Chapter 388 King Qin (End)

At that time, the second favor Xiao Yan asked for from the surrendered minister was to ask her to invite the corpse ancestor Hanba to come out of the mountain.

When the Xuanming Sect was first established, apart from the Underworld Emperor, Ghost King, Meng Po and the Judge of Water and Fire who were well known to the world, the four corpse ancestors were the most powerful and unfathomable and each had their own outstanding abilities.

Among them, the corpse ancestor Ying Gou gave birth to a second personality “Ajie” because she went astray in her practice. Not only did she turn into a child overnight, but she also searched for a way to be saved for many years but could not find one. She became angry and retired from the world, giving her body to Ajie, while her main personality fell asleep and would not wake up unless necessary.

Another reclusive corpse ancestor is Hanba.

Actually, Hanba cannot be said to have completely withdrawn from the world, and the reason for his seclusion is also strange. He knows that his ferocious appearance may scare outsiders, so he lives in seclusion alone, living in a certain place as a paper-folding craftsman, unknown to the world.

However, there is an exception among this world, and that is Hou Qing.

Hou Qing is the one who has been wandering around the world the longest among the four corpse ancestors and has the most eccentric personality. No matter where Hanba is, or where the elder sister and the surrendered minister are, he knows how to contact them. That’s why Xiao Yan asked Hou Qing to make a special trip this time and invite Hanba to come out of the mountain in the name of the surrendered minister to make the most critical props for this surprise attack on Hanzhong.

Dynamite.

Gunpowder was invented a hundred years ago, but almost no one in the world could make it into explosives and unleash its tremendous power.

The corpse ancestor Hanba is the exception.

Hanba was born extremely sensitive to gunpowder. When he followed the surrendered ministers to assist Emperor Ming and others in establishing the Xuanming Sect, Hanba earned the nickname “Thousand Miles of Red Land” because of his skill in using gunpowder.

Even in the present-day Bian Jing, there is a cannon made by Hanba and named “Invincible General” by the Daliang court. This cannon is extremely powerful and its destructiveness to city walls far exceeds that of siege weapons such as catapults.

However, since this cannon was too huge and extremely heavy, it required hundreds of people to push and pull it continuously each time it was operated. Not only was it heavy, but it also took too long to travel. Therefore, the Daliang court rarely used it and it had been stored in the Bianliang treasury for many years.

If there was no Hanba, Xiao Yan would not have been able to force Wang Jian to surrender so quickly during this surprise attack on Hanzhong. Although according to the emptiness of Hanzhong, he could have swept all over the country and trapped Wang Jian to death in Nanzheng City. Using Bailao Pass to encircle and annihilate Wang Zongbi’s Jiange troops was an alternative plan.

It was still some time before dark, but the deputy generals and military officers stationed in Nanzheng City had already arranged for dinner. The army finally relaxed a little after fighting so hard. Nanzheng had plenty of food, which was enough for the whole army to eat. This was also the first hot meal the soldiers had eaten in more than ten days.

Li Sian has already returned to Nanzheng with his troops. After completely annihilating Zhang Qianyu, his troops also captured more than a thousand people and hundreds of boats. However, Xiao Yan was not in a hurry to let him take control of Chenggu, Tangcheng and other Yangzhou cities. These places were already equivalent to empty cities. He ordered Wang Jian to draft an edict to let them surrender the city, so there was no need to disperse his own troops.

When Ye Bushou and the others brought the soup and food, Hou Qing and Hanba arrived just in time. There were three other people who came with them. They were an old man who was almost a charlatan, a Fusang ronin who looked like a dwarf, and a tall man with a burly figure wearing Raojiang clothes.

“Master.” Hou Qing clasped his fists towards Xiao Yan meticulously as soon as they met.

As for the three people behind him, the old man was still a little afraid and smiled apologetically when facing Xiao Yan, but the Fusang ronin had already cleared his throat and bowed 90 degrees: “I meet the Grand Master.”

The tall man also saluted with a grunt, but did not give his name.

At this time, the old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed to the ground: “I am Ji Le, a commoner, and I pay my respects to the King of Song!”

Hanba scratched the back of his head, as if he didn’t know what to do, so he just nodded to Xiao Yan, then stood aside with his arms folded, not saying a word.

Xiao Yan laughed and said to Hou Qing, “I haven’t seen you for half a year, why are you so polite? It’s just the sword-controlling technique, how can you be called Master? It’s not right for us to be so unfamiliar with each other. Just call me as before. By the way, this is the Hanba Corpse Ancestor, right?”

