Su Dingfang's army completely "taken over" the entire Samadjian City with great speed that he did not even expect.
Facts have proved that the rumors from the outside are true. The people of Kang's political and military incompetence and weakness are as unique and distinctive as their talents in business.
In fact, there were as many as 100,000 troops defending the city of Samad, the capital of Kang State, and there were countless wealth, food and grass in the city. This business name on the Silk Road had a population of nearly 500,000, accounting for the entire population of Kang State. two-thirds of the total.
If the Kang people fought back and resisted desperately, Su Dingfang might not be able to win in a short time. What's more, Kang State is the suzerain state of the nine surnames of Zhaowu. As long as Kang State sends a distress signal to other countries, soldiers and horses from the other eight countries will come to the rescue. Even if these small countries do not have many soldiers and horses and are not strong in combat power, the ants and elephants are outnumbered, and the lone army goes deep into Su Dingfang, who has few troops. It is really a matter of whether he will lose or win.
But the Kang people did not offer any resistance. Perhaps they were too business-minded and believed that fighting would mean huge consumption and losses. Therefore, Kang State spent huge sums of money on hiring soldiers and horses every year, and had a standing army of 200,000 troops for national defense. But these armies were all just decorations, and Kang State rarely participated in a war in twenty years.
Even if they were faced with a situation like today and were attacked by troops, they would rather surrender than fight! The weapons and armor in the treasury are rusty and rotten like this.
So Su Dingfang, Wu Meiniang and others agreed that in Kang State, the whole country, from the king and ministers to ordinary people, were businessmen through and through, and they only had the concepts of wealth and profit in their eyes. For them, as long as they can continue to do business, it doesn't matter if the country is destroyed, and it doesn't matter if they become slaves of the subjugated country; it doesn't matter who they surrender to, but if anyone bullies us, we will decisively surrender - that is, we will never fight!
Therefore, the soldiers who came with Su Dingfang were both angry and funny. I was full of anger and wanted to raise an army to hold him accountable and start a killing spree. As a result, we only made one stop in front of the city, and before even a single soldier was destroyed, the enemy, who was ten times his size, decisively surrendered.
"Deceive the good and fear the evil, you weakling!"
"Bah! You have no bones at all!"
"Then they were quite arrogant at first and dared to detain the people of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Aren't you scared by Beiting? Beiting stomped his feet, and Kang Guo even forgot about his ancestor's surname, so he could only obey everything!"
…
Everyone despised Kang Guo.
Su Dingfang first took over the army and city defense, then led his army into the city and occupied the palace. All the royal family members, princes and ministers of Kang State were under control. However, Su Dingfang also issued strict orders prohibiting the army from disturbing the people, not taking anything from the people without authorization, and not arbitrarily kidnapping, in order to maintain the stability of the hearts of the people of Kang.
The Guanxi Army, which had fought thousands of miles and faced many dangers, had a strong aura about it, which made the entire city of Samad tremble with fear. The people in Kang didn't seem to think there was anything wrong at the moment. I used to hang out with Beiting, but now I have changed my master to hang out with Datang. Anyway, I am a vassal state of Tibet and it is not the same as anyone else. Moreover, Datang is stronger than Beiting - as long as the business can be carried out, everything else will be fine. .
Therefore, Su Dingfang does not have to worry about any rebellion, riots or uprising against King Qin. From the moment he first stepped into the palace, the ministers of Kang State almost bowed to him and treated him like a king.
From the death of the king to Su Dingfang taking over Samajian, in just a few days, Samajian was like experiencing a summer storm, which came and went as quickly as it came.
Everything returned to normal strangely, as if nothing had happened. No one jumped out to question the cause of death of the king and crown prince.
"What a magical country!" Su Dingfang was a little dumbfounded. He had never seen such a well-behaved enemy.
Wu Meiniang told Su Dingfang the details of what happened these days, emphasizing the "Dashi Invasion".
Su Dingfang naturally knew the priority of this matter. In comparison, the strange and powerful Dashi army was far more difficult to deal with than the ten Kang kingdoms. Its hidden dangers and upcoming threats far exceed those of Beiting.
Now that the matter has come to this, Balelihan can only give a complete explanation. He told in detail how he contacted Nurman externally and the crown prince Chaharmon internally, and conspired to seize the throne.
Everything seemed to be what Wu Meiniang had seen with her own eyes, and it was exactly as she expected. Balelihan was extremely surprised, and he also believed that Wu Meiniang was "not a mortal".
