xu aside and asked in a low voice: "General Li suggested that we show sincerity. What does he mean by sincerity?"

Zheng Xu pondered for a moment and said: "Second uncle, my sincerity is that Ge Luofeng is going to Chang'an to plead guilty. After all, more than 200,000 Tang troops were killed in the battle, and he cannot escape the blame!"

"anything else?"

"Also, the Nanzhao royal family has moved back to Taihe City. It's best not to bring any belongings with you, and don't lose your life for money. This attack on Nanzhao cost the imperial court nearly half a million yuan. If the capital cannot be recovered, , then Nanzhao will definitely not exist.”

Zheng Hui nodded, and he got on the carriage and returned to the capital.

At this time, most of the people had fled, and the four city gates seemed a bit deserted.

Zheng Hui's carriage returned to the palace and was immediately taken to the main hall by the guards.

The anxious Ge Luofeng asked quickly: "How is it?"

Zheng Hui smiled bitterly and said: "The only clear statement made by the opponent's general Li Sheng is that he will not harm the ordinary people of Nanzhao. His attitude towards the rest is unclear."

"What do you mean?" Ge Luofeng asked anxiously.

Zheng Hui sighed and said: "He just can't do it. The fate of the king and the fate of Nanzhao are all decided by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The Nanzhao court will suspend all operations and let the Tang army implement military control. My lord, this is actually a good thing!" "

"Why is this a good thing?"

Yin Qiukuan, a Qingping official next to him, said: "This shows that the Tang Dynasty's war against Nanzhao was not aimed at destroying the country. If the country was to be destroyed, the Tang army would have been handed over to the general, and he would not ask the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty for instructions! "

A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in Ge Luofeng's heart, and she quickly said: "Then what should we do?"

Zheng replied: "Li Sheng gave us a suggestion and asked us to show sincerity. Wei Chen suggested that the king go to Chang'an to plead guilty. Wei Chen is willing to accompany him."

Qingping official Yin Qiukuan also said: "Wei Chen also agrees that the king goes to Chang'an to plead guilty, and Wei Chen is also willing to accompany him!"

Ge Luofeng let out a long sigh and said, "Okay! I'm willing to go north to Chang'an to plead guilty, and take A Si and Meng Bian with me!"

Ah Si is the third son of Ge Luofeng. Ge Luofeng originally hesitated whether to pass the throne to his third son or to his eldest grandson. Later, he decided to pass the throne to his eldest grandson, Yimou Xun. Now, his eldest grandson, Yimou Xun, died in battle, and his other grandson, Minao Luodong, also died.

Ge Luofeng had no choice but to pass the throne to A Si, and then take A Si and his son to Chang'an. Mengbian was A Si's eldest son, so Ge ​​Luofeng considered leaving him in Chang'an as a hostage.

Li Sheng occupied the city of Yangjumei and ordered the entire city to implement martial law. He also began to count Nanzhao's treasury. Among them, 300,000 copper coins were all awarded to the soldiers of the three armies. The remaining various properties in the treasury, including 700,000 taels of gold sand, There are three million taels of silver, ten million jins of copper ingots, as well as a large amount of valuable medicinal materials, animal skins, ivory, gems, spices, precious wood and other valuables.

Lushui was rich in gold sand and was later called the Jinsha River. They captured tens of thousands of Han people and became mining slaves. They mined gold sand and copper and silver mines for Nanzhao for many years. All of this wealth was collected into the national treasury.

It can be said that, except for grain and salt, all the property in the treasury will be sent back to Chang'an as spoils of war.

And the Tang army had special means of transportation, more than 13,000 elephants, which were captured war elephants by the Tang army. Together with camels, they carried property to Luzhou, and then boarded ships from Luzhou to Xiangyang via the Yangtze River, and then to Chang'an.

Thirteen thousand elephants stayed in Bashu and served as dock porters.

Three days after the Tang army occupied Yangjumie City, the King of Nanzhao, Geluofeng, took the queen, children and grandchildren, and more than a dozen ministers under the escort of 2,000 Tang troops, left Nanzhao and went to Chang'an to apologize to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, the Tang army rescued more than a dozen captured prospecting officials and craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, as well as nearly 40,000 Han miners, gave them food and travel expenses, and sent troops to escort them back to their hometowns.

The news of the Tang army's great victory in Nanzhao was passed to Chang'an through pigeon letters several times, and Chang'an was immediately jubilant.

Everyone was still waiting for news from Liaodong, but they didn't expect that the news of Nanzhao's victory came first.

This was the first time that the Tang army finally raised its head after the two disastrous defeats of Nanzhao during the Tianbao period. It wiped out more than 200,000 troops of Nanzhao and the king surrendered.

For several days, officials in the court were excitedly talking about Nanzhao.

For the emperor Li Ye, he was more concerned about whether his plan to destroy the country was effective, that is, whether a small number of troops carrying advanced firearms could defeat a medium-sized power.

The answer is absolutely yes. Although there are problems with Li Sheng's personal ability, Qu Huan's annihilation of 50,000 Tubo troops in Huichuan also confirmed this.

At present, the detailed news of the annihilation of 50,000 Tubo troops in Huichuan has not been spread. There are only some rumors that the Tubo army suffered heavy losses in the earthquake in Lushui, but the court is also waiting for detailed reports on the specific situation.

At this time, the guard reported at the door of the study, "Your Majesty, the two prime ministers and Minister Xiao want to see you!"

"Please let them in!"

Hearing that Minister Xiao Hua of the Ministry of Revenue had also come, Li Ye vaguely guessed their intention.

Soon, the two prime ministers Wei Jiansu and Zhang Li came in, followed by the Minister of Revenue Xiao Hua. The three of them saluted together, "Your Majesty!"

"Please sit down, my three dear ministers!"

Li Ye smiled and asked them to sit down, and asked the tea boy to serve tea.

Wei Jiansu smiled and said, "Your Highness should know why we are here!"

Li Ye smiled and said, "I know you are definitely not here for the Nanzhao matter."

The three laughed, "Your Majesty guessed it right!"

Wei Jiansu rubbed his hands and said, "The attack on Nanzhao has also made great contributions to the court. Your Majesty can't eat alone!"

Li Ye pointed at the three people and laughed, "I knew that you old rich people would not forget it. There is indeed a record on the pigeon letter."

"How much?" The three said in unison.

The four looked at each other and laughed together. The performance of the four was indeed a bit funny.

Li Ye took out the pigeon letter and handed it to Wei Jiansu. Wei Jiansu unfolded it and was immediately amazed, "700,000 taels of gold, how could it be?"

"It should all be gold dust. I have long heard that Lushui and its tributaries are rich in gold dust. There are also silver and copper there, so there are still 3 million taels of silver and 10 million catties of copper ingots. It is indeed very rich. What do you think? Divide the accounts according to the old rules!"

The old rules are that gold and silver are divided in half, half goes into the inner treasury, and half goes into the left treasury. Then the copper and iron go to the court, and the other treasures go to the inner treasury.

Wei Jiansu stroked his beard and said happily: "Just follow the rules! We have a deal."