Chapter 28: The Sacred Capital of Tian Du

  Three days later, Haotian and his party set off from Yan Prefecture to head south under the escort of the 30,000-strong Honorary Army. When passing through Dingzhou, Haotian also specially inspected the military and political situation in Dingzhou.

  Although He Fu was a military man turned politician, his ability in governance was undeniable, just as Luo Xiang said. Under his rule, Dingzhou quickly burst forth with new life. Especially at the western Wangjin Ferry Terminal, although the roads to Hexi and Anxi were still under the control of the northwestern ethnic minorities, they did not strictly prohibit trade flows. As a result, the current merchant teams had not yet reached their pre-war levels, but they could not be underestimated either. After a conversation, Huang Tian was delighted to discover that this middle-aged Han man had put all his thoughts into governance. Once he started talking about the current situation in Dingzhou, he spoke endlessly. Even though Luo Xiang interrupted him several times, he still took two hours to finish saying everything.

  Facing Li Xiao's 50,000-strong city defense army, Haotian attached great importance to it. He not only watched the defensive drills of the 40,000 infantrymen but also paid special attention to the rapid raids of the 10,000 cavalrymen. Li Xiao indeed had his unique approach to training his troops, and under his command, the newly formed city defense army showed a hint of the killing aura that only seasoned soldiers possessed. However, what Haotian valued most was Li Xiao's meticulous mind and calm yet bold decision-making, which was similar to his former superior, Feng Jing. After learning of Haotian's impending departure for the south, Li Xiao's scouts began to stretch towards the Yin Wind Ancient Fortress and the Sword Gate Heroic Pass, and information about the garrison situation on both sides continued to flow into Haotian's hands.

  Farewell to Dingzhou City, Haotian continued southward. In less than half a day's time, the majestic and treacherous Yin Feng Ancient Castle appeared before his eyes. Thinking of how everyone had entered Tianji Valley from here back then, a smile involuntarily rose on the corners of Haotian's mouth.

  "Tianyi asked in a soft voice: 'Master, are you planning to go and pay your respects to Qiantian?"

  Haotian shook his head: "Still, let's not. Qiantian is a transcendent being, we ordinary people shouldn't disturb him." Although there was a small path in Tianji Valley that led directly to the southern part of Yinfeng Mountain Range, it was only suitable for a small troop to pass through, and it would be difficult for his 30,000 men to pass quickly. Moreover, this time, no one familiar with the formation was following him, so they couldn't get through the big formation at all.

  Luo Xiang patted his horse and rode forward, saying faintly: "Master, from here on out, it's no longer our territory."

  Haotian nodded, three miles in front of the Yin Wind Ancient Castle was the traditional territory of the Li family from Qin Chuan. After Haotian took over the He Tao, he didn't cross the border either. Walking ahead meant leaving his own territory, and he had to be careful all the way.

  The commander of the ancient castle heard that General Jingbei Haotian had arrived, and hastily opened the main gate of the castle. A group of high-ranking officials led by the commander personally came to greet him.

  "Junior General Qin Chu, Li Xiao Ran, pays his respects to the Duke of Jingbei." A young man with a loud voice said. The energetic and full-bodied voice made Huan Tian slightly surprised at that moment.

  Hao Tian hastily dismounted and supported Li Xiao Ran with both hands, saying: "General, please get up quickly. We are all colleagues of the empire, there is no need for such a big ceremony." He had only heard of the great name of Li Xiao Ran, the son of Qin Chuan Li's family, but seeing this person's majestic and energetic appearance, he knew that he was not an ordinary person. Moreover, since he was of the same generation as Li Xiao Mao, he might be the legitimate heir of the Li family.

  Li Xiao Ran, although only twenty-two or three years old, indeed has a unique charm in his words and insights. In the heart of the Emperor, he couldn't help but let out a faint sigh. The reason why the three major families have been able to thrive over the years is not only related to the decline of the empire and their centuries-old foundation, but more importantly, it's because they produce talented individuals one after another. These outstanding young talents are the best proof. However, the Emperor still doesn't have a good impression of the three major families; if it weren't for their ulterior motives, the imperial army wouldn't have been completely defeated in the northern expedition.

  "Jingbei Hou is too modest. I think the lord swept across the Yellow River, annihilating over 2 million barbarians, such a great achievement, and this humble general admires it with utmost sincerity. Unfortunately, due to my duties, I couldn't join forces with the lord to resist the barbarians together, which is a lifelong regret." Li Xiao Ran said with a tinge of regret, before shifting his gaze towards the millions of soldiers accompanying Huo Tian, including Luo Xiang and Tian Yi.

  "Lao Fu Qiao Xiang, originally a minor official in Dingzhou, now serves as an attendant under the master's seat. These soldiers are all meritorious officials from this war of recovering our homeland, but unfortunately, due to the ruthlessness of swords and spears, they have all become disabled. The master is compassionate by nature, but since He Tao is currently impoverished, he hopes to bring them to the capital to request a reward from the emperor, so that these brave warriors will not be left without a means of livelihood." Qiao Xiang said with a serious face, then pointed at Tian Yi and said: "This is my master's wife."

