Loan Wusheng

Chapter 223: The army splits into three groups to assassinate the Prince of Jin!

The death of Prince Li Xun of Qin sparked unbridled celebration among the people of the capital.

The people rushed to collect Li Xun's oil and even his charred ashes, wanting to take them back as offerings to the departed souls of the dead.

As for Li Xun's golden and jade skeleton, Zheng Jun sent people to collect it.

This thing is quite different.

In fact, Li Xun's flesh and blood were quite useful, after all, they were the flesh and blood of a Yuan Dan Martial Saint, which could even improve the cultivation of demons and monsters. Zheng Jun, on the other hand, was now rich and powerful, and simply burning them was already an extremely extravagant waste.

After all, even if Li Xun's flesh and blood were chopped into minced meat and used as fertilizer, it could still cultivate several spiritual herbs and elixirs full of spiritual energy.

However, for Zheng Jun, these things were just a drop in the ocean; it would be better to use them to let the people of Shenjing know about the benevolence of the King of Han.

Previously, Zheng Jun did not think these actions were of any use.

After all, in a world of high martial arts, even if the emperor is a tyrant, as long as he has the cultivation of the Dharma Aspect, who can shake his rule?

But now, Zheng Jun knows.

To unite the Dharma image of the 'Lord of the World' requires the power of all people.

If it does not gain the faith of the people, it may fail to condense the Dharma image.

Of course, once the Dharma form is condensed, you can do whatever you want.

The construction of the 'Altar of the State' is a one-time event; it is only used when the altar is being built, and it is practically useless at other times.

For example, Emperor Shenwu of the Great Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed his sons and descendants, and the royal family lived a life of extravagance and indulgence, doing whatever they wanted, with the whole world supporting Emperor Shenwu alone.

Bozhou is alright, because it is located behind Yunzhou, so it is somewhat restrained.

In Jinzhou, Pengzhou, and even Jiangzhou and Jiazhou, gentry and officials colluded, and the people lived in dire straits. Even if some people rose up to resist injustice, they would be suppressed by powerful cultivators, leaving them no room for resistance.

The golden jade skeleton was the embodiment of Li Xun's cultivation. Although it was rather disgusting, it was still a valuable material for refining weapons. If given to a master craftsman, it might just become a magical artifact.

While the human bones were indeed imbued with demonic energy, Zheng Jun did not reject such a situation.

As long as it's not indiscriminate killing and is beneficial to oneself, demonic methods can also be used.

"Although I can acquire the Dharma form in advance through advance payment, I still have to repay it..."

Zheng Jun thought to himself, "So, it's still good to maintain the support of the people of Shenjing as much as possible. When it comes to advance payments, we can directly waive a repayment requirement."

Emperor Jinglong has now moved to this capital city and is indulging in a life of debauchery, so Zheng Jun doesn't want to pay him any attention.

After all, it's just a facade; what can a puppet emperor say?
However, Emperor Jinglong's temporary residence was not in the imperial city.

The imperial city was rightfully occupied by Zheng Jun.

Emperor Jinglong was moved to the Eastern Palace.

Nothing to say.

After all, Emperor Jinglong had recognized the Chancellor and the Prince of Han as his adoptive fathers, so it was no problem for Emperor Jinglong to move into the Eastern Palace and for the Chancellor to take charge of the Imperial City.

All of this conforms to the rites of Zhou.

Of course, opposition from some people is ineffective.

If you're so capable, drive Zheng Jun out of the capital.

The entire palace, which had been extensively damaged by Li Xun, was completely restored within six or seven days, without any flaws, and still looked as magnificent as ever.

The reason why the repairs could be completed in six or seven days was entirely due to the martial arts masters in the city who had mastered the Dao.

When a martial artist with profound spiritual energy personally takes charge of a large-scale construction project, using their abundant true energy to assist in the repair of the palace, the speed is naturally extremely fast.

