Loan Wusheng

Chapter 235 Destroy Murong, Kou can go, so can I!

It was September, the autumn wind was fierce, and it was the time when the grass was yellow and the horses were fat in the west.

With almost no preparation required, a dozen days later, the Cangdao Army, Xiaoguo Army, and Longwu Guard led their troops northward and surged towards Suzhou.

The Cangdao Army and Xiaoguo Army each number 50,000, and the Longwu Guard has 30,000, making a combined force of 130,000, with their spearhead aimed directly at Murong Lang, the pseudo-Yan emperor who occupies Yunzhong County.

This period of time has really worn Zheng Jun out.

On a whim, he decided to take advantage of this break to handle some state affairs and experience what it's like to be an emperor.

To Zheng Jun's utter surprise, he had only occupied a quarter of the original area of ​​the Great Zhou, yet he had so many miscellaneous affairs and government matters to attend to, which truly left Zheng Jun feeling somewhat helpless.

After dealing with the situation for a few days, Zheng Jun resumed his original method of reducing pressure, allowing the cabinet to assist in governing. The six members of the cabinet would handle matters together, and Zheng Jun would only personally intervene if the six members could not reach an agreement on a certain matter, resulting in a three-on-three situation, or if it was a major issue.

Zheng Jun himself went to the harem to tend to the flowers and plants.

After a few days of rest in the palace, the army was fully assembled, and Zheng Jun immediately led his troops north to attack Suzhou.

With a large army gathered, Zheng Jun led 130,000 troops on this expedition, but he only had three generals by his side: Wei Quan, who was at the initial stage of the Tongqiao realm; Zhou Tong, who was at the third stage of the Tongqiao realm; and Liang Rui, who was at the fourth stage of the Tongqiao realm.

The primary objective of this battle is to eliminate the Murong regime, which is entrenched in Yunzhong.

Of course, the Han army didn't take this regime seriously at all.

After all, the entire Murong Yan Kingdom only has two Tongqiao martial artists from top to bottom.

One was the so-called false emperor of Yan, Murong Lang, who was proficient in all four realms.

The other is Mount Xubu, which was sent by the Western Di to provide assistance, and it is a place with three realms of spiritual energy.

Xubu Shuoshan was the Xubu King of the Western Di Xubu tribe, who led 20,000 followers to assist the pseudo-Yan emperor.

With such strength, let alone Zheng Jun's elite troops, even Xu Shimao could easily wipe them out.

The difficulty lies in facing the Western Di Great Chanyu after annihilating them.

The Great Chanyu and the High Priest of the Western Di are now on opposite sides, surrounding Yunzhong County. If anyone were to conquer the Murong Yan Kingdom, they would be immediately surrounded by the Western Di.

The Western Di saw Murong Lang as a trap; anyone who wanted to kill Murong Yan would be attacked from both sides by the Western Di.

This is also why Xu Shimao has been hesitant to take action.

But Zheng Jun didn't care, and neither did the Han army.

Come and fight if you dare.

Let's see who is stronger, His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty or you, the Great Chanyu of the Western Barbarians.

That night, the Han army arrived at Jiuquan and set up camp.

Wang Shuanzi, who was only a "Dutou" when he was allocated land in Lanzhou, was also promoted to "Zuo Jiang Yuhou" for his merits after the Battle of Guanzhong.

The only difference is that he used to be the captain of the Cangdao Army, and now he is the left general of the Longwu Guard.

The duties of the Left General Yuhou are similar to those of the Captain, but it is a special official position in the Imperial Guard, and therefore belongs to the Longwu Guard sequence.

Now commanding five hundred men, in order to ensure that the Dragon Guard wasn't just a bunch of nobility's sons who were all showy but ineffective, two hundred of Wang Shuanzi's five hundred men were veterans who had seen blood, while only three hundred were sons of various powerful families who had been brought in, each one filled with anticipation for war.

