novelraw Chapter 825 - 75: The Fall of Later Shu—A Nation Destroyed in 36 Days
Chapter 825 - 75: The Fall of Later Shu—A Nation Destroyed in 36 Days
This is handling myriad affairs every day, yet still unable to keep up.
Duncan's situation here is even more exaggerated.
Inside the palace city in Chengdu, there are thousands of palace attendants. He widely selected civilian women to enter the palace. There are one to two thousand unmarried women of suitable age, and this many people can't possibly be accommodated. If Duncan receives them, the number of palace attendants can directly reach the ten thousand mark, let alone the one or two thousand eunuchs from Southern Han.
What does he need so many people in his harem for?
Following Your Majesty's path, you get land, territory, women. In this era, there's nothing much to say. Duncan released a portion of the palace attendants, and the remaining ones are directly paired with the elite troops he selected.
As for the miscellaneous troops of Southern Han, let's put them aside for now; this part still needs to be cleaned up a bit.
He really underestimated the lower limit of this era's military.
Even with explicit prohibition, there are still those who dare to act recklessly.
Perhaps from the Late Tang Dynasty until now, turmoil has lasted too long. Some military people's perspectives are already fixed and can't be changed no matter what. To them, civilians are like fish and meat to be at their mercy. Having won battles, if they don't loot money and women, wouldn't the fights have been in vain?
For people like that, the best way is to send them to reincarnation and give them a new start.
The army incorporated from Southern Han, executing one in every interval, there may still be a fish that slipped through the net. But Duncan can't possibly kill so many, because when the world is bad, people's hearts turn bad as well, and they still need saving.
However, the issue of seizing civilian women and bringing them into military camps for abuse is an old habit of Southern Han's army and must be severely rectified. No amount of punishment is too much.
Outside the palace.
A court lady beside spoke softly: "Assistant Minister Lu, why not inquire about how to deal with Meng Chang's harem concubines?"
"How should Lady Huarui, Li Yanniang, and others be accommodated?"
Lu Qiongxi turned and glanced at her, coldly reprimanding: "Foolish."
Upon hearing this, the palace attendant was instantly frightened and trembled.
Lu Qiongxi was slender in physique, with skin as white as snow, fond of wearing white, usually appearing like a white lotus, yet when exerting methods, she was exceedingly cruel. Without turning her head back, she strode away directly to the residence arranged for Lady Huarui.
How else can they be accommodated?
Could it be that Meng Chang's harem concubines would also be given out as rewards?
After all, they were once concubines of an emperor, and such individuals could never be released from the palace again. She was to personally groom them a bit first, then inquire Your Majesty's wishes.
On the twelfth day of Later Shu's fall.
Duncan gained control of the land of Ba and Shu, subsequently deploying heavy troops in Jingnan, eyeing the Central Plains, while secretly assembling the army on the Southern Tang border.
The news traveled very slowly in this era.
While the world was astonished that Later Shu fell in merely thirty-six days, Zhao Kuangyin also completed a historical achievement this year—'wine cup to strip military power'.
On July 9th of this year, to prevent history from repeating itself, Zhao Kuangyin, adopting Zhao Pu's suggestion, at a banquet threatened and bribed generals like Shi Shouxin to force them to give up their military power and retire, thereby reclaiming power from these generals.
This signifies that Northern Song has entered a strong phase of centralization, exerting systemic pressure on other separatist regimes.
News reached Kaifeng.
Inside a Taoist temple, Daoist Lingsu was taken aback, looked at the person in front of him and said: "What did you say?"
"Later Shu has fallen?"
It took thirty-six days to destroy a country. He had just recently gone to Mount Lu seeking a great person to emerge, but unexpectedly, that great person avoided seeing him, wasting half a month's time. He wasn't unaware of the matters concerning attacking Later Shu, but in his view, national warfare was unlikely to reach a conclusion without a year or more.
After Zhao Kuangyin took military power through the wine cup, it marked Northern Song's formidable rise. By then, if Southern Tang could be allied, they surely could resist his invasion into the Central Plains.
It was way too fast!
Not only Daoist Lingsu couldn't react in time, but even others were caught off guard. After the news reached Southern Tang, Li Yu immediately sent the Minister of Household with lavish gifts to the Xingwang Mansion as tribute.
Previously, Southern Tang regarded Later Zhou as the legitimate authority of the Central Plains, after Zhao Kuangyin's Chenqiao Rebellion, Southern Tang then respected Northern Song as the legitimate authority.
Now it seems.
The legitimacy of the world has also changed; whoever can fight is Huaxia's legitimate authority.
Destroying a country in thirty-six days is destined to be recorded in history.
Daoist Lingsu cast a hexagram.
To his surprise, the hexagram showed 'Great Fortune'.
.........