In particular, the surrendered generals of Shenjing, led by Zhou Tong, did their utmost to prevent any part of the imperial city from being poorly repaired, which would enrage the prime minister.

These seven former generals from Shenjing were well aware of their current status and position.

Since they opened the city gates and welcomed Li Xun into the city, their status has changed from 'pillars of the state' to 'sycophantic officials who have gained favor', not to mention that he later opened the gates for Zheng Jun as well.

In the eyes of the world, he was the most treacherous of all, the most sycophantic of all.

Their act of opening the city gates a second time also destined them to never hold high positions in the new dynasty.

So, they might as well go all the way and serve the Prime Minister well. Perhaps in the future, when the family line is passed down, a wise descendant will emerge, bringing a good reputation and helping them clear their name.

After the wicked and treacherous, there is no shortage of loyal ministers; after the loyal ministers, there is no shortage of wicked and treacherous ministers.

However, this was not a big deal for Zheng Jun.

Now, Zheng Jun sits upright in his palace in the imperial city, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light, as he consumes a demon core and comprehends the 'Wildfire Hundred Splits' technique.

Li Xun left in a hurry. Although he took away a lot of good things from the capital city and then gave them all to the Prince of Jin in Haodu, the capital city was the accumulation of the Great Zhou Dynasty over eight hundred years. Even though Li Xun took most of it, there were still many things left behind.

Among them, demon cores are the most important.

Among them were even four demon cores belonging to demon kings at the Yuan Dan realm!

These four demon cores all have names and surnames.

The first one was the demon core of the Crimson-Bearded Dragon King, who occupied the Jiaodong sea area, devouring passing merchant ships and plundering the coast, causing Jiaodong Prefecture to suffer from "the cessation of fish and salt, and the starvation of thousands of people." More than four hundred years ago, the navy failed to suppress the dragon and suffered a great defeat, which angered the Divine Martial Emperor. The Divine Martial Emperor personally took action to suppress and kill the dragon.

The second core was the demon core of the Nether Spider King. It lurked deep in the mountains of Sichuan, using its spider silk to parasitize the mountain people and create a 'living plague,' intending to sacrifice millions of lives in Sichuan to reach the Great Sage realm and condense the 'Plague Calamity' Dharma form. Seven hundred years ago, the Divine Martial Emperor discovered its existence and personally went to Sichuan to slay it.

The third one is the demon core of the Heavenly Wolf Demon King, a demon king worshipped by the Western Di. Three hundred years ago, he went south and was killed by several Yuan Dan generals. His demon core was then presented to the royal family.

The last one is the inner core of a white crane demon king. This demon core is also the oldest one left here, which is over nine hundred years old. Its symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance. This demon core was the national guardian beast of the Yu Dynasty that Emperor Shenwu killed when he conquered Shenjing and destroyed the Yu Dynasty royal family.

These four demon cores contain a great deal of spiritual energy. Although the most recent one is over three hundred years old, the spiritual energy of these four demon cores should not be underestimated.

Now that Zheng Jun has obtained so many demon cores, he naturally won't just leave them unattended. Instead, he plans to eat them all to his heart's content and digest them all.

A fresh demon core from the Deer Demon King was enough to allow Zheng Jun to advance from the half-step Yuan Dan realm to the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm. Now, these four old demon cores will naturally allow Zheng Jun to make even greater progress and condense his Yuan Dan even more effectively.

At the very least, it can completely solidify the Yuan Dan and thoroughly perfect the realm of 'shaping'.

The Yuan Dan realm has three levels: Form Creation, Qi Creation, and Transformation.

These three are actually quite similar in power.

The shaping refers to the form of the Yuan Dan. Once the shaping is complete, it signifies that the Yuan Dan is fully formed.

Creating Qi, on the other hand, is the formal beginning of refining the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Creation, on the other hand, is a sign of the Yuan Dan being perfected. Martial artists who reach this level can be called the peak of the Yuan Dan realm and can attempt to condense the Dharma Aspect realm.