Wang Shuanzi never imagined that he, a man born a serf, would have such great fortune, be able to accumulate Qi cultivation, and become the Left General Yuhou who commands five hundred men. It was truly extremely comfortable.

In order not to lose face for his family, Wang Shuanzi spent money to have someone give him a new name, Wang Shuan. Of course, this was just a formal name for recording merits; in private, he was still more used to his colleagues calling him Shuanzi.

Besides him, many junior officers from poor backgrounds in the army also changed their names: after all, if they were to make great contributions and be ennobled as marquises or earls, it would be unpleasant for His Majesty's imperial edict to write names such as "Li Gou Dan" or "Wang Shuanzi," and it would also be unseemly for them to be remembered in history.

In the last few days of September, Wang Shuanzi's Left Front Army had their meals served early, with abundant ingredients. The grain officer even distributed a sufficient amount of monster meat soup, spiritual vegetables, and wine!
This is indeed somewhat interesting to everyone.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited in the army, but today, with food and drink being distributed, the soldiers acted with impunity.

The alcohol was quite potent, and after a few sips, the soldiers' morale gradually rose. They weren't stupid, and naturally knew that a battle was about to begin. They were all in high spirits and immediately started chatting.

"Lord Wang! I've heard that you were one of His Majesty's former subordinates in Bozhou. You must have met His Majesty before, right?"

Several new recruits of the Longwu Guard, who came from powerful families in Zhili, looked at Wang Shuanzi and asked him this question with great curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuanzi straightened his chest: after all, he had followed His Majesty since he started his career in Bozhou, which was undoubtedly the most important experience in his life.

But when he heard the second half of the sentence, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

In Bozhou, he was just a menial soldier and didn't participate in much combat.

By the time they had developed into regular soldiers of the Cangdao Army, the army had already rapidly expanded to 50,000 men, making it difficult to even see Zheng Jun; they had only caught glimpses of him from afar a few times…

However, he naturally wouldn't bring it up, otherwise wouldn't he look intimidated in front of these new recruits from distinguished families?
Wang Shuanzi immediately coughed a few times and made up a story: "I've seen it! Of course I've seen it! When His Majesty was the governor of Kang Le County, I saw him rewarding the troops several times! I even drank the imperial wine bestowed by His Majesty..."

Upon hearing this, everyone was amazed and pressed for details.

Seeing this, Wang Shuanzi did not show any fear. He began to recount, based on what he had seen and heard back then, the deeds of the current emperor in Bozhou in slaying demons and helping the weak and poor.

The audience listened with rapt attention.

After the storytelling session ended, the soldiers' emotions were pulled back to reality. One new recruit asked worriedly, "What are we going to do to fight the Yan Kingdom this time? Can we win?"

Upon hearing this, one of the knowledgeable soldiers couldn't help but scoff: "Are you out of your mind? What use is that damned Yan Kingdom? His Majesty has already pacified the King of Zhao, the King of Qin, and the King of Jin of the Great Zhou Dynasty. What can't this unknown barbarian Yan Kingdom do?"

"Too."

"..."

The soldiers were full of confidence for the battle. After a night of daydreaming, the army set off eastward the next day, and everyone was itching to fight.

During their stay in Shenjing, due to Zheng Jun's seclusion, the Cangdao, Xiaoguo, and Longwu armies did not have much fighting. They just trained all day long, and their weapons were already itching to make a name for themselves.

After the army marched to the area of ​​Yunzhong County, Wang Shuanzi and other generals were summoned by the vanguard general, Wei Quan, the Earl of Fufeng, to assign the various units to offensive positions.

Under General Wei Quan's command, Wang Shuanzi also learned about the battle's distribution.

Under His Majesty's direct command, the Cangdao Army and Xiaoguo Army marched straight towards Yunzhong County to attack the so-called Yan Emperor and the Western Di people.

The Longwu Guard, led by General Wei Quan, the Earl of Fufeng, swept through eleven counties under the jurisdiction of Yunzhong County.

