Dragon Ball, simultaneously traversing countless worlds

Once you put it on, you can fly and disappear into the earth, possess strength enough to subdue dragons and tigers, and fire lightning from your hands. What else could such armor be but a divine artifact?

Being fortunate enough to wear the celestial armor even once is enough for these ordinary people to boast about for a lifetime.

Those five hundred elite soldiers who followed Luo Yan from the very beginning now cherish their mechs even more than their own wives, wearing them day and night and even sleeping in them.

Luo Yan personally instilled knowledge in these newly recruited thousand Iron Eagle Warriors, transforming their worldview and outlook on life.

He then promoted the original centurions to chiliarchs and promoted several clever and capable squad leaders to centurions, which was a readjustment of the army structure.

When Luo Yan established the Iron Eagle Warriors, it was very rudimentary. The officer positions were directly structured as units of five, ten, fifty, or one hundred people, such as squad leader, platoon leader, sergeant, and centurion.

Now that the army has expanded, he has readjusted the promotion mechanism, establishing ranks of chiliarch, ten-thousand-commander, major general, lieutenant general, and general above the centurion.

Luo Yan did not draw on the military officer positions of the Song Dynasty. The official positions and titles of the Song Dynasty were redundant and cumbersome, making it difficult for people to understand whether an official position was real or nominal, or what their duties were.

This cumbersome official structure would severely slow down administrative efficiency. Luo Yan's career was just beginning, so why would he bother to learn from the dregs of the Song Dynasty?

After laying a solid foundation for the army, Luo Yan ordered the centurion Chuan Ying to lead the army to Daming Prefecture.

The centurion's original name was not Chuanying. His original name was Chuanping, which meant ordinary and unremarkable. Later, after being recruited as an Iron Eagle elite soldier, he changed his name to Chuanying in order to show his honor and loyalty.

Some soldiers followed Chuan Ying's example and changed their names as well.

One of the centurions was named Yuan Ying, whose name was even more imposing than Chuan Ying's.

The remaining ones are called Diao Ying, Leng Ying, and Wu Ying.

I must say, having "eagle" in your name really makes you sound majestic and powerful. Even if you originally called Lin Tiezhu, changing "zhu" to "eagle" and calling yourself Lin Tieying sounds much better.

After changing to a better-sounding name, these elite soldiers have a completely different spirit and energy.

Luo Yan also specially designed military uniforms, flags, insignia, and songs for them to wear daily...

Once fully equipped, the Iron Eagles no longer resembled a ragtag unit. They were full of spirit and firm in their beliefs, displaying the demeanor of a powerful army.

The day after the army was fully prepared, Luo Yan and his troops left Junzhou City and headed towards Daming Prefecture.

The land redistribution work in Junzhou City is still in full swing. Although the main army has been withdrawn, the twenty Iron Eagle Warriors left behind are enough to suppress all kinds of opposition in Junzhou.

Even without these twenty Iron Eagle Warriors, the people who had already been allocated land and those waiting to be allocated land would have crushed any force that stood in their way of obtaining land.

When Luo Yan attacked Junzhou City, his manifested Dharma form instilled deep fear in the hearts of the people, but also dispelled their unease about rebellion.

The emperor is merely the son of heaven, while the gods represent heaven. If the gods rebel against the emperor, it is not considered an act of subjugation, and the people are not so afraid; they even feel that it is justified.

This is why the Yellow Turbans at the end of the Han Dynasty shouted the slogan "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise!" It was to make their followers understand that they represented Heaven in overthrowing the court and were on the side of righteousness, so that their followers could feel at ease.

Luo Yan used his divine identity to dispel the people's fear of the imperial court and instilled in them a sense of awe towards him.

Then, the land distribution policy was used to win over the lower and middle classes, binding their interests together, and using grain to settle labor costs, thus appeasing the people.

He convened a trial to crack down on the local tyrants of Junzhou, eliminate the original beneficiaries, free up a large portion of the profits, and reward the new class that followed him.

With these three decisive moves, Junzhou underwent a major reshuffle, its political power stabilized, and the people's hearts were at peace, making it as solid as an iron barrel.

Chapter 205 Reactions from All Parties

After Luo Yan successively defeated the armies of Cai You and Liang Fangping, his reputation grew even more and gradually spread to more distant places.

Originally, his fame was only known in Hebei and Shandong.

The news was then transmitted directly to the imperial courts of the Liao and Jin dynasties.

In Hebei, there were many uprisings on a larger scale than Luo Yan's, but they were all peasant rebellions, and their leaders were not particularly special.

Apart from those few waves of rebel armies numbering over 300,000, smaller rebellions of less than 10,000 people did not attract the attention of the Liao and Jin dynasties at all.

But Luo Yan is different. Both his divine status and the weaponry of his army have attracted the attention of major powers across the world.

In Yingzhou, Liao Dynasty, Emperor Tianzuo of Liao was pacing back and forth in his military camp, deep in thought.

