The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Although Qianxiang Kingdom is a small country, it borders the southwestern frontier, making it much more convenient for them to provide military support and logistical assistance than Daqian Kingdom.

Even if the army of Qianxiang Kingdom is weak, it's impossible for them to be easily defeated by Jia Huan's troops, right?

The result was that Jia Huan's troops were completely dominating the enemy; it was utterly outrageous.

The previous gloom has naturally been swept away, and now it's time to reap the rewards.

"Since Jia Huan has been so helpful, I will naturally not be stingy with my rewards!"

In a very good mood, he immediately ordered, "Promote Jia Huan as the First-Class Earl of Dingyuan, and elevate him to the rank of General. Also, give Jia Cong the title of First-Class Baron!"

"Tell him to keep up the good work and not to be polite to those from Qianxiang Kingdom!"

The Emperor coldly replied, "If we can force them into a corner, it would be best to kill the Prince of Nan'an directly!"

Chapter 360 Ruthless (Please Subscribe)

Jia Huan certainly did not disappoint the current ruler!

At this moment, he had already led several thousand men into the territory of Qianxiang Kingdom.

They pursued the retreating army of Qianxiang Kingdom and easily captured several counties.

It's quite strange!

The small southwestern kingdoms that bordered the Central Plains dynasties had border areas that were all mountainous and treacherous.

For example, the area bordering Qianxiang Kingdom and the southwestern region is entirely at high altitude.

Not only is the environment harsh, but the terrain is also complex with continuous mountain ranges and scarce resources, making it unsuitable for human habitation. At least, this is the case for most of the area.

But once you cross the towering mountains that block your way, you will find yourself on a vast, fertile plain with a dense network of waterways.

The environment and climate here allow for three rice harvests a year!

If developed properly, it will be a vast granary with a much larger grain production than any plain in the Central Plains, truly a unique and blessed place!

Such strange regions are not unique to Qianxiang Kingdom; Annam is similar!

Jia Huan led his men into the territory of Qianxiang Kingdom, driving the routed soldiers towards its heartland.

Despite having only 5,000 men, half mounted and half infantry, they easily crushed the more than 30,000 fleeing soldiers as they ran, giving them no chance to catch their breath.

Whenever the fleeing soldiers showed any signs of gathering, Jia Huan's cavalry and infantry would rush over immediately, forcefully break them down, and then let them continue to escape as scattered soldiers.

The army of Qianxiang Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat!

Even their commander and a large number of high-ranking officers were mostly captured alive.

These guys were all terrified of death. They either huddled under the central command flag or were protected by numerous guards, making them too conspicuous among the chaotic fleeing soldiers.

How could Jia Huan, who was leading the charge, possibly ignore them?

Those who can charge straight in can capture the person in a very short time.

If they missed their chance, not a single arrow would miss its mark, and there would be no chance of escape.

In this way, Jia Huan personally captured more than a dozen generals and commanders of the Qianxiang Kingdom's army.

These guys are ridiculous. When they were captured, they kept speaking broken Daqian Mandarin, directly revealing their official titles and demanding that Daqian provide them with a respectable reception.

You've got water in your brain!

How could Jia Huan possibly give them a friendly look?

If it weren't for their distinguished status and ability to play a crucial role, the labor camp would be their final destination; they wouldn't be able to return safely.

With their army leaderless, the Qianxiang Kingdom's army was driven back to their own territory from the southwest of Daqian by the Daqian army, which consisted of less than a third of them.

Not only that, Jia Huan also led five thousand elite troops, divided into small groups of five hundred men each, to continuously drive these fleeing soldiers into the heart of Qianxiang Kingdom in a panicked escape.

During this period, Jia Huan did not allow his men to kill excessively, but instead kept driving them away.

Even so, in the harsh mountainous environment of Qianxiang Kingdom, the casualties of the routed soldiers were still staggering.

As Jia Huan had predicted, these defeated soldiers, already terrified, carried out a frenzied and brutal looting and killing of the already sparsely populated people along the border of Qianxiang Kingdom.

An out-of-control army is more harmful to the people than bandits and outlaws!

Along their journey, not only ordinary villages, but even towns with simple city walls were easily breached and destroyed!

Several places that had been simply developed and were suitable for people's lives were directly ruined and became infuriating!

I'm in a really bad state, sorry.

Chapter 361 Lin Ruhai was shocked (Please subscribe)

In the backyard of the Central Plains Provincial Administration Office, Lin Ruhai sat upright in his study.

The flickering lamplight reflected the expression on the face of this high-ranking official, his mood shifting between light and shadow.

"You rascal, you're really audacious!"

