Tokyo Destroyed

Wu Quan fled, taking all the royalty and nobility with him, along with several thousand elite troops.

He also took his eldest son Wu Changji and third son Wu Changchi, both born to the Queen.

Third Brother Yang saw everything clearly now; he and Wu Changwen had been abandoned.

Although over ten thousand troops remained in Thanh Hoa, it would be difficult for these forces even to resist the Lan Xang people.

Not to mention the predatory Nanzhou Army.

One could easily guess that once Nanzhou finished slowly digesting Cao Bang, East Pass, Guangning, and Coastal Defense...

The Nanzhou Army's next target would inevitably be Thanh Hoa.

Thanh Hoa City had high walls and deep moats, making it easy to defend and hard to attack, but it could not withstand a long-term siege and isolation.

Once the grain and fodder were cut off, a dead end awaited these ten thousand-plus troops and the twenty thousand-plus civilians in the city.

Wu Changwen also understood this, looking at Third Brother Yang with a dejected expression.

"Uncle, what should we do next?"

At this moment, Wu Changwen realized he had lost all hope of competing for the throne.

He was completely without ideas now and could only look toward the person he had always relied on.

Third Brother Yang was silent for a while, then, as if making a firm resolution, a fierce look appeared on his face.

"Since Wu Quan is heartless, he can't blame us for being disloyal."

The two huddled together and discussed in secret for a long time.

Truthfully, in the past, Gao Yuan really had no designs on Thanh Hoa.

As the saying goes, 'biting off more than one can chew'; for Nanzhou, swallowing four territories at once could easily cause indigestion.

But the system event demanded the destruction of a nation, and the rewards were incredibly tempting.

There was no choice; no matter how hard it was to digest, he had to swallow it and process it thoroughly.

He used almost the same methods as before: migration, mixed residency, and gradual assimilation.

The only good news was that the Tonkin Wu Dynasty was itself a dynasty established by Han people and their descendants.

Therefore, there were many Han descendants in these areas, and they had little resistance to accepting Han rule.

While all of Nanzhou was busy digesting the fruits of victory, a shocking event occurred.

The second prince of Tonkin, Wu Changwen, and Grand General Third Brother Yang opened the city gates and surrendered to Lan Xang.

Subsequently, the Lancang King Khon Kham enfeoffed Wu Changwen as the King of Nanjin and Third Brother Yang as the King of Yangping.

After accepting their titles, the two worked very hard in their eastern and western campaigns, leading their troops with unstoppable momentum.

In less than half a month, Nghe An was captured, and the Lan Xang army arrived at the gates of Xinping City.

Following that, places like Hue and Da Nang responded to the call of Wu Changwen and Third Brother Yang, announcing their allegiance to Lan Xang.

Tonkin, once a powerful regional state in Southeast Asia, was now in a precarious position.

Inside Xinping City, the royalty and nobility began to make their own calculations.

Some even tentatively approached Wu Quan to ask about the possibility of surrender.

Wu Quan was, after all, the monarch of a country; he still had some backbone and rebuked those who came to test him on the spot.

Backstabbed by his son, betrayed by his brother-in-law and sworn brother, beset by internal and external troubles, and combined with his indulgence in wine and women, the founding monarch of the Tonkin Wu Dynasty fell ill in December.

Illness strikes like a mountain falling; Wu Quan was soon unable to get out of bed.

At this moment, his two sons dealt him the heaviest blow.

Hearing that their father was near death, Wu Changji and Wu Changchi began to riot, which eventually escalated into armed conflict and fratricide within the city.

"Rebellious sons! All of them are rebellious sons! Still thinking of fighting for power and profit at a time like this! Hahaha!"

After a bout of laughter, the founding monarch spat out a mouthful of blood and became still.

Five days later, the city's nobles opened the gates, and the Lan Xang army swarmed in.

Wu Changji and Wu Changchi were quickly taken prisoner and sent to Vientiane bound tightly.

Third Brother Yang and Wu Changwen rushed into the royal bedchamber, only to see a corpse that had already begun to rot.

He was his father after all; Wu Changwen prepared Wu Quan's body for burial and found a place for a simple interment.

