The Dongyi matter was still complicated and sensitive. Suddenly becoming a citizen of the Qing Kingdom was not something everyone could accept. Merchants were indeed greedy, and prostitutes were heartless. Even the people in the trading houses and brothels found it difficult to immediately change. This was not the same as doing business. Doing it raw and not familiar was to rip off customers. The power to control one's own life and death was best placed in the hands of familiar people. This was not the same as a brothel receiving customers. One red lip for 10,000 to taste? The girls all hoped to be faithful to the end.
In particular, the vassal states controlled by Dongyi had long shown signs of unrest. The Song Kingdom, which was close to Yanjing, was better off. The nobles and officials of this small country had long become used to the might of the Yanjing army and could not summon any will to resist. Some of the smaller countries that did not border the Qing Kingdom thought that they were about to lose the power and luxury they had in name and become a dispensable hostage in Jingdou. Naturally, they began to carry out some things in secret.
The power of these small vassal states was not great, so the methods they chose were rather sinister. They secretly stirred up the undercurrents among the people and scattered pepper on the emotions of the Dongyi people. In a short half a month, the resistance movements had become more intense and frequent than a few days ago.
All of this was within Fan Xian's expectations. Peacefully taking over Dongyi was not a small matter that could be accomplished overnight. This was the largest matter that had happened in the world in 20 years.
The Eighth Bureau of the Overwatch Council had already prepared large numbers of civil officials. They entered Dongyi in batches and began to cooperate with the Sword Hut and the manor of the Master of the City. They launched wave after wave of propaganda. Adding to the help of the Fourth Bureau's spies in various countries and the spies they had bought, as well as Dongyi taking advantage of the situation, propaganda about peace, non-war, and mutual prosperity began to spread vigorously.
Suppressing the resistance in various places and preventing it from turning into uncontrollable civil unrest required Dongyi to act themselves. Fan Xian did not want the Qing Kingdom's national machinery to enter Dongyi too early. Once blood was spilled, the hatred in the hearts of the Dongyi people would deepen, and the situation would become uncontrollable.
Three volunteer armies had already been suppressed. Of course, these volunteer armies were only a hundred or so bandits howling through the mountains and forests. Fan Xian had sent 10 of the 12 disciples of the Sword Hut into the forests of these small countries to suppress and explain. As for the results, Fan Xian was still waiting for feedback.
Because of the uncertain situation and the natural rebellious nature of the Dongyi people, some of the powerful merchant companies in the city began to feel uneasy. Faced with this trend, Fan Xian joined hands with the second disciple of the Sword Hut, Li Bohua. Using the double pressure of Taiping money house and palace treasury, he directly intimidated all the merchants.
At the same time, Fan Xian and the diplomatic mission jointly sent 17 urgent memorials to Jingdou, asking the Emperor for instructions on relevant matters. At the same time, he asked in the secret memorials whether the arrangements for the hostages of the vassal states could be lowered to avoid forcing the nobles to act in desperation and do terrible things in their despair.
Conquering a territory wasn't something that could be done with just a few words on a piece of paper. The key was to subdue the hearts and wills of the people living in that territory. This would take years, decades, or even centuries.
Fan Xian was not in a rush, but he was worried that the Emperor would be in too much of a rush. For him, he had to be able to satisfy the Emperor and, at the same time, make the people of Dongyi accept it. This was his goal so that the Iron Riders of the Qing Kingdom would not kill their way from Yanjing. It was like a steel wire. As he walked on it, the two sides were empty. He had to be careful.
…
…
Conquering required a propaganda offensive, buying people's hearts, and giving the Dongyi people an excuse to convince themselves. It required Fan Xian to organize everything without sleep or rest. It required him to use his identity as a powerful official of the Qing Kingdom and the Master of the Sword Hut to meet with various merchants and local figures with real power in Dongyi. He had to give them a definite message and make them feel at ease.
This was a very tiring matter. The dark circles under his eyes finally destroyed some of the beauty on Fan Xian's handsome face. His face had also paled. He was extremely tired. Each time he thought of how he was saving hundreds of thousands of lives, this feeling of being able to move closer to the thrill of being a martyr for a just cause made him sober again.
