The capital of a great nation with three hundred years of history, an ancient city with a million households, was easily surrendered after less than a day of bloody fighting. The peacemakers cheered and embraced each other, singing and dancing with excitement, leaving tears of joy and elation on the streets of Liuzhou.
"The traditional order is given to the entire army: rest and reorganize on the spot. Anyone who dares to harass the people will be executed! Anyone who dares to plunder property will be executed! Anyone who dares to rape women will be executed! Anyone who dares to set fires and cause chaos will be executed! Anyone who dares to indiscriminately kill surrendered prisoners will be executed!"
Seeing that Li Jun remained silent despite repeated calls, Shi Quan, Wei Zhan, Dong Cheng, and others exchanged a few words before Shi Gao shouted. At this moment, besides Li Jun, only he remained expressionless. The "Five Executions" order was delivered with remarkable speed; the officers and soldiers deployed to the Peace Army had already begun looting, but were quickly suppressed by the Peace Army's enforcement team, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of soldiers. This earned him the nickname "Five Executions Staff Officer."
"Commander, let's enter the city!" Wei Zhan spurred his horse forward, came to Li Jun's side, and asked in a low voice. At this moment, the morale of the army in the city was low and they needed Li Jun and others to enter the city to quell the unrest.
"Hmm." Li Jun nodded, raised his eyes, and gazed at the purple dragon flag fluttering in the wind atop the city wall. He sighed. "Why is it that with such a great victory right before my eyes, I feel no joy whatsoever?"
The horse's hooves clattered melodiously on the cobblestone streets, and under the watchful eyes of countless soldiers and civilians, it finally entered Liuzhou City. Before the city gate, he paused briefly, intently staring at the two large characters "Liujing" on the wall. Turning his head slightly to Dong Cheng, he said, "I intend to change Liujing to Liuning. What do you think, Brother Dong?"
"Liu Ning?" Dong Cheng repeated, then understood Li Jun's meaning after a moment's thought. He nodded vigorously, hoping that Liuzhou would be peaceful from this day forward, and that the entire Great Su would be peaceful from this day forward, and that the entire Divine Continent would be peaceful from this day forward!
Seeing that Dong Cheng agreed to his proposal, Li Jun simply nodded slightly and spurred his horse into the Duijin Gate.
"Long live! Long live!"
On the streets of the city, the Peace Army soldiers, who were resting on the spot, cheered when they saw Li Jun. This joyous atmosphere infected the common people who had come to watch the spectacle. When they learned from the Peace Army that the short-bearded man, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, was the ruthless, cannibalistic, and bloodthirsty demon described by the government, they couldn't help but cheer as well. The young hero fascinated and inspired the people far more than the government's pronouncements, and made them easily accept the fact that the old dynasty had collapsed.
Li Jun frowned. The Peace Army often shouted "Long live the Emperor!" on the battlefield to boost morale, a gesture meant to inspire the warriors. Now, the shouting seemed directed at him. He glanced at Wei Zhan and said, "Isn't 'Long live the Emperor' the title of that tyrannical ruler?" "What?" The deafening cheers prevented Wei Zhan from hearing Li Jun's words. He asked loudly. Li Jun smiled, knowing it was pointless to argue, and simply lowered his head, humbly welcoming the cheers of the people and soldiers.
Before they arrived at the inner city, they saw a group of civil and military officials of the Su Kingdom surrounding a young man in a yellow robe, kneeling before the "Aiwan Gate" on the city wall.
Before him, Li Jun frowned again and asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to the commander, the tyrannical emperor and his treacherous minister fled the day before yesterday, and none of the civil and military officials knew about it. Now these civil and military officials, along with the tyrannical regent Prince Li Jia, have come to surrender with their charts."
The boy in the yellow robe was only seventeen or eighteen years old, his face filled with shame and anger. He had never been favored by Li Gou, who had made him crown prince. Now, with Li Gou's escape, he had been left in the capital, nominally as regent, but in reality, sent to his death. He was young and impetuous, determined to fight to the death, but after the outer city fell, the civil and military officials went straight to the palace to seek Li Gou's advice. Only then did they discover Li Gou's escape and forced him to surrender.
Li Jun dismounted and helped Li Jia up, but Li Jia was ungrateful, remaining kneeling and looking him up and down. Seeing the childishness and resentment on his face, he couldn't help but smile. He said, "Are you Li Jia?"
Li Jia turned his head away, ignoring him. Li Jun said calmly, "When I first raised my army, I made a vow that my knees would never be used like this. In my army, no one, whether a general or a soldier, kneels. I do not wish to kneel before you, nor do I want you to kneel before me."
"How dare I, a prince, kneel before you?" Li Jia finally spoke up. "I kneel before this vast land, for I have failed my ancestors and the nation above, and for the common people below. I kneel before the world, for after Lu Xiang's death, there is no one left to turn the tide!"
"Nonsense! When the tyrant was in the capital, he personally admitted that Commander Li was a descendant of Prince Xian, the direct line of the royal family. The tyrant's line has been usurping the throne for over a century, and now the emperor's reign is over..." A minister swayed his head and stepped forward, wanting to defend Li Jun, but found that no one was listening to him. The gazes cast upon him were full of disdain and ridicule. He couldn't help but swallow and whisper to Li Jun.
His gaze met Li Jun's murderous eyes, and a chill rose from the bottom of his heart, making him shiver. Li Jun slowly said, "If it weren't for Staff Officer Shi's words that anyone who dares to indiscriminately kill surrendered prisoners will be executed, I would have killed you first!"