The Liao Dynasty of today is no longer the powerful nation that once forced the Song Dynasty to sign the Treaty of Chanyuan.

It is now the sixth year of Xuanhe. Four years ago, the newly rising Jin Dynasty captured Shangjing of the Liao Dynasty, causing the Liao Dynasty to lose half of its territory.

Two years ago, the Jin state captured the Liao state's capital, Zhongjing, forcing Emperor Tianzuo to flee to Jiashan. This caused the Liao state to lose track of their emperor for a time, and they had no choice but to establish a new emperor.

The newly established Liao emperor, Tianxi, sent an ambassador to the Jin dynasty to request vassalage, but he died before the matter was completed.

Emperor Tianzuo regained power and, upon learning of Xiao Gan's rebellion against the Jin dynasty last year, believed that the opportunity to recover lost territory had arrived, so he led his troops to Yingzhou.

Unfortunately, Xiao Gan was ineffective; his rebellion was quelled by the Jin dynasty, and Emperor Tianzuo completely lost the opportunity to recover lost territory.

But at this moment, he learned that a rebellious force of immortals had risen within the territory of the Song Dynasty. So he thought he might as well try his luck and contact Luo Yan to help him restrain the Jin Dynasty.

The Liao Kingdom was already showing signs of collapse, let alone the absurd idea of ​​using Luo Yan's army to help him restrain the Jin Kingdom.

In the fourth year of the Xuanhe era, Liao officials Li Chuwen and his son even planned to secretly communicate with Tong Guan of the Northern Song Dynasty, intending to kidnap the Liao Consort De and surrender Liao territory to the Song Dynasty in exchange for its protection.

The Liao Dynasty had always looked down on the Song Dynasty, but it had no choice but to cede territory to the Song in exchange for the Song's support, which shows that the Liao Dynasty had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

If Li Chuwen, as a minister, was like this, then Emperor Tianzuo must have been even more despicable.

When Shangjing fell, Emperor Tianzuo was filled with anxiety day and night. He packed up his pearls and treasures in advance and prepared two thousand fine horses to escape at any time.

He also boasted, "I am brothers with the Song Dynasty and uncle and nephew with the Western Xia. I will never lose my wealth and honor wherever I go."

An emperor who can utter such words is definitely a tyrant.

It's nothing to swallow your pride and win over a treacherous scoundrel now.

After pondering for a long time, Emperor Tianzuo began to grind ink and write a letter, and sent out envoys to maintain contact.

The Liao Kingdom had little influence on Luo Yan in this regard, and the decision of whether or not to help Emperor Tianzuo rested with Luo Yan.

However, the situation was different for the Jin Kingdom. The Jin people viewed the newly rising Luo Yan as a great threat and wanted to take advantage of Luo Yan's unstable foundation to eliminate him.

When the Song and Jin dynasties signed the maritime alliance and agreed to attack the Liao dynasty, they witnessed the Song dynasty's military incompetence and thus began to covet the Song dynasty's territory.

The Jin state also coveted the land of Hebei. Just last year, they tried to recruit Zhang Jue, the deputy military governor of Liaoxing Army in Lulong, Hebei, and wanted to appoint him as a minister.

However, the Jin state's apparent recruitment was actually just a ploy to keep Zhang Jue in check, making him a foothold in the Jin state's attack on the Liao state, with the intention of eliminating him later and then acquiring the land of Hebei.

If the Jin state could not tolerate Zhang Jue, how could it possibly tolerate Luo Yan?

Once Luo Yan occupies Damin Prefecture, one of the routes for the Jin army to advance south will be blocked, which will have a significant impact on the Jin state's strategic policy.

Therefore, Luo Yan has now become a thorn in the side of the Jin Kingdom, which wants to eliminate him to prevent future troubles.

The Jin emperor issued an edict ordering Wanyan Zongwang to send troops to Junzhou to eliminate Luo Yan.

Wanyan Zongwang was the Jin general who killed Zhang Jue last year. His troops were brave and skilled in battle, and their strength was very powerful. The Jin state could kill the Liao state as easily as killing a dog, and killing the Song state would probably be even easier than killing a chicken.

After receiving the order, Wanyan Zongwang, even though he had heard of Luo Yan's reputation as an immortal, did not take it seriously, thinking it was just a rumor.

There are far too many instances in history of people using the name of gods to stage rebellions, and Wanyan Zongwang believed that Luo Yan was also a fake god.

Luo Yan was able to conquer Junzhou, which belonged to the Song Dynasty, not because he was particularly skilled, but because the Song Dynasty was too weak.

With this mindset, Wanyan Zongwang led a thousand cavalrymen south.

The Jurchen soldiers of the Jin Dynasty were few in number, and these thousand Jin soldiers were already a large force.

A thousand Jin soldiers could fight ten thousand Liao soldiers or one hundred thousand Song soldiers. Wanyan Zongwang's expedition this time was equivalent to leading an army of one hundred thousand, which can be seen as strategically despising Luo Yan while tactically taking him seriously.

