Soon, amidst the kneeling welcome of a group of Zhennan soldiers, Great Liang entered the capital of Zhennan and completely took control of the entire situation.
Whoosh!
When the flag of Zhennan was discarded like trash and replaced by the flag of Great Liang, it symbolized the complete disappearance of the entire Zhennan Kingdom, vanishing into the annals of history.
Why!
Standing at the front of the crowd, Zan Rihong looked at the vast procession and couldn't help but sigh.
It wasn't that I didn't want to fight to the death to defend my country, but the enemy was far too powerful. The gap between us was too large to be bridged by fighting desperately, so what was the point of continuing to die?
Upon seeing Zhang Liao, he forced a smile and solemnly said, " Zan Rihong warmly welcomes the Great Liang to the city!"
His attitude was humble and sincere, and he showed great respect for Great Liang, as if he had already achieved enlightenment.
Zhang Liao glanced at him and laughed, "You truly deserve the title of Prime Minister of the Zhennan; you are indeed a clever man. Your intelligence saved your family, but what the future holds for you depends on your fate!"
The reason he was considered a clever man is because he swiftly and decisively killed Nan Yu.
Although this was not of great significance to the overall war effort, it signified that he had clearly distanced himself from the former king Nan Ke, and expressed his submission to the Great Liang.
That's precisely where his cleverness lies.
If he were to be completely devoted to Nan Ke, then his fate would be certain death. After all, after the Great Liang destroyed Zhennan, it might tolerate a king, but it could not tolerate that king having loyal followers.
This person saw things very clearly, but unfortunately, he was from Zhennan.
"Thank you for the reminder, sir. I hope you will put in a good word for me! I am willing to offer up all my assets, just asking the Emperor to spare my family's life!" Zan Rihong nodded and immediately had the previously sorted valuables brought up.
Huh?
Sima Yi's eyes flashed with admiration. This younger brother has a good eye. If His Majesty takes a liking to him, he will definitely have a bright future.
Once he loses his assets, he will no longer be targeted, thus removing the Great Liang's attention from him. In addition, given his contribution in surrendering the city and his initiative in offering wealth, he still has a glimmer of hope.
It's a pity he's from Zhennan; otherwise, His Majesty would surely have valued him.
Zhang Liao gave Zan Rihong a meaningful look, then nodded and said, "Your Excellency need not worry. Our Great Liang values winning people over with Win People Over with Virtue. As long as you do not become enemies of our Great Liang, you will be safe."
" Zan Rihong understands. This is a list of the Zhennan forces I compiled, along with detailed asset information. I hope it will be useful."
Upon hearing this, Zan Rihong understood the implied meaning, nodded emphatically, handed over the compiled roster, and then stepped aside.
Zhang Liao's smile widened, and he handed the document directly to his adjutant, instructing him to organize the spoils of war from Great Liang according to the list.
With Zan Rihong acting as a traitor, everything seems simple and straightforward.
In less than half a moment, the hundreds of thousands of troops had completely pacified Zhennan Capital.
Arrest those who should be arrested, and kill those who should be executed!
For Great Liang, the cleanup task is that simple and straightforward.
" Zhennan is completely finished!"
Seeing this scene, Nan Ke, who had just fainted, couldn't help but hunch over even more. In that instant, he looked twenty years older, as if he might collapse at any moment.
He glared fiercely at the unassuming Zan Rihong to the side, and couldn't help but grit his teeth and say, " Zan Rihong, you treacherous bastard, the Nan Clan will never forgive you!"
Faced with his anger, Zan Rihong flashed with disdain, and he sneered, "Hmph, you really think Zhennan is all yours, huh? If it weren't for the brothers helping you back then, you'd still be eating wild melons!"
After you became king, several of your brothers were purged. Why didn't you accuse them of treachery?
From now on, I'm just a commoner in Great Liang. Go ahead and mess with me if you dare!
Ugh! Bah!
He spat the last drop of saliva on Nan Ke's face, then turned and went to the other side of the prisoner area.
Holy crap!
Nan Ke's face turned green, and he trembled with rage, wishing he could devour this bastard. How dare this guy spit on him!
Unable to stand by any longer, Nan Yiming roared and prepared to fight, but was stopped by the Great Liang soldiers who were watching them.
"From now on, this place belongs to Great Liang, not your Zhennan. Great Liang will not tolerate internal strife!" After leaving this warning, the guard turned and left.
Inside the palace, looking at the mountains of wealth, Zhang Liao and the others fell silent. Zhennan was far too rich.
The entire palace treasury yielded items worth nearly two hundred million, with mountains of pearls and treasures piled up.
Li Ru looked at the account book in his hand and smiled, "This time, Zhennan seized a lot of valuables. Nearly 150 million guan of goods were seized from the entire royal city."
The royal palace and Zan Rihong alone accounted for 100 million, along with a vast collection of rare and precious treasures—they were piled up like mountains!
Holy crap!
Everyone was stunned; this was the first time they had ever seen so much wealth hidden away. Fortunately, their currency was gold and silver; otherwise, they would have been left with nothing but a pile of junk.
The Zhennan Dynasty is much richer than the Yamata Nation. If you include the wealth that was swept away by the flood, it would definitely exceed 200 million kan.
This was a very fruitful trip!
"One hundred and fifty million strings of cash!"
Qi Jiguang sighed deeply and said with a wry smile, "If Nan Ke had used that money to upgrade his weapons and equipment, we wouldn't have been beaten so badly. He really is greedy for money!"
Even the Great Liang couldn't have come up with that much money back then.
It's easy to imagine how ruthless and insane Nan Ke's plundering was; the wealth of the people under his rule was probably less than a fraction of his own.
"Haha, Zhennan is extremely aggressive in its expansion and engages in burning, killing, and looting, robbing the wealth of small countries. Naturally, it makes money much faster than Great Ning."
"Many of their technologies are borrowed from neighboring countries, so it's essentially a risk-free business. They have to save money for that," Li Ru explained with a smile.
Zhang Liao simply smiled at his words.
He had followed Lin Yi for a while, so he naturally knew the truth about the so-called weapon and equipment upgrades; it wasn't something that could be done just like that.
The main reason is the limitation of the times that our lord once mentioned.
These weapons and equipment aren't something you can just develop on a whim. They involve steelmaking technology and various other industrial technologies; it's not something you can just do with money.
It is only because of His Majesty's existence that the Great Liang has been able to develop various advanced weapons and equipment, which are unique and cannot be replicated.
If others want to acquire equipment, they also need technological strength.
Who wouldn't want to wield weapons far ahead of their time? But the problem is, sometimes I just can't do it.
Upon hearing this, Meng Huo's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but whisper to Sima Yi, "Commander, let's go back and ask the Emperor for permission as well."
There are many small countries in the southwest; we could borrow from them. I think this kind of risk-free business is particularly good!
If you do it this way, you'll have everything without spending a single penny. Wouldn't that be amazing?