Generally speaking, a peak Yuan Dan cultivator is still superior to a Martial Saint who has just entered the Yuan Dan realm, but this difference is not due to their cultivation level.

The differences between these three are extremely subtle.

The reason why a peak Yuan Dan cultivator is stronger than a beginner Yuan Dan cultivator is that a peak Yuan Dan cultivator has been in the Yuan Dan realm for hundreds of years. Their mastery of the world and their ability to operate supernatural powers are stronger than those of ordinary Yuan Dan cultivators. Naturally, there will be a difference between the two.

However, if a martial artist who has just entered the Yuan Dan realm also has a strong grasp of the world and powerful supernatural abilities, then he can fight on equal footing with a martial saint at the peak of the Yuan Dan realm, or even be better.

Ultimately, at the level of Martial Saint, further advancement in one's realm is merely a process of condensing one's Dharma form.

"If these four demon cores are taken together, it will take at least half a year to refine them."

Zheng Jun frowned. For him, consuming these four demon cores at the Yuan Dan realm was taking far too long.

He now faces a formidable enemy.

I don't have that much time to shut myself away.

Unless one is willing to let this golden opportunity slip by.

Just after Zheng Jun finished his training session, a eunuch seized the opportunity and hurried to Zheng Jun's side, bowing and saying, "Prime Minister, Generals Pingnan and Pingdong have sent military reports for your perusal."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun immediately nodded, stretched out his hand, and with a surge of true energy, instantly absorbed the military report into his hand.

The eunuch was immediately taken aback.

According to previous tradition, it was this eunuch who read it to the emperor.

How could the Prime Minister...

The eunuch felt a chill run down his spine, but dared not say a word. He simply prostrated himself on the magnificent golden floor, waiting for good news.

Zheng Jun looked at the two military reports and couldn't help but smile.

The General Who Pacifies the South is naturally Xu Shimao.

When Zheng Jun went on his previous expedition, he appointed Xu Shimao as the General Who Pacifies the South, leading 100,000 troops south to attack the three strategic passes of Luoshui Pass, Duanhong Pass, and Nanping Pass. Now, military reports have been sent back.

Luoshui Pass and Nanping Pass were both former troops of the King of Qin. Upon hearing that the King of Qin was dead and Zheng Jun had won a great victory, he had no intention of avenging the King of Qin and surrendered without a fight.

Only at Duanhong Pass did they choose death over surrender.

Xu Shimao then channeled his anger into attacking Duanhong Pass, and within ten days, he had captured this formidable pass.

Of course, besides Xu Shimao's thorough understanding of military strategy and skill in using troops, there was also the fact that Duanhong Pass was isolated and without support, and the lack of supplies caused the soldiers to lose their will to fight. But in the end, being able to subdue Luoshui Pass, Duanhong Pass, and Nanping Pass in just over ten days was a great achievement.

Meanwhile, General Shan Xiongyi, who only attacked Xuanyong Pass, also reported a victory. Xuanyong Pass surrendered after only two probing attacks.

As for General Xu Hou of Pingbei, things have been rather bumpy, and no military reports have been sent back yet.

However, the difficulty level is different, which Zheng Jun can understand.

According to reliable sources, one of the Iron Wall Passes and the other of the Cloud Roar Passes surrendered to the Prince of Jin, while the other surrendered to the Prince of Zhao. Both of them have strong backing, so it is normal that Xu Hou cannot take these two passes in a short time.

"But that makes things a bit busy."

Zheng Jun let out a breath, thinking to himself, "Previously, King Zhao was hesitant to target me because of King Qin's reputation. Now that King Qin is dead and King Jin has returned, King Zhao is probably starting to make moves... However, according to the information I received from Li Xun, King Jin seems to have not yet arrived in Guanzhong and is still on his way back west."

"If we can intercept and kill the Prince of Jin on his way back west, we might be able to take over Guanzhong without lifting a finger."

Zheng Jun thought to himself.

This is indeed a method.

