People were always greedy. They always wanted more benefits. Even when the country was about to be destroyed, they would not forget to ask for more benefits. For some people, as long as they could gain more benefits, the loss of the country's overall benefits was nothing.
Ma Teqin was such a person. He could be said to be a person who understood the situation. In order to become the King, he did not hesitate to betray his King, and even betray the Lion Kingdom's benefits.
Because although the Lion Kingdom he was in lost a lot of benefits, the benefits he gained personally became greater. This was enough. He would not care about the losses of others.
In the words of the later generations, Ma Teqin was a person who was like a traitor. However, why should a person be loyal to the King? Why should a person be loyal to the country? Didn't people do it for themselves?
Everyone was pursuing the greatest benefits. Since betraying the country could gain more benefits, why should a person be loyal to the country? This was the life creed of many people. Ma Teqin was one of them.
The reason why people had etiquette, justice, integrity, and shame was the result of education. The reason why people loved their country was also the result of education. If there was no education in this area, or if the education was not strong enough, people would not have such thoughts.
Thoughts were produced by education and influence. Long-term education and influence were very effective for most people. However, the effects varied. For some people, there were no effects at all.
Patriotism was because the interests of the country were protected. Only then could one's own interests be protected. The interests of the country and the individual were the same. This was the best way to promote people's patriotism.
However, the benefits that the country could gain would be distributed. It would not be equally distributed to all the people. Some people would gain more, some people would gain less. There were also people who did not gain any benefits from the country and were even oppressed behind their backs. In this way, the people at the bottom of the class would be dissatisfied with the country. When the country was stable, this dissatisfaction would not cause much impact. However, once a strong enemy invaded the country, this dissatisfaction would lead to the destruction of the country.
There were also people who were greedy. They always felt that the benefits they gained were too little and the distribution was not fair. When a foreign enemy invaded the country, they would choose to cooperate with the foreign enemy to gain the most benefits for themselves.
Ma Teqin's official position was very high, but he was not the King's favorite minister. Many benefits of the entire Lion Kingdom were distributed by the King to other ministers and the Princess's family. He had a higher position, but he could gain very little benefits. This had always bothered him, but there was nothing he could do. This time, the Tang dynasty's army was approaching the border. He thought it was a good opportunity, but he pretended to be loyal to the King and cheated most of the soldiers and horses, so he had some bargaining chips.
Of course, he knew that the 10,000 soldiers and horses that he had cheated in a hurry did not have the strength to resist the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, he did not dare to negotiate with the Tang dynasty. Naturally, he would agree to whatever the Tang dynasty asked. His only request was to be the King of the Lion Kingdom. Even if it was a puppet king, it did not matter much.
Ang Lee got what he wanted when he waited for Ma Teqin's confidant and learned that the other party had agreed to his request. He was very happy.
"Good, that's great. I will confer the title of King of the Lion Kingdom to your general, Ma Teqin. It is still temporary. After the Emperor of the Tang dynasty approves the title, it will officially take effect, haha!"
Ang Lee said happily.
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. Our general is already waiting for Assistant Minister Li in Tanar."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Good, very good. The army will set off immediately. The destination is Tanar."
The narrowest part of the strait was not very wide. It was only more than 100 miles wide. With the speed of the steam ships of the Tang dynasty, they could arrive there in a few hours.
The King of South Tianzhu, Héraud, also followed on board. He wanted to witness the Lion Kingdom ceding land to the Tang dynasty with his own eyes. In addition, he also wanted to take a ride on the advanced steam ships of the Tang dynasty and experience what it meant to ride the wind and waves.
"A big ship is good! It's stable enough and won't make people uncomfortable. "
It was the first time that Héraud had been on such a big ship. He felt very comfortable and satisfied.
"Oh, there are vegetables and flowers here. It's the first time that Xiao Wang has seen these things on a ship. It's so interesting. "
Héraud continued.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Your Highness, it's very hard to drift on the sea. Sometimes you have to sail for many days in a row. All you can see is the clear water and the blue sky. Your eyes are almost dizzy. Planting some vegetables and flowers can make your eyes more comfortable and give you something to do."
