Prelude to Destruction
Du Changfeng looked somewhat dazed.
He hadn't expected the battle to be fought so easily; what was supposed to be a tough battle had turned into a favorable situation.
They simply swept through the enemy lines.
Click!
Qin Yan crushed the rebel general's neck and threw him on the ground like trash.
Too weak!
Throughout the entire battle, the opponent didn't even last an hour.
The rebel forces are a mixed bag!
Even as a general, his military skills and combat prowess were only quite ordinary.
They can't even pose a threat to them.
"My lord, the remaining rebels are few in number, and there are still nearly three hundred warhorses in the camp."
Tang Xianzong came overjoyed to report the victory.
"Everyone choose a warhorse and head to Red Ridge Town as fast as possible."
Qin Yan gave the order expressionlessly; the rebels' resistance was much weaker than he had imagined.
The fact that they could be defeated by such an army shows that the generals in power are utterly useless.
It can only be said that the Great Li Dynasty was so corrupt that it was beyond recognition.
His men weren't much better than others, but it was only through his constant motivational speeches that their fighting ability began to change dramatically.
Ultimately, it's people's hearts that have changed.
The group, Riding their warhorses, arrived at the pass of Red Ridge Town before dawn!
So many people!
Along the way, Qin Yan and the others watched as refugees gathered on the roads!
"Old sir, why are you gathered here? Is the Red Ridge Pass preventing you from passing?"
Qin Yan stopped an elderly man who was fleeing and asked him questions.
"Reporting to your Excellency, the general guarding the city will not allow us to pass, so we have no choice but to remain here."
The old man was startled when he saw Qin Yan and the others in front of him, and said in a trembling voice.
"Damn it, what are those bastards in Dongying Prefecture doing? These are all citizens of Great Li, how dare they abandon them?"
Xia Chengqian's face flushed with anger. "I'm going to Grandfather's to report them!"
"Zhang Xiang, take my token and make that bastard guarding the city open the gate!"
Xia Chengqian immediately gave the order.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhang Xiang took the token and headed towards the pass!
In a short while.
The gate slowly opened, and the people who had been staying there were overjoyed.
Before they could even celebrate for long...
A squad of armored soldiers shoved the crowd aside, and a group of officials, wiping cold sweat from their brows, jogged to the escort team.
"This humble official Li Fuzhi, Magistrate of Lei Gan County, pays his respects to the Prince Jing."
"Snort!"
Xia Chengqian snorted coldly, "We'll talk about this once we get into the city. Don't obstruct the people from passing through here!"
Then he ignored the group of people!
The officials could only look at each other, not daring to utter a single rebuttal.
But for the surrounding residents, this is fantastic news!
They all knelt down on the ground, expressing their deepest gratitude to Xia Chengqian!
This scene made Qin Yan sigh inwardly.
Red Ridge Town has now gathered part of the army from Dongying Prefecture. The number of prefectural soldiers and local militia has exceeded ten thousand.
I wonder how long these people can hold out?
Nowadays, too many officials and generals are incompetent and corrupt, good only at plundering the people's wealth.
As the saying goes, those below them followed suit; the cruel officials and scoundrels under their command were no better.
They're good at oppressing the people, but when it comes to actual military campaigns, who knows how much fighting power they'll have!
Moreover, Qin Yan felt that these soldiers were lifeless and carried a faint sense of fear.
It makes you shake your head.
They were both soldiers of the local militia.
The Green Mountain Camp led by Lu Xiao was not in the same league in terms of morale.
Although Lu Xiao was somewhat weak in Martial Dao arts, he was definitely a qualified general in other aspects.
The soldiers under his command were brave and daring, and they fought fiercely against the Evil Corpses and the guards of the Mass Grave Mound.
That was absolutely true.
People like Lu Xiao are ultimately a minority.
The group first went to Dongying Prefecture to rest!
Prince Jing was greatly relieved to learn that his son was safe and sound.
This is his only bloodline.
When he learned that the rebels had affected his son, he was so frightened that he didn't sleep for several days and kept sending people to inquire about the situation.
For Xia Chengqian's safety!
Hongjia Emperor dispatched the Dragon Soaring Army, one of the dynasty's strongest legions, to Dongying Prefecture to provide support.
However, it will probably take a month or two before the other party arrives!
During this time, they could only wait in Dongying Prefecture.
As for Heavenly King Hong's rebellion, the imperial court is also assembling a large army to prepare to suppress the traitor!
However, Heavenly King Hong was indeed quite capable; the Taiping Army he built grew stronger with each battle.
In a very short time, they had already taken control of a province, and during that time they continued to recruit talented and extraordinary people.
Its own power grew like a snowball.
Especially those ordinary people at the bottom of society who couldn't survive, seemed like completely different people after taking up arms.
The Taiping Army has been conquering cities and seizing territory, and is showing signs of gaining momentum!
In just half a month, Qin Yan obtained a lot of information.
Heavenly King Hong's real name is Hong Sheng!
The Supreme Grandmaster, renowned throughout the martial arts world, was always an ambitious man.
He established the Taiping Alliance in the martial arts world, recruited many disciples, and constantly recruited martial arts masters to serve him!
After twenty years of his efforts, the Taiping Alliance had nearly ten thousand disciples.
In Pengzhou, the Yantong Prefecture was a figure of Infinity power and influence, practically controlling everything.
As for why they rebelled at this time, it's actually quite ridiculous.
Prince Jin of Pengzhou took a liking to the Taiping Alliance and wanted to bring it under his control.
They threatened that if the other party did not submit, they would report him to the imperial court for plotting a rebellion.
Hong Sheng was naturally unwilling to hand over his hard-earned family fortune to someone else.
Fortunately, I gritted my teeth and rebelled!
In addition, the Yantong Prefecture were driven to the brink of resentment by those corrupt officials.
With a wave of his arm, followers appeared like clouds.
He even killed Prince Jin with his own hands, and distributed his flesh to the people so they could eat it!
When people are exploited to the extreme, their rebellion is terrifying!
In a very short time, they took over Yantong Prefecture through their own influence and the people they had secretly cultivated.
In a short period of time, they mobilized an army of tens of thousands!
Coupled with slogans of distributing money, land, and grain, the people were driven to utter madness.
It was like a ray of light for someone in despair.
Driven to desperation, people desperately tried to grasp this Dao Light, and one of them picked up a hoe and started a rebellion.
It spread wildly from one prefecture to the surrounding areas.
By plundering government offices and powerful families, they acquired vast amounts of wealth and weapons, leading to an explosive growth in their power.
In contrast, local officials showed no intention of resistance whatsoever; they absconded with the money before even arriving.
In many places, there was no proper resistance; people simply joined the Taiping Army.
This is why they haven't received much news since they first entered Eastern Heaven Prefecture.
The entire prefecture fell just like that.
The Great Li Dynasty is now nearing its end, and it remains to be seen whether this rebellion will be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.
Even if it wasn't, it was still the prelude to the dynasty's demise.