"Your Majesty! Our army is at the front lines, and we are in a predicament! If we implicate the southern barbarians, we might give Qin Feng an excuse to depose Your Majesty and purge us all! After all, there is no longer any force in the capital and rear capable of restraining Qin Feng, and our main forces are tied down by the Da Gan Kingdom's south. We cannot return in haste..." Yan Ming said with a mournful face.
Mu Xuan's face turned ashen, and he angrily slammed his fist on the table, cracking it.
"Can we have the Hui Chun Sect assassinate that dog thief?!"
"The Xuan Wei are originally adept at intelligence gathering and assassination, and Qin Gou himself is overly cautious, not even allowing outsiders to interfere with his cooking. There is no opportunity! The only way now is to pray for a great victory at the front lines, and we will quietly leave the capital and return with our troops to defend the Emperor." Yan Ming explained.
Mu Xuan nodded helplessly.
Returning to the Regent's mansion, Qin Feng was covered in sweat. He clasped Zhi Rou's hand tightly and said softly, "Zhi Rou, I will have the Xuan Wei escort you and your child to Da Gan. The Emperor of Da Gan and the Marquis of An Guo will surely take good care of you..."
Zhi Rou shook her head. "On our wedding day, you promised me that we would stay together for the rest of our lives and never abandon each other. If the empire collapses, we as husband and wife will face death together to inform the people, and it should not be you alone."
Qin Feng understood, and could only sigh.
Without the support of the armies secretly controlled by the aristocratic families, the various regions of the Da Liang Kingdom were quickly taken over by Qin Feng's forces.
Local officials were supervised by the Zhen Bei Army and the Beiwang Imperial Guards, trembling, and for the time being, they dared not engage in corruption or cause trouble.
The Da Liang Kingdom had a standing army of 350,000. Mu Xuan and the aristocratic families had urgently recruited 50,000 from outside the capital, and now nearly 150,000 were still under Qin Feng's control. The remaining 50,000 were wavering, supporting whoever occupied the region and paid their salaries.
As for the 200,000 troops at the front lines, most were merely fulfilling their duties and upholding imperial authority, not necessarily truly supporting the aristocratic families.
Qin Feng finally abandoned his usual easygoing demeanor. After luring the enemy out, he took control of the Six Ministries with thunderous methods, appointed himself Minister of Personnel, and reorganized the government.
Even if the aristocratic families wanted to cause trouble now, without military support, they could at most choose to resign.
From then on, Qin Feng no longer cared about his posthumous reputation, only cautiously preserving the imminent crumbling empire and the people who were about to fall into dire straits.
Originally, the common people were unaware of the political turmoil, but after the newspaper propaganda, they were also shocked.
The Regent, acting on the late Emperor's will, presided over the state, publicly rebuked the new Emperor, took control of the Ministry of Revenue, opened granaries, and distributed relief to the people?
"It seems our new emperor is not a good emperor..."
The common people secretly discussed at home. Unlike their support for Mu Cheng in the past, they did not support Mu Xuan, but instead showed a trend of fully supporting Qin Feng.
At least Qin Feng did not create excuses to extort their assets and gave them the opportunity to eat their fill. Even if he wanted to be emperor, it was fine, it was that simple!
The prefectures and counties of Jiangnan, especially the important cities like Jinling, Qiantang, and Luzhou, faced joint attacks from the Da Liang Kingdom and the Jiaozhou troops. The situation was unclear, and they dared not launch a rash attack.
The trebuchets, triple-bow crossbows, and numerous Shen Bi bows mounted on the city walls prevented the enemy from approaching!
"Is this the crossbow from the Da Gan Kingdom? It's damn hard to fight!!"
Xiao Chang, Jin Pao Wang, Jian Bei, Gongyang He, and others were helpless against the impregnable city of Luzhou.
Luzhou could not be taken after repeated attempts, and thousands were killed by Shi Liuyun's Jiangnan cavalry, causing the Jiaozhou troops to halt their advance.
Even the "Elephant Soldiers" brought by the Jiaozhou troops could not inflict significant casualties on the enemy.
The elephants' hides could not withstand the barrage of the Shen Bi bows and triple-bow crossbows!
