On June 17th of the third year of the Dazhou calendar, a bandit army of 300,000 broke through the Hutu Fort, the last stronghold leading to Gaoyang City, and attacked the imperial capital...
Inside Gaoyang City, there were less than a thousand defenders, all of whom were old, weak, sick and disabled. The wealthy families in the city had already moved to Chai Town before the fall of Hou Tu Castle, while the common people only received news of the bandits invasion when it was too late.
On June 18, the bandit army stationed its troops under the city of Gaoyang. Since the commander of the defending army had fled early on, hundreds of thousands of civilians and nearly a thousand defenders were in a state of panic, fleeing out of the city in all directions, with no intention of resisting the enemy.
On June 19, the bandits captured the city wall of Gaoyang City without any effort, and by afternoon, all major streets were occupied. By nightfall, this great city of Hezhou, which had been established for hundreds of years, was completely overrun.
That night, countless beautiful wives and daughters of the people were kidnapped by bandits to the city lords mansion, where they were provided for the pleasure of the bandit leaders. Throughout the night, the city lords mansion echoed with bursts of mens lustful laughter and womens cries.
On June 20, the bandits implemented a three-day policy of looting the city. On Gaoyang Street, many shops were robbed, and even women and daughters of civilians were raped in public by the bandits. Civilians and merchants who refused to be robbed were directly killed by the bandits...
"No, let go of my daughter, shes only 12 years old! Please, I beg of you!" A woman clutched her daughters hand tightly in a small house on the street corner, as a ruffian brutally kicked her away. "Mother, Im scared, Mother... Baobao is so scared... Save me, Mother..." A group of ruffians held down the crying girl on a table, tearing off her clothes and pants, their hormones stirred by her immature body. "Mother, Baobao is so scared, Mother..." Despite the young girls and womans desperate pleas, one of the ruffians at the table roughly spread apart the young girls legs and pressed down hard! The sound of the young girls heart-wrenching cries echoed out.
"Beasts! You beasts! Baoer... Mother is sorry to you! Ill fight it out with you!" The woman, seeing her daughters miserable state, recklessly tried to rush forward to stop them, but as soon as she stood up, she was kicked to the ground again. At the same time, several bandits rushed towards her with lecherous smiles...
"Old man, please, this is our familys last bit of food, you cant take it away, if you do, well all starve to death!" An old peasant grasped a bag of wheat tightly and refused to let go. The bandit dragged him from inside the house to the door, getting impatient and angry: "Old thing, if you dont let go, Ill chop you down with one knife!" He said, pulling out his knife and placing it on the old mans neck. But the old man wouldnt budge: "Sir, please, have mercy! Leave half for us!" "Youre looking for death, old thing!" The bandit said, swiping his knife across the old mans neck, staining the wheat bag with a trail of blood. The old man died right there in front of his own door. The bandit spat on the ground, slung the grain bag over his shoulder and headed out into the street.
"Baor, how are you? Speak up, dont scare me!" The bandits left after venting their anger on Baor and her mother, taking all the food and valuables they could find. The woman, naked and covered in bruises, put on a piece of clothing and crawled towards the table where her daughter was lying. Baors legs were dangling off the edge of the table, her lower body covered in blood, while her mothers body was covered in dark bruises and teeth marks, her eyes already dull and lifeless...
"Mother, it hurts so much, it hurts so much...""Oh, my poor daughter..." Seeing her daughter in such a state, the woman hugged her and wailed loudly...
The entire city of Gaoyang was like a doomsday on this day, with tragedies unfolding in every corner of the city...
The 368th year of the Dazhou calendar, July 16th.
Far away in thousands of miles - the political and economic center of the Great Zhou Dynasty, with a population of 30 million permanent residents within the huge city walls.
