Quick Wear: Random Cheats

Chapter 221 The Princess Who Was Killed as a Wife in a Peace Marriage (8)

Emperor Xianghe always knew that the Tianhong Empire was not that weak; otherwise, it would not have been able to easily defeat the Xirong Empire when it was almost penniless in the early years of its founding.

That's right, counting back sixty years.

The Western Rong Empire was always the one that got utterly crushed.

It was once nearly wiped out by the Tianhong Empire.

It survived solely because of its large land area and vast territory, providing it with places to move around. Even so, it lost nearly a third of its territory, and it wasn't until more than twenty years ago that it was able to reclaim those lost territories.

The reason we're no longer rivals is...

The core reason is simple: morale is low.

The Tianhong Empire of today can no longer be as united as it was decades ago. Everyone has their own thoughts; those with money are unwilling to contribute, those with strength are not paid, and those who can't even afford to eat are unlikely to risk their lives. There are also those who cause trouble in order to make money.

Think about the consequences of winning a war.

Ordinary soldiers can make a profit. After all, it's impossible to be completely chaste during wartime. Soldiers can hide some spoils of war, and generals can't possibly search them all. If they did, their reputation among the soldiers would be completely ruined.

Not to mention that after a victory, there would be rewards for meritorious service.

It's certain that generals will profit; if soldiers can hoard some spoils, generals will certainly get their share. They get to pick out the really good stuff first. And after a victory, the main credit will definitely go to the generals.

Promotions and titles are guaranteed profits.

The emperor also profits. In any case, winning a battle, even if it results in a loss, benefits his reputation and posthumous honor. If the spoils are substantial, the emperor can also pocket some of it into his private treasury.

The only ones who didn't make any money were the civil officials.

Winning the battle had little to do with them.

If there is any impact, it will be a negative one, leading to the growth of military groups and infringing upon their rights and interests.

On the contrary, defeat would not only suppress military generals and nobles, but also undermine the emperor's prestige. Only when the emperor's prestige is diminished can he be considered a "sage emperor" who can rule by doing nothing, and can he co-govern the country with the scholar-officials. It is impossible to expect an emperor who has expanded the territory by countless miles to co-govern the country with the scholar-officials.

Your face is all crooked, and you've knocked out all your teeth!
In the early years of a dynasty, those who came together for ideals and great achievements held an absolute advantage in the court, which enabled them to win battles. However, once most of them died out, the dynasty would pass to the second or third generation.

That is, interest groups colluding with each other.

Private and family interests take precedence over everything else.

This situation is actually not too bad. But when the military generals and nobles realize that they need a powerful external enemy to protect their interests, and that without an external enemy they will be suppressed and ostracized, then they have reached the point of raising a bandit to enhance their own power.

Since ancient times, the land of the Tianhong Empire has been home to many nations.

Most of them perished due to internal strife!

Ding Shui's actions have resulted in most of the powerful and wealthy in the Tianhong Empire not making any money. One of the most direct consequences is that they have united and begun to unite against external forces.

Faced with such a great opportunity, Emperor Xianghe, who had always dreamed of making great achievements and expanding his territory, naturally would not let it go. He worked hard to mediate and finally finalized the revenge plan to attack the Western Rong Empire three months later.

The Tianhong Empire, which values ​​legitimacy, would never openly claim that it was fighting the Xirong Empire because it couldn't make money; revenge would be the only justifiable reason.

The next step was to prepare provisions.

The army set off.

This was the first time since the founding of the Tianhong Empire that the two sides had worked together so unitedly, hence their high morale.

Ding Shui, who had just received the message, was speechless. Was this a joke?! She hadn't even had a chance to make a move, and they'd already come knocking on her door. It was infuriating! So, Ding Shui quickly asked:
"Xiao Hei, how's the army training going?"

"It can be used barely, but there is a high risk of heavy casualties, or even defeat. The Tianhong Empire is not weak, and it has a leading advantage in many aspects. It's just that due to internal discord, many weapons are poorly made, and soldiers' pay has been in arrears for a long time..."

But this time is different!

Without Xiao Hei needing to explain further, Ding Shui understood that something was different, so after thinking for a moment, he continued to ask:
"What methods can be used to minimize casualties?"

