A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Brother Xuan Ce, I'm late."

Jiang Shiren finally arrived with his troops.

"Hahahaha, not late, just in time."

Wang Xuance laughed heartily, "Let's go, Shiren, let's go see that high and mighty Duke of Song."

"The last time we met him, we were prisoners. Now that we meet again, our positions have reversed, and he has become our prisoner."

Wang Xuance exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling a sense of relief in his chest.

"Hahahaha, let's go, I can't wait to see Song Zhong's regretful expression."

Jiang Shiren also laughed, but then, as if he had thought of something, his smile gradually turned lewd.

A group of soldiers escorted Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren to the main hall of the palace. Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren had already won them over with their strength and personal charm.

Inside the Wo Palace, the last elite of the Imperial Guards were concentrated to protect Song Zhong.

"What do you want? What exactly do you want? How dare you attack my Great Song Dynasty? How dare you!"

Song Zhong said in a fierce and timid tone.

He is still reeling from the transformation from being the ruler of a nation to becoming a prisoner.

"What do you want? How dare you! Isn't this all because of you, Duke Song?"

"You killed my Tang Dynasty delegation and plundered my Tang Dynasty tribute. Does the Duke of Song think that my Tang Dynasty has no one to rely on?"

"Xuan Ce is unworthy, but he is willing to destroy the Song Dynasty with his own strength, without borrowing the army of the Tang Dynasty, relying solely on the power of the Tang Dynasty."

"Now it seems that the State of Song is just like a paper tiger, easily defeated."

"Xuan Ce originally only wanted to teach the Duke of Song a lesson, but he never expected that he could directly destroy the State of Song."

Wang Xuance shook his head, looking down on the Song Kingdom, which made Song Zhong furious.

Wang Xuance flicked his thumb, drawing his Tang sword from its sheath. The cold light flashed in Song Zhong's eyes under the candlelight.

Song Zhong's face turned pale, and the surge of hot blood immediately turned cold. Only now did he realize that he was at the mercy of Wang Xuance, and his life was in Wang Xuance's hands.

If he really angered Wang Xuance, Wang Xuance might actually kill him with a single blow.

The thought of dying here made Song Zhong regret not attacking the Tang Dynasty caravan, but not killing Wang Xuance and his companion directly.

"What would it take for the king's envoy to withdraw his troops?"

Song Zhong lowered his head and asked.

Seeing Song Zhong lower his head, Wang Xuance felt as refreshed as if he had drunk ice water on a hot summer day.

He glanced at the people around him; these were all informants left behind by various countries.

Under his gaze, these people subconsciously lowered their heads, demonstrating the immense prestige of Wang Xuance.

Wang Xuance left an indelible impression on them, making them feel that the Tang Dynasty was invincible.

"Those who offend our Great Tang, though far away, shall be punished!"

"The State of Song shall be destroyed!"

Wang Xuance shouted, and at the same time led his troops in a charge. After a fierce battle, they wiped out the last elite of the Song Dynasty, captured Song Zhong, the Duke of Song, and beheaded him.

Thus, the Song Kingdom, which had existed in this place for nearly 200 years, came to an end. The reason for its demise was simply that the new Duke of Song wanted to rebuild the palace and plundered the gold and silver treasures given by the Wu Kingdom by the Tang Dynasty envoys.

Tang Dynasty envoys Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren fled the Song Dynasty, borrowed troops from surrounding countries, and led their troops to attack the Song Dynasty. In less than a month, they annihilated the Song Dynasty.

He became a laughing stock in history books, ranking alongside the ancestors of the State of Song during the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the fall of the Song Dynasty, Wang Xuance led his men to find the bodies of the remaining envoys, cremated them, and prepared to take their ashes back to the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, ten thousand of the most elite troops were selected and, carrying the gold and silver treasures they had reclaimed from the Wu Kingdom and the gold and silver treasures obtained from the Song Kingdom's treasury, returned to the Tang Dynasty in a grand procession.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuance ordered Jiang Shiren to go ahead and deliver a message to the Tang Dynasty.

In Luoyang, Li Shimin met with Jiang Shiren. After reading the battle report, his first reaction was disbelief.

A mere fifth-rank official envoy from the Tang Dynasty, without using a single soldier, borrowed 100,000 troops from surrounding countries with his silver tongue, and within a month destroyed a duchy with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and several prefectures.

Is this really not just a story?

Only when he saw the Song state seal and the letters of state from the surrounding countries presented by Jiang Shiming did he reluctantly believe it.

When the news reached the imperial court, the officials' first reaction was disbelief. It was only after seeing the Song state's imperial seal and the letters from surrounding countries that they believed it to be true.

However, they felt that Wang Xuance had exaggerated his achievements; it was probably he who persuaded the surrounding countries to join forces to destroy the Song Dynasty.

Otherwise, it would be too unbelievable.

Even so, it is still an extraordinary feat worthy of being recorded in history and remembered for generations to come.

It wasn't until Wang Xuance returned and learned the truth about the matter from various sources that everyone finally believed that Wang Xuance had indeed done such a great thing.

The military officers of the imperial court were all overjoyed, feeling proud and elated, believing that Wang Xuance was a rising star in the military and a worthy successor.

While some civil officials in the court were pleased, they were also somewhat worried. After all, the Song Kingdom was located in a remote area, separated by several countries, making it an exclave that could not be governed. At present, the Tang Dynasty was busy assimilating the Xia Dynasty and had no energy to govern the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, if the reward is substantial, future envoys might consider it an honor to initiate wars without authorization, hoping to gain the merit of destroying a country and use it as a stepping stone to advancement.

This is not something to worry about. The Han Dynasty had a similar situation back then, where everyone considered it an honor to go on a diplomatic mission to a foreign country, kill its king, and destroy its state.

This trend was only stopped when the Han Dynasty officially began its enfeoffment system and expanded outwards.

They didn't want future envoys from the Tang Dynasty to be constantly clamoring for military assistance to destroy other countries.

They were civil officials and did not want the court to be too militaristic.

Taking all factors into consideration, they advised Li Shimin to reduce the rewards bestowed upon Wang Xuance.

In particular, Changsun Wuji suggested that Wang Xuance's reward should be kept low because he should leave him to the Crown Prince. He proposed that after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he could promote and give him important positions, thus gaining Wang Xuance's gratitude and making him loyal to the death, making him a good tool for the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin agreed wholeheartedly, believing that great achievements should be rewarded, and ultimately decided to confer the title of Marquis of Jingyuan upon Wang Xuance.

Although he was appointed a general and granted a marquisate, this marquisate was not a prestigious title because it did not come with a fief, and there were many dukes in the court, as well as several princes of different surnames.

But Wang Xuance was also very satisfied. After all, he was just a fifth-rank official before, and now he was able to be ennobled as a marquis, which was a leap in social class.

With his intelligence, he naturally noticed the dissent in the court and knew that the time for him to make his mark would come when the new emperor ascended the throne.

On the day Wang Xuance arrived in the capital, the city was bustling with activity, and countless people flocked to the streets, eager to catch a glimpse of him.

Countless scholars, young officials, and descendants of military strategists regarded Wang Xuance as their idol, and his mansion was always bustling with visitors.