Tibet.

Chapter 1235 Ultimatum
At three o'clock in the morning, Li Jing, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened by a knock on the door. He hurriedly pushed the concubine beside him and asked her to help him get dressed quickly.

"What's the matter?" Li Jing asked.

The guards outside the door said urgently: "There is a commotion in the military camp. General Wu Xiu asks you to go there immediately!"

Li Jing was startled and stood up quickly. His concubine helped him put on his clothes and shoes. Then he opened the door and asked, "Did a mutiny occur?"

"It doesn't look like a mutiny, just a riot!"

Li Jing felt uneasy, but he put on his armor, mounted his horse, and rushed to the military camp under the protection of a hundred personal soldiers.

Soon they arrived at the military camp, where the lights were on. The atmosphere was very strange, with a sense of unease. The grass was filled with soldiers sitting in groups of three or four, whispering about something.
When Li Jing arrived at the central army, he saw that the central army tent was filled with middle and low-level generals. There were only 30,000 troops left on the Yidu side, all of whom were Han people from Qingzhou and Zibo. The most elite 30,000 Donghu cavalry and 20,000 Goguryeo people were handed over to Li Na and taken to Licheng County.

Therefore, only local people were left in Yidu County. Li Ye’s public notice scared the soldiers. If they did not surrender, once the city was broken, all the soldiers and their families would be made slaves and sent to Lingnan to open up wasteland.

These were the words of the regent, and their words were binding. All the soldiers could no longer sit still, and they forced the emperor to abdicate and demanded surrender.

As soon as Li Jing appeared, someone shouted, "The eldest master is here!"

Everyone gathered around and said in unison: "Master, the city cannot be defended. Surrender as soon as possible to keep everyone and their families safe!"

"My Lord, surrender!"

Li Jing was a generous and good-tempered person. He immediately bowed and said, "Generals, I don't know what happened. Let me talk to General Wu Xiu!"

At this time, someone shouted loudly: "All of you get out of the way, don't surround the eldest son!"

It was the deputy general Wu Xiu, the main general was Li Zhengyi, and now it is Li Jing.

The generals had to move away. Li Jing was fat and was sweating profusely as he was surrounded. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurried into the big tent.

"General Wu, what happened?"

"My Lord, look at this!"

Wu Xiu handed a piece of paper to Li Jing. Li Jing was stunned for a moment when he saw the signature. "Is this a handwritten letter from Li Ye?"

"That should be the case. No one dares to pretend to be Li Ye and write this letter."

"So everyone is scared?"

Wu Xiu nodded, "Even if it's to go mining, no one wants to go, let alone to open up wasteland in Lingnan, where the whole family is not a slave to the government!"

Wu Xiu sighed, "Not to mention the soldiers, I am afraid too!"

Li Jing was silent for a moment and then said, "If I surrender, how will the court treat my father?"

"Can the prince wake up?" Wu Xiu specifically asked Yi Chen Fang, who had a general understanding of Li Zhengyi's condition.

Li Jing shook his head. "His breath is weak. It looks like he won't last till dawn."

Wu Xiu suddenly understood that Li Jing was actually worried about him. Wu Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness can send someone to negotiate. If you have any requests, you can directly mention them to the other party."

Wu Xiu whispered again: "I am worried that if there is still no explanation after dawn, the soldiers will get anxious and may even mutiny, and even chop off your and my heads as a stepping stone for their promotion!"

Li Jing noticed a sharp look in Wu Xiu's eyes, and he felt a chill in his heart. Wu Xiu must be talking about himself! This man used the heads of his father and son as a step for his promotion.

"All right!"

Li Jing knew that if he didn't agree, his life would be in danger, so he agreed decisively, "There's no need to negotiate, pass on my order, open the city and surrender!"

Wu Xiu looked at Li Jing meaningfully, walked out and announced loudly, and there was an immediate cheer in the military camp.

At five o'clock in the morning, the south gate of Yidu City opened and surrendered to the Tang army outside the city. Nan Jiyun led 30,000 troops outside the south city to accept the surrender.

Li Jing was dressed in white and holding a white flag, walking in front, followed by more than a hundred generals and 30,000 soldiers. None of them wore armor, but held their armor and weapons in their hands and placed them in a pre-drawn white circle next to the city gate. Then they sat down and rested in an open space a mile away.

Li Jing walked up to Nan Jiyun and held up the seal. "I, the guilty minister Li Jing, surrender unconditionally to the court and am willing to accept any punishment from the court!"

"Where's your father?"