"A decapitation strike!" Xiao Hei answered quickly.
"Use the Shadow Legion as the vanguard and implement decapitation tactics to kill all the Tianhong Empire generals who have reached a certain rank. If possible, also carry out assassinations within the Tianhong Empire. As long as enough powerful figures die, the Tianhong Empire will naturally collapse without a fight."

In short, we must prevent both sides from engaging in a bloody battle.

"Usually it's the common people who suffer, but this time it's probably the other way around, and the powerful and wealthy will suffer!"

Ding Shui's words essentially meant that she agreed. The next step was to summon the leaders of the various tribes to a meeting, inform them of the plan, and instruct them to exercise restraint during the upcoming battle and try to capture enemy soldiers.

Captives and slaves are equivalent.

It can also be used to exchange for various resources.

The tribal leaders, who had already witnessed the strength of Ding Shui's shadow legion, naturally had no objections.

The two sides soon engaged in a major battle at the border.

Under Xiao Hei's leadership, hundreds of soldiers from the Shadow Legion took the lead, bypassing the ordinary soldiers and rushing towards the generals and the powerful figures following behind, hoping to gain military merit and prestige.

There were people trying to stop the process, but it was all in vain.

They can transform into shadow spirits at any time. Whether it's a sword or any other weapon, it's no different from cutting their shadows. Only when their swords are about to kill generals and nobles will their entire bodies become solid. After all, if they don't become solid, they can't kill anyone with just shadows.

Moreover, even if someone were to strike them at this moment, it wouldn't cause them much harm. And even if they were killed, they could be resurrected and brought back to life in the Illusionary Realm.

After all, it wasn't their flesh and blood that were injured.

In this situation, the Tianhong Empire had no way to fight. Before many generals and nobles were killed by the Shadow Legion, some soldiers charging at the front were already frightened by the nature of the Shadow Legion and shouted that there were ghosts. After many generals and nobles were killed and were also converted into new Shadow Legion soldiers by Xiao Hei, the battle became even more impossible to fight.

Even if it's a brawl between thugs, there still needs to be a leader, right? How can the fight go on if the leader is dead?

So the soldiers quickly became disorderly.

Xiao Hei also shouted a few words at the right time, basically telling them to surrender quickly and not to struggle in vain. They wouldn't kill prisoners of war; at most, they would make them do work and pay them wages. But if they resisted and were killed, their souls would be enslaved after death and they would never be reincarnated until their souls were completely scattered.

Based on these few words and the previous deterrence.

Many soldiers of the Tianhong Empire chose to surrender immediately, facing the prospect of being enslaved after death and having their souls scattered. This served as a significant deterrent. Furthermore, the soldiers of the Xirong Empire had been instructed beforehand not only refrained from killing during this opportunity but also displayed considerable goodwill. Those soldiers who did not surrender immediately were given leeway.

They gradually compromised and surrendered.

In this single battle, of the 500,000 troops brought by the Tianhong Empire, 490,000 were captured.

The death toll is less than three thousand.

Three hundred of them belonged to generals and nobles, most of the rest were killed while protecting them, and some were accidentally trampled to death during the army's retreat.

In any case, not many of them were killed on the main battlefield.

Seeing that the decapitation tactic was proceeding so smoothly, and that Xiao Hei had also gained nearly half a million more followers in the process, he suddenly didn't want to continue with the slow and methodical approach anymore.
"Master, let's launch a full-scale counterattack."

We can directly use decapitation tactics to sweep across the entire Tianhong Empire. Once we conquer a place, we will share the grain and land. In addition, you yourself have the royal blood of the Tianhong Empire. Although there will definitely be some people who are dissatisfied with a woman ascending the throne, the most dissatisfied ones are those in the powerful and wealthy classes. Ordinary people don't care much about this, so it is irrelevant.

We'll take down Emperor Xianghe then.

Your task is now easily completed, isn't it?

"Where can we find so many people to take over the city?" Conquering a city is not just about killing all the high-ranking officials and nobles; you also need enough people to take over. Otherwise, a city without a manager will fall into chaos, and the horror of chaos is self-evident.

The end times are the best illustration of disorder.

“I’ll take over, and the soldiers we’ve trained before are also useful. They’ve all received basic literacy and ideological education, and they’ve also received some military training. They certainly can’t compare to veterans, but they can help control the situation and maintain order.”

Xiao Hei, who desperately needs a large population to gain more faith power, is quite proactive at this time.

It is neither afraid of being busy nor overwhelmed with work.

