Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 93 The rolling blades of slaughter entered Shaanxi from the west, and blood stained the heroes.

Two powerful blows came down from the scabbard.

Already enraged, Du Wenhuan suddenly fainted.

See this scene.

Those who had just been somewhat willing to fight, and were ready to pounce on the imperial envoy's trusted subordinates at the commander's order, were now facing a different fate.

At that moment, all fighting spirit vanished.

Facing the dragon banner before them, everyone obediently knelt on the ground.

Look at these people.

Xiao Hongzi on horseback sneered.

If His Majesty hadn't issued a decree beforehand saying that if there were no unusual movements in the military garrison, he would have slaughtered all those who dared not kneel before the imperial banner immediately.

After admiring the crowd of people kneeling obediently for a while, Xiao Hongzi finally shouted sternly, "All of you, get back to the camp!"

"Anyone who dares to make a move will be executed!"

The words fell.

The group of Yansui soldiers immediately retreated to their camp as if they had been granted a pardon.

After supervising everyone until they had all retreated, Xiao Hongzi rode forward, approached Sun Chuanting, and bowed respectfully:

"Lord Sun, His Majesty is worried about your safety and has specially ordered me to lead men to reinforce the military town."

Sun Chuanting was deeply moved, but he didn't elaborate.

After exchanging pleasantries, he asked somewhat eagerly, "How does Your Majesty intend to handle the matter of allocating land and land to the people?!"

Sun Chuanting left in a hurry at the time.

Now that the military town is stable, this is what he cares about most.

Those officials will inevitably try every means to delay.
Before Sun Chuanting could think further, he heard Xiao Hongzi chuckle from ahead:
"His Majesty said that if dozens of people are skinned alive in front of all the officials in Yan'an Prefecture, the rest will naturally work hard to get things done."

Sun Chuanting:
After a long silence, Sun Chuanting finally bowed to the imperial banner and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

then.

He then asked Xiao Hongzi, "What should be done with all these people in the Yansui military town? They're all wolves in sheep's clothing."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Hongzi interrupted him again: "Naturally, we'll wait until His Majesty arrives and then incite the slave soldiers in the military town."

"Slaughter them all without lifting a finger."

Incite the slave soldiers to slaughter them all?!

Upon hearing this answer, Sun Chuanting's heart skipped a beat.

However, his fear did not stem from the fact that all of these people were going to die.

It's just that Sun Chuanting's perspective was different; he was considering the whole of Shaanxi, not some nonsense about whether Du Wenhuan was alive or dead.

After arriving at the Yansui military town.

He then saw a wider grassland and learned more about the six Mongol tribes.

these things.

In addition, he personally witnessed the devastation within Shaanxi Province, especially in Yan'an Prefecture.

Sun Chuanting was deeply worried about how to deal with a joint invasion by various tribes of the grasslands.

After all, it's now the season when the horses are fat and strong on the grasslands in autumn.

Is it possible that this miraculous rescue of Shaanxi, which has just begun to show promise, will ultimately end in complete failure because of this?!

It's conceivable.

If foreign tribes were to invade at this time, it would undoubtedly deal an extremely heavy blow to the entire Shaanxi province.

The people's hearts, which have been so hard to gather, are likely to collapse again.

Because apart from Du Wenhuan's personal guards and private soldiers, Shaanxi had no other soldiers and could not withstand the attacks of the Mongol tribes.

There are still 20,000 to 30,000 slave soldiers in the military town.

But these people are really not up to any good.

If His Majesty were to personally visit the military town and incite them to kill Du Wenhuan and the others...

This could temporarily boost the morale of these people.

A high morale can indeed temporarily make up for some of the army's shortcomings.

For example, the lack of discipline, the emaciated bodies, and the dilapidated armor.
The problem is that once you start with a burst of energy, you start again and then lose it all.

Even if Your Majesty possesses extraordinary abilities, it is impossible to transform these defeated slave soldiers into fierce warriors in a short period of time.

