Many commoners in King City saw that others were fleeing. Some followed them while others watched. However, no matter what kind of commoners they were, they would at least ask others what had happened and why they were fleeing.
Naturally, they couldn't get an answer from the commoners. They couldn't get an answer from the servants of the nobles either, because the nobles didn't tell their servants everything. The commoners were afraid of the nobles, so they didn't dare to ask the nobles. Therefore, all the commoners were confused. Whether they were fleeing, spectating, or refusing to leave, they didn't know what had happened.
Of course, in such a situation where information was not transparent, the most likely thing to happen was rumors. Because of the lack of information, the commoners could only rely on guessing and reasoning to get the most reasonable conclusion and spread it step by step. Of course, there would also be some people with ulterior motives who would deliberately spread rumors that were beneficial to themselves and thus disrupt society.
The problem of rumors had been a long-standing problem since ancient times. No era could stop rumors. Even in the future with advanced technology and media, it was difficult to stop the creation and spread of rumors.
This was due to the lack of information and the lack of credibility of the imperial court. Anyone in the world could be a hooligan except for the imperial court. If the imperial court was a hooligan, the commoners would lose confidence in the imperial court and everything the imperial court said would lose credibility. Thus, there would be soil for rumors to grow.
At this time, in King City of the Lion Kingdom, rumors were flying everywhere. Moreover, there were more than one kind of rumors. All kinds of rumors emerged. Some said that there was a plague, some said that there was a rebellion, and some said that the troops of the Tang dynasty had already attacked. All kinds of rumors confused the commoners who stayed behind. They could not tell which was true and which was false.
The royal family and the aristocrats were the first to receive the news and naturally, they were the first to flee. The commoners followed closely behind and blocked the roads out of the city. As a result, it was not easy for the commoners who received the news later to leave the city.
Especially the position of the city gate. As the entrance was too small, it was completely blocked. Some of the aristocrats with large businesses still had a lot of goods that had not been transported out of the city. At this time, it was naturally impossible for them to transport out. They could only be anxious.
The unluckiest ones were the nobles who received the news late, as well as the families of the nobles who had been deliberately abandoned. When they received the news and wanted to leave the city, the city gates were already blocked so much that they could only leave at a snail's pace.
Family members who were abandoned were naturally unimportant and unfavored people. For example, there were too many palace maids and unimportant palace maids in the palace. Their existences were not of much value. How could they be brought along at a critical moment when they were fleeing for their lives? The unfavored concubines of large families were naturally among the ranks of the abandoned concubines. They could only be forced to take care of themselves. Who asked them to be unimportant?
In a crowded situation, the worst thing that could happen was a stampede. Because the people in the city wanted to escape from the city, and the city gate was too small, they would naturally try their best to squeeze out. At this time, it was inevitable that some people would lose their balance. As a result, a stampede would occur.
For a time, the city gates of Yunwu City were filled with cries and screams. Among them, there were also harsh curses.
Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom had always been the most prosperous city in the Lion Kingdom. However, at this moment, with the evacuation of the royal family and the nobles, the stationed troops and horses were all evacuated. Without a leader, the bailiffs naturally took off their uniforms and quit. As a result, Yunwu City entered a terrible state of anarchy.
The punks in the city began to steal things everywhere. In the end, they became bolder and bolder and began to rob passers-by on the streets. They became lawless and even seriously injured people.
Yunwu City, which had been developed for many years, became a hell-like city. Many people on the streets were so scared that they had to hide in their homes.
However, this state of anarchy would not last long, because Ma Teqin's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses and the 5,000 soldiers of the Tang dynasty were already on their way to Yunwu City. They would arrive in a few hours.
Ma Teqin personally led a small number of cavalrymen and the armored artillery troops of the Tang dynasty. They were one step ahead at the fastest speed and soon arrived at Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom.
Seeing the scene of the open gate, Ma Teqin was very proud. At the same time, he was also quite worried. He knew that the old King must have escaped. However, he could not have gone far. If the cavalrymen were to chase after him, it was completely possible to catch up with him.
