Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 475: The Oath of Izumo City (Special thanks to book friend Xinghai Wuliang for his 2 monthly tickets!)

Xiao Hu Nian pondered for a long time and said:

"My dear, when we were in Liao, Yelu Hegudian and I were of similar age and had similar personalities. We couldn't say that we had a deep friendship, but we were close friends who talked to each other often.

If we send an envoy with valuable gifts to Bian Jing to seek peace and to ask the Zhou Emperor to forgive our sins, I believe she will say a few good words for us.

But I am not sure about its effectiveness."

The couple was now facing a matter of life and death. After frowning and thinking hard for a long time, Jing Qiong slapped his thigh and said excitedly:
"Madam, I have thought of a way to survive!

Looking at the monarchs of various countries that were enemies of the Great Zhou, those who were pardoned and treated well by the Emperor of Zhou were either those who contributed a large amount of wealth, treasures and beauties, or those who were needed to rule the local people. The last type was those who made great contributions to the Great Zhou's conquest of the local area!
Madam, why don't we do it on two fronts! On the one hand, we should immediately send an envoy with valuable gifts to Bian Jing to smooth the relationship with Shu Guifei Yelu and Gudian. On the other hand, we should send an envoy to Guan Maowai, the Grand Commander of the Royal Navy of the Great Zhou Dynasty, to express our willingness to sincerely surrender to the Great Zhou Dynasty and lead our subordinates to be the vanguard of the Zhou army's expedition to Fusang!"

Xiao Hu Nian said happily:
“My husband is truly wise!
Now that the Zhou army has just landed in Fuso, and we share the same sincerity, Guan Mao is naturally willing to let us be the vanguard and take the lead in order to reduce the casualties of the Zhou army.

As long as our soldiers make contributions in the war against Fusang, the wise Emperor Chai Zongxun of Zhou will surely pardon us for our merits!"

The more they discussed it, the more they felt that this plan was feasible, so they immediately gave the orders.

That afternoon, ten of Jing Qiong's trusted confidants, carrying hundreds of rare treasures and twenty beautiful Japanese women, set sail from Izumo Port in the north on a merchant ship and headed for the coast of Jiaozhou in the Great Zhou.

On the same day, Jing Qiong sent an envoy on horseback to the Great Zhou Royal Navy, where the orthodox army came to attack Chuyun City, to ask for an audience with the Grand Commander Guan Mao.

After hearing the news, Guan Mao immediately met with the envoy.

After listening to the messenger's purpose, Guan Mao temporarily kept him in the military camp to keep an eye on him and summoned ten of his lieutenants to discuss the matter.

The military system of the Great Zhou Royal Navy is slightly different from that of the Longxiang Army. There is no army commander, but only Wanhu and fleet commanders based on the number of soldiers and warships. Guan Mao serves as the commander-in-chief and the commander of the first fleet.

After hearing that Jing Qiong had sent envoys to surrender and was willing to be the vanguard of the Great Zhou's attack on Fuso, these ten Wanhu basically agreed to surrender.

Wei Wanhu said:

"General, Fusang is a small place with many mountains. If the enemy flees to the mountains, it will be difficult to transport our artillery. We must send soldiers to fight on foot, which will increase our losses.

Jing Qiong has been in Fusang for eight years and is familiar with the terrain. Moreover, his subordinates are all Uighur and Fusang soldiers. My Great Zhou can use them to fight dangerous battles in the mountains and fields."

Guan Mao groaned and said:
“This point has been thought of by the governor a long time ago, but judging from the implication in Jing Qiong’s letter, he hopes to lead his troops to serve as the vanguard for our army, but he hopes that the governor can ask Your Majesty to reclaim land for him and spare his death penalty.

At that time, the exiled prince Ali of the Karakhanid Khanate instigated the world of the Star Sect to be hostile to our Great Zhou. After he was defeated and escorted to Beijing, Your Majesty listed his crimes and beheaded him in a busy street.

I am afraid that if I agree to Jing Qiong's surrender, after conquering Fusang, even if I advise Your Majesty, I still cannot save Jing Qiong's life. Wouldn't that make people all over the world laugh at me for being dishonest, cunning and greedy? "

Chinese tradition has always attached great importance to "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness", and during the "Kaixi Prosperity" led by Chai Zongxun, the commercial civilization of the Great Zhou society has made great progress over the past 30 years.

