A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

When Wei Zhao closed the last grain ledger in Pingyang Prefecture, Liu Jingshuang had already led her troops out of the west gate.

"Your Majesty, the first batch of surrendered soldiers has been compiled."

Huo Qingluan stood in front of the desk, her fingertips pressing on the military map.

"Of the 200,000 Qinggu Army soldiers, less than 80,000 are truly capable of fighting. The rest are mostly local militia, fortified village soldiers, and young men forcibly recruited. 63,000 are willing to join the Xinwu Army, and the rest are either disbanded or incorporated into grain transport teams."

Wei Zhao nodded.

"Keep those that can be used, and don't force those that can't into the army."

What he lacks most right now is manpower; not just anyone with a knife can be called an army.

Mutant soldiers are more troublesome than the enemy. They can shout a few words when things are going well, but when a tough battle comes, they are the first to run away.

Sixty-three thousand people is enough.

With the fall of Pingyang, Luo Shao's backbone was broken.

The garrison commanders of the remaining cities all knew that the King of Weinan was no longer a king, but a piece of meat that had not yet been completely cut.

What Wei Zhao had to do was to devour this piece of meat before Chenqiao Ninth Prince's knife was sharpened.

"Pass on the order."

Wei Zhao looked up at Guiping City on the military map.

"Liu Jingshuang took Nanling, Huo Qingluan suppressed the western route, and Zhao Qiniang led the surrendered soldiers to persuade Angu. I personally led the central army and marched straight to Guiping."

Hua Jieyu smiled.

"Your Majesty, are you not giving Luo Shao a chance to breathe?"

Wei Zhao twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Give him a breather, and he'll get reinforcements."

He knew these rebel kings all too well.

One Luo Shao is nothing to be afraid of, but if the Ninth Prince really gathers all the reinforcements, then it's not just about wiping out a local rebel king, it's about racing against half the world for time.

Millions of refugees in Golden City are still eating, Li Huai in the capital is still ransacking homes, and Su Qingyun's grain convoy is still on its way.

Wei Zhao cannot afford to wait any longer.

Therefore, we cannot turn the situation into a siege.

It cannot be ground slowly.

Be quick.

Before Luo Shao could even react, his home was gone.

The reinforcements from Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao were still on their way when the flags at the front line were already changed.

Soon all the rebel kings in the land would realize that the new Emperor Wu was not being held back by the refugees; he could still kill, and he could kill even faster.

That night, the surrendered soldiers of Pingyang were divided into sixteen battalions, and all the original Qinggu Army flags were cut down and replaced with the new Wu army flags with black backgrounds and white characters.

The next day, the gates of Nanling City were opened.

The garrison commander originally wanted to hold out a little longer, but Liu Jingshuang only ordered Chen Sen's head to be hung outside the city and then shouted three times about Wei Zhao shooting the deputy general with an arrow from three miles away.

The city gates opened.

On the third day, the magistrate of Angu County bound the military supervisor sent by Luo Shao and knelt at the city gate to welcome the new military officers.

The military supervisor cursed all the way to Wei Zhao.

"I am a trusted confidant of King Luo! You traitors—"

Wei Zhao didn't even dismount.

"Cut it down."

The knife fell.

The supervising officer's head rolled to the magistrate's feet.

The magistrate turned pale with fright.

On the fourth day, two of Luo Shao's three grain forts outside surrendered simultaneously.

The last place they wanted to burn down was raided by Nie Yinniang, who sneaked in at night and slit the throat of the fortress lord.

At daybreak, the fort gates opened, and the granary remained intact.

Wei Zhao watched as bags of grain were carried out and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This grain can be sent to the Golden City.

not much.

But for those millions of refugees, one more day of porridge means tens of thousands more lives.

When he was emperor, he only thought of money and grain as numbers in an account book.

I only realized now that if one number is wrong, a whole bunch of people in the shed will die.

This is much harder than killing someone.

On the fifth day, Liu Jingshuang seized Qinghe.

On the sixth day, Huo Qingluan led the surrendered soldiers, bypassed the two empty camps set up by Luo Shao, and directly blocked the Guiping North Road.

On the seventh day, Wei Zhao's central army arrived thirty li outside Guiping City.

Seven days.

One city a day, and that's not all.

The number of 300,000 new military troops grew with each battle.

The surrendered soldiers from Pingyang, Nanling, Angu militia, and Qinghe garrison were scattered and reorganized in batches. Those who could fight were put into camp, those who could not fight were sent to transport grain, and those who dared to cause trouble were executed directly.