Inside the city, it is still prosperous and beautiful, with towering pagodas reaching into the clouds. The streets are wide and spacious, lined with shops and restaurants of all kinds. Merchants and traders hurry to and fro, conducting their business. Near the White Horse River in front of the Luoshen Temple, the scenery is picturesque, with countless talented scholars and beauties gathering to recite poetry and compose verses. A luxurious sightseeing boat glides slowly across the river, carrying elegant scholars and refined gentlemen who wave fans and point out the sights to their friends, exuding an air of refinement. This attracts a group of young women from wealthy families who are strolling on the bridge, their hearts filled with springtime emotions, as they coyly use silk fans to cover half their faces and cast flirtatious glances. In the distance, in front of a towering gate over ten meters high, drums and gongs resound through the air, firecrackers explode, and various musical instruments play the most popular and festive tunes of the era. It is unclear which noble familys son is getting married today, but he rides a majestic white horse, drawing countless onlookers who gaze at him with envy and admiration. What a peaceful and prosperous scene, seemingly worlds apart from the tragic events unfolding in the distant city of Gaoyang, with no connection between them.
Inside a majestic red high wall, the political center of the Great Zhou Dynasty - Taiji Temple, at this time, the court was filled with civil and military officials wearing various grades of official uniforms, standing on both sides, quietly waiting for the ruler of the Great Zhou - Wei Zhen to speak, starting a days court meeting.
Seated upright on the dragon throne, Wei Zhen wore a golden yellow dragon robe, with five-clawed golden dragons embroidered on it with precious silk threads, vivid and lifelike. In another month, he would be forty years old. Since ascending to the throne at eighteen, everything had gone smoothly, quickly grasping military power and solidifying his position in Shendu through marriages with the Jiang and Li families and exchanges of power with some aristocratic families, giving him absolute authority. At this moment, Wei Zhens eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed down at the officials on the court, a sense of satisfaction welling up from within.
"Whats the situation in the Far East?" Wei Ting slowly opened his mouth, with a tone of unyielding dignity. Although this was said to all the officials, everyone understood that it was directed at Chancellor Jiang Yan, because who didnt know that the three provinces of Jiangnan and the six provinces of the Far East were within the sphere of influence of the Jiang family? The Jiang family had been an indispensable aristocratic power in the imperial court since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Their familys influence spread throughout the land, especially in the six provinces of the Far East and the three provinces of Jiangnan, which they operated with one hand. These regions were the main source of strategic materials and taxes for the Great Zhou, accounting for nearly 50% of the countrys fiscal revenue. The Jiang family was also incredibly wealthy, rivaling that of a nation. However, in recent years, the rise of the Meng Luo Empire had led to a decline in the Jiang familys prestige. Especially twenty years ago, when the important military horse-producing province of Jizhou was occupied by the Meng Luo Empire, their influence had greatly diminished. Furthermore, the Hulan cavalry had been blocking the borders year after year, causing the Jiang familys power in the Far East to be severely weakened. They could only silently permit some families to enter the Far East and share a portion of the spoils, but the Jiang familys influence in the Far East remained unshakeable.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the report from Governor Fan Chou of Dingzhou, the Hulan people have stationed 1.6 million troops at the border and are expected to attack the pass in late August. I will instruct the officials of various provinces to make preparations for defense." Jiang Yans humble and respectful reply was simply to exaggerate the six thousand Hulan cavalry to sixteen million, so that Wei Ting would understand the enormous pressure he faced, and he thought he was still very dignified compared to those aristocratic colleagues who exaggerated a few thousand enemy troops to tens of millions.
"Your heart is in the right place, now that the country is in trouble, the top priority is to settle the people and work together to defend against the enemy. Dont create another mess like what happened in Jing Tai and He Yuan." Wei Tings words had a hidden meaning, directly pointing at the Zhao and Lin families, who were the most powerful forces in the Jing Tai and He Yuan regions. In his view, the chaos in the Far East was actually beneficial to his own situation, as the more chaotic the Far East became, the weaker the Jiang familys power would become, and the threat they posed to him would gradually decrease.
However, the development of the Jing Tai and He Yuan chaos to this point was not what he wanted to see. After more than a decade of pacification efforts, the situation had become so murky that it couldnt be cleaned up no matter how hard one tried. Wei Ting was happy to see the decline of the aristocratic families power, but he could not tolerate the bandits continuing to grow stronger and threaten the control of these two provinces.
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