The business world is based on integrity, and the pinnacle of integrity is business reputation. If everyone abandons integrity and starts cheating and deceiving others, the ultimate outcome will be that no one trusts each other, making any transaction impossible and society tending to collapse.

Therefore, with the rapid development of the commodity economy over the past thirty years, transactions have increased and integrity has become more valued by the people of the Great Zhou.

Liu Wanhu said: "Governor Guan, your majesty is a holy ruler who always judges people by their achievements and ignores flattery.

As long as Jingqiong surrenders sincerely and can make contributions in the war against Fuso, Your Majesty will surely show him mercy as appropriate, like the example of Jalal Khan of Khwarezm.

If Jing Qiong is a fraud and has no merit, Your Majesty will execute him, and he cannot blame Governor Guan!"

Guan Mao suddenly understood and clapped his hands and said:
"That's right! Since Your Majesty was able to spare Zalan Khan of Khwarezm, who was an enemy of our Great Zhou, because of his merits, and even conferred him the title of 'Duke of Kangju', you can naturally spare Jing Qiong because of his merits!
Jing Qiong's life depends only on his own performance!"

Guan Mao immediately replied personally to the envoy sent by Jing Qiong, saying that as long as Jing Qiong could sincerely submit to the Great Zhou and make more contributions in the war against Fuso, he would advise the emperor to spare the lives of Jing Qiong and others.

At noon the next day, the messenger rushed back to Izumo City on horseback and reported the details to Jing Qiong.

Hearing that Guan Mao had agreed to his surrender, Jing Qiong was overjoyed. He ordered his generals to pass the message down and prepare many rewards for the troops.

On January 22, the 34th year of Kaixi, Guan Mao led the Royal Navy's First Fleet to the city of Izumo.

Jing Qiong took off his armor and put on cloth clothes. He led his wife Xiao Hunian and dozens of Uighur generals to open the city gate and walk out of the city.

When they were several dozen meters in front of Guan Mao, Jing Qiong knelt down, holding the surrender letter in his hand, and said:

"I, Jing Qiong, have been convicted of crimes by the Emperor of the Great Zhou many times. Today, I am willing to submit sincerely and lead my subordinates to conquer Fusang for Your Majesty. I will die without regrets!
I hope that the Grand Commander will have mercy on me and report this to Your Majesty, asking Your Majesty to forgive my past sins!"

The personal soldiers had already come forward to accept the surrender, and took over the surrender form which recorded the population, land, military strength, etc. of the seven states of Fuso occupied by Jingqiong, and surrounded everyone.

Guan Mao nodded and said:

"General Jing is here to surrender with sincerity, and this governor swears here:

I will report to Your Majesty in detail the contributions of General Jing and his subordinates in the war against Fuso!
With your majesty's wisdom, you will certainly forgive your sins based on your merits."

Jing Qiong was overjoyed. He quickly thanked Guan Mao and accompanied the army into Izumo City.

After Guan Mao sent troops to take over the entire city, he immediately wrote a memorial to the emperor Chai Zongxun. It took the army five days to take over the seven states occupied by Jing Qiong over the years, and then, with Jing Qiong's 80,000 Uighurs and Fuso troops as the vanguard, they began to attack cities and seize land from west to east.

As for the Royal Navy's Second Fleet led by Li Xiaocun, it attacked southward for five days with muskets and artillery, and was invincible. It annihilated more than 50,000 troops of three local daimyo and occupied the entire Fuso Kyushu region.

After three days of establishing the Great Zhou's military rule, Li Xiaocun led a thousand warships out to sea to attack the four countries.

The daimyo in the Shikoku region, as they were closest to Kyushu, knew that the Great Zhou army had arrived.

Faced with the threat of destruction, the six daimyo who had been fighting each other for years put aside their old hatreds and formed an alliance to fight against Zhou.

During the naval battle, a miscellaneous navy consisting of more than 2,000 warships, merchant ships, and fishing boats resisted the Second Fleet of the Great Zhou Royal Navy for ten days.

After the Fuso navy was defeated, Li Xiaocun led his troops to land. Relying on the advantages of muskets and artillery, he massacred the Shikoku area in just seven days and killed more than 50,000 enemies.

(End of this chapter)