Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 109 The Demon God Descends
The unfortunate Wen Tao was thus skinned alive.

As for the remaining generals...

Of course, he still had to commit suicide.

Laugh? No matter how alluring the laugh, it will eventually lead to self-destruction.

Those who commit suicide can ensure that their families are not implicated, while those who refuse to commit suicide will have their entire families killed.

Let alone the fact that their families are no longer in the Tang Dynasty's controlled area, anyone who has experienced this war knows that Zhu Wen's downfall is only a matter of time, and their families will eventually fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty. So they should just honestly commit suicide. Don't talk about whether it's unfair or not. Everyone understands that anyone who can become a general in this era has basically had the blood of innocent people on their hands.

Most of them probably also committed massacres of entire cities.

They all deserved to die.

Under the stern gaze of the Grand Preceptor, these men took the swords handed to them by the soldiers in rows and slit their throats with infinite sorrow.

The rest, whether soldiers or junior officers, were all killed, one in ten.

With heads rolling one by one, the great battle that could be said to have determined the fate of the Great Liang Dynasty came to an end.

Having escaped the calamity, Yang Shihou and Li Si'an didn't even dare to stay in the Jinzhong Basin. The two led their remaining troops back to Luzhou.

However, the Tang army had no interest in pursuing them. After clearing the battlefield, Wang Haibin, as the newly appointed governor of Hezhong, led his troops south to take over Hezhong, while Yin Kaishan and Duan Zhixuan continued to be stationed in Hedong.

Their primary responsibility was still to complete the militia system in these regions, but unlike in the past, it was now a system of universal militia, or more accurately, universal conscription. At this time, the population was already small; after the continuous chaos, the entire Tang Dynasty's population had plummeted to only about one-third. Guanzhong and Hedong, in particular, were the hardest-hit areas of war. Hedong only had 200,000 people left during the Northern Han Dynasty, and it should have had even more now, mainly due to the frequent wars in the late Five Dynasties period.

In any case, it is most appropriate to have everyone in this region serve as soldiers.

Of course, what was truly important to Yang Feng was to find all of Li Shimin's descendants during the process of mobilizing the entire population into soldiers.

The mobilization of the entire population into the military is also a form of population census.

The militia system in Chang'an, Fengxiang and other places has already identified hundreds of Li Shimin's descendants. After eliminating the inevitable fakes, nearly three hundred genuine ones have been identified.

That's an outstanding achievement!
As for the Imperial Master...

Zhenzhou.

In the morning sunlight, the civilians, unaware of the news from the battlefield, crowded in front of the city gate, watching the soldiers emerge from the spatial rift.

The soldiers they knew.

The soldiers of Chengde Army, who were previously led by Li Honggui on a western expedition to conquer Hedong.

The soldiers who returned in this bizarre manner had solemn expressions. They carried long banners in groups of four, each with writing on it...

The disloyal should be killed.

The unjust person said he should be killed.

……

Seven long banners, carried by twenty-eight Chengde soldiers who had originally marched west, emerged from the spatial rift amidst the astonished gazes of the people. They then silently stood by the roadside. Following them came various ceremonial guards, also carried by Chengde soldiers who had marched west. They lined up on both sides of the road, and then a general carrying a giant longsword stepped out.

"The Imperial Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty has arrived!"

he shouted.

Then he stepped aside.

Two elephants emerged amidst the screams of the crowd, followed by the elephant chariot.

Of course, it's not an ancient elephant carriage, because those are uncomfortable to sit in. The Imperial Advisor had already commissioned a modern one for showing off: four wheels with a luxury car-level shock-absorbing chassis, topped with a convertible wooden pavilion, painted with dragons and phoenixes, decorated with various metal mythical beasts, and finally inlaid with gemstones. It also has ambient lighting inside, and the Imperial Advisor sits on a huge throne inside, holding a mythical beast in his arms...

As for what kind of exotic beasts they are, it's not fixed. After all, Yang Feng has long since stockpiled rare birds and exotic beasts, including those that fly in the sky and swim in the sea.

There are several nests of elephant birds.

Han Yu had a whole bunch of crocodiles.

But right now he's just casually holding a baby panda.

As the elephant chariot departed, the spatial rift disappeared, and finally, a guard of honor consisting of fewer than two hundred people appeared in front of the Zhenzhou city gate, escorting the Imperial Preceptor.

One of the gatekeeper officers finally couldn't resist and stepped forward to stand next to a soldier carrying a flag...

Where are General Li and the others?

he asked.

"They're all dead. The seven thousand people who are still alive are all here."

The soldier said expressionlessly.

"Who killed him?"

The officer exclaimed in surprise.

The surrounding crowd was in an uproar, and some people even started to cry.

"I!"

A voice suddenly sounded.

The officers and civilians immediately turned their gazes to the elephant chariot, looking at the Tang Dynasty's Grand Preceptor who was holding the strange beast.

"I killed them all."

"That's what the Imperial Advisor said."

"I'll kill you, you monster!"

