Wang Zhong, the commander of the Shenyong Army, who was marching towards Dianchi City, received the news from Ma Dazhi, the commander of the First Division of the Shenyong Army, halfway there.

"The King of Dian is dead?"

When Wang Zhong received this news, he was momentarily surprised.

After a moment of surprise, Wang Zhong quickly picked up the battle report in his hand and carefully looked at the records on it.

Absolutely true!

The King of Dian is indeed dead!

However, even now, Wang Zhong is still somewhat confused and can't quite figure it out.

Didn't the King of Dian withdraw his troops and retreat to Dianchi City some time ago?

How did we suddenly end up near Chuxiong City again, and how did the First Division run into us by sheer coincidence?

This change is quite dramatic!

Wang Zhong was both amused and exasperated.

After informing the Guiling Army of the news of the death of the King of Dian, he discussed with Gu Shisan the possibility of jointly garrisoning Dianchi and central Guizhou to eliminate the remaining forces of the King of Dian and suppress the stubborn local chieftains.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhong also reported the news of the death of the King of Dian to the capital.

Then, Wang Zhong led the main force of the Divine Warriors to Dianchi City.

After the news of the death of the King of Dian and the annihilation of the Dian army spread, the entire city of Dianchi became a ghost town.

The remaining powerful families and local bullies within the city still wanted to escape.

However, Dianchi Lake is now completely dominated by the Shenyong Army.

After the arrival of the mighty army, they took direct control of the entire city of Dianchi.

After some investigation, Wang Zhong finally understood why the King of Dian had led his remaining troops to flee westward.

It turns out that these Dian kings' armies wanted to escape to foreign lands such as Luchuan and Mubang, hoping to use their remaining 20,000 to 30,000 troops to make a comeback in foreign lands.

However, the King of Dian never expected that a part of the Divine Warriors, who were marching south from Jianchang Prefecture, would run into the King of Dian's army halfway there.

After realizing this, Wang Zhong smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early!"

"If Ma Dazhi and his men hadn't run into the Dian King's army in Chuxiong City, they probably would have really escaped to a foreign land!"

Wang Zhong snorted coldly and then said, "But this King of Dian is actually quite adorably naive!"

"Does he think that by abandoning Dianchi Lake and fleeing to a foreign land, His Majesty will forgive him? How utterly naive!"

After making a few joking remarks, Wang Zhong ordered the Shenyong Army to begin purging the remnants of the Dian King's forces within the city.

After the death of the King of Dian, the entire Dianchi Lake region and parts of central Guizhou were quickly pacified by proclamations.

Some chieftains still tried to put up a stubborn resistance, but faced with the powerful suppression of the army, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree!

After the pacification of the southwest, the only remaining force in the entire Daqian region was Li Ming's troops, who were still holding sway over the southeast!

However, after the Shenwu Army and Shence Army marched south, they occupied Huaibei, Huguang and other places in great numbers.

Li Ming's troops, especially those who were terrified, dared not divide their forces any further.

The remaining 200,000 to 300,000 troops were all holed up in the vicinity of Jiangning City.

They firmly controlled the Yangtze River defense line from Yangzhou, Chuzhou, and Taipingzhou.

In the vicinity of Jiangning City, large armies were stationed only in a few important towns such as Qiantang City, Gusu City, and Guangde Prefecture.

The rest of the area was almost entirely a ghost town.

Therefore, the Shenwu Army and Shence Army in the north marched south and successively recovered many prefectures and counties in Huaibei, Huguang and other places.

Meanwhile, Yuan Weiwen and Zhao Shuisheng's troops in the south split into two routes, heading north from Hubei and Fujian respectively. Despite the rugged terrain, they encountered little resistance along the way.

Finally, in early August, Yuan Weiwen and Zhao Shuisheng's troops arrived at the Huizhou, Qimen, and Qiantang line.

Meanwhile, the Shenwu Army and the Shence Army were responding to each other from afar in Jiangbei.

The arrival of the Shenwu Army, the Shence Army, and a part of the Guiling Army—three large armies totaling nearly 200,000 troops—around Jiangning City still caused some unease for Li Ming within the city.

Jiangning City, the garrison.

Li Ming sat in the chair, looking anxious and restless.

In his hand was a message from the southwest—the King of Dian was dead.

Looking at the message in his hand, Li Ming's hands trembled slightly.

In recent months, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Qing, and the Prince of Su in the Northwest have surrendered one after another.

The King of Han and the King of Dian died one after another!

The entire Northwest and Southwest regions have been completely pacified by Li Xin's forces.

Not only that, the vast areas originally ruled by Li Ming were also successively taken over by Li Xin's troops.

Currently, Li Ming can only control an area within a radius of less than 500 li around Jiangning City.

It can be said that Li Ming is now truly a trapped beast!

The once mighty nation, encompassing over a dozen provinces, is now reduced to this small area?

You should know that Li Ming was the emperor of the entire Da Gan Kingdom back then!

But now...

The huge difference between before and after left Li Ming feeling numb, lost, and indignant.

Before him, Song Xianze and the others lowered their heads and remained silent.

The situation has deteriorated to this point, and nobody knows what to do.

Even though he still had two or three hundred thousand troops under his command, everyone understood that these two or three hundred thousand people, trapped in a small area, were doomed to perish in just a matter of time.

"Song Xianze!"

After a long silence, Li Ming stared at Song Xianze and asked in a deep voice, "Tell me, what should we do now?"

"His Majesty……"

Song Xianze sighed helplessly, feeling a sense of sorrow in his heart.

As prime minister, Song Xianze was the head of the civil officials.

Moreover, from the time Li Ming was the crown prince to his ascension to the throne, Song Xianze followed Li Ming for several years.

He also offered Li Ming many strategies.

Now, faced with this situation, Song Xianze is unable to offer a suitable plan!

Song Xianze thought for a long time, then sighed helplessly and said, “Your Majesty, the current situation is extremely serious. Li Xin’s army is eyeing the north and south of the Yangtze River with predatory intent. According to reports from scouts at the front, Li Xin’s army has a total strength of nearly 200,000! Moreover, there is a steady stream of reserve troops coming to reinforce us from Heluo, Daiyue, Huaibei and other places.”

"It can be said that,"

Song Xianze took a deep breath and continued, "The overall situation in Jiangning City is in the hands of Li Xin's troops!"

"Especially now, with the Qin King, Qing King, Su King, Han King, Dian King and other local vassal kings being successively pacified, only we remain entrenched in a corner of the entire Daqian Kingdom. The gap between us is too great!"

"Your Majesty, if we choose to resist, there will likely be only one outcome."

Song Xianze shook his head with a gloomy face and said, "Not only can we see this, but I'm afraid the soldiers on the front lines can also see it."

"Recently, the surrendered troops from the Qin King and the Dian King's forces have been successively assigned by Li Xin's troops to settle and cultivate land in Dongning and Liaodong provinces. If this news were to reach the front-line units, the morale of the troops would likely waver!"

"At that time, even if we want to fight to the death, the soldiers on the front lines will not obey orders!"