0p0 Chapter 229 My lord, how did you know that our army had won a great victory?
Chapter 229 My lord, how did you know that our army had won a great victory?
A certain decadent scholar once said that destruction is easy but construction is difficult, but now Anguo... no, in the future there will only be Anzhou. Apart from the unfortunate heavy losses at Panshi Pass, the war damage to the other cities is almost negligible. In Shen Qing's opinion, it would be better to destroy and rebuild.
The Anzhou natives are slippery, but once the war ends and they adopt a conciliatory approach, their intelligence immediately takes over. Guo Yu has been struggling with these honeycomb briquettes lately, wishing he had eight hundred more tricks up his sleeve.
"So, while violent demolitions are barbaric, they can clean up the old aristocracy in one go—how convenient!"
Shen Qing only muttered a few words to himself before shaking his head to dismiss the thought. He couldn't just save trouble for the moment and ruin his reputation. Who would dare to surrender in future battles? They would have to fight until they ran out of ammunition and food.
On another level, Shen Qing himself is from an aristocratic family. Class determines mindset. He will not destroy his base unless absolutely necessary. He can use his status to his advantage, so why make enemies of the world?
Shen Qing disliked the phrase "lonely courage," as it meant having no one behind him.
The sudden end of the battle left the soldiers feeling somewhat uneasy. It was as if a mobilization meeting had been held, and they had just started a 100-meter sprint on the track, only to be suddenly stopped after running ten meters. Before they could even react, they were instantly teleported to the finish line by some mysterious force, leaving them feeling bewildered and lost.
But they weren't exactly pushovers; after a brief period of disappointment, they became excited again, eagerly anticipating General Shen's rise to power and his ability to lead them to new heights.
"It's a pity I missed the chance to earn military merit this time. I should have joined the Sky Lantern Squad back then."
"Next time General Shen creates a new type of soldier, I'll be the first to sign up."
"Me too!"
"Which country do you think General Shen will fight next?"
"Kyungguk, Kyungguk is closer."
"Jingguo is more likely. It's wealthy and one of the main culprits who harmed our young marshal!"
"Open for business! Open for business!"
…………
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Shen Qing had no idea of the soldiers' ambitions. The most important thing at the moment was to control the Anguo troops to prevent any further changes. As for the issues of Anguo's interests after being incorporated into Xuanguo and the subsequent governance by aristocratic families, he would leave those issues to Xuandu to deal with.
So, a small cavalry squad carrying Lu Zhen's memorial sped off towards Xuandu.
Ten days later—
At the Lucheng Post Station in Xuan State, the imperial envoy corps led by Jiang Se made a brief stop.
The group was sitting in the main hall drinking hot soup when they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves outside, followed by a rough voice: "Innkeeper, feed the horses!"
The postmaster hurriedly stepped forward to lead the horse. Watching the dusty soldiers enter the post station, Wei Chao, with his sharp eyes, noticed a small flag with a red cloud totem on the back of a soldier and whispered, "It's the Chixiao Army under Commander Lu."
Upon hearing this, Song Yuan looked over and frowned. "Could it be that General Lu has sent someone back to the capital to request reinforcements because of an emergency at the border?"
He exchanged a glance with Jiang Se and ordered the person to be brought over for questioning.
Seeing that the three people sitting there were young but had an extraordinary presence, and looking at the surrounding entourage, Zhou Yong knew that they were not simple people. After hesitating for a moment, he honestly stepped forward to answer.
"This humble officer is a junior officer of the Chixiao Army, and has been ordered by the commander to enter the capital."
"What's the situation at the front?" Song Yuan asked the question that concerned him most.
Zhou Yong straightened his back and grinned foolishly, "Sir, how did you know our army had won a great victory?"
"..."
At this moment, no one realized the seriousness of the situation, and they thought it was just a small victory or two.
"We should hurry on our way and order Marquis Yongyi to cease hostilities and withdraw his troops, and not continue to attack Anguo."
"Give up the attack on Anguo?" Zhou Yong's tiger-like eyes widened in surprise. "That won't do!"
Wei Chao simply thought Zhou Yong was warlike. And rightly so, what would a common soldier know about strategic planning? "You wouldn't understand even if I explained important military and national affairs. Continuing like this would only be a waste of manpower. Even if we conquered the entire An Kingdom, it would be a losing proposition."
"But……"
Wei Chaoyin grew impatient and got up to leave, and Song Yuan followed suit.
"But the Kingdom of An has been destroyed, the royal family has perished, and the ministers have all bowed their heads. Are we to give up on this too?"
Wei Chao paused, and Song Yuan was also taken aback.
"Anguo...is it destroyed?"
If the military report is accurate, Lu Zhen only set out from Pingshan Pass in April, which means he destroyed a country in less than a month? Half of that time was spent on the road!
The impact was truly immense. Wei Chao rushed to Zhou Yong, his breathing becoming heavy. "What are our casualties?"
“This…” Zhou Yong hesitated. He wasn’t in charge of this statistics and couldn’t give a specific number. “About seven or eight hundred.”
This was the loss from the siege of Panshi Pass; they hadn't fought any serious battles since.
The inn fell silent for a moment. In just over twenty days, a country was destroyed at the cost of less than a thousand lives. Even if they looked down on Anguo for being such a small place, it was still outrageous enough.
Wei Chao's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice a little dry, "But what scheme did General Shen use?"
At this point, Zhou Yong got really excited, "Our General Shen is truly a genius in commanding troops!"
Listening to Zhou Yong's eloquent description of how Shen Qing was full of wisdom, how she planned and won battles from afar, and how she was incredibly brave in battle, everyone felt as if they were in a dream, wondering in confusion what they had come here for.