Lin Ruhai put down the letter in his hand, let out a long breath, and had a rather subtle expression on his face.

There was shock, confusion, frustration, disappointment, and uncertainty.

"Brother Ruhai, what's wrong with you?"

There was another person in the study, a man in his early fifties with graying temples. His once handsome face was now full of signs of aging, but he had a very good temperament, with the gentle and refined air of a scholar.

"Brother Wencai, you'll see once you take a look!"

Lin Ruhai gave a wry smile and handed over the letter in his hand.

Ma Wencai took the letter and quickly scanned its contents, then exclaimed in surprise, "General Jia, you have such a bold spirit!"

When he said this, his aged face was full of admiration, and there was nothing else unusual about it.

Lin Ruhai had been secretly observing, and upon seeing this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he trusted his "fellow student" completely, the contents of Jia Huan's letter were too audacious, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

"What courage or not, he's probably just young and impetuous!"

Lin Ruhai said irritably, "You've only won a few battles, and you dare to make such a crazy suggestion?"

"Brother Ruhai, don't use the promotion methods and ideas of civil officials to speculate on the promotion model of military officers!"

Ma Wencai, however, disagreed and said with a faint smile, "I think General Jia's concerns are not without merit!"

Seeing Lin Ruhai listening attentively, the middle-aged man Ma Wencai slowly continued, "The most important thing for a military officer to be promoted is military merit, and General Jia's military merit is quite remarkable!"

"Even during the founding period of the nation, General Jia's military achievements in just six months would be considered remarkable!"

"Not to mention that at a time when there is a shortage of qualified military officers in the army, General Jia's performance can be described as outstanding. It would be unreasonable not to reward him handsomely!"

Lin Ruhai nodded silently; what he said made sense!

In fact, his rise from a lowly position in the capital's government offices to the position of Provincial Governor of the Central Plains was largely due to Jia Cong's meritorious service in suppressing bandits; otherwise, it would have been almost impossible for him to be promoted so quickly.

To reiterate, he is a key minister under the Emperor Emeritus. As long as the Emperor Emeritus is alive, he will never be given important responsibilities, and the current Emperor will not easily grant him a chance.

In reality, they are still being used reluctantly, not because Lin Ruhai himself is so important.

Rather, it was because Jia Cong's military achievements deserved to be rewarded; a mere promotion in military rank was not enough. There were other factors to consider, which is why Lin Ruhai was given an important position ahead of schedule.

That said, Jia Cong's achievements in suppressing bandits were enough to benefit high-ranking officials like Lin Ruhai.

Jia Huan's military achievements are even more extraordinary; how should he be rewarded now?

In the first battle, he led a thousand light cavalry to annihilate three thousand nomadic cavalrymen from beyond the Great Wall who had infiltrated the pass and wreaked havoc in the northwest!

In the second battle, he commanded 10,000 infantry and cavalry and annihilated nearly 40,000 barbarian cavalry from beyond the Great Wall!

In the current third battle, they easily crushed the invading army of Qianxiang Kingdom and even spread the flames of war to the enemy's territory.

Such military achievements deserve a marquisate; it would be insufficient to convince the people otherwise!

But how old is Jia Huan?

He's not even sixteen years old in real age, so naturally he's not eighteen in traditional Chinese age reckoning either!

He was ennobled for his military achievements at such a young age and also controlled a large army. What will he be like in the future?

He is currently interested in improving his martial arts skills to enhance his reputation!

It is conceivable that with Jia Huan's outstanding military achievements, he will definitely have many opportunities to lead troops into battle in the future, and his military achievements will continue to come.

He'll probably reach a point where he can't be promoted any further before he's even twenty!

Based on Lin Ruhai's understanding of the current situation, he is certain that the disaster of "his merits overshadowing the ruler" will occur!

If this had happened ten years ago, Lin Ruhai's first reaction would have been to tell Jia Huan to keep a low profile and not to be so ostentatious, lest things escalate to the point of mutual distrust between the ruler and his subject.

He was a traditional scholar-official, upholding the ideals of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and certainly wouldn't want such a thing to happen. Even if it did occur, his first thought would be how to persuade Jia Huan to voluntarily relinquish his interests and not to directly oppose the current emperor.

But now, of course, one wouldn't be so 'blindly loyal'.

How could they be so cruel when it concerns their future son-in-law, who was also their savior?

However, Jia Huan's idea this time was indeed quite audacious!

But Ma Wencai, standing to the side, didn't seem to care and chuckled, "Brother Ruhai, it seems General Jia is aware of this as well, otherwise he wouldn't have had such thoughts!"