A new phase

In his dream, Feng Chengdao dreamed of leading troops into Luoyang, striding through the Linde Hall of Luoyang Palace.

Gao Yuan, The Emperor Zhao Ji, and others knelt on the ground, shouting 'Long live the The Emperor!'

But as he walked, he suddenly felt a chill, and his clothes vanished into thin air.

Then, to his horror, he discovered his elder brother, Feng Chengqian, holding a knife to his neck.

'My dear younger brother, I am so lonely. Come and keep me company quickly.'

Just as Feng Chengqian was about to strike, Feng Chengdao finally woke up in terror.

Then he found the scene upon waking even more terrifying, suspecting he was still in a dream. He slapped himself hard across the face, so hard he saw stars.

'Ah! That hurts! This isn't a dream...'

Confirming it wasn't a dream, he covered his face and glared at the iron tower of a man before him, shouting with a fierce but weak voice:

'Who are you? Trespassing into my bedchamber—don't you know this is a capital offense punishable by extermination of the entire family?'

From behind the Iron Mask, a cold voice came:

'His Highness the Crown Prince of the King of Nanyue, our Grand Commander Xue invites you. Since you're awake, let's go!'

Feng Chengdao, stark naked, was carried by several soldiers to the square in front of the palace.

'Thud...'

Feng Chengdao was thrown onto the cold ground, landing in a daze. Wearing only his undergarments, he looked like a plucked pig at that moment.

All along the way, he had thought there was unrest in the city. Only now did he realize this wasn't unrest—it was clearly the Qian Army entering the city.

The vast palace square was now filled with kneeling people. Even Feng Pu, who was bedridden, was tied to a stretcher and carried out.

'Is everyone here? Let me introduce myself. I am Xue Linfeng, Grand Commander of the Lingnan Circuit under the Duke of Xicheng Commandery, Division Commander of the Second Division of the Beiwei Army, Central Corps.'

Xue Linfeng paused, allowing everyone a moment to digest this, then continued:

'I suppose you all understand what has happened. Panyu City is now under our control;

I hope you cooperate well and identify each other. We will only deal with the chief culprits of the Feng Family. As for the others, they will be properly resettled.'

After a moment of silence, as a palace maid began to speak up and identify others, the scene quickly became lively.

Soon, Feng Pu, Feng Chengdao, Feng Pu's underage illegitimate son Feng An, and Feng Pu's cousin, Marquis of Panyu Feng Shang, were all identified.

As for the women, most were deeply bound to the Feng Family, so naturally they couldn't receive the treatment of palace maids being sent home with money.

Of course, these women, at most in their thirties, wouldn't be wasted either.

In the end, they would all become concubines for the meritorious soldiers, including Zhao Meng, Xia Luqi, Ma Song, and Mu Sheng.

For these women, this might actually be the best outcome, ensuring at least food and clothing for the rest of their lives.

By noon, the city had been pacified.

Outside the city, Mu Sheng led the Xiaoguo Army, escorting a large number of captives and supplies back.

For those Southern Yue Army soldiers who wanted to return home, as long as they surrendered their weapons and armor, Mu Sheng chose to show leniency.

But as for the Powerful Families families, he didn't spare a single one, escorting them all back.

Feng Pu's rebellion and establishment of the Nanyue Kingdom—if the Feng Family were the primary war criminals, these people were the secondary ones.

According to the Laws of the Great Qian, all of them were to have their families exterminated, with even earthworms split in half and eggs shaken until the yolks scattered.

But who could blame Gao Yuan for his merciful heart? At least the young women wouldn't die and would have food and clothing for the rest of their lives.

As for the men, Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered to kill them either. He had long made arrangements for these people.

As per Gao Yuan's instructions, five days after occupying Panyu, Wu Guiyi arrived in Panyu.

Then, he and Wan Sanqian boarded a sea vessel with these captives and a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels.

