Ten days later.
Lingkou Prefecture City was occupied by Marquis Yong'an's army without a single battle. There was no burning, killing, or plundering as people had imagined. After the young Marquis Yong'an entered the Governor's Mansion with his confidants, he immediately had his personal guards post notices on bulletin boards throughout the city, declaring that he would not take so much as a needle or thread from the people.
Several days later, Marquis Yong'an publicly executed several generals who had run wild after entering the city. Only then did the people, half believing and half doubting, resume some of their work, though they still did not dare get too close to the common soldiers.
Not long afterward, Marquis Yong'an's army took Gorge Pass without a battle as well. They built more than a dozen fortified stockades near the pass and transported strategic supplies from across Qingpu Road into them, including several million Power Pills. These Power Pills had been purchased through their connections in Linshui Prefecture.
After Marquis Yong'an seized Gorge Pass, the Imperial Court sent two ministers of state to the pass in person and promised to grant him the title of prince. Marquis Yong'an did not immediately refuse.
Yet just as the Imperial Court was discussing further generous rewards for Marquis Yong'an, his twenty thousand armored cavalry rode over the crops east of the Capital City and occupied the already-empty Eastern Camp.
The whole realm was thrown into uproar.
The court immediately split into two factions and argued fiercely. Some believed they should hold the Capital City and wait for relief armies from every region, while others believed that the Capital City had no troops left to use and that they should retreat to the northwest or the south, then gather relief armies to suppress the rebellion.
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