Upon hearing Zhu Qizhen's words, Li Qin immediately shook his head and said:
"Your Majesty, this is to let the world know that the treacherous officials have been eliminated by your subject, and that Your Majesty is still safe and sound."
Those people will no longer fear the threats of treacherous officials, and will surely bow their heads and surrender under Your Majesty's imperial might.
"You, you, hey, the general is a loyal minister who eliminates treacherous officials, so let's listen to the general."
After hearing Li Qin's words, Zhu Qizhen understood his meaning and was about to say something.
However, Li Qin saw that Qi Duchen behind him had already placed his hand on the knife.
It's as if it's saying, "If you dare say no, you're dead."
Faced with this situation, Zhu Qizhen had no choice but to back down.
After seeing Zhu Qizhen compromise, Li Qin turned to Qi Duchen and said:
"Help His Majesty to rest. We must take good care of His Majesty."
"Yes, sir. Take your place."
Upon hearing Li Qin's order, Qi Duchen immediately dispatched some men to put Zhu Qizhen under strict control.
Seeing Zhu Qizhen being taken away and taken into custody, Li Qin couldn't help but smile.
After returning to his newly set-up military tent, Li Qin finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
At this moment, a surge of joy filled his heart; he had finally captured Zhu Qizhen.
We finally caught him.
After laughing heartily, Li Qin sat down in his seat, feeling more relaxed than ever before.
He finally caught Zhu Qizhen.
Moreover, he had completely annihilated all of the imperial court's main forces in the capital, leaving the capital utterly vulnerable.
With his army riding a wave of consecutive victories and Zhu Qizhen as his trump card, he was certain that he could take the capital in one battle.
At that time, they would control the emperor and also take control of the court officials in the capital.
Being oneself is equivalent to controlling the central authority of the Great Wu.
From now on, as long as it's my own word, I can use this central authority to issue imperial edicts as the highest directives of the court.
Anyone who opposes him is a traitor and rebel against the court.
I will completely transform my identity.
He had previously claimed to be eliminating treacherous officials and cleaning up the emperor's inner circle, but in reality, he was rebelling.
But the emperor himself just acknowledged the results of his efforts to eliminate treacherous officials and cleanse the court of corrupt ministers.
You see, even the person involved said that he was deceived and manipulated by treacherous officials, and that he was truly trying to purge the court of corrupt officials.
What else do you have to say?
Li Qin then sat down and looked at the battle report statistics in front of him.
Besides capturing Emperor Zhu Qizhen, this battle also yielded other significant gains.
Li Qin was stunned when he looked at the battle report statistics in front of him.
Fifty thousand were beheaded, most of whom died in the rout, trampling each other to death.
More than 80,000 were captured, and more than 20,000 others took the opportunity to scatter and escape.
They seized 70,000 sets of fine armor and 8,000 pairs of horse armor.
There were countless other weapons, such as spears, swords, and shields.
However, Li Qin found most of these armors in the main camp of Tushubao after their retreat.
Zhang Fu and the others probably knew that their army was no longer capable of fighting.
Their only goal was to rush towards the capital; they would return as much as they could.
So they gave up all the burdens.
This includes a large number of suits of armor.
The large army he led, apart from some physically strong personal guards, was mostly unarmored.
After all, the army had been starving for several days, and many of them were sick. You're asking them to run around carrying dozens or even hundreds of pounds of armor.
That's definitely asking too much.
Just now, Li Qin saw that it was only some captured armor and weapons, not counting other miscellaneous spoils.
For example, spoils such as military tents, flags, and wagons.
It can be said that the imperial court had spent decades and countless resources to build up the 200,000-strong army in the capital, which he completely devoured.
Now he has taken control of the 200,000-strong army in Jizhou and the capital.
It can be said that his equipment was more abundant than ever before. These armors, weapons, and supplies were enough for him to build another army of more than 100,000 men.
Just as Li Qin was reading the military report, Peng Jiahu walked in carrying a human head.
"Haha, sir, this time it's definitely right. I've confirmed it with the prisoners of war."
As he spoke, he placed the head of an old man with white hair on Li Qin's military desk.
With a beaming smile, he pointed to the white-haired man's head and said, as if seeking credit:
"Up to the position, this head belongs to Zhang Fu, the number one general of the Great Wu."
When I defeated Wu's army, I spotted this white-haired old man at a glance.
I immediately thought of him.
Li Qin looked at the head of the white-haired old man in front of him, said nothing, but sighed and said:
"It's a pity that the general, who was so wise throughout his life, ended up like this."
This defeat was truly not the general's fault.
Then he picked up Zhang Fu's head with both hands and handed it to his personal guard, saying:
"Find General Zhang Fu's body and sew it up. If you can't find it, carve a body out of sandalwood."
He was then given a grand funeral befitting a duke or marquis.
After the guard took Zhang Fu's head, he immediately nodded and did as he was told.
Peng Jiahu stood there stunned as he watched Li Qin hand Zhang Fu's head to his personal guards.
Then, pointing to Zhang Fu's head with a puzzled expression, he said:
"What are you doing, sir?"
"That's Zhang Fu's head! Wouldn't hanging it up as a warning to the enemy be a better way to deter them?"
Li Qin looked at Peng Jiahu in front of him and sighed.
He is indeed a fierce general, truly brave, but his strategy is lacking.
Liu Chenghui, Zhang Hengshuo, Wang Taihe, Zhou Wentong, and others would never have said such things.
This also deepened Li Qin's understanding of Peng Jiahu.
He was the bravest warrior in the entire army when he charged into battle.
However, it is acceptable to let him lead troops to carry out orders.
However, it would be more appropriate for someone like Liu Wenhui or Zhang Hengshuo to lead a large army independently in battle.
Li Qin was certain that Peng Jiahu would definitely mess things up.
He ultimately possessed the courage of a fierce general, but lacked the talent of a great one.
Li Qin looked at the puzzled Peng Jiahu and asked:
Who is Zhang Fu?
Who is he?
Faced with Li Qin's question, Peng Jiahu was suddenly stunned.
Li Qin continued:
"Zhang Fu has served in the army since the time of Emperor Taizong, and has served under several emperors for decades."
He was a loyal minister known throughout the land, and his name was not on our list of treacherous officials who were brought before the emperor.
You actually intend to display his head to the public?
Upon hearing Li Qin's words, Peng Jiahu immediately bowed and said:
"It's my fault for not thinking it through."
In response to Peng Jiahu's salute, Li Qin waved his hand and said:
"I still remember the general's merits. Your contribution in this battle is enough to make you a founding duke."
Upon hearing Li Qin's words, Peng Jiahu was taken aback and looked at Li Qin in front of him.
"The Founding Duke?"
"Founding the nation?"
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