Upon hearing the governor of Gaul's shout, Pennis's expression changed.

At the same time, the thousand defenders guarding the area suddenly ripped off their robes, revealing their Gallic military attire.

"Kill the traitors!"

A Gallic soldier immediately drew his longsword and charged at Pennis.

"kill!!"

The Gallic soldiers behind them also shouted and followed closely behind.

The three hundred guards following Penis retreated in unison, putting distance between him and the guards.

Seeing this, Penis immediately realized that he had fallen into a trap.

Having already killed the Gallic soldiers, Pennis had no time to think about anything else. He quickly drew his long sword, ready to fight to the death.

Unfortunately, one person's strength is ultimately limited. After killing three Gallic soldiers who charged at him, Pennis was also stabbed several times and fell to the ground.

Before he died, Pennis opened his eyes wide and stared intently at Li Ke not far away, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

He couldn't understand why he had ended up like this, despite following the Taiping Cult's arrangements to the best of his ability.

Li Ke slowly stepped forward, looked at Penis with his eyes wide open in death, and then waved to the Taoist priests beside him: "Collect his body and send it out of the city!"

"yes!"

Several Taoist priests agreed and then stepped forward to collect Pennis's body.

“Bishop Li, now that we’ve killed Penis, will the Royal Guard outside the city retaliate?”

The governor of Gaul also came to Li Ke's side, his face full of worry.

"Governor, there is no need to worry. Leave this matter to the Taiping Church!"

As he spoke, Li Ke walked up to the three hundred Imperial Guard soldiers.

“Brothers, Pennis is a cruel man who has wantonly slaughtered civilians and has been abandoned by God. If you turn back now, the Taiping Church is willing to plead with Taiyi on your behalf and forgive your sins.”

If you remain obstinate and refuse to repent, Taiyi will unleash divine punishment, and no one can save you!

"We are willing to uphold the Dharma teachings of the Great One!"

Upon hearing Li Ke's words, the Imperial Guard soldiers immediately laid down their weapons and knelt down in reverence.

These people were originally followers of the Taiping Religion; they were only here today to cooperate with Li Ke in putting on a show.

The Gallic governor and the nobles standing nearby were overjoyed to see Li Ke persuade the guards with just a few words, and at the same time, they also had more respect for the Taiping Church.

Meanwhile, Penis's body was also collected and disposed of by several Taoist priests.

Then, under Li Ke's command, the group carried Pennis's body and headed out of the city.

In front of the camp, looking at Penis's body, the Imperial Guard soldiers were surprisingly quiet and did not make any excessive reaction.

After Li Ke's reassurance, the remaining 20,000 Imperial Guard soldiers retreated 15 li.

Seeing the Royal Guard retreat, the Gallic governor breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent someone to convey his intention to surrender to Liu Bei's army.

Although Penis was killed, the Royal Guard was appeased by the Church of the Peace.

However, the threat from Liu Bei's army remained, and the governor of Gaul and the nobles did not expect to escape unscathed.

After receiving the letter of surrender from the governor of Gaul, Liu Bei, who was besieging the fleeing Gaul troops in Zhengrongdi City, immediately sent someone to convey the demand for surrender to the 40,000 fleeing soldiers.

Upon receiving Liu Bei's request, the defeated Gallic soldiers in Rongdi City were overjoyed and wept, embracing each other and cheering excitedly.

In fact, these defeated Gallic soldiers had been thinking of surrendering ever since they learned of Liu Bei's benevolent approach to the army.

However, Liu Bei had previously refused to accept their surrender and had chased them all the way here.

After nearly two months of fleeing, they were exhausted and no one wanted to continue like this.

Soon, the 40,000 defeated Gallic soldiers in the city opened the city gates on their own initiative, then lined up in front of Liu Bei's army and handed over their weapons.

After accepting the surrender of the defeated Gaul soldiers, Liu Bei immediately led his army, escorting the prisoners, towards the city of Gaul.

After five days of travel, Liu Bei's allied forces finally arrived south of Gaul.

The governor of Gaul also led a group of Gaulish nobles and officials out of the city to greet them.

Before the army, the governor of Gaul, holding the registers of land, population, and tax revenue of the Gaul province, came before Liu Bei.

"I was unaware of the Holy Army's majesty and have offended them in the past. Now I have realized my mistake and wish to surrender with all my men. I hope you will accept us!"

Having said that, the Gallic governor bent down and held the account book in his hand above his head.

Liu Bei stepped forward, helped the Gallic governor up, and said with a friendly expression, "Governor's attitude is sincere, and we accept your surrender on behalf of Augustus."

"Rest assured, I have come solely on Augustus's orders to request the governor to travel to Rome. No innocent person will be implicated!"

"In that case, thank you for your kindness, Brother Liu!"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, the Governor of Gaul bowed deeply to Liu Bei with a grateful expression.

Although he knew that he would surely die if he went to Rome, with Liu Bei's guarantee, at least his family would be spared from being implicated.

The Gallic nobles behind him also bowed to Liu Bei with gratitude.

Afterwards, everyone welcomed Liu Bei into the city and held a welcome banquet at the governor's mansion.

During the banquet, Liu Bei took the initiative to retain the original positions of all noble officials. As for the position of Governor of Gaul, Liu Bei appointed the original governor's son to temporarily act as governor.

The newly appointed governor of Gaul and a host of noble officials were overjoyed by Liu Bei's arrangement.

After the banquet, Liu Bei sent someone to invite the new governor to his room.

"I have met Imperial Brother Liu before. May I ask what brings you here, Imperial Brother Liu?"

The newly appointed governor of Gaul, Dacdo, bowed respectfully to Liu Bei and asked a question.

"Governor Dacto, please don't stand on ceremony, sit down and let's talk!"

Liu Bei smiled, then pulled Dakdo to sit opposite him at his table.

After sitting down, Liu Bei looked at Dakdo with a sincere expression: "I called you here because I have something to tell you!"

"I humbly request your guidance, Imperial Brother Liu!"

"Alas, we had no choice but to launch this campaign against the Gallic Province."

His Majesty Commodus is ambitious. His order to attack Gaul is ostensibly because his father failed to send a congratulatory letter, which undermines Augustus's prestige. In reality, he wants to use this opportunity to reclaim all the rights of the Gaul province.

If he succeeds, he will repeat the same method, slowly eroding other provinces—a result that neither I nor any of the provinces want to see!

Dakdo's expression shifted: "So, that's why Brother Liu pursued my Gallic soldiers but didn't kill them?"

“That’s right. I did this to preserve a resistance force in the Gallic province, so that Commodus wouldn’t succeed!”