"Oh, so that's how it is! No wonder. Hey, what's this? "
Héraud was curious about everything. Whenever he saw something new, he would always run over and ask a few questions. Ang Lee also patiently answered Héraud one by one and told him what it was.
He even personally taught Héraud how to use a telescope. In the end, he gave a telescope to Héraud and asked him to take it back and play with it slowly.
At this time, the waves were still relatively large. The turbulent waves constantly hit the ship, causing it to sway slightly. At the same time, it also made people feel the power of the sea.
The middle of the strait was not all seawater. There were intermittent islands. These pirates were connected in a straight line, connecting Port Gordy in South Tianzhu and Port Tanar in the Lion Kingdom.
Because of these intermittent islands, the sailing of the ship became less lonely and also allowed people's eyes to get a moment of rest.
Logically speaking, so many islands in a line must be because the two ports were connected by land. However, the land had been washed by the sea for a long time and then became intermittent small islands.
Because of this, the depth of the strait was very shallow. The average depth was only two or three meters, and the deepest was less than ten meters. Fortunately, the Tang dynasty's ships did not have a deep draft. Otherwise, they would not be able to pass through the strait at all.
"Assistant Minister Li, Tanar is ahead. We're almost there."
Ma Teqin's confidant reminded him.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Got it. Order the fleet to be ready to enter the port at any time."
At this time, there were not many ships in Port Tanar because it was a military port. Most of the warships and transport ships had been destroyed by the Tang dynasty's navy. There were less than twenty ships left. The port looked very empty.
The outpost ship entered the port first, followed by several troop ships. Thousands of Tang dynasty soldiers disembarked and took control of more than ten miles around the port to ensure Ang Lee's safety.
Although Ma Teqin had surrendered, it was necessary to be vigilant. If this guy was faking his surrender, Ang Lee would be ambushed if he rashly went ashore. Therefore, they must completely control the entire port before they could go ashore.
Since Ma Teqin had decided to surrender, he naturally did not dare to stop the Tang dynasty's troops. In addition, in order to prevent misunderstandings, his main troops had already withdrawn from Tanar. At this moment, there were only about five hundred soldiers left in the port to protect his personal safety.
"Assistant Minister Li, this is my general, Ma Teqin. General, this is Assistant Minister Li of the Tang dynasty."
The confidant was responsible for the introduction.
"Assistant Minister Li, I've admired you for a long time! Hahaha! Please come in, please come in. "
Ma Teqin said enthusiastically.
Ang Lee said, "A wise man submits to circumstances. General Ma, no, you are now the King of the Lion Kingdom. I should call you Your Highness, haha!"
"Thank you for your promotion, Assistant Minister Li. Xiao Wang is very grateful."
Ma Teqin bowed.
Ang Lee walked into the tent and asked, "What happened to the former King of the Lion Kingdom, Kulam? How are you going to deal with him?"
"Assistant Minister Li, this Kulam is ignorant of the times and is determined to be the enemy of the Tang dynasty. He must not be forgiven easily. Otherwise, the Tang dynasty should exterminate his family."
Ma Teqin said.
"Exterminate his family? You are really ruthless! However, there is nothing wrong with it. This is a family matter of the Lion Kingdom. I will not ask. You can do as you see fit! However, you must fulfill your promise to me as soon as possible. It cannot be delayed. "
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. The land that I promised to cede to the Tang dynasty will be given to you, and the promised compensation will be delivered as soon as possible. However, the troops under Xiao Wang's command are all former troops of the Lion Kingdom. Xiao Wang is worried that they will betray him. If Assistant Minister Li is willing to send a troop of troops to enter Wangcheng with us, we can definitely exterminate the Kulam family and establish a new dynasty as soon as possible."
Ma Teqin asked.
Ang Lee felt that this request was not excessive at all. He nodded and said, "Okay, then I will send 5,000 Tang Army troops to help you enter Wangcheng."
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. Xiao Wang is very grateful."
Ma Teqin said happily.
Later, Ang Lee sent 5,000 elite troops, including armored artillery vehicles, to Wangcheng of the Lion Kingdom.