As he spoke, he extended his hand to greet him, and said with a smile: “Drought Ancestor, I have heard of you for a long time. In today’s battle, you have made great contributions. Xiao must thank you on behalf of the soldiers.”

Hanba was obviously a little embarrassed. His rough big hand was held by Xiao Yan, who then gently pulled him and gave him a hug, as if he was giving a greeting that had never been seen before.

However, Xiao Yan’s simple action made Hanba feel extremely restrained and moved. He was born tall and looked ferocious like a wild beast. Outsiders treated him with either fear or disgust. Few people even regarded him as a human being. Therefore, over the years, he was very sensitive about this aspect and was not used to contacting others. This was the only reason why he lived in seclusion.

But the emotions displayed by Xiao Yan did not seem fake. His enthusiasm infected Hanba for a moment, making him a little at a loss. He rubbed his hands and said, “It’s not difficult to do these. It’s really not a great achievement…”

As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Yan and said, “When we came here, I saw your subordinates treating the wounded people and soldiers of Shu… You are very good, different from Zhu Wen and Zhu Yougui. In fact, I didn’t want to make this trip.”

Xiao Yan smiled. Jiang Chen had told him that Hanba was a man who valued friendship and especially hated cold-blooded people. He left Xuanming Sect because he did not like the style of Mingdi and others. Even so, Hanba still had feelings for Xuanming Sect until now.

However, rescuing the soldiers and civilians of Shu Kingdom is not something that can be performed for the sake of Hanba.

Xiao Yan said casually: “The general trend of the world is that if the world is divided for a long time, it will unite, and if it is united for a long time, it will be divided. If the four seas are not unified, the harm will continue for many years. Today, the corpse ancestors helped me to break the city, which not only promoted the unification of the world at an early date, but also saved countless soldiers and civilians who would have died in the Liang-Shu war.”

Hanba seemed to be thinking about something, then nodded and said, “That makes sense.”

At this time, Xiao Yan finally paid attention to the strange group brought by Hou Qing and asked, “Who are these three people?”

“My disciple.” Hou Qing introduced himself concisely: “They are deceiving people in Shu in the name of Master Chi Meng. I am working on behalf of Master Chi Meng to reform them.”

The old man Jile was originally a doctor, but his medical skills were too mediocre. What people didn’t expect was that he dared to package himself as a famous doctor who was proficient in witchcraft. He had cheated a lot of money in Shu by using this. Before being caught by Hou Qing, he had never failed. In some ways, this Jile was quite capable.

As for the Fuso wanderer who called himself himself, it was said that he was drifted to the Celestial Empire due to a shipwreck. He wandered all the way and took advantage of his knowledge of light skills to fish in troubled waters. He met Jile in Shuzhong and they started a business of cheating and deceiving together. According to his own words, he was earning money for the trip back to Fuso.

It is worth mentioning that the tunnel that Hanba used to blow up the Nanzheng city wall was dug by me and the tall guy Raojiang.

As for why there is a tall man from Raojiang in the duo of Jile and myself, it is because when the two of them were cheating in the name of the Saint of Raojiang, they needed a helper to show off. Therefore, the tall man from Raojiang, who wore a black robe and looked somewhat imposing but actually knew almost nothing about witchcraft, became the hermit master of the Twelve Caves of Raojiang in the trio.

It must be said that it was puzzling that Hou Qing could accept these three people as his apprentices. However, Hou Qing’s character was quite unruly, so it was normal for him to have different ideas from ordinary people.

As for the previous fraud, this playboy just looked indifferent, as if this experience had never happened to him. Ji Le felt very ashamed, and he didn’t know if it was because he was in front of the powerful Xiao Yan that he acted like this. He was always nervous and apologetic to Xiao Yan with a smile.

Xiao Yan asked everyone to sit down and arranged for someone to bring three more sets of bowls and chopsticks. Jile was very flattered and knelt at the end of the table. He secretly winked at himself and the big guy from Raojiang from time to time, obviously wanting to remind these two guys who didn’t pay much attention to the etiquette of the Central Plains to behave themselves.

“Since the three of you were able to get the corpse ancestor Hou Qing to show mercy and be accepted as his disciples, you must have some abilities. As long as you can turn over a new leaf, I am willing to employ you regardless of your background.”

