In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Before he could finish speaking, the deputy general suddenly waved his hand. More than a dozen trusted guards who had been in cahoots rushed forward, instantly pinning Zhao Ting to the ground and holding his hands and feet down.

"What are you doing?! Rebellion?! I'll kill you all! The commander won't let you get away with this!"

Zhao Ting struggled desperately, cursing loudly, his eyes bloodshot.

"It's not us who are rebelling, it's you!"

The lieutenant snatched Zhao Ting's sword and stared at him coldly.

"For your laughable loyalty, you're dragging all the brothers in the city and innocent civilians down with you. You're heartless, so don't blame your brothers for being unjust!"

"Guards! Tie Zhao Ting up! Open the south gate and welcome the Yaozhou army into the city!"

With the deputy general's order, the heavy south gate of Yazhou City, which had been sealed off by huge stones, was finally slowly opened from the inside by the guards frantically moving stones.

Outside the city, Yang Xuan stood in front of the central command tent, looking at the wide-open city gate and the towering flames inside, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

"Lei Laohu's Tingfeng Pavilion did a great job; he deserves the credit."

Li Guangbi, standing to the side, also bowed with heartfelt admiration: "My lord, your foresight is divine, and your understanding of people's hearts is profound. By dividing the enemy from within, you captured such a formidable city as Yazhou without shedding a drop of blood. Such methods are truly admirable."

"Enter the city." Yang Xuan cracked his whip, his voice cold and sharp.

"Pass down the order: after entering the city, the Yaozhou army shall not commit any offenses against the people. Anyone who dares to plunder the civilians or bully women and children, regardless of rank, shall be executed on the spot! We must show the people of Jiannan who the true royal army is!"

"Here you go!"

The black-armored cavalry, like a black torrent of steel, slowly drove into Yazhou City.

There was no massacre or looting as expected.

After entering the city, Yaozhou's army quickly and methodically took over the city's defenses and deployed troops to extinguish the remaining fires.

The following morning, Yang Xuan publicly announced the exemption of all taxes for the people of Yazhou this year and the opening of granaries to distribute grain.

Although part of the area was burned, the Yaozhou army had brought ample supplies, enough to stabilize public morale.

This combination of kindness and severity instantly calmed the people of Yazhou, who were initially filled with fear and thought they were about to face a great disaster. In fact, cheers of relief erupted from both sides of the street.

The news of Yazhou's surrender without a fight spread like wildfire throughout Jiannan Circuit in just two days.

The generals guarding important military towns along the way, such as Qiongzhou and Meizhou, after witnessing the terrifying heavy armor of Yaozhou's army and hearing about their impeccable military discipline, and comparing it with Xianyu Zhongtong in Chengdu Prefecture, where everyone was in a state of panic and rampant slaughter, all made the wisest choice.

They surrendered at the mere sight of the wind!

Yaozhou's army marched north with unstoppable momentum, encountering almost no significant resistance.

Originally a force of just over a thousand men, after incorporating surrendered troops along the way and undergoing initial reorganization, the force rapidly grew to nearly ten thousand men, becoming a formidable force.

In the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era.

When the first winter snow fell on the vast land of Jiannan Road, turning the mountains and rivers into a vast expanse of white.

Yang Xuan's army from Yaozhou finally crossed a journey of hundreds of miles.

The dark, imposing army, like a dark cloud that blots out the sky, accompanied by the deafening sound of war drums, completely enveloped the towering city walls of Chengdu.

Outside the towering, thick bluestone city walls, there were no earth-shattering shouts of battle, nor a hail of arrows like locusts.

Yaozhou's army simply remained stationed there quietly, cooking and practicing their formations on time every day.

Those eighty heavily armored cavalrymen would patrol the city walls twice a day, the dull sound of their hooves crushing the ice and snow like a death knell tolling on the hearts of the city's defenders.

This kind of restrained silence, like Mount Tai pressing down, is more torturous than a real siege.

Inside the city, at the military governor's residence.

The White Tiger Hall was filled with a strong smell of blood and a pungent odor of alcohol.

Xianyu Zhongtong sat slumped on a tiger-skin chair, his hair disheveled, clutching a large wine vessel tightly in his hand.

His once plump and round face was now emaciated, his eyes were sunken and covered with terrifying red blood vessels, making him look like a walking corpse.

On the blue brick floor below the hall, there was still a pool of dark red blood that had not completely dried.

Just half an hour ago, a trusted general who had followed him for five years was killed on the spot by him simply for complaining that "the city's food reserves are only enough for half a month."

"Traitors...they're all traitors!"

Xianyu Zhongtong muttered nervously to himself, then suddenly smashed the wine cup on the ground, making a piercing cracking sound.

"Yang Xuan is a traitor! An Lushan is a traitor! Even you bunch of traitors want to exchange my head for wealth and glory!"

The officers and staff standing in the hall trembled with fear, lowered their heads, and dared not even breathe.

"Speak up! Are you all mute?!"

Xianyu Zhongtong suddenly stood up, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at the crowd below, like a mad dog.

"How are the city defenses arranged? Has that brat Yang Xuan broken in yet?!"