Because Yunzhong County was too large, and the Longwu Guard had not participated in any battles before, the main purpose of this battle was to use some Western Di soldiers to give the Longwu Guard some experience.

After the draw, Wang Shuanzi's troops were assigned to attack Fan Hengsai in Maoqiu County, to cooperate with another Longwu Guard unit to attack the county town. Fan Hengsai was stationed with 300 county soldiers and 200 Western Di soldiers, totaling 500 men.

Although the numbers were roughly equal, the martial arts skills of the Longwu Guard soldiers were far superior to those of the county soldiers.

After assigning tasks, the massive Dragon Guard broke into smaller teams of five hundred men each, and simultaneously launched a fierce attack on their targets, preparing to completely wipe out the remaining counties of Yunzhong Prefecture.

Upon receiving the order, Wang Shuanzi immediately led his troops to the location. After counting the number of soldiers to confirm that everything was in order, he immediately began preparations for the march and launched an attack on Fan Hengsai.

Fan Heng Fortress was built with funds from a gentry named Fan Heng in Maoqiu County. Its original purpose was to defend against the southward advance of the Western Di people and to station troops there. It stands in the middle of the plain, with most of the rammed earth walls collapsed, exposing the withered grass stems. The wooden arrow towers are crooked and about to fall, and the faded battle flags flutter in the north wind.

After launching several small-scale probing attacks, Wang Shuanzi was dismayed to find that the fortress seemed to have been abandoned by the enemy and was completely deserted.

While being cautious, Wang Shuanzi still led a hundred men to sneak in, only to find a recently extinguished flame and half-eaten coarse rice. He was immediately frustrated: "They ran so fast? Didn't they put up any resistance at all?"

Troops were stationed for a year, and drills were conducted for a year.

Wang Shuanzi's martial arts skills have improved significantly, and the young Dragon Guard soldiers are eager to make a name for themselves.

But no one expected that their first battle would be so haphazard, with not even a single person seen.

Fortunately, the mission was accomplished.

The fortress has been captured.

It was getting late, so Wang Shuanzi sent out several scouts to report their successes. After arranging the surrounding area, he immediately ordered everyone to prepare a meal on the spot.

After wandering around Fan Heng Sai for a while, Wang Shuanzi was surprised to find that the food in Fan Heng Sai was not bad. There was half a mutton in the kitchen, as well as some chicken, duck and fish. It seemed that they had fled in a hurry and did not even have time to take rice and water with them.

Thinking that it would be a waste not to eat it, Wang Shuanzi ordered the grain to be distributed and eaten on the spot.

In addition, a number of women's clothes were found inside the fortress, simply piled up like miscellaneous items.

However, in the soil layer outside the fortress, there are traces of excavation, and upon closer inspection, one can even vaguely see exposed hands.

The composition of the soldiers of the Murong Yan Kingdom was very complex. After the death of King Zhao, the situation in Suzhou was particularly chaotic. Apart from the main force that was taken away from the Yinma River battlefield, most of the soldiers of the Murong Yan Kingdom were death row inmates and captured Western Di people.

Now that the Western Di people have come to our aid, and our forces are united, our military discipline is naturally not ideal. They have been committing rape and plundering in the clouds, and many have died.

Wang Shuanzi didn't show any particular emotional reaction to this. Such things were commonplace for him. Back when refugees were fleeing, there were dead bodies everywhere, and that was the case for some of the soldiers.

By midnight, the scouts returned and reported that the battle in Maoqiu County was going well. Upon hearing that the Han army was coming, the magistrate of Maoqiu County abandoned the city and fled. The county commandant of Maoqiu County, unwilling to give up his wealth and honor, looted the county before leading his troops away. However, he was too slow and was discovered by the Han army. The other units were preparing to surround and annihilate the three thousand men of Maoqiu County.

As for Wang Shuanzi's troops, they also received new orders.

They were to rush to Shuochuan County overnight to assemble and prepare to cooperate with the Cangdao Army and Xiaoguo Army in the siege of the city.

