Chapter 604

The seventh night passed safely.

In Anyi City, in the newly renovated great hall of the Prince An's mansion—already half‑completed—Wu Tie sat high upon the throne.

Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong, the three brothers, clad in heavy armor, stood imposingly near the throne, their eyes blazing like fire as they looked down upon the thousands of civil and military officials standing in the hall below.

The vast An Kingdom, spanning the Nine Provinces, has populations of tens of billions per province, hundreds of prefectural seats, and tens of thousands of cities big and small—so just how enormous is the number of civil and military officials required?

Wu Tie had subdued three or four hundred small and medium clans, and the leading figures of those clans were all present in the hall.

Lan Changqing, Ximen You, and the other newly promoted ministers of An Kingdom, dressed in splendid robes, stood at the front of the ranks, gazing with complex expressions at Wu Tie on the throne; the heads of the other families and clans likewise wore various official uniforms, standing in order according to their rank.

Their clansmen had already been appointed as officials of various ranks and were now on their way to take up posts in the provincial, prefectural, and city seats across the Nine Provinces.

Yu Province had been thoroughly cleansed by Wu Tie, and taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the starlight tempering of these seven nights, he also drove out many great clans from the other eight provinces.

Even if a few troublemakers remained in the Nine Provinces, they would be easy to root out.

As long as the officials who had pledged allegiance to Wu Tie took control of local power, the nine provinces—already among the wealthiest and most prosperous in the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom—would fall entirely into his hands.

The vast territory, countless subjects, immense wealth, and inexhaustible cultivation resources could all be put to Wu Tie's use.

"Therefore, civil affairs are handled by the Right Minister Huang, military affairs by the Left Minister Tie, and all other ministers, I hope you will work together in unity for the welfare of our An Kingdom's people and the peace of our Nine Provinces, diligently and without slack."

"May the state be tranquil and the people prosperous, the nation wealthy and the populace strong… I only wish that our An Kingdom become a paradise on earth, that its people may live in peace and contentment, enjoying tranquility."

Wu Tie sat upon the throne, looking down at the over a thousand officials in the hall, smiling gently: "But I also understand that to achieve peace, money alone is not enough; you also need troops. It's like a wealthy landlord in the countryside—having ten thousand strings of cash, you still need to hire a gang of enforcers, otherwise when bandits and raiders come, your money will become theirs."

Wu Tie sighed deeply: "At present, our An Kingdom's territory among the fiefdoms of the various divine kings is not the largest; take Tai King Gongyang Lao'er, for example—his fief openly controls over a hundred provincial seats, and who knows how many hidden benefits he has."

"Yet our An Kingdom's fief may be small, but it is rich—rich to the point of overflowing! So, how many people are eyeing it openly and in secret?"

"Recruit troops, buy horses, expand the army—this matter admits of no mistake."

"I also know that my reputation among the populace is somewhat foul… but who is right and who is wrong cannot yet be settled… I am, however, a great loyal minister; the common folk cannot understand me, but you must appreciate my sincere, loyal heart."

Wu Tie pointed at the odd‑faced Lan Changqing, Ximen You, and the others, smiling: "You, you must share my worries. Therefore, how to turn my name into the number‑one paragon across the Nine Provinces, and how to make the common people willingly serve and even die for me, depends on your methods."

"Do it well, and I will grant you high office and noble rank."

"Do it poorly… heh, heh, heh!"

Wu Tie leaned back heavily, settling comfortably into the throne, and casually flung a document heavily onto the desk before him.

"If you do it poorly, just look—look at the urgent military report that was just sent back from Qingqiu City yesterday."

"The emperor's most beloved imperial noble consort was assassinated at the palace gate… good grief, they used a flagship‑class main cannon, aiming that huge weapon at the noble consort and fired a shot!"

"Moreover, they used the newly developed, most powerful Yin‑Yang Annihilation Cannon from the Divine Armaments Bureau of the Great Martial Divine Kingdom."

"The utmost yin and evil Yin‑Yang force can devour all things and melt divine souls; it is said that if this greatest Yin‑Yang Annihilation Cannon is unleashed without regard for cost—sacrificing all its internal formations and restrictions to instant destruction—its power can approach without limit the half‑step Divine realm."

Wu Tie gazed sternly at the many officials in the hall, silent as cicadas, and said solemnly: "They want the imperial noble consort dead!"

"They are stabbing the emperor in the heart!"

"If the emperor had not sent an elder of the imperial clan bearing the state treasure, the Chaos Luo Umbrella, to secretly protect the noble consort, she would likely have already been reduced to ashes—how heartbroken the emperor must be!"

