Ninety thousand troops deployed, ninety thousand surrendered!
The battle midway through Liang Xiao's pacification of Xichuan caused another sensation, spreading further and more miraculously!
Xiao Qing, listening to Ding Wuyi recite memorial reports in the imperial study, received the news and was filled with joy.
Wang Canghai, Zhuo Zifang, and others sitting opposite him were also ecstatic.
Ninety thousand surrendered!
This meant that with one side's decline and the other's rise, it was a devastating blow to Helian Heng's Xichuan rebel army!
"Your Majesty, Yiping, Changjiang, and Jiange can continue to enter Sichuan from these three routes!" Zhuo Zifang said with a trembling voice.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Marquis Anguo is truly a divine being sent from heaven!" Gu Hong, Mu Hong, He Jingyun, and others beside him also congratulated Xiao Qing.
They could already imagine how much encouragement this good news would bring to the Great Qian Dynasty, which was undergoing a major overhaul of its officials!
The Great Qian army and its people would know that without those aristocratic families, the nation could still prosper, and the army could win battles!
While Xiao Qing was delighted, she suddenly remembered something and looked at the officials in the imperial study.
"I am pregnant, and I am the only one in the imperial family. Although it is considered inauspicious, one must consider all eventualities. My subject Liang is patriotic and deeply loved by the Great Qian army and people, and all of you have seen it..."
Everyone's hearts sank, and they looked at Xiao Qing nervously.
Xiao Qing's expression and words were more solemn than ever: "If I were to pass away unfortunately, and if there is an heir, the heir can ascend the throne, and my subject Liang will serve as the regent, with all of you as auxiliary ministers. If I were to unfortunately die in childbirth, resulting in the loss of both mother and child, and the imperial bloodline were to be severed, everyone should obey my and the late emperor's will, announce it to the world, and enthrone my subject Liang as the new ruler of Great Qian, without objection."
"Your Majesty..." Everyone wanted to speak but hesitated.
"I am not abdicating. You should understand my concerns. If the worst were to happen, he is my husband, he has made achievements for all generations, and he is fully qualified." Xiao Qing sighed.
The officials remained silent, especially those other than the three auxiliary ministers and Zhuo Zifang.
They had long expected Xiao Qing to make such an arrangement, but facing it now was truly difficult to accept.
What if this imperial decree prompted Liang Xiao to plot against Xiao Qing and seek to establish himself?
It was not that they did not trust Liang Xiao, but life was long, and who could predict the future?
As if seeing through their concerns, Xiao Qing smiled and said, "His ambition has never been for imperial power. In fact, even this decree that is about to be written fills me with immense guilt. Because I know he never wanted to be emperor, but if I were to die unexpectedly, he would, for my sake, accept the burden of this empire, and reluctantly trouble himself with its affairs..."
Having said this, Xiao Qing finally couldn't control herself and broke down in tears.
Gu Hong and the others were infected and couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty will surely live a long and prosperous life, but Your Majesty's considerations are thorough, and your subjects will surely give their full support!"
Although they were deeply impressed by Liang Xiao, Xiao Qing had given them the opportunity to transition from aristocratic families to their own households. From the bottom of their hearts, they recognized this empress and naturally did not wish for any misfortune to befall her.
With tears in her eyes, Xiao Qing drafted the content of the imperial decree. After the ministers had inspected it, she finally felt relieved.
Only Xiao Qing, the three auxiliary ministers, and Zhuo Zifang remained in the imperial study. As they listened to Xiao Qing's cries, they felt even more distressed.
Having been pregnant for several months, Xiao Qing did not regret it, but she was clearly growing more fearful, afraid that she would never see Liang Xiao again, and worried that Liang Xiao would lose her forever, or even never have the chance to see her.
"My lord has virtue and is destined for good fortune. With the assistance of the Divine Doctor, there is no need to worry too much. You should focus on resting and nurturing the baby," Ning Xuejun comforted her gently.
Xiao Qing merely nodded silently, still unable to stop her tears.
