Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 495 Annihilation of Wei Bo (A long chapter of 10,000 words)
"The defeated general Zhang Gongsu begs the King of Han to accept our surrender and not to make things difficult for the brothers in the city!"

On the 16th day of the fourth month of the second year of Qianfu, the Lulong banners inside Luxian city were lowered, and white banners were hung on the city gates.

Zhang Gongsu, who had intended to defeat Liu Jilong just a few days ago, now knelt under the white banner at the city gate, his upper body bare, his hands bound, and carrying thorns on his back.

Behind him, thousands of soldiers from Lulong did the same, but none of them bound their own hands or carried thorns to plead guilty.

Liu Jilong stood in front of him, but did not help him up. He simply glanced at the group of Lulong soldiers and said loudly, "According to the old laws of the court, we shall be prepared with strict military force and show them that we will kill them."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers of Lulong Town felt a chill run down their spines, especially the officers and colonels.

The Tang army had a long-standing tradition of executing the leaders and officers of rebel armies. In dealing with the effects of some rebellions, generals would selectively behead one in ten or one in a hundred, in order to demonstrate the majesty of the Celestial Empire and show that it was not to be violated.

Now that Liu Jilong had spoken, they were all worried that they would be implicated, but Liu Jilong's next words put their minds at ease.

“You are all loyal subjects of the court. Although you have aided and abetted the wicked, you have also been deceived.”

"Today we will release you, but the land in your homes must be measured and confiscated. Once the land measurement of the entire Lulong region is completed, the land will be distributed equally according to the population, regardless of gender or age, and all land will be given to the public."

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, many soldiers in the town looked up with shining eyes.

Although they were garrison soldiers, they did not accumulate much land. The land was mainly occupied by the military officers with official ranks.

The land occupied by military commanders such as captains, colonels, commanders, and generals is far more than what they hold.

Many soldiers in the town were calculating their own land, while Liu Jilong continued to look at Zhang Gongsu and the others.

"The land you own will be redeemed by the government. Do you have any objections?"

"The King of Han is wise..."

Faced with Liu Jilong's words, the officers and soldiers naturally dared not refute him. Even if Liu Jilong were to forcibly seize these lands now, they would not dare to say anything against it.

“If that is the case, Zhang Gongsu, you should write to all the counties and order them to surrender, thus redeeming yourself.”

"This subordinate obeys..."

Under Liu Jilong's orders, Zhang Gongsu quickly wrote letter after letter urging surrender, with his hands bound, at the city gate.

After writing these letters, Liu Jilong ignored Zhang Gongsu and turned to continue walking towards the camp outside Luxian City.

Although Luxian had surrendered and was firmly under the control of the Han army, Liu Jilong still did not intend to enter the city to rest.

The matter of Lulong has not been completely resolved, but he can only put it aside for the time being. The current problem is to deal with Weibo and Chengde in the south.

Liu Jilong walked towards the camp, pondering how to go south to deal with Chengde and Weibo.

Seeing this, Cao Mao and Hu Siguang followed and helped Liu Jilong mount his horse. After Liu Jilong mounted, the two of them mounted their horses and followed him toward the camp.

"Your Highness, do we still have to pay to buy back the land belonging to these people?"

Husi Guang clearly looked down on Zhang Gongsu and his group, and was not keen on paying money to buy back the land.

Liu Jilong wasn't angry that his thoughts were interrupted. He just looked at him and said, "We'll pay to buy it back, but we'll decide how to set the price."

“It’s enough to buy back the land at 40% of the market price, and the rest can be repaid over five years.”

"There are still many regional warlords in Hebei and Huainan. This is just for show."

"We can settle these scores later when the world is at peace."

After explaining to him, Liu Jilong instructed the two men: "Effective immediately, abolish the military governorships of all towns in Hebei and temporarily establish the Hebei Governor's Office."

"The Hebei Governor's Office governs the military affairs of six prefectures, namely You, Tan, Gui, Ping, Ji, and Ying, and garrisones 10,000 elite cavalry from Lulong, 5,000 elite cavalry from Han, and 20,000 infantry from Han."

"Husiguang, you shall be appointed Governor of Hebei and in charge of military affairs in Hebei."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Upon hearing that he was about to take command of the military affairs of six prefectures, Husi Guang quickly nodded and bowed.

Seeing that he agreed, Liu Jilong continued to say to the two of them: "Since the Kaiyuan era, the military governors have become too powerful in their localities, and it has reached a point where it is impossible to control them."