Especially the triple-bow crossbows, which could even use iron spearheads as bolts!
The Jiangnan forces displayed unprecedented resilience, and within the ranks were ten thousand Da Gan Zhen Wei reinforcements from the north...
Gongsun Ye, in the Jinling area, and Zhuo Ying, in the Luzhou area, supported each other. The route was lined with scouts and sentries, and continuous supplies were being ferried across the Yangtze River from the rear, ready to reinforce all parts of Jiangnan at any time.
The Jiaozhou warlords and the Da Liang Kingdom's army were bogged down in a war of attrition by the Jiangnan forces, unable to achieve a decisive victory.
"Why does it seem like the Jiangnan army is growing in numbers the more we fight? Must my ambition end here?" Xiao Chang said with great reluctance, urging the attack.
Arrows rained down like locusts, and stones were continuously hurled, causing chaos among the Jiaozhou army...
And in the southwest of Jiaozhou, the army of the Peacock Dynasty was marching at full speed towards Jiaozhou!
Deep in the desert, Liang Xiao, after understanding the intelligence from the scouts, confirmed the safety of the desert and then returned to Yanzhou with peace of mind, preparing to mobilize his troops to reinforce the western borders at any time.
The Shadow Guards returned by flying horse to the Hetao region. Taking advantage of the brief warm weather, they released carrier pigeons, directly to the capital and Yanzhou.
"Your father chased away the Xianbei people again~ General Tian showed great might~"
In the Western Palace Villa, Liang Xiao's wives were overjoyed. Xiao Qing, holding their eldest son Xiao Xun, couldn't help but peck his little face and giggle.
Ning Xue Jun and Luo Qing Xue looked at each other and smiled.
As long as it was related to Liang Xiao, she would always be a girlish fangirl, forever young...
"Mother, I want a peck too~" Xiao Qian raised his eyebrows and pouted in a childish voice, finally getting his wish.
Liang Hong Xue and Liang Cang Sheng, who had been with them day and night, also learned to raise their eyebrows from Xiao Qian and asked their mothers for pecks, which never failed.
In the western regions, the Gui Shuang Dynasty's morale was low. Mars and Achilles gritted their teeth but were helpless.
"It seems the Da Gan Kingdom knows how to deal with our ballistae. What exactly are those giant ballistae that can shoot a thousand paces?" Mars said with a dark face, feeling his dignity shattered.
The triple-bow crossbows specifically targeted their ballistae, and no matter how they hid, it was difficult to approach.
Even with iron plates and iron shields placed in front, they still had to face the enemy's trebuchets.
But the real problem was that the Gui Shuang Dynasty, due to its long expedition, could not establish a supply line capable of supporting more than 200,000 troops within a few months, and thus could not fully mobilize its entire army.
A large number of Gui Shuang Dynasty slaves and troops were still on their way, but if they could not breach this Yumenguan Pass, they would only waste military rations and return in vain.
"The Da Gan Kingdom is fighting on multiple fronts and will collapse faster than the Gui Shuang Dynasty! The desert, the western borders, Xichuan, Jiangnan, Liaodong, even the sea has Japanese pirates! Our Tian Ri tribe has gathered resources from all continents, and Da Gan's borders are all ablaze with war. There's no reason why they can withstand it better than us! As soon as this pass is broken, the western borders will naturally fall! Order the troops to continue the fierce assault!" Mars sneered after understanding the intelligence from all sides.
The troops on the western front launched another fierce assault, and were repelled again...
The soldiers on the western front, led by Lu Yi, fiercely repelled the invaders, while simultaneously receiving a continuous supply of crossbow bolts and military provisions from the northern and Xichuan regions.
On this day, Liang Xiao finally arrived in Yanzhou.
Upon learning of the great victory in the desert, the entire region was abuzz with excitement.
"Our Da Gan's Twin Stars! The Marquis of An Guo and General Tian have joined forces again to sweep away the barbarians for Da Gan!!"
The common people cheered with joy.
Liang Xiao also learned the news from the capital.
His Shuang'er had actually recovered the Imperial Seal of the Qin Dynasty?!