During this period, the Da Fei Dynasty gradually became well-known, especially under the imperial examination system promoted by Liu Ming, the Dynasty finally selected a group of officials, allowing the court to barely operate...
Early in the morning, as the bells echoed through the streets and alleys of Chang'an City, civil and military officials had already lined up neatly outside the Taixuan Hall, awaiting an audience.
Yun Fei, dressed in a black Dragon Robe with a five-clawed golden Dragon embroidered on its lapel, stepped into the main hall, and the hall immediately fell silent.
The officials were shocked; they had never expected their monarch to be so young.
"Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long, long live!"
Led by Prime Minister Liu, the officials knelt and bowed in unison, their voices so loud that dust rattled down from the hall's beams.
Yun Fei noticed that the hands of a few civil officials in the front row trembled slightly.
These newly promoted commoners had clearly not yet adapted to the solemn atmosphere of the imperial court.
"All ministers, rise."
He used his Internal Energy to make his voice echo in the hall for a moment longer, then raised his hand to signal.
He gently caressed the Night Pearl embedded in the armrest of the Dragon Throne, suddenly understanding why emperors favored such pomp.
This power to control the destinies of others was indeed captivating.
"Report—"
Just then, a Dead Soldier rushed into the hall and knelt to report.
Yun Fei slightly raised his hand to signal.
The Dead Soldier immediately spoke:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Grand Marshal Peng Tianyuan is already outside the hall, bearing thorns and pleading for punishment."
Yun Fei felt a little confused upon hearing this.
In these past days, Peng Tianyuan had fought for the country and achieved great military successes, so why was he suddenly pleading for punishment?
Was it due to heavy casualties?
But he had estimated that only 300,000 Dead Soldiers had been lost, which wasn't much.
He even thought too few had died.
"Summon him in."
Yun Fei frowned slightly, tapping his fingertips on the armrest of the Dragon Throne.
The hall doors slowly opened, and Peng Tianyuan, bare-chested with a thorny branch on his back, left a trail of blood on the golden brick floor with every step.
When he prostrated himself below the imperial steps, the thorns were already deeply embedded in his flesh.
"Your guilty subject, Peng Tianyuan, prostrates himself and requests Your Majesty's punishment!"
The iron-blooded Grand Marshal heavily kowtowed, his voice deep and firm.
"It is only because your guilty subject recently acted presumptuously, exterminating all the enemies who invaded during the chaos, leaving not a single one."
"Now, the Dayuan Dynasty, the Northern Huns, and the Daehan Dynasty have simultaneously declared war on my Da Fei Dynasty."
"In addition, the Great Wei Dynasty..."
Three powerful Dynasties jointly issued a notice, demanding that our country pay a certain amount of tribute annually, otherwise, they would jointly send troops to conquer my Da Fei Dynasty.
Yun Fei, sitting on the Dragon Throne, was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
This was clearly the rhythm for him to unify the six nations.
As for whether Peng Tianyuan's mistake had truly angered the other Dynasties, Yun Fei did not care.
He knew that this was merely an excuse for the other three nations to make a fuss.
Even without this reason, they would find another way.
After all, the current Da Fei Dynasty had just undergone a change of Dynasty and suffered from rebel uprisings.
In the eyes of other Dynasties, it was merely a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Upon hearing this, the assembled officials gasped, taking a sharp breath.
Some even collapsed to the ground from shock.
Yun Fei, seated on the Dragon Throne, glanced at the officials who had slumped to the ground, silently noting them down.
Then, he looked at Peng Tianyuan and said calmly:
"You do indeed have a fault."
"Coming to plead guilty for such a small matter has disturbed my enjoyment of today's morning court."
Peng Tianyuan was stunned, his forehead pressed against the ground, not daring to look up.
The court immediately fell into a deathly silence, where even breathing could be clearly heard.
"Come."
Yun Fei waved his hand indifferently.
"Remove the thorns from General Peng and grant him a seat."
Two guards immediately stepped forward and roughly removed the thorny branch from Peng Tianyuan's back.
Blood dripped down his spine, leaving mottled dark red stains on the golden bricks.
"Your Majesty..." Peng Tianyuan's voice choked, his eyes filled with shock and incomprehension.
"Mere six nations, what are they worth mentioning."
Yun Fei's lips curled into a cold smile.
"I was just worried about not having a reason to unify the world."