Li Jing burst into tears and choked up, "My father passed away half an hour ago."

Nan Jiyun was startled, "Why?"

"My father heard that Licheng County was defeated and Li Na led his army to flee north. His old illness relapsed and he kept vomiting blood. He has been in a coma ever since. He breathed his last half an hour ago and is now buried in the palace!"

Nan Jiyun nodded, "Okay! Master Li, please accept my condolences. Master Li is a generous person who treats the people well. I believe the Regent will not make things difficult for Master Li. After you have dealt with your father's funeral, you can pack up and go to Chang'an."

"Thank you, General!"

The day finally dawned, and the 80,000 Tang troops captured Yidu City without a fight. Nan Jiyun immediately ordered an autopsy, and after confirming that the deceased was indeed Li Zhengyi, he returned the body to Li Jing, allowing him to bury his father as an ordinary citizen.

According to Li Ye's prior order, all surrendered soldiers who were willing to join the Tang army could select strong soldiers to join the army, and the rest of the soldiers would be sent back to their hometowns.

Guo Ziyi was dealt with in the same way, but there were 15,000 Goguryeo surrendered soldiers who needed special treatment. This involved the fact that Li Zheng had already introduced tens of thousands of Goguryeo households, who were currently settled in Laizhou and Dengzhou. However, the imperial court would never allow so many Goguryeo people to gather in two states.

This requires the court to arrange and handle it.

Guo Ziyi's military report was sent to Chang'an at an express speed of 800 miles.

In Chang'an, the annual imperial examination is approaching again. Except for Hebei, scholars from all over the country are flocking to Chang'an.

Last year, many Hebei scholars rushed to Chang'an for the imperial examination. However, this year the war was intense and various military governors closed their borders, so the Hebei scholars had to miss this year's imperial examination.

But there is a solution. As long as you find a way to get to the Yellow River, many farmers will risk their lives to send the scholars across the river for the sake of money.

After all, the Yellow River coast is too long and the patrols are mainly concentrated in Weizhou, so the probability of success is still very high. Even if they are caught, the soldiers dare not kill the scholars who go to participate in the imperial examinations. Instead, they send them back to their hometowns and order the government to keep them under strict supervision.

In the Anranju Restaurant in Xuanyangfang, Chang'an, three young scholars were gathering together to drink. All three had the surname Cui. One was Cui Baolin and the other was Cui Hua. They were from the Qinghe Cui family of Beizhou, but they were not the legitimate sons of the main house, but illegitimate sons of the side house. The other one was named Lu Shi, from the Lu family of Weizhou, and was probably the ancestor of Lu Junyi of the Northern Song Dynasty.

All three of them had the surname Gao, but they were not wealthy and their family backgrounds were very ordinary. They met each other when they were trying to sneak across the Yellow River. Each of them spent one string of money and asked a farmer to take them across the river on an ice sled.

They were lucky. This year, the imperial court arranged free food and accommodation for the Hebei candidates. They all stayed in the Guest House, three to a room, and the three of them happened to live together.

The three of them have decided not to return to Hebei. To be safe, they will take the Mingjing exam, which has a larger number of admitted students. Even if they fail the Mingjing exam, they will still take the Taixue exam.

The Imperial College admitted 1,500 people. It was similar to the normal schools of later generations. After studying at the Imperial College for three years, students would be assigned to serve as assistant teachers in official schools in various states and counties. After working as assistant teachers for five years, they would be promoted to professors, which meant they were ninth-rank officials, so they still had the opportunity to become officials.

"I heard that this restaurant belongs to the Regent?" Cui Baolin looked at the restaurant and smiled.

"how is this possible?"

"Really? I just asked the shopkeeper. This restaurant belongs to the Li family, the former prime minister Li Linfu. Isn't the regent Li Linfu's grandson?"

Cui Hua shook his head. "You are really confused. This is the Li family's property and has nothing to do with the regent. What kind of status does the regent have to share the property with his clan members?"

Cui Baolin smiled and said, "You are right, I was confused, I will give you a glass of wine as punishment!"

Cui Baolin picked up the wine glass and drank it all. When he looked up, he saw Lu Shi listening to something. "Brother Lu, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Shh-"

Lu Shi whispered, "Listen, what are they shouting outside?"

Many people heard the shouting. The restaurant became quiet. Someone opened the window and heard a soldier shouting, "Good news! Good news from Qizhou! The Ziqing Jiedu has been wiped out, Li Zheng is dead, and the first vassal state has been destroyed!"

There was an immediate uproar in the restaurant.
(End of this chapter)