After Xiao Yan sat down, he actually spoke to the three people in Jile first: “Although the incident in Nanzheng is over, there are still heavy troops of Shu Kingdom stationed south of Jiange. This battle is not over yet. I think you have been active in Shu for many years and may have accumulated a lot of connections. Can you use these connections to work for me?”

Jile was startled and subconsciously looked at Hou Qing, but the latter did not move, as if there was nothing wrong with Xiao Yan ordering his people around.

So Ji Le said, “I have been doing business in Shu for many years and have made some friends with some wealthy people… May I ask what you want me to do?”

“You must find a way to return to Chengdu. In addition to leaking the news that Shu’s ruler Wang Jian has surrendered to me to these wealthy families, you must also spread some rumors, true or false, that Fengxiang’s Wang Zongkan has been defeated, Kuizhou governor Wang Xiancheng has surrendered to the Liang Dynasty, and the Liang Dynasty’s Jiangling navy is marching straight into Hanzhong, etc.”

Ji Le had no idea which of these were true and which were false, so of course he just agreed.

If the people of Chengdu could be made to fall into chaos first, then all the problems that follow would be solved easily. However, Xiao Yan did not hold out much hope for this. The Crown Prince of Shu and the imperial court were still in Chengdu, so they would most likely not surrender directly, and a fight would be necessary in the end.

He kept Hou Qing and talked to Hanba for a while. In addition to thanking Hanba for his help this time, he also asked Hanba to stay. If necessary, Hanba might be needed to help at Jiange Pass.

Hanba agreed readily, even before Xiao Yan promised to find him a wife.

Among the four corpse ancestors, Jiang Chen is obsessed with improving the Jiuyou Xuantian magic art and pursuing his own concerns; Ying Gou suffers from being unable to recover herself; Hou Qing is obsessed with traveling and wandering around the world; and Hanba is determined to find a girl who does not despise him to marry.

Relatively speaking, the problem of Hanba is the easiest to solve, especially when Xiao Yan knows the answer.

However, since Hanba had agreed so readily, Xiao Yan would not arrange things so quickly, because he could not be sure whether Princess Shangrao of Wu, who had fallen in love with Hanba in the original time and space, would change her mind in the current world, or whether a specific situation needed to be created for Princess Shangrao to fall in love with Hanba.

With Hanba joining, the following things will become much easier.

In the following days, the news that Wang Jian’s troops surrendered to Xiao Yan in the imperial court finally fermented and spread to the north and south. Wang Zongbi, the chief general of the Shu Kingdom who led the Jiange troops, was extremely anxious. Without getting accurate intelligence, he led his troops to enter Bailao Pass lightly. As a result, as soon as he left the pass and headed east, his retreat was blocked by Yu Zhong on Dingjun Mountain.

At this time, Li Sian’s troops had completed their repairs in Nanzheng, and under Xiao Yan’s orders, they galloped non-stop through Mian County, pressing head-on against Wang Zongbi, forcing Wang Zongbi to engage in battle with Li Sian.

Both sides were main forces, but the Jiange troops under Wang Zongbi were attacked from both the east and the west, and the morale was affected by Wang Jian’s surrender. They only held out for an hour before a large square formation in the center was defeated and broken through by the cavalry led by Li Sian. Then several square formations were broken, and the army of more than 10,000 people was completely defeated.

On this frontal battlefield, the Shu army was defeated and thousands of soldiers were captured. The commander, Wang Zongbi, refused to surrender and after kowtowed three times towards Nanzheng and confessed his guilt, he committed suicide.

Xiao Yan ordered his men to collect Wang Zongbi’s body and bury it, and then he personally led his troops south. Xingzhou and Lizhou in Hanzhong of Shu Kingdom all surrendered to Xiao Yan.

The main force of the Shu army was defeated in Jiange. All the soldiers were killed and at least half were captured. All the military equipment and supplies were lost and all were supplied to Xiao Yan’s Guide Army.

Even though there were still Shu soldiers guarding Jiange Pass, they did not hold out as reinforcements from Chengdu had not arrived yet. The generals left behind by Wang Zongbi accepted the imperial edict from Wang Jian brought by Xiao Yan and opened the pass to surrender.

At this time, facts finally proved that there was nothing wrong with Xiao Yan’s bold plan to divide his troops to completely annihilate Wang Zongbi.

The Guide Army soldiers who followed Xiao Yan’s lone army deep into the enemy’s territory finally put down their high-pressure emotions and anxious hearts that had lasted for half a month as the situation changed.

