With near-precise location tracking, the Great Liang army was virtually invincible. In just half a day, the entire Flying Hero Pass fell into Great Liang's hands, and even the city gate flags were replaced.
By the time the battlefield was cleaned up, it was already dark, but the smiles in the eyes of the generals were still undisguised.
This was a resounding victory. After several days of hunger and torture, the remaining Zhennan soldiers posed no threat whatsoever and were easily overwhelmed.
Seeing the smiles on their faces, Li Ru couldn't help but nod in approval. These guys had been holding it in for so long; keeping it bottled up would have caused big problems sooner or later.
Now that he's finally vented, that's definitely a great thing, but the people from Zhennan are probably not feeling so good.
He laughed and said, "Gentlemen, are you satisfied now?"
"Hahaha, this battle was truly exhilarating! The enemy was utterly powerless to resist!" Lü Bu laughed heartily. His Sky Piercer had killed no fewer than two hundred people today, as easily as slicing melons and chopping vegetables.
Under these circumstances, the Bingzhou Legion killed many enemies and suffered almost zero losses of its own. It was a great victory, and how could it not be exhilarating!
Although Li Ru took the major credit, he still managed to claim quite a few of these minor credits.
"The strategist has done a great service this time, and we should all benefit from it!"
"This battle was the easiest; the enemy was almost driven mad by hunger, and their fighting strength was practically zero."
"The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the strategist has really pulled off a brilliant move this time. Zhennan probably hates the strategist to death."
"Hahaha, who cares if it's Zhennan Zhennan not. Now that Flying Hero Pass is in our hands, taking over the Zhennan Kingdom is just around the corner, and there will be no more Zhennan!"
The others nodded in agreement. They had made a considerable gain; although many enemies had been driven away, many others had managed to survive.
Unfortunately, these people didn't have time to escape, and they were caught in a double whammy.
Previously, they were somewhat envious of Li Ru for taking the lead in one fell swoop, but now they felt comfortable and even grateful to Li Ru.
After all, these were his own personal guards. To capture such a strategic location as Flying Hero Pass with such minimal casualties was a remarkable achievement for Li Ru, and this was no joke.
Zhang Liao laughed:
At this moment, the members of the Net) handed over a stack of names, which were none other than the results of this great battle.
Zhang Liao took the book and gasped in shock, exclaiming, "My God! The casualties in Zhennan this time have reached 1.3 million! This has absolutely taken half of Zhennan's life!"
According to the data, Zhennan lost less than 200,000 enemy soldiers and nearly 300,000 were captured, meaning that nearly 800,000 people disappeared in the flood.
Some residents, because they lived far away and were not affected by the flood, evacuated in advance and were not included in the count.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. The strategist's move had wiped out Zhennan's army of over a million with almost no effort, effectively crippling Zhennan.
This is an army of over a million. Even if you have many able-bodied civilians, it's still a very large number. How many millionaires does a country have? This is absolutely the entirety of Zhennan's resources.
Now that everything has been wiped out, Zhennan will probably have no power to fight back.
A murderous glint flashed in Guan Yu's phoenix eyes as he sneered, "Without these million men, the Second Prince of Zhennan and Zan Rihong still dared to plot a coup? They're utterly fools!"
He hated betrayal more than anything in his life. These two were utterly disloyal, unjust, and unfilial. He would make sure they lost their lives.
"Hehe, speaking of which, I also find this absurd. Originally, we were planning to use the eldest prince to control the emperor and command the princes, but now a real king has appeared. This is just unbelievable!" Qi Jiguang said, somewhat amused and exasperated.
This is truly outrageous. Zhennan must have had incredibly bad luck to have suffered such a misfortune.
Zhang Liao nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Whether we can use the emperor to command the feudal lords is no longer important. After Zhennan's crushing defeat this time, there are less than 100,000 troops left."
Even with an emergency conscription, it's too late to help in a crisis, so this father and son are no longer of much use.
Compared to Nan Ke, Prince Nan Yiming is more obedient. Let him follow you in attacking the remaining three passes of Zhennan.
At this point, Zhennan was essentially powerless to resist, and all these calculations were practically meaningless.
The only advantage Nan Yiming has is that he can get more prisoners of war, which can be used for the next phase of construction, but they don't really have much other use.
Not to mention Nan Ke, that guy is now known as the disgrace of Zhennan!
Previously, the Net intelligence reported that after the Second Nan Yu ascended the throne, he began to slander his father, placing all the blame for the defeat on Nan Ke.
Now, in the eyes of the people of Zhennan, Nan Ke has gone from being the old king to a useless piece of trash who caused Zhennan's downfall. Countless people who have lost their loved ones are filled with hatred for him. If this guy goes back now, he will definitely be ganged up on and beaten.
"Good!"
Li Ru wholeheartedly agreed. The situation was unpredictable, and given Zhennan's extraordinary losses this time, he no longer needed any special methods.
He laughed and said, "Indeed, there's no need for further measures. We received news earlier that Zhou Yu has already landed and begun attacking the southwestern and western territories of Zhennan. Zhennan is beyond saving."
This practically sealed Zhennan's fate; for them to turn the tide was virtually impossible. With Zhou Yu's strength and his million-strong army, Zhennan's annihilation was imminent.
Zhang Liao nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "Speed is of the essence in war. Let's rest for a day and set off at dawn tomorrow to completely capture Zhennan!"
Now that Zhennan has suffered two major blows—a crushing defeat and a rebellion—this is the perfect time to attack him. If we wait any longer, they'll probably have to urgently conscript soldiers, which would be a real problem.
Instead of waiting, it's better to resolve this quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications.
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone's eyes lit up; this was a direct, final act of annihilation, and the destruction of Zhennan was already on its countdown.
Li Ru exclaimed excitedly, "That makes sense! A swift victory is the best policy. Also, send someone to deliver the message to His Majesty, so that he can be pleased as well!"
After taking Zhennan, the East is now truly a unified entity, entirely composed of the Great Liang system, which is definitely a cause for celebration.
Once we take down Zhennan, this obstacle, the western lands will be wide open, and His Majesty will be very pleased.
With the East unified, the next step will be a clash between the East and West, with the existence of the Land of the Far West also involved. That would be the dawn of a great era, and just thinking about it is incredibly exciting.