I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 104 Suppressing Bandits in Liqiao, and the Strange Events at the Martyrs' Shrine

While Emperor Chongzhen was dealing with Wei Zhongxian, the dynasty was also consolidating the territory it had occupied.

As various policies benefiting the people are implemented at the grassroots level in rural areas, the dynasty and the People's Salvation Army are rapidly winning over the hearts and minds of the people in their territory.

The area, which was originally only covered by a very faint layer of national fortune, began to gradually be enveloped by a bright yellow national fortune, which gradually became stronger.

Ultimately, all the national destinies merged into one, turning the entire territory a bright yellow.

Although national fortunes are not uniform, with some strong and some weak, some intense and some faint, especially in newly occupied territories, which are often shrouded in a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

However, in any case, the dynasty had largely absorbed the occupied territories.

As for the imperial court, Li Qiao, the governor of Shaanxi appointed by Chongzhen, was indeed strictly carrying out Chongzhen's orders, driving Wang Er and his band of rebels into a sorry state.

If the road to the west hadn't been firmly controlled and blocked by Li Qiao's troops, Wang Er and his men would have already gone to Gongchang Prefecture to join Wang Chao and the others.

Even joining the People's Salvation Army is not an impossible thing.

But how could Li Qiao possibly let them go?

Now that we've finally caught a weakling, we're definitely going to give him a good beating.

Otherwise, he would have gone to wipe out the militia.

As time went by, the dynasty and the People's Salvation Army began to reveal more and more information.

The People's Salvation Army of today has not only occupied the prefectural cities of Lintao and Gongchang and their surrounding areas.

Except for Lanzhou and Jin County, which are close to the Great Wall, Lintao has been completely occupied by the Salvation Army, and Gongchang Prefecture has also fallen entirely.

In addition, Taozhou Guard and Minzhou Guard have also been occupied by the Salvation Army, and their territory has increased several times over.

Governor Wu Zhiwang was unable to quell the militia, and Li Qiao did not believe he could either.

So, he should pick the weaker ones to fight first.

The best approach is to win continuously while simultaneously delaying the inevitable.

When the imperial envoy sent by Emperor Chongzhen arrived, Li Qiao and his men had won another victory, driving Wang Er and his followers into a desperate retreat.

"Governor Li is truly a skilled commander with exceptional strategy. He has driven the rebel Wu Zhiwang, whom he had been unable to quell for so long, into a desperate retreat. I will certainly report Governor Li's abilities to His Majesty."

"Not at all, it's all thanks to His Majesty's wise and benevolent rule."

"Well, when will Governor Li go to suppress the militia?"

"."

Hearing the eunuch's question, Li Qiao couldn't help but think to himself, "Is the People's Salvation Army so easy to wipe out?"

In any case, he did not think that his military leadership skills could compare to those of the former governor-general Wu Zhiwang.

Wu Zhiwang was utterly defeated by the militia and ended up hanging himself. Li Qiao didn't want to suffer the same fate.

Li Qiao believed that the best solution to the Wang Chao regime and the militia was to keep them firmly confined to western Shaanxi.

In this year of severe drought in Shaanxi, there is no need for a large army to forcibly suppress them. It will probably not be long before they themselves fall into chaos due to food and material shortages.

Of course, as the governor of Shaanxi, he certainly couldn't say that directly.

Otherwise, the emperor would consider him incompetent, and being dismissed from his post would be a minor matter; he might even be imprisoned.

Thinking of this, Li Qiao's eyes lit up, and he said confidently:
"It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't."

To quell the rebels, it is essential to concentrate forces in one place and eliminate them one by one. If we divide our forces to attack, we will inevitably be unable to attend to all sides, and may even end up being attacked from both sides, which could lead to unspeakable consequences.
Now that Li Qiaofang has Wang Er cornered, turning to rescue the militia at this point would be tantamount to releasing a tiger back into the mountains, giving Wang Er a chance to regroup, or even allowing him to launch a surprise attack on our army from the rear.
If we are caught off guard and unable to attend to everything, this bandit suppression operation will inevitably fail.