The people of Guanzhong simply did not welcome Prince Qin, Li Xun, and it just so happened that Prince Jin, Li Shen, arrived at this time, so they supported Li Shen as their ruler.

If Li Shen dies, then Guanzhong will be helpless.

There were reasons why Guanzhong rejected Li Xun and did not choose him.

Emperor Shenwu was, after all, from Guanzhong. To the powerful clans of Guanzhong, the Li family was indeed their 'father and fellow villagers,' and Emperor Shenwu's offspring was naturally their first choice to support.

The King of Qin is tyrannical, so let's replace him with the King of Jin. Zheng Jun?

They were just lowly officials from the remote mountains of Bozhou. Unless they had no other choice, they would never choose Zheng Jun.

Zheng Jun understood this principle very well.

After all, the powerful clans in Guanzhong were all beneficiaries of the Zhou Dynasty, so they naturally favored the Li family princes.

The common people in Guanzhong were indifferent to the rulers.

Although Guanzhong was the birthplace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, what did that have to do with the common people? They were still exploited.

For them, who becomes emperor doesn't affect how they live their lives tomorrow.

"Whoo~"

Zheng Jun exhaled and sneered softly, "If that's the case, I'll kill you all until you recognize these lords and tremble with fear. I'll wipe out all of you powerful clans, and then I can take over!"

Upon realizing this, Zheng Jun immediately stood up, exited his meditative state, and said, "Issue the imperial edict."

"promise."

The eunuch kneeling on the ground immediately bowed his head, while the attendants on either side also pricked up their ears to listen, preparing to draft the edict.

Issuing an imperial edict is a symbol of the emperor.

Although Zheng Jun had not yet declared himself emperor, none of the people present were foolish enough to jump out and accuse him of deceiving the emperor and showing no respect for his father.

After all, he was the adoptive father of the current Jinglong Emperor.

Zheng Jun said, "I hereby order all cavalry units to enter the capital, with Dugu Yuan, Dugu Jing, and Wei Quan as deputy generals, to accompany me out of Langu Pass and attack Longzhou!"

"An edict is issued to all the troops in the land, dividing them into three routes. Xu Shimao is appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, leading 150,000 troops from the Cangdao Army and various prefectures. He will march out from Langu Pass to attack Weichuan Prefecture and Zhongnan Prefecture. Shan Xiongyi is appointed as the commander of the second route, leading 100,000 troops from the Xiaoguo Army and various prefectures to attack Xiaolong Prefecture and Qifeng Prefecture. Xu Hou is appointed as the commander of the third route, launching a fierce attack on Tiebi Pass and marching out from Tiebi Pass to attack Jinsuo Prefecture!"

Zheng Jun is going to take another risk.

All three armies marched out together, while he himself led all his cavalry, about 20,000 riders, to Longzhou to ambush and kill the Prince of Jin!

Longzhou is not large, consisting of only five prefectures.

It was once part of the Guanzhong Plain, but was later separated into a separate state, with the two large prefectures divided into five smaller prefectures to form the state.

There aren't many Qi Opening Martial Artists in Longzhou, but there is a Yuan Dan Martial Saint in charge, namely Zhao Wei, the patriarch of the Zhao family!

This man was a Confucian scholar from a poor family. After reaching adulthood, he began to travel and study. He first studied under the princes of the Qi state, but was ostracized by the Confucian scholars. Later, he went to the territories of the Kings of Yan and Zhao, but was not valued. In the 673rd year of Emperor Shenwu's reign, he was recommended by the Duke of Yue, but Emperor Shenwu did not appoint him.

Later, he took the initiative to deliver the "Strategy for Pacifying the Barbarians" to the palace, and was then summoned for an audience. As a result, Emperor Shenwu appointed him as a court official, and he was promoted four times within a year, thus becoming prominent.

Because of his prominent official position, he also gained access to spiritual practice.

But unexpectedly, this ancestor, who came from a Confucian background, was also a genius in cultivation. In just two hundred years, he cultivated to the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Longyou, where he was stationed in Longzhou. From then on, he kept a low profile and did not show off.

