Chapter 1027: The Two Jiangs Pacified

East of the city, over ten thousand Han army soldiers and civilians had already made preparations to attack the city—whether those filling trenches, pushing carts, loosing arrows, or charging the walls, all awaited but a single order to advance. The tense atmosphere had long been established, killing intent had already coalesced, waiting only to be unleashed. Yet when white banners rose atop Jinling's walls and the city gates slowly swung open, it essentially signaled the end.

"Can't this Li Yu just surrender earlier? Must he wait until we've prepared everything before presenting the surrender document? Is he deliberately toying with the soldiers?" At the front lines of the siege, deep within the army formation, after sending someone to ascertain the situation, Zhao Yanjin said this to those around him. Though his words carried complaint, the joy in his mood was impossible to conceal.

Zhao Yanjin was well-read, and having lived through the chaos of the previous era, he had witnessed the tragedies of war. He knew how rare it was to win with both city and people intact. If a bloody slaughter could be avoided and casualties reduced, that would be a good thing.

For ordinary soldiers as well, war ultimately meant death. With over a hundred thousand men, death might not easily descend upon one's own head, but someone always had to die—and what if it happened to be you? Therefore, if one could participate in merely such a war and then receive a reward from the court, that too was acceptable.

Now that the realm was trending toward peace, not only bureaucrats, nobles, landowners, merchants, and common folk, but most soldiers as well—if not compelled by circumstance and the pressure of survival, how many would be willing to spend their days licking blood from the blade's edge, living a life where dawn brought no guarantee of dusk?

In response to the surrender document presented by Li Jingda, Crown Prince Liu Yang and Commander-in-Chief Li Gu also gave a very positive reaction. Li Gu ordered the three armies to temporarily halt their attack and sent someone to welcome Li Jingda into the camp to negotiate the terms of surrender.

Li Jingda had come representing Li Yu and even the Li clan to discuss terms. At this juncture, he dared not raise any excessive demands, only hoping to emulate the treatment received by the Gao clan, preserve their property, and protect their ancestral temple from desecration.

It could be said that this was the wisest choice Li Yu had made in recent times, and it was not excessive either. However, Liu Yang and Li Gu, representing the court, only gave two basic guarantees: first, the safety of their family; second, the retention of a certain amount of property. As for any further treatment, they had no authority to decide—that would have to wait until their return to court, where the Emperor would decide.

Such an answer could not fully satisfy, but it demonstrated sincerity, not casual promises. After deliberation, Li Jingda, as the current patriarch of the Li clan, agreed on Li Yu's behalf. The matters of surrender were essentially settled, awaiting implementation. Li Jingda still needed to return to the city to report to Li Yu and bring back the Han army's demands.

Li Gu's demand was but a single one: that the city of Jinling be handed over completely intact to the Han army—swiftly, promptly, with the Han army entering the city that very day. Still resolute, with no room for negotiation.

Once the surrender proceedings had begun, the subsequent arrangements presented no difficulty whatsoever. Li Gu dispatched Shi Shouxin as the primary person responsible for receiving Jinling. The first order of business was to withdraw the siege equipment. There was no fear of Li Yu employing delaying tactics—first, because they believed Li Yu lacked the courage; second, because if he dared deceive or mock the great army, it would surely incite collective fury and invite massive, heavy retaliation, consequences Li Yu could neither bear nor dare to bear.

In fact, Li Yu's every action and gesture before and after his surrender would be reported in meticulous detail to Emperor Liu. Without a doubt, this would be tied to the treatment he would enjoy in the future.

When news of Jinling's surrender spread throughout the entire army, the three armies rejoiced, cries of victory boiling over for quite some time. That was the cheer of victors, and it also signified that the Southern Tang—the first state among the "Ten Kingdoms"—had officially sounded its death knell.

In the still-being-revised *History of the Three Dynasties*, ten hereditary houses were also included for the sake of a round number. Yang Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Min, Yue, Nanping, Ma Chu, the Former and Later Shu, plus the Qi State replacing the original "Northern Han."

On the matter of including the Qi State, there had been a minor episode. Someone proposed listing the Yan State, established by Liu Shouguang when he declared himself emperor, among the ten houses. A debate ensued, but ultimately, because the "Cruel Yan" had existed for too short a time and bore too poor a reputation, the Qi State won out.

This also signified that after the fall of the Li Tang, the half-century-plus of Chinese history had gained its definition: the Three Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Moreover, as the fifteenth year of Qianyou drew to a close, and as the southern states were gradually swept away, this era too would be completely terminated.