"The system of military governors must be abolished in the future. Local military affairs can be handed over to you, but political affairs can only be handled by the observers dispatched by the imperial court."

"The position of Inspector of Hebei Circuit will be temporarily filled by Luo Yin."

Liu Jilong would love to bring over the Three Offices system from the Ming Dynasty right now, but the country is not yet at peace, so it is not suitable to carry out sweeping reforms.

The Ming Dynasty's cabinet system of six ministries and three departments was undoubtedly more complete than that of the Tang and Song Dynasties from the perspective of a centralized imperial bureaucratic autocracy.

However, many of these systems were designed for centralization of power, making them rigid and harsh. The most typical example is the fiscal system of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's fiscal system itself was not problematic, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not establish a unified central government office to prevent any single entity from becoming too powerful.

The advantage of this approach is that power is highly concentrated in the hands of the emperor, while the disadvantage is that it is highly dependent on the emperor's personal abilities.

This system posed no problem for Zhu Yuanzhang, a man of great energy who could be full of vigor after sleeping only two or three hours a day.

Even Zhu Di, who had relatively strong energy, was able to basically operate this system.

However, only these two people in the Ming Dynasty were able to operate this system well. Subsequent emperors simply couldn't manage it, which led to many government offices having their own warehouses.

For example, the emperor had the Imperial Treasury, the Ministry of Revenue had the Imperial Warehouse, the Ministry of War had the Everlasting Treasury, the Ministry of Works had the Frugal Treasury, the Ministry of Rites had the Imperial Palace Treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works in Nanjing also had their own warehouses.

In addition, the Court of Imperial Stud, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and other government offices each had their own slush funds. The Ministry of Revenue could only manage the money and grain within its own jurisdiction and had no control over the money and grain of the other six ministries and various government offices.

The consequences of excessive distribution of funds and grain among different departments can be far more serious than those of centralized corruption.

These are the problems that Liu Jilong faces, and he needs to complete them before implementation.

Only by resolving the institutional issues at the central level can the Three Offices system be delegated and implemented.

These are problems that Liu Jilong can only solve when he unifies the country. For now, he can only use the systems left over from the Tang Dynasty to divide the military and political power in the local areas.

Liu Jilong was quite at ease letting Husi Guang guard the border.

However, with the various towns in Hebei abolished, Liu Jilong had to find a way to reassign An Pohu and others to new official positions.

"A governor-general of Hedong was appointed to control the entire Hedong region. An Pohu was appointed governor-general, and Cui Shu was appointed governor of Beidu and concurrently prefect of Taiyuan and governor of Hedong.

"In addition, Gao Jinda and others were ordered to draft regulations to abolish the military governors of each circuit and establish a governor-general to control military affairs, an observer to control political affairs and conduct inspections, and recommend suitable officials."

"Order officials from the Guanzhong region to move east and take over the administration of the prefectures and counties in Hebei Province."

After Liu Jilong gave his instructions, Cao Mao and Husiguang nodded in agreement and soon followed Liu Jilong into the camp.

Half an hour later, countless fast horses galloped south from the camp, while supplies from Kansai and Dongji were continuously transported north via the Grand Canal.

In the following days, all the counties in Lulong Town that had not yet surrendered surrendered one after another. Except for Yingzhou, which had been occupied by the Khitan, the entire territory of Lulong had been recovered by the imperial court.

Liu Jilong did not rush south. Instead, he transferred the Han troops from Guizhou to the east, preparing to stabilize the counties and prefectures of Lulong before heading south.

However, as the Han army continued its southward advance, the outcome of the Battle of Luxian, at Liu Jilong's behest, spread throughout Hebei.

At the same time, Wang Jingchong lowered his head and submitted a memorial to Liu Jilong, requesting to surrender.

However, his surrender was only nominal, and he promised to pay 100,000 coins and silk as taxes every year, while he would still control the military and political affairs.

Liu Jilong naturally could not agree to such surrender terms, but he did not refuse either, instead stalling for time.

While he was stalling for time, Anpo Hu in the south was advancing rapidly, capturing several counties in Weizhou one after another, and his army surrounded Weixian County.

Logically speaking, given the current situation, Weibo should have surrendered by now, but there was still no sign of surrender within Weixian County.

"Damn it, if anyone dares to say they surrender again, I'll lead my brothers and kill them!"

