Chapter 923: Recommendation

Light Gate, directly lighting up above Sui Du.

Of course, Sui Du has now been renamed Martial Capital; even the plaque on the four city gates, the original crimson 'Sui Du' characters, have all turned into blood-red 'Martial Capital' cast in gold on a black-iron background.

Each and every upgraded Wuguo standard warship slid out of the Light Gate in single file, like a series of vicious sharks.

After the Great Iron's improvements and upgrades, the warship's length was compressed to about 150 zhang, i. e., roughly one li from head to tail, width no more than 20 zhang; however, its attack power, defense, mobility, maximum speed, etc., have all increased by dozens of times compared to the former Three Kingdoms warships.

Each Wuguo standard warship's overall performance can directly oppose a first-level Divine Manifestation Realm 'Human God'.

A formation of ten warships can ensure the killing of a 'Human God'; a formation of a hundred warships can heavily wound an 'Earth God'; a formation of a thousand warships can withstand the assault of a 'Heavenly God'; if a formation of ten thousand warships is formed, even a 'King God' can be effectively slain.

If the warships are also equipped with enough Divine Manifestation Realm experts, then the formation's power surges linearly, allowing a thousand warships to slay a 'King God'.

Pitch-black warships adorned with blood-red patterns, exuding an iron-blood killing aura, continuously fly out of the Light Gate; each warship is filled with pitch-black giant divine soldiers whose eyes flash with scarlet ghostly light.

Hordes of Five Elements Spirits, together with stout and sturdy underground peoples such as the Ox Clan, Wolf People, Serpent People, and Dragon People, clad in heavy armor and wielding sharp weapons, stand proudly on the deck, curiously looking down upon this fertile land that originally belonged to Sui Dynasty but is now under Wuguo's rule.

Here the heavenly-earthly primal energy in the air is a hundred times richer than that of the Three Kingdoms Continent; it truly is a blessed cave-heaven!

The bold Ox Clan warriors, each excitedly shaking their heads, continuously let out 'hmm-hmm' roars. Especially several newly promoted Ox Clan Divine Manifestation Realm commanders, they raise their heads and howl, the pure gold nose rings on their noses constantly chiming 'dang-lang'.

"This bunch of brutes, hehe!", the Wu Tribe commander in charge of supervising the army pointed at these Ox Clan warriors, scolded them a few words, and hastily ordered them to shut up. During the march, daring to make noise and roar, chopping off their ox heads would be justified.

The Ox Clan warriors obediently shut their mouths, ecstatically gazing at the scenery around them, which is vastly different from that of the Three Kingdoms Continent.

This sky, this land, this water, these mountains and forests all exude a lively, vigorous spirit of natural beauty, far more pleasing than the Three Kingdoms Continent. These natives from the underground world of the Fuxi Divine Kingdom may lack cultural refinement and cannot utter elegant phrases, but in short, it is beautiful.

In short, this original Sui Dynasty Continent makes every inch of soil inexplicably delightful.

This is a good place to settle down, establish a life, and reproduce offspring!

That's what a blessed land amounts to.

These underground world native warriors originally grew in pitch-black caves where no sunlight reached; suddenly, they became citizens of Wu Tie's Wuguo, gaining a foothold to settle and establish themselves on the Three Kingdoms Continent.

Moreover, before even a few years had passed, they had already run to the Sui Dynasty Continent.

It is said that in the future they will be stationed here, and their tribal populace will also continuously migrate over.

After all, compared to the Three Kingdoms Continent, the Sui Dynasty Continent's area is a thousand times larger, while its population is a thousand times sparser; relocating the populace of the Three Kingdoms Continent to fill this place, letting Wuguo completely replace Sui Dynasty, is entirely appropriate.

A hulking Dragon People strongman who had just advanced to the Divine Manifestation Realm on the Three Kingdoms Continent suddenly raised his long spear and shouted hoarsely: 'Your Majesty the Martial King, long live forever!'

