Nibbling away and digesting the invaded territory bit by bit was the basic strategy used by many small countries to become a big country step by step. It was relatively safer to do so, and it was more reliable.
Moreover, as long as the integration work was done well, very soon, the people of the invaded area would integrate into the invading country and become a family. After a few generations, they would forget their former motherland and happily become the people of the new country.
The lives of the people were not easy. The people would follow whoever treated them better. There was an old saying, "If a king treats me like a country knight, I will repay him like a country knight. If a king treats me like a passerby, I will repay him like a passerby." Therefore, as long as the invader treated the people better, the people of the invaded area would gradually recognize the invader and even slowly develop into a family.
The reason why the territory of the Hua Xia Empire was getting wider and wider was that in the thousands of years of development, it had continuously annexed and integrated with the surrounding small countries. Therefore, its territory gradually grew larger and after a long period of integration, many ethnic groups naturally became a family. It was so much so that they could not be separated from each other.
For example, it was the same when building a house. One had to wait for the cement below to solidify before continuing to build the upper layer. If one was in a hurry and continued to build the house without waiting for the cement below to solidify, there was a high possibility that the building would collapse.
In the building construction of the later generations, there were indeed similar incidents that caused irreparable damage to many families.
Nibbling away step by step, followed by consolidation, and then after becoming stronger, nibbling away again. In this way, a small country could gradually expand its area of control and slowly develop into a powerful country.
The Lion Kingdom had taken a very pragmatic path. If no one stopped it and allowed it to develop step by step, it would not be long before all the land in South Tianzhu would be annexed by the Lion Kingdom. After all, in history, the Lion Kingdom had pointed its spearhead at the distant Pyu. If it were not for Nanzhao's help, the Pyu would have been annexed by the Lion Kingdom.
How could the King of South Tianzhu, Héraud, not believe in the Lion Kingdom's promise? He knew very well that if the Lion Kingdom could take over so many of their ports in one go, they were definitely not kind people. The reason why he proposed peace talks was because his appetite was limited. He could not eat too much at one go, for fear that he would be stuffed. Once he agreed to the unreasonable demands of the Lion Kingdom, in a few years, the Lion Kingdom would become even more powerful. At that time, his South Tianzhu would be in a more dangerous situation, and it was possible that the country would be destroyed.
Since he understood this, the King of South Tianzhu, Héraud, was naturally unwilling to agree to the Lion Kingdom's demands. He wanted to take back his land, but he did not have the power to do so. This gave him a headache.
The many small countries that he contacted were all unwilling to help. They could only watch helplessly as the South Tianzhu's power was weakened. This made Héraud feel even more hopeless.
In a situation where they did not have enough power, it seemed that the South Tianzhu could only passively accept the unreasonable demands of the Lion Kingdom. If they did not agree to the demands of the Lion Kingdom, there would be unpredictable consequences.
Héraud predicted that if they did not agree to the unreasonable demands of the Lion Kingdom, the Lion Kingdom would, for example, send their main forces to continue attacking the South Tianzhu and seize more land in the South Tianzhu. They might even start a war to destroy the South Tianzhu. This way, the South Tianzhu would die even faster.
However, at the same time, it could also cause fear in many small countries, which would bring him enough foreign aid. Everyone would work together to fight against the Lion Kingdom.
Resisting the Lion Country, would it lead to the destruction of the Lion Country, or would it be able to bring him enough foreign aid? Which of these two situations would happen was still unknown.
Héraud was not very old, and he still had some adventurous spirit. He was not willing to agree to the demands of the Lion Kingdom, because this meant that the Lion Kingdom could consolidate the fruits of their victory in peace. They could also make use of the Tang dynasty's opening of the Silk Road to quickly become extremely powerful. They would be powerful enough to annex the entire sub-continent. Once that happened, even if the entire sub-continent came to help, they would not be able to defeat the Lion Kingdom.
If they were temporarily at peace, the country would definitely be destroyed many years later. If they resisted, it would mean that the country would be destroyed very quickly, or they could unite with many small countries to achieve the final victory.
