Seeing Watanabe Ichiro's miserable appearance, Ding Tu shook his head speechlessly. Although this achieved his goal, a local official was so spineless. The local officials of the Tang Dynasty would never dare to surrender even if they were killed to the end.
"Then immediately compile all the surrounding information into a book and send it here as quickly as possible. Although you can still hold this position, you also know that countless people want to serve the Tang Dynasty. If you don't do a good job, then this general cannot guarantee that your position will remain."
After hearing Ding Tu's words, this guy nodded like a chick eating rice, and quickly took his men to look for the information that had not been burned. If it was gone, they would have to find a way to compile a new book.
Seeing the local officials come forward, many panicked people calmed down a little. Of course, many people along the coast are desperate, so they have all kinds of tools in their hands. If we rush over rashly, it may cause unnecessary casualties. With these local officials taking the lead, we saved a lot of trouble.
"What do you think of this place?"
Although Li Jingren was the second son of the royal family, he was also on the first ship to land. It was inconvenient for those old generals to come, but Li Jingren was very curious about everything here, so he asked to follow. After thinking it over and over again, King Wu Li Ke decided that the front line could not be without a royal family member, so he let Li Jingren follow.
Of course, this was done after careful calculation. If Li Jingren was in danger, there was no way he would be allowed to follow. We lost a member of the royal family just after the war started. If the news spread in the military camp, our next actions would be affected.
"It's not easy to occupy this place. I've observed some of the local people, and they are full of hostility towards us. It's definitely not what the Tang envoys in Chang'an said, especially the lower-class people."
Li Jingren hit the nail on the head with one sentence. Because they were going to pay homage to the Tang Dynasty, many local bureaucrats were levying heavy taxes. Although ordinary people also admired the Tang Dynasty, if their food and drink were snatched away, they would become hostile towards the Tang Dynasty.
When they occupied the dock just now, the army had laid down their weapons under the leadership of local officials, but many people were still resisting with various tools. Fortunately, their iron tools were not well developed, so there were not many casualties. However, their resistance could be seen.
"The young prince has a very sharp eye. If we want to occupy this place and force them to submit from the heart, then we have to create some trouble to let them know the terrifying power of our Tang Dynasty Heavenly Army. If we only rely on our mouths, then we should go back and rest."
Before the expedition, Li Shimin's imperial edict clearly stated that the expeditionary army should be gracious to the people. However, in reality, this was not possible. If you only show your kindness, why would they give you their land? Originally, they took all the harvest from the land, and now they are giving you most of it. Don't expect to move them with kindness and righteousness. When it comes to their own food, you can't move them.
"What does the General mean?"
Li Jingren looked at the bare docks around him. Apart from our army, there was nothing else. Even if these ordinary people wanted to do something to us, they probably wouldn't feel that there would be any results. But if the ordinary people didn't take any action, we couldn't just rush into their homes to arrest them, right?
Ding Tu didn't say anything, but turned his head to look at the small boat in the distance. The boat was full of supplies. Li Jingren understood what it meant. These things would all be piled up on the dock, and they would deliberately create a scene of defensive negligence to let the surrounding rebels see clearly that as long as they looted, they would definitely benefit.
In a place where pirates are slowly developing, if you put a piece of fat meat at the doorstep, it would be really weird if these people turned a blind eye to it. But as long as these people show resistance, it will give us in the Tang Dynasty an excuse to search all the people and catch all the rebels.
"Come here, some people, take down the sign over here and hang up ours."
When he arrived at the gate of the local government office, Ding Tu really looked down on it. Could this be considered a government office?
This place is really shabby. Even if we find the poorest county government in the Tang Dynasty, it will be much better than this place. However, for the time being, this is also the office location of the Tang Dynasty Expeditionary Force.
Dongyi Protectorate…
King Wu Li Ke is the first Protector General of Dongyi, so he has to find a man. Otherwise, where will the prince stay when he comes? He can't just find a tent like the rest of us. When marching and fighting, the prince can stay like us, but he has already settled down. If he still does this, the censor may report him after he returns to the court.
The local name was also changed. From then on, this place would become the forward base for attacking the entire Fuso, so it was called Dongyi City.
"General, the follow-up fleet has received news that they will arrive at Dongyi City in approximately eight hours."
When Ding Tu was directing his brothers to clean up the government office, news came from the follow-up fleet. It seemed that we only had eight hours left. We could stay in such a dangerous environment, but if we let two old generals and a prince stay in such an environment, we would be committing heinous crimes.
"Go and prepare. Ambush around the supplies. If anyone dares to rush in, let them rob for a while before attacking."
Although Li Jingren had never led troops, Ding Tu had observed him on the boat. This guy was born in Jiangmen, so he was naturally familiar with some things in the army. So there was absolutely no problem in letting him try his hand at dealing with a group of rioters. You can't not give him a chance. Otherwise, how can he claim the credit after returning?
Ding Tu himself does not lack this, because Ding Tu understands that before a suitable candidate is found, the position of admiral of the navy may always be his, because this is the army that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is most concerned about, and he may not be at ease if he hands it over to others. So he should not expect to have too many merits, and if he has any merits, they can only be accumulated.
