In Xinjing Gaoyang, the news of the fall of Wuguan City spread throughout the city at the first time.
With the Tiger Guards' victory over the Yi Kingdom in the front and the vanguard general Xu Hao's breakthrough into Wuguan Pass in the back, Emperor Kong Qi was extremely happy. He ordered the cancellation of the curfew and the ban on alcohol for seven days and the whole city was decorated with lights and lanterns.
Deep in the night, Gaoyang's long streets and flower alleys were still brightly lit, with painted boats and pavilions passing along the river in the city. Suddenly, it seemed as if the Great Zhou had returned to its heyday, with singing and dancing, and the originally restless people's hearts suddenly calmed down.
During the grand court meeting, Emperor Kong Qi sat high above, and the eunuch beside him held the imperial edict and read it aloud. The content of the imperial edict was basically commendation and rewards for the combat soldiers of the imperial guards, especially the vanguard general Xu Hao, who was listed high at the first place.
After the imperial edict is issued, the inner treasury will quickly allocate a series of rewards such as silver, skills, elixirs, and land to inform the front. Some will be sent directly to the soldiers' parents, wives, and children, while others will be sent directly to the fighting soldiers by magic ships to motivate them.
All the civil and military officials in the court congratulated the emperor, and Emperor Kong Qi's face also turned red. After all, this was one of the rare great victories since he ascended the throne.
However, at this time, the Prime Minister of Great Zhou came up. Unlike the civil and military ministers who were laughing and congratulating each other, he showed a worried look on his face: "Your Majesty, the battles on the front line have been victorious one after another. I shouldn't talk about this matter, but I have to say it."
The emperor gave a direct order: "Prime Minister, please speak frankly!"
After paying his respects, the old prime minister said, "The battle at Wuguan was a river of blood!"
"I heard that the entire Wuguan area within a radius of dozens of miles was reduced to ruins, and the entire Wuguan city was covered in scorched earth. Everything within sight was burned to ashes."
"The 50,000 soldiers guarding Wuguan were slaughtered without a single one left. If Xu Hao attacks the three counties of Shaozhou or even Yongzhou, I cannot imagine what the situation will be like."
As soon as the old prime minister said this, the emperor's expression became solemn. Shaozhou and Yongzhou were no different from other counties. Both the people of these two states and the Zhenwu Army had long been regarded by the emperor as capital for his own turnaround.
According to the fighting style of General Xu Hao of Jiutianshatong, in one battle, Wuguan was turned into a scorched earth for a hundred miles without any grass growing, and 50,000 soldiers were slaughtered overnight without leaving a single one alive. The emperor was shocked and surprised by the news of the great victory, but he also felt that if Xu Hao was allowed to continue fighting, only a few people would be left in Shaozhou and Zhenwu Army.
The murderous aura of this killer is too strong and difficult to control. Once it gets out of control, it is hard to tell whether it will hurt others or itself.
This did not conform to the plans of the emperor and the Zhou court. According to Emperor Kong Qi's idea, the Zhenwu Army should be forced to surrender, and then Dingjun Hou Wu Heng would be captured.
After taking down important passes like Wuguan, there were no important towns or passes in the three counties of Shaozhou. The Zhenwu Army was stationed at the edge of Shao and Yong, in Tianque County at the entrance of the Ten Thousand Mountains in the south, which was the area of Tianque City in the past. There was a corner of the ancient heavenly palace that had fallen there, and it is still a forbidden area and dead zone in Dongzhou, attracting countless practitioners to gather here. The Demon Sect and the Taoist Sect had fierce conflicts here many times, and the practitioners of various major sects had fought countless times for the resources that flowed out of the Tianque ruins.
However, some time ago, four scattered immortals and a jinx from Zhenxian Temple came to Tianque City, which caused a melee among cultivators and the heavenly soldiers and corpses of gods rushed out from the Tianque ruins, destroying the thousand-year-old Tianque City. The corpse god roared, the demon lord roared, and the four scattered immortals and a jinx trapped the Demon Sect and the Taoist Sect so badly that many ancestors are still looking for their traces everywhere.
The emperor immediately fell into deep thought, thinking that this General Jiutian Shatong might be a sharp weapon for fighting some tough battles, but he was not very suitable for the Battle of Shaozhou. Perhaps he should use an experienced general to take it step by step and make steady progress.
