While the emperor was writing his reply, Wang Tigan had already retreated to the palace gate, waiting for the military report to be delivered.

The battle to pacify Liao has already begun, and this is what the emperor is most concerned about. How could Wang Tigan not know this?

If the military report of victory was presented to the emperor, it would be like reporting good news to him. To please the emperor was Wang Tigan's favorite thing to do.

Just when Wang Tigan thought he was waiting in vain again, a palace servant came hurriedly and he hurried to greet him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Wang Tigan's loud shouting interrupted the emperor, causing him to frown and raise his head unhappily.

"Great joy, great joy!" Wang Tigan rushed into the hall holding the victory bulletin. He knelt before the imperial desk, raised the bulletin above his head, and reported in a trembling voice: "Our army won a great victory in Haicheng, killing more than 20,000 enemies..."

The emperor stood up suddenly, reached out and snatched the military newspaper from Wang Tigan's hand, opened it and read it quickly.

An excited look appeared on the emperor's face. He forced himself to remain calm and looked at it carefully again. Only after he was sure that it was correct did he burst into laughter.

After annihilating the enemy defenders in Haicheng, bombarding the enemy camp, and breaking through the enemy camp to defeat the Jianlu, Xiong Tingbi sent people to carefully count the enemy's remains and obtained a fairly accurate number.

The Jiannu had suffered a series of defeats in the past few years. How many troops were left and how fast were they being replenished? The emperor knew this clearly through intelligence estimates from various sources.

More than 20,000 more were killed! The Jiannu suffered a crushing defeat, which was a major blow to their vitality. With the pacification of Liao just around the corner, how could the emperor not be overjoyed?

How could the Later Jin, with a total population of less than one million, have the capital and confidence to compete with the Ming Dynasty in a war of attrition? The emperor won with a single all-in victory and crippled the Jianlu.

As long as victory was achieved, the emperor would not care how much ammunition and supplies were consumed, or how much money was spent, as he had sufficient reserve funds. At most, he could use the royal family's private money to destroy the Jianlu and save it later!

"Good, good!" The emperor could not hide his excitement. He paced back and forth in the hall with the military report in his hand, praising it repeatedly. "After this great victory, the annihilation of slavery is just around the corner."

Wang Tigan smiled flatteringly and echoed, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, while the Jianlu are just clowns. Their destruction is certain."

Yes, yes! Ever since I possessed you and traveled through time, the demise of the Jiannu people has been inevitable.

The emperor nodded repeatedly, deeply assentful, and never refused any compliments. Even if fate had decreed that the Tianqi era would end in seven years, and the Jiannu were already devastated, what kind of trouble could they possibly stir up?

"The soldiers have made great contributions in killing the enemy, and I will not hesitate to reward them." The emperor stopped and said in a loud voice: "I will immediately issue an imperial decree to commend them, and take another 200,000 silver coins from the inner treasury and ship them to Liaodong."

"Yes, I'll do it right away." Wang Tigan bowed and accepted the order, then left the hall.

The emperor sat on the imperial chair, his mood still restless. He picked up his pen and paper and began to write a secret letter to Xiong Tingbi.

"It is better to pursue the enemy with all your remaining courage..."

The emperor shook his head, crumpled the paper, and rewrote it on a new one. This plagiarized poem was very powerful, but the emperor was worried that the generals on the front line would pursue him too closely and fall into an ambush, which would be disastrous.

We still have to advance steadily and suppress the slaves with force. We should use our absolute superior firepower to crush the Jiannu and not allow any unexpected variables.

The recovery of Liaoyang and Shenyang meant the basic success of the Liao pacification campaign. My prestige also soared as a result of this battle, and it also cleared the obstacles to the implementation of various reform policies.

Humph, the Jianlu have been destroyed. Do those powerful vassal states still dare to challenge me? It's time to deal with them.

The emperor pursed his lips, and a cold look flashed in his eyes.

……………….

For several years, the capital had heard no more alarm, though periodically, news of victory would arrive from Liaodong. It seemed to be a common understanding that the Jianlu were being suppressed by the Ming army.

Starting this autumn, the frequency of the phrases "pacifying the Liao and destroying the slaves" appearing in newspapers has greatly increased. Even more frequent than "pacifying the Liao and destroying the slaves" is "the whole country's strength."

What does "whole nation's strength" mean? Even an uneducated person would understand its meaning when hearing this term.

But for the common people, the "national strength" mobilized by the emperor did not seem to affect their lives.

There was no increase in taxes and no conscription of labor, and it seemed that these were the only two aspects that affected the lives of ordinary people.

Not only that, but ordinary people now have more ways to make a living. The changes brought about by the reforms are being felt by more and more people.

Of course, being at the bottom of society, ordinary people don't care about certain reform policies. This isn't just because the information they receive is too limited, but also because it doesn't concern them. For example, there are strict punishments for corrupt officials, the imperial examination system, and so on.

Food, clothing, housing, transportation, salt, rice, oil, and salt. Only these small things are what ordinary people have to experience and care about every day.

The price of salt has dropped. Great! This winter, we can use an iron stove and honeycomb coal at home. It costs little and keeps us warm. Great! The price of grain has dropped. I heard it's being shipped to Tianjin by sea, which means the shipping costs are lower. Great!

When ordinary people no longer worry about war, these things closely related to life occupy most of their thoughts.

We cannot blame them for not caring about national affairs. We must understand the people at the bottom. The burden of life is on their shoulders. They have already put in their utmost effort to ensure that they and their families are not hungry or cold.

But it's undeniable that most people feel their lives are getting better. There are more job opportunities, higher incomes, and they can eat their fill, even enjoying more meat.

"Dad!" Erya's eyes widened at first, and then she was surprised. Dad went to Tianjin and came back so soon.

Erya's father laughed and walked over quickly, saying, "Go home and warm up. Dad will help you watch the stall."

"I'm not cold." Erya shook her head, pointed at the stove and said with a smile: "It's warm here!"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!