[PS: Update.]
Su Zhe's submission meant that Ouyang Shuo had basically taken over the civil officials of Tianjing.
It was precisely because Su Zhe had not wanted to be involved in the factional struggles of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and had instead focused on government affairs that he had established an extremely high prestige among the civil officials of the previous dynasty.
True scholars were all willing to make friends with Su Zhe.
Thus, Su Zhe's recognition of Shanhai City naturally led to a group of civil officials.
That afternoon, Ouyang Shuo issued his third edict since taking over Tianjing City.
The content of the edict was aimed at the civil officials of the two commanderies.
The officials of the previous dynasty, with the exception of those marked and blacklisted by the two intelligence agencies, would all find a place in the county government that was about to be established.
Of course, all the officials of the two commanderies would follow the example of Wuzhou Commandery. They would all be dismissed and then rehired by the Administrative Office. This would thoroughly cleanse the original officialdom.
The only good thing about the fall of Guilin Commandery was that Xiao He would no longer need to 'make up the numbers'. The one thousand officials prepared by the Administrative Office would be enough to operate Xunzhou Commandery and Zhen 'an Commandery.
On the third day of the twelfth month, the one hundred thousand Taiping soldiers left Tianjing City.
With the departure of the Taiping army, the situation in Tianjing City became increasingly clear. At least on the surface, there was no longer any faction that dared to openly defy the decrees of Shanhai City.
Seeing this, Yang Xiuqing tactfully withdrew herself from the government affairs of Tianjing City and handed over all authority to the marquis. Yang Xiuqing began to hide in her residence and pack her luggage, preparing to head to Leizhou Commandery at any time.
On the same day, the Dragon Stallion Army officially completed its sweep of Zhen 'an Commandery. The next day, Bai Qi began to select a new headquarters for the Dragon Stallion Army while working with the Military Office to establish a command department.
At the same time, Bai Qi would act as Ouyang Shuo's special envoy and contact Zhang Liao to discuss the issue of mutual defense between the two countries, hoping to establish a long-term and effective relationship.
The meeting between the two sides was also to clear up misunderstandings and prevent the two armies from accidentally fighting on the border.
The Dragon Stallion Army's presence in Zhen 'an Commandery was like a bolt from the blue to the still-forming Yunnan City. No one would believe that Shanhai City's garrison in Zhen 'an Commandery was to guard against their ally, Lingxi City.
It was obvious what they were aiming for.
Earlier, Shanhai City and Lingxi City had joined forces, and in a short period of three days, Kunming County had completely changed its banner. Now that the two giants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had been dealt with, they joined hands again. It was really frightening.
The next day, Yunnan City announced the completion of its establishment. Its efficiency was simply astounding.
The unexpected fall of Guilin County had a negative impact on Shanhai City's prestige in China. However, no one could deny that Shanhai City, which had annexed two more counties, was now a true giant in China. No one could shake its position.
Haven't you heard?
Although the Northern Sichuan Province had allied with the Southern Xiang City State to take down Guilin County. After High Official Ximen returned, the first thing he did was to contact the various lords of the Northern Sichuan Province to discuss the matter of establishing a city-state.
Especially with Han Xin's army stationed in the Withering Stronghold, to the Northern Sichuan Province, just Guilin County was enough to make them unable to feel at ease.
The establishment of the North Sichuan City-State was imminent.
As soon as the news came out, the world was in an uproar.
As a result, Shanhai City was surrounded from the west to the east by the City-States of Yunnan, the City-States of Northern Sichuan, the City-States of Xiangnan, and the City-States of Lingnan.
Who else could it be other than Shanhai City?
For a time, the Southwest region became the most eye-catching existence in the entire China region.
How Shanhai City would break out of the heavy encirclement became a hot topic among the players. Some so-called experts could not bear the loneliness and wrote articles on the forum, elaborating on their high opinions.
The most accepted view was that Shanhai City would definitely advance westward.
This meant that Shanhai City would join forces with their staunch ally, Lingxi City, to first take care of the Yunnan City State, stabilize their position in the west, and then free up their hands to deal with the other city-states.
Such an argument, coupled with the strong presence of the Dragon Stallion Army, how could the Yunnan City State not be frightened? In the coming New Year, the lords would probably not have a peaceful time.
On the 4th of December, the Emperor Palace was completely demolished.
The enormous Emperor Palace was razed to the ground, becoming a thing of the past. At the same time, at the same place, the newly planned government office of Xunzhou County was officially built.
The replacement of the old and the new represented the passing of power from the new to the old.
At this point, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be considered to have truly come to an end, completely withdrawing from the road of hegemony in the wilderness.
That afternoon, the Department of Commerce held a grand auction in the square in front of the Emperor Palace. In less than two hours, all the items were auctioned off, and the funds collected were one hundred and ten thousand gold coins.
Among them were merchants who really sold wood, commoners who just happened to need to build residences, and of course, Hong Xiuquan's diehard supporters, and so on.
The Department of Commerce and the Black Snake Guards cooperated with each other, investigating these buyers one by one, striving not to let any fish slip through the net, and completely wiping out the influence of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the two counties.