This is why Sun Chuanting wanted to keep a portion of his private troops in Yansui.

Kill the key personnel, and dismantle the rest and stuff them into the military town.

Perhaps it can somewhat resist the invasion of foreign tribes.

However, this move also has a problem.

That is, the loyalty of these people cannot be measured, and they are prone to unforeseen changes.

Just when Sun Chuanting was caught in a dilemma.

He suddenly remembered something and immediately asked Xiao Hongzi, "How did His Majesty eliminate those eight hundred men?!"

Xiao Hongzi immediately recounted what had happened to Sun Chuanting.

Zhang Xianzhong chimed in, repeatedly describing how valiant His Majesty was when he led the charge.

Listen to these things.

Sun Chuanting fell silent again.

What do you mean by "His Majesty leading the charge"?!
What do you mean by saying that His Majesty's appearance terrified those people to the point of utter panic?!
What do you mean His Majesty is even more ferocious than Xiang Yu?!

After silence.

Sun Chuanting then pieced together the Emperor's actions over the past few days, as if he had suddenly realized something.

Could it be that.

His Majesty never intended to rely on the Yansui military garrison for defense; instead, he planned to personally lead an expedition to inflict heavy losses on the Mongol tribes?!
They directly defeated the Mongol tribes, deterring them from invading again!

In this case.

Whether the arrogant and fierce soldiers of Yansui Military Town are dead or alive will indeed have no further impact.

Whether you can resist the alien race is another matter, but the risk of you betraying us is definitely not small.

If we kill them all, then we won't have this problem.

That's the case.

Of course, they should all be slaughtered!
although.

The idea of ​​the emperor personally leading an expedition, especially the act of leaving the pass and entering the grasslands, sounds incredibly shocking.

However, in Sun Chuanting's view, it was not impossible for His Majesty to do so, given his unparalleled abilities.

To fully revitalize Shaanxi is already defying the odds!

True.

At present, His Majesty can only mobilize a little over two thousand elite soldiers.

However, the disparity in troop strength does not determine everything; the most crucial factor is who uses those troops.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, defeated 100,000 troops with 3,500 at Hulao Pass; and Duke Li Wenzhong of this dynasty defeated 200,000 troops with 2,000 at Yanzhou.
Xiang Yu and Han Xin need no further explanation.
Moreover, the disparity between the Ming Dynasty and the various tribes of the grasslands was not actually that great.

It is true that the six departments combined can indeed muster tens of thousands of soldiers.

However, under one command, there were only a few thousand soldiers.

If we can take this opportunity to strike one of them hard.

Then, if we use some more tactics to win them over or sow discord...

This might prevent the other five tribes from heading south again in the short term.

Combined with His Majesty's recent inquiries about border defenses against foreign tribes, Sun Chuanting has largely confirmed that His Majesty is indeed preparing to personally lead an expedition.

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but feel his blood boiling again.

He had no fear of the foreign tribes on the grasslands, and only hoped that this day would come soon.

Therefore, after careful consideration...

He immediately said to Xiao Hongzi, "Lord Hong, I'm entrusting the Yansui military town to you. I will go to Yan'an Prefecture immediately to assist His Majesty in handling the matter of land allocation and population distribution."

Although His Majesty did not issue an official edict ordering him to go and assist in the administration.

But under the current circumstances, time is extremely tight.

If His Majesty could be freed up to handle this matter a day sooner, the entire Shaanxi province might have a greater chance of survival.

Moreover, he was eager to hear His Majesty confirm with him personally the news of his impending personal military campaign, and how the matter would be handled.

Xiao Hongzi cupped his hands and replied, "Lord Sun, you may leave with peace of mind!"

Without further hesitation, Sun Chuanting immediately led a group of men and left overnight.

……

And at the same time.

Du Wenhuan gradually regained consciousness under the care of his subordinates.

Seeing that the backbone of the military town had woken up.

His advisors, disregarding everything else, hurriedly advised, "General, the situation is not yet dire; we just need you to endure the humiliation!"

