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“Marquis… Marquis, General Li, General Li has led his 200,000 troops to defect to the Huns,” the messenger gasped out.
“What?!”
“General Li has defected with 200,000 troops?”
Felix Wu and the other generals of the Northern Frontier Army couldn’t believe their ears, stunned by the news.
General Li’s defection to the Huns was as shocking as an earthquake, leaving them all disoriented and confused.
“How dare he?” Felix Wu was momentarily stunned, then erupted in fury.
To declare oneself king and raise a banner in rebellion was one thing, but to surrender to the Huns and defect was far more impactful.
In the 800-year history of Great Wei, there had never been a marquis or duke who surrendered to a foreign tribe.
This was a disgrace to all the marquises and dukes of Great Wei, and as a fellow marquis, Felix Wu was naturally furious.
He wished he could personally execute General Li.
“That man deserves to die!” Gavin Wang said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
General Li’s defection to the Huns was a slap in the face to the Wei army, allowing the Huns to trample on their dignity.
Da Li and Da Chu would mock Great Wei for at least a century.
The impact was so severe that they couldn’t imagine the chaos it would cause when the news reached the Capital City.
“Marquis, let’s pursue him and kill this traitor,” Jiang Linfei said angrily.
“Yes, Marquis, let’s wipe him out and execute this rebel.”
The generals of the Northern Frontier Army shouted in anger.
“Calm down!” Felix Wu roared.
General Li’s defection was indeed despicable, but they had to consider the bigger picture.
If they pursued General Li and fell into a Hun trap, they would lose the advantageous position they currently held.
“Deputy General Wang, take 100,000 troops to reclaim Qi and Deng provinces and guard them,” Felix Wu ordered immediately.
“Yes!”
Gavin Wang led 100,000 troops to reclaim Qi and Deng provinces.
“The rest of you, follow me to drive the Huns out of Yan province,” Felix Wu led 200,000 troops to continue the pursuit, aiming to expel the Huns from Yan province and reclaim it.
Reclaiming the three provinces was the priority.
Gavin Wang, as the deputy general of the Northern Frontier Army and an early-stage Great Grandmaster, was more than capable of guarding the two provinces with 100,000 troops.
General Li’s defection to the Huns had caught Felix Wu off guard, wasting a golden opportunity to defeat the Huns.
Otherwise, with 600,000 troops, they could have at least taken down 100,000 Hun soldiers.
Soon, the news of General Li’s defection reached the Luo Capital of Great Wei.
During the morning court session, courtiers were reporting on various memorials from different regions.
Suddenly, a voice broke the tranquility of the Chaotian Hall.
“Report, Your Majesty, urgent news from the Northern Frontier!” The messenger, having received the urgent report from the Northern Frontier, hurriedly presented it.
“Bring it here!” Hazel Han said, knowing that news from the Northern Frontier was of utmost importance.
Old Eunuch Wei took the letter and handed it to the Empress.
Upon reading the contents, Empress Hazel Han was instantly enraged.
“Outrageous!!”
“Damn it!!”
The imperial wrath enveloped the entire Chaotian Hall.
Seeing the Empress’s sudden fury, many courtiers were bewildered. Who had angered the Empress?
It was the first time they had seen Empress Hazel Han so furious.
At this moment, Empress Hazel Han was truly enraged, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
As the saying goes, when an emperor is angry, blood flows for thousands of miles.
Feeling the Empress’s wrath, many courtiers felt a chill in their hearts.
“What has angered Your Majesty so?” Left Minister Quentin Fu asked.
The Empress used True Essence to send the letter to Left Minister Quentin Fu.
Upon reading the letter: General Li led 200,000 troops to defect to the Huns!
Seeing this line, Left Minister Quentin Fu’s blood pressure skyrocketed.
“General Li deserves to die, that bastard!” Quentin Fu was furious.
“Left Minister, what happened with General Li?” Minister of War Gavin Wang inquired.
“That damn traitor defected, leading 200,000 of our Great Wei soldiers to surrender to the Huns,” Quentin Fu said angrily.
The Chaotian Hall fell silent, a pin-drop could be heard.
All the courtiers were buzzing with shock; this explosive news was enough to stun them for a whole year.
General Li’s defection to the Huns, a marquis defecting, had an enormous impact.
Courtiers who usually had good relations with General Li or were close to him were now trembling with fear, their hearts filled with panic.
