Chapter 58

As he finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin looked at Li Er with a pitiful expression.

At this moment, Su Liang was thinking that after China was unified, retiring to Zhantang Island would be a good choice.

Zhantang Island is not only suitable for living, but its strategic position is also quite good. In the future, his descendants can live and work in peace and contentment here, multiply, and then look toward the Great Tang and guard China.

For three consecutive days, Li Er, Su Liang, and the others were happily harvesting sweet potatoes and potatoes.

At the same time, thanks to the Zhenguan's speed of 60 kilometers per hour, the Divine Machine Battalion led by Li Ke spent three full days continuously shelling the Wa people in Tamna, constantly patrolling outside the 256-kilometer coastline of Tamna, and sinking all the ships anchored on the Tamna coastline.

"Hahaha... The Prince of Chu's cannons are truly easy to use!" Li Ke laughed loudly.

"Hehe... The Prince of Qi can just call for them; there are plenty of shells in the hold!!" Li Junxian also laughed at this moment.

Su Liang had already made full preparations for this. At this moment, besides the soldiers' food, the Zhenguan was filled with diesel and shells.

"Hehe... Telescopes are still better. The telescopes made by the Prince of Chu can see up to 3 kilometers away!" Li Ke said with emotion, holding a Type 95 military telescope.

"Prince of Qi, can we get off the ship now?" Li Junxian asked.

"Ahem..." Li Ke coughed lightly upon hearing this and then corrected, "General Li, this is not a ship, it is a warship!!"

A moment later, Li Ke and Li Junxian had already walked off the warship and then sent a guard to Tamna to deliver a message.

An hour later, the Zhinan King, Fu Dajia, led the "civil and military officials" of Tamna to arrive.

After a simple surrender ceremony in Tamna, Li Ke also clearly understood the specific household count of Tamna: over twelve thousand households, nearly eighty thousand subjects, which was not much different from the ten thousand households predicted by Su Liang.

Subsequently, Li Ke and the others also learned of the miserable state of the Kingdom of Tamna: the customs were simple and crude, they liked to raise cattle and pigs, ate meat and wore skins, lived in leather houses in summer, and lived in caves in winter. The land produced five grains, but they didn't know how to use cattle for plowing, using iron-toothed rakes to till the soil instead.

In history, it wasn't until the 11th century AD that Tamna followed the Tang system in clothing and etiquette, planted various grains, and used Chinese characters.

After fully understanding the situation in Tamna, Li Ke looked at Li Junxian triumphantly and said, "General Li, the Prince of Chu said that Liu Azhi's eastward journey to the Wa country improved the development of the Wa country by at least three hundred years. Then, couldn't our Great Tang's immigration this time accelerate the development of Tamna by a thousand years?"

As he finished speaking, Li Junxian laughed loudly, "Haha... The area of Zhantang Island is only about half the size of the Capital Region. I believe that in less than a year, Zhantang Island will be developed by the Prince of Chu into something like Taoyuan County."

"Hmm!"

"That is indeed the case. With our Great Tang's one hundred thousand immigrants, twenty thousand garrison soldiers, and the eighty thousand Tamna people, it is enough to build Zhantang Island!"

"After the twenty thousand or so Brave Guards transferred from the Henan and Hebei circuits arrive, we can go back to report our mission."

After Li Ke finished speaking, he immediately dealt with the matter of the Wa people. After several days of pursuit, of the two hundred thousand Wa troops, only twenty thousand remained.

After the twenty thousand or so Brave Guards arrived on a dozen warships, Li Ke generously gave the twenty thousand Wa people one warship and told them to get back to the Wa country.

As for whether they could all fit on it, that was none of his business.

At this time, Li Ke, watching the miserable appearance of the twenty thousand Wa people as they left, still said indignantly, "Sigh... It's just a pity that there are still quite a few Han subjects in the Wa country, otherwise I would have definitely brought the smallpox virus back to the Wa country."

"But why did the Prince of Chu want to let some Wa people go instead of killing them all?" Li Junxian couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe..."

Li Ke smiled upon hearing this and then continued, "General Li, think carefully. Who do these twenty thousand Wa people hate the most right now?"

As he finished speaking, Li Junxian suddenly realized!

"The Wa people invaded the Great Tang first. Although they have been miserably defeated, the one they hate the most right now must be the Soga clan."

Li Ke continued, "Hehe... After the Wa people return to their country, they will inevitably spread word of the Great Tang's cannons, which will be beneficial for our Great Tang to conquer the Wa country."

"Not only that, but among the dead Wa people, there were many children of noble families in the Wa country. The Soga clan will not have an easy time."

This was also the reason why Su Liang did not kill them all. Although they could be conquered by force, the hearts of the people would be a problem in the future.

In this way, the Great Tang could be said to be using both kindness and might! The Wa people who were lucky enough to survive would also surely be grateful for the Great Tang's mercy in not killing them.

The first year of Zhenguan, May 30th.

Li Er, Su Liang, and the others had already returned to Changan City. On the way back, they also planted the harvested sweet potatoes and potatoes along the route.

Su Liang, having returned to the Furong Garden, immediately announced the matter of the one hundred thousand immigrants.

Not only did the notice briefly explain the pleasant climate of Zhantang Island, but it also guaranteed to the people willing to immigrate that within half a year, a batch of large steamships would be built for the people to return home to visit their relatives.

For a time, the people of the Capital Region signed up enthusiastically.

At this moment, the Capital Region only had a population of over two million, but the final number of applicants was approaching two hundred thousand, directly doubling. This was beyond Su Liang's expectations.

Before this, Su Liang had even worried that the number of people would not be enough and had once thought about using money to pave the way, but after careful consideration, he abandoned this idea.

But even without doing so, he had underestimated the longing of the Great Tang people for a good living environment.

Three days later, Su Liang immediately led two hundred thousand Great Tang people in a grand procession toward Wendeng, Shandong, to use the Zhenguan from there to go to Zhantang Island.

This time, Su Liang also followed the previous agreement and brought along the young ladies from the Furong Garden.

Not only that, but Li Er also put down his burdens and brought Empress Zhangsun along.

At the same time, the twenty thousand Wa people also relied on the warships bestowed by Li Ke and the fragments of warships collected along the way to drift across the ocean and reach the Wa country.

When the news that the two hundred thousand Wa troops had been miserably defeated by the 3,000 soldiers of the Great Tang's Divine Machine Battalion reached the capital of the Wa country, the whole nation was in an uproar! Just at this time, the first female emperor in the history of the Wa country, the last of the first line of emperors, Empress Suiko, who was 74 years old and had been on the throne for 35 years, was shocked to death!

At this moment, the Harada clan of Jiuzhoudao had already united with other Liu clan relatives, intending to crusade against the Soga clan.

Driven by the Liu clan, the other noble families of the Wa country one after another demanded an explanation from the Soga clan.

The current Soga clan had not yet had time to elect a new emperor when they faced such a predicament. At this moment, the Soga clan had no usable troops left and closed their doors, refusing to come out.

In the end, the 3,000 soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion led by the Six Young Masters of Changan, with the help of the Liu clan and the Ezo people, spent a full half-month slaughtering the Soga clan and the Wa imperial family!

Subsequently, the Six Young Masters of Changan privately consulted and renamed Honshu Island to Nanhai Circuit, Jiuzhoudao to Xihai Circuit, and Shikoku Island to Donghai Circuit, and let the Liu clan members and Ezo people help manage them.