Wu Meiniang and Su Dingfang discussed privately and both agreed that the first priority right now was to elect a new king for Kang State. First we must secure the internal situation, and then we can take a series of measures to defend ourselves against enemies and external forces.
A country cannot live without a king for a day. Kang State was the first country that the Tang Dynasty conquered in this expedition to the Western Regions. There are many small countries in the Western Region, and the state of Kang is the suzerain state of the nine surnames of Zhaowu. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty could not completely "annihilate" Kang State at this time and do anything to occupy the magpie's nest. Otherwise, other countries will definitely resist strongly, which will make it extremely difficult for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the entire Western Region in the future.
On the contrary, if you treat Kang State well and just make it submit to the Tang Dynasty as a vassal state, thereby retaining their royal power and clan and treating their people well, you can set a good example and precedent in the Western Regions. Apart from anything else, it is very likely that the other eight countries with the nine surnames of Zhaowu will get twice the result with half the effort by spreading the message.
Su Dingfang unknowingly regarded Wu Meiniang as an equal minister or general and came to discuss these matters with her. As a result, Wu Meiniang's knowledge and wisdom seemed to be better than his own, which amazed Su Dingfang and called him "a hero among women".
However, King Hayamano died suddenly and left no will. Moreover, this exaggeratedly pious Manichean had been abstinent and silent all his life, and had never given birth to a son or a half a daughter. Crown Prince Chaharmon was selected from his clan, and he was not even a nephew.
If a crown prince is selected from the Kang royal family to inherit the throne, it seems that he is suspected of setting up a puppet king. The subjects of Kang will not be convinced by him, and it will also create the hidden danger of a palace coup in the future.
Wu Meiniang and Su Dingfang thought to no avail and decided to let the people of Kang make their own decisions. So, they called the three ministers of Kang State and the royal family to discuss the choice of the king.
At this time, Wu Meiniang secretly had an idea in her heart. She called Balelihan, the poisonous snake, and asked him to recommend a special "king" candidate at the meeting. In such a situation, even if he didn't take the so-called "poison", Balelihan, who only wanted to survive, had no choice but to follow Wu Meiniang's idea.
As a result, Balelihan unexpectedly recommended Princess Crescent Moon, the widow of the old king Hayamanno, to be the new king of Kang at the meeting. His reasons are also very good. First, the previous king had no heirs. Now it would be difficult to convince the public to choose any clan member as the new king, and it would cause fights between each other. Secondly, Kang State is one of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, which is also the country of Da. It is nothing new for the descendants of the Yuezhi Kingdom to establish a woman as king. There is precedent for this. In the past few hundred years, the Dayuezhi Kingdom before it was disintegrated has had two or three queens or women in power; even now, one of the Nine Kingdoms, Anguo, has a queen (who is also the king's widow) in power.
As soon as Balelihan made this statement, other ministers and royal family members understood in their hearts that Balelihan, the cunning old fox, was asking for favors from his new master in order to survive.
Although there are many people here who covet the throne. However, even Balelihan, the ambitious and powerful minister who killed the king and killed the prince, gave in and behaved. Everyone here is a person with amazing business acumen, and they are determined not to do anything that is harmful to bad luck - who will stand up to oppose it
Wu Meiniang's clever plan was successful - Princess Xinyue became the new king of Kangju Kingdom "as expected". On a good day, a grand coronation ceremony will be held, and the Crescent Princess will also be renamed the "Crescent Queen".
The Crescent Moon Princess is just a weak woman. Although she is intelligent, she is not born to be a queen. When she learned that she had been elected queen, she was frightened and refused to become king. Wu Meiniang advised her, don't be afraid. From now on, Kangju State will be a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty; as long as the Tang Dynasty is around, no one will bully you again.
"But the Tang Dynasty is thousands of miles away, how can it take care of me all the time? There is still General Su's army here; if he leaves, I will be kicked out immediately!" Princess Crescent Moon was worried. Baijie, perhaps out of desperation, grabbed Wu Meiniang and said, "Meiniang, you are so smart and capable, and you are the daughter-in-law of the true god and the wife of Marshal Qin. This time you intervened and saved Samajian from a military disaster. Everyone in the city is grateful to you now. In Kang State now, your prestige is higher than that of the three ministers of Gu. Why don't you stay and be the minister of Gu? Only with your assistance can I dare to be the king. !”
