Below the city walls.
"The rebel king Cao Yiyan is dead! By His Majesty's order, his head shall be displayed over the commandery city!"
The Zheng Army shouted in unison, again and again.
"Listen well, those inside! The rebel king Cao Yiyan is dead, and his corpse is in our custody."
"If any among you still possess loyalty and righteousness, come out of the city at once and kneel to welcome us. Then you shall be permitted to bury him, to lay him to rest in the earth. Otherwise, his corpse will be left exposed in the wild. What loyalty of a subject would remain?"
"Do not say we gave you no warning!"
Gao Ze had newly received an imperial decree and brought the head to Shuyang Prefecture. The newly appointed Chan Master Bianxuan and True Person Huo Wuyong had accompanied him as well.
"Do you think they'll surrender?" Gao Ze watched for a while before turning to ask.
Huo Wuyong stared blankly at the city walls, his gaze seeming to pierce through layer upon layer of armored soldiers. "They will. The hearts of the people inside the city have already collapsed... Within a day, there will surely be news of victory..."
Huo Wuyong suddenly woke from his daze. He glanced at the silent Bianxuan and sighed inwardly.
In truth, the Emperor favored the Daoist Sect. Yet the Yin Temple Sect of the Daoist Sect had reportedly offended some noble personage. That alone would have been manageable, but more importantly, during the palace coup, not a single Daoist had stood on the Emperor's side. Instead, they had sided with the old Emperor.
Perhaps they could defend themselves by saying the matter had come too suddenly, that the Daoist Sect had not known and had merely remained loyal to their duties.