Pfft!
Yang Dongyu only had time to let out a scream before collapsing to the ground, a look of disbelief still lingering in his eyes—this guy actually dared to kill him.
When Zhao Dezhu saw that his brothers had been killed, his face turned pale. They were really going to kill them both.
Zhao Dezhu gritted his teeth and said, " Shangguan Yundun, have you gone mad? You've provoked the Yang Clan and Zhao Clan! The Empress can't protect you!"
"Pah, do you really think your family is invincible?"
Looking at the other party's arrogant demeanor, Shangguan Yundun spat disdainfully and sneered, "Still want revenge? Then I'll kill you all!"
With a wave of his hand, the 200,000-strong army rushed towards several counties, their target being the strongholds of those powerful families.
Since we've started, we might as well go all the way!
At first, the people were terrified, but after witnessing the massacre, they turned pale, fearing they would be implicated.
The people breathed a sigh of relief only when they saw them heading towards the powerful families.
But the Shangguan Family Clan showed no mercy and began a frenzied slaughter.
"Holy crap, has Shangguan Yundun mad?"
"You bastard, my Chen Clan and your Shangguan Family are sworn enemies, and I will definitely take revenge."
"Kill!"
Shangguan Yundun didn't care what these people thought. If he didn't kill these aristocratic families, they would be the ones to cleanse his Shangguan Family, which was something he couldn't accept.
Without the slightest hesitation, he proceeded to slaughter them all.
After a night of massacre, more than 100,000 corpses were added to the territory controlled by Li Qiankun, turning the entire Jiangling Commandery into a river of blood.
Exterminate the entire family!
Hunt!
The slaughter continued until the early hours of the next day before finally stopping; the 200,000-strong army had stained Jiangling Commandery red.
Seeing her younger brother return covered in blood, a flicker of pain flashed in Shangguan Yan's eyes, but she forcefully suppressed it. She murmured, "You were the ones who wronged Great Ning first. My conscience is clear!"
"Sister, these people harbor evil intentions and have already gathered a considerable number of men to prepare for a rebellion. Killing them will ensure that none of them are innocent." Shangguan Yundun shook his head to clear his mind.
He had been killing all night, and his eyes were now bloodshot.
Shangguan Yan nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "You should go and rest first. The next few days will probably be busy!"
Tianshui River White Sand Bay!
This is the shallowest point of the Tianshui River, and more importantly, there is a stone bridge here that allows the army to pass through and head straight south.
Initially, this place was in the hands of Li Qiankun, but later Gan Ning seized it and it came under the control of Great Liang.
Gan Ning, sitting at the bridgehead, watched Gongsun Zan and his group cross the river and couldn't help but laugh, "Hahaha, I've been waiting for you all for a long time! You've finally arrived!"
He only has 100,000 men under his command, so taking over Jiangling Commandery, this turtle shell, will still be quite troublesome.
With these reinforcements, it will be a piece of cake.
"You're supposed to be the Great General of the Brocade Sail, how did you end up like this? You're so unkempt!" Gongsun Zan said irritably, looking at Gan Ning, who resembled a bandit with a long beard.
This guy calls himself the Brocade Sail Bandit, and now he really does look like a thief.
Gan Ning rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Get lost! Do you think my life is easy? These days I've been fighting my way from the east end of the Tianshui River to the west end, and then from the north to the south. I'm very busy, okay!"
Hahaha!
Everyone burst into laughter. This must be the "troublemaker" tactic their lord had mentioned. Whether their own people could withstand it was unknown, but the enemy was certainly in a state of chaos.
This kind of playing style is harmful to both the opponent and oneself!
Gao Shun was both amused and exasperated. He laughed and said, "What has become of Li Qiankun now? He wouldn't actually have the courage to fight our lord, would he? Now that our lord reigns All Under Heaven, killing him is no different than killing a chicken."
Everyone nodded in agreement; Li Qiankun's small group of men really wasn't a problem.
In other words, Guan Yu didn't have many good supplies, otherwise he could have easily blown up Jiangling Commandery.
Gan Ning took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The former Empress Shangguan Yan has sent a letter of surrender, saying that she is willing to leave the city and surrender, but hopes that Your Majesty will grant her request!"
"Require?"
"She wants to protect the crown prince!"
"That's absolutely impossible!"
Gongsun Zan shook his head upon hearing this, thinking it was wishful thinking. The Emperor had already given the order that the Crown Prince must be eliminated.
The other two princes brought this upon themselves, so the only option left is to spare the Third Prince, Li Yunmiao. The rest cannot be spared; there are no conditions to be negotiated.
Gan Ning shook his head and whispered, "The other party wrote a personal letter to our lord and said they sent him a great gift, but I can't say for sure!"
"A grand gift?"
Gongsun Zan was slightly taken aback. What was this former empress up to? The All Under Heaven belonged to his lord, what kind of grand gesture could she possibly come up with?
However, this so-called grand gift and personal letter made him hesitate; it seemed inappropriate not to consult his lord first.
Just as they hesitated, a scout came galloping in.
"Report!"
"Breaking news from Jiangling Commandery: the former Empress Shangguan Yan has suddenly struck, slaughtering 100,000 members of powerful families. The entire Jiangling Commandery is now awash in blood."
Holy crap!
Gongsun Zan Zan's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed, "I know! The gift the Empress gave to the Lord isn't meant to wipe out the aristocratic families, is it?"
"To annihilate the powerful clans as a gift?"
"That's quite possible. It really is true that husband and wife are of one mind. Li Anlan massacred the powerful families in the capital, and now his wife has massacred the remaining powerful families' ancestral homes. Birds of a feather flock together!"
Everyone was slightly taken aback, but the more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and they couldn't help but stare in disbelief. This was just too ruthless!
After two purges, the power of the aristocratic families has been almost completely cut off, leaving only some remnants. That's fucking ruthless.
This is a great gift for our lord!
The group exchanged glances. So, the question was, how should they resolve this?
Gongsun Zan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Send a message back by carrier pigeon and wait for the lord's reply. We can't accept such a big gift! We don't need to sit idly by either. First, clear out all the counties outside Jiangling Commandery, then surround Jiangling Commandery and wait for the outcome."
Li Qiankun is now trapped, with no way to escape. All they need to do is surround them; they can't escape their lord's grasp.
Gao Shun looked westward and frowned, saying, "Now all that's left is Jiangling Commandery, and the Shu Region is in Great Ning's hands. We must seize these territories before our lord ascends the throne, or we'll jeopardize his important plans!"
"Don't worry, the carrier pigeon will only take less than a day to travel back and forth, it won't waste much time," Gongsun Zan glanced at him and smiled.