As expected, the opponent arrived in front of them at an extremely fast speed.

The Prince of Ruyang's troops were in a state of complacency and were caught off guard by a thousand men, suffering a crushing defeat.

When the Prince of Ruyang saw that his army had fallen into chaos, he immediately ordered them to be suppressed. However, the army was in complete disarray and could not be suppressed at all.

Moreover, the enemy cavalry is extremely powerful; while not every soldier is comparable to a general, they are far superior to ordinary soldiers.

As a result, many people lost their lives before they even had a chance to fight back.

Seeing this situation, the Prince of Ruyang had no choice but to order a retreat.

The army retreated into the canyon like a flowing river.

The canyon area is not narrow, but it cannot accommodate so many soldiers passing through it.

It suddenly became crowded.

Countless people were trampled to death.

In the end, even the Prince of Ruyang could not control the situation. Under the protection of his guards, the Prince of Ruyang could only retreat into the canyon.

But who knew that when they reached the middle of the canyon, there were ambushes on both sides.

With the explosives in hand, the Prince of Ruyang's troops lost all will to resist.

They scattered and fled.

After the Prince of Ruyang finally managed to escape the canyon with his two thousand or so defeated soldiers, he looked up to the sky and sighed.

Of the more than 10,000 people, only more than 2,000 were brought out.

But just as the Prince of Ruyang was sighing, someone was already lying in wait outside the canyon.

Mu Fan was leading three thousand soldiers, waiting outside the canyon.

They were already lying in ambush at a distance on this side of the canyon.

They only slowly approached after the other side entered the canyon.

They caught the other side completely off guard.

The scouts never expected that the enemy would be lying in ambush behind them.

The guards of Prince Ruyang fought desperately to save his life, and he escaped with several dozen soldiers.

They fled directly to the capital.

Thus, the elite troops of the Prince of Ruyang were almost entirely wiped out in this war.

Although the Prince of Ruyang had a large army, this time he personally led his elite troops.

The rest of the troops were not as well-trained as this one.

Even such a fine team was utterly defeated and unable to turn the tide when they encountered Chenxi's team.

Upon seeing that the Prince of Ruyang had failed, the Crown Prince immediately led his troops to defend the capital once again.

But taking back the capital would be even more difficult than dealing with the Eighth Prince.

After all, although the Prince of Ruyang had lost his elite troops, he still had a considerable number of soldiers.

We are capable of defending the capital.

Mu Fanzheng then seized control of Yuzhang Prefecture in one fell swoop.

From then on, the territory of Shenxi bordered the capital.

But at this moment, who cares about Chenxi? The battle in the capital has never stopped, and the Crown Prince and the Prince of Ruyang refuse to compromise.

The Crown Prince's advisors once suggested that since the world was in such chaos, it would be better to abandon the capital and occupy other territories first.

But who knew that the Crown Prince wouldn't listen? His obsession with the capital had made him extremely stubborn.

He no longer listened to even the words of Chancellor Yelü Hui.

Now that it borders the capital, Shenxi didn't care about bordering it a few more times and directly attacked Xie Ning.

The city walls of Nanning Prefecture were exceptionally fortified and not easy to capture. But no one expected that Chen Xi would order his men to stockpile a large amount of gunpowder and blow up the city gates.

The power of gunpowder was once again recognized by the world.

After the city gate was blown open, Shenxi personally led the guards and rushed in.

The battle lasted for several hours before the city of Nanning was completely occupied.

Xie Ning tried to escape with his men, but they failed and were captured alive by Zhao Rong.

Shenxi then ordered his men to take Xie Ning to Bian'ai County.

It was handed over to Qi Xiuwen of Bian'ai County, and then Qi Xiuwen handed Xie Ning over to Mo Yuhua for disposal.

When Mo Yuhua saw Xie Ning, it was as if she had seen an enemy. If it weren't for Xie Ning, how could she have been so displaced and how could she have almost lost her child?

Since Qi Xiuwen had handed Xie Ning over to Mo Yuhua, he would no longer concern himself with how Mo Yuhua dealt with Xie Ning.

Today, Bian'ai County is no longer just a county seat; it has gradually developed into the scale of a prefectural city.

Shenxi directly connected Bian'ai County with the two surrounding counties, forming an autonomous region.

This is where Shenxi made her fortune; it's her strong rear base, so naturally it receives a lot of attention.

Qi Xiuwen had been protecting Bian'ai County for her. Now that the surrounding area had been taken over, Shenxi appointed Song Zhen as the head of the Bian'ai Autonomous Region.

Then she ordered Qi Xiuwen to follow her group.

We will address the problems wherever they occur.

Shenxi then led his troops to attack Kangjian Prefecture, which was occupied by Miaojiang Road and Haozhou Prefecture.

Miao Jiangdao was indeed clever; he actually drew inspiration from the gunpowder that Chenxi had used several times and made a replica.

As the two sides clashed with gunpowder, Shenxi couldn't help but admire how clever the people of this era were.

Don't underestimate people from ancient times; if you make something, they might be able to make a copy for you.

The soldiers gradually became familiar with the sound of gunpowder exploding, and eventually, when both sides used gunpowder, they could no longer use the loud, resonant sound to intimidate each other.

However, to their surprise, the appearance of muskets shattered their illusions once again.

A large group of musketeers, each carrying a musket filled with gunpowder and iron pellets, capable of firing it quite a distance.

The enemy cavalry suffered a major blow. They didn't even need to ride up to them; the musketeers unleashed a barrage of fire that even the heavy armor couldn't withstand.

The troops of Miaojiang Road and Haozhou Prefecture were routed in an instant.

Advanced firearms, compared to the era of cold weapons, deliver an overwhelming blow.

Even the thick city walls of Kangjian Prefecture could not withstand the power of the explosives.

Miao Lian, the prefect of Miaojiang, was killed in the explosion.

His son, Miao Yao, led the remaining troops back to Miao territory.

The prefect of Haozhou Prefecture, seeing that things were not going well, fled in advance.

The recapture of Kangjian Prefecture did not require much effort.

Li Hui thought that now that Kangjian Prefecture had been recovered, he should be allowed to continue managing it.

Who knew that Shenxi would directly issue him a document and assign him a job as a miner at Jinshan.

Li Hui was not wronged at all. If it weren't for the fact that he went there to seek refuge, he would have lost his head.

Everyone has to pay the price for their mistakes.

Li Hui was no exception; during his tenure as prefect, he did far too many things to exploit and oppress the people.

Future governors should think twice before surrendering. However, those who surrender or come to him will be spared their lives.

He only knows how to do manual labor.

Which ordinary person hasn't done manual labor? Ordinary people do it, and so do officials.

They've simply been made ordinary citizens. They still have a legal status.

If you've done too many immoral things and don't surrender, you're basically doomed.

Dou Yong was responsible for pacifying and persuading the captured territories to surrender, while Qi Xiuwen was responsible for governing them.

Mo Yuhua volunteered to become Shen Xi's subordinate because she was grateful that Shen Xi entrusted Xie Ning to her personal care.

Shenxi, of course, would be more than happy to welcome them.