"boom--"

Inside the Wei County government office, Le Yanzhen sat in the main seat with a grim expression, while the guards in the hall also looked embarrassed.

Outside the yamen, dozens of officers stood up and glared angrily at Le Yanzhen and the others inside the hall. The leading officer sheathed his sword, and in front of him was a table that had been cut in half.

Seeing that the officers were no longer talking about surrender, the officer arrogantly declared:

"The land must not be given up, and the brothers must not be laid off. If these two conditions cannot be met, we will fight Liu Jilong to the death!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill..."

As soon as the officer finished speaking, the officers around him raised their fists in support, and shouts of battle echoed in the Jieshi Archway, making the faces of the many officers in the main hall of the county government turn ugly. Le Yanzhen himself was even more speechless.

"Our conditions are as follows: if you mistreat your brothers, I will first behead your leaders!"

The officer did not forget to threaten Le Yanzhen and his men before leading dozens of officers out of the county government office, leaving behind a group of people with grim faces.

Seeing that they had all left the yamen, Le Yanzhen suddenly stood up and smashed the wine bowl in his hand on the ground.

"You scoundrel, you dare threaten me?!"

The sound of the ceramic bowl shattering brought the many guards back to their senses. Among them, the guard who was closer to Yue Yanzhen spoke up:

"The two officers who led the rebellion were named Shi Renyu and Gao Jun. Both came from military families and were related by marriage."

"If they raise their arms and shout, the more than a thousand soldiers in the city will surely respond, and we will probably have a hard time dealing with them..."

Faced with the words of this general, the surrounding generals nodded in agreement, but dared not utter a sound, clearly afraid of offending Shi Renyu and Gao Jun.

Le Yanzhen's face darkened, feeling that Weibo was on the verge of collapse. He noticed that the brave soldiers in the army were not brave at all, but instead had been reserved to deal with him.

He was seething with anger, but he also knew that what Zuo You said was right.

In Weibo, no matter how high your official rank is, if you don't have the support of the guards, they will dare to kill you at will.

Shi Renyu and his group were clearly chosen by the majority of the guards, and their attitude actually represented the attitude of the guards.

If I dare to ignore their attitude, they will definitely attack me en masse.

Thinking of this, Le Yanzhen couldn't help but curse Han Junxiong in his heart. If Han Junxiong had taken all the soldiers to Yecheng and let them die at Liu Jilong's hands, he wouldn't have suffered such humiliation.

"We agreed to a half-day ceasefire with the government troops. If we can't come up with a plan, they might think we're playing games with them, and the retaliation would likely be even more severe..."

"Hmph! If it weren't for someone instigating chaos with their soldiers and taking advantage of the situation to coerce Commander Han into rebellion, how could our army have fallen to such a state?"

"Alas, it's no use talking about this now. Weizhou is now only Wei County left, and Bozhou is probably only a few counties left as well."

"In this predicament, they still won't let us surrender. Do they want us to perish with them?"

"To be buried with someone? Hmph!"

“How could they possibly die with us? They can simply collude in secret, claiming to be garrison soldiers, and thus evade the government troops’ search.”

"When the imperial court deals with rebellions by regional military governors, it usually only executes the ringleaders. How many times has it implicated the entire army?"

"That's not how it works. Didn't Wang Shi annihilate the Silver Knife Army before, and Liu Jilong's army be completely wiped out in the Battle of Yecheng?"

"If we had truly wiped out the entire army back then, that would have been one thing, but now there are still more than two thousand elite soldiers in the two provinces of Weibo and Bo, and we are all under their control. How can we escape?"

"Ugh……"

Inside the hall, the guards chattered amongst themselves. Regardless of their usual relationship with the guards, when it came to their own interests, they would undoubtedly despise anyone or anything that stood in their way.

An Pohu's terms for persuading surrender were quite good: all the land owned by officers of the rank of Ya Jiang and above would be redeemed by the imperial court, and Ya Jiang would be transferred to the capital to live as honorary officials of the sixth rank or lower.

According to the rank and salary system established by Liu Jilong, a sixth-rank official in the capital would receive an annual salary of 200 shi of grain, 50 guan of cash, and 10 bolts of silk.

This salary is naturally incomparable to what they have now. Even if they are honest and upright, they can still receive several hundred strings of cash every year.

However, besides using the money for the Yang family, it also had to be used to entertain the soldiers, so the amount actually received was not much.