  Li Xiao Ran hastily paid his respects and said: "So it's the wife of the Marquis of Jingbei. I, a lowly general, have eyes but no pearls, please don't mind me."

  The heavens smiled slightly: "General, no need to be too polite. General, you are majestic and refreshing, with you guarding the ancient castle of Yin Feng, it is truly a blessing for my people in this divine land."

  "I will thank the lady for her praise later." Li Xiao Ran was not a person to drag things out, so after a slight bow, he led the group into the Yin Feng Ancient Fortress. He didn't make things difficult for the three million Honorary Troops that followed, but his soldiers were on high alert. After all, there were only 500,000 troops stationed in the Yin Feng Ancient Fortress at present, and if Hua Tian had ulterior motives, although it was not certain whether he could take down the fortress, causing some trouble was inevitable.

  Haotian also noticed this, but his face remained calm and he continued to chat warmly with Li Xiaoran, only with a large part of his heart hanging on the defense of Yinfeng Ancient Castle. Although Yinfeng Ancient Castle was located in a treacherous terrain, it was the throat of Qin River Road in the north, but it was not famous within the empire before. In terms of grandeur, it could not compare to Juyongguan Pass and Jiayuguan Pass on the Anxi Road; in terms of danger, it could not compare to Sword Gate Pass on the Yizhou Road; in terms of traffic, it could not compare to Shanhaiguan Pass on the Donghai Road. However, since the fall of Hebei Sanluo, with the feeling that foreign tribes would invade the six states of Hetao, the position of Yinfeng Ancient Castle suddenly became important. The Li family of Qin River also spared no effort in building this place into an important fortress to defend against the invasion of foreign tribes from the south. The garrison was increased from 20,000 at the beginning to 50,000.

  Although Haotian later recovered the Yellow Suite, the Li family was clearly not at ease with this mysterious neighbor, and the 50,000 garrison troops were never reduced. As Haotian walked along, he found that nearly half of the fortifications inside the ancient castle had been recently repaired. However, due to the treacherous terrain of the Yin Wind Mountains, even if there were only 50,000 garrison troops here, it would not be an easy task to capture them in a short period of time, even with several times the military strength.

  Hao Tian declined Li Xiao Ran's polite invitation to stay, as he had an imperial decree in hand and it was inconvenient for him to linger here. Moreover, this was still the Li family's territory, and if he stayed too long, it would inevitably lead to some unnecessary rumors. Besides, Li Xiao Ran wasn't sincere about keeping him either. After all, although the 30,000 soldiers under Hao Tian were all wounded and disabled, Li Xiao Ran wasn't a novice who had just started out. It was easy to see that these men were fierce and fearless warriors. He naturally hoped that Hao Tian would leave as soon as possible.

  Haotian did not head south all the way, but instead turned east after passing by Yinfeng Ancient Fortress, going through Hanzhou and Kangzhou on the Qin River Road from Henan Prefecture, and entering Tiandu Shengjing via Qiuzhou. Although he traveled quickly, due to the large army following him, it still took nearly five days to arrive at Tiandu Shengjing.

  Standing outside the city, Haotian had already sent someone to report. Looking at the city wall that was over ten zhang high, Haotian's heart couldn't help but rise with a sense of grandeur, while Luo Xiang looked at Haotian's suddenly bursting forth majestic aura and only smiled slightly.

  Haotian pointed with his whip and said in a low voice: "Mr. Luo, you say that this city is so strong, how can we capture it?"

  "The defensive fortifications of Tian Du Sheng Jing have always been extremely perfect. Even if there are only 100,000 troops in the city, as long as the commander is commanding properly, even if the enemy is ten times stronger, it's impossible to take down the city in a short period of time. However, attacking cities is inferior to attacking hearts, and there is no fortress that cannot be broken under heaven. The most solid fortresses are often breached from within."

  Lu Xiang said calmly: "Just like the Clear Wind Empire that swept across the world back then, during the era of Taizu and Taizong, the great army was invincible, and wherever the horse whip pointed and the iron hooves reached, it was called the eternal wind blowing across the Divine State Continent. But now, look at what has happened: petty people are in power, aristocratic families are fighting for power, and the majestic Heavenly Dynasty is actually defeated and humiliated under the iron hooves of the allied army of foreign tribes. If it weren't for the mutual restraint of the three major aristocratic families and An Yongchang's sinister intentions, with Clear Wind's national strength, how could it have fallen to such a state?"

  "What the old man said is absolutely right." Haotian was obviously thinking of the Empire's elite army, the Qinglong Xuanwu White Tiger Corps. The soldiers of the three major corps were all well-trained elites. If it weren't for the incompetence of the border generals and the court's withholding of military pay, the northern defense line wouldn't have collapsed so quickly. If it weren't for the three major families' sinister intentions at the time, the Northern Expeditionary Army wouldn't have been defeated by the alien tribes. But even after being defeated, the Northern Expeditionary Army didn't lose their elite title. Haotian relied on these remnants and defeated generals to take down Dingzhou one step at a time, and then swept across the Yellow River Basin.

