[PS: Today was too unlucky. I lost my phone when I went out. I went to look for my phone, but I couldn't find it. I also lost my wallet. What a mess. I'm not in the mood to write at all.]
November 2nd, Xunzhou County, Tianjing City.
The majestic Tianjing City was like a giant dragon entrenched in the center of Southern Sichuan. It was a symbol of Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan's ambition and revenge.
After nearly a year of painstaking management, the population of Tianjing City had exceeded the 500,000 mark. It was comparable to a first-class county in the player's territory.
Just as Ouyang Shuo was meeting with the officials, Yang Xiuqing led the remaining troops and finally arrived outside Tianjing City.
Long before Yang Xiuqing arrived, the news of the Southern Army's defeat at Mulan Fortress had already spread throughout Tianjing City. The atmosphere in the huge city suddenly became solemn.
The civil and military officials of Heavenly State could not imagine how an elite army of 200,000 was defeated in one night. This huge blow caused the entire imperial court to be unable to breathe.
The fate of Heavenly State seemed to be in danger.
It was reported that on the day he received the news, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan directly smashed his teacup in the court meeting and then left in a huff, leaving the officials in the court with an awkward expression.
That day, in the palace, because a concubine accidentally mentioned Mulan Fortress in front of Hong Xiuquan, she was immediately dragged out of the palace and sentenced to death.
This scene was truly chilling to the core.
The entire Tianjing City was shrouded in a terrifying atmosphere.
The usually bustling Tianjing City suddenly became cold and cheerless.
On the city wall, groups of soldiers patrolled back and forth, their eyes sharp and their expressions serious. Everyone knew that the defeat of the Southern Army would expose the entire Xunzhou County to the enemy.
A storm was brewing, and the wind was blowing.
Therefore, when Yang Xiuqing led the troops to the city gate, it could be imagined what kind of gazes were cast over by the soldiers guarding the city and the surrounding citizens.
Surprise, disdain, anger, curiosity, and so on.
Seeing this, Yang Xiuqing's expression was calm.
Only the three thousand soldiers he had brought with him felt ashamed in the face of such naked gazes.
How could the army of a defeated army dare to speak bravely?
A feeling of shame arose spontaneously.
Every soldier wished they could cover their faces with their helmets so that they could not face the citizens in the city.
The soldiers in charge of guarding the city did not dare to stop Yang Xiuqing's group. However, when one of the guards saw Yang Xiuqing and the others, he immediately ran away. Looking at the direction he was headed to, it seemed, was the Sky Emperor Palace in the city.
Yang Xiuqing, on the other hand, was expressionless. She calmly led her three thousand soldiers through the city gate and headed straight for the barracks in the city. Those who didn't know better would have thought that the defeat not long ago had never happened.
The secret agent that the Black Snake Guard planted beside Yang Xiuqing could not help but nod when he saw Yang Xiuqing's performance.
Yang Xiuqing was indeed an extraordinary person.
Just based on this Qi cultivation, not many people could match up to him.
Everyone knew that Yang Xiuqing, as the commander of the army, could not escape the blame for this great defeat.
The wrath of a heavenly monarch was so bloody and brutal.
Almost every day, there were people who were reprimanded or punished by the Heavenly King. They were ministers who advised him, concubines who served him, or guards who neglected their duties.
The annihilation of the Southern Army seemed to have caused Hong Xiuquan's hidden negative emotions to erupt. His entire person suddenly became extremely furious, and he found everyone to be an eyesore.
A huge sense of defeat pressed down on Hong Xiuquan's head, making him want to go crazy.
As long as he thought that the great plan that he had painstakingly planned could be buried alive because of this defeat, Hong Xiuquan wanted to skin Yang Xiuqing alive.
As the saying went, if the heavens wanted him dead, he would go crazy. At this moment, Hong Xiuquan was on the verge of going crazy.