When Du Wenhuan woke up, he felt a burning pain on both sides of his face.

But what he found even harder to accept was the uncontrollable humiliation in his heart.

In front of everyone, he was actually slapped unconscious by a eunuch!?
Du Wenhuan, who always acted like a local tyrant, couldn't stand this!

Seeing the hatred in Du Wenhuan's eyes, the strategist immediately spoke up again: "General, General, you must not confront the Emperor again!"

The mere mention of the word "emperor" caused Du Wenhuan's fists to clench tightly. Seeing that the morale of the people in the room had already plummeted, Du Wenhuan had no choice but to soften his tone: "What do you mean by that, sir?"

The strategist looked at Du Wenhuan, took a deep breath, and said, "General, although the emperor sent people to take full control of the military town, he did not take this opportunity to massacre us. Do you know why?"

Du Wenhuan immediately understood.

The bandits from the grasslands raid Shaanxi almost every month, and now it is the season between autumn and winter.

They will probably invade and plunder again in a few days.

The emperor spared their lives so that they could play a final role.

it is good!it is good!it is good!
He was truly ruthless and vicious, truly cunning and meticulous, truly ruthless and decisive, truly an emperor!

Du Wenhuan couldn't help but laugh in anger.

After laughing, Du Wenhuan gritted his teeth and said, "Of course, we still want to use our lives to fill the line on the grassland!"

The strategist quickly interjected, "Therefore, the commander-in-chief must take this opportunity to bow down to the emperor and admit his mistake, stating that he is willing to help the emperor guard the Yansui military town."

"As long as the commander-in-chief is useful to His Majesty, there is still a chance for things to turn around!"

Listening to the strategist's words, Du Wenhuan's heart gradually calmed down.

But the pain on my face became increasingly burning.

finally.

Facing the generals in the room, he said, "I will endure humiliation and explain my intentions to the emperor."

"But given that person's ruthless methods, even if we manage to survive while guarding the pass, we will inevitably face retribution later. It's probably impossible for us to leave Shaanxi alive."

"Rather than sitting and waiting to die, we might as well wait for the people from the grasslands to attack, then we can defect to their side and fight for our own survival!"

The people in the room exchanged silent glances and nodded in agreement.

During the day, they were thinking about enjoying life in Jiangnan, but by night they were racking their brains to save their lives. This contrast was a huge blow to everyone.

But unfortunately, everyone is in the same boat.

Then we have no choice but to fight to the death!

The military town of Yansui is truly bustling with activity tonight.

However, Du Wenhuan's heartfelt letter of repentance, written in tears, was destined to have no effect whatsoever.

Throughout history, there have indeed been some people who regained trust through this act.

In fact, there are precedents for someone to return to the helm to take charge of a project.

But this is only useful for leaders who are compassionate and want to heal the sick and save lives.

For Zhu Youjian
Repentance?!
You think you can survive by blocking the empire's advance?!

What about your nine generations of relatives?!

Send them together!

Inside Yan'an Prefecture.

Mizhi County.

Although nothing earth-shattering happened here.

But a joke spread throughout the county overnight.

The joke was about Li Zicheng, a courier in the county, who was slapped several times in the street by a woman.

of course.

This story will spread.

The main reason is that everyone can eat their fill these days.

Otherwise, how could I possibly have the mind to talk about this?

This is a strange story.

The reason was that the Han family, a local gentry in Mizhi County, had always wanted to marry their daughter, Han Jin'er, to Li Zicheng as soon as possible.

Li Zicheng had been somewhat interested a while ago, but recently, for some reason, he has changed his mind.

When the Han family sent someone to urge them again today, Li Zicheng directly refused in public.

Upon hearing this, Han Jin'er went straight to Li Zicheng on the street and started yelling at him, saying things like, "You think you're worthy?", "Looking for you is an honor!", and "Take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror!"

What's even more commendable is...

Li Zicheng, who was usually so quiet that he rarely uttered a word, actually shoved Han Jin'er a few times.

