The King of Anxi fell back, the entire army... was annihilated! Anxi only had so little remaining resources!
The expression on the King of Guangan’s face was also extrely poor.
"Minister Shen, you’ve worked hard." Bai Qingyan nodded to Shen Tianzhi.
After the young eunuch led Shen Tianzhi to his seat, Qingzhu brought the terrified families of the Kings of Guangan and Baishui into the grand hall.
With a stride full of vigor, Qingzhu tossed the sword from his waist to the imperial guards at the door and then led the way into the hall. He knelt at the center of the hall, clasped his fists, and said, "Shen Qingzhu, by order, has brought the families of the Vassal Kings of Guangan and Baishui to Dadu City. Generals Wei Zhaonian and Cheng Yuanzhi have taken command of the garrison at Guangan and Baishui. I am here to report back."
This ti, even the King of Guangan’s spine collapsed; the Bai family army had taken over the Guangan garrison, aning they had taken over their ho base!
In hindsight, they should not have naively attended the enthronent ceremony but rather guarded their own fiefs. Even if Bai Qingyan sent people to attack, there would still be so weighing to do. It wasn’t so easy to lose everything!
What a blunder!
"Thank you for your hard work; take a seat beside General Shen Kunyang!" Bai Qingyan said to Shen Qingzhu.
Shen Qingzhu agreed and thanked her, taking his seat beside his godfather, Shen Kunyang.
"The Kings of Guangan, Anxi, Baishui... hand them over to Minister Lu of the Ministry of Justice for processing according to the law," Bai Qingyan said with an indifferent tone. "The forr imperial clan of the Jin Dynasty, all property is to be confiscated, exiled to Yongzhou, and never allowed to return to Dadu City in perpetuity. Anyone who violates this will be executed without rcy!"
"I accept the order!" Lu Jin stepped forward to receive the orders and motioned for the imperial guards to imprison the Kings of Baishui, Guangan, and Anxi along with their families.
The families of the Kings of Guangan and Baishui imdiately broke into tears, loudly begging for rcy. According to the law, rebellion ant the execution of nine clans!
The family of the King of Shuofang knelt trembling behind the desk, scarcely daring to breathe, fearing they would be next.
"My lord! My lord, say sothing!" The elderly wife of the King of Baishui shouted anxiously to the King of Guangan. Seeing her husband not respond, she pleaded with Bai Qingyan, "Your Majesty! Please, spare us, Your Majesty!"
"The King of Hedong, the King of Shuofang..."
Hearing Bai Qingyan call for them, the Kings of Hedong and Shuofang hurriedly bowed their heads respectfully in response.
"Your ancestors’ fiefs were conferred by the Ancestral Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. Now that the forr Jin Kingdom no longer exists..."
The King of Hedong did not wait for Bai Qingyan to finish speaking and promptly indicated his stance after bowing: "Zhou is the new dynasty, a new nation. The old fiefs of Hedong naturally belong to the new country. As a guilty subject... I harbor no covetous intentions, nor dare to. I will imdiately send word for the Hedong army to surrender, just requesting Your Majesty to grant a chance to prove my loyalty."
Beforehand, the King of Hedong knew Bai Qingyan’s extraordinary ans but believed they had a chance. Now... he was full of admiration, thinking they had accounted for everything, yet he did not anticipate Bai Qingyan’s readiness to act or having such an incompetent ally as the King of Baishui, leading to a total defeat.
The Shuofang King’s soldiers had already been completely wiped out, leaving him tearless and helpless, unsure of how to express his loyalty, so he just repeatedly bowed his head forcefully and said, "I, too, plead for Your Majesty to grant a chance to prove my loyalty!"
"Since that is the case, I hope both of you rember that from today, you are no longer the Kings of Hedong and Shuofang. You may keep your families in Dadu City, and I give you the opportunity to assist Dong Changyuan and Li Mingrui in implenting new policies. But rember, no duplicity is tolerable!" Bai Qingyan asked, "Once the task is fulfilled, you will be appointed based on your capabilities. Do you have any objections?"
