Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Report! Urgent report!"

A eunuch's urgent shout interrupted the conversation between the emperor and his ministers.

Xu Qian raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling rising within him.

"What's all this panic? What kind of behavior is this?"

Wu Ji acted as if he hadn't heard, flicked his Taoist robe and struck a pose as if the sky wouldn't fall, angrily rebuking the kneeling eunuch who had come to deliver the message.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, an urgent report from Juezhou states that the bandit leaders Fang Hanshan and Shi Xiushuang have captured Juezhou Prefecture."

The seven thousand soldiers defending the city have all surrendered, and the thirteen southern prefectures have all fallen into enemy hands, Your Majesty!

pat-

Upon hearing this shocking news, Wu Ji staggered and collapsed in front of the prayer mat.

"What did you say? Say it again, Juezhou... what happened?"

"Your Majesty, Juezhou has fallen, and the bandits are only three hundred li from the capital—"

"Impossible! You're lying to me!"

Wu Ji roared angrily, stopping the eunuch from saying anything more.

"I am a sage, protecting the land of Great Wu. How could mere bandits possibly breach Juezhou? It must be you spreading false battle reports and misleading the public!"

The eunuch's body trembled uncontrollably, but he still managed to shakily produce the urgent report.

"Your Majesty, this is a battle report from the front lines. Governor Hu Ruzhen was killed by a stray arrow amidst the chaos of battle. The troops in Juezhou are leaderless and have all surrendered to the bandits."

"Fake, it's all fake!"

Wu Ji refused to believe this cruel reality and let out a heart-wrenching roar.

"I am a sage, and Hu Ruzhen is my pillar of support. How could we possibly be defeated by bandits?"

"I understand, it must be about military pay again, right?"

"Go back and tell Hu Ruzhen how much grain he wants. I will definitely send it to him, and I will send it to him personally. Don't try to force me in this way."

Wu Ji had completely lost his mind and threw away the battle report that was handed to him.

The next moment, a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Due to long-term consumption of toxic pills and prolonged stay in the palace without venturing out, Wu Ji's health had already deteriorated.

Seeing this, Xu Qian turned around and left without making a sound.

But the next second...

"Xu Qian, where are you going?"

Xu Qian shuddered and turned around to say, "Your Majesty, this old minister will go to Juezhou to investigate the truth on your behalf."

Are you trying to run away?

Wu Jideng directly exposed his thoughts.

At this moment, his eyes widened, and a strange smile appeared on his face, sending chills down the spines of those who saw him.

"I'm telling you, there's no need to run, and you're not allowed to run! I am a celestial being, and I will surely bring blessings to this land of Great Wu. These petty bandits are nothing to fear!"

"On the day I achieve great success in cultivating the Dao on behalf of the Emperor, I can bring a new world to the Great Wu with a wave of my hand."

"No one is allowed to run! No one is allowed to run! This is a test of the Great Dao, and even more so, it is the decree of me, the Sage!"

Xu Qian felt a chill run down his spine, but he pretended to be calm and replied, "This old minister naturally believes that the Sage has the protection of immortals to turn danger into safety, but this old minister must go and verify the authenticity of the urgent report."

"You're not allowed to go anywhere! Stay here with me, and I'll prove to you that a bunch of bandits can't do anything to me!"

Wu Ji was completely obsessed at this point; the shock of this intelligence was simply too much for him to bear.

His facial expressions were incredibly varied, sometimes hesitant and submissive, sometimes unusually excited, giving off an indescribable eeriness.

"Immediately seal off all the gates of the capital and summon the Imperial Guards to protect the Emperor. With the protection of the Three Pure Ones, the bandits will retreat on their own!"

"Bad news!"

Another eunuch, with a hoarse, duck-like voice, rushed into the Ziwei Palace.

"Your Majesty, a tragic report has arrived from Juezhou. Twenty thousand civilians have perished within the Juezhou prefecture, along with forty-eight households of noble families, large and small, all killed by bandits."

Governor Hu's corpse was nailed to the city wall by bandits, and within two days it was devoured. The bandit Shi Xiushuang boasted that he would storm the capital and eat the emperor's bones and blood!

"They've rebelled! They've rebelled!"

Wu Ji roared, his eyes bloodshot.

"You mere mortal ants, how dare you rebel against me? You even want to invade the capital! You simply don't respect me, the sage!"

"Kill them! Kill them all! I will summon a supreme immortal to descend to earth and annihilate these arrogant rebels!"

He picked up a peach wood sword covered with copper coins and waved it around in the air repeatedly. His face was filled with fear and stubbornness, and he could no longer see any of the expressions a normal person should have.

