Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 157 The King Inspects the Border
With the execution of core members such as Sima Shang and Sima Gu.

The Sima family, a powerful clan that had been influential for over a decade, finally met its end.

In the capital, people's hearts were like flowing water.

In that highly anticipated battle, Gu Xuan displayed unparalleled martial prowess and demeanor, much like Emperor Gaozu, and immediately won the respect of almost all the people.

He also won the support of most of the Imperial Guards.

Everyone who saw or heard this scene was so excited that they trembled with emotion and could not control themselves!
Because the Great Zhou Dynasty has suffered far too much humiliation over the years.

Since His Majesty the Great Ancestor established the dynasty, even if he could not be said to be invincible throughout the entire land, he at least preserved peace for this part of the human race.

Unlike now, when barbarian tribes such as the Quanrong and Jie are rampaging through the Great Zhou territory, burning, killing, raping, and plundering with impunity, countless people have been murdered, and women have been reduced to the miserable state of being two-legged sheep.

After the Sima family launched a coup and seized power, they sought to consolidate their own power and the interests of their allied families.

Domestically, they brutally suppressed dissent and ceded profits to powerful clans, gradually monopolizing most upper-class channels. In a few more years, the so-called era of powerful clans was bound to take shape.

Despite the brutality and slaughter of foreign tribes such as the Quanrong and Jie, the Sima family mostly pursued a policy of appeasement, sacrificing the border regions and some inland people in exchange for their own stability and comfort.

Many insightful people in China have seen these things very clearly.

This included most outstanding children from humble backgrounds, as well as a few members of powerful families.

But seeing things clearly is one thing, being able to take action is another.

The saying goes, "With soldiers comes power." In that era, the Sima family controlled the capital's imperial guards, and there were three major military groups outside, as well as numerous families allied for interests.

Such a powerful minister's influence can definitely be described as deeply entrenched and deeply rooted!
Even the most intelligent ordinary person cannot contend with such an adversary.
They could only watch helplessly as the situation deteriorated day by day, the entire country gradually becoming a playground for powerful clans, and the common people becoming food for foreign tribes and the sons of powerful families!

In this situation, many people have lost hope.

Some people indulge in debauchery and a life of pleasure, such as some sober scholars.

More often than not, people simply drift along, living one day at a time.

But to everyone's surprise, His Majesty King Zhou, who was originally regarded as a mascot and a puppet, actually chose to launch a sudden attack!
Moreover, looking at the whole battle, it is clear that his actions were not reckless, but rather the result of careful preparation.

For example, the golden armor, halberd, and bow that closely resembled those of Emperor Gaozu helped him win over the hearts of many imperial guards at crucial moments.

But all of these are secondary.

What truly matters is the absolute strength that His Majesty King Zhou demonstrated in this battle!

One man charged into the enemy lines and achieved great success, successively beheading the enemy's highest-ranking general, their military flag, and so on.

What unparalleled military might this be?!

It is absolutely a matter of slaying generals and capturing flags amidst a vast army!
Coupled with his unparalleled courage, boldness, and decisiveness, everything he did deeply shocked everyone's hearts!

People couldn't help but realize that the young Zhou king before them was an unparalleled figure, just like Emperor Gaozu of the past, or perhaps even more so!

Therefore.

Within the capital city, everyone made their choices quickly without much hesitation.

That is to abandon the so-called powerful Sima family and join the ranks of the new generation of King Zhou.

of course.

Among them were some loyal confidants of the Sima clan, especially the thousands of assassins that Sima Shang had previously raised for many years.

These loyal followers played an extremely important role on the night the Sima clan seized power in their coup.

Afterwards, they were entrusted with important responsibilities by the Sima clan, and many of them served as high-ranking or mid-level officers in the Imperial Guard and other major external military groups.

but.

At least within the capital city limits, these remaining assassins were unearthed and executed along with the Sima family.

In this process, Gu Xuan also demonstrated appropriate political wisdom.

After eliminating the ringleaders, including Sima Shang, he did not personally lead the charge in large-scale battles, but instead remained seated on the reviewing stand.

While riding the wave of his great victory, he reorganized the five imperial guards in the east, west, south, north, and central regions, striving to bring this army of nearly 30,000 men under his control to the greatest extent possible.

On the other hand, orders were being issued in rapid succession, meritorious officials were being rewarded in a timely manner, and the remaining enemies were being eliminated.

In this process, he naturally no longer needed to do everything personally.

Most of the original officials of the Three Offices and Six Ministries did not die in the desperate act of the Sima clan, but survived.

Many of these people's merits and demerits, as well as their character, remain to be judged in the future, but at least for this moment, they have all switched their allegiance to the royal family and have voluntarily begun the operation of the court.

