The officials were confused. Li Longji stared at the newcomer. He knew him, Luo Bin, a eunuch who had been with him for a long time. He was now in charge of the emergency messaging between the Zhang Family and the Wang Family.
As long as a telegram was sent to Luo Bin's department, it would be delivered to him whether he was sleeping or sleeping. Even if he was sick, as long as he was awake, the message would be delivered to him.
What did he mean by saying that the Six Zhao had submitted? The Six Zhao didn't submit? Where did he get the news? Obviously, it wasn't something that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo could send.
The officials also knew Luo Bin's identity. The eunuch from back then was now old, but he didn't have a wife. He said that he didn't want to harm other women, but he sent a lot of money to his family. It wasn't because he was greedy, but because he received benefits.
What did his arrival have to do with the Six Zhao's submission?
Many people looked at Zhang Zhong, but Zhang Zhong returned a look that said 'I don't know either'.
Yuan Qianyao turned on the microphone and coughed lightly. He asked, "The Six Zhao have always belonged to the Tang Empire. Why would they submit?"
Luo Bin looked at Yuan Qianyao, then at His Majesty. Seeing that His Majesty nodded, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, he reacted and ran to the nearest official, picked up the microphone on the table, and turned it on.
"Your Majesty, it's true that the Six Zhao have always belonged to the Tang Empire, but the Six Zhao have their own territories. Although there are hostages in the capital, they resist the Tang Empire's orders. They don't pay taxes and only pay tributes. The value of their rewards is always more than the tributes they pay.
Now, the people left behind by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo in Kun Province are helping them to send secret messages to the hostages in the capital. The hostages will write the submission letters on their behalf. Before I came, I went to find the Six Zhao's hostages and waited for them to finish writing the submission letters before coming. "
Luo Bin raised his hand and shook the few submissions he was holding.
The officials, including Li Longji, understood a little, but more were still puzzled.
Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's last telegram said that they had left Yi Province for Kun Province. They had probably arrived there, but they didn't understand the meaning of asking them to write another submission letter.
"What else did the telegram say?" Li Longji asked.
"Replying to Your Majesty, it also said that when we saw the telegram, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo had already gone deep into the Indian region and were cooperating with our army on three fronts. We hope that the imperial court will take good care of the migration of the Six Zhao people."
Luo Bin replied respectfully.
Zhang Zhong suddenly understood and said, "Xiao Bao and Cuckoo went to Youzhou and left after seeing the people of the Six Zhao. Did they leave some people behind?"
"Yes, it was mentioned in the telegram." Luo Bin nodded towards where Zhang Zhong was and gave him a big smile. As for whether Zhang Zhong could see him from so far away, he didn't care.
Li Longji waved his hand, and Luo Bin immediately trotted over and placed the six documents and a telegram on the table in front of His Majesty.
Li Longji waved his hand again and waited for Luo Bin to retreat to the side. He picked up the telegram and looked at it. He nodded as he looked at it, and a smile appeared on his face. He then looked at the six submissions, and the contents were basically the same.
It said that the Great Tang had obtained the power of the heavens and was willing to lead its own tribes to submit.
Li Longji put down the submissions and said to the anxiously waiting officials, "We will tell you all about the situation. It's like this."
"Xiao Bao and Cuckoo left Yizhou to scare Zhenla. But before they reached Kun Province, Zhenla was really scared and thought that they were going to continue south. Thus, he sent an envoy to hurry and send someone to the Annan Protectorate.
Yes, Zhenla was very anxious. They didn't care about the large number of troops stationed in the Protectorate, but they didn't dare to be unafraid of the 12,000 people led by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. As for why, I believe all of you should know, hehe. "
Li Longji then explained the situation of Zhenla in detail.
"Hehehehe ~!" The officials also laughed. Of course, they knew that the combat power of the 10,000 people was not something that the tens of thousands of permanent border soldiers could compare to. Especially when their commander was Cuckoo. When they went to fight Tubo, they were temporarily recruited. Now, they had undergone many years of training. They could easily crush a small country like Zhenla.
Even if it was the 100,000 regular soldiers on their side, they wouldn't dare to fight against the 10,000 personal guards of the two of them. They weren't even on the same level.
Li Longji heard the laughter of the officials and gulped down two mouthfuls of tea. He then picked up the teapot beside him to refill his tea. He put down the teapot and continued, "Thus, when Xiao Bao and Cuckoo realized that Zhenla didn't send any more troops, they didn't care about them anymore. Instead, they stayed in Kun Province's Dianchi Lake area and helped to point out the places that produced salt. They planned to transform Dianchi Lake in the future.
At the same time, they discussed the issue of submission with the locals. They promised some benefits and left behind 200 people to help with the construction. When the people agreed, it was from the bottom of their hearts. They didn't use force to threaten them. Do you believe that? "
"Do … do you?" Yuan Qianyao said without much confidence. Furthermore, it was a question.
"I believe that with Xiao Bao around, there was no need to use force to deter them. Xiao Bao would give them good conditions. After that, the two of them continued to head north. When they passed by a few other places, they reached an agreement with a local person who was proficient in the affairs of the Great Tang. This person was jointly sent by the other few Zhao.
