You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

They're all doomed.

This was no time for laughter; the most urgent thing was to escape. Having made up their minds, they quickened their pace, while neighboring tribes either erupted into internal strife, prepared for joint defense, or simply lay low and awaited an attack…

The various aspects of human beings are revealed in full detail.

In the northern part of the plain, numerous barbarian camps each displayed their unique abilities, and the escape and fighting of countless people turned the surrounding area into chaos.

Soon the people of the Shepherd Tribe heard a loud rumbling sound from the ground.

rumble!

Only tens of thousands of strong warhorses could possess such power; only now did they realize that a city built of wood could not withstand it.

From the watchtower, all that could be seen was a trail of dust, moving so fast and devastatingly. As soon as they came into view, flaming arrows soared into the air, tracing extremely high arcs and striking the camp with pinpoint accuracy, instantly igniting a raging inferno.

As the fire raged, the chariot dragged a massive siege spike towards them.

"Oh no, stop them!"

However, it was too late. The barbarians who tried to approach were hit by precise arrows one by one, and they watched helplessly as the barbarians breached the gate.

With a loud crash, the gate was found wide open and completely undefended.

Without a word, the Imperial Guards of the Great Qian Dynasty found the barbarian warriors and began to slaughter them. At the same time, auxiliary soldiers and garrison troops arrived one after another, surrounding the camp and leaving them with no way to escape.

"I surrender."

"We'd rather be slaves of the Great Qian than be killed. Spare our lives!"

Now we can only accept our fate.

The shepherd tribe realized that the enemy was in a hurry; if they resisted stubbornly, they would be wiped out. The evidence was the plumes of smoke rising from the horizon, accompanied by the howling of ghosts and wolves in the wind—the sounds of despair.

Submit or die.

The situation in the shepherd tribe was quickly brought under control.

Feng Tianyin didn't hesitate and handed these barbarians over to the subsequent auxiliary soldiers, as well as some temporarily recruited barbarian servants.

This kind of stuff is quite reliable in the short term.

The traitors and collaborators are first and foremost afraid of the punishment from the Heavenly Dao Sect for betrayal, and on the other hand, they have cut themselves off from their own camp and hometown. They are bound to lean towards the Great Qian, and have no choice but to share its glory and disgrace, and even hope that more compatriots will suffer.

They were always the type that Daqian found easy to use, convenient tools.

Once they arrive at a new tribe, they will select such people, and it has proven to be effective and truly useful.

"I'd be willing to be a dog of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"Actually, I've long been a believer in the Heavenly Dao Sect, but these guys are against it."

"The High Priest is my master."

She couldn't be bothered with these eager-to-prove-loyal types, so Feng Tianyin handed them over to her successors, who were capable enough to manage them and then transport them to the fishing spot.

The cities that the barbarians once risked their lives to enter are now accessible, albeit under different identities.

"Quick action."

Deng Kaixuan, who was in charge of the command, kept urging his subordinates on.

The Great Qian Imperial Guard's strategy is simple: prioritize conquering large tribes to disrupt order, causing chaos and panic among other tribes. So far, it's working well. Those who dare to resist are burned, and those that damage camps are relentlessly pursued and attacked.

When the auxiliary soldiers can't keep up, they just cut down anyone they see, and there's no time to capture them.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war.

The cavalry legion needed to maintain high mobility, galloping across the entire northern grasslands, and had no time to stop and incorporate tribes one by one.

Therefore, they rarely reunite with the support soldiers.

It's a coincidence that they've caught the right moment; the Shepherd Tribe has stumbled upon a good opportunity to escort them to Fishing Fire Bank as quickly as possible, where the Daqian people will give them a proper "welcome."

The barbarians accepted the arrangement with long faces.

There is no room for resistance.

In fact, when you first arrive at a camp, even if the other side cooperates with the Imperial Guards, they will "deliberately find fault" and cause trouble, and then make an example of someone to warn others. They have just completed a set of procedures, and everyone is now silent and understands the danger.

If you dare to resist in any way, then the Great Qian will make you pay a heavy price; your corpse has already been displayed.

Feng Tianyin couldn't help but feel a surge of joy as she watched these people head north one after another.

I did a good job of achieving my KPIs.

One of the objectives of this mission was to capture slave laborers.

perfect.

Large camps on the plains often had more than 10,000 people, and some even had 20,000 people. This was related to the evolution of the times and also reflected the land's ability to sustain life.

What Daqian was actually doing was "replacing old industries with new ones," and in a simpler and more direct way.

The land remaining after the enslavement of the barbarians naturally belonged to the Great Qian Dynasty.

"High Priest, we have cleared four large camps and nine medium-sized camps so far. Most of the other small camps are collapsing and causing panic... The northern plains have been basically cleared out. These barbarians are no longer a threat, but capturing them may take some time."

"Should we help the auxiliary troops or continue marching?"