Instead, he went to Luoyang to live in retirement. As a minor official, he had no social obligations, and his annual salary was not low. Moreover, the majority of his income came from the redemption of the land promised by An Po Hu.

Although they cannot control other prefectures and counties, they can easily control hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in Wei County with just a few strokes of their pen. At least the dozen or so people in the hall can have thousands or tens of thousands of acres of farmland on paper.

When the government pays to redeem them, they can use the money to buy back their property in Luoyang.

The problem now is that the soldiers won't let them surrender; they're determined to get Anpo Hu to let them stay in the army.

That's why, although the generals were all complaining, they had no idea how to resolve the current situation.

Seeing that everyone was just complaining and couldn't come up with a solution, Le Yanzhen couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"All you do is complain, you don't know how to solve the problem, what good are your teeth?!"

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Le Yanzhen dared not get angry at the soldiers, but he dared to get angry at the generals.

The officers, having been reprimanded in this way, were understandably displeased and left in a huff.

Upon seeing this, Le Yanzhen immediately got up and walked towards the central hall.

He had just returned to the main hall and sat down when a servant entered the hall: "General, Luo Ya is requesting an audience at the back door."

"Luo Hongxin? The back door?"

Le Yanzhen couldn't understand why Luo Hongxin, who hadn't come to him in the main hall earlier, was now coming to him through the back door.

"Let him in."

Although he didn't understand, Le Yanzhen knew that using connections was something that couldn't be done openly, and it was clear that Luo Hongxin had something to discuss with him.

Seeing this, the servant left the main hall and soon led a young general, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, into the main hall.

"General!"

Luo Hongxin came from a military family in Weibo. His ancestors for three generations had served as military officers in Weibo. It was not until Han Junxiong's entire army was wiped out in Yecheng that he was promoted to a military officer by Le Yanzhen.

He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was skilled in riding and archery; otherwise, Yue Yanzhen wouldn't have promoted him.

"Is there anything that can't be said in the main hall?"

Watching the servant retreat, Le Yanzhen, his face still contorted with anger, asked a question.

Seeing this, Luo Hongxin took the initiative to bow and said, "Since the Tian family, our military governors have often been coerced by their personal guards. Now that Weibo is about to fall, these personal guards are holding our generals hostage to plot their own selfish desires."

"In my humble opinion, the guards must be eliminated. Only by eliminating the guards can we bring wealth and honor to our brothers in the army!"

Le Yanzhen was surprised that Luo Hongxin, who was only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, would have such insights, so he leaned forward and said, "There are nearly a thousand soldiers in the city, and several thousand more soldiers' relatives and family members are also supporting them."

"If they want to cause trouble, they can easily muster five or six thousand men to fight against our army in an instant."

"You should also know the situation inside the city. The soldiers and their relatives are entangled in a web of conflict, and there are hardly any soldiers that can be mobilized."

"You say you'll pacify them, but where will we get the troops?"

Le Yanzhen had considered eliminating the Yabing, but the nearly 10,000 troops in the city were basically in the hands of the Yabing and the officers and generals who were married to them.

In other words, Le Yanzhen was nothing more than a puppet; he had no real military power. Even if he wanted to exterminate the Weibo soldiers, he had no ability to do so.

Without hesitation, Luo Hongxin bowed and said, "We have no troops, how can we possibly defeat the Hu?"

"You mean to let An Pohu enter the city and kill these soldiers?" Le Yanzhen frowned.

Before Luo Hongxin could speak, he waved his hand and said, "They control all the gates of Wei County. If we can't open the gates, how can we let An Pohu lead his army into the city?"

What Luo Hongxin had thought of, Le Yanzhen had thought of long ago, but in short, without military power in his hands, he couldn't even open the city gates.

Seeing his disappointment, Luo Hongxin's eyes gleamed: "In the past few days, I have eliminated many of my own soldiers while defending the city. As long as the commander writes a letter, I can send someone to deliver the letter under cover of night, and then open the city gates to let An Pohu lead his troops into the city!"

"What did you say?!" Le Yanzhen suddenly stood up, his face full of disbelief.

Only now did he belatedly realize that if Luo Hongxin didn't have the means, he probably wouldn't have dared to come looking for him at this time.

After all, if this matter were to leak out, the guards would surely gather a crowd and cause an uproar, killing Luo Hongxin in the yamen.

"What needs to be done?"

He stepped forward and asked Luo Hongxin, but Luo Hongxin said, "This matter can only be handled quickly, not slowly. The longer it drags on, the more variables there will be."