"Even so, the noble consort is unharmed, but she suffered a tremendous fright."

"Don't even speak of that delicate, frail beauty of the noble consort; even if it were you, gentlemen present, facing a super‑main cannon from a flagship aimed at you, wouldn't you be afraid?"

Lan Changqing, Ximen You, and the others exchanged a glance; even without mentioning the flagship‑class super‑main cannon, a mere main cannon on an ordinary warship, whose beam is several zhang thick, would be terrifying enough when it came down from above.

Poor imperial noble consort… tsk, the Great Martial Divine Kingdom has gone a bit mad.

"The noble consort's fright is bad enough, but the two personal palace maids she had just grown accustomed to and begun to feel affection for are gone."

"The imperial elder only managed to shield the noble consort; who could look after those two little maids?"

Wu Tie spread his hands and sighed: "I still have some old connections in the Forbidden Demon Hall, so I can hear a bit of secret news; it is said that the noble consort has been weeping in the palace since yesterday evening until now… look, what time is it now?"

Wu Tie raised his head and glanced toward the outside of the hall.

The hall's doors opened; the shadows of the few Five Elements Spirit guards standing before them fell at their feet, while sunlight shone vertically upon them.

"It's already high noon, and the noble consort has been crying since yesterday evening!"

Wu Tie solemnly surveyed the officials filling the hall and said gravely: "The emperor is furious… furious… that rage surges to the heavens; poor Qingqiu Ling, the commander of the city guard responsible for inspecting entries and exits at Qingqiu City, the commander of the Celestial Fox Guard, and several other senior court officials…"

Shaking his head, Wu Tie said wistfully: "What a grand spectacle—too bad the emperor didn't issue an edict summoning me for an audience… anyway, I hear that over a thousand officials, their bare white buttocks lined up in rows at the southern gate of the palace, were beaten with the court cane until heaven and earth shook, and among them at least two hundred were generals of imperial lineage."

Wu Tie clapped his hands and laughed: "A thousand officials receiving the court cane at once, in front of so many commoners, being mercilessly beaten on their buttocks—alas, they have lost all face; how will they ever show themselves again?"

A soft 'hee‑hee' laugh echoed within the hall.

"If this were taking place in the imperial palace hall of Qingqiu City, such a thing would certainly not happen, for the divine kingdom's rules are exceedingly strict."

But these over a thousand officials under Wu Tie are just a ragtag troupe he recently gathered; could you expect them to possess any semblance of solemn court decorum? Impossible!

Wu Tie also laughed, shaking his head: "So the emperor is furious, and the officials who got beaten are bad enough, but worse still… the emperor has ordered the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom to go to full‑scale war against the Great Martial Divine Kingdom."

"As for the previous war between the former dynasty and the Great Martial Divine Kingdom in the southwest, everyone knows it… but in fact it wasn't very meaningful."

The civil and military officials in the hall glanced at each other, looking back and forth, but no one spoke.

The common folk don't know, but these people are all well‑connected aristocrats with influence and channels; they naturally realize that the earlier defeat of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom in the southwest under the former dynasty was suspicious.

Wu Tie said that war wasn't meaningful, and indeed it wasn't; it was nothing more than Linghu Qingqing striking from behind, sabotaging the First Army.

"But this time, it is truly a war of national annihilation."

Wu Tie said coldly: "The emperor has been roused to anger; the Great Martial Divine Kingdom, vile and shameless, dared to assassinate the emperor's most beloved imperial noble consort in the street—this is dragging the emperor's face, and the face of our Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, through the mud. The emperor is truly resolved to fight to the death."

"Could the emperor himself go to the front lines to fight? Impossible; therefore, the ones who must fight are us, these ministers."

Wu Tie gave the civil and military officials on the throne a malevolent look, then chuckled: "Continuing our previous topic—stabilize the Nine Provinces, improve my reputation, make the people think well of me, then recruit troops, buy horses, and build an 'Invincible Army'… if you do well, I will grant you high office and noble rank, giving you whatever you want."

"If you do poorly… I will personally write you a letter of challenge and send you off to the southwest to fight the Great Martial Divine Kingdom to the death."

"The emperor's anger is still blazing; although he may not immediately dispatch me to battle, if you volunteer eagerly, the emperor will surely be pleased… and if you die in battle, the emperor will certainly not be stingy with a conferment of title, will he?"

Wu Tie's words were a naked threat.

The officials in the hall felt a shudder in their hearts and simultaneously bowed deeply to Wu Tie: "My lord, rest assured; we will devote ourselves utterly and not betray your trust."

