I have an endless army of warriors, rampaging across the heavens.

Chapter 95 March 4th: The Forbidden City Falls from the Imperial Palace, Fire Breaks Through the City! [3rd Update, Requesting First Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets!]

Since leaving Jiujiang and arriving in Laoshan, Zuo Jing has completely relaxed.

Whether in Shangyang City or Xiayang City, Zuo Jing always felt constrained and unsafe. Even with hundreds of assassins guarding him and high-level assassins of level seven, eight, and nine protecting him, Zuo Jing still felt uneasy.

until now.

Being in Laoshan, I have completely shaken off the sense of crisis I used to have.

Laoshan was carefully selected by Zuo Jing's assassins who went deep into Laozhou. The mountain is very deep and rarely visited by people. It is more than 800 li away from the nearest Laozhou settlement, like a natural barrier. There will be no contact for at least ten years.

As for ten years from now—

"I'll take off early!"

……

That day, after finishing his martial arts class, Zuo Jing returned to his courtyard and lay on a recliner, enjoying a leisurely time.

Six level-nine assassins were hidden in every corner of his courtyard and even underground. Not far from the courtyard, at least six hundred low-level assassins were lurking in all directions.

These assassins revolved around him, ignoring worldly affairs and solely dedicated to protecting Zuo Jing's personal safety.

Also.

Standing prominently beside Zuo Jing was a low-ranking assassin. This was an "assistant" that Zuo Jing assigned to every civil servant in Laoshan; he could also be called an "assistant," "secretary," "bodyguard," or "guard."

But in reality, it serves two purposes—

First, to provide close protection for civil servants, especially Zuo Jing and his elder sister Zuo Rong, who could shield them from harm in critical moments.

Second, to monitor and supervise public officials, prevent favoritism, corruption, bribery, and other such situations from occurring, and ensure the absolute impartiality and integrity of the Laoshan public service team.

Suicide squad members are brainless; it's wishful thinking to expect them to be in charge.

However, they are still quite capable of supervising, if all they are asked to do is supervise.

Others would also worry about their privacy being invaded by assassins, and would certainly feel uncomfortable at first.

Sakyo won't.

He will only feel safer.

After being transferred to Laoshan—

The sky is high and the emperor is far away.

Stay away from worldly affairs and war.

Everything was so wonderful, and Zuo Jing felt an unprecedented sense of security.

As of today.

The third day of March.

Zuojing has a total of 13733 assassins. Among them, Laoshan is the core base, with 6000 assassins distributed on and off the mountain, inside and outside the mountain. It can be said that there is a guard every ten steps and a sentry every five steps.

It looks loose.

It is actually tight.

It was extremely heavily guarded, not only to prevent people from Laoshan from escaping, but also to prevent outsiders from accidentally entering, and more importantly, to guard against the endless stream of venomous snakes and ferocious beasts that roamed the deep mountains and forests.

While standing guard, they also dug in the soil.

Tunnels and caves were dug out from the mountain peaks and the interiors of Laoshan.

Zuo Jing plans to emulate the concept and inspiration of the 'Mo Family Mechanical City' from his previous life's anime, designing and building a massive mountain city filled with checkpoints and traps at every turn.

All guards were composed of suicide soldiers.

Fearless and undaunted.

Absolute loyalty.

This eliminates the possibility of 'the strongest fortress being breached from within'.

Once completed, it will undoubtedly become the most impregnable fortress in the world.

The matter of self-preservation.

Zuo Jing is serious.

But this is not Zuo Jing's final retreat. He is currently in Laoshan and continues to send his assassins southward to search for and build a second mountain city deep in the mountains, as one of the escape routes should Laoshan be exposed in the future.

not only that.

Zuo Jing also dispatched assassins to travel eastward from Laoshan, traversing mountains and valleys to reach the coast, and then sailing out to sea to find islands.

East China Sea!

Island!

New World!
This was also one of Zuo Jing's planned escape routes.

"Anyway."

There is no absolute safety, only relative safety.

Previously, Zuo Jing moved from Shangyang City to Xiayang City. At that time, the stable Xiayang City was relatively safer than the chaotic Shangyang City.

But a few months later, Xiayang City was also in chaos and unsafe, so Zuo Jing came to Laoshan again.

But Laoshan is not necessarily safe forever, and we must continue to prepare a safer escape route.

This is called 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows'.

Zuo Jing knew all too well: "The suicide squad has no weaknesses. The mass troop strategy can sweep away everything. The only weakness and the only fatal flaw is me, the 'lord'. If I die, everything is over."

Therefore, when it comes to one's own safety, one can never be too cautious.

……

From the end of August to the beginning of March.

Zuo Jing had an initial clash with the Great Yan court, with Xiayang City as the main battlefield. His main opponents were 20,000 soldiers under the leadership of the Jiujiang Governor's Office and a group of experts from the Jing'an Division.

