Chapter 1016: Chapter 1016: Aspiring to the Whole World Chapter 1016: Chapter 1016: Aspiring to the Whole World The morale of the Yan Army’s vanguard camp collapsed.

The vanguards, who were the bravest and most skilled warriors of the Yan Army, also revered and worshipped Yan Xiaoyun the most.

In everyone’s eyes, this great commander was invincible and would surely lead everyone to flatten Hanhai Pass.

However, the decisive battle had just begun when Yan Xiaoyun died.

No one wanted to believe this truth, however, Yan Xiaoyun’s body swayed on the Guan Wall, his signature Kirin silver armor shimmering in the sunlight, how could one continue to deceive oneself?

“Ah~”
Many soldiers dropped their weapons; some knelt and wept bitterly, while others beat the ground in agony.

Some charged towards the city wall.

Only to be turned into sieves by arrows!

And the shockwave caused by the commander’s fall quickly spread from the vanguard to the central and rear army, causing the morale of hundreds of thousands of Yan Army soldiers to plummet rapidly, leaving countless men looking at each other unsure of what to do.

“Protector Wang, should we send troops to charge and attack?”

Shangguan Wuji, experienced and astute, knew that dispatching a cavalry charge at this time would surely achieve great results.

“Forget it.”

But Wang Chen shook his head and said, “There’s no need.”

The annihilation of the three Martial Venerables of Yan State, along with Yan Xiaoyun’s corpse hanging on the city walls, had already greatly shocked the Yan Army.

But the main force of the Yan Army was still intact, vastly outnumbering the Hanhai Army, and if their military leaders organized the mourning soldiers to avenge Yan Xiaoyun, the charging Hanhai Cavalry would surely be decimated.

And Wang Chen too wouldn’t stand a chance.

The Yan Army was not something White Wolf Horse Bandits could compare with!

Most importantly, Wang Chen needed a complete Hanhai Army to execute his own plans.

So he allowed the Yan Army’s vanguard to retreat.

The Yan Army retreated ten miles away, where they stabilized their position and set up a new camp.

But this vast army had already lost its soul and morale.

That night, the entire Hanhai City fell into a frenzy of victory celebration.

Previously, when the Yan Army attacked heavily, the city was filled with gloom and despair, and many were prepared to flee.

However, the Hanhai Army had shut the gates and vigorously hunted spies and secret agents, causing a tense and fearful atmosphere among the populace.

Now, with the Yan Army commander and two Martial Venerables fallen at Hanhai Pass, breaking the backbone of the Yan Army, there was no longer any threat to Hanhai City.

How could everyone not feel elated?

Undoubtedly the happiest was Princess Qingyun. On behalf of the Royal Family of Great Liang, she bestowed Wang Chen the title of Grand Tutor, the rank of Pillar Nation General, and granted him the fief of Hanhai Prefecture, in recognition of his unparalleled achievements.

In fact, in her capacity, Princess Qingyun was not entitled to make such an award.

But with Emperor Shaowu deceased and King Jing seizing the throne, Princess Qingyun’s decision did not seem out of place, and it officially signaled her ambitions to contest for the throne of Great Liang.

With the support of Shangguan Wuji and fifty thousand Hanhai Army soldiers, along with Wang Chen, the formidable warrior, there was no dissent within the whole Hanhai City.

Even if there were, it would be immediately suppressed!

The next day, Hanhai City announced a change of allegiance, breaking away from the rule of Emperor Yuanjing of Great Liang.

At the same time, the Yan Army outside the pass sent a negotiation team.

They wanted to redeem the corpse of Yan Xiaoyun.

“Agreed.”

After listening to the report from the duty officer, Wang Chen’s thoughts raced, and he quickly understood: “General Shangguan, I’ll leave the negotiation completely to you.”

He said meaningfully, “I heard Yan State is very wealthy, we shouldn’t let them off cheaply.”

Shangguan Wuji understood right away: “Understood.”

Although Yan Xiaoyun had died, his prestige in the Yan Army was so high that retrieving his body could unite hundreds of thousands of mourning soldiers, preventing the entire corps from crumbling.

If the new commander of the Yan Army wants to bring back this army intact and preserve its spirit, then the body of Yan Xiaoyun cannot continue to hang on the walls of Hanhai Pass.

This is a great opportunity to exploit the situation!

Shangguan Wuji, astute as ever, quickly got ready to receive the emissaries from the Yan Army.

Wang Chen watched the entire negotiation process.

Then, he witnessed the changes in the expressions of the Yan Army’s emissaries, which could easily be included in the dramatic arts textbooks.

As for the final negotiation outcome, Wang Chen almost wanted to shed a tear of sympathy for the ashen-faced Yan emissaries.

It was a piteous scene.

But sympathy aside, nothing that should be retained could be omitted!

After the negotiations, Yan Xiaoyun’s body was taken down, alongside the Kirin Armor enclosed within a purple sandalwood coffin.

The Kirin Armor, though a national treasure of Great Yan, was of little significance to Wang Chen, who preferred to trade it for military supplies.

Of course, the body of Yan Xiaoyun wouldn’t be sent back immediately.

That afternoon, alongside the low sound of horns, hundreds of thousands of Yan Army soldiers broke camp.

They left behind thirty thousand warhorses and massive stocks of food, military weapons, and all the catapults and siege towers.

The warhorses of Great Yan were of exceptional breed, rarely exported and very expensive.

These thirty thousand warhorses were undoubtedly a considerable fortune, worth up to ten million taels of silver!

The Yan Army had now lost both face and substance completely.

Shangguan Wuji estimated that they wouldn’t dare to invade Hanhai Pass again for at least twenty years.

After that external threat was resolved, Hanhai Army, now under the command of Princess Qingyun, turned their weapons towards the interior of Great Liang.

Interestingly, on the second day of the Yan Army’s retreat, a cavalry of five thousand arrived at Hanhai City.

This cavalry was a reinforcement sent from the West Sea Prefecture.

But without any surprises, they were completely swallowed by the Hanhai Army, leaving no remnants.

The West Sea Prefecture was, after all, an easy target.

After discussing with Shangguan Wuji, Wang Chen decided to not attack the West Sea Prefecture for now but to start comprehensive military preparations.

First up was to expand the Hanhai Army to a hundred thousand men, meaning recruiting another fifty thousand soldiers from the hundreds of thousands in Hanhai City, with all the required military equipment coming from the spoils of war.

At the same time, the Military Foundry Camp of the Hanhai Army also expanded its scale, recruiting many craftsmen and apprentices from the city to forge better quality, lighter cannons and firearms.

The blueprints for the firearms were, of course, provided by Wang Chen.

These newly forged weapons would equip the newly recruited soldiers.

To acquire enough materials for making gunpowder, Wang Chen also dispatched teams to find and purchase sulfur.

The entire Hanhai City, or rather Hanhai Prefecture, under his command, started operating like a massive warfare machine, gradually displaying its fierce fangs.

And Wang Chen’s Fate value was also gradually increasing!

His goal was clear.

He aimed for dominance over the entire realm!

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