Jinling's surrender was a historical event of great significance. No matter how many flaws the Southern Tang as a state possessed, or how politically incompetent its sovereign and ministers were, its establishment in the Jiangnan region had positive meaning. At the very least, during the decades of turmoil in the north, it had rendered enormous service in nurturing the people's livelihood and developing the economy.

This was also why Emperor Liu valued Jiangnan so highly and protected it so carefully—fearing that war might cause it excessive damage. Construction was always difficult. Through decades of wind and rain, against the backdrop of a north ravaged by war, it was no small feat for the south to possess such a carefully cultivated patch of fertile soil.

Although, in the final years of Li Jing's reign and the two years of Li Yu's rule, economic development had stagnated or even regressed due to internal and external difficulties, its foundations remained substantial. So long as the course was corrected and chaos was righted, the entire society of Jiangnan would radiate new vitality and continue to develop forward.

Jiangnan's population, land, culture, economy, and all other aspects constituted a major asset left to the court by the Southern Tang. Just as in official history, even after the hardships of Li Yu's era, it provided a solid foundation for the Northern Song's commercial economy to take flight after entering Song.

Of course, it was not only Jiangnan, but also Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Liangzhe—these separatist regimes' nurturing of the people and development of production in the south were perhaps their most positive role and contribution during the past era of great division.

Now, the one about to harvest this bounty was Emperor Liu's Great Han court.

In contrast to the Han army's cheers, within Jinling city, when news spread that the sovereign had decided to surrender, it was a different scene entirely. Whether officials, soldiers, or civilians, all subconsciously relaxed, feeling a sense of relief.

Yet following closely was regret over the state's destruction. Some bureaucrats, some soldiers, some common folk—regardless, during the era of Li Bian and the early years of Li Jing, the people of Jianghuai had benefited greatly. The older scholars and commoners still harbored a sense of gratitude. The stability of yesteryear and the prosperity of today—many had experienced both. If the state perished, melancholy was inevitable. This was the most simple value system of many people. Compared to Liu Chang of Southern Yue, Li Yu as a sovereign might, in the future, receive more sympathy from the hearts of Jiangnan's scholars and people.

Just as news of the surrender spread, a portion of officials and commoners spontaneously knelt before the gates of Jinling's palace, wailing bitterly. The surrender ceremony had not yet formally begun, yet some were already mourning for the dying state.

As for the other government offices and public agencies in Jinling, they maintained stability as required by the Han army, each keeping to their posts, preserving archives and registers, sealing treasuries and storehouses, awaiting inspection and handover. As for the city's defending troops, under the leadership of Zhu Lingyun, they gathered weapons and armor in piles at barracks and drill grounds, awaiting Han army reception, and prepared to relocate outside the city.

Under Shi Shouxin's arrangements, over thirty thousand selected soldiers entered the city in orderly fashion, taking over the city defenses, seizing key positions, and stationing themselves in the various government offices. The only place they did not set foot was Jinling's palace city.

Only when Crown Prince Liu Yang, Commander-in-Chief Li Gu, and other important figures arrived at Jinling's palace city did Li Yu lead his entire family, young and old, along with Jinling's civil and military officials, to respectfully welcome them at the palace gates and formally present the surrender.

The only incident that left Liu Yang and Li Gu somewhat displeased was that during the acceptance of surrender, Chen Qiao, the auxiliary administrator of the Guangzheng Institute, leaped from the palace walls before everyone's eyes, using his own life to die for the Southern Tang.

Such an act fully demonstrated Chen Qiao's fierce integrity and loyalty—pitiable! lamentable! admirable! Yet unexpectedly, it would bring trouble to the sovereign he served. This was achieving fame for oneself while implicating one's lord.

Of course, such a desolate scene of national ruin, tinged with a splash of blood, might also add a touch of unusual luster to this stretch of history.

With the recovery of Jinling and Li Yu's surrender, the basic objectives of the Jianghuai campaign were achieved. With Li Yu's surrender document circulated to all prefectures under the two Jiangs, they surrendered at the sight of it and submitted to the court.

On the fourteenth, Li Yu surrendered.

On the eighteenth, Lu Jiang of Hong Prefecture, upon receiving Li Yu's surrender document, also ordered his surrender. Cao Bin, after arriving at Nanchang with his army, had besieged the city and prepared for an assault, but upon learning of the progress of the Jinling campaign, he held back, also wanting the merit of taking the city intact. After entering the city, he took measures similar to Li Gu's, strictly restraining military discipline.

By the twenty-third, with Chen Hui, the general defending Jian Prefecture, surrendering with all his troops, the prefectures and counties under the Jiangnan regime's jurisdiction were formally pacified.