These soldiers who bullied the people must be severely punished. Otherwise, how could the people work and live in peace? Although the bad things were done by the South Tianzhu soldiers, the reason why the South Tianzhu soldiers could occupy Gordy's land was because the Tang Army defeated the Lion Kingdom's army. Therefore, when the South Tianzhu soldiers trampled on the people of the Lion Kingdom, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty would also be angry.
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty naturally did not fear the ordinary people of the Lion Kingdom. However, the purpose of the Tang Dynasty occupying this place was to operate it well and to serve the construction of the Maritime Silk Road, not to make the people of the Lion Kingdom their enemy. Moreover, in order to maintain the stability of this place, it was more beneficial to be friendly to the people. Therefore, it was very undesirable to bully the people.
Because of this, when the news of the South Tianzhu soldiers trampling on the people of the Lion Kingdom came, Ang Lee was very angry and demanded that these South Tianzhu soldiers be severely punished.
"This is too much. They actually trampled on the common people. Such soldiers must be severely punished as a warning to others."
Ang Lee said sternly.
"Assistant Minister Li, I have already investigated. It was the soldiers of the South Tianzhu who trampled on the common people. None of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty trampled on the common people."
A general of the Tang Dynasty replied proudly.
When the King of the South Tianzhu, Héraud, heard this, he could not help but feel ashamed. The soldiers under his command trampled on the common people, which was a disgrace to him. At the same time, it also showed that the military discipline of his South Tianzhu soldiers was far inferior to that of the Tang Dynasty's army.
"Severe punishment, severe punishment should be meted out. Assistant Minister Li is right. We can't indulge these arrogant soldiers and valiant generals."
Héraud naturally did not dare to object. Even if Ang Lee wanted to kill his soldiers, he could only agree.
"Arrogant soldiers and valiant generals? That's not an accurate description. Your army hasn't even gone to war, so how can they be arrogant? Arrogant soldiers, they haven't even gone to war, so what's there to be proud of? Brave generals, they've been defeated time and time again, so how can they be brave generals? "
Ang Lee corrected Héraud's words. After a pause, he asked, "How many people were arrested in total? How many bad things did they do?"
"Replying to Assistant Minister Li, a total of more than three hundred people were arrested. They robbed the property of the people, killed more than thirty ordinary people, defiled more than fifty women, and burned down more than a hundred houses …"
The generals of the Tang dynasty reported.
Ang Lee turned to look at Héraud, whose expression had changed drastically, and said, "Your Majesty, your soldiers have done a lot of bad things! Does no one care about it? "
Héraud said nervously, "Punish him severely. He must be punished severely as a warning to others."
Ang Lee nodded and walked outside. At a glance, he saw the South Tianzhu soldiers who had been tied up.
Most of these soldiers who had done bad things lowered their heads and did not dare to speak, but a few of them looked unconvinced, as if they had done nothing wrong and should not be tied up.
"What? You're still unconvinced?"
Ang Lee walked up to an unconvinced soldier and asked sternly.
"I'm not convinced. I'm not convinced."
The soldier said stubbornly.
"How dare you talk back to Assistant Minister Li? Slap him."
A general of the Tang dynasty went up and slapped him a few times, causing the soldier to vomit blood.
Héraud naturally did not dare to plead for mercy for the soldier who had made a mistake, so he could only stand aside and watch.
"What did he do?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Replying to Assistant Minister Li, this guy has made the most mistakes. He killed a family of three, defiled a young woman, and robbed more than a dozen sheep. His crimes are unforgivable."
The general of the Tang dynasty said.
"He has done so many things. It's enough to chop his head off ten times!"
Ang Lee said as he looked at Héraud.
Héraud hurriedly said, "Assistant Minister Li is right. He deserves to be killed."
Ang Lee said, "Your Highness, but this guy is not convinced! Think of a way to convince him. "
Héraud nodded and bowed respectfully. He walked up to the soldier and said angrily, "Bastard, why did you bully the people and talk back to Assistant Minister Li? Who gave you the courage?"