On the first day of the New Year, the first day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Taichu, the Tonkin Wu Dynasty officially declared its downfall.

King Yangping, Third Brother Yang, was assigned by Khon Kham to lead troops stationed in the Location region to guard against Gao Yuan.

King Nanjin, Wu Changwen, married one of Khon Kham's sisters and lived in Vientiane thereafter, enjoying a life of luxury under house arrest.

However, the one who gained the most was not Khon Kham, nor the traitor Third Brother Yang or the 'filial' son Wu Changwen, but Gao Yuan.

With the fall of Tonkin, the system's rewards arrived.

"S-Rank Series Event: Struggle for Hegemony - Phase One Event: Beginning of Dominance triggered:

The road to hegemony begins with a single step; conquering a nation is a necessary path for the Host to become the power broker of Southeast Asia;

Event Objective 1: Destroy Lan Xang or Tonkin (1/1) (Completed);

Event Objective 2: Expand territory to ten prefectures (10/10) (Completed);

Event Objective 3: Increase territory population to 300,000 (328,789/300,000) (Completed);

Congratulations, Host! The skill Leaders Aura (F) has been upgraded to Leaders Aura (D);

Congratulations, Host! The growth-type equipment Liao Hua's Collar Armor (F) has been upgraded to Wu Anguo's Tongxiu Armor (D);

Congratulations, Host! You have received the reward: S-Rank Permanent Martial Soul Card x2000."

"Leaders Aura (D): Can slightly increase soldier morale, with a limit of 5,000 people."

"Growth-type equipment Wu Anguo's Tongxiu Armor (D): Significantly increases Host's defense, slightly enhances strength attribute, and reduces stamina consumption."

"S-Rank Permanent Martial Soul Card: Can be possessed by a soldier to grant them powerful combat strength and experience, as well as permanent loyalty to the Host. Can be reclaimed and reused if the soldier is killed or disabled. (Usage Restriction: Requires soldier's physical strength to reach C-Rank.)"

A massive harvest, an unprecedentedly massive harvest; Gao Yuan was so excited he almost performed a knee-slide in celebration.

He had Martial Soul Cards before, even powerful ones like the Beifu Army, but unfortunately, those soldiers had died, been injured, or were reassigned; now, less than a thousand remained.

These two thousand cards were truly a timely help, though it was a pity there were usage restrictions.

He hoped he could pick out two thousand qualified soldiers from his City Defense Forces.

The task of digesting the spoils of war would naturally be handled by the three capable beauties leading a group of officials; he only needed to focus on military affairs.

The initial screening work was handed to Liu Rengui, who was now the second-in-command of the City Defense Forces.

Hearing that Gao Yuan wanted to form the Second Division, the entire Nanzhou was in an uproar. Compared to the City Defense Forces, the treatment in the First Division was not just a little bit better.

Not only was the pay thirty percent higher, but the food was also better—an egg for breakfast every day, and one chicken per person every three days.

Families also felt they had more 'face' if their relatives were serving in the First Division.

The initial screening went exceptionally smoothly; besides the enthusiastic City Defense Forces soldiers, many young men also signed up hoping to join the army.

What excited Gao Yuan the most was that many people from the newly conquered regions also wanted to participate in the selection.

On December 25th, over three thousand men who passed the initial screening gathered at the military camp outside Dehong City.

Just as the sky brightened, Gao Yuan entered the camp with his Personal Guards in a grand manner, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

On the drill grounds, over three thousand sturdy young men watched the supreme commander of the Nanzhou Army with burning eyes and great expectations.

Some couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

"This is the duke of anle county? Why does he look even better than a girl?"

"Tell me about it, look at that delicate skin."

"Shh, do you want to die? Haven't you heard? This duke of anle county has a gentle face but a strong heart; he doesn't hesitate at all when it comes to killing."

"I heard that back then in Vientiane, the County Duke charged into the enemy formation alone and killed dozens of men with a single blade."

"For real?"

"Haven't you heard the County Duke's nickname? The Jade-Faced Killing God. Is that a name you just call anyone?"

"Shh, quiet, the County Duke is about to speak."