They also seemed to have never expected that these rotten fish and shrimps from Murong Yan Kingdom would be so powerless to resist, collapsing at the slightest touch.

Upon hearing that they would have to travel overnight, Wang Shuanzi sighed, but there was nothing he could do. He led his troops out to attack, heading towards Shuochuan County.

Shuochuan County is now incredibly close to Yunzhong County.

Wang Shuanzi led his troops on a night march, but in the latter half of the night, they suddenly saw many torches moving ahead, vaguely resembling hundreds of people. This immediately put Wang Shuanzi on alert, and he shouted, "Form ranks!"

Upon hearing Wang Shuanzi's command, the soldiers of the Dragon Guard were both excited and nervous. Nevertheless, they quickly formed ranks, their formation perfectly aligned. Their true energy and blood energy surged forth, converging on Wang Shuanzi. These five hundred men formed ranks immediately, intending to charge straight ahead and teach the 'enemy army' in front a lesson!
Just as the army was forming ranks, a refined middle-aged man in a blue robe rode up on horseback, shouting, "We're on the same side! General, don't make a move!"

Upon seeing this, Wang Shuanzi was immediately taken aback. He promptly dispelled the formation, but without destroying it. He then cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

The visitor was Bao Xun, a local gentry member from Shuochuan County.

Seeing the imposing armor and disciplined military bearing of the Longwu Guards, Bao Xun couldn't help but admire them, thinking to himself, "Truly a royal army, their military might is so magnificent!" With this thought in mind, Bao Xun quickly dismounted, took a few steps forward, bowed to Wang Shuanzi, and said excitedly, "General, please allow me to report. I am Bao Xun from Tongchuan Township, Shuochuan County."

"Murong Lang has acted perversely, submitting to the Western Di people and ceding our Yunzhong land to them as pastures, causing our people to be displaced and families to be torn apart. The elders of Yunzhong are deeply ashamed and have suffered under his tyranny for too long! Today, seeing the royal army marching north is like rain after a long drought. We have led our local militia to welcome him and are willing to be the vanguard of the royal army to jointly punish the traitor!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuanzi was taken aback, and then became somewhat depressed.

what's the situation?
Why is it that after entering Yunzhong County, all I encountered were either friendly forces or those who had already fled?

So how can one increase military merits and earn a title for one's descendants?

Although deeply disappointed, Wang Shuanzi still sighed and said, "So it is Bao Gong. In that case, please lead the way and guide our army to Shuochuan County!"

"promise!"

"..."

The Longwu Guard was in full swing, and the Cangdao Army and Xiaoguo Army were advancing on Yunzhong County.

The battle was uneventful; for the Han soldiers, it was even a rare moment of leisure.

Compared to the battles against Lanzhou, the Jin, Qin, and Zhao, this battle in Yunzhong seemed more like a leisurely outing.

The Dragon Guard soldiers encountered virtually no effective resistance; only occasional brief skirmishes broke out, which they won decisively with almost no losses.

Meanwhile, in Yunzhong County, Murong Lang, the emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom of the Murong clan, was indulging in a life of debauchery.

Inside the city of Yunzhong, the palace of the pseudo-Yan emperor was brightly lit, and the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air.

Murong Lang leaned against the dragon bed covered with animal skins, his golden goblet swaying in his hand. Amber wine splashed onto the snow-white skin of the Western Di beauty beside him, eliciting a burst of giggles.

The hall was filled with the strong aroma of wine and perfume. More than ten dancers, dressed only in light gauze, walked barefoot over the delicacies scattered on the floor, kicking half-eaten roasted lamb legs and broken jade platters into the corner.

"Your Majesty, please have another drink!"

A blonde Siberian woman coiled around Murong Lang's neck like a snake, her fingertips dabbing wine in circles on his chest.

Murong Lang laughed heartily, then suddenly splashed the wine at the woman, chuckling to himself.

He's already started.

The Murong clan's great cause has been established. As long as the Great Chanyu of the Western Barbarians remains in power, he will be the emperor of the Yan state!