"Your Highness, they are the people of the Lion Kingdom, not the people of South Tianzhu, and not the people of the Tang dynasty. Why can't we kill them? When the Lion Kingdom army invaded us, they killed many of our people and defiled many of our sisters. Why can't we kill their people and degrade their sisters when we occupy the Lion Kingdom? This is unfair."
The soldier who was tied up argued irrationally.
King Héraud was very angry. He went up and slapped him. He scolded, "Bastard, how dare you talk back. Drag him away and behead him."
"Wait a minute."
Ang Lee stopped him and said, "Your Highness, I said to convince him. Even if you kill him, he still won't be convinced!"
King Héraud nodded and looked at all the soldiers who were tied up. He shouted, "Listen up, the soldiers of the Lion Kingdom bullied the people of South Tianzhu. They are all beasts. But what about you? What you are doing now is the same as what the soldiers of the Lion Kingdom did. You are also beasts. Beasts can't be forgiven. What else do you have to be dissatisfied with? "
All the soldiers lowered their heads when they heard this. They naturally realized their mistakes. At the same time, they felt afraid because what awaited them was a severe punishment.
"Your Highness, please forgive us. We know our mistakes. We won't dare to do it again."
Some of the soldiers shouted in fear.
Héraud looked at Ang Lee and asked, "Assistant Minister Li, are we going to kill all these soldiers?"
Ang Lee smiled and said, "These are all soldiers of South Tianzhu. Your Highness, do as you see fit! Why don't we punish them according to the laws of South Tianzhu? "
Héraud agreed and said, "Okay, Xiao Wang will do as you say. Let's just say that they bullied the people of South Tianzhu."
Soon, Héraud called for a minister who was familiar with the laws and asked him to punish these soldiers according to the laws of South Tianzhu.
"Assistant Minister Li, please excuse us. The military discipline of the Tang dynasty is still the best. No soldier dares to bully the people. What a benevolent and righteous army!"
Héraud didn't need to personally punish the soldiers, so he followed behind Ang Lee and spoke.
Ang Lee suddenly felt something and said, "There is a saying in the Tang dynasty, 'Man is born good.' However, I don't think this saying is correct. Human nature is greedy, just like these soldiers. It was their greed that caused them to lose their lives. However, there is a more important reason. Does Your Highness know what it is?"
Héraud said, "Xiao Wang doesn't know. Please tell me, Assistant Minister Li."
Ang Lee smiled and said, "It's because they are just small soldiers without any power. If I wanted these things, I wouldn't need to rob them or trample them. I could just ask Ma Teqin for them. No matter how much wealth and beauties there are, I could easily get them. Why would I risk my life to rob them?"
When Héraud heard this, he was stunned for a moment. Then, he smiled and said, "Assistant Minister Li is right. Soldiers are soldiers. There are many of them. If everyone acted according to their whims, then the order of the world would be in chaos. Good things are not for them to enjoy. "
"Hahahaha!"
Ang Lee laughed and took Héraud for a walk and chat at the port.
More than 20 of the 300 South Tianzhu soldiers who made mistakes were executed. Many others were sent to prison. The lightest punishment was whipping.
Because they were all punished according to the law, no one dared to disagree. The soldiers who didn't make any mistakes didn't dare to make any more after seeing this situation.
The happiest people were naturally the people of the Lion Kingdom. When they saw this scene, their hostility toward the Tang dynasty lessened a lot. Many people applauded and praised the Tang dynasty for its benevolence. Many people who fled also chose to return to their homes.
The people were the foundation of a country. The ruling class must not bully the people at will. Otherwise, it would be difficult to stabilize the regime. Of course, the people had to be fed. If the people didn't have food to eat, there would be extremely serious consequences.
Of course, if the living standards of the people were generally improved, then it wouldn't be enough to just feed the people. The people had to satisfy more of their needs, such as spiritual life, higher material enjoyment, travel, and so on.
However, in the era of the Tang dynasty, the people's needs were not very high, at least not at the moment. Especially in the small overseas countries, the people were happy to have enough food to eat, so they didn't have high needs.
More than 10,000 soldiers led by Ma Teqin and 5,000 elites assisted by the Tang dynasty were marching straight to the Lion Kingdom's King City at the fastest speed. They were going to raid the Lion Kingdom's King City and kill the old king's family to ensure that he could succeed the throne smoothly.
