Chapter 292

"His Majesty has ordered that the Western Army must fully accept the takeover by our Great Gan military,

and the generals at all levels must also accept the appointments of our Great Gan Five Armies Governor's Office!

The recruitment, training, and support of all soldiers will be the responsibility of our Great Gan!"

Lu Zhishen stated with utmost solemnity the conditions Zhang Jie had given him when he came.

For an army like the Western Army, which was filled with "Zhe Family Army" and "Zhong Family Army," where soldiers belonged to the generals,

and soldiers only knew the generals but not the country or the monarch, Zhang Jie naturally had to carry out a comprehensive reorganization.

The army must belong to the state, and no one could have a private army; this was his bottom line and could not be challenged!

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

Before Lu Zhishen's words had even faded, the generals were already furious and kept saying it was impossible.

Most of them came from families of generals; without soldiers, could a family of generals still be called a family of generals?

The Great Gan Emperor was digging up the roots of these families of generals.

It is said that cutting off someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents; what about digging up their foundations?

This was truly intolerable!

It was only because the Great Gan was powerful; otherwise, they would have long ago beaten Lu Zhishen, who was spouting such nonsense here, out with sticks.

"I am only here on behalf of His Majesty to notify you, not to negotiate conditions with you.

Behind me, a detachment of our Great Gan army has already entered Hangu Pass.

If you do not agree, then the next people to come and see you will be them!"

Lu Zhishen faced these generals who were in an uproar and looked as if they wanted to kill,

but he still didn't change his expression and slowly stated the Great Gan's response.

Their Great Gan was not here to negotiate with them; the Great Gan military had plenty of strength and means!

It was just that how they would talk to them then would be unclear.

After all, even if His Majesty had considered the people of Gansu, Shaanxi, and other states and decided to recruit and pacify them first despite opposition,

the killers in the Five Armies Governor's Office also had grievances against the Western Army in their hearts!

Once those killers found an opportunity, the Western Army generals before him might not all die,

but at the very least, most of them would disappear, along with the so-called families of generals behind them!

Did they really think their Great Gan's empire was inherited from the Great Song by eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddha?

"Your subjects Zhong Shidao/Zhong Shizhong will strictly obey the decree of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Gan."

Knowing more information and understanding that the Western Army was far from being a match for the Great Gan military, and unwilling to strike a stone with an egg

and be buried with the already perished Great Song, Zhong Shidao and Zhong Shizhong were the first to bow to Lu Zhishen.

At this moment, they were not bowing to their former subordinate commander, but to the Great Gan Emperor who had swept across the world with his troops,

destroyed the Great Song, and was invincible wherever his blade pointed.

"What about you?"

Lu Zhishen, having subdued the two Grand Coordinators, the old and young Zhong, looked directly at the other generals.

Facing Lu Zhishen's gaze, which pressed down like a ten-thousand-foot mountain, and with the two Grand Coordinators having taken the lead,

despite their extreme unwillingness in their hearts, the Western Army generals could only bend their waists:

"We will strictly obey the decree of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Gan!"

They had no choice but to do so: after all, according to the meaning in Lu Zhishen's words,

if they were not sensible and waited for the Great Gan army to press at the border, they would likely all be reunited in death.

Although losing the power and wealth of their descendants pained them greatly,

compared to losing the entire future of themselves and their descendants, it was not hard to choose.

The most difficult thing in the world is just death!

"Very good, you are all meritorious officials of our Great Gan; when this imperial envoy returns to the Eastern Capital,

I will definitely request rewards for you all from His Majesty."

Seeing the Western Army generals all bowing their heads, Lu Zhishen smiled with satisfaction and casually drew a big pie.

And based on his understanding of Zhang Jie, Zhang Jie was never stingy with rewards for sensible heroes.

Although he said it like that, the Western Army generals still looked sorrowful.

After all, even looking through the entire history books, the fate of these surrendered generals didn't seem very good;

they either became cannon fodder for the subsequent sieges and conquests,

or became marginal figures, disappearing from the stage of history from then on.

It was just a pity that the Great Gan was coming aggressively; if they were still not sensible,

they might not even be able to be wealthy men who retired to their fields.

Lu Zhishen looked at everyone's expressions and knew that the beating was about enough;

since he had given a slap, he naturally had to give a sweet date.

A big stick in one hand and a carrot in the other is the way to accept surrender.

After all, if he really forced them into a corner and let them let Western Xia into the pass,

ravaging these states and causing millions of people to die in vain, then he would be inexcusable even with ten thousand deaths.

He bowed again in the direction of the Eastern Capital and said word by word:

"His Majesty is benevolent and specifically grants you the merit of destroying Western Xia!"

"What, destroy Western Xia?"

"The Gan Emperor actually promises us the destruction of Western Xia?"

Hearing this shocking news, the generals were first shocked, then invigorated.

The original purpose of the Western Army's establishment was to contend with, or even destroy, Western Xia.

Over the past hundred years, the number of battles between their Western Army and Western Xia had been countless.

Battles such as the Battle of Sanchuankou, the Battle of Haoshuichuan, the Battle of Dingchuanzhai,

and the Battle of Pingxiacheng—which one didn't involve piles of corpses and rivers of blood?

Among the generals present, as long as they were from families of generals for generations, almost all had ancestors,

clansmen, brothers, or friends who had died at the hands of the Western Xia people.

Their hatred for Western Xia was so deep that even all the bamboo in the Southern Mountains could not record it, and all the waves of the East Sea could not wash it away!

Today, with the support of the Great Gan, which was at the height of its power, the day to avenge this century-old feud had finally arrived!

Even the generals who had no deep feud with Western Xia were equally invigorated.

The merit of destroying a country—to actually grant it just like that; the breadth of the Gan Emperor's mind was rarely seen in all of history.

To let them attack and destroy Western Xia meant he intended to incorporate them,

rather than just giving them a miscellaneous title and abandoning them.

As for the possibility of being used as cannon fodder and dying on the battlefield?

They were not afraid of dying in battle; they were only afraid of having no opportunity.

War, for soldiers, has always been the best ladder for progress and building a career!

To fight for glory, wealth, titles for their wives and children, and promotion with a single blade and spear—this was the day!

"Long live, long live, long live His Majesty the Emperor of Great Gan!"

In an instant, generals who could no longer suppress the excitement in their hearts knelt in the direction of Bianliang and shouted "Long live."

"Long live, long live, long live His Majesty the Emperor of Great Gan!"

With an example set, the other generals also knelt in the direction of Bianliang and shouted "Long live" in unison.

The soldiers outside the main tent heard the shouts and naturally knew the choice of their superiors;

they, who had not wanted to rush thousands of miles to fight Liang Shan anyway, couldn't help but shout "Long live" as well.

Next, as long as the order was transmitted to the various fortresses at the border,

the Western Army, this most elite border force of the Great Song, would surely be settled with a single dispatch!