A young man in the crowd charged at him, wielding a hoe.

But before they could even get close, they saw him point his nine-section staff, and a fire dragon instantly flew out, the young man being engulfed in flames the next moment.

A tremor ran through the area in front of the city gate.

"I killed them all. Of the seven thousand German soldiers, only these few survived. The rest were all killed by me, and I will continue to kill. All the men who came after the royal family will be exterminated. If you want to protect the royal family, you will be exterminated as well. Do you see what is written here? The disloyal can be killed! The unfilial can be killed! The unkind can be killed! The unjust can be killed! The impolite, unwise, and untrustworthy can all be killed! I have descended to the mortal realm by the decree of the Jade Emperor to exterminate all those who deserve to die."

Wang Tingcou, having been appointed a general by the Tang Dynasty as a garrison commander, killed the military governor and rebelled, which was disloyal. The court was powerless to suppress him and had no choice but to appease him, allowing his descendants to enjoy wealth and honor for a hundred years. They should be grateful and defend the Tang Dynasty. However, Wang Rong betrayed the Tang Dynasty and joined the traitor Zhu Wen. Therefore, his crime deserves the extermination of his entire clan.

If you kill Wang Rong's entire clan, you will be spared the crime of being a traitor.

If Wang Rong's entire family is not killed, then they are all traitors; all the men here must be killed.

Yang Feng said, petting the little panda.

He immediately fell silent, and more and more people gathered around, especially on the city wall, where a man who was clearly a general had even appeared.

"Brothers, let's charge together and kill this monster!"

A gatekeeper suddenly raised his bow and arrow and shouted.

He then shot an arrow at Yang Feng.

Several soldiers and able-bodied men around him immediately shouted and charged forward.

It's clear that the local people are quite fierce, and the still-burning building couldn't intimidate them. After all, they've been proud and powerful soldiers for over a century. Since the An Lushan Rebellion, this area has been the core region of the three Hebei military governors. From Li Baochen to Wang Wujun and then to Wang Tingcou, except for Tian Hongzheng's appointment which was only for a year and was essentially a court appointment, the rest were all self-governing. The major outbreak of regional military governorships during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang started here. This place can't be suppressed by the deaths of a few people.

In reality, Li Cunxu suffered heavy losses when he attacked this place in history. Four core generals, Shi Jiantang, Yan Bao, Li Sizhao, and Li Cunjin, all died here.

Even when he destroyed the Liang dynasty, he didn't lose as many people as he did at the gates of a single town.

"Stop!" Yang Feng shouted.

The soldiers and young men, brandishing various weapons, glared fiercely at him.

"Look back at what's behind you!"

Yang Feng shouted.

The latter looked at him warily, and together with the soldiers on the city wall who had raised their bows and arrows, they turned to look behind them.

The next moment, a golden light flashed overhead. Before they could react, a fiery meteor streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of thick smoke as it fell into the city. The instant it hit the ground, it transformed into a terrifying inferno that shot straight into the sky. The impact of the explosion swept away everything around it, and at the same time, the flying flames fell like a rain of fire, and dozens of houses were engulfed in flames.

The soldiers and able-bodied men turned around in fear.

With a flash of golden light, Yang Feng reappeared on his throne...

"Want to continue?"

he shouted.

"Quickly, come with me to Yacheng and kill the traitor Wang Rong!"

The general on the city wall roared.

"Let's go! Charge into Yacheng and slaughter the entire Wang family!"

"Slaughter the entire Wang family!"

……

A roar immediately erupted from the city wall.

The able-bodied men outside the city also turned around without hesitation and charged toward the city gate with shouts. The able-bodied men and soldiers at the city gate also turned around.

"Do you remember who those were?"

Yang Feng said.

"Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor, I have remembered everything."

The surrendered officer beside him said numbly.

They were indeed numb. Of their more than seven thousand men who had marched west, only two hundred or so were swallowed up by the flood unleashed by the Grand Preceptor. Then, they had to endure a brutal process of being executed after ten were conscripted. Their fear of the Grand Preceptor was now ingrained in their very bones. Even if the Grand Preceptor were to kill their fellow villagers or their own relatives, they would remain numb. This was the way things were during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Trying to restore order, law, and morality through persuasion was utterly impossible; anyone who attempted to die in this way would suffer a gruesome death. But slaughter was possible, and the most brutal kind of slaughter at that. Why was Weibo, who had terrorized Hebei for over a century, now so docile? Because he was terrified of Zhu Wen. Six thousand of his personal guards had their entire families slaughtered. Luo Shaowei lamented the grave mistake he had made, knowing that Zhu Wen had extinguished the spirit of Weibo.

After Luo Shaowei's death, his son Luo Zhouhan succeeded him. Pan Yan, who had just been transported from another time, actually held power, but Yang Shihou, the military governor of Xuanyi, with the support of Zhu Wen, easily killed Pan Yan and seized the position of military governor of Weibo.

Wei Bo didn't even have the courage to resist.

They were just terrified of being killed.

