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

"Xuan'er, this is where you'll be stationed for now. Leave the rest to me."

Shen Lang had the governor's mansion tidied up, and then led Jiang Mengxuan to sit down on a soft leather chair.

Jiang Mengxuan could never get tired of looking into Shen Lang's gentle yet resolute eyes.

"Ah Lang, how much longer?"

"Tomorrow, the palace will be captured, and Nguyen Ha Lai will surely surrender within three days. Everything will be in my hands."

Hearing the familiar yet firm tone, Jiang Mengxuan couldn't help but take his hand and say softly, "A Lang, don't overwork yourself. I've seen how busy you've been these past few days."

Shen Lang shook his head and replied with a smile, "Being tired now is for enjoying happiness in the future. After all, it's all about enduring hardship before enjoying sweetness."

Jiang Mengxuan smiled faintly: "After this trip to Southeast Asia is over, I promise you, I will let you have a good rest for a while."

"Ah."

Shen Lang responded and gently kissed her forehead.

"Then I'll go first."

"be careful."

After watching Shen Lang leave, Jiang Mengxuan walked to the window and looked out at the boundless sea beyond the harbor, feeling instantly refreshed and invigorated...

An hour later, Shen Lang mustered 1,500 soldiers and decisively set off towards Wangjiao City.

Halfway there, he saw a group of people wielding all sorts of weapons charging toward him in the distance, roaring.

Shen Lang immediately waved his hand to stop the march, then coldly ordered, "Prepare for battle!"

Soon, four Maxim heavy machine guns were quickly mounted, and two 75mm recoil-operated cannons were also quickly adjusted.

Shen Lang raised his binoculars expressionlessly, only to see that the group of people shouting were not soldiers from the Li Kingdom.

They seemed more like expatriates of the State of Chu.

After putting down the binoculars, Shen Lang's eyes flickered, and he raised them again to look.

Only then did they discover that behind these expatriates were a large number of fully armed Lebanese soldiers, whipping the expatriate troops to lead the charge.

"I see."

Shen Lang quickly understood what was going on and immediately ordered the gunners: "Raise the muzzle by two degrees."

"Yes!"

Soon, the cannons were adjusted and ready to bombard the enemy at a single command.

Just then, an elderly man among the overseas Chinese rushed to within ten paces of the front lines, brandishing a knife, and shouted loudly, "Royal Army!"

We are immigrants from the State of Chu, and we were forced to charge into battle. We beg the general to show mercy!

Upon hearing this, all the officers and soldiers in front of the battle line turned their gazes to Shen Lang.

But Shen Lang's face remained gloomy, and he was not affected by the old man's words at all.

"shooting."

After just one breath, Shen Lang uttered two cold words.

Da da da da——

Military orders are absolute; all Chu officers and soldiers, regardless of whether they are new or old, become ruthless killing machines once they are on the battlefield.

Even if the people in front of them are their own compatriots, even if they have no other choice.

But as long as you're on the battlefield, standing in the opposing camp, everyone is an enemy.

Four Maxim machine guns spat out scorching flames, riddling the old man and the more than one hundred overseas Chinese who had rushed up behind him with bullets, and they fell into pools of blood in the blink of an eye.

"Killing!"

Such a bloody scene caused the overseas Chinese, who had not received professional military training, to scatter and flee immediately.

The machine gun fire continued to pour down, bullets flying like locusts constantly piercing through the humid air, entering the bodies of the overseas Chinese and taking away one vibrant life after another.

Many Chu soldiers who witnessed such a tragic scene could not bear to look at it and turned their faces away.

Only Shen Lang remained expressionless throughout, showing no change in demeanor despite his opponent being a member of the Chu people.

Finally, swept by the storm of death, thousands of overseas Chinese were scattered and transported away at the cost of more than 300 casualties.

No matter how much Li Wei scolded and threatened them, he could no longer reorganize them.

"How could this be? The Chu army actually dared to attack their own civilians?"

For a moment, Li Wei's eyes began to glaze over.

He thought he had the Chu state's Achilles' heel, but his proud strategy was shattered in such a ridiculous way.