Xiao Yan walked on Jiange Pass, but he didn’t feel too much joy. The so-called victory was the biggest tragedy besides defeat. This was not a pretense. The scene of corpses everywhere, the smell of blood in the air, mixed with the stench of incontinence, and the faint groans of the wounded, as long as it was a war, you could feel it after winning.

The ecstasy gained on the battlefield is actually difficult to express. Both the enemy and our side suffered heavy casualties. Thousands of people died, and many families were broken up.

War is a very cruel thing. Xiao Yan rarely laughed out loud after the war. The reconstruction of order after the war was far more troublesome and painful than the war itself.

“Alas…” Wang Jian’s ministers Zhou Xiang and Zhang Ge were also brought to Jiange. The former sighed silently, while the latter smiled bitterly and said, “The general is truly a god at using troops.”

“Both sides fought hard, but the victory was mine.” Xiao Yan responded calmly, then looked at Zhou Xuang and the others, “I got intelligence that your Shu’s Hongnong County Duke Jin Hui led the reinforcements from Chengdu and stopped in Mianzhou. Do you think he will continue to fight?”

Zhang Ge bowed and said, “I am willing to persuade Jin Hui to surrender on behalf of the general.”

Xiao Yan looked at Zhou Xiang who was looking down and not talking, then stood in front of the battlements of the city wall and looked around at the mountains and rivers to the south. If it was on a plain, the terrain would be more open, but you couldn’t see too far. On the contrary, in such a place with undulating mountains, once you stand on a high place, the scenery in your field of vision will be very magnificent.

Looking up to the wind and looking far into the distance, Xiao Yan seemed to be not only looking at the mountains and rivers in the south, but also at the entire Chengdu Plain. It was as if he was looking east to Jiange and looking at the world.

A leaf floated over. Xiao Yan saw it, reached out to grab it, held it in his palm and observed it for a while. After a moment, he looked up to the south and threw the leaf on the ground.

“If they continue to fight, they will lose miserably.”

These very calm but extremely arrogant words came out of Xiao Yan’s mouth, and the two Shu ministers were speechless and acquiesced in their response.

Unfortunately, only Zhou Xiang and the other two understood this truth, while Jin Hui, who commanded the only remaining main force in Chengdu, did not think so.

They stayed in Mianzhou, and although they did not go north, they sent scouts to inquire about the situation at Jiange Pass and made moves to dispatch troops.

Fortunately, the Chengdu side was much calmer than Jin Hui, and a letter was quickly delivered to Xiao Yan by the Chengdu envoy.

It turned out that after the news of Wang Jian’s surrender was reported back to Chengdu, Crown Prince Wang Yuanying immediately ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and even issued orders to Jin Hui and Wang Zongbi to gather troops to encircle and annihilate Xiao Yan.

The only loss of Shu Kingdom at that time was the loss of an emperor and his ministers. The main force of the army was still there. Wang Yuanying would not really think that there was any danger of the country being destroyed. He might even be grateful to Xiao Yan in his heart for capturing his father Wang Jian.

It was not until Wang Zongbi committed suicide after his defeat, Jiange was lost, most of Hanzhong surrendered to Xiao Yan, and even news that Wang Zongkan had been defeated in Fengxiang spread in Chengdu, that Wang Yuanying finally became afraid and submitted a letter seeking peace despite the opposition of Prime Minister Wei Zhuang.

Wang Yuanying was willing to give up the throne and accept the Liang Dynasty as his ancestor. At the same time, he ceded the entire Hanzhong and Kuizhou to Xiao Yan, and offered an annual tribute of 100,000 strings of coins and 10,000 pieces of Shu brocade to the Liang Dynasty in exchange for the Jiange Pass.

Of course Xiao Yan did not accept it and rejected the envoy from Chengdu. Instead, he asked Wang Yuanying to increase the annual tribute to one million strings of coins and the amount of Shu brocade to one hundred thousand pieces. He also required Wang Yuanying to not only abdicate the throne but also not to retain the title of King of Shu. He also demanded the four prefectures of Shi, Xi, Chen and Jin in Qianzhong. Only in this way could the two countries live in harmony with Jiange Pass as the boundary.

Wang Yuanying was unwilling to accept such harsh conditions and immediately became furious. He restored his title of emperor, forcibly conscripted the people of Chengdu as soldiers, and led the army in person to Mianzhou, determined to live and die with the Kingdom of Shu.