Even so, the fall of the Later Tang Dynasty began with Weibo, and ultimately the killings were not thorough enough.

As for Zhao Daneng's success in history, it was due to fifty years of war, which even terrified the military generals. The reason why Song Dynasty generals obediently endured the bullying of civil officials without daring to resist was because preventing military generals from becoming too powerful was a consensus throughout the country, not just among civil officials, but also among the generals themselves. Fifteen emperors reigned, and fifty years of chaos ensued. Subtracting the ten-odd years under Li Siyuan and Chai Rong, there were thirteen emperors in thirty-odd years. This doesn't even include the infighting among the separatist forces and the de facto separatist warlords.

No one is safe. Even military officers live in constant danger, and their entire families could be killed at any moment.

I'm tired of killing.

The desire for order has become a universal consensus.

So the Zhao family ended the chaotic era, not because the warlords who had used the "banquet to release military power" were incapable of resisting, but because they were also exhausted.

But this is just the beginning. The generals are having a great time killing each other. If Yang Feng wants to restrain them, he can only kill them until they are afraid.

"They'll kill their whole families later."

Yang Feng said with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting had already broken out within Zhenzhou City. The able-bodied men and soldiers of the outer city, along with the generals and powerful clans of the inner city, all surged towards the main city. Because the events unfolded so suddenly, Wang Rong and his clan, who had begun their cultivation journey, had no time to close the main city before it was overrun by the soldiers and able-bodied men from outside. The latter stormed into the main city with a ruthless, indiscriminate killing. Yang Feng ordered the killing of all men, but they didn't care; anyone breathing was slaughtered. The main city was the Wang clan's ancestral home.

Starting with Wang Tingcou, this family, which was actually Uyghur, had controlled Zhenzhou for a hundred years. With the family's growth and the adoption of their descendants, it had become a huge family with thousands of people. Faced with the sudden influx of soldiers and young men, they naturally resisted, and blood flowed like a river in the city.

Of course, none of this concerned Yang Feng. He sat on his throne outside the city, leisurely enjoying the scenery. It wasn't until two hours later that the leading general from before came out of the city carrying a severed head.

"This humble general Zhang Wenli pays his respects to the Imperial Preceptor. The head of the traitor Wang Rong is here."

He knelt down in front of Yang Feng and said.

The soldiers and able-bodied men behind him followed, and then presented their heads to the Grand Preceptor.

“Very good, well done. Now, kill Zhang Wenli’s whole family.”

Yang Feng said with a smile.

Zhang Wenli was completely dumbfounded.

He looked up in astonishment.

"Haven't I made myself clear enough? You, kill Zhang Wenli's entire family again."

Yang Feng said.

Without hesitation, the soldiers and able-bodied men threw down the heads of the Wang family members and then pounced on Zhang Wenli and what appeared to be his sons behind him.

"Imperial Preceptor, what crime have I committed?"

Zhang Wenli roared angrily as he parried the attacks.

“Look at this. It says that unfilial people deserve to be killed. I remember you should be called Wang Deming now, right? Since you are Wang Rong’s adopted son, and have even been renamed and joined the Wang clan, then killing Wang Rong is unfilial. Wang Rong’s betrayal of the Tang Dynasty was disloyal and his clan should be exterminated. You killing Wang Rong is unfilial, and your whole family should be killed as well. Those who are disloyal and unfilial can be killed. I am very reasonable.”

Yang Feng said.

Zhang Wenli had no time to argue with him about this issue. The soldiers and able-bodied men who had just followed him to slaughter more than three thousand members of Wang Rong's clan were pouncing on him like hungry wolves. He and his sons fought desperately, but in the end they were overwhelmed by the latter. Then his head was cut off and placed in front of the Grand Preceptor's elephant carriage along with the head of his godfather, Wang Rong, which he had also cut off.

"Here is a newly revised law from the imperial court. From now on, everyone must behave properly. Breaking the law will result in the execution of your entire family."

Yang Feng said, holding up a newly revised copy of the Tang Dynasty Code.

This is essentially the Ming Dynasty Code, with only slight modifications. The laws formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang were basically the pinnacle of ancient law. The laws of the Tang Dynasty were far inferior to those of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that in the Tang Dynasty, masters could kill their servants, but they needed to report it before doing so.

"In addition, this is the newly appointed General Commander of the Hebei Circuit and concurrently the Prefect of Zhending Prefecture. From now on, Zhenzhou will be renamed Zhending Prefecture. The area originally under the jurisdiction of the Chengde Military Governor will all be under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture."

He then pointed at Kan Leng.

The latter leaned on his ten-foot-long broadsword and looked at the soldiers and young men.

"What are you looking at? We've all met your new prefect."

Yang Feng shouted.

"This humble servant greets the Prefect."

……

The soldiers and able-bodied men spoke with trepidation.

"Where is the one who was disrespectful to the Imperial Preceptor just now? According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, anyone who is disrespectful to the Imperial Preceptor shall be punished as a treason."

Kan Leng said with a cold laugh.

(End of this chapter)