Chapter 2769: Handling Opinions
When Bai Shan moved to Guonei City with the logistics personnel, the fire in Guonei City was put out through the joint efforts of Jin and Goguryeo soldiers.
At this time, the weather was dry and the houses were flammable, and there was also little water. The Goguryeo people had wasted too long because the inner city was burning and the people in the outer city did not go in to put out the fire. They only relied on some servants and soldiers in the inner city, and not only was their speed slow, but a fight broke out at the west gate.
It's like putting out half of the fire and then running off to fight a war.
Originally, the fire-fighting officials wanted to simply knock down a few houses to contain the spread of the fire. However, the people living in the inner city were either rich or noble, and no one was willing to knock down a house before the fire reached them.
Why sacrifice their houses to put out the fire?
Not to mention the cost of the house itself, the furniture and furnishings inside are also very expensive, okay?
So no one wants to.
After the Jin army took over Neigucheng, the emperor directly sent Ashina to put out the fire.
He was not so gentle and directly set fire to more than a dozen houses. The Jin army, with the Goguryeo soldiers who had just been captured, directly knocked down these houses, and then carried water from the outer city and transported the water in a relay to put out the fire.
It took most of the night to put out the fire, but by then, the fire had burned half of the inner city, and even Prince Guang's Palace was not spared.
Looking at the half-burnt inner city, the emperor sighed slightly and turned to ask, "How many of the hundred warriors who entered the city are still alive?"
"Only forty-three people."
The emperor nodded and ordered, "Collect their bodies and bring them back. I will fulfill my promise to them. Keep this matter secret. Send the remaining forty-three back to the capital in advance and reward them with other military merits."
The emperor was worried that the surrendered officials from Goguryeo would know that they were the ones who set the fire, so he asked them to hand over the people.
Although both sides have their own speculations, the other side has no evidence.
The emperor would definitely not admit it, but he also had to be on guard against someone getting angry out of humiliation. After all, the inner city of the domestic city did suffer heavy losses this time.
General Ashina said, "The remaining forty-three are all recovering in the medical tent."
The emperor nodded and said, "Let Zhou Man give them good medicine."
He then ordered, "Go and call back Xue Gui and Governor Niu who are still outside. The King of Goguryeo has surrendered. Have them take the remaining cities with the documents signed by the King of Goguryeo."
Duke Zhao agreed, "Yes. Your Majesty, what arrangements will be made for the Gao royal family?"
The emperor thought for a moment and then summoned everyone to ask for advice.
Bai Shan was also called over and sat with Lord Fang Bai Erlang.
Someone said, "Your Majesty, Liaodong has just experienced war and needs stability. So why not use the Gao family to stabilize the people's hearts?"
"That's not right. If we leave it to the Gao family to manage, what difference will it make whether we fight Goguryeo or not?"
"We attacked Goguryeo because they neglected their suzerain. Now that we've conquered them, why not also hand Liaodong over to them? Goguryeo also has Silla and Baekje to the south. With these three kingdoms keeping each other in check, Liaodong can be stable."
The emperor glanced at the civil official who was speaking and tried hard not to breathe out of his nose. He was a king who was good at accepting advice and could not do such a thing.
He is embarrassed to do it, but Bai Shan and Bai Erlang are embarrassed to do it.
Bai Jilang was the first to exhale through his nose and snort, the sound was clear enough for everyone to hear.
Duke Zhao, who was about to refute the other party, stopped and everyone looked over.
Bai Erlang's face flushed red, and he could only say, "If this is just to teach them a lesson, then the price we pay is too high, isn't it?"
"But we've also gained a lot," the civil servant said. "After this battle, neighboring countries will no longer dare to easily provoke our country, and our borders will be stable for a hundred years."
Forget it. Who will remember this great achievement in twenty years, let alone a hundred? Compared to fear, hatred is more likely to breed, and hatred can make people work hard to become stronger. Why do they only seek fame and not the most practical benefits?
Bai Shan said: "Why let them hold us back? Wouldn't it be better to take over all three countries?"
Everyone looked at Bai Shan, even Duke Zhao looked him up and down in surprise.
The civil servant's face flushed red, and he immediately objected, "Silla and Baekje have done nothing wrong. How can we attack them for no reason?"
Bai Shan: "I didn't say to fight now."
He said, "Your Majesty, I think Baekje is quite rebellious and will make many mistakes in the future. Moreover, if we want to maintain peace on the border, our country and Silla and Baekje can be the only two countries. Why do we need to put Goguryeo in the middle?"
"That's right," Duke Zhao retracted his gaze and said, "Silla and Baekje are at odds, and the two countries have disputes from time to time. To maintain stability on the border, our suzerain state only needs to raise one side and suppress the other. Why should we have Goguryeo in the middle?"
"The Liaodong area was originally under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains. If it weren't for the wars in the Central Plains in previous dynasties, the Gao family wouldn't have been able to establish a kingdom here. Now is the time to reclaim it."
"What should we do with all these people from the Gao royal family? The King of Goguryeo surrendered."
He was not a captive like the King of Gaochang. The Jin Dynasty always treated surrendered royals with preferential treatment.
Bai Shan said, "Your Majesty, you can bring the King of Goguryeo and several princes back to the capital, confer them official titles, and let them see the scenery and prosperity of Chang'an."
He said, "Since the King of Goguryeo took over, Goguryeo has increased taxes many times, all because of his extravagance. However, Liaodong is bitterly cold, and most of the luxury goods are shipped from the Central Plains. Since he loves the goods of the Central Plains so much, why not bring them to Chang'an to enjoy?"
The emperor agreed and said, "King Goguryeo and King Guang are both very righteous. I am willing to entrust them with titles and provide them with salaries, land and other support."
The ministers looked at each other and asked, "What about the others?"
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Let's take stock of the names of the Gao royal family and the names of the families destroyed in the fire in the inner city. It will take some time to rebuild the inner city, so we should relocate them all to the interior."
Someone immediately asked, "Where should we move to?"
"There are too many people and too little land in the Central Plains. We can no longer move there."
"The Lingnan area is vast and sparsely populated."
"And the northwest."
"That's not right, that's not right. There are also remnants of the Bei people in the northwest. It's better to separate them."
"Isn't Lingnan too far away? And it's scorching hot. I'm afraid people from Liaodong won't be able to adapt there."
"How about Jiangnan?"
"It's quite nice over there. There aren't too many people, and the place is quite big. I heard that you can grow things on the mountain."
"Yes, isn't a lot of tea now coming from Lingnan and Jiangnan? I see that tea in Liaodong is extremely expensive. They must like tea very much."
So the matter was settled, and everyone ignored the civil servant's words about showing the magnanimity and tolerance of the suzerain country.
The emperor was very satisfied with the result. Now that the tone had been set, the rest of the matter would be left to Minister Zhao and others.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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