Through countless dynasties, I can summon the heroes of Chinese history.

Chapter 111 Urgent Message from Eight Hundred Li Away, Shocking the Imperial Court

Jiang Ce was about to summon Fan Li to give him a detailed account of the battle's results when the system's cold and clear notification suddenly rang in his mind.

The system was quite good, directly presenting the gains and losses of this battle to him.

After this battle, Han Feng's 30,000 elite troops from aristocratic families suffered a real loss of more than half, 15,000 lives, plus countless weapons and warhorses. Even with the Han family's wealth and power, such a loss would be enough to make him feel the pain for a long time.

However, Jiang Ce's losses were not to be underestimated either. The Laiyang Army, which he was so proud of, had lost more than 800 men, each of whom was a carefully selected elite. Such losses made him feel a little uneasy.

After all, these were soldiers from the vanguard and the White Robe Army, the elite of the elite. Jiang Ce had less than 10,000 such elite troops at most, which meant that he lost nearly one-tenth of his force in this one battle.

Of the more than 5,000 Liangshan soldiers who had been incorporated into the army recently, only more than 2,000 remained after a bloody battle, and the casualties on the battlefield were ultimately devastating.

However, it was gratifying that more than 5,000 officers and soldiers from aristocratic families were captured in this battle, all of whom were veterans who had been through many battles.

If it were someone else, there probably wouldn't be a way; the only option would be to break down their psychological defenses over time and turn them into a loyal force.

But Jiang Ce doesn't need to do that. His time training in the Laizhou army is definitely a hidden treasure. As long as he publicly reveals his identity and resolves their concerns, it won't be long before these people directly submit to him.

Jiang Ce was still very confident.

In the following days, Jiang Ce no longer needed to worry about the war. He only needed to wait for Fan Li and others to finish counting the spoils of war, comforting the wounded soldiers, and reorganizing the prisoners before he could begin the next step of his plans.

His trip to Liangshan was a resounding success. He not only killed many enemy generals and inflicted heavy losses on the government troops of powerful families, but also summoned top talents such as Wu Zixu.

Although the current troop strength has suffered losses, fresh blood has been added to replenish it.

Whether it's talent reserves or military strength, they've already made a fortune; it's time to start the next round of plans.

Before leaving Longtou Mountain, Jiang Ce specifically instructed Fan Li to compile a detailed battle report, along with evidence that the Han family had colluded with bandits and intended to ambush and kill the Prince of Laiyang, which was then sent to the imperial court by fast horse.

Although Jiang Ce's father was forced to give up Laizhou and tacitly allowed the six major families of Laizhou to become local tyrants, this did not mean that he was willing to do so.

Now that I've handed this leverage over to him, I'm sure this petty-minded father will bring me unexpected results.

Moreover, since Jiang Ce had led his army to drive away Han Feng's army, he could naturally take over Liangshan and settle his troops there to train his own army.

Once the imperial decree is issued, he can launch the next round of action, which is to directly declare war on the six major families of Laizhou.

Liangshan was also an indispensable strategic location.

It was like a nail, firmly embedded in Fengxiang County.

The words are divided into two parts.

With Cao Debang, a mid-level general, leading the way, Gao Lan and his generals managed to break through the encirclement by sheer luck. However, of their 10,000-strong army, nearly half had been lost, leaving only a little over 5,000 survivors.

Fortunately, during the retreat, Gao Lan gathered up many of Han Fengmo's defeated soldiers.

From the words of these terrified soldiers, their armor tattered, Gao Lan finally learned the truth behind Han Feng's swift defeat: there really was a divine general hidden within the army of the Prince of Laiyang.

Moreover, this divine general was extremely powerful. In just over thirty rounds, he defeated Pan Feng, who was known as the "Peerless General," catching Han Feng off guard.

Upon learning the truth, Gao Lan felt a mix of emotions. He was overjoyed at the King of Laiyang's great victory over Han Fengwei, but at the same time, he felt sorry for the soldiers who had died on the battlefield.

They were all brave soldiers of the border army, who should have served on the battlefield and fought against the Eastern barbarian bandits, but now they have been reduced to tools for fighting for power and profit.

After briefly reorganizing the remaining troops, Gao Lan, the deputy commander of the army, ordered the army to head straight for Fengxiang County on their return journey.

He knew in his heart that since the army of the King of Laiyang was full of fierce generals and strategists, the Liangshan territory should have been taken over by the other side long ago after he sent out his entire force.

On the return journey, Gao Lan saw the disheveled Han Feng army. In their constant flight, the 20,000-strong army was reduced to just over 6,000 men.

Seeing Han Feng's ragged clothes and pale face, Gao Lan didn't say anything, after all, the other party's status was far higher than his own.