This was exactly the effect Xiao Yan wanted, so he immediately led his troops southward. With almost no obstacles, they arrived in Mianzhou in just three days. However, they did not attack the city. Instead, they left Li Sian to control the road intersection, while the main force relied on their mobility to bypass from the west.

Jin Hui, who was stationed in Mianzhou, first defended the city. When he discovered that the main force of the Guide army had taken a detour, he sent a large army to attack Li Si’an in an attempt to cut off Xiao Yan’s baggage supply.

As expected, Li Sian was defeated and led his troops northward. Jin Hui led the army to chase him, but he quickly reacted and hurriedly led his men southward to block Xiao Yan.

But just as Jin Hui reached Wan’an Baimaqiao, he received an urgent report that Xiao Yan had led his troops to Mianzhuguan and then used the same old trick to take a detour. It was said that hundreds of war horses were exhausted to death.

But after Xiao Yan bypassed Mianzhu Pass, he finally met Wang Yuanying in Deyang, who was leading the new and old troops from Chengdu and said he would lead the army in person. The two armies fought a fierce battle in the north of Deyang. After only two quarters of an hour, Xiao Yan defeated the center of the Shu army.

Wang Yuanying was badly defeated and only had time to lead a few hundred people to flee to Chengdu. Xiao Yan ignored the thousands of captives and personally led his men to chase Wang Yuanying relentlessly. The two cities of Guanghan and Xindu that Wang Yuanying passed through during his escape did not dare to open their gates to rescue him. As a result, Wang Yuanying, who was followed by only two or three riders, was exhausted on the bank of Fenghuang Water north of Chengdu and was captured alive by Xiao Yan.

When the news of Wang Yuanying’s defeat reached Chengdu, Xu Geng, the father of the two Xus and the General of the Shu Cavalry, who stayed in Chengdu, opened the city and surrendered to Xiao Yan.

Shu Kingdom.

Dead.

The whole thing took only a month.

Jin Hui wanted to resist but was tied up by his subordinates. The entire army surrendered to Xiao Yan on the spot at Baimaqiao. The surrenderee was even just an ordinary commander of the Guide Army of 500 people.

The next day, Wei Zhuang, the prime minister of Shu, dragged his sick body and handed over the imperial seal of Great Shu on behalf of the royal family of Shu.

In early July, Wang Zongkan, who was in a stalemate with Qi Army and Dingbadu in Fengxiang, surrendered to Dingbadu commander Tian Daocheng due to the cut off of food and military supplies.

With this, Shu Kingdom was completely destroyed, and the territory of Liang Dynasty expanded to the entire Qianshu area, bordering Raojiang and Southern Han, with millions of people and countless weapons, armor, money and food.

At the same time, King Li Maozhen of Qi also submitted a letter to the state, expressing his willingness to surrender the entire territory of Qi to the Liang Dynasty.

The whole world was shocked.

Emperor Liang Zhu Youzhen in Chang’an issued an imperial decree almost immediately:
Xiao Yan was appointed as the prime minister, grand marshal, minister of civil affairs, and chief of the ministers, and 24 regions including Fengxiang, Tianxiong, Jingyuan, Weibei, Dongchuan, Xichuan, Qianzhong, Youguo, Kuangguo, Zhenguo, Ganhua, Zhongwu, Zhongyi, and Jingnan were annexed as Qin States. Xiao Yan was promoted to the king of Qin, and was given the nine gifts, a crown with nine tassels, and the power of the imperial sword. He was allowed to ride in the emperor’s carriage, go out on patrol, and build the palace of the king of Qin.

All is quiet.

—-

Xiao Yan rode out of Shu and when he returned to Hanzhong, it was nearly August. Countless letters were piled up here, including letters from Hebei and Bian Jing, including Feng Dao, Han Yanhui and other civil and military officials of Tiance Palace, and of course Ji Ruxue’s family letters, as well as some congratulatory letters from the southern princes Ma Yin and Qian Liu.

The Shu Road was difficult to travel on, and the transportation of letters was very troublesome. In addition, Xiao Yan was very busy when he was in Chengdu, so he had some less important letters left in Hanzhong and Nanzheng.

Ji Ruxue is the weirdest girl. Not only has she not written a letter in the past two months, but Xiao Yan just returned to Hanzhong and her letter arrived not long ago too.

Xiao Yan opened Ji Ruxue’s letter first, glanced at it, and frowned when he found that there were only a few numbers.

“The marriage is to ensure the safety of the Qi Kingdom and give birth to a prince.”

(End of this chapter)