On the warships streaming out in single file, countless Five Elements Spirits, countless human warriors, and countless native soldiers from the underground world all raised their weapons and shouted hoarsely with all their might: 'Your Majesty the Martial King, long live forever!'

Battle intent is icy, fighting spirit soars to the heavens.

Wu Tie has given these folks a broader living space and a better living environment.

They have food and clothing, can eat their fill and stay warm; their armor, weapons, and the warships beneath their feet are wonderful things they never dared dream of, worthy of being called 'supreme treasures'!

With such a king……following him, even if one dies in battle, it is not unjust!

Such a king……following him, one would rather die in battle, as long as it brings a better life for one's clansmen, wife, children, and elders.

Somewhat older native warriors, especially those from the weak peoples such as Dwarves, Gnomes, Lizard People, etc., recalled the miserable life they had lived years ago in the underground world, recalled companions who had died for various reasons……those clan children who died before reaching adulthood……

They wept like rain; even if their vocal cords felt a stabbing pain, they still exerted all their strength to shout loudly.

For Wu Tie, they can truly go to die on the battlefield.

Battle intent and killing aura condensed into substance, forming above Martial Capital a colossal humanoid figure, chaotic and vast, with a mighty aura tens of thousands of li tall. This figure wields a great broad-axe, born with eighteen arms, its aura lofty, its pressure overwhelming all directions.

Countless giant divine soldiers rose silently into the air, exhaling faint red firelight from beneath their feet, spreading out in all directions and hovering above Martial Capital.

Truly, the number of giant divine soldiers is incalculable—tens of millions? Hundreds of millions? Billions?

These giant divine soldiers, even the weakest among them are at the Fetal Storage Realm; after Great Iron's careful training, their strength reaches the body-cultivation level of the Divine Manifestation Realm.

They hover in midair, emitting a cold, merciless killing intent from their whole bodies; combined with the mountain-shouting, sea-roaring cries of countless soldiers from all directions, a suffocating, austere pressure prevails, so that inside Martial Capital city no one dares to make a sound.

The former Sui Dynasty officials, nobles, and commoners……even the cats and dogs inside the city have curled up, daring not to make a sound.

With a 'dong' chime, the Qianyuan Divine Bell hangs suspended in midair, its bell sound reverberating across a radius of ten billion li.

Wuguo's army pours in endlessly, forming massive fleets that advance in all directions, successively taking over the cities, prefectures, and counties surrounding Martial Capital.

Accompanying them are Huang Lang leading a great host of civil officials and clerks, who will conduct a census of each prefecture, county, and city.

Household registrations, farmland, forests, mines, pastures, manors, estates……everything will be recorded and compiled into Wuguo's household register, ultimately becoming the foundation of Wuguo's national strength.

At the same time, inside Martial Capital's imperial city, in the urgently renovated Council Hall 'Heavenly Martial Hall', Wu Tie and Pei Feng sit side by side, looking down upon the tens of thousands of original Sui Dynasty civil and military officials below in the hall.

Xiahou Wuming, together with the commanders of the Xiahou Clan, stands at the very front of all the Sui Dynasty civil and military officials.

Xiahou Wuming straightened his back, his gaze sharp as he looked at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie forced Feng Yin to abdicate.

Feng Yin agreed; the Feng Clan Royal Family could not resist, and as a subject Xiahou Wuming naturally could not oppose.

Therefore, regarding the abdication, Xiahou Wuming remained silent.

However, Wu Tie immediately summoned Wuguo's army, and the might of Wuguo's forces was so tremendous and terrifying that the endless cries of 'Long live forever!' from outside, and the boundless giant divine soldiers nearly filling the void……

Wu Tie further ordered that all former Sui Dynasty officials in Martial Capital come to the palace for audience……Xiahou Wuming always felt a bit uneasy.

He stared fixedly at Wu Tie, his eyes revealing a firm resolve: 'If you intend to slaughter the former Sui Dynasty officials, then step over my corpse first.'

