Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5305 The end of the road

Happy National Day!

Jiang Ke left Tuolupuluo City, galloped his horse along the muddy road back to the camp thirty miles east of the city, and informed Liu Renyuan of the results of the peace talks and Lin Yi's attitude.

Everyone from Liu Renyuan down was completely bewildered.

Why are you about to surrender?
Zhuge Di, who was previously known as the "Lord of the South" and the "New King of Linyi" and was dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty, was actually willing to commit suicide and have the entire Linyi submit to the Tang Dynasty.

The enemy has all surrendered, so how can we continue the war?
With no battles to fight, how can everyone earn merit?

But we can't blame Jiang Ke, can we?

Those harsh conditions clearly showed that Jiang Ke had absolutely no desire for peace talks, yet Lin Yi agreed to them...

Liu Renyuan rubbed his temples, feeling somewhat dejected. He had not led an army into battle on his own for a long time. He had originally thought that the merit of conquering Linyi would be easily obtained, and that he could retire on such a record of "conquering an army and destroying a country". But who could have expected that Linyi would actually back down?

“It must be that Wuwenling has already been captured by us. Zhuge Di knew that there was no hope of counterattacking and that he could not defend the capital. He could only apologize to the Tang Dynasty with his death and then pray for peace and to save the people.”

The captains were somewhat bewildered: "So we accept the terms of the peace talks and the war is over?"

"Their king atoned with his death, and the entire country submitted to the Tang Dynasty. How can you still fight them?"

"But if we don't fight, wouldn't we have come for nothing?"

"What can you do? Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them. What can you do if the whole country surrenders?"

"If we fight again after they've all surrendered, wouldn't that be a massacre? That won't do; it would damage the prestige of our Great Tang Dynasty."

……

The tent was noisy and chaotic. Although everyone was furious that Lin Yi, such a coward, had surrendered, they were helpless.

Surrendering and then fighting again? Just wait for the civil officials in the court to condemn us. Such inhumane actions seriously violate national law and morality. Faced with the condemnation of the civil officials and public opinion, even the Grand Commandant cannot withstand it...

The title of "Land of Etiquette" is more than just a saying.

Jiang Ke spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "This can't be blamed on me. I thought that proposing such harsh conditions would surely anger Lin Yi, but who would have thought that they would agree without saying a word or even bargaining?"

He was also a bit numb. The entire army was sharpening its swords and full of fighting spirit, just waiting to conquer the country and gain merit. But his mission actually led to peace talks. How many people must have been blocked by this?

This is likely to provoke public outrage.

Just then, the battle report from Wuwenling arrived...

The tent finally quieted down, and everyone understood why Lin Yi was willing to accept such harsh conditions.

Liu Renyuan waved his hand: "This is not Jiang Ke's fault. Who would have thought that the people of Linyi would be so cowardly? We have occupied Wuwenling, and they don't even have the courage to fight. I don't know why they dared to provoke the Tang Dynasty before..."

He first reassured his officers and then said to Jiang Ke, "You know the ins and outs of the matter well. Go to Da Nang with the battle report to meet the Governor. Please give us your instructions on how to proceed from here on out."

"Here."

Jiang Ke accepted the order, led the messenger out of the tent, and rode swiftly towards Da Nang.

*****
A light drizzle fell, and the once densely packed ships in the harbor were now mostly gone. Xi Junmai had already led his fleet to Thonburi, and in a few days Yang Zhou would also lead his army to Sangang. The two armies would land at two different river mouths and head straight for Poluotiba. After capturing Poluotiba and destroying Shuizhenla, they would join forces and head north to Tachu City to annihilate Luzhenla as well.

Su Dingfang carefully examined the map, calculating the implementation plan for each step of the strategy, not allowing the slightest accident to occur.

When Jiang Ke returned with news that Li Jinli and Li Jingren had captured Wuwenling and that Linyi had agreed to surrender, Su Dingfang was stunned for a long time, then shook his head and remained silent.

As expected, plans can't keep up with changes; the part that seemed most certain turned out to be the first to encounter an unexpected problem...

The officers and soldiers who remained in Da Nang were also stunned when they heard the news of Lam Yi's surrender.

For the navy, whether Linyi was littered with corpses or whether Zhuge Di lived or died was not important. What mattered was gaining merit through this battle and securing a substantial reward for all officers and soldiers, which could only be obtained in war.

But now that Linyi has surrendered, the war can't be fought, so where is there any benefit to be gained?

...It's not that there were no benefits at all, but the biggest benefit was taken away by Jiang Ke.

Inside the main hall, the officers and soldiers stared at Jiang Ke with predatory eyes.

Jiang Ke could only manage a wry smile.

After pondering for a long time, Su Dingfang asked, "In your opinion, does Lin Yi truly intend to surrender, or is it just a delaying tactic?"

Jiang Ke thought about it carefully and said, "I'm afraid he really intends to surrender. Although Zhuge Di slaughtered the Fan royal family and seized the throne of Lin Yi, he is indecisive and greedy by nature. He can't be considered a local hero. His previous provocation of the Tang Dynasty was just for extortion. Now that the navy has been deployed and the army is at the city gates, he has already lost his composure. When his retreat was cut off and he had nowhere to go, he was already disheartened."

Some people said, "Even if we capture Wuwenling, Zhuge Di will not be in a desperate situation. He can still lead his troops to retreat into the deep mountains to await our advance."