"Tonight, I will be stationed at the South City. In the latter half of the night, I will lead the Han army into the city. As long as we can wipe out all the guards in the city, the generals of Weizhou will surely surrender."

"Once Weizhou surrenders, Bozhou, which is next door, will be unable to hold on alone, and their life or death will be none of our concern."

“Okay!” Le Yanzhen did not hesitate and immediately returned to his desk to begin writing.

A quarter of an hour later, Luo Hongxin had a handwritten letter in his hand, while Le Yanzhen said uneasily:
"This letter must be delivered to Anpohu. If the news leaks out, our whole family will be executed."

"Rest assured, General!" Luo Hongxin bowed in return, then turned and left the yamen through the back door.

After he left, Le Yanzhen sat back down, drenched in sweat. Even so, he felt his heart racing, and sweat continued to stream down his forehead.

The experiences of the past forty-odd years seem to be less exciting than today.

If anything happens to Luo Hongxin, his whole family will be executed.

Thinking of this, Le Yanzhen gradually became uneasy and anxious again.

In contrast to him, Luo Hongxin went to the military camp without any hindrance.

Back at the military camp, he continued to feast with his brothers as usual until sunset. When the governor of the southern city sent someone to urge him to return, Luo Hongxin grumbled and led his men to take over the city wall.

He transferred a small number of soldiers, about a hundred, to the city gate. After arranging the shift changes for each team, he finally felt at ease and took charge of the city gate tower.

Time passed, and two hours later, as the soldiers began to rest, Luo Hongxin immediately sent his family brother out of the city in a hanging basket with a letter to the government army camp.

It was already midnight. The man had been away from the city for only half an hour when he was discovered by the government troops' cavalry and taken to their camp.

Under the candlelight, the Wei Bo seal on the handwritten letter looked particularly glaring. An Po Hu, who had urgently summoned all the generals, frowned and looked at the young man before him, whose official rank was no more than captain, and said:
"Why send the letter now, and why the rush? Why not tomorrow?"

An Pohu raised a question, and the young man quickly replied, "Tomorrow won't work. Today is my brother's shift, and he has already arranged for the guards to be on the morning shift."

"When I left the city, more than a hundred soldiers in the army had already been arranged to rest. Commander, you must move your troops within two hours, the sooner the better."

The young man was very anxious. Seeing this, An Pohu nodded to him and said, "You should go out first. You will know the result in half a cup of tea."

"Please hurry, General..."

The young man was somewhat anxious, but An Pohu still sent someone to invite him out.

After he left, the generals inside the tent began to speak.

"If they're in such a hurry, what if they set up an ambush?"

“Wei County has a barbican; if an ambush is set up, it is indeed easy to fall into one.”

"I think this haste doesn't seem like an ambush."

"Such sneaky behavior really makes it seem like they want to join forces with our army to wipe out the guards."

The generals each held their own opinions, and An Pohu looked at Zhang Yanhui: "What does Young Master Zhang think?"

“I think…” Zhang Yanhui paused, then said:

"They have only a little over a thousand soldiers, while our army has over twenty-five thousand soldiers. We only need to send a little over a thousand soldiers to probe them."

"The casualties of over a thousand people are not enough to affect the war effort, and Le Yanzhen and his men are not that foolish."

"This humble general is willing to lead his troops into the city. Please grant me permission, Commander!"

An Pohu nodded upon hearing this, then picked up the handwritten note by Le Yanzhen and said, "It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."

"Order the three armies to rise in the night and don their armor. Let Zhang Langjun personally lead two thousand brothers to stand guard and await orders to enter the city."

"Yes!"

Seeing An Pohu give the order, everyone had no choice but to follow his instructions and begin to have the three armies get up and put on their armor at night. Two thousand soldiers were even required to stand in formation with their mouths gagged and not make any noise.

As time passed, when the two armies reached the agreed-upon 3:30 AM, there was only a little over half an hour left before dawn, and the sky was at its darkest and coldest before daybreak.

Without any news, the south gate of the city slowly opened without making a sound.

"go!"

The young man from the Luo family who was leading the team quickly signaled everyone to get up and take over the city gate. Upon seeing this, Zhang Yanhui, who was in charge of leading the team, immediately gritted his teeth and led the soldiers to approach the city gate in the dark.

Because it was too dark, they were not discovered until they reached the bottom of the barbican, but the soldiers on night patrol had been instructed by Luo Hongxin not to make a sound.

