A Long-Awaited Retaliation

A thousand miles away, a cavalry regiment of ten thousand men was annihilated, and cheers echoed for miles inside Yanmen Pass.

War is so magical; good and evil coexist without conflict.

Without the victory at Dragon City, the ancestral homeland, the various armies of the Great Han Dynasty would undoubtedly have been forced into a desperate defensive posture upon learning of the annihilation of Li Guang's cavalry regiment.

But this localized, small-scale war changed everything.

In particular, Wei Qing and his troops, with only eight hundred men, easily captured a key location in the Xiong State.

When Wei Qing stood on the high platform and recounted the rewards as instructed by the new emperor, the soldiers and officers of the Xiliu Camp and Qiangbing Camp, who had been cooped up at Yanmen Pass for many years, exclaimed in waves.

The officials of Yanmen Pass toiled their entire lives, yet their achievements paled in comparison to the victory of these eight hundred men in a single battle.

Cheng Bushi and Li Guang guarded the frontier for decades, but their military achievements were few and far between, making it difficult for them to be ennobled. Wei Qing the other hand, was very likely to be ennobled in a single battle.

This contrast made it Cheng Bushi, who was sitting on the high platform, to remain seated. He whispered to someone that he wished he could be born thirty years later.

"It works really well!"

Standing on one side of the city wall, Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the new emperor who was clutching his chest.

"Don't speak!"

Every time Wei Qing loudly proclaimed the reward, the new emperor's heart ached.

The ten-year tax exemption for the soldiers' families and monetary rewards were just the tip of the iceberg. What truly pained the new emperor was that the value of what he had gained from the Dragon City ancestral land was still unknown. He was already giving rewards based on the approximate estimated value, with many of the rewards involving cultivation pills and cultivation manuals.

These rewards are real funds that the imperial court needs to provide, but whether the rewards from the ancestral land of Dragon City can be converted into cash is unknown.

It is irrational to bestow rewards without understanding the gains of war, but in the face of emotions, nothing else matters.

The new emperor was able to stand firm only because he saw the passionate faces of so many people.

Every face screaming at the top of its lungs is a reward for this gesture.

This is the first victory. Once the rewards for war are confirmed, corresponding rules can be established in the future.

With short-term emotional stimuli and the determination of long-term interests at stake, the new emperor's mind was indeed very complex.

He felt a mix of anxiety and uncertainty, unsure how to respond to Zhang Xuezhou's teasing.

In short, only the future can prove the outcome; at present, he lacks the answer.

"If you're so concerned about losing just one ancestral land, what will happen to the Xiong State with its five ancestral lands and three Sacred Land? Won't you be full of complaints then?" Zhang Xuezhou reminded him.

"I have no gains or losses. What could I possibly gain or lose? I'm not short of money, I don't lack cultivation resources, and I certainly don't lack cultivation Technique Method. I..."

"You must be far inferior to be so petty!"

The new emperor repeatedly denied it, but when Zhang Xuezhou uttered a sarcastic remark, he felt he had swallowed all his words.

He personally lacked nothing; the top power of the Great Han Dynasty was enough to grant him the best treatment. However, whenever the new emperor wanted to cultivate talent, he became penniless.

He lacked too much, and he faced too many opponents. Without a million elite soldiers and dozens or even hundreds of capable generals, this deficiency would always exist, and the new emperor would always feel that he had too little.

"Do you know any way to get rich quickly?" The new emperor finally sighed, "I really want to get rich!"

"Selling animal hides can make you rich quick, so why don't we try selling a different kind of hide next time?"

"This is no good. I don't know which bastard is targeting me, but there are so many White Deer coins on the market, it's impossible to tell the real ones from the fakes. Even I'm confused after looking at them. I can't do this business twice!"

"Let Zhufu Yan think of another way; he's got a lot of clever ideas!"

"I'll ask him again when I get back to Chang'an City!"

After chatting with Zhang Xuezhou for a while, the new emperor felt his sense of gain and loss had subsided considerably.

His gaze quickly shifted, no longer fixed on the treasures hidden in the ancestral land of Dragon City, but instead turned to other secret locations in the Xiong State, as well as the alternatives within the Great Han territory.

Wealth and resources do indeed need to be distributed more prudently, so that the poor do not perish and the rich do not perish. The imperial court, in particular, needs to increase its revenue significantly so that it can reward people with real money.

This is a game of chess, not just a war or a reward, much less a matter of cultivating a few confidants.

Only by truly achieving a strong military, a prosperous nation, and a peaceful people can the Great Han Dynasty stand at the pinnacle of victory.

The new emperor needs to promote development from a strategic perspective so that those who make contributions can be rewarded and everyone can strive for advancement.

"The little lamb seems to be doing quite well at the border trade market!"

Zhang Xuezhou's repeated persuasive words gradually calmed the new emperor, who eventually put his mind at ease and stopped paying attention to the extraordinary reward. He also stopped thinking too much about how to follow the old precedent in order to appease the excessively high expectations of the soldiers.

As long as the imperial court is wealthy enough, even if the Great Han army does not seize any property during the war, the court can still provide normal rewards.

This requires the imperial court to accumulate sufficient wealth, and how to acquire wealth has become a pressing issue. He must solve this problem, rather than waiting until the future when he is unable to offer rewards.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, I remember there's something very important!"

After chatting idly with Zhang Xuezhou for a while, the new emperor's thoughts returned to normal, and he finally remembered something very important.

"It's one thing that we lost the battle, but this victory is destined to be met with retaliation. Do you think the Daoist Lord might use Incantation Technique, or perhaps he will come to Chang'an City in person?"

The Great Han Dynasty took the initiative to attack, no longer defending itself as it had in the past. Being defeated and destroyed was one thing, but winning would undoubtedly trigger retaliation.

Although it appears that a 10,000-strong cavalry regiment of the Great Han Dynasty was wiped out, the ancestral land of Dragon City was of extremely high importance.

Even disregarding the treasure Chanyu Junch en in the secret place, those who could enter the secret place must be young elites from various tribes, belonging to the direct line of the Xiong State's nobility. The capture or killing of these people would almost have a generational break, and would inevitably cause turmoil among the Xiong State's high-ranking officials.

One side sacrificed ordinary soldiers and cavalry, while the other side sacrificed noble descendants. Although the number of casualties on both sides seemed disproportionate, many people believed that the latter would suffer greater losses.

The new emperor, having calmed down, had to consider the consequences, and he had been waiting far too long for this revenge.

"How is Nanminghuo's cultivation going?"

"Currently, 244 Confucian scholars have successfully completed their cultivation and have been assigned to guard the vicinity of the Prime Minister's residence. Twelve imperial historians are conducting continuous patrols of the Prime Minister's residence using their spiritual energy, and will report and warn others if any issues are discovered!"

"Looks like we can give it a shot!"

The new emperor dealt with the Daoist Lord using both soft and hard tactics.

If the Dao Lord comes in his true form, he will be greeted with a rain of arrows, and he himself will also launch an aggressive attack.

If the Dao Lord comes in his Yang Soul form, these Confucian scholars skilled in Nanming Fire will become ticking time bombs. Casting a wide net may eventually catch some fish. As long as the Nanming Fire touches the Dao Lord's Yang Soul form, it might teach him an unforgettable lesson.

The battle of Dragon City could very well provoke Daojun to retaliate, which would also be an opportunity for the Great Han Dynasty to kill Daojun.

The new emperor pondered this over and over. Once his mind calmed down, he felt a surge of urgency to return to Chang'an City and see if he could wait for the Daoist Lord to arrive.