"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty..."
Under the leadership of General Mi Peng, hundreds of nobles from the Pyu Kingdom knelt outside the royal city to welcome Li Xiang's arrival.
Although this guy rebelled and achieved certain success, he did not dare to be proud of his achievements.
Take the final victory for example. It was not won by him and his men, but by the king himself who surrendered. Because Ogalaba in the south had been occupied, the king had no way out, so the king no longer had the energy to resist and led his palace guards out of the city to surrender.
If it weren't for this, their war would probably continue. After entering the King's City of Pyu, he had tried to attack the Imperial City several times, but the results were ultimately unsatisfactory. Those who were able to retreat to the Imperial City were all elites, and the Imperial City had more reserves. If they continued to fight, according to his own estimation, they could at least hold out for two to three months.
So when he saw Li Xiang now, this guy didn't dare to say how great his contribution was to ending the war quickly. This was because of the powerful strength of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, it was because of Li Xiang's strategic planning. When dealing with such a small country, Li Xiang already had many ways to attack them from the north and the south. It was better to hit them psychologically than to hit them physically.
If the Tang army pushes forward from north to south, it can also win, but it will take more time and the effect will not be very good. If there is any bloodshed, it is very likely that the local people will fight with us for decades or even hundreds of years, which is a very unprofitable thing.
But it is different to attack them psychologically. When their will to resist is completely destroyed, we just need to lie down and wait for victory. This is the situation now. After the fall of Ogalaba, the entire Pyu Kingdom does not believe that they can still win. No matter what the situation is, even if the gods come down to earth, they may not be able to save the Pyu Kingdom.
When His Majesty the King's edict was issued, local officials from all over the country surrendered one after another, and led their troops and officials to wait outside the city. The Tang army advanced with great momentum, and in less than half a month, they had already taken control of the major cities of the Pyu Kingdom.
In the next three months, Li Xiang will also let Li Youqian's men start to advance to various places. We previously only controlled the main transportation routes and big cities, and the next thing we will control is the entire country.
It went very smoothly at the beginning because these people surrendered voluntarily, but things might not be so good in the future. The remaining people still want to resist. It is useless to persuade them with words alone. You must make them surrender truly, and then we will need to use some force.
"The general was able to abandon his evil ways and join the light early on, and played a significant role in the Tang Dynasty's conquest of the Pyu Kingdom. I will remember everything. From now on, I will appoint the general as the Protector General of the Pyu Kingdom."
Standing in front of all the nobles, Li Xiang's words made the general feel relieved. With Li Xiang's personal appointment, although he was just a puppet, he had the highest status among everyone, and he would not have to worry about food and drink in the future.
"Thank you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, for your grace."
General Mi Peng kowtowed three times. Some people could see that his forehead was red. This was mainly because the ground was not hard, otherwise he would have to kowtow to show his loyalty.
The other people who surrendered also received rewards, but of course they were not given that much, at most an honorary title. As for their original positions, Li Xiang must have plundered them all.
Li Xiang had previously communicated with the general, stating that if any local officials could be retained, then they should be retained. We are not so heartless. As long as they can help us look after the entire country, wouldn't it be normal for the Pyu Kingdom to give them a small official position? You can't just let the horses run without giving them fodder, that's not reasonable.
However, General Mibong knew these people too well and could never give them too much power. If they were given too much power, these people would make the whole country a mess. Moreover, no one knew what these people were thinking. If there were any members of the Restoration Party among them, there would most likely be a mutiny in the future.
So under the persuasion of this great general, Li Xiang had no choice but to remove all the official positions of everyone. Of course, this news was leaked inadvertently, as the Tang Dynasty spies could be said to be omnipresent.
Of course, what they said is true. Our Royal Highness the Crown Prince is prepared to retain your official positions and give you a chance to pledge your loyalty. However, General Mithong thinks this is inappropriate. After all, you are all old ministers of the previous dynasty. If you are allowed to fly too high, it may be difficult to control you in the future.
So when this news got out, many people looked at the general differently. You guy got what you wanted, and now you are high and mighty. Although you have no family, if you marry a lot of wives, you can still have many children and grandchildren. After all, you are not very old now.
But what good is it for us to have just a title? We can still pay them salaries now, but if anything changes in the future, they will be the first to be cut off. Only with an official position can we have real power. No matter what changes happen, they can cope with them. Now their ability to cope is almost zero.
What Li Xiang wants to do is to make the people within them hate each other. If the people within you cooperate with each other, how can my Tang Dynasty control this place?
"It seems you didn't engage in any intense fighting, and Wang Gong's preservation is still intact. From today on, this place will become the Protectorate of the Great Tang Pyu Kingdom."
Standing outside the palace, Li Xiang saw that the walls were still in good shape. If there had been any damage, this place would have been the worst damaged. Now that this part was well preserved, let alone the inside.
"It's all at the command of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
General Mipeng naturally didn't dare to have any other ideas. When the Protectorate was established, a Protector General would come. He should be the real power here. As for someone like him, he would be a puppet. What was there for those outsiders to envy? Am I so much better than you?