Jiang Ke shook his head: "But once we retreat into the deep mountains, it means an extremely difficult period of time. Zhuge Di himself is used to enjoying life. Can he endure such hardship? Can his army withstand it? It is easy to say that we should wait for the enemy to come, but with the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, as long as we occupy the entire territory of Linyi, how can he see the day when the enemy comes? Three years, five years, or ten or twenty years? There is absolutely no hope."

The hall was silent, and no one questioned it.

Facing numerous difficulties such as food shortages, lack of weapons, and low morale in the deep mountains, and also facing the encirclement and suppression by the Tang army, what kind of people with strong willpower could persevere?
Even if one could persevere, there would be absolutely no hope for the rest of one's life...

Perhaps death is the best relief.

Besides, he's lost his only son, so what's the point of continuing?

Even if we succeed in restoring our country one day, will we just be doing all the work for someone else?

Su Dingfang nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then let's accept their surrender... Since you were in charge of this matter before, let's finish it properly. You will lead the delegation to Tuolupura again to accept the surrender of Lin Yi and supervise them to complete the treaty. In addition, I will send the news to Chang'an to recommend you for merit."

Jiang Ke hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "This subordinate obeys!"

Faced with the varied expressions of the officers and soldiers in the hall, his feelings were extremely complicated.

Since he was the one who negotiated the peace talks, the credit for this destruction of the country should go to him alone. What an honor!

However, this would be tantamount to appropriating the merits of everyone in the navy, since the credit for conquering the country, which everyone could share, would be gone and become Jiang Ke's achievement alone...

Envy, extreme feelings, hatred—the list goes on.

He didn't want the credit, but when it fell into his lap, how could he refuse it?

He's not stupid...

……

On the dock, under the drizzle, a group of "second-generation meritorious officials" carried large bags of grain and military equipment, unloading them from wooden wagons and carrying them into the warehouse. Although the sons of military families were skilled in archery and horsemanship and practiced martial arts from a young age, and were generally physically strong, such strenuous work still left these young men with aches and pains in their backs and legs, and they complained incessantly.

On the dock, they saw Jiang Ke leading a group of men rushing towards the government office. Before long, Yang Zhou, who was in charge of supervising their work, was summoned to the government office for a meeting. Everyone perked up, guessing his purpose and discussing among themselves.

"Wasn't this guy supposed to be with Liu Renyuan to attack Tuolupura City? Why is he back? Could he have suffered a defeat?"

"Although I do not wish to see them conquer and destroy countries and achieve great deeds, Liu Ren is willing to lead so many elite troops to besiege a mere city. There is absolutely no possibility of failure."

"So, the city of Tuolupura has been captured, and Linyi has been destroyed?"

"Could it be that fast?"

Everyone was unwilling to see the Tang army defeated, nor did they want to see the navy to gain merit in battle; their feelings were complicated.

Upon seeing Yang Zhou return, they all crowded around him, asking him all sorts of questions.

Yang Zhou said, "Liu Renyuan's army has arrived at Tuolupuluo City. The Kingdom of Linyi has already pleaded for peace talks and reached a treaty, and is preparing to surrender the whole country."

"Huh? Lin Yi is such a coward!"

"It's a shame they were so arrogant before, even daring to challenge the Tang Dynasty, yet they surrendered before even fighting!"

Then the "second generation" realized what was happening and began to gloat.

"Since the war hasn't even started, doesn't that mean we've accomplished nothing?"

"Haha! Su Dingfang has punished us by making us unload supplies here, and the navy has no merit to be gained. This is truly gratifying!"

"Thank God!"

The "second generation" were overjoyed. "You, Su Dingfang, won't let us earn merits, but you yourself have no merits to gain either."

fair!

Yang Zhou was speechless, but couldn't help but remind him: "The reason why Linyi surrendered was because Li Jinxing and Li Jingren made a long-distance raid to capture Wuwenling, and then defended the military camp on the ridge to defeat the Linyi reinforcements, and even killed the Linyi prince on the spot."

"..."

The "second generation" looked grim. Li Jinxing and Li Jingren arrived in Da Nang with them and made such a great contribution.
Yang Zhou sneered and continued, "The terms of Lin Yi's surrender this time are very generous, and the one who facilitated this negotiation is Jiang Ke."

"Ah? This..."

The "second generation" were left speechless with despair.

Compared to Li Jinxing and Li Jingren, Jiang Ke had just joined the navy and was only a captain, yet he made a great contribution by facilitating peace talks, which is worthy of being recorded in history!
Wouldn't he be promoted three ranks?
Envy, jealousy, and hatred!
*****
As night fell, rain pattered outside the window, and darkness enveloped everything in the hall. Zhuge Di knelt alone on the mat, his eyes fixed on a white porcelain wine pot on the tea table, yet seemingly unfocused, as silent and motionless as a clay sculpture.

When people are in dire straits, they seem to inexplicably unleash more potential. For example, their thinking becomes more agile, their memory becomes clearer, and many extremely distant past events that have long been buried in the dust can be brought up one by one. Recalling the past and thinking about the present, the past events are vivid in their minds, and they have a completely different understanding and cognition.

The son died, the bloodline ended, the country perished...

Zhuge was bewildered.

Just two days ago they were full of vigor, how did they suddenly come to this?
Outside the door, Kelunwengding walked in quietly and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Tang army envoy has arrived."

His gaze also fell on the white porcelain wine pot on the coffee table.