The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Anxi Protectorate!

These five words were like five thunderbolts, striking Zhang Zhao and Sun Kejian hard on the head.

The two of them were petrified on the spot.

Their eyes widened, their mouths agape, staring blankly at Xiao Jingchen. The expressions on their faces shifted from astonishment to shock, then to disbelief, and finally to a deathly pale ashes.

Only one thought kept echoing in my mind: How...how is this possible?!

Are you kidding me!

Annihilate an army of 100,000?

Destroy a country?

They even established a Protectorate General?

How long has it been?

From the time Wuchan stationed his troops at Yumen Pass until now, it has only been a month at most!

In just one month, a kingdom that had been entrenched in the Western Regions for hundreds of years was wiped out?

This...is this something a human being could do?

Sun Kejian's thin body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.

He tried to say something, but found that his throat was blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Zhang Zhao was slightly better off than him, but he was still pale and his lips trembled incessantly: "Your...Your Highness...you...you're not joking, are you?"

He used all his strength to squeeze out those words through gritted teeth.

He desperately hoped that this was just a malicious joke played by Xiao Jingchen to scare them.

"Are you kidding?"

The smile on Xiao Jingchen's lips slowly faded, replaced by a cold indifference. "Lord Zhang, do you think I'm the kind of person who likes to joke around?"

He turned to the side and pointed to the vast camp next to the military camp, a huge area made up of countless tents: "There, 80,000 surrendered Yuezhi soldiers are being held."

He then pointed to the countless cattle, sheep, and horses being driven away in the distance: "Those are spoils of war captured from the Golden Horde, the capital of the Yuezhi."

"Oh, right." Xiao Jingchen seemed to remember something and turned to Lei Lie, saying, "Lei Lie, go and bring us the crown and royal seal of our Yuezhi king, so that the two ministers can see them."

"yes!"

Lei Lie responded and turned to leave.

Soon, he came back carrying a tray.

On the tray, a magnificent golden crown studded with various gems and a royal seal made of pure gold and engraved with strange beast patterns lay quietly.

That profound and noble aura of royal power wafted over me.

It can't be faked!

This kind of thing is definitely not something that can be easily imitated!

Zhang Zhao and Sun Kejian looked at the crown and seal, feeling as if their eyes were about to be blinded.

Their last shred of hope was completely shattered.

It’s over.

It's all over.

Their seemingly flawless plan, which they were so proud of, was shattered to pieces in the face of absolute, overwhelming power.

They thought they were there to pick peaches, but instead they ran into a prehistoric behemoth that had just eaten its fill and was licking its claws!

The two felt a sudden dizziness, their legs went weak, and they could no longer hold on. With a thud, they both knelt down on the ground.

Not out of awe, but out of pure, soul-deep fear!

"Your Highness...I...we...we didn't know...we really didn't know things would turn out this way..."

Zhang Zhao's voice was choked with sobs, and he spoke incoherently.

He's now kicking himself for it.

Had he known that Xiao Jingchen was this utterly unreasonable, he wouldn't have dared to get involved in this matter with Zhou Wenyuan even if he had a hundred lives!

Sun Kejian collapsed to the ground, unable to even beg for mercy.

He felt a surge of heat uncontrollably gushing out from below, and he was so scared that he wet himself.

Lei Lie, Chen Jing, and the others behind Xiao Jingchen looked at the two high-ranking officials in the capital, who were now in such a sorry state, and their faces showed undisguised contempt and disdain.

Xiao Jingchen remained calm and composed, as if he hadn't seen the two kneeling on the ground or smelled the unpleasant stench in the air.

He stepped forward and personally helped the two men up, saying, "Hey, gentlemen, what are you doing?"

His tone remained as "kind" as ever: "You are imperial envoys sent by the court, honored guests who have come to assist me. How can you perform such a grand ceremony? Please rise, please rise."

Zhang Zhao and Sun Kejian were supported by him, their bodies stiff, and they dared not move.

They felt as if they were holding onto two cold iron bars, not a person's arm.

"Your Highness... Your Highness... This humble official... This humble official is guilty..."

Zhang Zhao was still stammering as he tried to explain.

"Guilty? What crime has Lord Zhang committed?" Xiao Jingchen looked at him with a "surprised" expression. "You have come to help me govern this new land. You are great heroes! I am grateful to you."

"Guards!" Xiao Jingchen turned and shouted, "Arrange the best tents for the two ministers and all the officials they brought! Also, prepare a banquet; I wish to welcome them and wash away the dust of their journey!"

"Your Highness...we dare not...we dare not..."

Zhang Zhao and Sun Kejian were so frightened that they waved their hands repeatedly.

Now, they have no interest in any banquet.

They felt that Xiao Jingchen's smile was more terrifying than that of a devil.

"Hey, what's there to be afraid of?" Xiao Jingchen patted Zhang Zhao's shoulder, his smile becoming even more "friendly." "I know that all of you are pillars of the state, concerned with national affairs and eager to share the burdens of the country. Therefore, after the banquet, I have a very important and rewarding task to entrust to you all."

"Good job?"

Zhang Zhao's heart skipped a beat; he had a very bad premonition.

"That's right, a great job." Xiao Jingchen nodded, pointing to the camp where 80,000 surrendered soldiers were imprisoned, and said, "As you two gentlemen have seen, our army has just captured 80,000 Yuezhi soldiers. Keeping these people imprisoned indefinitely is not a solution, but killing them would be against the will of Heaven."

"After much deliberation, I have decided to give them a chance to repent and serve my Great Yan."

"Our Great Yan is now in dire need of rebuilding, and manpower is needed everywhere. In particular, the defeat in the Eastern Frontier has resulted in the deaths or capture of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, causing many mines and river works to come to a standstill."

"Therefore, I have decided to escort all 80,000 surrendered soldiers back to the interior, so that they can work in the mines and build fortifications on construction sites. This will make the best use of them and allow them to serve the country loyally."

"This is a great thing that benefits the country and its people!"

Zhang Zhao and Sun Kejian breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Sending surrendered soldiers to do hard labor is quite reasonable.

But what does this have to do with them?

However, Xiao Jingchen's next words struck them like a thunderbolt.

"However, these 80,000 surrendered soldiers are numerous, and they are all unruly barbarians. The journey to escort them will probably not be peaceful."

"My soldiers are all roughnecks who only know how to fight and kill. They are incapable of the kind of patient and wise way to appease and educate them."

"Therefore, after much deliberation, I have decided that this matter must be entrusted to you virtuous and learned gentlemen from the capital!"

Xiao Jingchen's gaze swept over Zhang Zhao, Sun Kejian, and the dozens of equally dumbfounded officials behind them. A genuinely "sincere" smile appeared on his face: "I have decided to appoint Lord Zhang as the 'Anxi Surrendered Troops Transport and Pacification Commissioner'! Lord Sun as the deputy commissioner! All the officials you brought are also reinstated to their original positions!"

"You are fully responsible for all matters concerning these 80,000 surrendered soldiers!"

"From now on, the care, sanitation, and ideological education of these 80,000 people, as well as how to safely escort them to the mines in the eastern frontier, are all entrusted to you, sirs!"

"I will send an army to 'protect' your safety."

"How about it? This job, isn't it great?"