Zhuo Zifang's eyes flickered, and he consoled, "What Your Majesty worries about most is dragging Liang Xiao down if something were to happen to her. But the person who understands Liang Xiao best in this world is Your Majesty. With Liang Xiao, and Liang Xiao with Your Majesty, neither will feel alone. Your Majesty is already the happiest woman in the world, and Liang Xiao is the happiest man in the world. You should be happy, what is there to worry about?"
Wang Canghai gave Zhuo Zifang a meaningful glance, feeling a sense of admiration.
If anyone in this world understood Liang Xiao the most besides Xiao Qing, it would undoubtedly be this Lord Zhuo Ling. If Zhuo Zifang had not said that Liang Xiao was hiding his true abilities, Xiao Qing might not have disguised herself and sought out Liang Xiao.
Zhuo Zifang's comfort was just right.
Only then did Xiao Qing break into a smile, gently stroking her increasingly large belly, and murmured to herself, "Peacefully, until your father comes home..."
The group of old officials watched this scene and finally smiled with relief.
South of the capital, the Dugu, Ouyang, and He families had already sold their assets and converted them into bank notes and gold for easy transport.
The three families rushed day and night to Jiaozhou, fearing Liang Xiao's sudden return to the capital.
Xiao Qing readily approved their resignations. They had lost the possibility of forcing Xiao Qing to compromise and no longer had the opportunity to retaliate against Liang Xiao. They could only flee the capital as soon as possible before Liang Xiao returned, lest he devise some new scheme to deal with them.
"From now on, the He family of Jiangnan will become the new He family of the capital. The ancestor of the He family was clearly our house slave back then..." He Wanli's face was filled with resentment and unwillingness.
Dugu Xiao gritted his teeth and said, "If we had known this day would come, we should have turned against them back then. We wouldn't have been forced to donate money to show our loyalty. Perhaps we could have taken advantage of Liang Xiao and the incompetent emperor not yet being fully established to force the incompetent emperor to compromise!!"
The three major aristocratic families were filled with regret.
Everything was a foregone conclusion. Now, they could only seek refuge with the Southern King of Jiaozhou.
If Xichuan could become independent, could they enter Xichuan and continue to cooperate with the Helian family to manage Xichuan?
"I wonder if the Helian family succeeded. I heard that Helian Heng harbors ambitions of usurpation. If so, he could coordinate with the Southern King, and with the help of the Peacock Dynasty, it would be enough to sever Great Qian's southwestern passage," Dugu Qun muttered.
Just then, a fast horse approached from a distance with an urgent report: "Family head! This is bad!"
Everyone looked closely and saw that it was a guard from the Dugu family.
"News from the capital! Liang Xiao appeared in Hanzhong, and Helian Heng's troops attacking Jiange were caught off guard by Liang Xiao, resulting in ninety thousand surrenders!!"
"Impossible!!" Everyone was shocked and enraged.
Liang Xiao's appearance in Hanzhong might be due to his unpredictable nature and divine skill in warfare.
But how could Helian Heng, who was well-positioned in Jiange, be defeated to the point of ninety thousand surrendering!
If the surrendered troops alone numbered ninety thousand, the casualties... would the Helian family be completely disgraced?
Dugu Liang grabbed the guard's collar and roared, "Tell me this is false news!!"
No one hated Liang Xiao more than Dugu Liang. In his eyes, Liang Xiao and Zhang Yang had stepped on him to get ahead. The theft of their quyuan plows was originally a minor matter.
"It... it's true. The capital is abuzz with it, and the people are celebrating!" the guard said with a tearful face.
"Pfft!!"
Dugu Liang spat out a mouthful of blood towards the sky and fell backward. From then on, he never woke up.
Liang Xiao, thousands of miles away, after having previously angered Ouyang Ji to death, had now also enraged and killed the former Minister of Works, Dugu Liang.
The guard who delivered the news, along with his entire family, was arrested by the enraged Dugu Qun. Upon arriving in Jiaozhou, they were taken to be buried with Dugu Liang as sacrifices...
Liang Xiao's army was already approaching Jiange, and the news spread throughout the Great Qian Dynasty, astonishing the entire nation!