The East Sea's guardian, the mighty General Dang Kou, Dugu Ling, from a noble family, was beheaded by Liang Xiao's sword!
Madness!
Everyone stared blankly at Liang Xiao, and then at Dugu Ling's severed head rolling on the ground.
It was only when Dugu Ling's corpse heavily crashed to the ground that the crowd snapped back to reality!
This was truly an act of killing first and reporting later!
"General Dugu?!" The assembled generals' expressions changed drastically, their gazes turning vigilant towards Liang Xiao. Then, a tremor ran through their bodies!
Liang Xiao's expression was impassive, but his eyes blazed with killing intent as he swept over each officer.
"Who else wishes to become a lost soul beneath my sword?"
His stern words echoed in their ears, striking fear into the hearts of the Imperial Guards and the heroes of Mount Tian Shan alike, making them feel as if they had plunged into an ice cave!
The generals watched Liang Xiao nervously, feeling a chill race from their heels to the crowns of their heads, daring not to breathe.
His gaze was like that of an Asura who had walked out of the battlefield, cold-blooded, ruthless, and radiating killing intent...
"East Sea Guardian, General Dang Kou Dugu Ling committed three crimes, and his death is well deserved!"
"Crime one: For twelve years, he guarded the East Sea, preying on the common people, amassing power, and failing in his duty to suppress pirates, leading to frequent raids that plagued the East Sea for twelve years!"
"Crime two: He framed loyal officials and purged dissidents, forcing Nan Jiyun and others to venture into the sea alone to fight!"
"Crime three: Before the imperial decree, he disobeyed orders and refused to offer aid in the face of death!"
Liang Xiao's sharp words jolted Yang Huan and the others behind him.
This was someone from the most powerful noble family, the Dugu clan, a General Dang Kou, a fourth-rank official of the imperial court, and Liang Xiao had beheaded him with a single sword upon their first encounter!
With matters having come to this pass, no one dared to immediately try and persuade Liang Xiao, lest they diminish his imposing presence.
Liang Xiao walked to Dugu Ling's corpse and squatted down. He removed the half of the military tally and the palm-sized General Dang Kou seal from Dugu Ling's waist. Then, he took out the other half of the military tally from his own treasure pouch for comparison.
When the two halves of the military tally were combined, they formed a genuine tiger tally for the East Sea Naval Camp!
Raising the tiger tally, Liang Xiao declared sternly, "I, this Marquis, have been ordered to oversee the military and political affairs of the East Sea Navy, holding the Emperor's command sword, and I have the authority to kill first and report later. Do any of the officers have objections?"
The generals, having regained their senses, shook their heads repeatedly: "No, no objections..."
"Then, who among you still disobeys my leadership?" Liang Xiao asked with a smile.
"We obey! We obey!" The generals nodded like chicks pecking at grain, prostrating themselves and kowtowing.
Jian Qinwan and the others watched the generals with bewilderment.
Was it that easy to seize control of the East Sea's military power?
Normally, wouldn't there be a mutiny?
Did none of these people here have any loyalists to Dugu Ling? Were there no personal guards of Dugu Ling among these soldiers? Why didn't anyone rush forward? Was it simply because Liang Xiao had the Imperial Guards behind him?
At this moment, the surrounding soldiers were also pale-faced.
If even the generals were intimidated by Liang Xiao, what about them, mere soldiers!
No one could have imagined that the scholar who had recently gained renown, Marquis Anguo, would act so decisively and efficiently, beheading Dugu Ling with a single sword without the slightest hesitation!
Scholars were supposed to be physically weak, weren't they?
The soldiers even dared not face their inner thoughts: even without the Imperial Guards behind Liang Xiao, they would absolutely not have dared to make a move!
The aura Liang Xiao had displayed made the surrounding soldiers' hearts admit: Who would dare to step forward? They would surely die!
Luo Qingxue's heart pounded wildly. Far from being frightened by the spectacle of slaughter, she was nearly swooning with infatuation for Liang Xiao.
What decisiveness!
But soon, Luo Qingxue's thoughts returned.
That sword strike just now, how swift and precise, to behead someone with a single stroke!
Jian Qinwan looked at Liang Xiao, her gaze burning, as if recalling something.
Liang Xiao held the Emperor's command sword in his right hand and the military tally in his left. He said solemnly, "Hand over your respective unit tokens immediately and place them on the ground."
