NABC Chapter 74 Unification of the World, Finally Achieving the Innate Realm
Chapter 74 Unification of the World, Finally Achieving the Innate Realm
Outside Lin'an City, inside a large tent.
"General, the ruler and his ministers in Lin'an have decided to surrender."
Shi Tianze spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, and then took out a secret decree from his bosom.
"His Majesty has decreed that I hand it over to the Marshal today."
Guo Jing, dressed in armor, knelt on one knee and received the imperial edict from Yang Kang.
He opened the imperial edict, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his breath became uncontrollably disordered for a moment.
But then, Guo Jing took a deep breath and silently put away the imperial edict.
Why has the marshal been so slow in capturing Xiangyang?
"While the strategy of launching a surprise attack on Lin'an was remarkably effective, it was not without its risks."
"Since you can capture Xiangyang, why wait until my troops are at Lin'an?"
Shi Tianze glanced at the imperial edict with curiosity, but instead of asking further questions, he inquired about why Guo Jing had been delaying the capture of Xiangyang.
"Xiangyang is a magnificent city under heaven."
"Although its city defenses have flaws, they can only be breached by a strong attack."
Guo Jing's expression was grave.
"In that situation, both our army and the Song army would suffer countless casualties."
"If Heaven saw this, Heaven would pity him; how could Guo Jing alone not be able to bear it?"
The horrific scene of the fall of Xiangyang was still vivid in his mind. It was the most brutal offensive and defensive battle he had ever commanded, and none of the battles he had fought in the westward expedition against Khwarezm could compare to it.
That was Xiangyang after Lin'an had been besieged.
"His Majesty once said that General Guo is the only person in the world who can be called a great hero."
"Having witnessed the great commander's demeanor, this humble general is filled with awe and admiration."
Shi Tianze said with heartfelt admiration.
The world is never short of benevolent generals, but a benevolent general who is also invincible is extremely rare.
"The greatest heroes..."
Guo Jing was slightly taken aback, then repeated the word with a hint of self-deprecation.
"Do you know what His Majesty's secret decree to me said?"
Guo Jing suddenly changed his mind.
"Marshal, this is a secret decree; there's no reason to tell anyone else about it."
Shi Tianze was immediately alarmed and tried to leave the tent.
"His Majesty has secretly decreed that after the fall of Lin'an, I am ordered to personally execute the Emperor of Zhao Song."
Guo Jing spoke before he could even leave the tent.
Why?
Inside the large tent, Shi Tianze was immediately horrified.
"His Majesty once said that everything that happened to the Guo and Yang families was superficially due to Wanyan Honglie, but at its root was entirely due to the incompetence of the Zhao Song court."
"It was the Song Dynasty's disregard for the Han people in the north, its subservience to foreign tribes, and its suspicion of loyal ministers and righteous men that led to everything after the Jingkang Incident."
"Now, he wants me to take revenge myself."
When Guo Jing mentioned this, he suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly.
"I do recall what you said, Marshal."
"When Mr. Yelü was teaching the Imperial Guards, he said that the purpose of Confucianism is to cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world."
"But in order to maintain their precarious peace in a corner of the country, the Song dynasty fabricated so many fallacies and heresies, just so they could abandon their suffering Han compatriots in the north with a clear conscience."
Shi Tianze's voice turned cold. He was so engrossed in Guo Jing's words that he forgot the secret decree must not be known to outsiders.
"His Majesty once said that he would spend twenty or thirty years, using the experience of generations, to gradually eliminate those erroneous principles."
"But the blood and tears shed in the North over the years need an outlet."
Shi Tianze suddenly became excited when he got to this point.
"If outsiders storm into our homes and burn, kill, and loot, we can simply fight back."
"But your own family members just stand by and watch you be humiliated by outsiders."
"General, tell me, how can I forget something like this?"
"It has been nearly three hundred years since the fall of Yan and Yun, and a hundred years since the collapse of the Central Plains."
"But our own court, the emperor of the Han people, sits in Lin'an, ignoring the fact that the Han people in the north are being repeatedly ravaged by foreign tribes, their traditional clothing and customs are gone, and their Chinese culture is hard to spread."
"If they live peacefully, then we, the people of the North, have struggled in blood and fire since birth."
Who will soothe our resentment?
"If the commander-in-chief cannot bring himself to do it, I can do it for you."
Guo Jing was utterly horrified when he saw Shi Tianze's fury.
His initial hesitation was now further burdened by a moral constraint.
He suddenly realized how terrible the deep-seated resentment among the Han people in the north was, and only then did he understand why Yang Kang had gone to such great lengths to bring him to court.
Without his presence in the court, the Han Chinese group in the north would sooner or later have clashed violently with the non-Han forces of the empire.
It could even sow the seeds of the empire's eventual collapse.
He was truly faced with that cruel choice: kill one person, or kill millions?
Fortunately, the Zhao emperor was not an innocent person, so making this choice was not difficult.
"No need. Since I have chosen to serve in the court, I have already prepared myself to be crushed to pieces and infamous for eternity."