And that's not all.

The general trend is like a mountain stream, flowing naturally.

Within just two or three days, a steady stream of talented individuals, and even some families, came to the reviewing stand to request an audience.

The appearance of Gu Xuan was tantamount to bringing hope, and the greatest hope, to all those who were concerned about the affairs of the country.

To be able to turn the tables and kill the powerful Sima family under such a perilous situation is something that even the former Emperor Gaozu might not have been able to do!

no doubt.

People believe that if anyone can lead the Zhou Dynasty to a revival and win a glimmer of hope for the Zhou people who have been harmed by foreign tribes on the frontier, it is only His Majesty the King of Zhou!

For the next full month.

Gu Xuan mostly stayed in the Imperial Guard camp in the north of the city.

He devoted most of his energy to gaining complete control of this elite force of nearly 40,000 men, aiming to make it as easy as his own arm.

Now, on this land, at any time, only by wielding force can one ensure that his will is extended to the maximum extent!
The most important task in these tasks is to identify and eliminate the assassins and incompetent officials hidden within the Sima family.

Based on this, Gu Xuancai vigorously promoted the loyal, brave and capable orphans of the Imperial Guard, elevating most of them to middle-level positions to replace the original members of the Sima family.

In this process, it is inevitable to feel unwilling, resentful, and to engage in underhanded tactics while outwardly complying.

There were even dozens of bloody attacks targeting the orphans of the Imperial Guard.

Even Gu Xuan himself was assassinated twice by the remaining assassins of the Sima family, but of course, they could not succeed under Gu Xuan's absolute strength.

However, given the prevailing trend, the remnants of the Sima family's counterattack ultimately returned to ashes.

At least within the capital city limits, the Sima clan's influence has been largely wiped out.

Also.

Gu Xuan also set aside his mornings each day to meet with court officials and discuss political affairs in order to stabilize many matters outside the military sphere.

Although the officials were clearly not used to going to the Imperial Guard camp for meetings, they had to gradually get used to it.

It is clear that the current king is a supreme ruler on horseback.

More importantly, his prestige was practically mythical, and in the eyes of many citizens, he was regarded as someone comparable to Emperor Gaozu.

……

however.

Although Gu Xuan killed the Sima clan, it cannot be said that he has completely turned the tide.

Therefore, he can only be considered to have barely controlled the central government and one of the four major military forces of the Great Zhou Dynasty, namely the 40,000 Imperial Guards in the capital.

Outside the capital, there were three major military groups, all of which originally obeyed the Sima clan.

On the western border, there were two major groups led by Ma Qi and Yuchi Rui, who were armies defending against the Quanrong tribe. On the northern border, there was a border army led by Cheng Luo, mainly defending against the Jie tribe and other various other ethnic groups.

These three armies, each with over 30,000 men, are not to be underestimated.

Only by completely centralizing the military power of these three border armies can one truly become the supreme ruler.

This day.

Gu Xuan was in the central camp of the Imperial Guard, discussing matters with the newly formed core staff.

This staff was naturally composed of talents he had carefully selected from orphans of the Imperial Guard, soldiers of the Ministry of War, and Imperial Army, based on the military system before his transmigration. Each member was a man of both loyalty and military talent.

"Your Majesty, this is a summary of the analysis of the three major border armies, as well as the corresponding countermeasures."

An aide presented a document.

Gu Xuan glanced through it and found the meaning quite clear.

Regarding the 40,000 border troops in the north, their commander Cheng Luo was a confidant of the former Grand General Sima Shang. The only option was to eliminate him; there was no possibility of recruiting him.

Moreover, this person was cruel and ruthless to his own people, and his record against the northern Jie tribe and other foreign tribes was only mediocre. He could barely maintain a defensive posture and had no chance of making any progress.

In the past, the Jie tribe burned and killed the city of Luoyang in Xijing for three days. On their way back north, they also plundered several small cities. Cheng Luo did not dare to stop them, but simply followed behind and "politely escorted them out of the country".

This act became one of the laughingstocks and humiliations of the Great Zhou Dynasty, both within and outside its borders.

But back in the day, when the Sima clan was at its peak, no one dared to claim they could seize military power in Chengluo.

As for the two main generals on the western frontier, Ma Qi and Yuchi Rui, they had different approaches and corresponding measures.

First of all.

Yuchi Rui had been famous for a long time. He was an elderly general nearing sixty and had made great contributions to resisting the invasion of the Quanrong tribe over the years.

He could not be considered a confidant of the Sima clan, but rather a pure soldier and a capable general.

Even the tyrannical Sima Shang did not replace him in the past, but instead, for the sake of the overall situation, allowed him to remain as the commander of a part of the Western Army.

We should do our best to recruit such talented individuals.