No one wished to go to the southwest and fight the Great Martial Divine Kingdom to the death.

Especially someone like Lan Changqing, who calls himself "picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains"—could you expect him to pick up a knife and go fight to the death with others?

If you don't want to fight to the death, then sell your life desperately for Wu Tie; that's all you can do.

However, Lan Changqing's younger brother, Lan Changxiu, who had been appointed by Wu Tie as the Hall Master of the Peace State Ritual Hall, hesitated for a moment, raised his head, furrowed his brows, and asked Wu Tie: 'But, Your Majesty, the army we have established in Peace State is called the Invincible Army; is it not… a bit too arrogant?'

Wu Tie stared in surprise at Lan Changxiu, then shook his head vigorously: 'Arrogant? How could that be? It's exactly as the name says…… If you don't believe it, send letters to all the generals' families, let those family heads, elders, etc., let all the renowned generals and grand generals in the court come and duel with this king…… Whoever can defeat me in single combat, I'll give the name "Invincible Army" to them.'

Lan Changxiu's face twitched violently, and he remained silent.

All the civil and military officials in the hall simultaneously cursed in their hearts, 'Utterly shameless, truly shameless.'

You possess the state-protector divine artifact, the Black Heaven Cauldron……

Oh, no, after the starlight shower ended last night, you publicly announced that, using the essence of the all-pervading starlight, you added the Black Heaven Cauldron to a vast quantity of rare treasures and reforged it into the 'General's Whip'…… The power of this General's Whip is several times greater than that of the Black Heaven Cauldron!

In the entire Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, aside from the royal family, who else could possess a state-protector divine artifact to counter your General's Whip?

Truly shameless!

Lao Tie stood at the front of the military officers' ranks, laughing 'hahaha': 'Little… Prince, you're absolutely right, it's the Invincible Army! Hehe, no need for the prince to act; with me commanding the army, all enemies are mere chickens and dogs, breakable with a single strike.'

Peace State sprang into action.

Over three hundred families pledged allegiance, and tens of thousands of capable scions from prominent clans took office; these people were all local tyrants of the Nine Provinces, with extensive connections, like old trees with intertwined roots, extending into every corner of the markets and bureaucracy.

A large number of experienced low-level officials and clerks, whether for fame, profit, or due to Wu Tie's violent threats, in short, a vast multitude of low-level officials and clerks flocked into Wu Tie's newly established Peace State apparatus, forming its administrative backbone.

The markets regained peace, and the action to clear Wu Tie's infamous reputation began to unfold in an orderly manner.

The recruitment drive began to show results, as gradually people went to the enlistment stations everywhere and joined Wu Tie's Invincible Army.

120,000 Wu family youths, in groups of three to five, combined with sufficient numbers of elite Five Elements Spirits, spread across the prefectures and major, medium, and small cities of the Nine Provinces, began training the new army.

The Wu family's secret art excels at tempering blood and qi and swiftly increasing strength; moreover, the soldiers it trains are ferocious beyond compare, and an additional advantage is that the troops cultivated from Wu clan youths have extremely few distracting thoughts and a direct, simple mindset—after all, Wu clan youths are inherently like that!

Thus, these newly formed troops can form battle formations extremely quickly, with exceptionally high efficiency; their cohesion and combat power far surpass those of ordinary soldiers.

Da Tie single-handedly controlled the Ancient Weapons Bureau, backed by the vast territories of the Nine Provinces; massive resources continuously flowed into the Bureau, and under his command, colossal god soldiers far surpassing the ancient divine weapons produced by the Great Jin Divine Kingdom poured out of the workshop in an endless stream, directly incorporated into the newly established Invincible Army.

In Wu Tie's plan, in the future his Invincible Army will have each ten-man squad equipped with a colossal god soldier stationed with it, and each thousand-man unit must also have a directly subordinate colossal god soldier unit to assist in combat.

Thus, the Invincible Army can truly be regarded as an army of steel, its combat power absolutely unrivaled in the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom.

Just as Wu Tie's Peace State was gradually getting on track, time flowed like water, and under the frenzied fury of Linghu Qingqing, the all-out war between the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom and the Great Martial Divine Kingdom erupted completely.

Every day, vast armies continuously poured into the southwestern battlefield, and every day, mountains of supplies were sent to the southwestern battlefield; the entire Qingqiu Divine Kingdom became irritable and roared with anger due to Linghu Qingqing's wrath.

Each day, tens of thousands of soldiers fell in battle, and each day, hundreds of warships were destroyed.

Each day, at the gates of the generals' mansions and military households throughout the prefectures of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, white lanterns would be hung, and earth-shaking wails would be heard.