Guo Jing smiled wryly.
"A gentleman can be deceived by his own methods."
This refers to Guo Jing at this moment.
Three days later, Emperor Zhao Kuo of Lin'an, with the imperial seal on his head, led his officials out of the city and knelt down in surrender.
Chancellor Shi Miyuan stood at the head of the assembled officials, his face ashen.
Guo Jing, holding a knife, walked up to Zhao Kuo in front of everyone's eyes.
Zhao Kuo appeared refined and handsome, but like his ancestors, he was a typical good-for-nothing.
Before the long sword even fell, he was so frightened that he wet his pants.
Prime Minister Shi Miyuan stood up indignantly.
"How can the mighty Qian Dynasty break its word! We have already surrendered, why must you continue to commit such violence against us!"
Guo Jing could only respond with silence.
Shi Tianze's gaze swept coldly over him.
That gaze was like a blade, making Shi Miyuan tremble all over.
A chilling killing intent emanated from Shi Tianze, the kind of coldness unique to the Dragon Cavalry Imperial Guards, the kind that emanates from the edge of a blade.
The Southern Song officials kneeling in the distance were secretly shocked. Guo Jing was now the unparalleled martial artist of his time, and he naturally understood what the aura emanating from Shi Tianze meant.
Upon recalling Yang Kang's secret decree, Guo Jing dared not hesitate and uttered no further words.
With a single stroke, he severed Zhao Kuo's head.
Blood and the stench of urine gushed out almost simultaneously.
Guo Jing silently carried Zhao Kuo's head back to the front lines and casually handed it to Shi Tianze.
Shi Tianze glanced coldly at the emperor's head.
"Hebei has been occupied for a century, and the Han people in the north have been trampled on by foreign tribes for a century."
"When your court was indulging in revelry in Lin'an, did you ever think about the compatriots still living in the north?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated in front of Lin'an City with the support of his inner strength.
Among the officials of the Southern Song Dynasty, some could not bear the humiliation and rose up to smash their heads against the city wall, committing suicide to die for their country.
"They don't even dare to resist; they'll only gamble their lives on the reputation of a loyal subject."
Shi Tianze sneered and followed Guo Jing into Lin'an City on horseback.
Thus, with the three armies launching a simultaneous attack, the Southern Song Dynasty was completely destroyed in just two months.
Inside the Imperial Study in the Imperial City of Yanjing.
"Why do you insist that Guo Jing kill the Song Emperor? Aren't you afraid that Guo Jing will resign and leave in anger?"
Yang Miaozhen asked, puzzled.
"This is to protect him."
Yang Kang did not stop writing, and said leisurely.
"What do you mean?"
Yang Miaozhen was slightly curious.
"Don't you think he's too much like me?"
"The same Han bloodline, the same upbringing in a foreign land, the same fame and power held by a foreign dynasty."
"Do you think anyone might wonder, if Yang Kang could do it, why couldn't Guo Jing?"
Yang Kang paused slightly with his pen, then looked up at Yang Miaozhen and said.
"You mean, someone might persuade him to rebel?"
Yang Miaozhen's expression hardened for a moment, then she relaxed again.
"You're overthinking it. Guo Jing isn't that kind of person, and no one in the Great Qian Dynasty has that ability."
Yang Miaozhen said confidently.
"The moment he was draped in the yellow robe, even if I knew he had no such intention, I still had to kill him."
"Therefore, Guo Jing had to kill the emperor of the Zhao Song dynasty to sever ties with the people of the Southern Song dynasty who would inevitably come to court in the future."
"He can only do as I say, represent the power of the grasslands in Daqian, and can only represent the Mongols. He cannot have any connection with any other forces."
"He can only be supported by the Mongols, not by the people of the steppes and the Southern Dynasties at the same time."
"One hegemon is enough for the world; there can't be another Duke of Pei."
"I believe he will understand my good intentions."
Yang Kang said indifferently.
"You're really good to this brother."
"I just don't know if he'll appreciate it."
Yang Miaozhen shook her head and said with a smile.
Suddenly, the moment Shi Tianze led his army into Lin'an, and the last piece of the Central Plains Han dynasty's territory was incorporated into the Daqian dynasty, Yang Kang felt a strange, cool sensation surge into his body.
The unease that had been lingering in his mind ever since he transmigrated and was amplified by the Xiang Yu template instantly vanished.
Yang Kang, who was handling state affairs in the imperial study, suddenly felt a slight tremor at the tip of his pen, and his true energy and physique flowed naturally throughout his body.
The boundless essence of heaven and earth spontaneously converged towards his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows.
A moment later, Yang Kang suddenly looked up.
To Yang Miaozhen's astonishment, a golden light rose from between Yang Kang's eyebrows, shooting into the sky and forming a pillar of light.
Boundless essence, along with the beam of light, surged into Yang Kang's body, enveloping him in bursts of milky-white light.
The world is unified.
Yang Kang then attained the wondrous realm of the Primordial Chaos.