Until recently, Zheng Jun issued an imperial edict, bestowing upon him the title of Prince Qing, hoping to attract his attention.

However, there was no word from this person; they neither refused nor agreed, which was quite puzzling.

Similarly, there was Li Hun, the governor of Liangzhou.

Zheng Jun could understand why this situation occurred.

It's nothing more than sitting back and watching the outcome unfold.

After all, Zheng Jun had captured the King of Qin and the capital.

In Guanzhong and Zhili, the core area of ​​the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were still two powerful competitors: the King of Zhao and the King of Jin.

"promise!"

Upon receiving Zheng Jun's order, the court was shaken, and officials rushed to issue edicts, preparing to launch an attack on the entire country.

"Wait a moment."

Just then, Zheng Jun suddenly said, "Let Zhou Tong, Bai Ruiyuan, Wu Li, Pang Fusheng, Zhuang Kang, Zhang Zhen, Liu Su and other seven generals accompany me on the expedition. Order Liang Xun to be transferred immediately to serve as the prefect of Kangle County in Bozhou. Summon Yan Cunzhen back to serve as the garrison commander of Luoshui Pass."

Zhou Tong and the other seven generals were all martial artists who had reached the Qi Refining stage, and they were the ones who opened the gates of Shenjing.

Just now, Zheng Jun suddenly realized something.

If we leave them in Shenjing, they might be sold off by Shenjing at any time.

Let's take them all.

After all, they are all martial artists who have reached the Qi Refining stage. As long as I have the upper hand, they will do their best. If the two sides are evenly matched, they will not dare to make any rash moves with me around.

Being at a disadvantage... then there's no need for them anymore; Zheng Jun himself has already lost.

Their absence from the capital city is even more important.

Liang Xun, on the other hand, was the skilled general who had struck Qin King Li Xun with a knife that day. He came from the powerful Liang clan of Guanzhong.

The powerful clans of Guanzhong are now collectively rejecting the King of Qin. If Liang Xun stays here, who knows what might happen to him?

So Zheng Jun simply decided to ignore it and sent him to Kang Le in Bozhou as the prefect.

Even if he wanted to cause trouble, there was a whole Lanzhou separating Kang Le County and Shenjing, so he couldn't reach them.

As for Yan Cunzhen, he could be transferred to Luoshui as a garrison commander to guard the most important pass and defend against Pingzhou and Chuzhou in the south.

"promise!"

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's instructions, the eunuch immediately went to deliver the imperial edict.

After the imperial edict was delivered, Zheng Jun breathed a sigh of relief.

Before long, his family members will also move to this capital city and join him in the harem.

It's time to have an heir.

Only in this way can people's hearts be at ease.

Otherwise, those who follow their vested interest groups will also feel uneasy.

After all, strictly speaking, Zheng Jun's heir is the baby in his sister's arms, who is not yet due to give birth, but it will be soon.

Although he had a good relationship with his sister and brother-in-law's family, Zheng Jun did not want to be Guo Wei and passed the position to his nephew.

However, he's better than Guo Wei. Chai Rong is Guo Wei's empress's nephew, so at least he has some connection...

Zheng Jun let out a breath, sat back down, closed his eyes, casually stuffed two demon cores at the Tongqiao Realm level into his mouth, and began to continue cultivating.

"..."

Five days later, at the drill ground in the western suburbs of Shenjing.

Before the autumn morning mist had completely dissipated, 20,000 iron cavalrymen were already arrayed in formation.

The wolf-head banners of the Xianbei cavalry and the red banners with Chinese characters of the Central Plains cavalry fluttered in the wind, and the white breaths exhaled by the warhorses blended together, as if veiling the army formation with layers of gauze.

Zheng Jun sat high on the command platform, wearing a black light armor over his python robe. The Longyuan sword at his waist was not drawn, yet it caused the surrounding air to distort slightly.

