As expected, the monkey tribe agreed to Qin Mu's conditions. After all, they lacked the confidence to continue fighting. It wasn't that they were out of manpower; the monkey tribe still had a large population. It was just that they had lost their will to fight. Their most elite soldiers were almost all dead, and the entire monkey tribe was filled with fear and trepidation.
Qin Mu agreed to the monkey tribe's request to buy weapons and armor. He didn't mind selling the hastily made leather armor to them. The weapons were also worn from the long battle; selling them would ease their burden.
The monkey tribe acted swiftly, escorting tens of thousands of people to Wufen City. A total of 300,000 was paid as a down payment. Qin Mu generously agreed!
The monkey tribe emptied their treasury, buying them 100,000 swords and spears, and 200,000 sets of leather armor. Of course! Qin Mu wouldn't sell them shields and crossbows, lest they be used against him later.
The army withdrew amidst both celebration and sorrow, suffering over 30,000 casualties. Of course, the casualties mentioned here are almost all those who were crippled, given that they had fought two major battles, and even if the enemy was not strong, their numbers were still considerable.
"Don't be sad, we won, didn't we? And it was a great victory!" Li Shenfu comforted him.
"Sigh! Although I've gotten used to it, it still hurts. I brought them out here because I wanted to get them back safely. Each person represents a family!" Qin Mu sighed. He knew in his heart that people always die in war, but on the way back, thinking of those scenes of people crying for their sons and husbands, he felt sad and guilty.
"This was inevitable. Just think about how, because of this great victory, the Tang Dynasty will no longer be threatened by the monkey tribe for decades or even centuries, and how many fewer people will die as a result. You'll then realize that it was all worth it."
"Yes! I understand!"
"That's right. The medical team you organized saved almost all the wounded soldiers, something that's never happened before. So despite the significant casualties, not many died. The court will provide ample compensation! Besides, the money distributed this time won't be less than the compensation!" Li Shenfu felt a slight pain in his gums. Although the specific figures weren't available, he estimated that each person would receive several dozen strings of cash. This was money from outside the court! When did war become so profitable? He had asked himself this question many times.
This is the advantage of fighting abroad; you could say they roamed freely, leaving the monkey tribe not even a single animal hide. Such plundering was unprecedented.
In the past, logistics were the government's labor service, which only involved transporting food and fodder. Cleaning up the battlefield was done by the soldiers. Even auxiliary troops would not plunder like this, because they had other plans.
This operation was entirely composed of caravans. While the caravans prepared the goods at the front, the rear staff worked together to sort, estimate prices, and then transport the goods away. It was like harvesting vegetables in the countryside – incredibly professional!
There are two other major reasons. The White-Eyed Wolf Clan was entirely acquired by the Sun family through a trade. As a slave army, aside from provisions, they didn't need to worry about pay or compensation, even if half of them died. Of course, the spoils of war from the White-Eyed Wolf Clan belonged to the Sun family, but as a large-scale military operation, the Sun family still followed the rules and contributed 30%.
Another one is the Black Ape tribe. This time, it's under the guise of avenging them, but they'll deduct money from their equipment. Hmm! If they go back and distribute some food and cloth, Qin Mu can openly pocket a portion of it.
The happiest people were probably the aristocratic families. Although they had invested heavily in this war and prepared for it for over half a year, they recouped their costs in just three months and even made a fortune! Crucially, they had also opened up a trade route. Qin Mu told them that coarse cloth, linen clothing, pottery, and porcelain could all be sold to the monkey tribe; they only needed to go to a designated location and pay a small tax. Essentially, it was about getting them to sell off their stockpiled, worthless goods!
The large increase in population in Lingnan has led to orders for farm tools, grain, and cloth; this will generate considerable profits. Furthermore, the soldiers have so much more money in their hands. Astute merchants have already learned that they will continue to garrison Lingnan, so what should they transport there to sell? Especially with the prospect of gaining an extra concubine! How could they not spend more money?
Excited conversations could be heard everywhere. Soldiers discussed what kind of concubine they would be assigned, merchants calculated their profits, placed orders with others, and bought the materials they needed, preparing for the next step. At the same time, with so many resources acquired, they needed to convert them into cash as soon as possible.
Seeing so many smiling faces, Qin Mu felt that his expedition was absolutely the right thing to do. He could foresee that in the next year or two, Lingnan, and even Jiangnan and Guanzhong regions, would become busier as a result. This would greatly stimulate the domestic market, making it more active, and countless people would benefit from it.