Trust the Great Chanyu!
Murong Lang could only give up on himself.

How could he not know the plans of the Western Di Great Chanyu? But what could he do now that things had come to this? He could only pretend to be an ostrich and live a life of debauchery.

However, at that moment, the palace doors suddenly burst open.

"Ok?"

This situation startled Murong Lang. Just then, a blood-stained guard stumbled in, his forehead hitting the overturned bronze wine cup: "Your Majesty, the Han army has breached the outer city! Arrows are already flying towards the palace! Please flee immediately..."

"fart!"

Murong Lang abruptly shoved the beauty in his arms, trampled a plate of candied fruit with his bare feet, grabbed a personal guard by the collar and roared, "Bullshit! I have tens of thousands of elite troops, and King Xubu is here! How could the Han army possibly break in? Isn't he afraid of the Great Chanyu's punishment?!"

Although he thought this to himself, Murong Lang was well aware that the Great Chanyu had no power to intimidate Zheng Jun, but now he could only use this anger to alleviate his inner fear.

"His Majesty."

The guard's teeth chattered, but he still bowed and replied, "Those Western Di people have packed up their valuables and fled towards Yinshan. Now the whole city is pointing the way for the Han army... We're doomed. You'd better leave quickly, or it will be too late!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Lang finally realized what was happening and suddenly remembered that he still had true essence. He immediately mobilized his true essence to investigate.

A dull thud could be heard coming from outside the palace, as if something was hitting the city wall.

Looking as far as the eye could see, billowing black smoke rose from the southeast corner, accompanied by shouts of battle, a scene of utter defeat.

Murong Lang stared blankly at the billowing black smoke. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed hysterically: "Go? Where to go? That Zheng Jun is a Yuan Dan Martial Saint."

Having said that, Murong Lang kicked over the gilded incense burner, sparks flying onto the hanging gauze curtains and igniting a fire. He then whispered, "Go! Move all thirty jars of oil from the cellar to the main hall! Then take my crown prince and leave to find the Great Chanyu..."

"promise!"

The guard gave Murong Lang a deep look, then immediately left, intending to take Murong Lang's son away via a side path.

Upon seeing this, Murong Lang slumped back onto the dragon bed, grabbed the half-tilted wine jar, tilted his head back, and drank it down. The wine dripped down his beard and onto his dragon robe, making him appear particularly unrestrained and unruly.

"His Majesty……"

Xidi Meiji cowered in the corner, her fingertips digging into her palms, filled with terror.

She caught a glimpse of the oil jars piled up in the corner of the hall. The pungent smell mixed with the aroma of alcohol filled her nostrils, filling her with terror and even causing her stomach to spasm.

Murong Lang suddenly burst into wild laughter, his true energy, now at the fourth level of the Qi Opening Realm, surging around him and causing dust to fall from the beams: "Come on! Keep dancing!"

After saying that, he grabbed Meiji's wrist with such force that he almost crushed her hand bones.

Miki, her face deathly pale, spun around, but could only move her body stiffly.

At that moment, the candlelight in the hall suddenly froze, as if time had stopped.

In his drunken haze, Murong Lang suddenly felt a suffocating pressure surge towards him like a tidal wave. He looked up abruptly, his pupils contracting sharply!
A tall figure suddenly appeared at the palace gate.

The man was clad in black armor, his sleeves fluttering without wind, like waves of blood surging; his face was cold and stern, his eyes like torches, as if thunder were hidden within them.

An indescribable air of nobility was emanating from him, radiating an imposing aura without a hint of anger.

Just by standing there, the air in the entire hall seemed to freeze!

"Zheng...Zheng Jun?!"

Murong Lang was instantly sobered up, the golden goblet in his hand clattered to the ground, and he staggered back two steps. His true energy surged out instinctively, but it melted away like snow meeting boiling water when it touched the figure three zhang away.

"Murong Lang?"