However, Cao Kewei had no reservations about Han Feng. It was true that the Han family was the head of the six great families in Laizhou, but the Cao family was not much weaker than the Han family. He immediately revealed a mocking smile and his tone became sarcastic.

"Oh my, isn't this the invincible War God Han from our six great families? He considers himself the number one leader among the younger generation of the six great families. How come he's fallen into such a sorry state after only a few days?"

"Cao Kewei—you!"

Han Feng's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared, but in the end it turned into a sigh.

He had already lost face for the Han family due to his defeat and escape, and even though he was being publicly humiliated by Cao Kewei, he was still burning with anger and didn't bother to say anything, because there was no point.

Seeing Han Feng before him, who looked like a wilted eggplant after a frost, Cao Kewei felt as if he had hit cotton, so he simply stopped talking nonsense.

Thus, the two armies merged and headed towards Fengxiang County.

Our attention returns to Jiang Ce.

After several days of inventory and cleanup, Jiang Ce finally managed to thoroughly clean up the battlefield, which was littered with corpses.

While cleaning up the battlefield, he also looked at the armor on the corpses of the aristocratic officials, which made him even more impressed by the wealth and power of the aristocratic families.

The armor coverage rate of this elite aristocratic army was as high as 70%, and there were nearly 7,000 suits of armor salvaged from the cold corpses alone.

Although many of them were damaged and deformed during the fierce battle, after a rough inspection by the soldiers, it was found that there were still as many as 5,000 suits of armor that could be repaired and used.

And this doesn't even include the intact standard armor on the prisoners. Such a harvest is enough to upgrade the equipment of the soldiers under his command to another level.

After dealing with the military supplies, Jiang Ce immediately ordered the disposal of the corpses scattered all over the place.

In ancient battlefields, the greatest fear was the spread of plague, which was a more deadly threat than a counterattack by the remnants of the army. Unless it was necessary to use a mound of corpses to intimidate the enemy, any far-sighted general would properly handle the remains of the fallen.

He ordered his men to collect the corpses of the Liangshan army and the noble families' soldiers, pile them up in layers, pour oil on them, and burn them in a huge fire. The billowing black smoke rose straight into the sky, allowing the deceased to rest in peace and completely cutting off the possibility of the plague spreading.

With the battlefield matters settled, Jiang Ce had someone take stock of the wealth that Liangshan had accumulated over the years.

Some of the items were left by the previous chieftain, while others were gold, silver, grain, pearls, jade, and cloth obtained by Chao Gai, Song Jiang, and others from plundering prefectures and counties and collecting tributes, filling several warehouses to the brim.

Looking at the numbers in the ledger, Jiang Ce sighed inwardly that Liangshan had accumulated such a considerable fortune over the years.

The actual gold and silver alone amounted to over three thousand taels of gold and nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver, not even including the jewelry, jade, silk, brocade, and valuable antiques.

It should be noted that this level of wealth far exceeds the savings of an ordinary mountain stronghold.

Liangshan relied on the geographical advantage of the 800-li marshland to intercept and kill passing merchant caravans and plunder nearby wealthy households and counties. They even seized government-escorted military pay and tributes from wealthy merchants. In addition, they accumulated this treasury full of gold and silver by bringing in various people who came to join them over the years.

This silver was enough to support the food and supplies for tens of thousands of soldiers under Jiang Cemo for half a year, as well as the forging of weapons. And those high-quality silver...

Gold is a hard currency, and it can be used to exchange for supplies or recruit soldiers.

What's even more remarkable is that, in addition to the gold and silver, the warehouse also contained tens of thousands of bolts of fine silk, hundreds of boxes of pearls, agates, and jade, as well as a considerable amount of cast silver ingots and copper coins, all of which were hard goods that could be used directly without needing to be converted into cash.

This harvest was far greater than what was gained from wiping out a dozen or so ordinary small mountain strongholds.

Since Song Jiang and his companions had presented him with such a generous gift, and considering their contributions in this battle, Jiang Ce would naturally not treat them unfairly.

Therefore, rewards were immediately given in recognition of merit, and Song Jiang was appointed as the Prefect of Fengxiang County and concurrently held the position of General of the Central Army, and was awarded five thousand taels of silver.

Twenty servants and their families moved into a residence next to the lord's mansion in Laiyang City.

Chao Gai was appointed as the Commandant of Fengxiang Commandery, responsible for training troops in daily life and leading troops into battle in wartime.

Wu Yong was appointed as the Prefect of Fengxiang County and granted 300 taels of silver and 100 mu of fertile land.

The other core leaders of Liangshan were rewarded based on their contributions in this battle; some were promoted one rank, while others were given some wealth.

