At this moment, Zhirou suddenly understood: “We cannot emulate the Great Gan Saint Emperor and the Marquis of An Guo, gradually suppressing and devouring the aristocratic families and powerful clans. Someone must do these unsavory deeds, so Qin Lang is willing to bear all the infamy of future generations and the burden of life, making a final effort for a bright future for posterity. No matter what Qin Lang chooses, Zhirou will be with you.”
“Yes, I no longer care about future evaluations,” Qin Feng nodded with shame, hugging Zhirou tightly, his eyes full of tenderness.
He was unfortunate, yet also fortunate. At least his wife could understand his feelings and support him unswervingly.
The core remnants of the aristocratic families and powerful clans in the Great Liang Kingdom deeply loathed Qin Feng, but could only endure it, accepting the surveillance of the Xuan Guard and the Northern King’s Imperial Guard, and were even placed under house arrest.
Because Zhirou and Qin Feng treated the common people kindly, this power struggle was confined to the imperial court, and the populace became mere spectators, offering no judgment.
Even so, these aristocratic families and powerful clans were still unwilling to pledge allegiance to Great Gan, holding onto a glimmer of hope, believing that Qin Feng had already stopped, and as long as they endured and did not offend Qin Feng again.
For they knew their grave sins over the years, and their fate in Great Gan would be no different from that of the Dugu family. It was better to lie low here.
Qin Feng was already white-haired, and his life might not last long. Even if they were currently powerless to resist, they could wait for Qin Feng’s death to make a comeback!
Besides Zhirou, no one knew Qin Feng’s ultimate objective.
Ye Chengxiu, who was deeply trusted by Qin Feng, remained uninvolved and simply executed all the commands of the couple with unwavering loyalty.
In Ye Chengxiu’s heart, loyalty to the Qin Feng couple was equivalent to loyalty to Mu Cheng, and Mu Cheng was his lifelong faith.
Through the propaganda of the Great Liang newspapers, the people of Great Liang knew about the aristocratic families and powerful clans abandoning their duties. Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, denouncing these people as shameless and unconcerned about the populace.
The local landlords and gentry of the Great Liang Kingdom, who had initially benefited from Mu Xuan’s abolition of the poll tax system and had greatly consolidated land, were now impacted by the reintroduction of the poll tax. They had to relinquish some of their land, hating Qin Feng to the core, yet they had lost the support of the populace, making it difficult to incite rebellion.
Qin Feng had already foreseen that as long as the common people in all regions were guaranteed to have enough to eat, they would not support the landlords’ rebellion and the restoration of the old era without the poll tax system.
“By imperial decree, all official and gentry tax exemptions are abolished. Officials and gentry shall serve and pay taxes equally!”
A day later, another imperial edict from Zhirou spread, announced everywhere, shocking the entire nation!
The reason why the aristocratic families and powerful clans in the Great Liang Kingdom were rampant and unwilling to surrender to Great Gan was the unique official and gentry tax exemption privilege in Great Liang. Many aristocratic families and powerful clans, as well as some local landlords and gentry, enjoyed this privilege.
The Great Gan Kingdom had long abolished this privilege, while Great Liang still retained it. This was also why the civil and military officials had not completely turned against Mu Cheng back then, as this was their bottom line.
Even with the poll tax system, they could ensure that most farmland was not taxed, and then more and more people would transfer their land to their names, creating a “win-win situation” and allowing them to profit immensely.
But now that the imperial court had even abolished this privilege, it had stirred up a thousand waves.
Landlords and gentry across the country either took up arms with their private troops or secretly funded southern indigenous tribes and the Rejuvenation Cult, seeking a change of regime to restore the old system!
The Great Liang Kingdom faced internal and external threats, but under the cooperation of Qin Feng and the sole Prime Minister Cheng Qing, the capital's stability was maintained.
The Great Liang army, withdrawn from the Great Gan Kingdom, also received urgent military orders and rushed to the south to suppress the allied forces of the barbarians and the Rejuvenation Cult.
On the western continent, the Golden Sparrow Dynasty, under the guise of a “Crusade,” once again ignited a war with the Ayyubid Dynasty. After the Huns Empire, led by Attila, failed to persuade them, they finally decided to secretly support the Ayyubid Dynasty.