Among the more than 10,000 soldiers, it was inevitable that there would be spies of the old king. Therefore, Ma Teqin was very worried that the news of his surrender to the Tang dynasty would leak out. In this way, the old king could escape in advance, and it would be too difficult for him to search for him.
In order to prevent the news from leaking out, he first transferred all the soldiers, except for his trusted subordinates, out of Gedi Harbor early so that they couldn't get the news of the Tang Army's landing in time.
Then, after the Tang Army met with them, he immediately ordered them to set off, so that the old king's spies wouldn't have enough time to send the news back to King City. This ensured that the king didn't know what had happened when the army arrived at King City.
Of course, replacing the generals of the King's Guards was also an essential step. These generals had been with the king for many years and had long been his loyal followers. At this critical moment, they naturally had to be replaced. However, after the replacement, these generals were beheaded to prevent any changes.
King Kulam had more than one spy in the army. He also had other spies. Therefore, he still learned the news of Ma Teqin's surrender to the Tang dynasty a few hours in advance.
This news was like a bolt from the blue, which was a great blow to King Kulam. He wanted to cry but had no tears. This meant that his Lion Kingdom was completely finished. No, his royal family was finished. He really didn't expect that Ma Teqin, a seemingly honest guy, would betray him at the critical moment.
"Your Majesty, the traitor Ma Teqin led the Tang Army and will soon arrive at King City. We have no soldiers to resist them. We must escape from King City as soon as possible."
The loyal minister suggested.
"Escape from King City? Where should we go? Is there any good place to stay? "
Kulam asked.
"There must be a cave in the deep mountains. We can only escape Ma Teqin's pursuit by fleeing into the deep mountains."
The minister said.
"You want me to live in the deep mountains? Humph, I would rather die in the palace than live in a dark and damp cave. Run for your lives! Don't worry about me. "
Kulam refused to escape. He had been used to a rich life. How could he stand living in a cave?
"Your Majesty, as long as you are still alive, you can definitely fight back. We will come back."
The minister tried to persuade him.
"No, I won't go."
Kuram would not leave even if he had to die.
"Come on, take His Majesty away, quickly."
The loyal minister was anxious and ordered the soldiers to take away Kulam, who refused to leave.
At this time, the commoners in Monarch City had not received the news and did not know what was going to happen next. Therefore, their lives were still the same. Moreover, the change of dynasty did not have much to do with the commoners. The commoners only wanted to live their own lives and did not need to care about the change of dynasty.
Most of the guards in the palace had been deceived by Ma Teqin. There were less than a thousand guards left. This was the only armed force left of King Kulam.
However, fighting a war was not only about military strength, but also about money and people's support.
No one could say who won the hearts of the people more, Ma Teqin or Kulam. However, in terms of financial resources, Kulam's group had a great advantage. The national treasury was in King City. There was a large amount of money and goods in it, enough to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers. However, they did not have time to prepare all this because Ma Teqin's troops were about to arrive.
In addition, there were too many rich merchants in King City. There were properties of the royal family and also many properties of favored ministers. Once Ma Teqin's troops took over King City, all their wealth would be embezzled. Therefore, before Ma Teqin's troops arrived, they had to try their best to transfer the important wealth of their properties.
For a time, many noble families were busy. All kinds of gold and silver were moved into the carriages. They were ready to take these wealth and goods away from King City and hide in the remote countryside.
Of course, due to the lack of time, many of the larger and not very valuable goods could not be taken away. For example, food and other supplies were difficult to transport away quickly. However, these rich families all had cellars. They moved all the goods that could not be transported away in time into the cellar and then completely sealed the cellar to prevent the rebel army from finding them.
There were also some items that were directly buried in the garden and marked beside them so that they could be easily retrieved in the future.
The fleeing crowd quickly rushed to the city gate. Almost all of them were nobles and their servants. There were very few ordinary people. As there were no soldiers guarding the city gate, it was already wide open. They passed through easily. Even the King had left, so the nobles naturally had to leave as well.
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