He stood up, his black Dragon Robe moving without wind, and an aura of majesty swept through the entire hall:
"Since the Dayuan Dynasty, the Northern Huns, and the Daehan Dynasty dare to declare war on me,"
"And the Great Wei Dynasty, the Dajiang Dynasty, and the Da Bing Dynasty even dare to demand tribute,"
"Then—"
"Issue my imperial decree—"
"Declare war on the Dayuan Dynasty!"
"Declare war on the Northern Huns!"
"Declare war on the Daehan Dynasty!"
"Declare war on the Great Wei Dynasty!"
"Declare war on the Dajiang Dynasty!"
"Declare war on the Da Bing Dynasty!"
As soon as these words were uttered, all the civil and military officials were shocked.
While everyone was in astonishment, several civil officials stepped forward, knelt, and kowtowed, advising in unison:
"Your Majesty, please consider carefully!"
"Our Dynasty has just been established, and internal affairs are not yet stable; if we declare war on other countries at this time, it will be tantamount to self-destruction."
The other civil officials also echoed their sentiments.
Yun Fei merely glanced at them indifferently, then raised his hand to order:
"Drag them out and give each ten strokes of the rod."
Several nimble Dead Soldiers responded and forcibly dragged away the civil officials who were still advising.
Even as they were dragged away, the few continued to shout:
"Your Majesty, think again!"
"Your Majesty, think again!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Soon, the dull sounds of flogging and sharp wails came from outside the hall.
Yun Fei's gaze swept over the silent officials, who were now as quiet as cicadas in winter; no one dared to raise an objection.
Then, he turned his attention to the column of military generals.
Compared to the civil officials, the military generals were few in number, only four.
Yun Fei casually pointed:
"You, step forward!"
The four military generals immediately stiffened, three of them hurriedly kneeling, while only the one-armed general on the far right stood with clasped fists.
When Yun Fei's gaze fell on his empty left sleeve, the general suddenly kowtowed heavily:
"This humble general is willing to be the vanguard!"
Yun Fei stared at him; this general was the only one among the four with the strength of a second-rate Martial Artist, the other three being third-rate.
This was also why he had left no one alive when he destroyed the previous Dynasty.
Coupled with his purge of the Martial Forest, killing all those who practiced martial arts, it caused the Great Wu Dynasty to transform from a place where Wuxia flourished to its current state of declining martial arts.
But he didn't care about this at all and immediately ordered:
"Since that is the case, I order you to command an army of 800,000 and pacify the Da Bing Dynasty within three months."
Before he finished speaking, Yun Fei gestured to a Dead Soldier beside him:
"You will accompany him to the southeast, and the 800,000-strong army will be under your command."
This was the only way.
His Dead Soldiers only recognized him personally; no one could mobilize them unless he gave the order himself.
Therefore, another Dead Soldier had to act as a "military tally" and go with the army to ensure the execution of orders.
Otherwise, these generals alone would not have the prestige to mobilize those Dead Soldiers.
The one-armed general's pupils constricted sharply upon hearing this.
He suddenly bowed his head to the ground, his armor clashing with the golden bricks with a crisp sound:
"This humble general is willing to exert all his strength and be loyal to the end!"
"As for you three..."
Yun Fei's gaze slowly swept over the remaining three trembling military generals, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"Each of you will lead an army of 300,000 and proceed to harass the borders of Great Wei, Dajiang, and Da Bing, respectively."
"Remember, I have only one requirement—to search for as many Heaven And Earth Treasures that help enhance Internal Energy as possible."
"For every one found, there will be a reward of ten thousand taels of gold."
The three felt relieved upon hearing this and quickly knelt and kowtowed.
Even after hearing such simple requirements as merely harassing and bringing back Heaven And Earth Treasures, the joy on their faces was hard to conceal.
"General Peng."
Yun Fei turned and looked at the Grand Marshal who was still kneeling.
"You are responsible for leading two million main troops directly to the capital of Dayuan."
This number shocked all the civil and military officials present, causing them to gasp.
But they did not know that Yun Fei, relying on his own abilities, had silently calculated that the number of Dead Soldiers he currently controlled exceeded five million.
Moreover, each of these Dead Soldiers had an astonishing appetite, consuming a considerable amount of grain.
He had even begun to feel financial pressure, finding it almost impossible to support them long-term.
Therefore, they had to be dispatched to battle as soon as possible, otherwise, the national treasury would eventually be drained by the consumption of these Dead Soldiers.