The Liang family army, engaged in mountain guerrilla warfare, also sold large quantities of iron ore and animal hides to Attila, under Liang Jing’s command, to support Attila in his fight against the Golden Sparrow Dynasty, which was secretly supported by the Celestial Sun tribe.
South of Yuzhang City, in the Jiangnan region, three thousand cavalry were assembled, awaiting Liang Xiao’s dispatch.
“Scout day and night, guard against enemy cavalry, and cut off the enemy’s supply lines as soon as possible!”
However, due to Gongsun Ye’s repeated insistence, Liang Xiao finally abandoned the idea of personally leading the troops.
Since discovering that the Jiaozhou allied forces carried ballistae, Gongsun Ye had been deeply worried that Liang Xiao would charge into battle at the slightest disagreement.
Liang Xiao also felt helpless about this, as not only Gongsun Ye was worried, but even Nan Jiyun and others, who were responsible for leading the charge, felt the same way.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of Liang Xiao dying on the battlefield, they could not accept it, even if such a thought was an offense to the Heavenly General.
The people of Great Gan could absolutely not bear the consequences of losing the Marquis of An Guo.
Liang Xiao had no choice but to stay at the military camp, commanding the infantry, and making preparations for the joint defense of the Yuzhang area, making the final preparations for the decisive battle.
After handling military affairs, Liang Xiao also received an urgent report from the capital.
“Transparent glass has been made?”
Liang Xiao looked at the detailed process flow sent by Xiao Qing, surprised and delighted. He immediately went to the depths of the military camp and arranged for the accompanying craftsmen to attempt firing it.
He was already eager to try making a simple telescope, which could significantly improve the army’s vision.
On this day, the Zhongzhou cavalry conducted guerrilla warfare fifty miles south of Yuzhang City.
This cavalry unit consisted of five thousand men, led by Yue Yun, divided into five teams. Five cavalry generals, led by Yue Feng, each commanded a thousand men, supporting each other.
As they deepened their reconnaissance, the cavalry team finally discovered a supply convoy of ten thousand men.
“The enemy is indeed preparing military provisions here, let the cavalry continue to raid our army!”
Upon hearing the urgent report from the scout, Yue Yun immediately led his troops to raid Jiaozhou’s supply convoy.
This supply convoy of ten thousand men, composed of five thousand carters and five thousand infantry from the Celestial Sun tribe, faced the surprise attack of the Zhongzhou cavalry and could only choose to defend their positions.
The horns blared across the battlefield, and smoke billowed from the center of the Jiaozhou supply convoy, clearly signaling for reinforcements.
The Zhongzhou cavalry, utilizing their superior mobility, maneuvered around the edge of the battlefield, and finally broke through the enemy’s defenses on the west side, where the supply convoy was weakest. Before the enemy infantry could return to reinforce them, they quickly set fire to various supplies.
The location was too close to the enemy, and these provisions could hardly be transported back to Yuzhang. They could only be burned to ashes.
With the grain and fodder burned, the Celestial Sun tribe’s forces were furious and enraged. They cursed Yue Yun’s troops in their unique language, but were powerless to do anything.
“Big Brother, should we seize this opportunity to eliminate this unit!”
Yue Feng approached Yue Yun and asked.
Yue Yun shook his head: “According to scout intelligence, a celestial sun cavalry unit is on its way. We have burned the provisions, so we should withdraw while we can!”
The Zhongzhou cavalry, taking advantage of the enemy’s disarray as they fought the fires, shot arrows at the enemy, half of which were carefully prepared fire arrows.
To burn the enemy’s provisions, the cavalrymen had each put two bottles of cooking oil in their saddlebags, specifically for splashing.
The Jiaozhou troops clearly did not expect the Great Gan cavalry to dare to venture so deep. For convenience, they had placed the horses’ fodder and the soldiers’ rations together, which allowed the Zhongzhou cavalry’s burning to succeed easily.
The fire, fueled by the wind, raged across the battlefield in just fifteen minutes.
The shouts of killing and the neighing of warhorses from the Celestial Sun cavalry could be heard in the distance. Achilles, at the forefront, gritted his teeth and charged directly at Yue Yun.
The Zhongzhou cavalry, knowing they were outnumbered, rapidly retreated.