……

Let's talk about the attitude of the Song Dynasty's imperial court towards Luo Yan.

Because of the general policy of conquering Liao with the Jin dynasty, the Song court did not actually value Luo Yan.

For years, Tong Guan had been in charge of the campaign against Liao, and everyone in the court and the country was busy with preparations for the Northern Expedition.

The recapture of Yan and Yun and the northern expedition against the Liao Kingdom have been a major concern for the Song Dynasty since its founding, far more important than quelling the rebellion in Hebei.

If Luo Yan hadn't started his rebellion in Xiangzhou, a place of great geographical importance, and hadn't personally revealed his divine form to prove his divine identity, would the high-ranking officials in the court have taken a force of less than ten thousand people seriously?

Every year, too many people who rebelled in the Song Dynasty were incorporated into the Xiang Army. In their eyes, Luo Yan was just another small fry who would be incorporated into the Xiang Army.

Sending Cai You to quell the rebellion was already a great favor to Luo Yan.

After all, Cai You was a civil official who had followed Tong Guan in the campaign against Liao, so suppressing a rebellion would have been a piece of cake for him.

However, Cai You's plan backfired, and he died a miserable death in the Liuqing River area, leaving no trace of his body. This frightened many ministers, who no longer dared to personally take charge, and instead ordered local officials to quell the rebellion on their own.

Unfortunately, the local officials were also ineffective. Just one day after Cai You's death, Junzhou fell and was taken over by Luo Yan, causing the imperial court a great headache.

Even more frightening was the secret report from the imperial court that when Luo Yan captured Junzhou, the deceased Kou Zhun transformed into the City God and lost the battle against Luo Yan.

This is Kou Zhun, the upright and strong-willed man who forced Emperor Zhenzong to resist the Liao while he was alive, and who became the City God after his death. Even he was no match for Luo Yan, so how could they not be afraid of Luo Yan?

In the Song court, after Emperor Huizong had finished discussing the Northern Expedition, he summoned his senior officials and began to discuss Luo Yan's rebellion in Junzhou.

When discussing the Northern Expedition, the ministers were all talking at length, but when it came to Luo Yan, they all fell silent.

Seeing the ministers stammering and unable to speak, Emperor Huizong of Song grew impatient.

"Speak up, ministers! Do you have any good strategies to quell Luo Yan's rebellion in Junzhou?"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, one of them said, "The evil sorcerers are causing havoc in the world, and ordinary people cannot deal with them. Doesn't Your Majesty have enlightened masters like Zhang Xubai by your side? Why not let them deal with Luo Yan's rebellion in Junzhou?"

Emperor Huizong of Song was a follower of Taoist priests, and his followers included many "enlightened masters" such as Zhang Xubai, Wang Laozhi, Lin Lingsu, Liu Hunkang, Wang Zixi, Zhang Jixian, and Wang Wenqing.

The most famous among them was Lin Lingsu, a leader of the Shenxiao Sect.

However, Lin Lingsu, a notorious Taoist fraudster, was attacked by laborers while managing flood control in the first year of the Xuanhe era. Emperor Huizong of Song only then realized that this Taoist priest had long incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. He reprimanded Lin Lingsu and sent him back to his hometown. Not long after, Lin Lingsu died in his hometown.

Zhang Xubai is currently the favorite of Emperor Huizong of Song.

Thinking of his Taoist priest from the Golden Gate, Emperor Huizong slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "That's right! To deal with this evil Taoist, we need a true master. Quickly go to Longde Terrace and summon Zhang Hu to an audience."

Zhang Hu is Zhang Xubai. Among all the Taoist priests, Zhang Xubai spent the most time with Emperor Huizong of Song and had the best relationship with him.

He once fell asleep with his head on the emperor's knees after getting drunk, and he often spoke frankly and made critical warnings, even directed at the emperor himself.

Emperor Huizong tolerated Zhang Xubai's rude behavior, which shows his favor towards Zhang Xubai.

However, Zhang Xubai was not a fraudulent Taoist like Lin Lingsu. He was proficient in all arts and divination, especially in Taiyi Liuren and the secret arts of the Golden Elixir. He used the doctrines of the Taiyi School to predict good and bad fortune, and his predictions were always accurate.

Historically, when the Jin dynasty captured Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao dynasty, they sent an envoy to inform the Song dynasty. Emperor Huizong of Song happily hosted a banquet for the envoy.

After the banquet, Emperor Huizong met Zhang Xubai again and mentioned the banquet to him. Zhang Xubai then predicted, "Emperor Tianzuo has long been waiting for Your Majesty by building palaces at sea."

This means that Emperor Huizong was too happy too soon; you will soon suffer the same fate as Emperor Tianzuo.

Later, Bianjing fell, and Emperor Huizong of Song was indeed captured and taken north, where he suffered greatly under the Jin dynasty.