Fearing they would become the next Dugu Ling, the generals each took out their tokens and placed them on the ground before them.
In the Great Qian Empire, soldiers usually executed orders based on their tokens.
Liang Xiao instructed Yang Huan to assign dozens of heavily armed Imperial Guards to watch over each token, ensuring military control was maintained. Then, he announced loudly, "Who is the Army Marshal? Go and retrieve the troop deployments of the East Sea Navy, the enemy situation of recent years with the sea pirates, and the current state of the East Sea's military readiness, all of it!"
A middle-aged man crawled forward, trembling, and said, "Reporting to Marquis Anguo, it is this humble subordinate, Li Mou..."
Liang Xiao immediately urged him to go. Li Mou rushed into the military tent, retrieved all the intelligence Liang Xiao requested, and presented it with both hands, stammering, "Marquis Anguo, it is all here. This humble subordinate dares not conceal anything. Please review it..."
Liang Xiao nodded, "Li Mou, immediately notify all units to prepare to set out for the East Sea and clear out the pirates of the Chu Yun Kingdom!"
Everyone was shocked again: He had just arrived at the East Sea Naval Camp, hadn't even settled in yet, and he was already daring to lead troops into battle?
But at this moment, no one dared to voice any dissent. Li Mou obediently ran off to notify the unit messengers.
Liang Xiao surveyed the generals and said sternly, "I will overlook how you colluded with Dugu Ling in the past. You should know your own standing. If you wish to atone for your crimes, then lead your troops well in battle and provide support to Nan Jiyun and the others!"
The generals' hearts trembled. They were obedient and submissive, kneeling and not daring to look up throughout.
Seeing this, Jian Qinwan felt her heart leap out of her chest!
This rogue who courted women usually spoke so gently, but when he became fierce, he was so imposing...
"Follow me!"
With a command from Liang Xiao, he led them to the review stand.
On the review stand, tens of thousands of East Sea naval soldiers, hastily assembled, looked at each other in confusion.
They had just been informed: Dugu Ling had defied the imperial decree and was beheaded by Marquis Anguo Liang Xiao, his head still hanging on the review stand!
But at this moment, the generals of the East Sea Naval Camp were all obediently standing before Liang Xiao, and the soldiers dared not raise any further objections.
After all, Dugu Ling had been arrogant and tyrannical in the past, and he was not popular. Apart from his cronies, no one truly cared about his life or death, let alone who the commander was!
Liang Xiao's voice was stern and imposing as he publicly announced Dugu Ling's three crimes. The soldiers below were terrified.
The young noble in front of them was far more ruthless than they had imagined!
"Later, all officers and soldiers will accompany me on this campaign. Those who perform meritorious service in suppressing pirates will be richly rewarded by the imperial court and will not be mistreated. For every head of a Chu Yun Kingdom pirate, there will be at least one tael of silver; for a captain, ten times that amount; and for a ship's captain, a hundred times!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers below were all invigorated!
Who cared who led them, as long as meritorious service was rewarded!
Yang Huan was also deeply impressed by Liang Xiao at this moment, but he was equally worried.
The military power had been seized, but the campaign was being launched hastily. Setting aside whether Liang Xiao's military strategy was feasible, how could the reliability of the generals be assessed? If the command of any unit fell into the hands of an unreliable general, failing to suppress the bandits would be the least of it; they might even rebel!
Even Luo Qingxue, Jian Qinwan, Chen Shaoling, and the others were filled with concern, fearing that Liang Xiao might inadvertently provoke a rebellion among the generals or a mutiny within the army.
Liang Xiao then ordered people to fetch dozens of writing brushes, inkstones, paper, and ink.
Everyone was even more baffled.
With the army preparing to march, what did he want to do at this time? If he wanted to write, wasn't one set of writing materials enough?
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Liang Xiao looked at the group of generals and, in an irrefutable tone, commanded, "Each of you will transcribe 'Man Jiang Hong' from memory on the spot!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Qingxue, Chen Shaoling, and Yang Huan simultaneously exclaimed in admiration: "Brilliant!"
"Man Jiang Hong," which had been hailed by the literati of the Great Qian Empire as "a timeless masterpiece," had already been popularized nationwide. It was the poem that most resonated with the soldiers of the Great Qian. If these generals had even a shred of patriotism or concern for the people, they would surely be familiar with it!