When Xiao Bao and Cuckoo left again, they sent people to the vicinity of Dianchi Lake. After discussing with each other, they used the telegrams in the hands of the 200 people left behind to send secret messages to their permanent hostages in the capital. "
Li Longji told the officials like he was telling a story.
As the officials listened, they all had complicated emotions. They looked at Zhang Zhong with jealousy in their eyes. Wang Bei, in particular, was full of criticism.
Wherever they went, it was peaceful. When they wandered around the Great Tang, everywhere they went, the local development would definitely speed up. When they wandered around the border, all the mountain people and barbarians would submit to them.
What others could not handle, they would not have a problem when they arrived. It was the same for Lu Zhou. Back then, he thought that Zhang Zhong was powerful, but he was deceived. The real powerful ones were Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. At that time, they were still very young.
They solved the problem of the mountain people in Lu Zhou. Now, they had become Lu Zhou's wolf army that supported his family. Later on, they developed well in Shu Province. When they were sent to Wing Province, many officials, including himself, thought that Zhang Zhong was sent to work. In the end, not only did they complete the logistics preparations for the frontline battle, but they also personally went to battle and won. The local villages in Wing Province were also changed by them.
It was also from then on that many people found out that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo were powerful. Later on, they went to Boxin County and arranged for others to go there. All the people in the surrounding counties were dealt with, including the Japanese. From then on, the Great Tang had the Chaoyang Operation.
After a series of exchanges of interests, they were arranged to the northern area of Hebei Province to manage Jili Province. The ethnic situation there was complicated, and the relationship between the surrounding countries was complicated. There were many mountains, the land was barren, the population was small, and it was cold and bitter near the sea.
However, such a place could not stop their rise. They gathered a large number of people in the surrounding area, suppressed all the local ethnic groups, opened ports, engaged in seawater farming, and conveniently cheated Xinluo, making countless resources there suddenly valuable. They also sent troops to distant places to bring back many seeds.
They controlled the entire northern area of Hebei Province. If they wanted to rebel, the Great Tang had no soldiers to fight against them. The winter there was too cold.
Now, they went to Yi Province casually. Zhen La bent down and watched the other side take away the envoy he had sent out from the royal city. Not only did he not dare to retaliate, but he also came to ask for punishment.
He borrowed the Six Edicts and submitted the letter of surrender.
Zhang Zhong, how did you give birth to a child? We are both ministers, but why do people always think that I am inferior to you? Is it because you are capable? Isn't it because your son and daughter-in-law are there? What else do you have except for giving birth?
After criticizing for a while, Wang Bei looked at Zhang Zhong with eyes full of resentment.
Other people also had mixed feelings. They could not find an excuse to restrict Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. They were good at political struggles in the imperial court and supported the imperial power. At the same time, they were constantly making plans for the benefit of the people. They were also good at expanding the territory and stabilizing the border. They were also very thorough in the study of science and medicine.
If such people wanted to find a fault to impeach, the result would be miserable. Even if His Majesty did not say anything, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang family would withdraw the benefits of this person, and the impeacher would inevitably be isolated. What kind of situation would it be to be isolated in the officialdom?
The impeacher could ignore the benefits of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang family, but other people could know the attitude of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo through the withdrawal of this benefit.
It was too terrible. If one was isolated among colleagues, one's subordinates would naturally be isolated. Who would dare to follow one's lead? You are an official of the capital, but you have offended Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. If local officials like us continue to follow them, we will end up in the same situation as what happened to Lu Zhou's Provincial Governor, Xu Mingyang. There are countless delicacies in the city, but we can't eat a single grain of rice at home, and the people will refuse to sell to us.
Everyone was thinking about their own matters. For a moment, Hanyuan Palace was quiet.
The newly promoted people to participate in the morning court finally felt the power of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. They were thousands of miles away, but their influence on the imperial court was so great.
Life was like this, and there were no regrets!
Li Longji sat on the throne and slowly tasted his tea. The new tea that had just been delivered for more than a month, West Lake Longjing, was named by Xiao Bao. It was not considered a tribute. It was just that the people of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's families would send tea when they had it. If it was not a good year, it would not be available.
It was not a rule that tributes had to be sent every year. At the same time, it had to reach the best standard. If that was the case, he would not be able to drink good tea. If the year was not good and the tributes did not produce good tea, the person who sent the tributes would be punished. Therefore, the tributes were usually not the best.
Xiao Bao was right. There was no need for tributes. If the weather was good this year and there were good things, they could send them over if they were willing to. If there was not or did not want to send them next year, they would not have to send them. They would always be able to enjoy good things.
The Longjing tea that he was drinking now was sent by the logistics of Xiao Bei's precious candy house. It was said that it was for Uncle Emperor to drink good tea. He did not know how much hardship the little fellows had suffered following Xiao Bao and Cuckoo on the long journey.
As Li Longji drank his tea, he thought of Xiao Bei and the others. The corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up, and there was a trace of longing in his expression.
As for the silence in Hanyuan Palace, Li Longji did not care. It would be fine in a while. If there was a delay, he could just postpone the movie.
After a while, Zhang Zhong broke the silence of the morning court.
"Your Majesty, this subject would like to know, what is the difference between this time's submission and the previous submission?"
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