In an instant, everyone in Xuanzheng Hall was stunned.
Good news from southern Xinjiang.
Not to mention the 80,000 elite southern barbarians, the 3,000 evil beasts alone would probably be difficult to resist even an army dozens of times larger.
How could there be news of good news?
Except for a few people whom Emperor Qianwu called to talk to him in the royal study late at night, all the other ministers did not believe it.
"Xuan!"
Emperor Qianwu shouted, and a dusty soldier quickly ran into the Xuanzheng Hall holding the victory report in his hands and holding his head high.
Without waiting for Emperor Qianwu's orders, Gao Dali quickly ran over to receive the good news.
"Read it in public!" Emperor Qianwu looked forward to it.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Gao Dali nodded, pulled off the paint on the victory report, and slowly opened it.
Everyone stared at his movements with keen eyes.
There are doubts, shocks, expectations, and so on.
Gao Dali took a deep breath and read aloud.
"The guilty minister Nangong Changming bowed his head and played:
On the fourth day of the eleventh month in the winter of the Daqian calendar, the Grand Marshal of Zhennan, His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince, led an army of more than 30,000 men to Zhennanguan at ten o'clock at noon.
The Generalissimo of Zhennan ordered the defenders of Zhennan Pass to rest and reorganize. His troops went up to the city wall with artillery and other equipment, and some soldiers bravely left the city to deploy until nightfall.
That night, the Nanman drove 3,000 evil beasts to the city with great momentum. The Generalissimo of Zhennan turned the tide and used artillery and other weapons to kill the country with unparalleled power. He killed more than 2,800 evil beasts and more than 9,000 enemies!
…”
After reading this, Gao Dali's eyes sparkled.
Emperor Qianwu smiled happily.
All the officials looked in disbelief.
Gao Dali paused, his voice suddenly rose a lot, and his tone became more sonorous and powerful.
"General Zhennan ordered his troops to pursue the victory and reach the delta area in one fell swoop, recovering all the lost ground!
In this battle, there were no casualties in our army!
The guilty minister was ordered by the Grand Marshal of Zhennan to report this good news to Your Majesty!"
After reading it, Gao Dali closed the good news report with a snap. He changed his hunched posture in the past, held his head high and looked at the ministers who had just doubted Li Changfeng with a proud look on his face.
In the whole Daqian, apart from Emperor Qianwu, the one he respected the most was Li Changfeng, and he even secretly regarded Li Changfeng as his younger brother.
That unruly young man, who was careless about small things but serious about big things, and who called him Lao Gao every time he saw him, was the center of his heart.
Li Changfeng's victory made him very happy.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
Emperor Qianwu shouted hello three times in a row and burst out laughing, his face full of joy and pride.
The ministers present had expressions of disbelief.
How is this possible?!
Killing more than 9,000 enemies is enough, and I can barely accept it.
But killing more than 2,800 evil beasts is too surprising.
This is equivalent to killing all the evil beasts driven away by the barbarians!
Everyone at the scene knew how terrifying the evil beast was.
In their view, this is an almost impossible task!
What’s even more incredible is that Daqian’s army suffered no casualties.
"No! This is absolutely impossible! This victory report is false. How can it be possible to regain the lost country without even a single casualty?!"
Some people couldn't suppress their shock and shouted loudly.
Emperor Qianwu's face darkened and he scolded sternly: "You bastard, do you think General Nangong is deceiving me? Do you think my son is deceiving the world?"
"I don't dare! I don't dare! I was just too surprised and made a mistake. Please forgive me!" The doubtful minister quickly knelt down on the ground and looked frightened.
He realized that what he said was ridiculous.
Even if Nangong Changming had the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard, he wouldn't be able to talk nonsense about this kind of thing.
As for Li Changfeng, it is even more impossible.
This kind of thing must be told to the world. If he tells lies, even if he is a prince, he will be severely punished, and it is not impossible to even be killed directly to tell the world.
He is not a fool. On the contrary, he is extremely smart. How could he do such a thing?
All ministers have thought of this.
They know that the good news is true.
But they still find it difficult to accept it because it is so unbelievable.
At this moment, Feng Quji, who always liked peace and balance and never got involved in the affairs of the princes, stood up.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, he was still a little excited at this time. His old and yellow face turned red, but he forced himself to stay calm and bowed his hands to the ministers.
"Colleagues!"
Feng Quji shouted, and when everyone turned their attention to him, he spoke again.
"We have already said that His Highness, the Ninth Prince, has artillery and muskets and other country-killing weapons, and he will definitely be able to defeat the enemy, but you just don't believe it!"
"Now that the facts are in front of us, all colleagues can understand why His Majesty had to conceal this matter before, and why he later decided to let His Highness the Ninth Prince go on an expedition.
That's because... Your Majesty knows that such a country-killing weapon cannot be disclosed to the outside world easily!
That’s because Your Majesty knows that His Highness the Ninth Prince will definitely defeat the barbarian evil beasts!”
Feng Quji expressed his position, and Yue Shanhe, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Chen Dingyuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who were involved in the matter in the Imperial Study Room that day, also came out to express their views.
"Daqian has His Highness the Ninth Prince, and with this weapon to suppress the country, why worry about bandits coming?"
"His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince is mighty!"