Under such a situation, Yang Xiuqing's fate could already be predicted. Being able to leave her corpse intact was probably the best outcome.
Not only Yang Xiuqing, but her family would also be slaughtered.
The scene of history was probably going to happen once more.
However, Yang Xiuqing did not choose to surrender to Shanhai City, nor did she choose to lead her troops to escape into the forest. Instead, she resolutely rushed back to Tianjing City.
All of this was really hard to understand.
In reality, as early as two days ago, Hong Xiuquan had already learned of the whereabouts of Yang Xiuqing's group through the secret information network that he controlled.
Thus, truthfully speaking, Hong Xiuquan also could not see through Yang Xiuqing's confidence.
Because of Yang Xiuqing's return, the once deserted Tianjing City became turbulent.
The strange thing was that on this day, whether it was Hong Xiuquan or Yang Xiuqing, neither of them did anything extra. Yang Xiuqing peacefully entered the army camp, and Hong Xiuquan did not summon him.
Everything seemed calm and tranquil.
Anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
It was reported that when Yang Xiuqing arrived at the army camp, he arranged for a trusted guard to rush to the Sky Emperor Palace and send a secret letter to Sky Emperor Hong Xiuquan.
It was this secret letter that temporarily saved Yang Xiuqing's life.
Other than the person involved, no one knew what was said in the secret letter that could actually make the murderous Hong Xiuquan endure.
It was precisely because of this that the undercurrents in the city became more and more turbulent.
Especially with the disturbance of the Military Intelligence Division and the Black Snake Guards, the entire Tianjing City became a pool of muddy water.
All the forces were probing each other.
Those with a bit of power tried to see through the thick fog to see the direction of the political situation in Heavenly State.
Unfortunately, this was destined to be an extravagant hope.
Because Shanhai City, which had been plotting for a long time, finally revealed its sharp claws and teeth.
In the afternoon of November 2nd, Chiyou City.
After being received by Ouyang Shuo, the hundreds of civil officials who had been secretly imprisoned by Chiyou left for Shanhai City with their families.
Among all the civil officials, only one person stayed. He was Pei Ju. Because according to Ouyang Shuo's arrangement, Pei Ju would follow him to Xunzhou County.
Pei Ju was a person who was skilled in both literature and martial arts. He was really a rare and important official.
Therefore, on this quiet afternoon, Ouyang Shuo received Pei Ju alone in the study. For the first time, the ruler and his official opened their hearts and spoke freely.
Ouyang Shuo knew that he had to use a grand undertaking to reignite Pei Ju's heroic spirit.
Therefore, Ouyang Shuo not only told Pei Ju his plan to annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but he also told Pei Ju his plan for the coming year.
After listening to Ouyang Shuo's grand blueprint, Pei Ju could not help but be fascinated. If Ouyang Shuo's blueprint could be realized, how could his great undertaking be inferior to the Great Tang?!
It only took an hour for Ouyang Shuo to convince Pei Ju and gain his approval.
Pei Ju could only smile bitterly at this.
Accompanying the army on this expedition was to give Pei Ju a chance to experience the Shanhai City army up close.
On November 3rd, Ouyang Shuo led his troops and left Chiyou City. The army that accompanied him included the three thousand Divine Guards, the Imperial Guard Division, and three Mountain Barbarian Independent Divisions.
Only the Mountain Barbarian Fourth Independent Division, which was the division prepared for the Iron-Armored Beast Division, was temporarily stationed in Chiyou City and was responsible for the area security before the Wuzhou County Guard Division was formed.
This time, Ouyang Shuo led his troops from Chiyou City and advanced all the way to the northwest. They went straight to the border of Guilin County and Xunzhou County, completely blocking Hong Xiuquan's path to the north.
The next day, the Dragon Xiang Army and the Leopard Army also split into two groups and officially attacked Xunzhou County.
The campaign to encircle and annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom officially began! (To be continued.)
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