At the same time, Li Qiao secretly slipped a stack of silver notes into the eunuch's sleeve as he spoke.

"Oh, I see."

The eunuch who came to inquire on behalf of Emperor Chongzhen touched the thick stack of silver notes in his sleeve and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Completely ignorant of military affairs, he listened with utter confusion, but at this moment he pretended to understand, putting on a look of sudden enlightenment.

However, he did understand some parts.

That is, right now, Li Qiao needs to deal with Wang Er with all his might in order to achieve a complete victory in one battle. Only by completely eliminating Wang Er can he free up his hands to deal with Wang Chao.

Knowing this was enough for him to report back to the emperor.

He felt that Li Qiao was quite formidable; Wu Zhiwang was a rebel whom he couldn't defeat and was being chased around, on the verge of being completely wiped out.

When Emperor Chongzhen learned of this news, he immediately praised Li Qiao highly.

Immediately afterwards, he began to worry about rescuing the militia.

The news that Li Qiao was able to receive, although Emperor Chongzhen received it a little later, was still received in the end.

The People's Salvation Army has already occupied nearly four prefectures and is gradually becoming a major threat; it cannot be left unattended.

However, Li Qiao was busy eliminating Wang Er and was indeed unable to spare any more resources.

Looking at the map hanging up, the four prefectures of the dynasty's militia were located in western Shaanxi, northern Sichuan, and southeast of the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command.

Sending troops from Sichuan to Shaanxi to suppress bandits was no easy task, as the mountainous terrain was treacherous, and the interference of local chieftains made it even more difficult.

On the contrary, the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command, which borders the four prefectures of the Salvation Army more extensively and coordinates with the border troops in Lanzhou, Pingliang and other places, seems to be a better choice.

In that case
After hesitating for a while, Emperor Chongzhen finally made a decision.

Yang Jiamo, the General of Gansu, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Gansu and placed in command of troops in Pingliang Prefecture and Lanzhou, leading his army to attack the militia.
The dynasty at this time was naturally unaware of Chongzhen's thoughts and plans.

At this moment, Wang Chao was presiding over the final ceremony of the Martyrs' Shrine.

December 29th is an auspicious day for relocating graves, burial, and offering sacrifices.
Set up an altar, burn incense and candles.
Wang Chao led the militia and representatives of the people of Qinzhou, solemnly proceeding to the incense table to recite a sacrificial text. "Today, the 29th day of the 12th month of the Dingmao year..."
I, Wang Chao, leader of the Salvation Army, welcome the heroic souls of the fallen soldiers to the Martyrs' Shrine.
"May the People's Salvation Army enjoy eternal worship and sacrifices by all the people"

"salute!"

In the end, Wang Chao clenched his fist and gave a powerful salute to the People's Salvation Army.

"Shh!"

Behind him, Wang Dahu and the rest of the People's Salvation Army followed closely behind Wang Chao, all clenching their right fists and placing them sharply on their left chests, giving a People's Salvation Army salute.

Only then did representatives of the people of Qinzhou step forward to offer incense and pay their respects!

Yes, even ordinary people must salute when they come to the Martyrs' Shrine to pay their respects.

Although some parts are unfamiliar, and even some are awkward and incongruous.

However, at this moment, this is the most appropriate etiquette, as it is a sign of respect and affirmation for the heroic souls of the People's Salvation Army who died in battle.

Amidst the rituals performed by the crowd, the rising smoke from incense and candles carried countless spiritual forces.

Then, these countless spiritual forces, in this solemn and dignified atmosphere, gradually formed a special spiritual force field that enveloped the entire Martyrs' Shrine.

The next moment, countless spiritual forces rushed into the names on the memorial tablets in the Martyrs' Shrine, flowing back and forth on them.

It took quite a while for them to disperse again, returning to the spiritual energy field and merging with the surrounding spiritual power.

Subsequently, the countless spiritual forces repeated their previous actions, flooding into the names on the memorial tablets in the Martyrs' Shrine.