Héraud thought about which situation it would be, but he could not be sure. He did not know what choice he should make. He wanted his ministers to give him ideas, but they were too disappointing.
In contrast, the King of the Lion Kingdom, Kulam, was in a very good mood. He was excited at all times.
In just half a year, they had conquered an important supply port on the other side. This allowed the Lion Kingdom to control huge benefits. It was impossible not to be excited.
The ministers under Kulam were also very happy. They could all get a share of the profits after conquering new land. Many of the ministers were given a lot of land, and they also had a share of the profits from the port.
"It has been three days. Why is there still no news from the South Tianzhu?"
Kulam was slightly impatient.
"Your Majesty, after all, this involves the face of the South Tianzhu Royal Family. They will not agree too quickly. We just have to wait for a few more days."
The minister opened his mouth and replied.
"Face, haha! The South Tianzhu army was so weak that we easily conquered nearly ten ports. At this point, what face do they have to talk about? It is superfluous. "
Kulam laughed arrogantly.
"Your Majesty is right. However, since they will agree sooner or later, we don't have to be so anxious. Let's give them some face! After all, they are not a small country. "
The minister said with a smile.
Kulam smiled and said seriously, "This is not good. We can't let them delay indefinitely. We have to give them a deadline. If they still can't agree to our demands after the deadline, we will continue to attack and directly attack their Royal City."
After saying that, he had a domineering look on his face.
"Your Majesty, we have already expended a lot of resources to attack these few ports. The South Tianzhu Royal City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we really attack their capital, I am afraid that we will not have much of a chance of winning. It is better to plan slowly."
The minister explained the difficulties that the Lion Kingdom was facing.
"Even if there is no chance of winning, we have to attack. We have to force the South Tianzhu to accept our conditions. This is our mission."
King Kulam said arrogantly.
"Your Majesty, how much time do you think is appropriate?"
The minister asked.
King Kulam thought for a while and said, "Ten days. At most, we can give them ten days to consider. Now that three days have passed, we will give them another seven days. Tell them that they must give us a satisfactory answer after seven days. Otherwise, the elite troops of the Lion Kingdom will definitely flatten the South Tianzhu."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The minister replied.
The Lion Kingdom had always been a valiant nation. It was said that they were so valiant because their ancestors were bad people who were worse than beasts.
This was also the origin of the Lion Kingdom's name. It was said that a long time ago, there was a woman who met the Lion King on her way to a neighboring country. As the people who were sending her off were frightened and fled, the Lion King carried the bride into the mountains. Later on, the woman and the lion spent a long time together and developed feelings for each other. She gave birth to a boy and a girl. They looked like humans but had fierce personalities. When they grew up, the son asked his mother, "Am I a human or a beast?" The mother had no choice but to tell him what happened in the past. The son said, "Since humans and beasts are not the same, why don't we leave them?" The mother replied, "It's not that we don't want to leave, it's that we can't escape."
Later on, the son followed his father and secretly observed. After figuring out the way out of the mountains, he took the opportunity when the Lion King was away and escaped with his mother and sister. They returned to his mother's country. Unfortunately, his mother's parents had passed away and she had no children.
When the Lion King returned to the mountains and did not see his wife and children, he was anxious and angry. He roared and rushed down the mountains. The King personally led the troops to surround and shoot. When the Lion King saw this, he was even angrier. He roared and people were thrown off their horses. No one dared to go near him. The King could only offer a reward for killing him. At this time, the son said to his mother, "We are hungry and cold now, why don't I go and enlist?"
The mother stopped him and said, "No, although he is a beast, he is your father. If you kill him, what's the difference between a human and a beast?" But the son did not listen to her and insisted on going. The mother had no choice but to painfully watch him go with tears in her eyes. When the Lion King saw his son, he was tamed and happy. He allowed his son to lean on him and caress him. But the son took him by surprise. He took out a hidden blade and stabbed the Lion King's throat and stomach. The Lion King loved his son deeply. He endured the pain and did not move. He looked at his son with sorrow and doubt until he breathed his last. After the Lion King died, his body turned into a mountain rock.