Han Jin'er couldn't stand it, and immediately slapped Li Zicheng several times across the face.

The most puzzling thing is yet to come.

Li Zicheng was a grown man.

Although he was somewhat thin, he was still quite well-built.

He was slapped several times in public by a woman, and without saying a word, he simply lowered his head and walked away.

Ever since.

This joke spread throughout Mizhi County in a very short time.

Even the most honest man wouldn't tolerate being publicly humiliated by a notorious woman in the county, right?
But Li Zicheng just happened to endure it, which is truly a remarkable story.

And at this time.

Li Zicheng was sitting on the dilapidated threshold of his home, gazing at the starry sky before him, his eyes no longer filled with the confusion he had before.

Instead, only tranquility remained.

Some days ago.

When the government first started paying salaries to low-ranking soldiers like him and opening granaries for relief.

Li Zicheng genuinely believed that some official had changed his ways, or that there was some peasant uprising that required their lives to suppress.

It turned out that it was actually the emperor who had come to Shaanxi.

Not only that.

The emperor also executed all the officials and gentry in Xi'an Prefecture, and even the wicked Prince of Qin.

When Li Zicheng heard these rumors, he couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine.

On the one hand, the touch of fate that had been there before was faintly reappearing at this moment.

On the other hand, that is...

Li Zicheng naively believed that with the emperor's arrival, his life would gradually improve as long as he worked hard.

This is also why he rejected Han Jin'er.

Who would want to marry a used woman like Han Jin'er if they could make a good living through their own efforts?

Moreover, Li Zicheng was honest.

But he wasn't really an idiot.

He knew why the Han family had been in such a hurry to marry Han Jin'er to him recently.

The news of the recent killings of numerous gentry and officials in Shaanxi has been spreading like wildfire.

Many wealthy families in Yan'an Prefecture were also imprisoned by the government, and their stored grain was confiscated and used to provide relief to the people.

The Han family wields considerable influence in Mizhi County, which is why they haven't suffered any consequences until now.

The Han family simply wanted to marry Han Jin'er to them, then rebrand themselves as the relatives of lowly post station workers, thus escaping their fate.

But now that the Emperor's grace is so great, Li Zicheng knows perfectly well whose food he is eating, so naturally he will not cooperate with the Han family to do such a thing.

Not to mention he didn't want to bring home a promiscuous woman.

But even Li Zicheng himself didn't expect this.

He had only refused her, but Han Jin'er was so arrogant that she insulted him in the street and even slapped him.

Recalling the scene from earlier that day, Li Zicheng couldn't help but clench the boning knife in his hand.

This knife.

He bought it with his hard-earned savings when he first heard that the emperor was coming to Shaanxi.

Because he was caught up in a moment of passion, he thought that after buying the knife, he would go and directly pursue the traces of the Holy One.

By joining the imperial guard, one might have the opportunity to realize their childhood dream of achieving great deeds!
But Li Zicheng regretted it after buying the knife.

Because in the process of making achievements and establishing a career, people may indeed die.

All he wanted was to live a simple, ordinary life.

Even if life is a bit pathetic and miserable, as long as I can survive, that's enough.

Therefore, he was able to endure the humiliation from his superiors and the contempt from his fellow villagers.

He could tolerate the Han family looking down on him and trying to force Han Jin'er into marriage with him.

But he really couldn't understand what he had done wrong today.

He just didn't want to marry a whore, what did he do wrong?!
Could it be that.

Are these high and mighty figures unwilling to even grant him this humble right to refuse?!

of course.

Although he was furious to the extreme, Li Zicheng did not have the thought of a common man bleeding five steps in anger.

As long as... those people stop bullying him.

Think of this.

Li Zicheng gripped the sharp knife in his hand, his gaze calm, showing no trace of fear.

The rolling blades of slaughter swept westward into Shaanxi, and blood stained the lives of heroes.

　ps: There will be another chapter later

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(End of this chapter)