Luo Hongxin himself led his team to the gate of the barbican to welcome the Han army, while Zhang Yanhui looked at the city gate and saw that a lot of grease had been spread at the junction of the city gate and the city wall, which was why the sound of the city gate opening was masked.

"General, quickly take control of the city gates. Those soldiers are resting in the western camp. If they blow the wooden whistle, reinforcements will arrive in as little as fifteen minutes."

Luo Hongxin was even more anxious than Zhang Yanhui to kill the guards.

Although he has already sent troops to his home to protect his family, his family will still be in danger if the Han army cannot quickly capture Wei County.

"I understand!"

Zhang Yanhui nodded in agreement, then directed his troops to file in, quickly pass through the barbican, and take control of the outer city and the barbican gates. While leading several hundred men to surround more than a hundred Weibo soldiers at the south gate, he also sent a fast horse to inform An Pohu outside the city.

In this critical moment, less than half a cup of tea's time later, a soldier emerged from the earthen hut of the military camp and saw that hundreds of Han soldiers had surrounded the area.

"Pfft-"

Before the soldier could even shout, he was struck in the face and fell to the ground. The sound of his fall immediately alerted many other soldiers.

"Wang Sanlang?"

"Beep--"

When someone suddenly spoke inside the earthen house, Zhang Yanhui did not delay any longer and immediately blew his wooden whistle.

Hundreds of Han soldiers rushed towards the rows of earthen houses in an instant, like tigers descending a mountain.

"Uh-huh!!"

"Who let you in!"

"boom--"

"Beep beep!!"

In an instant, screams, the sound of flesh being chopped up, and the piercing sound of a wooden whistle came from inside the earthen house.

The sound of the wooden whistle under the cover of night quickly spread, and Wei Bojun, who was patrolling the streets, was the first to hear it. He blew the wooden whistle as he hurried to the South City military camp.

The piercing sound of the wooden whistle echoed through the night, quickly waking countless dark courtyards, which then lit candles.

One soldier after another rushed out of the courtyard in armor, while at the same time, An Pohu, having received the news, led his troops toward the south gate.

Nearly 10,000 Han soldiers, led by An Pohu, poured into the city through the south gate, while the remaining three gates were surrounded by the remaining Han soldiers.

Since Anpohu had agreed to kill the Weibo soldiers, he naturally had no intention of letting any of them go.

"kill!!"

"Uuuuuu——"

Countless Han soldiers rushed into Weixian City. Luo Hongxin led his men to tie red cloths on their arms to identify themselves, and with his soldiers as guides, he led the Han soldiers from various streets and alleys to surround and occupy various neighborhoods.

"They've started! They've started!"

After a sleepless night, Le Yanzhen trembled with excitement upon hearing the shouts of battle and the sound of bugles.

He turned to his sons and grandsons, who were already dressed in armor: "Take men and guard the yamen. When dawn breaks, it will be time for us to enjoy wealth and honor!"

"Yes!" Several young men bowed in response, and at this moment, the Wei Bo soldiers at the other city gates also realized what was happening.

They rushed towards the south of the city, their figures filling the roads and streets.

They were originally cowards when they went abroad to fight, but now they have shown remarkable bravery.

"Damn it, it must have been those two scoundrels, Le Yanzhen and Luo Hongxin, who let the government troops into the city!"

"Those two wretched girls, once we defeat the government troops, we'll slaughter their entire family to vent our anger!"

"Prepare the crossbows!!"

As the Han army gradually approached, the Wei Bo soldiers under the torches immediately formed ranks with the state soldiers, blocking the streets and alleys with their long spears.

The Han army charged forward in a fierce formation. If this had happened back when Le Yanzhen attacked Henan, the Han army's charge would have broken through Weibo's defenses in one fell swoop.

However, at this moment, the Han army's charge only slightly shook Weibo's formation, but did not break it.

Weibo used crossbows to suppress the Han army, while the Han army continuously pushed forward with its troop formations, its vanguard teams constantly replenishing the ranks, and its elite archers constantly charging forward.

Even so, the soldiers of Weibo still held firm and refused to retreat. Even Zhang Yanhui, who was used to fighting against Weibo, couldn't help but look at An Pohu and Luo Hongxin beside him when he watched from the rear.

"If these soldiers could have such skills in combat, they wouldn't have been completely annihilated by His Highness in Ye City."

