The 160,000 strong army of the Wu Zhou Dynasty was completely annihilated. Other than Li Duozuo who was escorting the rations, the rest of the generals were all captured.
The Left Eagle Guard's General Cao Renshi was beheaded, the Right Golden Guard's General Zhang Xuanyu and the new Minister of Agriculture Ma Renjie were captured, the Chief of the Army Yan Banshi died in the chaos, and the Deputy Chief of the Army Zong Huai Chu committed suicide.
When the news reached the capital, the entire court was in an uproar.
How long had it been since the imperial court suffered such a defeat?
Even when facing powerful enemies like the Turks and Tubo, the imperial court had suffered defeats from time to time, but it had never been defeated so quickly or so miserably. An army of 160,000 was instantly annihilated, and almost all of the generals were captured in one fell swoop. This was something unimaginable in the past.
Wu Zetian felt as if she had been hit in the head with a stick. The Wu Zhou Dynasty's greatest and only achievement was the recovery of the Four Towns of Anxi. Before this, there was nothing to write home about. She did not expect to suffer such a heavy defeat in the blink of an eye, especially at the hands of the Khitans who were never taken seriously by the imperial court.
The imperial court was in a state of panic. The initial disdain and confidence towards the Khitans turned into extreme fear in the blink of an eye. One hundred and sixty thousand people meant one hundred and sixty thousand families. As the news spread, the entire Tang Empire was in a miserable state. Countless parents, wives, and children wore mourning clothes and were in so much pain that they wished they were dead.
Wu Zetian originally planned to let Wu Sansi be the ambassador of Yuguan Road and lead the army to Shengzhou as the second army to suppress the rebels. In fact, her main goal was to let this nephew of hers be gilded.
Although the military system was controlled by the Wu Clan, the Wu Clan had never made any contributions in the war. In the army, a group of generals who did not make any contributions would never have a solid foundation.
Wu Chengsi's health was poor and he was often bedridden in recent years. Otherwise, Wu Zetian might have sent this nephew to the frontlines as well, allowing these two nephews of the Wu Clan to establish their own military might.
But now, Wu Zhou's 160,000 strong army was annihilated in a single battle. The entire court was shaken and Wu Zetian did not dare to act rashly.
Both of her nephews were born scholars. When they were young, she changed their surnames to Wei and exiled them to the border. Every day, they had to work hard for food. Later on, when she wanted to ascend the throne, she found that outsiders were unreliable and she had to rely on the Wu Family. She pardoned her nephews and brought them back to the capital. She entrusted them with important tasks. However, these two nephews had never commanded an army of dozens of people before.
But almost all the famous generals left behind in the Tang dynasty were killed by her. Moreover, the more the Wu Clan's generals were defeated, the more she needed the Wu Clan's generals to fight a great victory to consolidate the Wu Clan's position in the army. Therefore, Wu Zetian decided to send Wu Youyi as the second general to suppress the rebels.
Wu Youyi had always been in charge of the Yulin Guard for her. He had been in the army for the longest time and was the most familiar with the army among the second generation of the Wu Clan. Wu Zetian immediately issued an edict. She appointed Wu Youyi as the right general of the Wu Clan. He was to recruit soldiers and horses to lead the attack on the Khitans. At the same time, she appointed Chen Zi 'ang and Qiao Zhizhi as his advisors.
Unable to gather so many soldiers and horses in a short time, Wu Zetian ordered all the imprisoned prisoners to be escorted to the capital so that they could atone for their crimes. At the same time, she recruited soldiers and formed a new expeditionary army. She also ordered all the provinces to the east of Taihang Mountains to build up a cavalry regiment to be ready for support.
The furious Wu Zetian did not discuss with the Prime Minister this time. She used her arbitrary power to quickly make a decision. She angrily returned to the inner court. Suddenly, she remembered Li Zhaode who had helped Sun Wanrong obtain a third-rank official position. She immediately vented her anger on him. She ordered him to be immediately escorted to the execution ground to be executed!
Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi heard this and immediately mentioned Lai Junchen. In a rage, Wu Zetian ordered Lai Junchen to be beheaded as well.
Li Zhaode was imprisoned because of Lai Junchen's impeachment. Today, he was going to be executed on the same day as Lai Junchen.
Needless to say, this major event to a certain extent diverted the court's investigation of the defeat. It must be known that Cao Renshi, Zhang Xuanyu, Ma Shaojie, Yan Banshi, Zong Huai Chu, and the other generals were all under the Wu Clan. Only Li Duozuo, who was responsible for escorting the provisions, could be considered as a neutral party.
On the day of the execution, the streets of Luoyang turned out. The execution site was packed with people.
The execution site was located in the north city. All the shops in the north city did not open for business that day. Even the businessmen went to watch the execution.
The number one ruthless official of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, who was also the undying cockroach, Lai Junchen, was finally going to be executed. On the same day, the one who was going to be executed was the Prime Minister Li Zhaode, who had dominated the court for the past few years. This was no small matter.
Li Zhaode and Lai Junchen had wooden balls stuffed in their mouths. Dressed in the clothes of condemned prisoners, they were escorted to the execution ground.
This system of wooden balls began in the fourth year of the Emperor's reign. That year, Wu Zetian executed the Crown Prince's Emissary, Hao Xiangxian. Hao Xiangxian cursed loudly and vehemently on the execution ground, listing all of Wu Zetian's crimes. He even mentioned the scandal of her adultery with Xue Huaiyi. Wu Zetian was very embarrassed. From then on, whenever the court executed a criminal, wooden balls would be stuffed in his mouth so that he could not say a word on the execution ground.