The Martial Saint of Yuan Dan, his aura is imposing even without anger!
His gaze swept over the generals below the stage: Dugu Yuan and Dugu Jing, uncle and nephew, were covered in frost-covered armor; Wei Quan stood with his hand on his sword; and Zhou Tong and the other seven surrendered generals stood at the end of the line with different expressions.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister!"

Dugu Yuan stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said with a clang of his iron armor: "Nine thousand four thousand three hundred and twenty-three Xianbei cavalrymen and six thousand four hundred and eighty-three Central Plains cavalrymen are all ready! Each man is provided with fifteen days' worth of dry rations and sixty arrows. In addition, two thousand auxiliary cavalrymen have brought blood-nourishing pills!"

Zheng Jun nodded slightly.

Although these Xianbei cavalrymen were contemptuously called "barbarians" by the soldiers of the Central Plains, their skill in horsemanship and archery was indeed unparalleled among all armies.

The Xianbei cavalry were indeed a major component of Zheng Jun's cavalry force.

There's nothing we can do...

Neither Lanzhou nor Bozhou produces horses.

The horses were mostly from Suzhou and Yunzhou. Their own side didn't even have the 20,000 cavalry Zheng Jun had predicted. Even including the auxiliary cavalry, they only had a little over 18,000 cavalry.

That's acceptable.

"Wei Quan".

Zheng Jun suddenly spoke up: "You will lead three thousand cavalry as the vanguard, galloping swiftly along the Baiyu River to Hanya Ferry. If you encounter scouts from the Prince of Jin, leave no one alive."

"The last general takes command!"

A fierce glint flashed in Wei Quan's eyes.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun immediately nodded and then said, "The Prince of Jin was entrusted with a great responsibility by the late Emperor, holding the imperial insignia to guard the Western Regions, commanding 100,000 elite troops, and protecting our vast land! However, he secretly mobilized the three armies and left the border without authorization, causing the Jade Gate to fall and the Yangguan Pass to be opened. The barbarian cavalry swept across, plundering our people; the Qiang flute played mournful tunes, weeping for our lonely city!"

"By imperial decree, Your Majesty, we will launch a western campaign against the rebellious Jin dynasty, and the ennoblement and appointment of generals and marquises will take place today!"

Zheng Jun's voice was imbued with true energy, making it powerful enough for tens of thousands of cavalry to hear. The soldiers' faces flushed red, as if they could already imagine the scene of the battle.

What they were after was certainly not some damned Western Regions.

The Western Regions were lost, so what? What does it have to do with them?
What they're after is the chance to be ennobled and appointed as generals!
Only through war could they achieve upward social mobility. They had expected a major battle when they attacked the capital, but the outcome was so easy, which naturally made them extremely frustrated!
"Attack Jin for its rebellion! Attack Jin for its rebellion!"

"..."

The soldiers shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Immediately, Zheng Jun gave the order, and the entire army set out, with the cavalry advancing!
Zheng Jun was among them, but this time he didn't come in a carriage; he rode along with everyone else.

Shortly after Zheng Jun left the city, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

Yu Shen rode up on horseback and, upon reaching Zheng Jun, said, "Prime Minister, urgent news! Commander Chen's spy from Longzhou has sent a message by hawk: Prince Jin camped in Jincheng County last night!"

"Have we arrived in Jincheng County?"

Zheng Jun was somewhat surprised to see this. He nodded, but Yu Shen continued, "Prime Minister, there is another important matter."

"Ok?"

Zheng Jun asked, "What is it?"

Yu Shen immediately presented a secret letter: "Please take a look at it yourself."

Upon seeing this, Zheng Jun frowned, took the secret letter, and stared at it intently, immediately feeling somewhat taken aback.

Only one thing was written above.

Emperor Yongchang has returned like lightning!
He has already led 30,000 naval troops to land in Jiaodong County, and like a divine army descending from the sky, he has crushed the unsuspecting Jiaodong bandit Qin Cunhai!
(End of this chapter)