Other than everything above, conquering required powerful and irresistible martial power. Only with powerful martial power as the foundation could the people of Dongyi passively and humiliatingly accept their fate of being swallowed up by the Qing Kingdom.
After the situation in Dongyi calmed slightly, the Qing Iron Riders began to move closer in Dongyi's direction. Like a black cloud crushing a mountain, they were unstoppable.
This was also the Emperor's bottom line. If the Qing Kingdom did not station troops in Dongyi, what kind of conquest was that?
It was already the height of summer. The blazing sun shone wildly in the sky, burning Dongyi's sorrowful wife into an endless panting of pain. It chased away the dark and rainy weather after the Great Grandmaster's departure. There was only light.
The Northern Qi diplomatic group had long left. What many people found strange was that although the Northern Qi people clearly felt great shock and anger at the Qing Kingdom swallowing up Dongyi, they did not do anything. Instead, they quietly watched everything happen. It seemed that the Northern Qi people had already accepted their fate.
Of the hundreds of people standing outside Dongyi, other than the members of the Qing diplomatic group and the officials of the Master of the City, there was Fan Xian and the disciples of the Sword Hut who had rushed back from various places.
Fan Xian lowered his head slightly and stood on the rolling yellow dirt road. Unconsciously, he moved his feet endlessly. His appearance was not very dignified. He also didn't want to put on a dignified appearance. He could clearly feel that the expressions of all the Dongyi people waiting outside the city were particularly ugly and pale. There was a special kind of suppressed anger.
At this time, Fan Xian would not purposely put on a dignified appearance to provoke them.
The ground gradually began to tremble. Yun Zhilan's body, standing beside Fan Xian, also gradually began to tremble. Once the first disciple of the Sword Hut and now the Master of Dongyi, he could no longer control the gloomy emptiness in his heart and began to tremble.
The expressions of the officials of the Master of the City in Dongyi were all very ugly. The faces of the disciples of the Sword Hut were also slightly pale. As their trembling grew louder and louder, they revealed their true emotions.
At the end of the road, thunder rumbled faintly, causing the ground to shake. The small grains of sand in the yellow dirt on the ground were shaken and rolled.
A rider appeared in their line of sight. Immediately after, two, three, 10, a hundred, a thousand densely packed riders pressed toward Dongyi from the west. A stern and magnificent aura enveloped all the people on the outskirts of the city.
The Qing army had arrived.
…
…
The black mass of riders slowly neared Dongyi. They represented the Qing Kingdom's powerful military power, the Qing Emperor's unstoppable and powerful will, and the desire to conquer.
The Qing Kingdom had stationed 10,000 Qing soldiers in Dongyi. They had been gathered from the armies of the five Roads within a month. They had been hastily formed, but there was no sign of chaos. These Qing soldiers, who were about to represent the Qing Kingdom stationed in Dongyi, were all old soldiers of the Western Expedition Army. Under the command of the Great Prince, their battle power was astonishing.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the approaching and threatening Qing army. He smiled slightly mockingly. Tidying his clothes, he slowly walked forward to meet them. He couldn't help but think of the arguments he had with the Emperor in the memorials. Sigu Jian's last words had made him spend a great deal of effort to convince the Emperor. The Emperor knew that if he wanted the people of Dongyi to be willing to accept it, the Great Prince and Fan Xian were indeed two good choices.
There were too few Black Knights, so he could only choose the Great Prince's Western Expedition Army. Fan Xian believed that there were not many generals who truly belonged to the Western Expedition Army among the garrisoned soldiers. The Great Prince had only come to Dongyi to show his face. In the end, he would have to go back. The Emperor would not allow his eldest son to be permanently stationed in Dongyi.
Thinking of the Emperor who was far away in Jingdou but was controlling the Dongyi matter, Fan Xian's emotions became complicated.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor was not angry at him for taking over the Sword Hut without an imperial edict. On the contrary, he seemed to know what Fan Xian was worried about. He used an urgent document to send him an imperial edict. The imperial edict was the same as what was written in the box. There were only two words.
"An Zhi."