At this moment, the soldiers of the Li Kingdom around him were terrified when they saw that the Chu army possessed such sharp and terrifying firearms. They gripped their weapons and trembled, not daring to take another step forward.

After seeing the overseas Chinese crowd disperse, Shen Lang sneered, lowered his binoculars, and said to Yue Pengju, who was watching the battle beside him:

"Pengju, you must remember: compassion does not make you an army, and righteousness does not make you a treasury commander. On the battlefield, even the smallest factor can change the course of a war."

Only by firmly adhering to the original, correct plan and remaining unaffected can we achieve final victory.

Yue Pengju frowned and said, "Principal, I understand the reasoning behind this, but those are all our fellow countrymen from Chu. Wouldn't this be too heartless?"

Shen Lang chuckled lightly: "At least, more of the overseas Chinese survived, didn't they?"

One sentence made Yue Pengju understand many principles instantly, as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.

It's incredibly cruel, yet undeniably realistic.

"Principal, I understand."

"It's good if you understand."

Shen Lang was pleased that Yue Pengju understood his intentions so quickly.

Faced with death, the survival instinct will lead people to make the most correct judgments.

"fire."

The next moment, Shen Lian gave an order.

Boom, boom—

The two 75mm howitzers immediately roared like thunder.

The scorching grenades landed directly on the dense Lebanese army three miles away.

The moment the grenade exploded, it immediately caused a mutiny within the army.

"Oh my god, oh my god, Mommy!"

Instantly, these guards, known as the strongest in the Li Kingdom, roared in terror and ran around like children who had lost their mother.

Many soldiers were tripped and fell to the ground, then trampled to death by countless large feet.

"Stop the chaos! All of you, stand still! Form a line!"

"Attack! Attack!"

Li Wei also planned to continue commanding the army in the resistance.

But the next moment another cannon blast rang out, exploding right beneath his feet.

His body was instantly torn in two by the blast wave of the cannon, turning into scattered pieces of flesh and blood.

Only half of its charred buttocks remained, hanging under the eaves of a house, emitting wisps of steam.

Perhaps even Heaven couldn't bear to see this, so it made this traitorous dog who only served as the Great General Protector of the Nation for half a day meet his end in such a tragic way.

With Li Wei's death, the Li army, which had no hope to begin with, completely lost heart.

The armies trampled and squeezed each other, wanting only to escape this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Some even drew their knives and staged a dramatic scene of "If you're a brother, come and kill me."

"All troops, listen to my command! Anyone who refuses to surrender while holding weapons shall be killed without exception!"

Taking advantage of their weakness, with Shen Lang's chilling order, the Chu soldiers immediately surrounded and annihilated the chaotic Li army in front.

The battle continued until evening.

Of the seven thousand royal guards of the Lebanese Kingdom, apart from three hundred missing and over a thousand injured or killed in a stampede, the rest were all shot dead by naval officers and soldiers.

After annihilating the royal guard, Shen Lang did not remain idle. He left a company of soldiers to look after the captured civilians, while the rest of the soldiers followed Shen Lang and charged toward the royal palace.

At this moment, the royal palace was filled with mourning and lamentation.

"It's all over, it's all over! The Chu army is about to attack! What are we going to do?!"

"What should I do, Father? I'm still young, only forty-one years old. I don't want to die so soon!"

“My children, now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to die for our country. You go first, your father will come later.”

Upon learning of the complete annihilation of the main Le army, Nguyen Ha Lai, Nguyen Giau Ha, and Nguyen Giau Hsieh, father and sons, collapsed in the palace and wept bitterly.

The guards and officials inside and outside the palace kept moving back and forth, searching for any possible way to escape.

Just when the palace was at a loss, Shi Mingzhu strode into the palace.

“Your Majesty need not panic. I am an envoy of Wu Zhao. I will go and negotiate with the Chu army to persuade them to withdraw their troops as soon as possible.”

He looked confident, casually flicking the money-tail hairpin behind his head, as if no problem could stump this great man from the superior country.