An Pohu scoffed upon hearing this, "It's just a matter of prolonging its life. It will break the formation in two hours at most."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Luo Hongxin and said, "Don't worry, General Luo, I have already sent troops to suppress all the guards in Yuanrong Ward. Your residence is safe."

"Thank you, Commander." Luo Hongxin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. An Pohu continued:
"After this battle, I will personally report to Your Highness on behalf of Lord Yue and General Luo."

“Soldiers who die in battle in your army will also receive pensions, as well as severance pay and land.”

"Thank you, Governor." Upon hearing this, Luo Hongxin's face immediately lit up with a smile, thinking to himself that he had made the right bet this time.

Seeing this, An Pohu simply nodded slightly, then looked at Zhang Yanhui beside him: "Young Master Zhang, you should lead your brothers to the yamen, and make sure that Magistrate Yue doesn't get into trouble."

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui agreed without hesitation, and then led his troops to bypass the main battlegrounds and head to the Wei County government office.

"Fire the arrow! Fire the arrow!"

"Crackling..."

The battle within Weixian County continued, with the Han army entangled with the Wei Bo soldiers and state troops in various streets and alleys. When Zhang Yanhui led his troops through the alleys to break through to the county government office, hundreds of Wei Bo soldiers were besieging the office.

When they saw Zhang Yanhui's Han army appear, they quickly lined up in front of the county government office, and the two sides soon clashed and began to fight.

"Father! Father!"

Le Congxun rushed into the main hall from outside the Jieshi Archway, his face beaming with joy, and said, "The government troops have arrived! There are at least a thousand Han soldiers fighting those bastards outside the yamen!"

Upon hearing this, Le Yanzhen immediately stood up: "Then what are we waiting for? Immediately lead our servants out of the yamen to assist the Han army!"

"Yes!!" Le Congxun hurriedly agreed, and then led hundreds of Le family servants out of the yamen, launching a strong attack on the soldiers of Weibo from the flank.

Faced with the fierce attack of the Han army and the flanking maneuver of hundreds of servants of the Yue family, these hundreds of soldiers from Weibo could only retreat step by step.

Half an hour passed quickly, and the eastern sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, but the battle within the city was still unresolved.

Wei Bo's desperate resistance was beyond An Pohu's expectations, but that was all.

As two hours passed, the Wei Bo army suffered more and more casualties and soon lost the other three city gates. Tens of thousands of Han soldiers outside the city also began to pour into the city.

Faced with a continuous stream of enemy troops, most of the state soldiers surrendered. However, despite their surrender, Anpohu did not issue a military order to accept their surrender.

The Han army continued to besiege them, and in two or three hours at most, the Wei Bo soldiers would become a thing of the past.

"This humble general, Yue Yanzhen, Military Governor of Weibo, pays his respects to Governor An!"

Le Yanzhen was rescued by Zhang Yanhui and taken to the Drum Tower in the city, where An Pohu commanded the army to encircle and annihilate Weibo.

When Le Yanzhen arrived, An Pohu, just as he had appeased Luo Hongxin, calmed him down and promised him high-ranking positions and generous salaries, as well as compensation for the soldiers who died in battle.

An Pohu originally thought this was enough, but unexpectedly, Le Yanzhen looked at the soldiers in the city and suddenly bowed to An Pohu, saying:
"The governor is unaware that these guards have always been arrogant and domineering, showing no regard for even the emperor or the King of Han."

"Their families, influenced by what they see and hear, naturally become more domineering as well."

"In my humble opinion, the Commander-in-Chief should not only annihilate all the soldiers, but also exterminate their entire families!"

Le Yanzhen's ruthless advice even made An Pohu, a veteran of many battles, turn his head to look at him.

Before he could speak, Luo Hongxin quickly bowed and said, "General, this humble general seconds your opinion!"

The two men had their own ulterior motives, after all, it was they who led the government troops into the city and wiped out all the soldiers.

If we don't eliminate them completely, what will happen if their descendants rise up again and seek revenge?

"you……"

Zhang Yanhui couldn't bear to watch any longer; after all, he hadn't experienced much brutal fighting.

Even when facing foreign tribes in Hexi and the Western Regions, the Guiyi Army was never so ruthless. They usually only executed the ringleaders and rarely implicated the entire group.

Judging from the advice given by Le Yanzhen and Luo Hongxin, it seems that these two are not even prepared to spare an infant.

This method of killing and exterminating an entire clan made Zhang Yanhui feel uncomfortable.