The Qing Emperor was comforting Fan Xian's heart. When Fan Xian thought of this, he couldn't help but feel perplexed. The Emperor's trust in him truly moved him. He knew how cold and heartless the Emperor could be once he turned hostile. His heart didn't even dare to be moved.
Wind and dust gradually rose. Before it was long, it swept down the road toward the city. The speed of the Qing riders gradually increased. Fan Xian involuntarily narrowed his eyes and covered his nose and mouth. He didn't know who had given the order for this intimidating force. He didn't know if it would cause the people of Dongyi to feel conflicted.
He solemnly turned his head and found that, contrary to his expectations, other than the warriors of the Sword Hut with hidden anger on their faces, the rest of the officials in the manor of the Master of the City and the nobles who had come to greet them all showed fear on their faces. Their faces were pale. It was as if they had no intention of resisting.
Tens of thousands of riders arrived on the dust with a shocking momentum. It scared most of the people of Dongyi to the point of losing their will to resist.
Looking at this scene, Fan Xian couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Dongyi's bloodthirst was indeed lacking. Although the Great Prince's move was crude and rude, it hit the other party's weak spot. He didn't know if the Emperor had said this before they left.
However, for Fan Xian, the lack of bloodthirst in Dongyi was a good thing. He had never hoped that the Northern Qi people would be like the Dongyi people and surrender without a fight. It was good to be able to shed as little blood as possible.
The hooves of the horses were like thunder. In a moment, they had arrived on the outskirts of Dongyi. Tens of thousands of riders wore dark-colored light armor and gave off a piercing light under the sunlight. The dust that had been kicked up gradually settled, revealing the true appearance of the Qing army. The densely packed riders surrounded Dongyi.
Silence. It was completely silent. Even the warhorses that were twisting their heads seemed to be intimidated by the Qing army's discipline. They didn't dare paw their hooves or snort.
Tens of thousands of cold gazes watched the people from Dongyi who had come to welcome them.
The officials, nobles, and merchants of Dongyi looked at this scene with fear. They looked at the Qing army's strict discipline, austere aura, superior equipment, and the confidence and tyranny that seeped out from within. Everyone couldn't help but wonder, if the sword saint had not given the final edict of surrendering to the Qing Kingdom before he left and the Qing army attacked Dongyi, how many days or minutes would Dongyi be able to hold out?
Clip-Clop, clip-clop, clip-clop. A wave of silent horse hooves broke the silence in front of the city gate. The front of the Qing cavalry parted. Their commander walked out from within, as well as the complicated and magnificent ceremonial guards at his side.
The Qing Emperor's ceremonial guard followed the Qing army and arrived outside Dongyi.
The commander-in-chief stood beside the Emperor's ceremonial staff. He wore a silver light armor, a sword at his waist, and a spear at his side. Behind him was a blood-red cloak that fluttered in the yellow dust sea breeze.
The Great Prince gently pulled on the reins of his horse and escorted the Emperor's ceremonial guard to the front of the crowd. Calmly and with a complicated gaze, he looked at everyone outside the Dongyi city gate.
There was a soundless silence.
Yun Zhilan closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. After struggling for a long time, his eyes gradually grew wet. Then, he slowly knelt down toward the Emperor's ceremonial guard beside the warhorse.
The Master of Dongyi knelt. All of the officials quickly followed suit. The nobles of the various vassal states also knelt down. They knelt densely on the ground, expressing their submission to the Qing army and the Qing Emperor.
The disciples of the Sword Hut did not kneel. They knew this was a helpless decision their teacher had made before his death. Although they knew that their eldest disciple brother disciple had already broken out of the Hut and could only kneel in front of the Qing army for the people of Dongyi, they were not Dongyi officials. They were free people. More accurately, they were jianghu people.
The jianghu people had their own way of doing things. They did not have any restraints. Thus, they stared at the Qing riders with an astonishing aura that filled the mountains and plains. There was not a glimmer of fear in their eyes. On the contrary, they felt boundless anger and fighting spirit.
More than half of the ninth-level aces in the world were there. They were not afraid of anything.
