Filling one's stomach and ensuring one's survival were the most basic requirements of a human being.
The commander of the allied forces of the five provinces had already been killed by the rebellious deputy general. No one knew what he was thinking. As the commander, he had actually committed such a grave mistake. Under the circumstances where the entire army couldn't fill their stomachs, he still gave the order to attack the city even at the cost of his life.
When Wei Liang and the others left the city to receive the rebels, they didn't encounter much resistance. Those who resisted were all taken down by their comrades.
Over ten thousand people consumed a lot of rations every day. However, Yangliuqing couldn't bring herself to abuse captives. Fortunately, Cangzhou wasn't what it used to be. What they lacked the least was rations. For the time being, there wouldn't be a food crisis.
Wei Liang and the others reorganized the surrendered soldiers in the shortest time possible and brought them out of Cangzhou.
Nanzhou, Linzhou, and the other places were now in their hands. They had to bring these people back to defend as soon as possible to prevent any new changes.
Up until now, Yangliuqing and the others had already taken control of six provinces. The troops under their control had also reached more than twenty thousand.
Cangzhou had already become the rear. Some people were left in Cangzhou, while the others had to head to Nanzhou and the other places that had already become the frontlines …
Twenty thousand troops wasn't a lot. The next step was to further expand the troops. They were already familiar with this. Under the attraction of the high benefits, in a few months, the troops in her hands would multiply.
When Nanzhou and the other four provinces had completely settled down, she would also have a mighty army that could attack wherever she pointed, win every battle, and conquer every city …
In an era where most countries still used cold weapons, as long as they didn't encounter the Jing Kingdom that had the omniscient view, after some training, with Heavenly Punishment, cannons, flintlocks, and all kinds of firearms, they could sweep through everything in their way …
Nanzhou, Linzhou, Yunzhou, Huazhou, and Tongzhou had fallen at the same time. The allied forces of the five provinces had suffered a crushing defeat in attacking Cangzhou. The governor of Nanzhou had died, and the allied forces had been absorbed by Princess Duanrong. From then on, the forces led by Princess Duanrong had already occupied six provinces in the northwest of the Wu Kingdom, becoming a well-deserved hegemon …
Once this news spread, it spread rapidly within the borders of the Wu Kingdom.
Fuzhou.
Fu Province was also located in the northwest of the Wu Kingdom, but unlike Nanzhou and other places, it wasn't under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
Several years ago, Emperor Wu had started a rebellion, killing his brother and father. After he ascended to the throne, the provincial governor of Fuzhou used the excuse that Emperor Wu had gone against the will of heaven to rebel against the Imperial Court. He called himself the "Prince of Kang". Because Fuzhou had the advantage of the terrain, it was easy to defend and hard to attack. In the past few years, the Imperial Court had tried to encircle and suppress them several times, but to no avail. They had taken advantage of this opportunity to expand and strengthen themselves. Right now, they were one of the top powers in the northwestern region of the Wu Kingdom.
Of course, he could only count to three now.
At this time, the former provincial governor of Fuzhou, the current "Prince of Kang", had lost his usual composure. He paced around the mansion until someone walked quickly into the hall. He immediately raised his head and asked anxiously, "Is there any mistake in the news? Did Princess Duanrong really seize five provinces and the allied forces of the five provinces were defeated?"
The young man who walked in nodded and said solemnly, "Your Highness, we still don't know the specifics. However, including Nanzhou, the flags of Princess Duanrong have indeed been hung in the capitals of the five provinces. According to the news, right after the allied forces of the five provinces led by the governor of Nanzhou left, the capitals of the five provinces were seized by someone on the same night and the government offices were taken over. We originally thought that it was the fisherman who reaped the benefits when the sandpiper and the clam fought. However, we didn't expect that both the sandpiper and the fisherman were actually Princess Duanrong's people!"
"Prince of Kang" was silent for a moment and asked again, "Rumor has it that Princess Duanrong has Tian Fa of the Jing Kingdom. Is this news true or false?"
"This news has not been confirmed yet …" The young man pondered for a moment and said slowly, "I only heard that when the allied forces of the five provinces were two li away from the capital of Cangzhou, a meteorite fell into the army camp. Its power was not weaker than Tian Fa of the Jing Kingdom. As a result, the allied forces suffered heavy casualties … And when they attacked the city, the thunderous roars could be clearly heard from more than ten li away …"
"Then it should be true …" Prince of Kang murmured.
"Could it be that Princess Duanrong has defected to the Jing Kingdom?" His face was filled with uncertainty. Fuzhou was not far from Nanzhou and other places. If they pushed forward, they would soon reach the city of Fuzhou.