The generals of the armored artillery troops of the Tang dynasty would not chase after the old King with him. They drove into Yunwu City in a mighty manner, showing the military power of the Tang Empire and letting the people of Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom see the advanced equipment of the Tang dynasty.
With the arrival of Ma Teqin's main force and the reinforcements of the Tang dynasty, the chaotic Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom quickly became orderly. Some of the criminals who took advantage of the situation were brought to justice. Those who should be beheaded were beheaded and those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned. The mood of the people also gradually stabilized.
However, the cavalrymen of Ma Teqin, who personally chased after the old King, encountered a very annoying problem. The south gate was blocked by the fleeing people, which made it difficult for him to quickly chase after the old King Kulam. In addition, if all the people in Yunwu City ran away, how could he govern Yunwu City after he took it? These people were too disrespectful to him.
After using violent means, Ma Teqin ordered all the people who gathered near the city gate to move into the city. Whoever dared to disobey him was directly whipped. Those who could not be whipped were killed with a saber. After killing a few people, the rest of the people were much more obedient.
However, it was far from enough to clear the people at the city gate. After leaving the city, there was only a narrow path. At first glance, it was already filled with fleeing people. It was really not easy to clear the people on this path. By the time it was cleared, the old King Kulam would have already escaped.
Kulam was helpless. It was worth it to let his subordinates drive the people away and let them return to Yunwu City to continue to live and work in peace and contentment. He himself returned to Yunwu City and went straight to the palace.
Due to the lack of time and lack of preparation, not all of the royal family and nobles left. There were some who refused to leave no matter what.
There were two types of royal family members who were unwilling to leave. One was the tough guy who would rather die than submit and was waiting to be stabbed. The other was the opportunists who were ready to surrender. This type was generally a branch of the royal family. They were not very noble, but they did not want to suffer in the mountains. They would rather stay in Yunwu City and be happy people, such as people like Liu Shan.
As for the palace maids and others who no one cared about, because they did not dare to leave the palace at will, they naturally stayed in the palace.
In order to get his new regime on the right track as soon as possible, Ma Teqin strictly ordered his troops not to rob the people, not to destroy the palace and any items in it, and not to harm the former royal family.
Ma Teqin suddenly betrayed Kulam and unilaterally signed a compensation agreement with the Tang dynasty. This made the legitimacy of his regime seem somewhat lacking. Under such circumstances, Ma Teqin especially needed to prove the legitimacy of his regime. Using the former royal family members who had not left was a very good method.
There were still many former royal family members who had not left. Among them, those who were unwilling to submit to him were quickly killed by him. As for those who were willing to submit to him, they were treated very well. Although they would not be given real power and would even be monitored, at least they could live happily.
Ma Teqin found the most respected former royal family member and publicly criticized the former King's mistakes, causing the Lion Kingdom to fall into a state of ruin. He let this royal family member replace Kulam as the new King.
Of course, this was only a temporary transition. How could he give the throne to a former royal family member? It was just to show that he was not a rebel.
Less than a day after the new King ascended the throne, the new King abdicated his throne to Ma Teqin under Ma Teqin's instructions. Ma Teqin pretended to decline again and again until there was no other way to decline. Then he pretended to accept the position of King with a helpless expression and officially ascended the throne as the new King of the Lion Kingdom.
In this way, Ma Teqin's throne was abdicated by the former royal family. The legitimacy of his regime was greatly increased, and the ordinary people's recognition of him was naturally greatly increased.
After ascending the throne, the most urgent thing for Ma Teqin to do was to eliminate the former King Kulam and his followers who had fled into the mountains as soon as possible. Because the existence of these people seriously threatened the stability of the new regime.
In addition, Ma Teqin had already promised to compensate the Tang dynasty. However, when Kulam escaped, he took away half of the national treasury. This made the Lion Kingdom's national treasury not enough to compensate the Tang dynasty. Obviously, the Tang dynasty could not agree to this. He did not dare to offend the Tang dynasty. Therefore, he had to eliminate Kulam as soon as possible and get the half of the national treasury that was taken away.
