Ba Qing couldn't understand why, when the people of Lingnan had revolted because of Chen Zhennan, there were only 40,000 people in total.
Adding Zhou Xiang's 50,000 men, the total number would be no more than 100,000 at most, so how could there be over a million?
"Bluster, Chen Zhennan. I advise you to release me. If the Emperor finds out, he will definitely send troops to attack Lingnan again, and then..."
Before Ba Qing could finish speaking, Chen Zhennan completely lost his patience and really didn't want to listen to him continue rambling.
"The Emperor? Which Emperor? Wu Yunyin? Half of your death tonight is her fault. Forty thousand people rebelled because of me, and now the government troops under my command are robbing money and grain, cutting off their livelihood. A million is an understatement!"
After saying that, Chen Zhennan plunged the scimitar into Ba Qing's chest. This Grand Marshal of Pingnan had only been in office for less than half a month before his term ended just like that.
Turning around, Chen Zhennan waved to Li Can.
"Find his command seal and order all government troops to return to their camps to avoid fighting the civilians. Those who are willing to follow me, Chen Zhennan, are now part of the righteous army. Those who are unwilling to follow, hand over your weapons and get out of Lingnan, or you will be killed without mercy!"
Upon hearing this, Li Can immediately sprang into action, entered the house, found Ba Qing's command seal, and then hurriedly led his men to assemble the government troops.
...
Zhou Xiang's side followed the official road and chased after them at great speed, discovering the convoy transporting silver before reaching the Black Stone River.
Without hesitation, Zhou Xiang decisively gave the order to lead a raid on the convoy, and the battle was quickly over.
The captured prisoners confessed that there were four more caravans ahead, each carrying one million taels of silver, and that Song Xuan was among them.
Upon hearing Song Xuan's name, Zhou Xiang was furious. He had heard of this man before and knew that it was he who instigated Wu Yunyin, which led to the deaths of Chen Zhennan's 300,000-strong army.
"Take care of them, follow me! Kill Song Xuan!"
Zhou Xiang continued his pursuit and spotted the next convoy in less than ten minutes. After quickly finishing off the convoy, he learned that Song Xuan had escaped.
Zhou Xiang led his men in the direction the prisoner was pointing for an hour, but they found nothing.
Fortunately, the five million taels of silver that Song Xuan planned to take were all recovered.
...
The shouts of battle continued until dawn before Li Can hurriedly returned to the Lingnan Prince's Mansion.
"General, I deserve to die. The distance was too far, and the order could not be delivered in time. The government troops may suffer 50,000 casualties, and the civilian casualties may exceed 100,000."
Upon hearing this, the sleepy-eyed Chen Zhennan suddenly sat up, glaring at Li Can through gritted teeth.
"Li Can! What kind of work did you do? Before the operation, I instructed you to use Ba Qing's name to stabilize all the government troops. Why did such a large conflict still break out?"
Upon hearing this, Li Can knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"General, I did give the order, but the public opinion was overwhelming and the government troops were actually resisting. By the time I gave the order again, it was already too late."
Upon hearing Li Can's words, Chen Zhennan staggered and collapsed to the ground, panicking for a moment, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
"150,000 dead and injured, what a sin I have committed! How could this have happened? How could this have happened?"
Chen Zhennan was filled with remorse, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks. If he had acted sooner, the casualties might have been much smaller.
Upon seeing this, Song Yunyang hurriedly ran to Chen Zhennan's side and reached out to support his shoulder.
"It's not entirely your fault. Don't blame yourself so much. Think about it, if you had fallen for Wu Yunyin's scheme that day, many more people might have died in Lingnan today."
Chen Zhennan understood that if he hadn't rallied the people's hearts, the situation in Lingnan would likely have been that Zhou Xiang had wiped out his 90,000-strong army, and then 1.8 million people would have been forced to rebel, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
After a long silence, Chen Zhennan slowly and weakly got up.
"Order Zhou Xiang to form a righteous army, with him as the commander. The dead will receive compensation, the wounded will receive free treatment, and the righteous army should adopt a humble attitude towards the people while acting in a high-profile manner."
Upon hearing this, Li Can hurriedly turned and left, following Chen Zhennan's orders to settle the uprising civilians and government troops.
After two busy days, Chen Zhennan distributed the remaining silver, except for the five million taels he kept as military pay.
Some of the government troops chose to surrender, many of whom had previously served under Chen Zhennan and felt no psychological pressure following Chen Zhennan in his rebellion.
As for the remaining people, Chen Zhennan didn't care about those who were unwilling to surrender. He simply let them all disperse, only reminding them to settle their families as soon as possible after returning home, so as not to be caught unprepared when war broke out.
Order was quickly restored in the thirteen counties of Lingnan, and Chen Zhennan returned all the looted items of Ba Qing and Song Xuan to the people.
Almost instantly, Zhou Xiang gained the same level of fame as Chen Zhennan had once.
Including the government troops who surrendered to the imperial court, plus the civilians who joined the army in the thirteen counties, Zhou Xiang now has a force of 280,000.
This number shocked Song Yunyang. Chen Zhennan had only written a letter, and in just half a month, Zhou Xiang was able to build a team that could rival the Great Yan.
During the time Song Yunyang spent with Chen Zhennan, she truly understood the fundamental reason for his invincibility: the hearts of the people.
However, Song Yunyang thought about the series of actions before the battle began for a long time but still couldn't figure them out completely.
From the letter he wrote to Zhou Xiang onwards, all the changes in Lingnan seemed to be within Chen Zhennan's expectations, or even developed step by step according to his ideas.
"Chen Zhennan, if my Great Yan had you, how could it not unify the world?"
...
In the capital city, in the main hall of the imperial palace, Wu Yunyin looked at Song Xuan, who looked disheveled and dejected, with intense hatred.
"Song Xuan, what kind of work are you doing? Didn't you announce my policy? Five years of tax exemption, do you think the people of Lingnan still won't accept it?"
In the imperial court, Song Xuan kept his head bowed, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to shift all the blame.
A moment later, Song Xuan slowly raised his head, his brows furrowed, looking as if he were the victim.
"Your Majesty, as per your decree, I went to Lingnan to announce a five-year tax exemption policy, intending to only recover ten million taels of silver. However, to my surprise, Ba Qing went so far as to plunder a staggering thirty million taels, even seizing all the grain and clothing of the people of Lingnan. That's why..."
Upon hearing this, Wu Xiaolin, the leader of the assembled officials, was naturally furious and stepped forward to stand in front of Song Xuan.
"What did you say? You want me to take money?"
Song Xuan shuddered. Wu Xiaolin was already the most valiant and skilled warrior among the older generation of the royal family, and now he was even more murderous, making it hard not to feel fear.
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty. I was ordered to collect the silver, but I never expected that Ba Qing..."
Before Song Xuan could finish explaining, Wu Xiaolin slapped him across the face.
With a crisp "snap," Wu Xiaolin turned to look at Wu Yunyin.
"Wu Yunyin! You unfilial daughter, the Great Wu dynasty will surely perish in your hands! Is this the way of being a ruler you've learned—to plunder the people for their money?"
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