Li Zhaode and Lai Junchen had wooden balls stuffed in their mouths. Their cheeks were squeezed to the point that their cheeks were somewhat deformed. They were pulled by the prison cart and slowly approached the execution ground. Although Li Zhaode was a bit too domineering and was hated by hundreds of officials, he still had an excellent reputation among the people. When the people saw Prime Minister Li's disheveled hair and dirty face, they couldn't help but sigh sadly.
However, in a normal dynasty, the people of the capital would probably never see the scene of a Prime Minister being executed in their lifetime. But in the Wu and Zhou Dynasty, the people of Luoyang, not to mention the imperial princes, had seen the Prime Minister executed several times. Although they sighed for him, they weren't too shocked.
Next was Lai Junchen. When Lai Junchen was escorted to the execution ground, a strange scene appeared. The people were crowded there. Countless heads were moving. Their eyes were fixed on Lai Junchen, who had the word "Death" stuck on his back on the prison cart. But strangely, not a single sound was made. Everyone was staring at him. The scene was abnormally quiet, so quiet that it was frightening.
Li Zhaode was escorted to the execution ground. He was forced to kneel in the direction of the executioner. Then, Lai Junchen was escorted to the execution platform. Lai Junchen's usual awe-inspiring and domineering aura was nowhere to be seen. A large wooden ball was stuffed into his mouth. Even breathing was somewhat difficult. His twisted face no longer had any of its former handsomeness.
Li Zhaode was speechless. But as he watched Lai Junchen dejectedly being dragged to the execution platform, a happy smile appeared in Li Zhaode's eyes. He couldn't laugh, but he raised his pale head. It was clear that he was laughing. Li Zhaode's shoulders shook. He laughed silently for a long time. Then he slowly closed his eyes. Two streams of tears slowly flowed from the corners of his eyes and flowed down his cheeks …
Lai Junchen was different. From start to finish, Lai Junchen did not even glance at his old enemy. His head was always turned in the direction of the Imperial Palace. When he was dragged to the execution platform and pressed to the ground, he still stretched his neck and stared in the direction of the Imperial City. He only hoped that a rider would gallop over and shout, "Spare him!"
It wasn't that the Empress had never done something like this before. Back then, the Deputy Minister of the Imperial Censor, Wei Yuanzhong, had been spared death by the Empress before his execution. Lai Junchen had always believed that he was loyal and devoted to the Empress. He had killed so many enemies for the Empress. The Empress was able to ascend the throne and sit firmly on it. He had played a great role in it. The Empress would never kill him.
He hoped and hoped. When the executioner dryly read the imperial edict, he didn't hear a word. When the executioner pulled off the plaque with the word "Death" on his shoulder, he didn't notice at all. He was like a puppy abandoned by its owner. He stared in the direction of his home, hoping that its owner would change his mind.
A noose was placed around Li Zhaode's neck. The Empress was gracious and granted him a complete corpse. The noose was suddenly pulled up. Li Zhaode's body flew into the air. Because he was suffocating, his body began to violently and strangely twist.
But what was surprising was that at this time, not a single person looked at the Prime Minister's death. Countless gazes were fixed on Lai Junchen.
Many people's palms were wet with sweat. The corners of their eyes twitched nervously and their hearts beat like drums.
They seemed to be worried about something, and also seemed nervous about something. It was a strange kind of fear.
Lai Junchen suddenly came to his senses. His gaze, which had not moved for a moment, moved from the direction of the Imperial Palace to the execution platform.
On the execution platform, Chen Dong, the Disciplinary Officer of the Ministry of Justice, expressionlessly pulled out a blood-colored punishment stick from the container and fiercely threw it in front of the platform. He shouted coldly, "Execute!"
Lai Junchen suddenly understood. The imperial edict of pardon would never come. The Empress had truly abandoned him!
He suddenly bounced up from the ground. It was very difficult to stand up from kneeling so straight, but Lai Junchen actually jumped up in an instant.
He couldn't make a sound. His eyes were abnormally wide, as if the corners of his eyes had cracked. He stared fixedly in the direction of the Imperial Palace. He looked at the corner of the eaves and the Dubhe Tower that towered into the clouds. His mind felt dizzy.
Without waiting for the two executioners' assistants to push him down, his knees buckled, and he once again knelt heavily on the execution platform …
"Crack!"
The sharp demonhead blade slid across his neck. This strike of the executioner had used the best strike of his entire life.
The blade accurately slid through the crack between the bones of Lai Junchen's neck. There was not the slightest bit of obstruction. His head, along with a mouthful of fresh blood, sprayed out more than three meters before landing heavily on the ground. It rolled forward a few times before stopping.
Lai Junchen's headless corpse slowly fell forward, and with a thud, it fell to the ground.
At this time, Li Zhaode's corpse had just stopped trembling for the last time.
The execution platform continued to maintain a frightening silence. This was something that had never happened before. When the executioner looked towards the crowd with some surprise, the crowd suddenly erupted into a tsunami of shouts. Countless people charged towards the platform, and the silk slaves responsible for holding the ropes to block the spectating commoners were like scarecrows. In the blink of an eye, they were drowned by the boiling crowd.
Countless people surged onto the execution platform, fighting to tear apart Lai Junchen's corpse. There was one person who charged at the very front, pouncing on Lai Junchen's body like a wolf, viciously biting off a piece of flesh. Before he could swallow it, he was dragged to one side by the frenzied commoners, and then even more people filled up the gap he had left behind like ants.
This person bit down on a mouthful of flesh, and laughed wildly at the sky!
His name was Duan Jian.
… …
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