The word "side by side" king of the Tang Dynasty

Volume 1, Chapter 242:

The death of Heraclius represented the defeat of the entire Byzantine Empire. The remaining senators surrendered to Li Jing in order to survive.

Li Jing did not kill them, firstly because it was not necessary, and secondly because the Tang army could not stay in the Byzantine Empire for too long and would need to return to the imperial court before coming again next year.

During the next blank period, someone will have to manage the Byzantine Empire. Otherwise, if the people lose control and fall into civil strife again, it will be a bit troublesome.

The Senate is a very good candidate for management. They are obedient and pose no threat.

After sweeping away the resources of the Byzantine Empire, Li Jing also wiped out the domestic threatening forces listed by the Shadow Guards, and then he could safely return to the Tang Dynasty with his army.

Li Jing did this just for insurance. In fact, he would not be worried at all even if someone caused chaos or organized resistance again after he left.

What about rebellion? Since he can defeat the Byzantine Empire once, he can defeat it a second time!

This is confidence!

When he comes to the Byzantine Empire again next year, various officials appointed by the emperor will also arrive. By then, the Byzantine Empire will truly become the land of the Tang Dynasty.

As for the church... Li Jing launched a massive operation to destroy the gods, asking the Senate to announce the abolition of the church's legal status and all rights and interests, destroying all churches, arresting the main church members and directly executing them, and promoting atheism among the people.

The Tang Dynasty was not Byzantium and would never tolerate the church being above the imperial power. Everything must be succumbed to the imperial power!

A development like the Byzantine Empire is deformed. If the influence of the church is not removed, it will be useless no matter how brilliant Heraclius is.

The response from the people was naturally very strong. Several archbishops of the church even wanted to incite public anger and fight to the death with the Tang army. However, Li Jing responded to them only with the sword of the Tang army.

After killing tens of thousands of rebels, the riot was finally suppressed, and the church was completely destroyed. As for the impact it left on the people, it cannot be eliminated for the time being, and they can only be forgotten by time.

After doing all this, Li Jingcai led the army on the road back to Datang.

Because they were returning victoriously, the mood of the entire army was very high, and the marching speed also increased. It only took two months to return to Datang.

The Tang army returned triumphantly after a nine-month expedition and was warmly welcomed by the whole country. They are all heroes of the country!

Li Changqing held a ten-day banquet to reward the three armies, and specially ordered that all the wealth plundered from the Byzantine Empire should be returned to the officers and soldiers of the three armies.

After this order was passed down, the whole army cheered, which greatly boosted the morale of the whole army.

The wealth plundered from the Byzantine Empire was a rare windfall for every soldier in the army.

The Ministry of Finance is now very wealthy, and Li Changqing has no objection to this decision. After all, this expedition is of great significance to the Tang Dynasty. It destroyed the most powerful country in the West. Moreover, the expedition of the army was really hard, so it would be unjustifiable not to reward it.

Chang'an, Tai Chi Hall

"Marshal Li, General Su, you two have done a great job in overthrowing the Byzantine Empire this time and deserve a heavy reward."

Li Changqing said with a smile to Li Jing and Su Dingfang. He originally thought that the army's expedition to the Byzantine Empire would take a year or even longer, but Li Jing and Su Dingfang only spent more than half a year to complete it, which made him very satisfied.

Especially after hearing that Li Jing After reporting the general results of the battle, he even praised the two of them for their actions after the country was destroyed. After hearing Li Changqing's praise, Li Jing cupped his hands and said,"Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission, but I don't dare to think about the reward for the time being. I was so great when I attacked you." Of the five kingdoms of the Tang Dynasty, four out of five have now been eliminated, but there is still neighboring Tianzhu, that is, the Rong-ri dynasty has not yet been destroyed.

Please allow your Majesty to allow the army to rest and recuperate, and then continue to let me lead the troops to attack the Rongri Dynasty."

Hearing this, Li Changqing couldn't help laughing and said:"The marshal also wants to leave some opportunities for the younger generation to make contributions. The Rongri Dynasty is at the bottom among the five countries. I am planning to let it become the generals who graduated from the Royal Military Academy of the Tang Dynasty. whetstone."

Asking Li Jing to attack the Rongri Dynasty will definitely capture it soon, but those young generals lack opportunities to train. Li Changqing still pays more attention to the cultivation of talents.

Li Jing's face turned red and he replied with some shame:"It's my minister. I'm greedy for merit, and I'm willing to listen to your majesty's arrangements."

Seeing his appearance, all the officials in the palace burst into good-natured laughter.

Li Changqing also laughed and said:"I will not let the marshal relax. I have other things to leave to the marshal."

"Recently, banditry in coastal cities has become more and more serious, and merchant ships along the way have been attacked frequently. Even Yizhou has been captured, so I want the marshal to lead his army to sea to recover Yizhou and attack Japan and Luzon Island."

Yizhou is Taiwan in later generations, and Luzon Island is the Philippines. It was called the Luzon Kingdom in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As for the Japanese Kingdom, it goes without saying.

These three places are very important maritime strategic locations, and Li Changqing has already attacked them. meaning

"I am willing to accept my order! Li

Jing suddenly became excited when he heard that there was a battle to be fought.

At this time, Wei Zheng suddenly came out and said:"Your Majesty, although I don't understand military affairs, we in the Tang Dynasty do not yet have a navy fleet, and there are only a few available warships." Ten.

Luzon, Japan, and Yizhou are all overseas lands. Although their military strength is not obvious, their naval forces are not weak. It may be difficult for us, the Tang Dynasty, to match them."

Wei Zheng's words reminded everyone that the Tang Dynasty's cavalry was invincible and its military strength was unparalleled in the world, but that was only on land, and the naval strength was really not outstanding.

Li Changqing pondered, and he ignored this point, Now I think about it, if the Tang Dynasty wanted to go on an expedition to various countries around the world, it would have to have a powerful naval fleet. Otherwise, if the expedition was not possible, how could we talk about an expedition?

"What Wei Qing said is absolutely true, but I was negligent."

Li Changqing admitted his mistake generously, and then said:"In this case, let's form a naval fleet. I heard that Goguryeo has always been good at building ships. The King of Goguryeo fled to sea by boat. The craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty can learn the shipbuilding technology of Goguryeo. Build a fleet"

"I, the Tang Dynasty, not only want to be invincible in terms of army, but also want to be invincible in navy.!"

"As everyone wishes, wherever the sun shines, it is the territory of the Tang Dynasty!"