As for the other one, Ma Qi, the second commander of the Western Army, he can only be described as a general of average ability, with mediocre results against the Quanrong tribe.

Although he was one of the Sima family's confidants, he was rather shrewd and worldly-wise, quite greedy, and adept at judging situations.

For such a person, one can use the prevailing circumstances to induce and coerce him, and seize military power from his hands.

In general, the information provided by the General Staff is almost identical to the information that Gu Xuan obtained from other places, and is a reliable reference.

Based on this, the core staff and the Ministry of War secretly reported to the General Staff and the Ministry of War on how to deal with the three border armies, proposing their own different measures, most of which meant to proceed gradually.

But Gu Xuan had his own additional ideas.

……

In order to stabilize the three border military groups.

After the entire Sima clan was wiped out, the central court immediately dispatched an imperial edict, both to bestow rewards and to offer condolences.

Half a month later.

A delegation of over a hundred people arrived at the northern border army's garrison.

It must be said that the soldiers on the border were quick to receive news.

More than twenty days ago, the entire legion had learned of the annihilation of the Sima clan through various intelligence channels.

Many soldiers also learned of the miraculous feat of the current Zhou King's mastery of the Great Zhou Divine King Technique, and they spread the word. However, this was quickly forbidden by their superiors, who said it was just an exaggeration and could not possibly be true.

As a staunch supporter of the Sima clan, Cheng Luo naturally never considered surrendering to Gu Xuan.

But to say that he led an army south to attack the capital and avenge the entire Sima clan, he couldn't have done it.

Since his original master, Sima Shang, had lost his entire clan, even if he could take revenge, he would have no one left to support, and with only 40,000 Northern Army soldiers, he might not be able to conquer the capital.

Under these circumstances, Cheng Luo united his subordinates and prepared to declare himself king.

The arrival of the imperial edict team was exactly what Cheng Luo wanted; he wanted to use these people from the central court to make a big show of the oath-taking ceremony.

This day.

In the grand drill ground of the northern border army, Cheng Luo sat on the general's throne on the high platform, welcoming the imperial edict-bearing team.

Cheng Luo was tall and imposing, fully armored, with a dark complexion and a full beard, resembling an extremely ferocious bear, exuding an aura of power.

In contrast, the hundred-plus people from the central court who came to deliver the imperial edict were travel-worn, their faces weathered, and they looked quite haggard.

Moreover, under Cheng Luo's deliberate arrangement, they walked step by step up the steps to the high platform.

Judging from their appearance, they were just like people who came to pay homage to Chengluo.

Even more outrageous, Cheng Luo had his trusted subordinates secretly spill some oil on the steps, causing several members of the imperial edict-bearing team to trip and nearly fall off the platform.

Such a scene naturally drew ridicule from some members of the border army, further damaging the prestige of the central court.

Without a doubt, this was Cheng Luo's deliberate act. He relied on his large army to his advantage, and the imperial edict team had no choice but to compromise with this arrangement.

On the high platform.

In front of the imperial edict-bearing team, Cheng Luo's arrogance and rebellious intentions were fully revealed.

Relying on the hundreds of elite guards beside him, he disregarded the dozens of Imperial Guards in the imperial edict-bearing team and shamelessly declared that "King Zhou is tyrannical and has indiscriminately killed loyal ministers of the Sima clan."

Moreover, the many captains behind him, clearly acting on his instructions, all bowed their heads in this situation and asked Cheng Luo to declare himself king.

Such an action naturally alarmed the imperial edict team, who shouted and cursed incessantly. Cheng Luo then casually pointed and ordered all of the hundred or so people to be tied up and arrested.

Of course, they won't kill anyone, otherwise it would greatly provoke the central government and trigger a war, but they might suffer a humiliation.

however.

At that very moment, a soft sigh suddenly rang out.

"Cheng Luo, I originally intended to spare your life, but it seems that I cannot do so now."

Its sound was majestic, not loud, yet it resounded throughout the entire border army's drill ground, like thunder in winter, or the roar of a blue dragon.

"This……"

Just as everyone was shocked by the terrifying sound and the meaning it contained.

People finally noticed a tall figure in golden armor among the dozens of Imperial Guards in the imperial edict-bearing squad.

I?!

What do you mean?
Some people were still completely stunned, but Cheng Luo and the others were already deeply shocked. His Majesty the King of Zhou had actually come in person?!

Moreover, judging from his words, he actually had the confidence to capture the commander Cheng Luo amidst the vast army!

This is clearly quite absurd.

Besides the more than 10,000 soldiers on daily duty, there were more than 20,000 elite border troops in the entire training ground.

How could His Majesty the King of Zhou have such courage and audacity to come here in person?

(End of this chapter)