Although the prime minister lowered his head, he was observing the emperor's movements and expressions. When he saw the emperor's face change slightly, he knew that he had persuaded the young emperor: "General Xu Hao is a killing star sent from heaven. If used well, he can be a sharp knife, but it also depends on the situation."
The emperor nodded and asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"Wuguan has been taken. I think we can transfer Xu Hao to lead the army to Changjun to assist the Tiger Guards in taking down the armies of Zhongyun, Mengze, and Xuguo in Yiguo first."
"The Imperial Army Marquis personally led the army to suppress the rebellion and recover the three counties of Shaozhou."
"But everything is up to your majesty. I will obey your majesty in everything."
The emperor thought the prime minister's words were right, but he did not agree to it on the spot at the court meeting. Instead, he discussed the matter in detail with the prime minister and several nine ministers in the imperial study after the court meeting.
On the second day, the imperial edict arrived at Wuguan along with the rewards. The emperor first rewarded Xu Hao and the vanguard soldiers of the imperial guards heavily, and then the second imperial edict transferred the vanguard general Xu Hao from Shaozhou to Changjun.
The subsequent battle of Shaozhou was led by the military marquises and commanders of the imperial guards. The emperor even planned that after taking Shaozhou, he would personally go to Yongzhou to persuade the soldiers of Yongzhou to surrender. He not only wanted to recapture the 100,000 soldiers of the Zhenwu Army, but also to capture the rebel general Wu Heng, Marquis of Dingjun.
Although he is the emperor, he is also one of the Kangjin Dragons, one of the twenty-eight constellations. Let alone commanding a large army, he is not afraid even if he is a general.
The Dragon Court of the Great Zhou Dynasty had been suppressed for too long. Emperor Kong Qi needed to take over the Zhenwu Army and the two states of Shaozhou and Yongzhou, as well as the head of the rebel general Dingjun Hou Wuheng to establish his authority and at the same time announce to the world that the Great Zhou Dynasty was not over yet.
And he, Kong Qi, is still the emperor of the Great Zhou and the common ruler of all human beings in the world.
Whether it was the battle of Changjun, Tengjun, or Shaozhou, the army of Longting of the Great Zhou Dynasty was advancing step by step, and victory reports came one after another and were continuously sent to the capital, which was a proud moment.
Many aristocratic families who had originally been pessimistic about the Longting of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the royal Kong family suddenly felt that the Great Zhou Dynasty might be able to change its destiny.
As the commander of the imperial guards led the army to attack all parts of Shaozhou, cities, counties and prefecture towns were continuously captured. The territory controlled by the Longting of the Great Zhou Dynasty shrunk from its original size of Gaozhou to only have one place left. It continued to expand rapidly outward and almost occupied the entire south.
As for Yongzhou's Zhenwu Army and Dingjun Hou, as well as the Southern Demon Sect, it seemed that they had hardly made any moves. They were beaten by the Longting of the Great Zhou Dynasty without any ability to fight back, as if they were forced into a desperate situation.
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In Gaoyang City, a clear and winding river flows through the new capital full of flowers. There are many houses on both sides of the river, and the newly built imperial palace is visible in the distance.
On top of a brothel on Red Street, next to the red-tiled roof and eaves, sat a young man and a young girl, with delicate and lively faces, looking like fairies that had walked down from heaven.
The young man was wearing a blue shirt with white sleeves. He was not tall, even shorter than the girl. At this moment, he was gazing at the Great Zhou Palace from afar, looking at the dragon pillar that soared into the sky and connected the earth, and the roaring golden dragon.
As the Dragon Court of the Great Zhou won a series of victories, the Dragon Pillar of Luck became stronger.
The girl put her hands on her eyes, bent down and looked towards the palace, and asked: "Xurishu! Who do you think ranks first among the twenty-eight constellations?"
"Is it Kang Jinlong?"
The boy immediately said, "Rat ranks first!"
The girl didn't think so: "Hey! Logically speaking, shouldn't the dragon be ranked first? Dragons are so powerful and majestic!"
The boy looked a little annoyed: "Humph! Wait a few days and you will know who ranks first."