Song Jiang was thrilled by such a generous offer. Although it seemed like an empty promise, since his lord had made it public, he would naturally be in charge of Fengxiang County after it was conquered.

In the twenty-seventh year of Tianfeng's reign, early July.

An urgent battle report, along with evidence of the Han family's collusion with a group of bandits to ambush and kill King Jiang Ce of Laiyang on the road, and their alleged collusion with the Eastern Barbarians, exploded like thunder in the golden palace of the Cangming Dynasty.

The eunuch, carrying a sealed document, bowed and quickly presented it. All the civil and military officials in the hall held their breath, their eyes focused on the emperor on the dragon throne.

Emperor Tianfeng, Jiang Chongzhao, unfolded the dossier, first scanning the battle report on Jiang Ce's victory over Han Feng's army and his occupation of Liangshan. He raised an eyebrow and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes.

But when he saw the irrefutable evidence that the Han family had colluded with bandits and intended to ambush the Prince of Laiyang, including several secret letters bearing the Han family's private seal and the written confessions of captured bandit generals, his face instantly darkened.

If it were just these things, he would be angry, but not to the point of losing his temper. The key point is that the contents of this document even contain evidence of their collusion with the Eastern Barbarians.

It turns out that in the battle three years ago, they had already colluded with the Eastern Yi, which is why they kept cutting back on logistics, causing Cangming's hundreds of thousands of troops to suffer a crushing defeat, and he was forced to abandon Laizhou, becoming a laughing stock of the world.

Upon thinking of this, Jiang Chongzhao was instantly enraged. He slammed the dossier onto the imperial desk, causing the imperial seal on the desk to tremble slightly.

"Well done, well done! What a bunch of lawless parasites from powerful families!"

Jiang Chongzhao's voice, filled with years of suppressed anger, resounded throughout the Golden Hall.

"Three years ago, during the Battle of Laizhou, my soldiers fought valiantly on the front lines, while these powerful families of Laizhou were secretly hoarding provisions and supplies."

The deprivation of logistical supplies led to the army being cut off from supplies, resulting in the complete defeat of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

"Considering the foundation of the nation, I temporarily abandoned Laizhou and tolerated their tyranny. I never expected that they would dare to collude with bandits to murder imperial heirs, and that they had been colluding with powerful figures from the Eastern Barbarians for many years. This is intolerable!"

Upon seeing this, the prince and his officials bowed and pleaded guilty, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The six great families of Laizhou are arrogant and deserve to die!"

The shrewd and calculating Prime Minister Ren Zhiwei immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince of Laiyang is both wise and brave. He not only thwarted the rebels' plot but also possesses irrefutable evidence of the Han family's treason. This is a golden opportunity!"

"Since the founding of our Cangming Kingdom, the six great families of Laizhou have been entrenched in their respective regions, becoming too powerful to be controlled and a major threat to the empire. Now, with this opportunity, we can take advantage of the power of the Prince of Laiyang to eradicate this stubborn problem in one fell swoop and restore the prestige of the court!"

Minister of War Ye Wenlai echoed, "The Prime Minister is absolutely right. His Highness the Prince of Laiyang's troops are formidable and have already occupied the strategic location of Liangshan, making it an excellent strategic foothold."

"The Prince of Laiyang was in charge of military and political affairs in Laizhou. Suppressing the rebels was his duty. However, the Laiyang army had only recently been established and had not yet experienced many major battles. It was no match for the armies of the powerful families."

"It would be better to transfer another 30,000 troops from the capital's garrison and 150,000 troops from Qingzhou, to be personally commanded by King Jiang Yue of Zhen, to Laizhou to assist His Highness in besieging the six great families of Laizhou, and to take advantage of this victory to subdue the remaining counties of Laizhou."

As the head of the Ye family, Ye Wenlai's strategic and political skills had reached the highest level. Having lived with the emperor for decades, he naturally knew the latter's temperament.

Although he appreciates the principles of balance, he still retains the youthful spirit and passion of his youth. He has not forgotten the fall of Laizhou, but rather buried it deep in his heart.

Now that he has such an opportunity, allowing him to openly and legitimately take action against the six great families of Laizhou, he naturally will not miss it.

Even though he disliked his son Jiang Ce very much because of Jiang Ce's mother, it did not affect his ability to deal with the six major families of Laizhou.

And that was indeed the case. Upon hearing this, Jiang Chongzhao's expression softened slightly, and a ruthless determination flashed in his eyes.

He knew that although Jiang Ce was a prince, he had only been in Laizhou for less than a year and his foundation was still unstable.

The Laizhou aristocratic families are extremely powerful. If Jiang Ce were to oppose them with his current military strength, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.