Hyper-Dimensional Player

Chapter 824 - 75: The Fall of Later Shu—The Destruction of a Kingdom in 36 Days

But in the early Northern Song period, Sichuan became an important point of rebellion, turning a promising hand into a mess. No wonder the Song Dynasty could never achieve the Great Unity.

Thus, the saying 'Sichuan people love chaos' is utterly unfounded; it was Zhao Kuangyin's indulgent soldiers that led to the Sichuan populace rising up in rebellion.

Later, Tokyo's bustling prosperity was built on the blood of all under heaven, and Ba and Shu were especially vital blood suppliers, with Sichuan's taxes making up a third of the national revenue during the Northern Song.

The saying 'The Sichuan people do not fail the nation' emerged later.

The Ba and Shu populace certainly lived up to the Song Dynasty. From one to two million people, they died down to just six or seven hundred thousand, nearly being wiped out.

In modern times, Sichuan's military and civilians went out from Sichuan to resist Japan; Liu Xiang sacrificed for the country. Cursing all the while, Sichuan people carried this greed tax its way into Wuhou Shrine in 1975, where it receives incense offerings.

This was truly incessant cursing, cursing for decades, and when the cursing was done, the incense offering continued.

To Duncan, this territory of Sichuan was far superior to the Southern Han.

Its population, economy, handicrafts, such as Shu brocade, were far more prosperous than today's Guangdong and Guangxi. However, this didn't affect his confiscation plans; the region's powerful and wealthy individuals were due for such confiscation.

Be kind to Sichuan people.

After entering Ba and Shu, Duncan was extremely focused on military discipline. The army of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms needed to be strictly suppressed, and this time, the person in charge of overseeing military law was Lu Shanjun.

Along the way, acts of plundering local areas, seizing wealth, and defiling women happened repeatedly.

His solution was quite simple.

Behead!

In this regard, Duncan was quite experienced; he had used such methods to suppress military discipline when commanding the Imperial Legion and Barbarian Race troops. For those illiterate soldiers, no reasoning worked, only blood and fire would force them to obey orders.

The Barbarian Race could be made to obey through beheadings, and so could the armies in this world, except it might take cutting several hundred or thousand heads.

The arrogant fighters of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, if they died, so be it; let some die for a little peace in the world.

Starting from entering Ba and Shu, few elite troops died at the front lines; it was the receiving units at the rear that saw daily beheadings of a dozen heads or more.

Upon reaching a county or town, they would kill a few of their own to boost morale, with enemy heads being chopped off less swiftly than their own. They would place these heads in town first to notify the populace that the Red Army was different from other armies.

After conquering Kuizhou, there were instances where officers indulged the troops in plundering; Lu Shanjun removed the officers' heads, with the law enforcement team executing thirty-seven individuals, beheading them directly at Jiangkou with countless onlookers.

After subsequent troops took over Wanzhou and Kaizhou, Lu Shanjun found instances of women being seized, even dozens being secretly kidnapped and publicly abused in army camps. (Note: It was a tradition of the Southern Han army to seize women as camp followers.)

That day, Lu Shanjun removed three hundred and twenty-seven heads, all from the army under Liu Chang of the Southern Han. After receiving secret reports from the Jinyi Guard to Duncan, he nodded, and the next day, all ranks from officers to soldiers were slaughtered completely, with over ten thousand troops witnessing the beheadings.

Lu Shanjun wielded the Mountain-opening Saber, leading the law enforcement team, personally overseeing the executions, his might shaking ten thousand troops.

Though many were killed.

However, when conquering Mianzhou, Zhongzhou, and Suizhou, there were still those courting death; it can only be said that the hearts of people were wild and corrupt in that era. Some of those soldiers and officers who had cannibalized only found peace in death. Lu Shanjun personally led the law enforcement team, beheading another one hundred and twenty-one heads.

As they traveled and killed along the way, their own troops lost hundreds of heads.

After all, Duncan's time rising to power was too short.

Even though he reorganized the Southern Han army and enforced strict discipline, he couldn't do thorough oversight. When battles began without suppression, the soldiers' true nature quickly emerged. Some Southern Han officers who turned allegiance were skilled in plundering, even managing to deceive the Supervisor when indulging their troops in looting.

Finally.

After repeatedly killing batches and batches, the troops arriving in Chengdu finally complied, knowing that disobedience to military discipline would cost them their heads.

There were those dissatisfied, but they held it in; as long as Duncan won battles, they would obediently submit.

These individuals, Duncan planned to replace eventually.

The obedient martial men from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms would remain, the disobedient could be slain, killing batches to replace them, providing space for newcomers.

As Lu Shanjun assassinated along the way, the army arriving in Chengdu wasn't harmless, but at least it was a proper army looking somewhat like a king's division.

"Your Majesty."

"What should be done with the thousands of palace attendants in Mengchang's residence?"

Lu Qiongxi appeared with a group of women, all from the Xingwang Palace. Mengchang's harem was also vast, and leaving it to soldiers would inevitably lead to abuse; so Lu Qiongxi was responsible.

Upon hearing this, Duncan lifted his head, laid down the paper in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Select a portion from those without marriage in the army."

His harem was already quite large.

As for Liu Chang, needless to say, his palace was filled with palace maids and eunuchs. Duncan alone couldn't handle even Liu Chang's and his father's female relatives, nor those of over a dozen brothers, just Liu Chang's uncles' own female relatives numbering nearly a hundred were part of the Xingwang Palace harem.

Lu Qiongxi also commands the Hehuan sect of the Demon Gate, with only five out of ten enchantresses remaining alive, each overseeing dozens of female retainers.