Although the King was happy, he was also puzzled. Why did the Lion King become so tame when he saw him? Under the King's repeated questioning, he revealed the truth. After the King heard this, he sighed and said, "Only a person like you, who is worse than a beast, can have such a vicious heart. You even have the heart to kill your own father. Although I announced a reward, you killed your father and rebelled against the laws of the country. Even the laws of the country will not tolerate you. " After saying this, the King gave him gold as promised. But he also prepared two large ships and banished the brother and sister to the sea.
Later, the brother's ship drifted on the vast sea for many days. Finally, it drifted to a beautiful island and stopped. The brother lived on the island and gave birth to children. After many generations, the population increased. A ruler and ministers were appointed and the country was named. Because the ancestor had killed a lion, it was called the Lion Kingdom. It was called Sri Lanka in the future. The sister's ship drifted westward to the Persian Gulf. After being captured by ghosts, she gave birth to many girls and established the Western Maiden Kingdom.
The Western Maiden Kingdom that Tang Seng passed by on his journey to the west was said to be the Western Maiden Kingdom. It was also a very magical country.
From the origin of the name of the Lion Kingdom, it could be seen that the people of the Lion Kingdom were fierce and tyrannical. It was also because of this that the Lion Kingdom became much stronger than the surrounding countries.
The deadline, also known as the ultimatum, was a warning. If the South Tianzhu imperial court could not agree to the request of the Lion Kingdom within seven days, they would be attacked by the Lion Kingdom.
This deadline was quickly brought to the South Tianzhu imperial court by the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Lion Kingdom and handed over to the minister of South Tianzhu.
"Your Majesty, this is the letter of credence from the Lion Kingdom. They have given us a deadline. They want us to give them a satisfactory answer in seven days. Otherwise, they will gather their troops and launch a large-scale attack on us."
The minister respectfully handed over the letter of credence from the Lion Kingdom.
The hands of the King of the South Tianzhu, Héraud, were trembling slightly. He took the letter of credence from the Lion Kingdom. After glancing at it, he nervously closed it.
"Your Majesty, what should we do? There are only seven days left. You must give us an answer."
The minister was also at his wit's end.
In fact, they still had a few groups of people who had not returned. They had gone to other countries to seek help. However, according to the number of days, when these people returned, it would be past the deadline given by the Lion Kingdom. Therefore, they could not count on them.
"Do you think that as long as we agree to the conditions of the Lion Kingdom, they will not continue to invade South Tianzhu?"
Héraud asked.
"Since they have already made a promise, they will not go back on their word!"
The minister said.
Héraud said, "This is the conspiracy of the Lion Kingdom. Our best port has been occupied by them. In this way, in a few years, the gap between us and the Lion Kingdom will be even greater. By then, they will be able to destroy us easily. At this moment, they may not be able to break into our palace, so …"
"Your Majesty, do you intend to fight to the death with the Lion Kingdom?"
The minister asked in surprise.
"There is a saying in the Tang dynasty: it is better to have a short pain than a long pain. Since the country will be destroyed in a few years, why not fight hard while we still have the strength now?"
The King of the South Tianzhu, Héraud, said seriously.
"Your Majesty, you must think carefully. The Lion Kingdom is much stronger than us. Once we fight, even if we can defend our palace, we will still lose more land. By then, the losses will be huge."
"Your Majesty, our chances of defending the Lion Kingdom are not very high. If we can live for a few more years, why should we rush to die?"
The ministers were generally pessimistic. They felt that they would not be able to resist the attack of the Lion Kingdom.
"Did you receive benefits from the Lion Kingdom? Why are you always thinking about the Lion Kingdom? Let me tell you, if the Lion Kingdom dares to attack our palace, the East and West Tianzhu will not sit idly by. As long as we can hold on for a few more days, when the Lion Kingdom is tired, many small countries that are not willing to help us will come to help. They will not watch the Lion Kingdom swallow us up. This will threaten their interests. "
The King of the South Tianzhu, Héraud, expressed his opinion seriously.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider."
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