Tibet.

Chapter 1345 Fish on the chopping board
The news that the 60,000-strong army was once again annihilated completely wiped out the last ray of hope of the Nanzhao court.

There were cries of grief throughout the court, and all officials were silent.

Zheng Hui said with great sorrow: "I have repeatedly advised that a small country should not humiliate a big country. A big country can recover after nine defeats, but a small country will be destroyed after one defeat. However, the civil and military officials in the court did not listen. They all thought that Nanzhao could replace the Tang Dynasty. Now a disaster is coming, and Nanzhao will be destroyed!"

Ge Luofeng shed tears and said: "I know I was wrong, but it's too late to regret now!"

Zheng Hui sighed and said, "I will go talk to the Tang army again! Do our best to save Nanzhao."

Ge Luofeng stood up and saluted, "Everything is up to you, sir!"

Zheng Hui took a horse-drawn carriage and rushed out of the city. At that time, all the people in the city were fleeing, carrying the elderly and children to the countryside and mountains. The outside of the city was originally crowded with people, but at this time, basically all of them had fled.

After much trouble, Zheng Hui finally squeezed out of the city gate. The carriage moved forward. Twenty miles away from the city, Zheng Hui encountered the Tang army who were clearing the battlefield.

A soldier took Zheng Hui to see Li Sheng. When they met Li Sheng at the door of the military tent, Zheng Hui hurried forward to salute.

Li Sheng smiled and said, "I have heard of your great name for a long time. Are you here on behalf of the King of Nanzhao?"

"Exactly!"

"Please come into the tent and talk!"

The two men entered the tent and sat down as host and guest. A soldier came in and served tea.

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

Zheng Hui pleaded, "General, can you please let the King of 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 officials in the court, I cannot decide. Their fate must be decided by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"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 the Tang army will occupy Nanzhao. Once the emperor makes a decision, I will strictly implement every order of the emperor."

Zheng Hui sighed, "General, can you give us some advice?"

Li Sheng pondered for a moment and said, "My suggestion is just two words, sincerity. If you show sincerity, the emperor may consider the overall situation and allow Nanzhao to continue to exist."

Zheng Hui stood up to say goodbye, and when he walked out of the tent, he met his nephew Zheng Xu who had come to visit him after hearing the news.

He quickly pulled Zheng Xu aside and whispered, "General Li suggested that we show sincerity. What does he mean by sincerity?"

Zheng Xu pondered for a moment and said, "Second Uncle, sincerity means that Geluofeng wants to go to Chang'an to apologize. After all, more than 200,000 Tang soldiers were killed in the battle, and he cannot escape the blame!"

"anything else?"

"Also, when the Nanzhao royal family moves back to Taihe City, it's best not to take any valuables with them. Don't risk your life for money. The imperial court spent nearly 500,000 strings of cash on the attack on Nanzhao this time. If the money can't 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 already fled, and the four city gates seemed a bit deserted.

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

Anxious, Ge Luofeng asked quickly, "How is it?"

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

"What do you mean?" Geluofeng asked anxiously.

Zheng Hui sighed and said, "It's just that he 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 must suspend all operations and let the Tang army take over military control. Your Majesty, this is actually a good thing!"

“Why do you say this is a good thing?”

The Qingping official Yin Choukuan said, "This shows that the Tang Dynasty did not go to war with Nanzhao to destroy the country. If they wanted to destroy the country, they would have told the Tang army commander long ago, and he would not have asked the emperor for permission!"

A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in Geluofeng's heart, and he quickly asked: "Then what should we do?"

Zheng Hui replied, "Li Sheng gave us a suggestion, asking us to show our sincerity. I suggest that the king go to Chang'an to apologize, and I am willing to accompany you."

Qingping official Yin Choukuan also said: "I also agree that the king should go to Chang'an to plead guilty, and I am willing to accompany you!" Geluofeng sighed and said: "Okay! I am willing to go north to Chang'an to plead guilty, and take Asi and Mengbian father and son with me!"

Asi was Geluofeng's third son. Geluofeng was originally hesitant about 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 Yimouxun. Now his eldest grandson Yimouxun was killed in battle, and his other grandson Cou Luodong was also dead.

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

Li Sheng occupied Yangzhumie City and ordered martial law in the entire city. He also began to count the treasury of Nanzhao. The 300,000 strings of copper coins were all awarded to the soldiers of the three armies. The rest of the treasury contained various properties, including 700,000 taels of gold sand, 3 million taels of silver, 10 million kilograms of copper ingots, as well as a large number of precious medicinal materials, animal skins, ivory, gems, spices, precious wood and other properties.

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

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

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

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

Three days after the Tang army occupied Yangzhumie City, the Nanzhao King Geluofeng, accompanied by his queen, children and grandchildren, and a dozen ministers, left Nanzhao under the escort of two thousand Tang troops and headed for Chang'an to apologize to the Tang Emperor.

At the same time, the Tang army rescued more than a dozen captured mining officials and craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, 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 transmitted to Chang'an through pigeon letters several times, and the whole of Chang'an was immediately filled with jubilation.

Everyone was still waiting for news from Liaodong, but unexpectedly, the news of Nanzhao's victory came first.

This was the time when the Tang army finally got its revenge after two disastrous defeats at Nanzhao during the Tianbao period. It wiped out more than 200,000 Nanzhao troops and forced the king to surrender.

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

As for Emperor Li Ye, he was more concerned about whether his plan to annihilate a 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 this has something to do with Li Sheng's personal ability, Qu Huan's annihilation of 50,000 Tubo troops in Huichuan also proves this point.

At present, the detailed news of Huichuan's complete annihilation of 50,000 Tibetan troops has not been spread. There are only some rumors that the Tibetan army suffered heavy losses due to an earthquake in Lushui, but the court is also waiting for a detailed report 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!"

"Invite them in!"

Hearing that the Minister of Revenue Xiao Hua was also here, Li Ye vaguely guessed their purpose.

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!"

"My three beloved ministers, please take a seat!"

Li Ye smiled and asked them to sit down, and asked the waiter 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 issue."

The three of them laughed out loud, "Your Majesty guessed it right!"

Wei Jiansu rubbed his hands and said, "The imperial court has made a great contribution to the attack on Nanzhao. Your Majesty cannot eat all the fruits of his labor!"

Li Ye pointed at the three people and said with a smile: "I knew that you rich guys would not forget it. There is indeed a record on the pigeon letter."

"How much?" The three said in unison.

The four of them looked at each other and laughed together. Their performance 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, "Seven hundred thousand taels of gold, how could it be possible?"

"It should all be gold. I have heard that the Lu River and its tributaries are rich in gold. There is also silver and copper there. So there are still three million taels of silver and ten million catties of copper ingots. It is indeed very rich. How do you say? Divide the accounts according to the old rules!"

The old rule was that the gold and silver were divided in half, half went into the inner treasury and half into the left treasury, and then the copper and iron went to the court, and the other treasures went to the inner treasury.

Wei Jiansu stroked his beard and said cheerfully: "Let's follow the rules! We have a deal."

(End of this chapter)