On the city wall, Qin Shen patted the artilleryman next to him and encouraged him, "Good lad! I'll have the kitchen give you two extra chicken legs later!"
"Thank you, Deputy General Qin!" the soldier said with a cheerful smile.
The food for their border troops has been getting better and better lately. Take the artillerymen, for example; their aim is much more accurate than before!
Beneath the city wall, the Jingyang Marquis's army finally snapped out of their daze. Everyone looked at each other, wondering what they should do now.
The Vice Minister of War, who was in charge of supervising the army, was hiding in the rear. Upon learning that Marquis Jingyang had been killed by Lu Yanzheng, he was stunned for a moment before shouting, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Good heavens! They could kill even the Marquis of Jingyang without batting an eye, let alone someone like him?
At this moment, the Vice Minister of War was filled with remorse. Why hadn't he gone to see General Lu sooner?
...
Qin Shen watched with a smile as the Marquis of Jingyang's army slunk away. He clapped his hands and handed the flag to a soldier beside him. "Very good, that's a wrap!"
Another battle with zero casualties!
When Lu Yanzheng learned that he had blown up the Marquis of Jingyang, he paused for a moment, but quickly showed no other unusual behavior. He simply said, "Although the Zhan family is declining in the capital, their spoiled descendants have caused great suffering to the people of Jinzhou. As the patriarch, the Marquis of Jingyang cannot be said to be without responsibility."
Because they couldn't get ahead in the capital, many of the Zhan family's descendants lived in Jinzhou City. With the old Marquis Jingyang around, the Zhan family didn't live badly, and even did many things like bullying men and women.
The Zhan family thought they had hidden it well, but in reality, Shunfeng Tower had kept a record of it all these years. Sure enough, Lu Yanzheng had seen these messages in the news, so much so that he didn't react much when he heard that the Marquis of Jingyang had died.
"General, now we're completely at odds with the imperial court. What should we do next?" Qin Shen's face showed no worry, only excitement.
To be honest, he had fought alongside Marshal Qin before, but never before had he felt such a sense of satisfaction.
Lu Yanzheng said calmly, "Do as you see fit."
He will not launch an attack on the imperial court at present, except to take Yukang Prefecture and Qinzhou first.
He wasn't worried about Yukang Prefecture; with Wei Chengzong and Lao Ying there, there was almost no chance of anything going wrong.
The real challenge now is Qinzhou; to take it, we'll likely have to fight a tough battle.
With his mind on something, Lu Yanzheng said to Qin Shen, "Go to Qinzhou yourself and bring the Madam and the young master and young lady here."
It was his oversight; otherwise, he should have brought Jiang Qinyu and Shu Fanpan'er with him this time.
He hadn't expected Qin Shen to be so bold as to blast the Marquis of Jingyang to death with a single shot.
If they were fighting someone else, Jiang Qinyu and the others in Qinzhou wouldn't be affected. But since they were fighting the Marquis of Jingyang, it meant they had officially declared war on the imperial court.
Qin Shen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then realized what was happening and asked nervously, "General, have I caused you trouble?"
Just now, Lu Yanzheng only said that he wanted to intimidate the people of the Marquis of Jingyang. He did not say that he wanted to kill the Marquis of Jingyang. It was he who took it upon himself to do so...
“No,” Lu Yanzheng shook his head, “but in the future, we should think twice before taking action to kill the enemy leader in one move.”
Qin Shen lowered his head in remorse, "I'm sorry."
"It's nothing serious. Pack your things and get ready to pick up Madam and the others." Lu Yanzheng waved his hand, not wanting to continue the topic.
Qin Shen came out with a deep sense of guilt, and the more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
Just as the general said, he lacked long-term vision and was unable to consider the overall situation.
Now that he has blew up the Marquis of Jingyang, in the eyes of the court, they are traitors. For the uninformed common people, anyone related to the general will also become an outcast in the eyes of others.
The general sent him to fetch his wife and son because he didn't want them to live in an environment where they would be the subject of gossip.
...
Not long after Qin Shen left, Lu Yanzheng received a message from the Vice Minister of War requesting an audience.
"General, he went alone, without any followers, which shows some sincerity," the messenger added.
Lu Yanzheng thought for a moment and said, "Let him in."
Although the Vice Minister of War is occasionally cowardly, he has not done anything immoral in his many years of service in the court. If he sincerely surrenders, he could be used.
Soon, the Vice Minister of War strode in.
He knelt down as soon as he entered, cupped his hands in respect, and cried out, "Please accept my surrender, General!"
"Please rise, Lord Lin," Lu Yanzheng said, raising his hand slightly. "We can talk about it slowly."
Upon hearing this, the Vice Minister of War was overjoyed and immediately stood up, bowing to Lu Yanzheng while still standing. "General, I have long wanted to serve under your command, but I haven't had the opportunity until now. Now that the Marquis of Jingyang is dead, I am willing to lead the soldiers who have voluntarily surrendered to join the border army!"
"Voluntary surrender?" Lu Yanzheng stood up, one hand behind his back. "How many people are you talking about who voluntarily surrendered?"
"Reporting to the General, the total is 18,654 men." The Vice Minister of War immediately reported the exact number.
Lu Yanzheng chuckled, "Lord Laolin remembers it so clearly, you've been planning this all along?"
The Vice Minister of War smiled awkwardly, "I have been inquiring about this privately ever since the day we were stopped by the people on our way out of the capital."
He knew then that the imperial court was doomed.
They came from the capital, and even with a forced march, it took them more than half a month. That was indeed enough time for him to handle the matter.
Their sincerity is so obvious, how could Lu Yanzheng not stay?
He was immediately taken away, and the handover was left to his subordinates.
It was said that only more than 18,000 people voluntarily surrendered, but after the Vice Minister of War made the matter public, most of the people who had been wavering before were also willing to join the border army.
"Anyway, I only have myself to feed, so it doesn't matter who I follow."
“I’m in a similar situation to you. My stepmother can’t even feed me properly. Why should I care about them?”
"Look how powerful the border troops' weapons are! If you follow them, you're sure to have plenty of meat to eat!"
"Yes, yes, I want to stay too..."
Many people rushed to sign up, making those who didn't want to stay even more embarrassed.
The Vice Minister of War said to those who did not want to stay, "I know that you have wives, children and elderly parents at home, and this matter has come so suddenly, so General Lu will not make things difficult for you and will let you go home!"
Those people fell silent upon hearing this.
They knew perfectly well what the situation was like in the imperial court. If it weren't for their families, they would have wanted to stay too!
The Vice Minister of War added, "However, General Lu said that if you still wish to join the border army in the future, you are welcome to bring your families to Qiongzhou, Yukang Prefecture, or the Great Northwest at any time!"
"Is Lord Lin serious?" someone asked immediately, their eyes lighting up.
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