At the same time, the Black Snake Guards had already begun an investigation in the tens of thousands of villages in the two counties. They completely wiped out the act of secretly worshipping the Heavenly King, and severely punished those who committed the crime.
And all of this was naturally to pave the way for the rule of Shanhai City.
As for the funds obtained from the auction, Ouyang Shuo did not invest them in the construction of Xunzhou County and Zhen 'an County, but used them for the military expenses for the expansion of the territory, including the compensation for those who died during the war.
In this way, the capture of the two counties, including the previous Wuzhou County, did not create any additional burden on the territory's finances, which could be considered a blessing from the heavens.
With the end of the auction, the Black Snake Guards began to carry out a secret purge within Tianjing City. Those who were previously on the blacklist, whether they were gentry, officials, or common people, would all die a violent death.
In just one day, more than two hundred people lost their lives.
For a moment, it actually caused a commotion within Tianjing City.
Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to personally appease the commoners, stating that this was only a temporary purge of bandits. Only then did Tianjing City regain some peace.
On the fifth of December, Bao Shuya finally arrived in Tianjing City.
Cui Shousi also came along with Bao Shuya. Cui Shousi would stay in Tianjing City for a day, and after a simple debriefing, he would once again set out for Zhen 'an County.
Two days earlier, Mulan Lanyue had already led more than five hundred officials, escorted by the Second Division of the First Legion of the Dragon Stallion Army, to smoothly arrive at Zhen 'an County and officially take over the administration of the county.
Accompanying Mulan Lanyue was her personal bodyguard — Li Feixue.
It was reported that Li Feixue was preparing to establish a sect in Zhen 'an County and had obtained Mulan Lanyue's full support.
Ouyang Shuo was naturally happy to see this happen.
The next day, Yang Xiuqing, escorted by a group of personal guards, set out for Leizhou County.
On the eighth of December, Ouyang Shuo departed from Tianjing City.
Two Mountain Barbarian Independent Divisions also left with Ouyang Shuo. As for the Imperial Guard Division, they were temporarily left in Tianjing City. Only when the Xunzhou County Guard Division was established would they set out for Shanhai City.
Before this, the Wuzhou County Guard Division had already been established, and the Fourth Mountain Barbarian Independent Division stationed in Chiyou City was already on its way back to Shanhai City.
Originally, Ouyang Shuo had wanted to stay in Tianjing City for a period of time. Unfortunately, a secret letter from the Black Snake Guard forced Ouyang Shuo to return to Shanhai City ahead of time.
According to the Black Snake Guard's report, they had finally found Fan Li and Xi Shi.
On the same day, Bai Xue formally informed the Department of Commerce that her father, Bai Gui, had agreed to move the Bai Clan Merchant Company to Shanhai City.
Ouyang Shuo would never believe that there was no connection between Fan Li and Bai Gui.
Surprisingly, Fan Li did not make things difficult for the Black Snake Guard's invitation. He readily agreed to leave with the Black Snake Guard and settle down in Shanhai City.
Given their speed, as long as they reached the nearest Royal City, they would be able to quickly teleport to Shanhai City.
Thus, Ouyang Shuo had to set out ahead of time and step on the road back.
Calculating the time, Ouyang Shuo had left Shanhai City for more than two months. It was about time for him to return.
On the 12th of December, Ouyang Shuo led his troops to Mulan Fortress.
In Mulan Fortress, Ouyang Shuo stayed for a day and had a deep discussion with Du Ruhui. They had a thorough discussion about the specific reorganization of the army and the relevant personnel appointment and dismissal.
Du Ruhui was indeed a capable official. In a short period of time, she had refined the rough army reorganization plan that Ouyang Shuo had drawn up a few days ago into a plan of more than ten pages and tens of thousands of words. She had considered all aspects of the matter.
Of course, there was also the assistance of the various departments under the Military Office. In particular, Zhao Kuo, the Chief of Operations, had played a greater role in the plan and had become Du Ruhui's most important assistant.
The next day, Ouyang Shuo led his troops and left again.
Li Xiucheng, Chen Yucheng, Xiao Chaogui, and Feng Yunshan, the four surrendered generals of the Taiping Army, left with Ouyang Shuo. These four were all stubborn people and had refused to surrender even now.
Seeing this, Ouyang Shuo simply brought all of them back to Shanhai City and dealt with them later.
On the 15th of December, Ouyang Shuo and his troops successfully arrived at Shanhai City.
At the north gate of the city, Xiao He led the civil and military officials to kneel to welcome them. Their great momentum shocked the entire Shanhai City.
With this, Ouyang Shuo officially announced the return of the king.
After returning to Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo arranged for the two Mountain Barbarian Independent Divisions to be placed in the barracks of the Royal City. After that, he didn't meet with anyone and went straight to the rear hall of the protectorate.
After being away from home for several months, Ouyang Shuo naturally missed his family.
The cute Bing'er and the gentle Song Jia were both existences that he thought about day and night.
It was only at this moment that Ouyang Shuo could temporarily put down his ambitions and truly relax.
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