In fact, helping Ma Teqin to seize power did not require so many elite Tang Army troops. However, Ang Lee's purpose was to establish the military power of the Tang dynasty army in the Lion Kingdom. He wanted the Lion Kingdom to understand that the army of the Tang dynasty was invincible and could not be offended. They could just be a vassal of the Tang dynasty.
The air in Tanar Port was very fresh and even had a hint of sweetness. The wind rustled the leaves, and the waves hit the beach, making a powerful sound.
Everything went so smoothly that Ang Lee was in a particularly good mood. When he was in a good mood, everything was good. Even the air he breathed was sweet.
"Assistant Minister Li, this Ma Teqin is not a good person. Not only did he betray his king, but he also wanted to exterminate the king's family. He is too inhumane. Are we really going to support him to be the new king of the Lion Kingdom?"
One of his subordinates was a little worried.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "What does this have to do with the Tang dynasty? The more hateful Ma Teqin is, the less support he will receive from the people in the country. In this way, it will be difficult for him to be powerful. Moreover, he has agreed to all our requests. He is a very good partner. If we change to someone who is loyal to the Lion Kingdom, what else can we get?"
"Yes, yes, yes. I just feel that this person is too ruthless. In order to get his own benefits, he did not hesitate to betray his master and even killed his master's family. Will such a person bite us when he has the chance?"
The subordinate was worried.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Don't worry. As long as the Tang dynasty remains strong and strong in the Lion Kingdom, Ma Teqin will not have the strength to bite us. He can only be obedient forever. In addition, how can the royal family be killed so easily? There must be people who are loyal to Kulam. In this way, once a fish escapes the net and escapes, with the support of the ministers who are loyal to Kulam, they will form a resistance force in the mountains and form a force to rebel against the imperial court. This will seriously restrict the development of the Lion Kingdom. Therefore, we have nothing to worry about."
"Yes, I worry too much."
The subordinate replied.
The Tanar Port was an important port. Naturally, there were many villages and people living around it. The population was not small, and there were all kinds of people.
After occupying Tanar, except for the 5,000 Tang Dynasty Army who were marching to the capital of the Lion Kingdom, the rest of the soldiers and horses were resting. Some were resting, and some were playing nearby. They engraved the words "visit here" on important buildings.
The soldiers and horses who came with the South Tianzhu King Héraud naturally followed them to play around. However, the military discipline of the South Tianzhu soldiers and horses was much worse than that of the Tang dynasty's soldiers and horses. It was even worse than that of the Tang dynasty's reorganized pirates.
Poor military discipline would cause soldiers to commit crimes everywhere and endanger ordinary people, causing extremely bad effects.
To be precise, the military discipline of the South Tianzhu soldiers and horses was not good. Previously, the Lion Kingdom invaded the South Tianzhu Kingdom and did many hateful things. Under such circumstances, the South Tianzhu soldiers naturally hated the Lion Kingdom. Not only did they hate the soldiers of the Lion Kingdom, but they also hated the people of the Lion Kingdom. In other words, they vented their anger on the people.
When they were down and beaten, they could only bury their anger in the depths of their hearts. At this moment, with the help of the victory of the Tang dynasty, they arrogantly entered the territory of the Lion Kingdom and became an occupying army. The resentment that had accumulated before naturally needed to be released at this time, and the best way to release it was to defile the women of the Lion Kingdom. After all, the soldiers were young men, and their needs in this aspect were the greatest.
Not long after the army entered Tanar, the people of the Lion Kingdom in Tanar met with great misfortune. Not only were many people's belongings robbed by the South Tianzhu soldiers, but many people were also beaten to death.
The most pitiful were the girls of the Lion Kingdom who were deflowered. They were really pitiful. They were ravaged to the point that they could not move, and the corners of their mouths and bodies were full of scars.
Of course, there were also people who were not afraid of death. They risked their lives to kill the evil South Tianzhu soldiers and perished together with them. At the same time, they also caused an even more tragic revenge, resulting in a small-scale massacre to vent their anger.
Once the matter was blown out of proportion, it naturally could not be covered up. Soon, it reached the ears of Ang Lee and Héraud.
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