Chapter 478: Prisoners

The news of the great victory in Liaodong soon reached Chang'an, and the court and the people cheered.

In December, Li Yu was about to return to Chang'an. When he was only a few dozen miles away from Chang'an, the emperor's envoy arrived.

"Mr. Li, you have worked hard on the way! His Majesty has specially ordered me to welcome the hero of the Tang Dynasty."

Jia Yanzhong saluted. "Hello, Mr. Jia, thank you for coming to welcome you." Li Yu saluted.

"In accordance with the emperor's oral order!" Jia Yanzhong saluted to the north.

Li Yu hurriedly knelt on the ground and waited for Jia Yanzhong to read the emperor's oral order.

"Your Majesty said: The extermination of Goguryeo was the last wish of the late emperor. Now that Goguryeo has been exterminated, we should go to Zhaoling to report to the late emperor. Order Li Li to escort Gao Zang and others to Zhaoling to offer prisoners."

"After the prisoners are offered, we should organize the army, report to Kaige, enter Chang'an City, and go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer prisoners." Jia Yanzhong read out Li Chengqian's oral order.

"I obey your order!" Li Li crossed his hands and saluted to the north.

"Mr. Li, please get up quickly." Jia Yanzhong stepped forward and helped Li Li up and said.

"There is no time to delay. I will escort Gao Zang and others to Zhaoling to pay homage to the late emperor." After Li Li finished speaking, he led his troops and took Gao Zang and others to Zhaoling.

Jia Yanzhong turned back to the capital to report to Li Chengqian.

Li Zhen first took Gao Zang and other captives to Zhaoling, said hello to Li Er, burned paper to tell him that Goguryeo had been destroyed and he could rest in peace in his grave.

Then, he organized the army, entered Chang'an City with gongs and drums, and took Gao Zang and other captives to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to burn incense and kowtow.

After all this trouble, it was dark, so they had to present the captives to the emperor tomorrow.

The next morning, Li Chengqian accepted Li Zhen's captives in Hanyuan Hall. Li Chengqian affirmed the achievements of Li Zhen and others in this crusade against Liaodong and rewarded them.

"Your Majesty! Goguryeo King Gao Zang dared to resist our Heavenly Kingdom's soldiers. His heart is damnable. He is now a prisoner. It is all his own fault. I submit a petition to execute him as a warning to others." A minister stood up and said. "

I second the proposal! Gao Zang is the King of Goguryeo, but he has repeatedly been an enemy of our Tang Dynasty. If we cannot kill one person to warn the rest, how can we scare the villains? If other small countries follow suit, how should we deal with them?" Another minister stood up and said.

They insisted on the theory of killing one person to warn the rest, and there were not a few people like this.

Goguryeo King Gao Zang, who was standing aside, was trembling with fear. For so many years, since he became king, he has been living in fear every day, fearing that Quan Gai Suwen would be unhappy one day and kill him.

Now that he was a captive, he still had no guarantee of personal safety, which made him very scared.

"Nonsense, I, the King of Goguryeo, have no intention of being an enemy of the Tang Dynasty. It was all the work of Molizhi Quan Nanjian of Goguryeo. If you want to kill someone, just kill Quan Nanjian!" A young man from Goguryeo couldn't stand it anymore, so he stood up to speak for Gao Zang.

Seeing someone stand up to speak for Gao Zang, and it was a young captive, the ministers were immediately angry.

Feeling that their dignity was trampled by the ignorant captive in front of them, the ministers would not allow the boy in front of them to act wildly.

So, everyone took turns to go into battle, and they must let this ignorant young boy know that there are people better than people and there are heavens beyond heavens.

Li Chengqian said nothing, and quietly watched how they drowned the little captive in front of him with spit.

What a pity! The young captives from Goguryeo were so embarrassed by the rebuttal that they felt embarrassed.

Unwilling to give up, they decided to launch a second round of attack. If they couldn't even suppress a rising boy, wouldn't all their knowledge be wasted.

"Enough! Aren't you embarrassed enough?" Li Chengqian scolded them in time to prevent them from starting another war of words.

"Your Majesty!" The minister said sadly.

It would be fine if they were embarrassed today, but they were embarrassed in front of the emperor in Hanyuan Hall, which was hard for them to accept.

"You are such a sharp-tongued guy, you have made a bunch of well-educated people in the Tang Dynasty speechless. You are really

a young man to be feared! What's your name?" Li Chengqian asked. "An Shun!" said the young captive.

After hearing this, Li Chengqian looked up and down at the young man in front of him. He was one of the culprits of the future Goguryeo rebellion.

The puppet king supported by Kim Beommin, the King of Silla, Baodeok.

An Shun is about 1.6 meters tall and has an ordinary appearance. There is nothing surprising about him. He is the kind of person who can be found in a crowd.

"Goguryeo King Gao Zang, as a king, did not think about the development of Goguryeo, but let the powerful ministers usurp power, which led to the death of many people. Shouldn't such a person be killed?" Li Chengqian said.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty! My grandfather, Gao Zang, was established by my late uncle Quan Gai Su Wen. The power of Goguryeo has always been controlled by my uncle, Da Mo Li Zhi of Goguryeo." "

And my grandfather is just a puppet in the hands of my uncle. He lives in fear every day and his heart is full of despair."

"But all this is beyond his control. I heard that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is a benevolent monarch. He favors anyone who surrenders sincerely."

"Because he has a heart that can accommodate the whole world. With such a broad mind, why can't he accommodate a poor person who has left his homeland?" An Shun said.

Gao Zang, who was standing aside, was moved to tears when he heard his grandson's words. When he thought of his own situation, his tears could not stop flowing.

"My heart is broad. Since it can accommodate this world, it can naturally accommodate your grandfather Gao Zang. I will not kill him, but let him serve as an official again." Li Chengqian said.

Gao Zang is just a captive who has failed. There is no need to compete with him. He is just a poor insect.

It is not worth killing Gao Zang, and there is no need to kill this poor insect.

"Although Gao Zang is the king of Goguryeo, he has never held the real power of Goguryeo since he succeeded to the throne. The politics are not his own."

"I hereby announce the pardon of all Gao Zang's crimes. Not only that, I also appoint him as the Minister of Works and the Deputy Minister."

"And all the ministers in the hall, do you have any problem with my handling of Gao Zang?" Li Chengqian said. When

everyone heard this, they all bowed their heads. Silence was more powerful than words.

"Since no one has any objection, I hereby announce that in addition to Gao Zang, Quan Nanchan will be promoted to Guanglu Shaoqing, and Monk Xincheng will be promoted to Yinqing Guanglu Dafu."

"Quan Nansheng was promoted to the rank of Right Guard General and Duke of Bian, and the rest were rewarded." Li Chengqian said.

"We, your Majesty, thank you for your grace!" Gao Zang was the first to take the lead in thanking him, followed by Quan Nansheng and Monk Xincheng.

"All of you, please stand up! Not only will the Tang Dynasty not mistreat the captives, but we will also give them a good life." Li Chengqian said.