"Get ready, we're heading to Beijing."
"You're really going, sir? Once you get to the capital, those people probably won't follow the rules."
“That’s perfect. If they break the rules first, we’ll naturally have a reason to break the rules too. They’ve never seen me break the rules before. This time, let them see it for themselves.”
Of the 100,000 troops, Lu Xuan only led 50,000. Among them were 10,000 cavalry, 30,000 firearms battalion, and another 10,000 were a mixed force of infantry and engineers.
When Lu Wenzhao and others suggested that they should announce it to the world with a grand and respectable reason, Lu Xuan rejected their suggestion.
"No need. I don't need to find an excuse to make the world acknowledge me, nor do I need to explain anything to them. I will just let them see things for themselves. We will travel by land, station by station. Let the world see us clearly."
The army departed from Liaoyang, making a detour to Shenyang as their first stop. Li Rubai was so excited he almost wanted to close the city gates and challenge Lu Xuan to a duel. However, his subordinates desperately dissuaded him. They knew clearly that if they truly turned against Lu Xuan, they would have no chance whatsoever.
Fifty thousand men, followed by ten thousand able-bodied men responsible for supplies, marched through Shenyang in a grand procession. They simply passed through; nothing happened.
The residents of Shenyang initially hid in their homes in fear, but later openly stood on the streets, pointing and commenting on Lu Xuan's army.
They had never seen an army like this before. It's said that bandits pass through like sieves, and soldiers like baskets. But this army before them didn't even glance at the people, let alone plunder them.
The strange, brand-new uniforms, the standardized bayonet and musket configurations, and the perfectly aligned ranks—all of this exceeded the public's expectations of soldiers.
"Dad, are these heavenly soldiers and generals?" A little boy's voice suddenly rang out, startling his father who quickly covered his mouth.
But he soon realized that none of the soldiers paid any attention to the boy's words. They continued to march in neat rows, expressionless, like a group of machines.
Without a single word, the heavy footsteps alone conveyed an atmosphere of chilling ruthlessness. Seemingly infected by this atmosphere, the initially murmuring crowd gradually fell silent. Finally, the entire street was utterly still. Only the panting of the people and the footsteps of the soldiers could be heard. Gradually, even the people's breathing became much softer. They seemed afraid that their breathing might disturb something.
It took a full half hour for all the soldiers to cross the street. After the last soldier disappeared from sight, a collective gasp echoed through the street.
"My goodness, this doesn't look like a soldier at all, it's more like..." The speaker thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable word.
At this moment, the boy's father looked down and said to his child.
"Yes, these are the heavenly soldiers and generals."
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Say a few words
Since I mentioned in yesterday's chapter that the protagonist won't have children, which sparked some discussion, I'd like to elaborate a bit more here.
First, I revised that chapter. The basic plot remains the same, but I've provided a slight explanation. However, since readers might not be interested in going back to read it, I'll elaborate a bit more here.
First of all, this is not a historical power struggle novel. Because the first two worlds both have this kind of plot, it may have led everyone to judge this book from the perspective of a historical power struggle novel.
To be honest, I had thought about this problem, but I didn't expect it to be this serious. Because in the previous world, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and the results were phenomenal (relative to myself).
So in the second volume, I added more scenes about farming and conquering. Although the reviews weren't as good as the first volume, it still performed very well.
However, the previous controversy made me realize that I had misled everyone's judgment, and I am truly sorry.
Because in the outline, starting from the third volume, there will be no more plots about vying for supremacy. Or rather, there will be some references, but it will definitely not be the main storyline.
Let me reiterate the point that the protagonist cannot get women pregnant.
This issue needs to be addressed within the context of the entire series. My long-time readers will know that all of my works share a common worldview. Previously, in the comments section, a reader even guessed the main plot of this book.
In the world-building of my entire series, it's extremely difficult for transmigrators to have offspring with characters from other worlds. In fact, of all the protagonists, only Su Yuan, the protagonist of the previous book, had a daughter. And that girl marked the end of the entire series.
Because she is a being born from the fusion of the real world and its derivative worlds, she is inherently superior to both reality and illusion. This is also why she can inflict real harm on all things.
That's already a bit much. I hope you understand what I mean. Any more and I'll be giving away spoilers.
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Chapter 167 Zhu Youjian's Aggrieved Feelings (Please Subscribe)
Like a grand and solemn military parade, Lu Xuan's army slowly passed through Shenyang. Then it accelerated southward, passing dozens of cities along the way.
Upon arriving in each city, the troops would march through the entire city in a parade formation, allowing the people of the Ming Dynasty to witness firsthand what soldiers were like.
Some cities explicitly stated that passage was prohibited, but that was meaningless to him. With hundreds of cannons firing from horsemen, Lu Xuan didn't need the city gates to be opened; he could simply walk along the city walls.
Cities and defenses came one after another, and Lu Xuan conquered them all. His army killed very few people, yet he still instilled fear in the garrisons of every city. Because they had no idea how to fight a war.
The enemy's artillery range far exceeded their own. There was no need for a siege; a single, concentrated volley from the enemy would be enough to breach the entire city wall. Their cavalry ventured out to engage, but were routed before even reaching the enemy's artillery battalion.
By the latter half of the journey, no soldiers resisted anymore. They all knew Lu Xuan's methods: as long as they didn't resist, they wouldn't die. Many soldiers even mingled with the crowd to watch the legendary army enter the city.
The shock made them feel like they might not be real soldiers.
We finally arrived in the capital.
The city walls were already on high alert. A young emperor stood on the walls, glaring angrily at Lu Xuan.
After looking at him for a while, Lu Xuan realized that he didn't recognize him at all.
Who is this?
As the head of the intelligence system, Ding Baiying remembered it after a moment's thought.
"It should be Prince Xin, Zhu Youjian."
Lu Xuan suddenly realized, it was still that poor Chongzhen! He felt a little embarrassed, originally thinking that his actions, through the butterfly effect, might prevent Chongzhen from becoming the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty. However, dramatically, after skipping Tianqi and going around in circles, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty still ended up being Chongzhen.
Seeing that it was this poor child, Lu Xuan felt too embarrassed to order his soldiers to fire the cannons directly. He rode out of the ranks alone, walked to the foot of the capital's city wall, and looked up at Zhu Youjian on the wall.