Being busy is fine; it's good to be busy.

It tastes sweet!
"Alright!" Although the current situation has developed in a completely different direction from Ding Shui's original plan, plans can't keep up with changes. Moreover, since the main force, Xiao Hei, is fine and even willing to do this, Ding Shui naturally didn't bother to stop him and readily agreed.

Then Xiao Hei took the lead.

The full-scale counterattack has officially begun.

Ding Shui's main role was to keep a general eye on things and ensure that Xiao Hei didn't go too far in certain aspects. Xiao Hei was far too proactive, even to the point of using any means necessary, when it came to things that benefited the transformation of the illusory realm into reality. Ding Shui already had some understanding of this, so she wasn't worried about the details, as long as she controlled Xiao Hei to prevent it from going too far.

After that, Xiao Hei did a really good job.

Push all the way.

Upon arriving at each city, they would first use the Shadow Legion as a suicide squad to kill the defending general and open the city gates. Then, they would specifically target corrupt officials and local gentry and wealthy merchants, carrying out a public trial and upholding justice for the people.

Finally, let me proclaim Ding Shui's identity once more.

Exempt from exorbitant taxes and levies.

He also added that this was not a matter of national subjugation or extinction, but merely an internal power struggle within the royal family, so everyone should not worry.

Meanwhile, the capital city was going crazy.

When Emperor Xianghe and the court officials received the latest intelligence, they were all terrified, their backs drenched in cold sweat, their minds reeling, unable to comprehend how things could have turned out this way. Panic ensued, followed by a wave of blame-shifting. While criticizing those who had previously championed war, they frantically debated in court what to do.
Or should we ask for...

……

Inside the Zichen Palace, Emperor Xianghe and more than a dozen high-ranking officials were actively discussing the latest intelligence.

"Your Majesty, if this information is true, then the information we previously ignored is also very likely true, and not just nonsense. But how can we ordinary mortals deal with these ghosts and gods?"

"How about we invite a few Buddhist or Taoist masters to come and take a look?"

"Based on the current situation, the so-called Black General should be the real mastermind, and Princess Anguo is just a puppet he put forward. Moreover, he may have wanted to attack us for a long time."

"The reason for installing Princess Anguo as the Empress of the Western Rong was precisely for this day, to facilitate his propaganda that this invasion was not a war of national annihilation, but rather an internal strife within the royal family. Perhaps that's why, in the cities that were conquered, hardly anyone rose up to resist the enemy."

“Princess Anguo is really outrageous. She actually allowed that black general to invade. If she had any feelings for her homeland, she should have threatened to kill herself or even committed suicide to die for her country. Maybe she could have stopped him for a while.”

At least they can hold a national mourning ceremony to postpone the mourning period.

"She's just a puppet, what can we do?"

"Let's negotiate. That Black General is too strange. His Shadow Legion is like a ghost army. Moreover, they only kill generals and nobles. Ordinary soldiers can live well as long as they don't stop them. The soldiers have very little desire to resist!"

"Even a hefty reward won't help!!"

Perhaps because Xiao Hei appears so frequently, even now, the entire court of the Tianhong Empire still believes that Ding Shui is just an ordinary puppet empress.

Xiao Hei is the mastermind behind everything.

Therefore, their discussions mainly focused on Xiao Hei, and they began actively seeking ways to break the deadlock. For example, they sought out Buddhist or Taoist masters to deal with the shadowy army, or they sent people to negotiate, contacting the tribal leaders, promising them benefits, and hoping they would actively promote the success of the peace talks, and so on.

In addition, some people managed to get to the royal court.

He sent a letter to Ding Shui, urging her to commit suicide and die for her country.

Well... it really left Ding Shui speechless...

Upon receiving the letter, Ding Shui immediately decided to speed things up, ordering Xiao Hei to temporarily ignore the less important surrounding cities and go straight for the capital, taking it first and then slowly attacking the rest later.

They originally intended to keep Emperor Xianghe in a state of fear for a while longer, but they didn't expect them to be so good at infuriating people.

Xiao Hei took Ding Shui's orders very seriously.

They quickly changed their plans and went straight for the enemy's stronghold.

Half a month later, the capital fell, and Emperor Xianghe, the Empress Dowager, and other members of the royal family were all arrested, while those in charge of the peace talks had not even left the capital.

The speed and efficiency are too poor.