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

Chapter 169 The Real Chronic Illness

"When a battle is won, the people's morale is boosted and the nation's prestige is enhanced. The spirit of the nation soars like a roc into the sky, and the will of the people shines like the sun over the eight directions."

This is a famous saying from an ancient philosopher during the Great Zhou Dynasty, which has been passed down through the ages.

Later, a philosopher also agreed with this and offered his own commentary or insights.

"When victories are achieved, the people's morale is high and the people's livelihood is strengthened. This is not just about expanding territory, but also about building a great legacy."

The meaning is clear: in some cases, a victory in a war can greatly boost the ethnic confidence and self-esteem of the people!
Of course, this is not an encouragement of militarism.

But sometimes, this is how it is between ethnic groups: unless you beat them hard enough to make them submit, the other side will always carry a strange sense of superiority and take advantage of you.

Especially for the once-powerful Zhou Dynasty after its decline, countless foreign tribes were eager to make their move.

The Jie people of the northern border and the Quanrong people outside the western frontier are typical examples of this.

now.

Gu Xuan led tens of thousands of human border troops to wipe out the vicious Jie tribe that had plagued them for decades, finally venting his anger!
It also greatly deterred many foreign tribes from abroad!

In recent days, countless prominent figures from small tribes have come to pay homage to His Majesty the King of Zhou in response to the call to arms in this city of Kuoju.

When passing by that mound of Jingguan, even the fiercest and most domineering tribal chiefs would be terrified and even frightened!
There was no need for harsh warnings to his subordinates; they already knew. The situation was different now. Even a powerful tribe like the Jie had been wiped out, so their own tribe needed to be even more careful.

……

The human army did not stay in Kuju City for long.

However, during those few days of rest, there were quite a few things to do.

The soldiers were either recuperating from their wounds or resting.

As for the construction of the Jingguan (a mound of skulls), it was mainly done by Jie prisoners and soldiers of other ethnic groups, while human soldiers supervised from the side.

Meanwhile, Gu Xuan was busy meeting with many prominent figures from various small tribes who came to pay homage, and discussing various matters after the war with Jiang Bushi, the governor of the northern border, and others, including rewards and punishments in the army, post-war handling, and so on. He was so busy that he seemed even more tired than when he was fighting.

If Gu Xuan's spirit and energy had not reached their peak, it would have been difficult for anyone else to handle the Zhou king's situation.

A few days later.

The main force of the human army withdrew from Kuoju City and will return to the border cities in the northern territory, leaving some soldiers along the way to garrison the Jie royal city, Chanshan City, and other places.

Kuoju City, the birthplace of the Jie people, was originally a sacred city in the eyes of this alien race, but now it has become a dead land!
Although the human soldiers did not burn down the city, no small tribe dared to occupy it.

Not far outside the city was a massive, terrifying mound of skulls, which made everyone with this idea feel uneasy.

After Gu Xuan led his army back, he stayed in the northern border for about half a month.

During these two weeks, his work mainly focused on the cleanup of this campaign, including implementing rewards and punishments for soldiers and providing compensation for fallen soldiers, and so on.

The most important aspect is the follow-up arrangements for the situation in the North.

Jiang Bushi was a steady and experienced general who had been suppressed for many years by Cheng Luo and other remnants of the Sima clan. It was not until his later years that he met Gu Xuan, a wise ruler who restored order to the country.

But he was getting on in years, nearing sixty, and his energy was waning. Moreover, after years of fighting, he had already suffered numerous hidden injuries.

In this situation, Gu Xuan personally promoted one of Jiang Bushi's most outstanding sons to be his royal bodyguard, who was also one of the warriors who accompanied him in attacking and killing the Nuchi.

Undoubtedly, being able to serve His Majesty King Zhou closely was a tremendous honor for the Jiang Bushi family, and a significant step forward in elevating their status.

One day in the future, Jiang Bushi's son might very well become a high-ranking official. Gu Xuan's move was precisely to win over the old general Jiang Bushi and enable him to better guard the northern border.

At the same time, in order to prevent the border army from becoming too powerful, Gu Xuan gradually and consciously helped to restore the power of the Northern Border Governor that had been taken away by the Sima family.

This is a gradual process and cannot be accomplished overnight.

But at least, the Governor-General of the Northern Border, though a civil official, possessed the ability to command troops.

After Gu Xuan issued the order and transferred a legion that had followed him in battle to the Governor of the Northern Border, the latter's power was almost sufficient to control the entire Northern Border Army.

In fact.

Given Gu Xuan's prestige among the border troops, no one dared to disobey his orders, not even the veteran general Jiang Bushi.

After completing all of this, Gu Xuan returned to the capital, which he had been away from for several months.

……

these days.

Gu Xuan was almost always busy, embodying the spirit of "silent until he speaks, then astonishing everyone when he does."

He first dealt with the powerful ministerial families headed by Sima Shang.

Then, in just a few months, he firmly brought the central imperial guards under his command by promoting orphans of the Imperial Guards.

That's how he was able to purge the Sima clan's influence and regain control of the court.

Otherwise, without the loyalty of tens of thousands of imperial guards, even if Gu Xuan had mastered the Great Zhou Divine King Technique and possessed unparalleled divine power, it would probably be of no use.

After resolving the rebellion of the Jie tribe, his prestige reached an almost new peak.

Even before he returned to the capital, his many feats of pacifying the Jie tribe had already spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

Among them were two large troop groups on the western border, commanded by Ma Qi and Yu Chi Rui, which were also a large army to guard against the Quanrong tribe.

Even the Quanrong tribe, far beyond the Great Wall, knew about this.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the more than a thousand elite soldiers who had followed Gu Xuan in his campaigns in the northern border were talking at length, wishing they could elevate the current King Zhou to the status of a god!

Of course, there were elements of embellishment involved, but it is an undeniable fact that Gu Xuan led the elite border troops in a personal attack and killed high-ranking elites such as King Nuchi of Jie.

Therefore.

Within just a few days, King Xuan of Zhou gained even greater prestige in the court and among the people, especially in the Imperial Guard system, where military merit was paramount, where he was treated like a god of war.

Meanwhile, the two main generals, Ma Qi and Yu Chi Rui, who were far away on the western frontier, also sent congratulatory messages almost simultaneously.

Even the usually arrogant Quanrong tribe seemed to feel some kind of intimidation, or perhaps they sensed that this Zhou king was extraordinary, and sent envoys to the capital to pay homage and offer congratulations.

Since the news of Gu Xuan's pacification of the Jie tribe in the north spread throughout the western desert, the Quanrong tribe seemed to have unanimously reduced, or even stopped, their raids on the western border of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Obviously.

Whether it was the high-ranking members of the Quanrong tribe or the ordinary tribesmen, they all sensed a certain iron-bloodedness emanating from King Gu Xuan of Zhou.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is the instinct of living beings. These Quanrong people consciously stopped their actions that would bring about their own destruction.

To some extent, this also gave Gu Xuan more energy to solve the real deep-seated problems within the Great Zhou Dynasty!
(End of this chapter)