They were not flattering Li Changfeng, nor were they flattering Emperor Wu. Every word they said was sincere.
Such a victory is unparalleled in history.
It is no exaggeration to say that Li Changfeng almost reversed the fate of the country, and no words of praise are exaggerated.
To this day, no one doubts the authenticity of the good news.
Everyone kept praising Li Changfeng, and they couldn't calm down the shock in their hearts.
Li Chengye and Li Ji also kept praising everyone, and on the surface they seemed to be really happy for Li Changfeng.
But in fact, they were almost going crazy with jealousy.
Such an act of turning the tide, as well as artillery and guns, were all created by Li Changfeng. Once word spreads throughout the world, his reputation will surely reach a level that people look up to.
After Emperor Qianwu laughed for a while, he ordered: "Tell the world and let everyone know this good news!"
Emperor Qianwu would naturally not let go of things like this to boost the morale of the people.
Soon, the good news was copied, posted in various places in the capital, and sent to various places in Daqian.
The people in the capital were all excited after seeing it.
"His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince is really amazing. He killed all the evil beasts and regained the lost territory without losing a single soldier!"
"No, that's right. Those are three thousand evil beasts. I was so worried at the beginning. I was deeply afraid that the evil beasts would eat them all the way to the capital!"
"Your Highness not only killed evil beasts, but also killed nearly 10,000 southern barbarians. This achievement is truly incredible!"
"Yes, now I know why the artillery battalion and the musketeer battalion were heavily defended in the first place. This is my great weapon to suppress the country!"
"These are all invented by His Highness the Ninth Prince, they are really like gods!"
Zhao Mansion.
Zhao Zhijing looked panicked and quickly came to the study room where the owner of the house, Zhao Tianquan, pushed open the door and entered.
"Master, something big has happened!"
Zhao Tianquan threw the book on the table and said coldly: "How can you behave in such a panic?"
Zhao Zhijing was not angry.
Ever since the Zhao family's coal business plummeted, and Zhao Tianquan went to Bai Yujing to no avail, his face never looked good day by day, and his temper was frightening.
He went straight to the topic and said: "The latest news is a great victory in southern Xinjiang. Li Changfeng led his army to kill three thousand evil beasts, annihilated ten thousand southern barbarian troops, and recovered the lost territory without spending a single soldier!"
Zhao Tianquan was stunned for a moment, then stood up and exclaimed: "How is this possible?!"
The Zhao family has been passed down for hundreds of years, how could we not know how terrifying evil beasts are?
Wanting to annihilate three thousand evil beasts is simply a dream. At most, defeating them would require paying a very heavy price.
No need to waste a single soldier?
There is absolutely no such possibility!
Zhao Zhiqing said quickly: "I think it's impossible! But now that the good news has been sent out, it was written by Nangong Changming himself, and the Ministry of War has not dispatched troops to support southern Xinjiang. It can't be fake!"
Zhao Tianquan still shook his head: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. Emperor Qianwu must have deliberately staged such a show to appease the world!"
"Master, I'm afraid not!" Zhao Tianquan shook his head and said, "Li Changfeng took away the secret army in the imperial village when he set out. The victory report clearly said that Li Changfeng killed the evil beast with artillery. It can't be a lie. of!"
"Artillery...is that thing called an artillery? It's so powerful!"
Zhao Tianquan's face was full of shock, he sat down on the chair and muttered to himself.
"No wonder the Wang family's nest in Yunzhou was bombed overnight, and several hills outside the imperial village were destroyed. No wonder Li Changfeng and Emperor Qianwu were so unscrupulous. It turns out they have such a country-killing weapon..."
What was hidden in the fog became completely clear.
Zhao Tianquan finally understood.
After a brief shock, Zhao Tianquan could not help but stand on his head with hair all over his body.
"Fortunately, other aristocratic families did not agree to unite to embarrass Emperor Qianwu, otherwise..."
After talking to himself to this point, Zhao Tianquan even had a trace of cold sweat on his forehead.
Even three thousand evil beasts and eighty thousand barbarian elites are no match. How can the private soldiers of the eight great families conquer the world?
If we really fight, we are going to die!
If those artillery pieces were to surround the Zhao family's lair and bomb it, how many people in the Zhao family would survive?
"I originally thought that the Li royal family was too arrogant and domineering, but now it seems that my thinking was too simple. They clearly maintained great restraint!"
Zhao Zhijing carefully observed Zhao Tianquan's face, and seeing that he believed him, he asked cautiously: "Master, the Li family has mastered such a terrifying weapon, what should we, the eight great families, do now?"
Zhao Tianquan came back to his senses, frowned and thought carefully for a moment, his eyes flashed, and he said firmly: "No matter what price you pay, how much silver you spend, you must get this artillery!"
From the outcome of this war, Zhao Tianquan knew the strategic position of artillery.
For the Li royal family to have this kind of killing weapon in their hands, it would be like a sharp sword hanging over their heads, making it difficult for them to sleep or eat well.
With such a quarrel with the Li family, reconciliation is impossible.
The only way is for the Zhao family to take control of it themselves.
This will not only deter the Li royal family from taking action against them easily, but if the number is large enough, they can even become the overlord of the world.
Zhao Zhijing understood what Zhao Tianquan was thinking. In fact, he had the same idea. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll make arrangements right away!"