The two sides fought a battle around Xiayang City. Zuo Jing suffered considerable losses, but the Governor-General's Office suffered even greater losses. Not only was Han Yinglong, the Governor-General of Jiujiang, wiped out in his hometown of Donghu and his ancestral graves were desecrated by Zuo Jing, but more than a quarter of the officers and soldiers were also killed. Many of the generals who led the troops also had their families abducted by Zuo Jing, and their ancestral graves were also destroyed by Zuo Jing.

They had long since given up.

As early as the end of October, they completely retreated to their camps and basically gave up on the population census in Xiayang City.

then.

Zuo Jing was able to free up his energy to investigate the information of the generals in the army that the court had sent to reinforce the country. He took the initiative to abduct family members, burn ancestral halls, and desecrate ancestral graves as a form of intimidation.

As the saying goes, "One trick is all you need to succeed."

As the saying goes, surprise is the best way to defeat the enemy.

This group of Great Yan generals were clearly on guard. From the bandit-suppression governor Jin Sheng to all the generals below him, every single one of them had hidden their families in advance. They also specially arranged for local militia to patrol the ancestral graves day and night, and added many hunting dogs and wolfhounds as a precaution, as well as many pottery urns to listen for any activity underground.

They were on high alert.

Zuo Jing's attempts to make money have mostly ended in failure, with little success.

As expected, it no longer worked.

"The city is noisy, with a cacophony of voices and smells. The sounds of the assassins digging tunnels in the city are hard to hear with a pottery jar, and the smells won't be detected by dogs."

"But most of those people's ancestral graves are in the mountains."

"Strictly guard against and defend against it."

"Difficult to start."

Zuo Jing tried several times, but suffered considerable casualties, so he immediately restrained himself and stopped making moves easily.

From the end of August to the beginning of March, after Zuo Jing confronted the imperial court head-on, the number of casualties among the assassins rose sharply.

In 188 days, a total of 365 soldiers died in battle, 208 were permanently disabled, and 427 were captured.

The loss was exactly one thousand people!

among them.

Those who were captured are still alive.

Even disabled people can still dig soil as long as they have hands.

Those who die in battle are truly dead, their deaths are over.

As of today, 13733 suicide soldiers—

Laoshan: 6000.
Blessed Land: 456.
Jiujiang Prefectures: 4000.
The remaining provinces of the Great Yan: 3000.
Countries and territories surrounding the Great Yan: 227.
……

The number of assassins is increasing.

It is spreading wider and wider.

Zuo Jing's main base has moved from Xiayang in Jiujiang to Laoshan in Laozhou, but Jiujiang remains the primary battlefield, as it concerns Zuo Jing's life ideals and the interests of all parties. "Using Jiujiang as the battlefield, while forging a world of great harmony, I can also take the opportunity to communicate with the high-ranking officials of the Great Yan. At that time, my understanding of the present world and the blessed land will be much broader and deeper."

It seems that Jiujiang can be abandoned.

Jiujiang cannot be abandoned.

Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of assassins, lurking in various places, will always be at the bottom, with access to too low-level information and too low efficiency.

It's far better than after defeating and subduing the Great Yan; then you could have anything you wanted!
"We must win this battle."

"And we have to win beautifully!"

The people of Zuojing were very settled in Laoshan.

The next day.

March 4th.

It was the fifth day since Zuo Jing and his elder sister arrived at Laoshan.

It was the fourth day since Jin Sheng led an army of 300,000 to besiege Xiayang.

Zuo Jing possessed a death squad member, but instead of going to Jiujiang, he went to—

Shengjing!

……

Shengjing City is vast and immense.

The most central part is naturally the imperial palace.

Its name is 'Forbidden City'. It is 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. It is surrounded by a city wall 18 meters high on all four sides and a moat 96 meters wide outside the city.

It covers an area of ​​approximately 72 square meters and has a building area of ​​approximately 15 square meters.

He can be described as having a magnificent and magnanimous spirit.

This day.

early morning.

Minister of War Zhang Kefa first reported on the war situation in the three northwestern provinces: "Following the rebellion of Jiang Er last year, banditry has broken out in various parts of Huangyuan. Zheng Yin of Fugu, Ge Daxing of Hannan, Gao Yiming of Ansai, and others have incited many people to rebel. Among them, Zheng Yin, after occupying Fugu, even declared himself king and established officials, openly rebelling with audacity. Since the beginning of the year, Yang Liu, Buzhanni, and others have been causing trouble all over Huangyuan. In just over half a year, there are only more than 100 bandit groups in Huangyuan province, which is alarming. I fear that they will become too powerful to control. I request Your Majesty to make a decision!"

Emperor Daye frowned: "What kind of work has Yang He done?"