Wu Tie smiled at Xiahou Wuming and casually tossed down an imperial edict.

Wu Tie dislikes using eunuchs; a female official personally trained by Pei Feng received the edict, stood in the hall, and read it aloud.

Its text, need not be scrutinized, is nothing more than: the Feng Clan Royal Family has labored with great merit, but its descendants have defied ancestral teachings, bringing no benefit and only harm to state and family; therefore Wu Tie, following heaven's will and human sentiment, replaces them. Afterwards, the edict devotes a large portion to praising Wu Tie's great benevolence and righteousness, noble integrity, lofty virtue and profound morality, sage's heart, and so on……

Finally, it was stated that the Feng Clan Royal Family would be demoted to commoners, and at the border of the Western Demon Kingdom, a prefecture would be taken as their hereditary fief.

The edict orders that the Feng Clan Royal Family, high and low, may not issue decrees, may not leave the fief even a step; those who dare to leave shall be killed without pardon.

Furthermore, the edict forbids the Feng Clan Royal Family from keeping private troops, slaves, or hiring servants; all aspects of food, clothing, shelter, and travel must be handled personally—growing grain, fruits, raising livestock, poultry……even planting mulberry and raising silkworms, spinning and weaving cloth must be done by their own hands.

After the female official finished reading, the Six Desires Demon Lord chuckled 'ke-ke', stepped out of the ranks, took the edict, and strode away from the Heavenly Martial Hall.

They will lead the army, escorting the Feng Clan Royal Family out of Martial Capital to their fief.

In the future, the Six Desires Demon Lord will take turns standing guard, monitoring the Feng Clan Royal Family's every word and deed; if they behave improperly, Wu Tie will not act, but the Six Desires Demon Lord will gladly do something.

Xiahou Wuming and the other former Sui Dynasty officials remained silent.

As the ruler of a fallen state, as the royal family of a fallen state, receiving such treatment is already passable. You can't possibly expect Wu Tie to treat them like ancestors and enshrine them—that would just be asking for trouble.

Wu Tie then produced a second imperial edict and threw it to the female official.

The female official began to read the edict.

The very first sentence mentioned Xiahou Wuming.

This edict was crafted by Wu Tie having the two elderly scholars Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan carefully refine its wording; its language is splendid yet archaic, each word and sentence carrying an ancient tone. He used extremely ornate language to praise Xiahou Wuming, a veteran minister who had served four reigns of the Blazing Dynasty, for his virtue and martial prowess, praised the family tradition and popular esteem of the Xiahou clan, and then urged Xiahou Wuming to serve Wuguo diligently.

Wu Tie directly appointed Xiahou Wuming as Left Martial Minister of Wuguo, to be his right-hand aide, overseeing military affairs and commanding Wuguo's armies; within the Xiahou clan, Xiahou Wusheng and other elite generals also received various ennoblements, and their actual authority greatly increased compared to their time in the Blazing Dynasty.

The former officials of the Blazing Dynasty all beamed with joy, unable to contain their delight as they watched the backs of Xiahou Wuming and the other Xiahou generals.

The new emperor, what a fine emperor!

Xiahou Wuming receiving such heavy responsibility, as Left Martial Minister—according to Wuguo's newly issued official ranking, the Left Martial Minister is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Realm's troops. Moreover, Wu Tie has entrusted Xiahou Wuming with command of the capital's garrison and city defense forces; what boundless heavenly grace!

What immense trust, redoubled!

You must know, this is military authority—military authority has always been the most sensitive matter. Especially since Xiahou Wuming is a former official of the Blazing Dynasty, for the new emperor to dare let him wield such vast military power shows… the new emperor still harbors goodwill toward those former Blazing Dynasty officials.

It looks like everyone will have a promising future.

After all, if even military authority can be delegated, how much more so civilian authority, which poses far less of a threat?