Zheng Jun spoke slowly, his voice not loud, and said, "When I killed the traitor Zhao, I gave you the opportunity to surrender. If you had surrendered, I would not have minded making it a beautiful story of a ruler and his subject."

Before he finished speaking, Zheng Jun pressed down with his right palm, displaying a majestic aura.

Murong Lang did not see the surge of true energy, but he saw the oil jars piled up at the corner of the palace suddenly rise into the air and transform into a ferocious fire dragon in Murong Lang's horrified gaze!
After circling once, the fire dragon crashed into the roof of the palace with a roar, and the glazed tiles melted into a red liquid in the high temperature, which poured down like rain.

The kerosene that Murong Lang considered his last resort was so easily neutralized by Zheng Jun.

"what--!"

Xidi Meiji screamed and curled up, clutching her head, while Murong Lang looked ashen-faced.

He naturally knew how great the gap was between himself and the Yuan Dan Martial Saint, and he was even more aware that the Han Emperor in front of him was one of the best among the Yuan Dan Martial Saints, and that the Prince of Zhao, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Qin had all died at his hands.

Murong Lang could also sense that his true essence was trapped in a quagmire, and he couldn't even move his fingertips.

Even more terrifying was that the deafening shouts of battle outside the hall had fallen silent at some point, as if the entire Yunzhong County City was now reduced to just this burning cage.

"I have always believed that when barbarians enter the Central Plains, the Central Plains will fall."

Zheng Jun stepped forward, his expression indifferent, and calmly read out Murong Lang's crimes: "Although you are from the Northern Rong, I have many Northern Rong generals under my command. However, you colluded with the Western Di to slaughter and oppress the people of Yunzhong. I will not forgive you."

Murong Lang was terrified. His throat bobbed as he cried out in horror, "You can't kill me, Great Chanyu and High Priest..."

Just then, two beams of light suddenly burst forth outside the hall, allowing light to pass through the acupoints.

Zhou Tong and Liang Rui arrived through the air, their true energy surging like waves. They knelt on one knee, clasped their hands, and reported: "Your Majesty, the city of Yunzhong has been completely pacified! Our army pursued the Western Di Xubu tribe and defeated them decisively. Their remaining troops fled to Yinshan. This humble general requests permission to pursue them!"

"There's no need to chase after those stragglers."

Zheng Jun shook his head, and as his sleeves rolled up, azure-gold true essence surged over Murong Lang's body like a raging torrent.

Before the fake Yan emperor could even let out a scream, he shattered like a glass lamp, his flesh and bones turning into dust under the pressure of the Yuan Dan, seeping into the cracks of the floor tiles!

Murong Lang died and his spirit vanished.

The beautiful Xidi concubine collapsed to the ground, and Zheng Jun ignored her, his voice like cold iron falling to the ground, and continued: "Issue my decree: women from Yunzhong who have been abducted shall be given money and provisions to return home; those who voluntarily serve the Di shall be made government slaves."

Zheng Jun took a deep breath and continued, "The Western Di High Priests' domain is only three hundred li away from here, and they must already know that Yunzhong has fallen."

"You all prepare yourselves, disregard Yunzhong County, and immediately launch an attack to kill the High Priest of the Western Barbarians!"

"In this battle, we will not take any Western barbarian prisoners!"

Zheng Jun's voice was filled with murderous intent.

He was indeed angered by the tragic state of Yunzhong County.

Murong Lang deserves to die, and the Great Chanyu of the Western Di also deserves to die!

The High Priest of the Western Di was settling both old and new scores!

Upon seeing this, Zhou Tong was taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, our army will have to enter the grasslands..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Zheng Jun snorted coldly, his Dragon Abyss Blade already displaying its sharpness: "If the enemy can go, so can I!"

"The plight of the people in the clouds is all my fault!"

Zheng Jun's eyes were icy cold, and he said fiercely, "A blood debt must be repaid with blood. The thirteen tribes of the Western Barbarians participated in the war, and they should be exterminated to pay for it!"

(End of this chapter)