Tai Luan set out ahead of the others. When he reached Chaoge, the Five Kings of Baiyue and the Yue prisoners had yet to arrive.
He had to report the news first. This was a matter of great importance: the South had been settled in a single battle, and they needed to see what King Zhou intended to do.
How they dealt with the Five Kings of Baiyue would depend on King Zhou's wishes.
After all, Baiyue was a land that even Wu Ding, the berserk emperor, had failed to conquer. Simply announcing to the world that the Five Kings of Baiyue had been captured alive and their lands conquered would greatly enhance Great Shang's prestige, calming in one stroke the panic that had followed its declaration of war on all nations.
If they did that, they would have to muster troops and let cannons lead the procession out of the city to accept the surrender. The spectacle needed to be grand, which was why Tai Luan had to reach Chaoge early, giving the capital time to prepare.
But Wen Zhong, an old man versed in warfare and seasoned in strategy, felt there was more they could do with this.
People knew little about Baiyue. They thought its inhabitants were merely uncivilized barbarians from the South, with no idea how formidable the Yue Army was, or that Strange Beings had even taken part.
Thus, most people found this two-year Southern Campaign rather puzzling.
Why had Great Shang spent years dealing with such a weak enemy? Had it truly rotted to the bone, as the feudal lords claimed?
Now that the Five Kings of Baiyue had been captured, the news could certainly reassure the people and show them that Great Shang remained powerful, but Wen Zhong did not think it was