In addition, many of the nobles who followed him also took away their own assets. These assets added up to more than the entire national treasury. If they could be obtained, it would be of great benefit to the stability and development of the new regime.
Therefore, in any case, eliminating the former King Kulam had become an important problem for Ma Teqin's new regime to solve.
However, Kulam and his followers had gone deep into the hinterland of the south and were hiding in an unknown mountain. Many areas in the south were fiefdoms of the former royal family. The local people were more supportive of the former king. This was very unfavorable for Ma Teqin. Therefore, even if it was an urgent problem, it would not be easy to solve it.
In addition, a large part of the existing soldiers and horses were the former king's soldiers. It was doubtful how loyal they were. Therefore, it was necessary to improve the situation as soon as possible to prevent these soldiers and horses from rebelling.
Now, in Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom, in addition to Ma Teqin's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, there were also 5,000 Tang Army elites. The strength was still very strong. The existence of the Tang Dynasty's soldiers and horses intimidated the Lion Kingdom's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, so they did not dare to rebel.
However, the Tang Dynasty's soldiers and horses would not stay in Yunwu City for long. Sooner or later, they would leave Yunwu City. Therefore, before the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty left, Ma Teqin urgently needed to integrate the soldiers and horses under his command. Those who should be killed should be killed, those who should be roped in should be roped in, and those who should be promoted should be promoted. In addition, he also needed to recruit loyal new soldiers from the common people, so as to completely stabilize his regime.
There were many common people in Yunwu City of the Lion Kingdom. There were also many common people in the nearby villages. It was not difficult to recruit soldiers. As long as they started recruiting, they would soon be able to recruit more than 10,000 soldiers and horses.
However, Ang Lee did not allow the Lion Kingdom's soldiers and horses to exceed 20,000. Therefore, when they recruited soldiers, they had to keep this in mind. They could not recruit too many soldiers.
However, whether it was recruiting soldiers or integrating the internal forces, it would cost a lot of money. The current situation was not very optimistic. Half of the wealth in the national treasury had been taken away by Kulam. The money that Ma Teqin had now was not enough to compensate the Tang Dynasty, let alone do other things.
This kind of embarrassing situation made Ma Teqin feel rather helpless and very worried.
There were several ways to solve the financial situation at hand. The first was to delay the war reparations to the Tang Dynasty and make the compensation later. The second was to levy special taxes in the capital and transfer the pressure to the common people. The third was to find an excuse to confiscate the property of some of the nobles. In this way, they could also get a huge amount of wealth.
However, no matter what the situation was, it was difficult to implement. The power of the Tang Dynasty was there. If they did not compensate as soon as possible, the Tang Dynasty would not agree. Ma Teqin did not even dare to make a request.
The common people were the easiest to bully. Transferring the financial pressure to the common people seemed to be a very good idea. However, the new regime had just been established. If they imposed excessive taxes on the common people at this time, it would inevitably make the common people very unhappy. It would be very detrimental to the stability of the new regime.
As for finding an excuse to confiscate the property of the nobles, it was not an easy thing to do. The new regime was not stable yet. If they confiscated the property of the nobles without enough evidence, not only would a large number of people die unjustly, but it would also make the remaining nobles feel insecure and have the intention to rebel. It would be even more detrimental to the nobles who surrendered and escaped.
Although Ma Teqin had become the new king of the Lion Kingdom as he wished, he was faced with a lot of thorny problems. This made Ma Teqin feel a little helpless and had a headache.
Ang Lee was not idle in Tanar. This seaport, which originally belonged to the Lion Kingdom, was now the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The location of this seaport was good. It was connected to Gordy on the opposite side and guarded the not very wide strait. Therefore, this seaport had to be expanded to meet the needs of a large number of merchant ships coming and going.
The expansion work was carried out without delay. Not long after Ang Lee arrived in Tanar, he gave the order to expand the seaport. He personally surveyed the terrain and came up with the expansion plan.
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