Feng Ang greeted Qin Mu and his group with a mixture of excitement and frustration. The sudden increase in population in Lingnan was exciting, but also troublesome, as it brought countless new problems. His hairline had receded considerably, which made him quite irritable.
Although Qin Mu is in charge of governing Luofu Prefecture, it still needs supplies from Lingnan, especially in the last year or two, when the population has increased dramatically.
However, this is a good thing, so he is happy to be busy. More and more villages are relocating, which is due to the power of word of mouth, which makes them move voluntarily. After all, who wouldn't want to live in the city!
Even during the New Year, there was no free time. Caravans were transporting supplies, and people were being sent over from the monkey tribe one after another.
………………
Chang'an! The city was covered in silver and bustling with activity. Despite his hurried pace, Li Shenfu finally made it back to report on his duties before the New Year.
The previous battle report had already shaken Chang'an. No one had expected that Li Shenfu and his men could annihilate one or two million enemies and force an entire tribe to surrender. They believed that those in Lingnan were colluding, concealing the truth from the court, and exaggerating their achievements. Therefore, Li Shimin had no choice but to urgently summon Li Shenfu to the capital.
Li Shenfu did not return empty-handed. He entered Chang'an with a hundred carriages. The first thirty carriages were covered with straw, on which were placed huge coral trees in red, white, pink, orange-red, and black, making them look colorful! The next carriages were all filled with large boxes, the kind that could fit people. Each carriage had six boxes, a total of four hundred and twenty boxes, placed on the carts.
Following the convoy were five hundred members of the Black Ape Clan, one hundred members of the Monkey Clan, and one hundred members of the White-Eyed Wolf Clan. These were specially brought to the capital to intimidate them and to show off. This was Qin Mu's idea; since some people didn't believe it, they had to be thoroughly humiliated, otherwise how could their achievements be highlighted?
Such a large procession entering Beijing naturally caused a sensation, especially their strikingly different appearances, which drew many ordinary people to watch the spectacle from afar.
The caravan stopped on Suzaku Avenue outside the imperial city, and then the large chests and coral trees were unloaded from the carriages and neatly placed on the ground.
Li Shimin had already received the news and specially brought his civil and military officials to the city gate.
"Your Majesty, I, Li Shenfu, have returned to the capital in triumph after a great victory over the monkey tribes of the South Seas. I have brought some spoils of war to present to Your Majesty!" Li Shenfu, clasped in armor, bowed and clasped his hands in a triumphant voice.
As Li Shenfu spoke, all the boxes were opened! They revealed neatly arranged boxes of gold, silver, and gemstones. Gems of all colors were sold by the box, especially the hundred boxes filled with pearls—precious black and pink pearls, box after box! They sparkled in the sunlight, dazzling the eyes of many!
"Hiss!" A collective gasp of astonishment echoed across Suzaku Street. Apart from that, complete silence followed. People involuntarily pushed forward, trying to see if it was just an illusion.
"Clang clang clang!" The sound of a sword being drawn rang out. The guard stepped forward, intimidating the onlookers, which finally calmed the scene down.
Li Shimin and his entourage on the city wall were also greatly surprised. From their vantage point, they could see more clearly, and the pearls and gems shone even more brilliantly. The coral trees, taller than a person, resembled a forest, filled with gems.
"My dear minister, you have worked hard! I wonder how the campaign went?" Li Shimin asked with a smile.
"Your Majesty, on the 26th day of the ninth month of the sixth year of Zhenguan, the Lingnan Road mobilized an army of 270,000 to attack the Monkey Tribe, capturing three cities and annihilating tens of thousands of enemies; on the 11th day of the tenth month, they fought a battle with an enemy army of 500,000 in the open field, fighting for four hours until the enemy was routed; on the 30th day of the tenth month, the enemy's million-strong army came with great momentum, and the Tang army fought against them for a day and a night, annihilating the enemy; on the 10th day of the eleventh month, the Monkey Tribe surrendered!" Li Shenfu said loudly.
Of course, he spoke very briefly, and Li Shimin didn't need him to go into much detail, because he already knew the detailed battle reports. And the scenes of monkey tribe corpses strewn across the fields, piled high with bones, were not suitable to be mentioned.
"My dear minister, you have rendered great service to the country, and the soldiers who went on the expedition have worked hard and made great contributions. I hereby order the three provinces and six ministries to reward you according to your merits!" Li Shimin looked at the surprised people and nodded with satisfaction.
"Your Majesty, we obey!"