  At this moment, the north gate suddenly opened wide, and a line of brightly dressed officials poured out. Walking at the front was none other than the current national teacher, Pang Yan. Standing beside him were two white-haired old men.

  Hao Tian saw this and hastily dismounted his horse to bow: "I am Hao Tian, the commander of Dingzhou. I pay my respects to the National Master."

  Pang Yan burst out laughing and, with both hands supporting him, loudly said: "I had said it back then, that with the Marquis's talent, he would definitely not be a mediocre person. Indeed, in less than a month, the Marquis swept across the Yellow River and recovered the six states. Such a good minister is truly a blessing for the country and a fortune for the people."

  Hao Tian hastily declined, saying: "The National Master has overpraised me. The fact that I have achieved what I have today is entirely due to the efforts of all the generals and soldiers."

  Pang Yan smiled again: "Master Hou doesn't have to be modest, this is still your credit." After finishing speaking, he finally helped Tian Yi up with both hands.

  "The commoner woman Qin Tianyi greets the National Master." Now that the situation is different, Tianyi also made a big and generous bow.

  Pang Yan hastily said: "Tian Yi young lady, please get up quickly. Hehe, after a while, I'm afraid I'll have to call you Princess Consort."

  Tian Yi's face turned red, and the two old men beside Pang Yan also smiled slightly. Tian Yi was even more shy, so she retreated behind Huang Tian with a red face.

  The heavens retreated, and Ruo Xiang suddenly appeared in the eyes of Pang Yan and others who were following her. Looking at Ruo Xiang's familiar gaze, Pang Yan was taken aback, while the two elderly people standing beside him also stiffened, their gazes meeting for a moment before quickly dispersing, but all parties understood the meaning behind each other's eyes.

  Pang Yan was a seasoned veteran, and after a brief moment of stunned silence, he regained his composure. He then pulled Huan Tian forward to face the two elderly men beside him and said: "Gentlemen, this is Huan Tian, the General who conquered Dingzhou with just 1,000 cavalrymen and swept across the Yellow River region. Ah, now we should address him as Marquis Huan. Marquis Huan, allow me to introduce you. This gentleman is Tie Zhen, the Minister of War, and this gentleman is Sima Dangui, the Minister of Personnel."

  Hao Tian was shocked, although he had known that the two old men were extraordinary, but he never thought that these two people were actually the three pillars of Qingfeng who supported the entire broken court with Pang Yan.

  In the many generals of the Qingfeng Empire, Iron Zhen, the Minister of War, is absolutely a number one or two figure. Although he has not appeared on the battlefield for at least twenty years, his reputation still intimidates the entire Qingfeng. From the time he followed his father to join the army at the age of 14 until 20 years ago when he was transferred back to the Tiandu Sacred Capital from the Northeast Long Wall Defense Line, he spent more than 70 years on the battlefield. He experienced four dynasties and rose and fell three times. When he fell, he was exiled to the Blood-colored Plateau, where he spent 12 hard years. In his heyday, he served as the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army and Minister of War, but that was a year ago, when the imperial court had just been defeated, and the regular army under his command had only 50 or 60 million people. His footprints stretched from Yangzhou Road in the far east to Jiayuguan in the far west, and from the Xijiang Defense Line in the south to the Long Wall Defense Line in the north. The most outstanding generals of the Qingfeng Empire in recent decades, such as Ouyang Jingzhong, the current commander of the Southern Military Region, Han Fu, the commander of the Zhuque Military Region, Liu Nanzhe, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and Hua Mo Zhao Mu, who died in battle during the Northern Expedition, all served under him. What Emperor Huangtian did not expect was that such a frail old man could actually support the entire Qingfeng Empire's army of millions.

  Simadangui may not be comparable to Tiezhen in terms of seniority, but he also went through three dynasties and was known as one of the "Four Great Confucians of Qingfeng" along with Lin Taiyue from Hetao, Guan Fushi from Donghai, and Lu Qingliu from Jiangnan. He served as Minister of Personnel for thirty years, and except for the sons of the three major families, at least sixty percent of the officials in the court were his disciples. If Tiezhen was a powerful figure in the military, then Simadangui's prestige in the court was unmatched. Even the State Preceptor, Peng Ye, showed great respect when facing this elderly man in his seventies. However, this old man had always been low-key, and although he was highly respected, he could not compare to Peng Ye in terms of fame.

  "Hao Tian pays his respects to the two elders." Hao Tian bowed respectfully. For these two old men, he was truly respectful from the bottom of his heart, and his sincerity could be felt even by those around him like Tian Yi. Tie Zhen and Sima Dangui just smiled slightly. Given their status, they naturally wouldn't exchange pleasantries with Hao Tian, so they simply smiled and praised him a few times. It was actually Sima Dangui who nodded strangely while looking at Luo Xiang, whose usual gloominess had disappeared, replaced by an unexpectedly sincere expression.

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