Xu Qian stood frozen in place, not daring to utter a sound.

At this moment, Wu Ji was like a frightened, sick tiger, unable to withstand any further stimulation.

The best approach is to say nothing and wait quietly for him to finish venting.

After a long while, Wu Ji finally threw away the peach wood sword in his hand and gave a loud order.

"Issue my order to invite the royal armies from the four regions to come and defend the capital. I want to have a good showdown with these rebels!"

"Yes, sage."

Xu Qian responded and then stepped out of the main hall.

At this time, the national treasury was so poor that even rats had to move house, so local troops were summoned to the capital to protect it.

Soldiers who don't get paid are just a bunch of thugs; he's not stupid enough to issue such an order.

Moreover, local armies are too busy taking care of themselves to listen to you.

After Xu Qian left, Wu Ji huddled on the altar, his eyes darting around, his expression gloomy, constantly glancing around warily, like a frightened bird.

"I am not afraid, I am a sage, a sage who is about to attain enlightenment!"

"You mere rebel, I can destroy you with a mere wave of my hand!"

"Hahaha……"

Inside the Ziwei Palace, only Wu Ji's slightly weary and manic laughter echoed.

……

April 25th, in front of Jianjia Pass.

Shen Lang's Chu army had already set up its formation outside the pass.

The soldiers stood in orderly ranks, and ten light and heavy machine guns had already been set up in front of the lines.

The artillery battalion in the rear was also ready, waiting for Shen Lang's order to fire all ten thousand cannons at once.

Shen Lang and the military officers all looked through binoculars at the guards at the checkpoint ahead.

After a long while, Shen Lang put down his binoculars and looked at the three division commanders who had come to observe the actual combat.

The three are Qin Yu, Zhao Ting, and Lin Fei.

He was also the commander of the 7th, 8th and 9th Divisions of the Central Army.

Lin Fei is Lin Yu's nephew. He is a man of few words and rarely speaks.

"Commanders, have you all clearly seen the defensive formation?"

When Shen Lang asked, the three of them nodded in unison.

Qin Yu: "Commander, according to the rules, shouldn't we try to persuade them to surrender before starting a battle?"

Shen Lang: "No, the rules have changed. The practice of persuading someone to surrender on the battlefield is no longer popular."

He smiled at them and said, "Gentlemen, please follow me."

The three followed Shen Lang to the artillery position and watched as he walked up to a 75mm howitzer forged from gun steel.

"Greetings, Commander!"

Upon seeing Shen Lang, the gunners immediately stood up straight and respectfully saluted him.

"No need to be polite."

Shen Lang waved his hand and stood directly in front of the cannon barrel.

"How is your training going?"

"Reporting to the commander, we conduct strict drills every day according to the artillery regulations, without daring to slack off in the slightest."

"Very good, demonstrate it for me."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the artillery battalion commander assumed that Shen Lang was planning a pre-battle inspection and immediately ordered the gunners to begin loading ammunition.

After a dazzling and skillful series of maneuvers that were almost painful to watch, Qin Yu and his two companions witnessed a grenade warhead being fitted with a fire control fuse and quickly pushed into the breech.

Qin Yu and Zhao Ting exchanged words, but Lin Fei remained silent, staring at the cannon in deep thought.

As soon as the gun sluice gate closed, the rangefinder observed through the gun scope and quickly adjusted the gun's position.

After everything was completed, the artillery battalion commander immediately reported to Shen Lang: "Reporting to the commander, everything is ready!"

"very good!"

Shen Lang pulled up the towing line, turned around and smiled at Qin Yu and the others, saying, "Gentlemen, do you think there's anything wrong with the artillery battalion's operation?"

Zhao Ting said, "Commander, please don't belittle us. The artillery ratio in our army is less than one-tenth of that in a division directly under your command, so our training level is naturally inferior."

Shen Lang shook his head: "Commander Zhao is too modest. Now is not the time to raise this question. The question is whether or not to fire a shot?"

"what?"

Just as the three were wondering what was going on, Shen Lang suddenly pulled the traction line.

boom--

With a loud bang, a cloud of white smoke and fire shot up from the muzzle of the cannon.

The loud roar caused a sharp pain in the eardrums of the group.

boom--

Not long after, a loud bang was heard at Jianjia Pass, and a section of the battlement was blown down, sending debris flying into the air and creating a breach.

The three people who witnessed this scene were completely stunned.

"Pass on my order: 75mm guns, reload with armor-piercing shells, conduct three test firings, and execute immediately!"