He was confident that he could withstand the attack of the imperial court, but not the Jing Kingdom's Tian Fa …
Prince of Kang thought for a moment and revealed a worried expression. "Let's wait and see for now!"
Spiritual State.
The faces of the provincial governor of Spiritual State, the governor, and the important officials of the state were filled with fear.
"They really conquered five provinces!"
"Hurry! Send a message to the Capital!"
"Spiritual State is in danger!"
In a conquered province in the south of the Wu Kingdom.
A few famous rebellious kings had gathered together.
"Princess Duanrong is making a comeback?"
"Cangzhou, Nanzhou, Linzhou … They actually conquered six provinces!"
"If we wait until they grow up, won't they become obstacles on our path to greatness?"
…
The Wu Kingdom was already a pool of turbulent waters. What Princess Duanrong did in the northwest was like a huge stone thrown into the water, creating waves that could stir up the entire Wu Kingdom.
In the northwest, both the officials and the rebels were panicking. They were worried that they would become the next Nanzhou. In other places, their vigilance toward Princess Duanrong increased by several levels.
In the imperial study deep in the palace of the Capital.
Several eunuchs and palace maids knelt on the ground with their heads lowered, shivering.
The Force Emperor had smashed the imperial study into a mess. He had pushed down the bookshelves and overturned the tables and chairs, but he was still angry.
After kicking over several eunuchs and palace maids, he roared hoarsely with blood-red eyes, "Useless! All of you are useless! Five provinces can't conquer one Cangzhou! What's the use of raising these useless people?!"
His face was full of anger, but few people could see a trace of deep fear hidden behind the anger.
He picked up the overturned chair and sat on it, panting heavily. "Come …"
"Your Majesty!" A eunuch walked in from outside the palace and bowed slightly to the Force Emperor.
"Send an urgent message from eight hundred miles away. Inform all the relay stations that if they meet that female senior …" He let out a sigh and said, "Tell her that I already have news of that 'Xu Tian'. As long as she helps me kill Princess Duan Rong, I will tell her where Xu Tian is."
The eunuch looked up at the Force Emperor and said in a low voice, "But Your Majesty, we don't know where the person she's looking for is …"
"I'm the Emperor, the ruler of a country. She's also a citizen of the Wu Kingdom. What's wrong with me telling her to kill someone? Does she have the right to bargain with me?!"
Looking at the Force Emperor who had suddenly become furious, the eunuch lowered his head and said in a low voice, "As you command."
…
After Yangliuqing and the others seized these provinces, the officials of the Wu Kingdom near Nanzhou didn't make any moves. However, the major rebel forces in the area all sent people over to express their goodwill. They were afraid that Yangliuqing's next move would be to point their cannons at them.
In fact, this was completely unnecessary. They had just taken over such a large area and didn't even have enough time to govern and expand their organization. They didn't have the time to pay attention to them, and they didn't need to express their goodwill.
When the matter here was over and the six provinces, including Cangzhou, Nanzhou, were united, they didn't need to express their goodwill. Sooner or later, they would use cannons to blast open their city gates …
Of course, one wouldn't slap a smiling person. Even if they were enemies, they couldn't turn hostile at this time.
Wei Liang and the others even brought the envoys sent by the various forces to watch a military exercise. Tian Fa cannons were fired. It was said that when they saw the Red Barbarian Cannon blast two li away and raze a house to the ground, some people couldn't even stand properly on the spot …
If they didn't need to use force or cannon to blast open their city gates, it would naturally be best if they could take the initiative to surrender.
Ruyi had returned two days ago. They used the same method they used on the bandits in the Bedlam Lands to purge all the bandits in the five provinces. They didn't have to worry about the security of the five provinces in the future.
But after they left, they had to pay extra attention to the safety of Yangliuqing.
If something happened to her, then everything they had done before would be meaningless.
After a period of time, Ruyi would leave with him. Xu definitely wouldn't be willing to stay. She still had the experts from the Liu League by her side, and her own strength wasn't weak either. As long as the other party wasn't a Grandmaster, there wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Although the possibility of meeting a Grandmaster was too small, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Li Yi walked out of the courtyard and looked up at the sky.
How good would it be if a Grandmaster could fall from the sky and stay by her side to protect her?
In a certain province of the Wu Kingdom, an old man with white hair and beard was riding on a horse. There was a faint trace of worry on his face.
He clamped the horse's belly tightly and shook the reins. There was only a trail of smoke left on the official road.
The smoke was pointing in the direction of Cangzhou!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