Wei Zhao was well aware that this kind of incorporation was dangerous.

If morale is low and military discipline is unstable, even a slight disruption can lead to a backlash.

Therefore, he killed ruthlessly along the way.

Those who rob civilians will be executed.

Those who hoard grain will be executed.

Anyone who uses the name of Xinwu to embezzle public funds will be executed.

Those who surrender and then rebel again will be punished along with their entire camp.

Cruel?

ruthless.

But if he doesn't act ruthlessly now, the people who have just laid down their swords in Golden City will die, as will the Wei family army that fought alongside him on the front lines, and the newly established Wu Dynasty.

He has no right to be soft-hearted.

Guiping City, Luo Shaowang Palace.

When Luo Shao tore up the seventh battle report, his fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

"Nanling has fallen."

"Angu surrenders."

"Qinghe changes its flag."

"The northern route was cut off by Huo Qingluan."

"Xinwu Central Army is thirty li away from Guiping."

Every word felt like a slap in his face.

He had heard of others suffering crushing defeats before, and he thought they were just useless.

Now that it's my turn, I understand what it means to be sitting in the palace while the cities outside are already kneeling.

too fast.

Wei Zhao was too fast.

Just as his order left Guiping, the front line was already gone.

The supervising officer he sent out was captured and beheaded by the Xinwu Army while he was still on his way.

Soon, those county magistrates, fortress lords, and militia leaders who usually knelt and sang "Long live the King" turned around and threw the Qinggu flag into the mud.

"Where are the reinforcements?"

Luo Shao suddenly looked up, his eyes frighteningly red.

"I ask you, where are the reinforcements?"

The staff members below the hall knelt on the ground.

No one dared to speak.

Luo Shao grabbed the inkstone and smashed it.

"explain!"

One of the staff members, whose forehead was bleeding from being hit, spoke in a trembling voice.

"The 50,000 cavalrymen sent by the King of Han have entered the western camp of Guiping."

Luo Shao stared at him.

"Where are the others?"

The aide's throat moved.

"The Red Blade Army will take three more days to bypass the Southern Liang Road. The Iron Ridge Army will take at least four days to pass through the Western Pass. The Hedong Army will take more than five days to cross the Qing Shi Ridge, as the road has been destroyed by flash floods. The Huainan Navy... The Huainan Navy says it will cut off the Xinwu grain route and will not go to Guiping for the time being. The grain from Jingxiang is still on its way, and the White Deer Army is guarding Anling and dares not move rashly."

Luo Shao smiled.

The laughter sent chills down the spines of those below.

"Three days, four days, five days."

He swept the wine cups off the table, scattering shards of porcelain all over the floor.

"By the time they arrive, the grass will have grown over my grave!"

Luo Shao suddenly stood up.

"Summon the commander of the Han King's cavalry to see me!"

The staff member was taken aback.

"Your Highness, at this time?"

"Now!"

Luo Shao's voice became shrill.

"Tell him that if Wei Zhao breaks through Guiping, Han Dashan will not have any peace either! I will provide him with grain, silver, women, and horses! Let him leave the city tomorrow and attack Xinwu Central Army!"

An old aide in the audience changed his expression drastically.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! The Han King's cavalry might not obey orders, and Wei Zhao has conquered several cities in quick succession; their morale is high. If we go out into the open now and are defeated, Guiping will truly fall!"

Luo Shao kicked him over.

"Defend?"

He bent down, grabbed the old aide by the collar, and spat in the aide's face.

"How long did you hold Pingyang? Half a day! Chen Sen's 200,000 troops held it for half a day! You expect me to hold it? With what? With your mouth?"

The old aide turned pale from the scolding, but dared not offer any further advice.

Luo Shao released his grip and turned to look outside the palace.

The city wall of Guiping still stands.

The gold and silver in the palace are still there.

But he knew in his heart that these things were slipping away from him.

Before Wei Zhao's spear even reached the city walls, he could already hear the walls cracking.

No.

We must let Han Dashan's men crash into it first.

Even if they can't kill Wei Zhao by crashing into him, they must at least hold him off.

If we can hold out for three days, the Red Blade Army will arrive.

Four more days later, the Tieling army arrived.

By then, Guiping will be surrounded by the rebel coalition. No matter how capable Wei Zhao is, he won't be able to swallow everyone whole.

Luo Shao clenched his fists tightly.

Correct.

drag.

He's not seeking victory now, he just hopes not to die too quickly.