The minister's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, a foul stench emanating from him. Li Jun turned again, coldly saying, "You speak with such righteous indignation, have you ever knelt before the beautiful lands of the North, now in the hands of the Lan Kingdom? You kneel before the common people now, but did your ancestors not strive to improve the lives of the people? Do you know that the one who killed Lu Xiang, who turned the tide, was your foolish father?" The one who killed Lu Xiang was clearly the treacherous minister Wu Shu, what does that have to do with my father? My father was deceived by that treacherous minister, and the power in the court was in the hands of…
"Hmph!" Li Jun interrupted Li Jia with a cold snort. "Marshal Lu held military power and was highly respected during his lifetime, thanks to the approval of that tyrannical emperor. What could Wu Shu possibly do?"
Seeing that Li Jia didn't say anything but still looked unconvinced, Li Jun shook his head and said, "You and your son are just being self-righteous. Considering that you are still young and have always had a good reputation among the princes, I will not make things difficult for you. You can go back to your own residence first and leave for now."
"Kill me if you want, what's the point of saying anything more?" Li Jia stood up straight. "Rather than making things difficult for me, it's better not to make things difficult for this family!"
"Won't it make things difficult for the people in the city?" Li Jun repeated Li Jia's words, one word at a time, and looked at Shi Quan beside him, saying, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to say anything more to this caged bird. Brother Shi, I'll leave him to you."
Shi Quan nodded slightly. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Jun finally entered the Aiwan Gate of Liuzhou's inner city.
(three)
As the smoke of war gradually cleared and the clamor of shouts was replaced by silence, the streets began to fill with more pedestrians. Some businesses, emboldened by the soldiers' individual notifications, boldly reopened, and the market area showed signs of life again. After all, in the minds of the people of Liuzhou, the change of dynasty was a matter for high-ranking officials and nobles, having little to do with ordinary citizens like themselves. In some alleys, even songs could be heard, and the parasitic plant forbidden by the dynasty was being sung by some.
"Tonight, a lonely grave lies in the desolate wilderness; yesterday, a pillar of the state and a loyal minister lay there. What talk of lofty ambitions soaring like a roc, of unwavering loyalty like iron? In the end, even the most valiant could not escape the fate of falling into ruin and losing the emperor's favor. Seeing the bitter plight of those soldiers who shed their blood on the battlefield, how could one know that before the cunning rabbit was even dead, the dog would be cooked first..."
If not for the dismissal of all the meritorious officials and famous generals, how could Li Jun have so easily captured Liuning City?
"The one who made the greatest contribution in this siege is Zhong Biao." Shi Quan opened the merit book. "In order to reward merit, Zhong Biao should be promoted to rank 100,000 gold coins and 600 bolts of silk."
Zhong Biao was shocked, and an incredulous joy spread across his face. The position of commander of ten thousand men was reserved for those with exceptional merit and service; there were fewer than ten such commanders in the entire army, and he, a surrendered general, had attained this high rank. How could he not be overjoyed? Moreover, there were few official positions in the army, so rewards were mostly given in gold and silk. One hundred thousand taels of gold and six hundred bolts of silk were enough for a wealthy man to squander for a lifetime.
He strode out from among the generals and walked toward Li Jun, who was sitting behind a table. Although he had already surrendered to the Peace Army, this was the first time he had met Li Jun face to face.
Wei Zhan and Shi Quan exchanged glances. Normally, when his subordinates performed such a great feat, Li Jun would be all smiles, even joking. But today, Li Jun's face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. Even the most obtuse person could tell that Li Jun had no intention of doing anything at this moment.
Zhong Biao approached Li Jun and was about to offer his greetings in the military ceremonies when Li Jun said, "Wait a moment."
Zhong Biao was taken aback, and then turned his gaze to Li Jun's face. When he saw Li Jun's ashen face, he thought to himself, "Could it be that he's blaming the Peace Army's direct subordinates for taking the credit and wants to find fault with me?"
“Zhong…Zhong Biao.” Li Jun did not address Zhong Biao by his given name as he would address other older Peace Army generals as “brother.” “I heard that before becoming a soldier, you were a mercenary?”
"I am grateful for your inquiry, Commander. I have traveled across the land and served the people of various countries."
"Then you must know Commander Xiao Lin."
"Commander Xiao Lin who fought in the chaos of Peng Yuancheng?" Zhong Biao had a feeling that Li Jun's mention of Xiao Lin at this moment was not a good omen. He quickly thought about it and decided that he should answer truthfully. He said, "Back then, I fought with Commander Xiao Lin several times. I was outnumbered and was often chased and killed by him."
Li Jun slowly stood up from his chair, looked at Zhong Biao, this sturdy and capable man, who was about the same height as him, and then asked, "So, did you ever have a nickname called 'Zhong the Bearded'?"
"Haha, you even know this commander?" Zhong Biao's only pupil suddenly contracted. "This humble general was born with a full beard, even though he was only in his early twenties back then, so he was known as 'Zhong the Bearded' among his peers. Did Commander Xiao Lin ever speak to this humble general before his death?"
Li Jun slowly placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, nodded, and said, "Then, it's you."
Zhong Biao felt that Li Jun was no longer able to contain his anger and killing intent. His spine felt as if it were being soaked in snow water, and he couldn't help but take a step back. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does the commander mean by this?"
"What do you mean?" Li Jun laughed wildly, "Hahahaha, what do I mean? I've been searching for you for twenty years, and you ask me what I mean?"
“You’ve been searching for me for twenty years…” Zhong Biao put his hand on his waist knife, a ferocious look on his face, and said, “What do you mean by that?”
"Don't you remember? Then let me mention another name, Li Tan, do you remember him?"
Zhong Biao frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I seem to remember... Li Tan... Li Tan..."
He drew his sword with a clang and said, "Li Tan... Li the Coward?"