Damn it, how insane must that guy be to defect to the Huns?
This was truly unprecedented!
If you want to play the game of exterminating nine generations, don’t drag us into it!
Those courtiers who had good relations with General Li now wanted to curse his ancestors for eighteen generations.
“That damn traitor, that national traitor, even if you had rebelled and declared yourself king, I would have looked up to you,” Minister of Rites Qian Cheng cursed.
Such behavior was a disgrace to Great Wei.
From now on, he wouldn’t dare speak loudly in front of the envoys from Da Li and Da Chu, for fear of being mocked to death.
Gavin Wang gave Qian Cheng a strange look. What nonsense are you spouting? Declaring oneself king—does that mean you, Lord Qian, support General Li becoming a rebel king?
Realizing his inappropriate words, Qian Cheng quickly explained, “Your Majesty, I was so angered by that traitor that I spoke nonsense. Please punish me.”
Empress Hazel Han waved her hand, not paying much attention.
At this moment, she was furious, wondering how General Li dared to do such a thing.
What face did this leave for Great Wei?
A marquis of Great Wei defecting to a foreign tribe—Great Wei would indeed be mocked by the other two dynasties.
As Qian Cheng said, even if General Li had declared himself a rebel king, she would have been mentally prepared and not so furious.
“Your Majesty, General Li deserves to die, his nine generations should be exterminated.”
“Such a traitor deserves a thousand deaths, and his execution is necessary to appease the people’s anger.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty, please order the extermination of his nine generations. We have provided for them, given them such favorable treatment, and yet he betrayed the country. He should be torn to pieces.”
Many who had grudges against General Li seized this opportunity to add fuel to the fire, urging the Empress to exterminate his nine generations.
This was exactly what Empress Hazel Han intended!
“Black Robe Guards, listen to my command. Immediately arrest General Li’s relatives and related generals’ families. I want their nine generations exterminated, leave no one alive,” Empress Hazel Han said angrily.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Commander Jasper Zuo of the Black Robe Guards received the order and immediately led the Black Robe Guards to arrest and exterminate the traitor’s family.
The courtiers were silent, no one dared to plead for General Li.
This was treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations. Who would dare get involved?
Soon, the Black Robe Guards were arresting General Li’s relatives and related generals’ families all over the Capital City, causing a stir throughout Luo Capital.
Then, the news of General Li’s defection to the Huns spread like a bomb, shaking the entire Luo Capital.
“General Li defected to the Huns?!”
Many found it hard to believe that a noble marquis would surrender to a foreign tribe.
“The Black Robe Guards are arresting General Li’s relatives all over the Capital City. How can this be false?”
“Damn traitor, may he die a horrible death, his nine generations should be exterminated.”
“He led 200,000 of our Great Wei soldiers to become traitors.”
“It’s over, it’s over, I’m a distant relative of General Li,” a distant relative of General Li felt like the sky was falling.
He had often relied on his connection to General Li to bully others.
Unexpectedly, retribution came so quickly.
Soon, a team of Black Robe Guards arrested him, shackled him, and took him away.
For a time, anyone related to General Li was arrested.
At General Li’s residence, the women and children were crying, and the Black Robe Guards shackled everyone.
Those who dared to resist were killed on the spot.
General Li’s wife and children were struck like lightning upon hearing that their father and husband had defected to the Huns.
They were finished, their nine generations were finished!!
“Li Tian, you heartless man!!” General Li’s wife fainted on the spot.
Her maternal family was also implicated and would be executed.
“Disaster, great disaster!!” General Li’s mother wailed.
The entire marquis’ residence was filled with cries, even the servants were implicated and arrested.
General Li’s relatives outside the residence had no one to help them, all were captured by the Black Robe Guards and brought back to Luo Capital!
General Li’s defection caused Empress Hazel Han’s first outburst of rage, leading to the order to exterminate nine generations.
All relatives of General Li were arrested.
Those who had been close to General Li were hiding at home, fearful that the Black Robe Guards would come for them too.
The Luo Capital of Great Wei was filled with countless arrests due to General Li’s treason.
For a time, the entire Luo Capital was in a state of panic!
Many felt the looming crisis, and people were on edge.
Meanwhile, the news of the Northern Frontier reclaiming Yan, Qi, and Deng provinces and the Huns’ retreat also reached Luo Capital.
This news finally alleviated the oppressive atmosphere caused by General Li’s defection.
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