After that, it was a continuous cycle, a constant repetition of this process.

During this process, the spiritual energy within the spiritual field gradually transforms into a red energy.

They bear some resemblance to the fierce and ruthless aura of iron and blood, but possess an added touch of sacredness. Similar to the fate of the nation, yet not entirely the same, they also exude the iron-blooded spirit of soldiers.

Moreover, the names in the rankings, which were constantly being gathered and washed by spiritual power, began to faintly glow with a red spiritual light.

However, the red aura was extremely faint. Even Wang Dahu and others, who were able to glimpse the fate of the nation, only felt that the names in the rankings seemed to be slightly different, and that there were occasional flashes of red light, but they could not see them clearly.

Upon noticing these changes, Wang Chao's heart stirred.

Within the consciousness space, in the military camp of the Divine Power Heavenly Palace, the souls of more than two hundred newly emerged Salvation Army soldiers were suddenly and silently absorbed by the Dynasty, their power and energy being integrated into the names and ranks in the Hall of Heroes.

The next instant, the red power that was constantly gathering and dispersing suddenly stopped, and then surged into the names in the ranking.

The red power seemed to transform into red spiritual ink, gradually seeping into the name and dyeing it red.

Ultimately, on a spiritual level, all those names turned red, radiating a brilliant red glow, as if forged from blood.

However, it did not appear sinister or evil at all; on the contrary, it possessed a righteous and holy aura, and had the iron-blooded spirit of a soldier, which intimidated all demons and monsters.

Immediately afterwards, the red light spread rapidly, gradually enveloping the entire Martyrs' Shrine.

The spiritual force field, originally derived from the spiritual power of the People's Salvation Army and the surrounding people, began to be tainted and distorted by the red radiance, transforming into a sacred, iron-blooded red that enveloped the area within a hundred meters of the Martyrs' Shrine.

That special red power, combined with the soul power of the sacrificial army of the Salvation Army, formed a spiritual realm.

Ordinary people cannot see all these changes.

However, Wang Dahu and his fellow militia members, who had merged with the divine status and mastered supernatural powers, saw all of this.

Unconsciously, everyone felt a slight tremor in their hearts.

Although military discipline prevented any disturbance, their clenched right fists, straightened postures, and slightly flushed faces revealed their excitement.

Could it be that the worship at the Martyrs' Shrine really has an effect on the dead soldiers of the People's Salvation Army?

Previously, many people believed that the dynasty was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor, who was favored by the heavens.

Furthermore, their rescue of the militia involved the merging of divine and earthly attributes, granting them supernatural powers.

Therefore, even though the dynasty never acknowledged these facts, most of them believed it to be true.

Many people believe that after they die, they will inevitably enter the Heavenly Court and continue to serve the Heavenly Emperor Dynasty.

However, no one ever actually saw those dead soldiers of the Salvation Army serving the Heavenly Emperor.

Therefore, they inevitably had reservations.

But now, they truly believe it.

Moreover, they can enjoy the incense offerings of the people.

This made them yearn to immediately go to the battlefield and fight the enemy to the death, even at the cost of their lives.

Of course, they wouldn't actively seek death.

After all, everyone knows that the higher one's position during life, the better the treatment one will receive after death.

Therefore, they are not afraid of death now, but they will never actively seek death. On the contrary, they are even more eager to live and make contributions.

Wang Chao, who vaguely sensed the change in everyone's thoughts from the spiritual power emanating from them, twitched his eyebrows slightly but said nothing.

To some extent, their ideas were not wrong.

However, the Heavenly Court and the Immortal Realm they imagined were merely divine power transformations within the dynasty's consciousness space.

Moreover, those who are in it will be constantly eroded and assimilated by divine power, and will eventually become puppets of divine power.

However, in this ordinary historical world, if they can maintain the stable existence of their souls, enter the consciousness space of the dynasty, and continue to exist for a long time, then it really makes little difference to say that they have entered the Heavenly Court.

At least they won't be completely annihilated.

(End of this chapter)