Along with them, they brought a memorial requesting merit—a memorial requesting merit for Zhao Xiyao.

In the city, Xue Linfeng was now extremely busy, though judging by his expression, he was exhilarated.

He hadn't expected that just Panyu City alone would yield such great gains.

Without damaging the palace, just from over a dozen large ships, the fleeing Powerful Families families, and their government treasuries, the loot was astonishing enough.

Five hundred and thirty thousand dan of grain, over two hundred thousand strings of copper coins, and other gold, silver, jewels, jade artifacts, ivory, etc., worth over five hundred thousand strings.

Including a large number of land deeds and property deeds, just these few families, plus one Barbarian Tribe, had wealth exceeding five million strings.

In the armory, there were five thousand sets of leather armor, one thousand sets of iron armor, and countless other weapons and shields.

With the equipment from the armory and the captive soldiers, Gao Yuan could raise a brigade of the Beiwei Army and a division of the Xuanjia Army at any time.

After seeking Gao Yuan's approval, Xue Linfeng began to proceed with this.

However, Gao Yuan did not keep this newly formed division in South of the Ranges but transferred it to the Pugan Circuit.

South of the Ranges had seventeen thousand soldiers from the Lingnan Corps, plus twenty-four thousand from the Central Corps—that was enough.

After tallying the gains, the next step was distributing the spoils to everyone.

According to the rules set by Gao Yuan, the government treasury, officers, and soldiers each took a share.

From all the loot, compensation for fallen and severely wounded soldiers was deducted first, with some women and infants also included in the compensation.

However, not everything was directly distributed. For example, all grain and land were confiscated by the government treasury.

The remaining servants and maids were all freed, but their value was calculated as part of the government treasury's share.

Hard currency like gold, silver, and copper coins was prioritized for distribution to the soldiers.

Other items, such as property deeds, jewels, jade artifacts, etc., were prioritized for the officers to choose from.

With Mu Sheng present, the distribution plan was quickly finalized, and the soldiers began to receive their shares in order.

By the end of July, Xunzhou and Chaozhou were pacified, and Ma Song also began to busy himself.

As the main general of the Lingnan Corps, he needed to quickly arrange defenses in various areas.

So, after receiving his share of the rewards, he hurriedly left.

Next, he would move the Governor's Office from Region to Gui Prefecture and then redeploy the troops.

In Guchang County, upon receiving the news, Gao Yuan decided to start moving on the tenth day of the eighth month.

Even in summer, the Southern Yunnan area isn't very hot. By the time they reached South of the Ranges, it would be autumn and not too hot either.

But before that, after discussing with the women, Gao Yuan decided to hold a grand victory banquet first.

The scale of this banquet was unprecedented, with all the city's residents receiving invitations from the Grand Princess's Residence.

Besides celebrating the destruction of the Nanyue Kingdom, the main purpose was for Gao Yuan to bid a proper farewell to Guchang County.

After all, having lived here for several years, how could he not have feelings for it?

Moreover, it was here that he, or rather Zhao Xiyao's led forces, rose to become a regional power.

And next, moving to Guangzhou, to Panyu, would mark another entirely new phase.

From now on, they would no longer be facing small forces like Lan Xang or Southern Yue.

Their opponents would be the Mughal and the Great Qian.

To prepare for this victory banquet, Gao Yuan sent people to buy out all the meat from nearby areas and secure all the chicken from several poultry farms.

Even before the banquet began, the common people had already profited handsomely, each grinning from ear to ear.

Inside the Grand Princess's Residence, cups clinked, and everyone's faces glowed with excitement.

Outside the Grand Princess's Residence, on every street, residents brought out their tables and chairs.

Under the bright candlelight, a lavish and lively Street Banquet was set up, with delicious dishes and jars of wine laid out.

All the city's residents came out of their homes to share in this joy together.

That night, Guchang County was a city that never slept, with everyone drinking to their hearts' content.