The Great Prince sat on his horse and glanced coldly at the stubborn disciples of the Sword Hut who refused to bow down. He was about to open his mouth to say something when he heard a familiar, clear, slightly tired, and indifferent voice coming from the side.
"Disciples of the Sword Hut, listen up." Fan Xian closed his eyes slightly and said, "Return to the city to help the manor of the Master of the City maintain law and order."
This reason was absurd. Fan Xian sighed in his heart. He knew he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have let the disciples of the Sword Hut come. These people were all aces among aces. Each of them was proud and unyielding, particularly powerful figures like Li Bohua and Thirteenth Wang. They were either the leaders of the greatest money house in the world or warriors most likely to become Great Grandmasters. How could they lower their heads to the power of a country?
There were not many people in Dongyi who were hot-blooded. If there were 10, at least 90 percent were left in the hearts of the disciples of the Sword Hut.
Hearing the master's words, the disciples of the Sword Hut did not disobey. They knew that Sir Fan junior was giving them a way out. After a moment of stalemate, Li Bohua was, in the end, more experienced and prudent. After a long silence, he let out a long sigh. Two streams of hot tears flowed down silently. Leading his disciples, he quietly walked into the city and opened up the path into the city.
Thirteenth Wang did not follow and leave. He also did not kneel. He just stood coldly by Fan Xian's side and looked at the menacing Qing riders. It was as if he had no one in his eyes.
The Great Prince glanced at Fan Xian with deep meaning in his eyes. Eunuch Dai unfurled the imperial edict in his hand and read it quietly to the Dongyi officials and merchants kneeling in front of the ceremonial guards.
"Hearing that Sir has passed, I am grieved and cannot rest easy. Hearing that Sir is righteous and prioritizes the people, I feel respect in my heart …"
Fan Xian stood to the side of the road and quietly listened to the most important imperial edict. He found that this imperial edict was not like the ones in the past, which were all standardized. It truly had the tone of the Emperor. Furthermore, the grief and respect in his words were not false. As for how the people of Dongyi would view the Qing Emperor who had killed Sigu Jian, that was another matter.
This imperial edict was very long. It described the Qing Emperor's greetings to the people of Dongyi and the importance of unifying the world for the people. Each word was sincere.
In the end, the Emperor approved of Yun Zhilan's appointment as the Master of Dongyi and ordered him to choose a time to enter the capital to accept the title.
Yun Zhilan, who was kneeling at the very front, heard this edict and was not surprised. Although his position as Master of the City had been obtained through negotiation, if he wanted to continue holding it, he had to be personally conferred the title by the Qing Emperor.
He rose somewhat gloomily and accepted the imperial edict with both hands. He then bowed again.
The ceremony continued. It was a complicated and important ceremony. It was a ceremony about conquering and being conquered.
The Great Prince dismounted and walked closer to Fan Xian. He looked at him for a moment and then said, "I didn't do well earlier."
Fan Xian knew that this brother of his was referring to him having the disciples of the Sword Hut leave. After a moment of silence, he replied, "I am already very tired. I don't know what else to do."
"But, the disciples of the Sword Hut still have to demonstrate their attitude." The Great Prince looked at him warmly. After a moment of silence, he said with extreme seriousness, "However, you have already done well enough … I think, in the entire world, in this matter, there is no one who can do better than you."
Fan Xian smiled slightly and didn't continue the conversation. He only said, "The disciples of the Sword Hut's attitude will be shown to the Emperor."
He lowered his head and said to Thirteenth Wang beside him, "Thirteenth Wang, you are responsible for arranging the moving of the army."
Thirteenth Wang, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly raised his head. He didn't ask why. He only looked calmly at Fan Xian. His meaning was simple. Why me?
"Because you are a simple person." Fan Xian gave him a reason that he could not refuse. "I have learned something from you. If you are simple, this world will be simple to you. "
Under the Great Prince's slightly confused gaze, Fan Xian patted Thirteenth Wang and said, "I think you also hope that this matter can be simpler."
…
…
The thirteenth disciple of the Sword Hut, Wang Xi, stood in front of the group of riders. He couldn't help but think of that bright afternoon many years ago when Sang Wen had taken him to choose a girl. It was the same helplessness and headache.
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