"This subject Lin Wenshan has no objections and thanks Your Majesty," the King of Hedong Lin Wenshan bowed, "I am willing to personally go outside Dadu City and command the Hedong army to disarm and surrender."
The King of Shuofang, Lin Huaisu, also quickly bowed, "This subject Lin Huaisu also has no objections and thanks Your Majesty for Your Grace!"
"General Fu... please accompany Lin Wenshan and also inform the Baishui army that the main perpetrator of the rebellion, the King of Baishui, has been captured alive; those who disarm shall not be killed!" Bai Qingyan instructed Fu Ruoxi.
Fu Ruoxi imdiately complied, accompanying Lin Wenshan out of the city to negotiate the surrender of the Hedong army.
Just as Fu Ruoxi was leading Lin Wenshan out of the hall, Xiao Ruohai hurriedly entered through a side door from behind the black lacquered pillars of the grand hall, quickly making his way to the high steps where Bai Qingyan was seated.
Bai Jinzhao, upon seeing Xiao Ruohai, quickly walked up to Bai Qingyan and whispered sothing in her ear. She turned her head and saw Xiao Ruohai’s anxious face, then nodded to signal Xiao Ruohai to co up.
Xiao Ruohai steadied his expression and movents, respectfully approached the high steps, and knelt on one knee behind Bai Qingyan, glancing at Mrs. Dong and worrying that she might be concerned, he whispered in a voice only Bai Qingyan could hear, "My lady, Third Lady has been captured in Xiliang."
Bai Qingyan’s hand clenched on the table for a mont before her tense spine slowly relaxed, still maintaining the composed deanor of the Empress of Zhou.
"For what reason?" she asked softly.
"The ssenger Chen Qingsheng didn’t know, only that the Empress of Xiliang summoned the Third Lady to the palace, and afterward, for reasons unknown, the Third Lady was imprisoned. Given the Third Lady’s identity as a woman, if her identity was compromised, it would certainly arouse suspicion. Chen Qingsheng has tried every thod he could think of, but ultimately couldn’t see the Third Lady, so he had to send a ssenger back with the news!" Xiao Ruohai whispered very softly.
Bai Qingyan’s gaze fell on Li Zhijie: "Where are the ssengers who brought the news back?"
"Having traveled without rest, all six people collapsed once the ssage was delivered!" Xiao Ruohai responded.
Bai Qingyan’s mind swirled with countless possibilities for why Bai Jintong was captured.
The worst-case scenario was Xiliang discovering Bai Jinxiu’s true identity.
Currently, Xiliang is eager to form an alliance with Zhou. If they know Bai Jinxiu’s identity, it would be advantageous as then Xiliang would not dare to harm her third sister.
However, the situation in Xiliang is unclear at the mont, and Bai Qingyan feared disrupting Bai Jintong’s arrangents in Xiliang if she rashly demanded answers from Li Zhijie here.
It was necessary to swiftly send soone to Xiliang to investigate the situation, and before that... Li Zhijie shouldn’t be allowed to leave.
Bai Qingyan pondered for a mont and then said, "Ruobrother, please take the ssengers back to Xiliang. If it’s truly an urgent matter, make sure to let Xiliang know that Jintong is my sister; if Xiliang dares to harm Jintong, their King Yan not only won’t return but Zhou will marshal the entire nation to destroy Xiliang!"
The Rong attack on Xiliang is inevitable unless Xiliang believes it has the strength to withstand the Rong’s invasion and endure the might of Zhou simultaneously.
"Yes!" Xiao Ruohai replied, bowing respectfully as he retreated down the high steps.
Li Zhijie observed soone reporting to Bai Qingyan from the high steps but rely glanced nonchalantly, recognizing the person as soone who had been with Bai Qingyan during the Southern Border battles, thus he was unconcerned.
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