"Your Majesty…" a few officials whose seniority was slightly less than Xiahou Wuming's, yet still counted as veteran ministers of the Blazing Dynasty, knelt with smiling faces, ready to sing his praises.

"Hold on, don't rush… Elder Brother Xiahou, you might as well comply!" Wu Tie laughed, clasping his hands toward Xiahou Wuming: "You should be able to feel that we are one family!"

In the hall, Wu Yu and the other Wu clan elders smiled as they watched the Xiahou clan led by Xiahou Wuming.

Through bloodline induction, they could naturally discern that Xiahou Wuming possessed Wu clan blood, and moreover an extremely pure, utterly genuine lineage of the primeval Wu clan demon god line—specifically the Geng Metal attribute demon god bloodline.

In the Wu clan bloodline genealogy, the most famous representative of the Geng Metal line is none other than Xingtian!

Wu Jin is the activated Xingtian bloodline… and moreover, Wu Jin is the Xingtian bloodline activated through postnatal cultivation of the 《Primeval Wu Classic》. As for the Xiahou clan, however, their bloodline is activated innately, present from birth, and thus exhibits various phenomenal signs.

In terms of bloodline purity, the Xiahou clan far surpasses this branch of the Wu family—Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, and Wu Tie.

The Wu clan elders and youths, over three hundred venerable experts, intentionally or unintentionally released their bloodline auras. Xiahou Wuming and the other Xiahou generals felt these mighty, terrifying yet intimately close bloodline auras, their faces flushing red then white, then red again; after a long while, Xiahou Wuming fell to his knees with a thud and performed the rites of a subject before Wu Tie.

"Your subject obeys the edict." Xiahou Wuming ultimately still brought the entire Xiahou clan into Wuguo.

"Good… remember, from now on, Minister Xiahou may attend court wearing sword and shoes, and when seeing Our Majesty need observe no excessive ceremony… we are brothers of the same house, why stand on such formality?" Wu Tie laughed and clapped, then pointed at Xiahou Wuming and said, "Left Martial Minister, you tell me—among the Blazing Dynasty's civil officials and military generals, who is usable and whom you are close with in daily life?"

Xiahou Wuming stared, dumbfounded, looking at Wu Tie.

Is this asking him to recommend usable former officials of the Blazing Dynasty?

Behind Xiahou Wuming, tens of thousands of Blazing Dynasty officials held their breath, staring fixedly at the back of his heart.

After a moment's consideration, Xiahou Wuming cautiously announced the names of three martial houses.

The Xiahou clan is the foremost martial house of the Blazing Dynasty; the three martial houses Xiahou Wuming named have long been on good terms with the Xiahou, possess a fairly pure and valiant family tradition, and are free of those messy, sordid affairs.

As for the others, either their strength fails to impress him, their family tradition is not sufficiently upright, or they have a history of corruption in the military—Xiahou Wuming looks down on all those martial houses.

After all, a dragon's eye can only hold a dragon of comparable strength; tigers, crocodiles, giant pythons and the like may be strong, but they cannot fit into a dragon's eye socket.

As for civil-official clans, Xiahou Wuming did not mention a single one.

Martial houses and civil officials are natural opposites; as the foremost military commander of the Blazing Dynasty, how many years has Xiahou Wuming spent arguing with civil officials?

Even though Wu Tie places great trust in him, he would not speak up for those civil officials in such a setting.

Especially, those civil officials harbor too many devious, sordid schemes in their hearts—knowing their faces but not their hearts, that's what this bunch of literati are like.

Wu Tie smiled, nodded, and lightly clapped: "Then, aside from the Wei, Ran, and Yue families recommended by the Left Martial Minister… you all, leave the capital."

Wu Tie lightly waved his hand: "All former officials of the Blazing Dynasty who did not receive the Left Martial Minister's recommendation are clearly just incompetent; Our Majesty will not keep you in the court to idle away your days, wasting the people's fat and ointment."