"Reporting to...Reporting to the Commander..."

A lieutenant stepped forward, his voice trembling, "All four gates have been completely sealed off with boulders and logs, and the city walls are also stocked with rolling logs and stones. However... however, the people in the city are in a state of panic, and many merchants are secretly conspiring to..."

"What do you want? Do you want to surrender the city?!" Xianyu Zhongtong interrupted sharply, drawing his sword abruptly, the blade flashing before the adjutant's eyes.

"Issue my order! Search every house in the city. Anyone found hiding weapons or gathering to discuss matters should be killed on the spot, regardless of the reason! Arrest all the families of those merchants and take them to the city walls! Let's see if that brat Yang Xuan dares to step over the corpses of these innocent people to enter the city!"

The lieutenant felt a chill run down his spine, but could only bow his head and accept the order: "Yes, sir..."

As he turned to leave the White Tiger Hall, he caught a glimpse of Xianyu Zhongtong's crazed and twisted face out of the corner of his eye, and an overwhelming sense of despair rose in his heart.

With a commander who has gone completely mad, can Chengdu really hold out?

……

Outside the city, in the main military tent of Yaozhou Army.

Yang Xuan sat upright behind his desk, using the bright butter candles in the tent to read through the secret reports from the city that Tingfeng Pavilion had just sent.

Inside the large tent, the charcoal fire burned brightly, dispelling the bitter cold outside.

Li Guangbi, Pei Zhao, Cui Shen and other core generals stood on both sides, their expressions solemn.

"My lord, that old scoundrel Xianyu has gone completely mad." Cui Shen sighed softly, his tone tinged with disdain. "He's been carrying out massacres in the city, even using innocent civilians as human shields. Chengdu Prefecture is now rife with public resentment and the army's morale is shattered. Such perverse actions are tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst."

"He's digging his own grave," Li Guangbi sneered, his rough hand resting on his sword. "My lord, I observe that Chengdu's defenses, though seemingly fortified, are utterly demoralized and riddled with weaknesses. Give me three thousand elite troops, and within three days, I'll surely breach the city and capture that old traitor alive!"

"No rush." ​​Yang Xuan tossed the secret report onto the table, his expression calm and composed, his eyes revealing a profound insight into the ways of the world. "Chengdu is the heart of the Land of Abundance. A direct attack would inevitably cause widespread suffering, which contradicts our original intention of protecting our territory and ensuring the safety of our people. Moreover, our enemy has never been just Xianyu Zhongtong."

Yang Xuan stood up and walked to a huge map of Sichuan hanging in the tent, his finger gently tracing the endless mountain range.

"The north is currently engulfed in war, with An Lushan's 150,000-strong army ravaging the Central Plains. Chang'an is probably in complete chaos. Xianyu Zhongtong is nothing more than a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to hop around for long. What we need to do is take over Jiannan at the lowest possible cost, preserve our strength, and prepare for an even bigger storm to come."

Just then, a series of rapid hoofbeats and shouts suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Who goes there?! Stop right there!"

"Military camp, trespassers will be executed!"

Immediately following was a series of crisp sounds of weapons clashing.

Pei Zhao frowned, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and strode out of the tent.

A moment later, he carried in a man covered in blood and dressed in rags, as if he were carrying a chick.

The man was dressed in ordinary merchant's attire, but beneath the clothing, one could vaguely see fine inner armor.

He had at least a dozen knife wounds on his body, the deepest one on his left arm, almost to the bone, with blood dripping continuously from his fingertips onto the thick felt carpet.

Despite being extremely weak, when the man was thrown to the ground, he tightly protected an object wrapped in layers of oilcloth at his chest, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Yang Xuan in the main seat.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into my Yaozhou camp!" Pei Zhao shouted sternly, his blade already pressed against the man's neck.

The man ignored Pei Zhao's knife. With the last of his strength, he struggled to straighten his knees, his voice hoarse as if a broken bellows was being pulled apart:

"Minister of Ceremonies...Yang Dalang...This humble servant...This humble servant is the commander of the Right Chancellor's secret guards...By order of the Right Chancellor, I am delivering...delivering an urgent letter in blood and an imperial edict..."

Upon hearing this, the tent fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes instantly focused on the man, and then turned to Yang Xuan.

The Right Chancellor's residence? Yang Guozhong's secret guards? An imperial edict?!

Yang Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, quickly stepped down from the command table, and came to the guard.

"Take the things out." Yang Xuan's voice was calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

With trembling hands, the guard unbuttoned the blood-soaked front of his robe and pulled out the oilcloth package.

Peeling back the layers of oilcloth revealed a bamboo tube sealed with yellow lacquer, and a bright yellow scroll.

Yang Xuan took the bamboo tube, crushed the sealing wax, and poured out a piece of white silk covered with writing.

The writing on the white silk was messy and illegible, written in blood, conveying a strong sense of despair and panic.

"My unfilial son, Xuan, it's as if I'm seeing you in person..."

The letter began with Yang Guozhong's arrogant tone, but what followed revealed the weakness and helplessness of a powerful minister before his doom.