Wu Meiniang smiled and shook her head, "No. I am a businessman, and I am already a wife and mother. How can I stay in Kangguo all year round?"
"If you don't stay, I would rather die than become the king - as Allah is my witness, what Murong Mingzhu just said is an oath!" Princess Crescent Moon vowed.
"It turns out that Her Majesty the Queen's name is Pearl." Wu Meiniang smiled sweetly and nodded, "Okay, I will... stay for now and help you take care of some state affairs. If there is a better candidate for your assistant in the future, , I will return to the Central Plains."
"Okay, let's do this for now!" Murong Mingzhu seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, holding Wu Meiniang's hand tightly and refusing to let go, still saying uneasily, "Although I am a princess, I believe in the teachings of Allah. , I rarely appear in public, and I have never participated in any major national affairs. Now I am suddenly asked to be the king, I am really scared! - Mei Niang, I am completely dependent on you!"
"Don't worry, I will do my best to assist Her Majesty the Queen!" Wu Meiniang said solemnly, raising her hands and speaking sternly.
Murong Mingzhu was immediately amused, "Meiniang, you are more like a queen than anyone else! Otherwise, I will give up the throne to you!"
Wu Meiniang's face changed slightly, and her heart suddenly jumped, and she hurriedly said: "How can this be done? I am an outsider, how can I be the king of Kang State? - Your Majesty, we can talk about this kind of joke casually between the two of us. Say it’s okay, but don’t tell anyone else!”
"I don't see anything wrong with it!" Murong Mingzhu said with a smile, "Actually, the throne of the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu is not like the throne of the Central Plains emperor's family. Our throne inheritance is not strict and can be passed from father to son, nephew, clan, etc. Men can also pass it on to their daughters, wives, or even ministers. "Meiniang, if you are so capable, you will definitely be able to govern this country and make Kang State richer and stronger. Even though you have just arrived in Kang State, it is not." A member of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, I believe that as long as you show enough convincing abilities and achievements, everyone will be happy to accept you as their queen!"
Wu Meiniang's heart beat faster.
Taking a deep breath, she took Murong Mingzhu's hand and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is not the time to discuss these matters. You haven't even been crowned king yet, and you are thinking of abdicating. This is not conducive to the stability of Kang State!"
"Okay, let's talk about it later." Murong Mingzhu said with a smile, "Mei Niang, you and I fell in love with each other at the first sight. In addition, my sister and your wife have a long history, and the Qin family is also my Murong family. My benefactor, why don’t we follow the custom of the Central Plains and become sisters?”
"Okay!" Wu Meiniang agreed on the spot and said with a smile, "Meeting Yao'er's sister thousands of miles away is really a romance. If I remember correctly, Yao'er is three years younger than me. Yue. You are her twin sister, so I am also three months older than you!"
"Hehe, then I will call you...Sister Wang from now on! You will also be a member of the royal family of Kang State!" Murong Mingzhu smiled very happily.
Wu Meiniang was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Oh, why do I feel like I've been tricked?"
"How could you fall into the trap if you are so smart? I sincerely want to become a sister with you!" Murong Mingzhu said with a smile, "However, I did give you the Zen position for the convenience of the future. In short, whatever I do in the future is up to you. , how about it? —I am the queen, and you are the queen’s sister and the chief minister of Kang State!”
"Okay..." Wu Meiniang shook her head helplessly and smiled, suddenly remembering something, and asked, "By the way, Mingzhu. Ever since Yao'er entered my wine shop, she has never said her first name and only used 'Yao'er'. This is a nickname. My father-in-law gave her the name Qin Xueer when he adopted her. You said that your ancestors took the surname Murong, and later your parents moved to Kang State and changed their surname to Kang. So what is Yao'er's original name
"I just heard what Yuan Tiangang said..." Mentioning her parents and Yao'er, Murong Mingzhu's expression dimmed a bit, and she said softly, "My parents were very loving back then. When my mother was pregnant with us, my father happened to be doing business abroad. , he took my mother's portrait with him and looked at it every day. When he returned home, my mother just gave birth to us, and he brought many luminous pearls from the South China Sea, so my father named me. 'Pearl'; in order to commemorate my father's deep love for her, my mother named my sister - 'Yiyan'."
"Yiyan, Yiyan...she lives up to her name!" Wu Meiniang sighed.