"Your Majesty, I lead an army of 270,000. Thank you."
After the show was over and the treasures were delivered to the palace, the people dispersed, still buzzing with discussion. Today's events would be enough for them to talk about for a long time. Only then did Li Shenfu enter the palace unburdened.
Those ministers who were dissatisfied and had opinions left dejectedly. Those who remained in the palace were all Li Shimin's trusted ministers. They all wanted to hear the true situation in Lingnan. After all, those who delivered the battle reports and messages had limited knowledge, and the ones who knew best were, of course, Li Shenfu and his few companions.
Li Shenfu spoke until his throat was dry in the imperial study, giving Li Shimin and other high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty a clear and intuitive understanding of Lingnan. They were also filled with admiration.
"I never imagined that Lingnan would change so much in such a short time," Li Shimin said with a relieved expression.
“In a few years, Lingnan will change even more. Huai Dao plans to make Lingnan prosperous within three years, and within five years, it will be no less prosperous than Jiangnan,” Li Shenfu said. He felt the most about the rapid changes in Lingnan and believed the most that Qin Mu could accomplish this.
"Yes, I still believe in Qin Huaidao's abilities. Shuofang is now a model for other prefectures and counties to learn from," Li Shimin agreed.
"Hmm! Is there any place in Lingnan that needs the court's help?" Li Shimin asked again.
"It's definitely necessary. Lingnan has such a large population, and it needs a lot of talented people to govern it. This is what's most lacking. Before leaving, Huai Dao repeatedly urged His Majesty to provide a group of talented people," Li Shenfu said with a smile.
"No, where would so many talented people come from? I'm still short of them. They're asking for people everywhere. In Lingnan, all the new recruits are monkeys. Who do you want me to send?" Li Shimin said, his face darkening. The number of talented people he truly valued was not many. The older generation were Li Yuan's old subordinates, whom he didn't want to use. The middle generation was also limited, and he didn't want to rely too heavily on the aristocratic families.
Li Shenfu had anticipated Li Shimin's reaction, and with his smile unchanged, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. Lingnan does not need great talents. In the past, it only governed a few thousand or tens of thousands of people, not even the talent of a county magistrate. Chang'an has plenty of scholars. Why doesn't Your Majesty arrange for them to go there? It can be a test, and you can also see if there are any truly talented people among them."
"Excellent, that's a good idea." Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he praised it with delight. In that instant, he thought even more: should he also transfer all those ministers who were always opposing him and whom he disliked? But he still needed to find a reason for that.
Li Shimin quickly came up with a plan. With so many prefectures and counties in the land, most had powerful families. He could send these ministers out to cause trouble, both to intimidate the locals and to test whether the regions were truly peaceful. A win-win situation! Thinking of this, Li Shimin couldn't help but smile.
"Ahem, as you wish, select scholars from Chang'an to go to Lingnan, but it should be based on their own volition." Seeing the strange looks from everyone, Li Shimin realized he had been daydreaming and quickly coughed twice before speaking.
"Your Majesty is wise," the crowd hurriedly flattered.
"My dear ministers, you may disperse. The Ministry of War should verify the merits of the soldiers in Lingnan as soon as possible and distribute the rewards; it has been delayed long enough." Li Shimin nodded and waved his hand.
"I obey the decree!"
"We take our leave."
As soon as Li Shenfu and the others left, Li Shimin raised an eyebrow and headed towards the inner palace with the palace maids and eunuchs.
Li Shenfu brought back only valuable items, which were to be presented to Li Shimin, so they all went into the Imperial Treasury. This was the result of his discussion with Qin Mu: to use the spoils from the defeat of the Monkey Clan, or rather, the treasures from the sale of weapons and equipment, to exchange for resources more suitable for the development of Lingnan.
For example, grain can be bought with money, but merchants would profit from that, so it's better to offer it as tribute, which the court can then allocate. Different methods, same result, so offering it as tribute is obviously the best choice.
With a large number of treasures entering the palace, Empress Zhangsun was naturally alarmed. When Li Shimin arrived, almost all the concubines with titles in the harem went to the Imperial Garden to admire the treasures.
Although Empress Zhangsun was able to make decisions on how to bestow gifts upon the women in the harem, she was a very intelligent woman, so she simply appreciated the gifts and waited for Li Shimin to distribute and handle them.
Li Shimin probably hadn't seen so many concubines gathered together in a long time. He was taken aback when he stepped into the Imperial Garden, as there were just too many beautiful women there.
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