Before he could express his opinion, Anpohu nodded and said, "We will just kill the guards; the rest is up to you."

Upon hearing this, the two men's eyes lit up, and they quickly bowed and greeted each other: "Yes!!"

"Go prepare the troops," An Pohu ordered. The two men hurriedly went down from the drum tower, leaving only An Pohu, Zhang Yanhui, and a few banner soldiers behind.

Seeing them go downstairs and ride away, Zhang Yanhui frowned and looked at An Pohu: "Such ruthlessness is probably not appropriate."

Hearing Zhang Yanhui say this, An Pohu glanced at him, intending to reprimand him, but remembering that Zhang Yanhui was not yet of legal age, he softened his tone and said:

"That's just how the world is. We only kill the guards; let them handle the rest themselves."

“If we don’t do this, the bad habits in Hebei cannot be eradicated.”

Zhang Yanhui frowned upon hearing this, but said, "Should we consult His Highness? After all, His Highness is in Lulong..."

“This place is different from Lulong,” An Pohu shook his head and explained to Zhang Yanhui.
“Lulong is located on the frontier, with a population of no more than one million, but it has a standing army of 50,000, and with the expansion of the army, it has a population of 100,000.”

“If we kill them all, it will not benefit the people, but will cause their families to be destroyed and their lives to be lost. The people will never remember the good things the court has done for them, but will only remember that their children were killed by us.”

"That is why the prefectures of Lulong mainly focus on pacification and relocation, while Weibo and Chengde are located in the heart of Hebei. If this trend is not curbed, it will inevitably cause endless chaos in the future and should be destroyed."

An Pohu's explanation silenced Zhang Yanhui, and seeing his reaction, An Pohu took the initiative to bring up the details of the Battle of Yecheng.

"Have you forgotten the women inside the Ye City military camp, and the corpses of the women outside the camp?"

Upon his reminder, Zhang Yanhui immediately recalled the hundreds of women who had been abused, as well as the corpses whose bodies had been tortured by the soldiers.

The initial confusion vanished at this moment, and Zhang Yanhui felt a surge of anger rising in his chest.

"These so-called guards are even more brutal than the Tibetans of yesteryear. What use are such people?"

"The general understands."

Zhang Yanhui's quick realization pleased An Pohu, who then turned his attention to the battle between the Han army and the local guards within the city.

As Anpohu had predicted, as time went by and the number of his soldiers dwindled, they gradually began to retreat, eventually being surrounded by the Han army in the middle of the main road.

"You son of a bitch! I'll never forgive you, Yue Yanzhen, even if I die!!"

"That dog and rat stuff!"

Seeing that they were surrounded, the hundreds of wounded soldiers cursed and swore to the sky. At this moment, Le Yanzhen appeared at the front of the battle.

His gaze fell on Shi Renyu and Gao Jun. Seeing that the two were still alive, he immediately became interested and couldn't help but shout:
"You bastard, you're about to die and you're still yelling!"

As he began to curse, many soldiers saw him and became agitated.

They tried to advance, but were blocked by the Han army's spears, and their arrows were all used up, so they could not hurt Le Yanzhen at all.

"You dog and rat, I'll haunt you even after you die!"

I curse your whole family to die a horrible death!

"damn thing……"

While resisting the Han army's offensive, the soldiers retreated and cursed.

Upon hearing this, Le Yanzhen's face darkened, but he suddenly laughed and said, "You dogs and rats don't need to worry about my family, but your families will be going down to join you soon!"

"You bastard!!!"

Many of the guards were furious upon hearing this, but Le Yanzhen laughed heartily: "Shi Renyu, Gao Jun, you bunch of stupid wretches raised by maids, go and reunite with your families!"

Le Yanzhen's true colors were seen by the soldiers, and their anger made them lose their composure. They only thought about killing Le Yanzhen and did not notice that their formation had already crumbled.

Upon seeing this, the Han general who was besieging them immediately ordered his troops to continuously attack the formation of the hundreds of soldiers.

When their formation was breached, countless Han soldiers charged in with blunt weapons. These soldiers, who had plagued Hebei for a century, finally fell at the feet of the Han army, dying with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

As Le Yanzhen watched his group being completely annihilated by the Han army, a smug smile crept onto his lips. He turned to Le Congxun and Luo Hongxin and said:
"Now that they're all dead, we'll go all the way and send their families down to reunite with them!"

(End of this chapter)