Zhang Kefa said: "Governor-General Yang He of the Three Border Regions advocated a combination of suppression and appeasement, with appeasement as the main approach. However, the rebels were unrighteous, and those who had been appeased rose up again one after another, causing the banditry to escalate."

Bang!
Emperor Daye angrily declared, "Yang He has ruined the country! Remove him from his post as Governor-General of the Three Border Regions and bring him back to Shengjing for trial!"

None of the officials dared to speak.

Emperor Daye looked up at the hall and asked, "Which of my beloved ministers is willing to make a trip to Huangyuan?"

Everyone fell silent.

Only Hong Fan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"

Emperor Daye said, "Minister Hong, you are loyal to the emperor and devoted to the country. If you go to Huangyuan, what will you advocate?"

Hong Fan was confident: "Suppress the strong and then appease them; suppress them first, then appease them."

"it is good!"

Emperor Daye was overjoyed and immediately appointed Hong Fan as the new Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, in charge of all matters related to the suppression of bandits in Huangyuan.

The matter is settled.

Emperor Daye once again inquired about the Jiujiang campaign, which was of utmost concern to him: "What activity has the underground society been making lately?"

An official reported: "At the end of February, Governor Jin mobilized 300,000 troops to besiege Xiayang City. He is currently relocating all the city's inhabitants according to plan, setting up hundreds of checkpoints for thorough inspections, and placing pottery urns along the city walls inside and outside the city to prevent the underground society from escaping through tunnels. He is guarding the city closely to ensure that the underground society rebels have nowhere to hide!"

"it is good!"

Emperor Daye was overjoyed upon hearing this.

He declared, “This underground rebellion has exposed the immense harm caused by unregistered and hidden households. We must take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate and count the population of Jiujiang and the ten prefectures. I want to see if those rebels really sprang from the cracks in the rocks!”

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

All the officials spoke in unison.

Emperor Daye was slightly pleased. These officials probably thought he would be truly angered by the underworld, but that wasn't the case. He simply wanted to investigate the unclear household registrations in various parts of the Great Yan.

The emergence of the underground society gave him just the right opportunity to lash out.

'There are numerous hidden households in the two capitals and thirteen provinces.'

"With the emergence of this blessed land, cases of missing persons have become increasingly frequent across various regions."

This unhealthy trend must be stopped.

Population equals national power.

'These powerful families are all parasites; if left unchecked, the Great Yan will perish sooner or later.'

Emperor Daye carried the heavy responsibility of governing two capitals and thirteen provinces, and every move he made required careful consideration. Among these concerns, the population was one of his most pressing issues.

In the past, when he wanted to investigate, he was hindered by a group of princes and ministers in the imperial court.

Ultimately, isn't it just a matter of worrying about infringing on their own interests?

This is a matter of great importance for Jiujiang. It is located in the heart of the Great Yan territory and is one of the largest granaries. At this time of internal and external troubles, Jiujiang must not be lost.

His Majesty the Emperor seized the opportunity to create an opening.

He hoped that this thorough investigation would provide the Nine Garrisons with several million taels of silver in military pay each year.

Speaking of the Nine Borders.

Emperor Daye opened his mouth, intending to ask about the recent battles at the Nine Borders.

Suddenly, at this moment—

Rumble!
The enormous Golden Palace suddenly trembled, and the beams and pillars hummed as if they could not bear the weight.

"Be careful, Your Majesty!"

"The earth is shaking!"

Chaos erupted in the hall.

however.

This is not an earthquake.

Emperor Daye leaped out of the Golden Palace with a powerful swing of his arms, and as he hurried outside, he looked back, only to see—

boom! ~
The Golden Palace, which had been built hundreds of years ago, suddenly collapsed into a bottomless sinkhole.

"Escort!"

"Escort!"

One by one, the ministers screamed and jumped out.

His face showed lingering panic.

Emperor Daye had already come out, staring at the bottomless pit, his face extremely gloomy.

Just then, dozens more imperial guards rushed in from all directions, shouting urgent reports—

"Your Majesty, someone has set fire to Hongwu Gate!"

"Your Majesty, someone has set fire to Chengtian Gate!"

"Your Majesty, someone has set fire to the Altar of the God of Earth and Grain!"

"Your Majesty, someone has set fire to the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

"Your Majesty, arson has broken out in the Wenhua Hall and Wenlou!"

"Your Majesty, arson has broken out in the Wuying Hall and the Wulou Tower!"

"Your Majesty, arson has broken out in Chunhe Palace and Kunning Palace!"

"Your Majesty, arson has broken out in the Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, and Jinshen Hall!"

"Your Majesty, arson has occurred in the Rouyi Hall, Fengxian Hall, Dashan Hall, and Jiuwu Feilong Hall!"

……

Emperor Daye suddenly looked up, glanced around, and saw only—

The Imperial Palace!

War raged, and smoke filled the air!
……

(End of this chapter)