This storm was just a small whirlpool in Chang'an, but it was different in Vietnam.
Their area and population cannot be compared with those of the Tang Dynasty. When the Tang Dynasty army occupied most of the Indochina Peninsula, they could only survive in the coastal areas. Now there is news that the Tang Dynasty army is going to attack them. Although these people have announced to the outside world that they are ready for war, unfortunately their top leaders are already afraid.
If the war starts immediately, I believe many people will have no problem, but the most frightening thing is the gap before the war. I heard that there are more than three months left. These people will live in fear at the thought of more than three months left, and they will not be able to change the final outcome in these three months. So they might as well talk to people from the Annan Protectorate!
Chang Sun Ze had never seen such a thing. If the two sides were fighting, it would be understandable for you to come and surrender. But now there are some rumors spreading, and you guys have already sent the Prime Minister.
Vietnam's new Prime Minister Nguyen Nguyen Binh...
Prince of Jin Li Zhi was also invited. After all, this guy was the person with the highest title in the Annan Protectorate. If he was not invited, it would be tantamount to disrespecting Changsun Ze.
Although you are the Protector General of Annan Protectorate, I am afraid you are not qualified to represent the Tang Dynasty court. The Tang Dynasty has a very strict set of rules and regulations. Even if Prince Jin Li Zhi is a fool, you have to put him in the main position now.
"Your humble servant, Ruan Yuanping, greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin of the Great Tang Dynasty and the Protector-General..."
Looking at the Vietnamese Prime Minister who was bowing respectfully in front of them, Prince of Jin Li Zhi and Zhang Sun Ze were both a little confused. You guys, our enemies have sent us such a large number of gifts, what on earth do they want to do?
"Prime Minister, have you ever seen these gifts? Aren't they a bit excessive? I remember when you went to Chang'an City to pay homage, the gifts were less than one-fifth of what they are today. If you have a request, please speak directly. We are all straightforward people, there is no need to hide anything."
Chang Sun Ze was born into a wealthy family and had checked out the exchanges between Vietnam and the Tang Dynasty in his early years. These gifts were indeed very valuable. It turned out that when they went to Chang'an City to pay homage to the emperor, they were purely trying to cheat for rewards, get a bunch of worthless things, and then take a lot of good things back.
If Li Xiang had not exposed this mocking behavior, they would probably continue to make money. But what they sent this time was different. Precious metals such as gold and silver accounted for a large proportion. The value of these things was basically the same whether they were in Vietnam or Chang'an.
Although Prince Li Zhi of Jin also wanted to say a few words, he didn't know much about the situation in Vietnam. He had never thought that he would come to this remote place before, so at this moment he was looking at the prime minister in front of him to see what they meant.
"In reply to the Protector General, we are willing to join the Tang Dynasty. This is a gesture from all our people..."
Ruan Yuanping asked his men to submit one petition after another from the people. In fact, they were unwilling to surrender at first, but in the past half month, the whole country had experienced various crises, especially the crisis of attack by the Tang army. These people simply rolled up their sleeves and surrendered.
I heard that the Tang Empire had different policies towards different places. If we surrender voluntarily, they would at least give us some face. It turns out that several small countries on the Korean Peninsula were like this.
What's more, in the eyes of many Vietnamese, they originally belonged to the Tang Dynasty, and their people are still in the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
If we surrender to other countries, these people probably won't be willing to do so, after all, everyone wants to save face. But if we surrender to the Tang Dynasty, these people will have no objections. The Tang Dynasty is now extremely powerful, and our surrender will only add icing on the cake. If we can get help from the Tang Dynasty, we will be as prosperous as their inland areas.
Why do you want to join us?
After hearing what Prime Minister Ruan Yuanping said, those present were stunned. They were still formulating various battle plans 5 minutes ago, ready to launch a surprise attack on you as soon as our navy ships arrived. According to the original plan, we should have defeated you within a month, but we didn't expect that you guys would come here with a surrender letter.
Looking at the expressions on the faces of Prince of Jin Li Zhi and Chang Sun Ze, the Prime Minister nodded with a wry smile. They were originally strong resistance factions, but the longer the crisis lasted, the more calmly they would consider the problem.
Although they possessed considerable domestic strength, they stood no chance of victory against the Tang army. Hadn't their neighboring states waged battle after battle? But what was the end result? Besides exhausting their own young and strong men, they achieved no victory of any kind. Now, their entire country had been taken over by the Tang, leaving them with no autonomy at all. The people themselves, including the common people, were no longer even considered free citizens.
At that time, both sides ended all this through fighting. Now we have come here to surrender, so our treatment should be much better than these people. Even if we are not as good as Gaochang in the Western Regions, we should be much better than the neighboring Pyu Kingdom.
"This incident came too suddenly. Your Excellency, please go to the clinic and rest. We can discuss it first and then discuss this matter. What do you think?"
Just when most people had not yet recovered from their shock, Chang Sunze had already spoken. This was the only thing we could do at the moment. We couldn't let them continue to stand here and look at us in surprise.
You must know that although Vietnam's land area is not large, the combat effectiveness of their soldiers is very strong, and there are many private territories in Vietnam. These landlord armed forces may not be willing to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.
Even if the imperial court agrees, individuals may continue to resist, so we must come up with a complete plan to deal with the Vietnam issue.
"I obey your orders..."
Ruan Yuanping said this very respectfully, now he has entered the role, which also made the surrounding Tang Dynasty officials stunned.