Feng Tianyin weighed the pros and cons in a flash, and the operation was faster and more successful than she had anticipated.

They were surrendered to as they went.

It would take several days to capture tens of thousands of pigs, while the barbarians submitted in a highly efficient manner by uniting their camps.

"Let's take a day off to avoid everyone getting too tired."

"Let's give things some time to develop. I reckon the city-states have already received the news, and they'll understand. Also, we need to mobilize our inside agents to get those wavering guys to make a decision as soon as possible."

Feng Tianyin's war plans are not only open, but also involve many powerful figures from city-states who secretly cooperate with the Great Qian Dynasty.

They are excellent inside agents.

After all, they had accumulated a large number of stakeholders through years of business and pilgrimage.

The nobles of the city-states were far more respectable than the mere barbarians; their cultural level, resource accumulation, cognitive ability, and power made them well-suited for cooperation.

Therefore, she had already dispatched liaison personnel.

-------

As expected, battle reports flew in as the Imperial Guards of the Great Qian Dynasty were making their way across the northern part of the Great Plains.

Soon, news of the siege and capture of cities and strongholds was received by most city-states. As it turned out, Feng Tianyin's combat power in leading the army was beyond imagination. She quickly swept through the various camps without any setbacks.

They had hoped that these camps would at least slow down the progress of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The result was truly appalling; the systematic surrender allowed the Great Qian to absorb its forces at an astonishing speed, and the snowball effect grew faster and faster, leaving potential rival city-states with no choice but to watch helplessly as their enemy grew stronger.

Not finished yet.

To make matters worse, a significant portion of the barbarian tribes inevitably became refugees.

Wouldn't that cause it to spill over to other city-states?

They couldn't accept them either, nor could they drive them away, so they reluctantly accepted a portion of them, but at the cost of instability.

Feng Tianyin has already mobilized her inside agents and seized the opportunity to start a "collective worship of the Heavenly Dao Sect" to recruit people who are loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty. Moreover, she openly spreads her faith, which is already close to the Great Qian Dynasty.

Moreover, the doctrine emphasizes loyalty to the High Priest, which is equivalent to offering tribute to Feng Tianyin herself.

loyalty!

Unfortunately, the city-states dared not directly and strictly prohibit the Heavenly Dao Sect.

As everyone knows, Yuzuriha is a frequently manifested deity. The will of that majestic being constantly surrounds the world of Terra, and he descends once every ten years. Who would dare to directly oppose his faith? Would they be courting death?

The city-states were not without means; for example, it was not difficult to suppress missionary work under various pretexts such as investigating fugitives.

The difficulty lies in the current influx of refugees into the volatile situation, who have also become a source of chaos.

What are we going to eat?

“It was you city-state schemers who made us risk our lives, so you must take full responsibility. I’m not leaving here.”

"It's no use talking to them. Just buy for free and grab as many as you can to get more."

"Come join the Heavenly Dao Sect's faith!"

"They've all gone mad..."

The city-states not far from the camp suffered greatly, and the chaos further fostered religious fertile ground. Those believers who were already operating in secret intensified their control and constantly tempted new believers to join them.

Feng Tianyin had been laying the groundwork from the beginning, and now these inside agents were putting all their strength into it.

Although she adopted a decisive stance, her philosophy of "the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting" remained unchanged.

If there's an opportunity to conquer it quickly and gently, then they should definitely try. Besides, they can't afford to waste years of hard work. Now is the time for them to respond, especially considering the fiefdoms they previously granted through envoys.

While still on her journey, Feng Tianyin received numerous letters, filled with pleasantries, all revolving around the same core message:

Join the Great Qian Dynasty.

Four city-states set an example.

They were the hardest hit, defenseless, and not far from the fishing lights. Since they couldn't avoid it, they might as well just announce their acceptance of the terms to avoid an even more embarrassing humiliating treaty.

Feng Tianyin raised the reins and said loudly, "March quickly to take over, don't give them a chance to regret it."

PS

Thank you to reader 48988084822 for the donation. Chapter 98: The City-States Decide Through Proclamations (6K)

【hint】

The city-state of "Xinghua Temple" has reached the target for religious accumulation and has been officially transferred to the Tiandao Sect's religious territory.

[Has publicly announced joining the Great Qian Dynasty and intends to negotiate for fiefdom terms]

[The city-state "Longshanpo" joins...]

The frequent status bar updates caught Xia He's attention. She thought to herself, "How come it's expanded so quickly in just a short while? It's probably an offensive launched from Yu Huo Pan that's rapidly escalating. It's practically a matter of a single proclamation."

Clicking to enter the details reveals a rapid loading bar showing one city-state after another joining the Great Qian Dynasty.

It was annexed on the spot.

"Although Tianyin's army has not yet arrived and taken over, it is already considered an area under effective control; it just needs a formality to go through the procedures."