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Chapter 1036 - 688: Great Tang Chenhai Capital Protectorate

Chapter 1036: Chapter 688: Great Tang Chenhai Capital Protectorate

"Surrender to me, or be my enemy?"

Li Changhe’s words, unsurprisingly, infuriated Zhang Liang.

He stood up furiously, pointing at the figure in the painting and bellowed, "Li Ba, do you think this is the Great Tang? Do you think you can control all the Expeditionary Army?"

Hou Junji, however, said nothing, silently watching Zhang Liang roar at Li Changhe.

"It’s all because of you that our misfortune has come!" Zhang Liang’s voice was full of resentment. "Li Ba, tell me, why is it that Cheng Yaojin and the others can bully the rat people and the weaker alien races, while we are sent to confront the insect god? Why can they repeatedly achieve military success, while we are sent here to die? We have also shed blood and tears for the Great Tang! Why have we ended up like this? Tell me!"

The furious howl echoed through the palace, with Zhang Liang venting his anger.

Li Changhe indeed knew why, for Zhang Liang and Hou Junji were soldiers who had posed threats to the Great Tang in the original history.

Li Er was very clear about this.

However, his thoughts were unknown; perhaps to eliminate these potential threats, or maybe to test their loyalty.

He repeatedly assigned them to dangerous tasks.

Thus, after a series of bloody battles, this idea slowly spread within the ranks of the expeditionary army at the time, and many chose to believe it.

This was also the main reason why Zhang Liang and Hou Junji were able to quickly eliminate dissenters and establish the Chenhai Empire.

They indeed betrayed the Great Tang, but... the Great Tang betrayed them first.

So, they both feared and resented the Great Tang. Upon seeing Li Ba, the general representing the Great Tang, Zhang Liang finally could not contain his inner fury.

Zhang Liang turned to the guards behind Li Changhe and shouted, "Yang Ming! Do you think by helping Li Ba now, you can earn the Great Tang’s pardon? It’s too late, all too late!"

Yang Ming, standing behind the Bronze Throne, said nothing, steadfastly guarding behind it.

Li Changhe, in contrast, looked indifferently at Zhang Liang’s outburst and then turned his gaze to Hou Junji, "Does General Hou think the same?"

Hou Junji was very calm, showing none of Zhang Liang’s rage. Upon hearing Li Changhe call him General Hou, he did not protest.

Instead, he spoke in a calm tone, "General Li Ba, you should know that the Great Tang will never forgive us. Their methods with traitors, I am clearer about than you are. There is no turning back between us and the Great Tang now. We have lived on this continent for thirty years; the second and even the third generation have been born. Even for their sake, we will not surrender without a fight. If General Li Ba insists on battle, then..."

"The Great Tang certainly won’t forgive traitors, you may not know, but the Great Tang has already endured an attack from the Evil God. More than a dozen corrupted battalions rebelled, and tens of thousands of Chaos servants descended upon the Great Tang, causing a bloodbath. And all of these guys... they’re all dead." Li Changhe bore the slight pain on his lips, responding indifferently, "And now, the Great Tang has defeated Chaos and even gained many ’exotic people’ like me. Their strength grows with each day. Do you think with your handful of forces, you can stand against the Great Tang? It won’t be long before they find you. And then... you won’t even have the chance to surrender!"

For the Great Tang to discover Chenhai was truly only a matter of time, whether it be the insect god’s presence or those players from the Great Tang. They would actively search for this lost expeditionary army. Once discovered that they had committed treason, no matter if the current rulers of the Great Tang were Li Er or Li Zhi, neither would let Chenhai off.

This was also a truth that all the expeditionary army understood well; once the Great Tang discovered them, their doom would come.

Not to mention afar, you think you have a grip on me already?"

The power of the Seventh Expeditionary Force of the Great Tang was not small; to counter the insect god, there were nearly ten thousand armored warriors, with a total of ten battalions.

And now, under Li Changhe’s command, six battalions responded, with a great many individual armored warriors rushing to Xuan City.

In terms of the strength of armored warriors, Li Changhe had already surpassed the Chenhai Empire.

Of course, they were substantially lacking in logistical support.

If it really came to a fight, Li Changhe’s side might gain no advantage, but the Chenhai Empire would definitely be shattered.

After all, two of those six battalions were previously the main forces of the Chenhai Empire.

"I don’t mind wiping you out if you choose to be traitors..." Li Changhe said somberly.

This made Zhang Liang’s face shift slightly. He perceived the implication in Li Changhe’s words and immediately fell silent.

Hou Junji then opened his mouth to ask, "It seems General Li Ba has already thought of a solution to save Chenhai."

"The solution is right before you, surrender to me."

"By surrendering to you, can we escape our fate?" asked Hou Junji.

"Yes, this is your last chance. Surrender to me. Surrender to me, the Tian Ce General of the Great Tang!" Li Changhe’s words were calm, yet they carried an endless authority.

"Tian Ce General... So this is the Eternal Prosperous Tang Dynasty..." Hou Junji and Zhang Liang’s expressions subtly changed. As generals from the era of Zhenguan, they knew all too well the status and power of a Tian Ce General.

The Tian Ce General... Indeed, the Great Tang had once had a Tian Ce General.

That was none other than Li Shimin himself, who had achieved such great military exploits that there were no titles left to bestow.

Li Yuan thus ingeniously created a new position "Tian Ce General," which was the most prestigious existence under the imperial authority.

Afterward, there was never again a Tian Ce General in the Great Tang. It could even be regarded as an exclusive position for the emperors of the Great Tang.

And now, yet another Tian Ce General of the Great Tang had appeared...

If it weren’t for the fact that Li Ba was from ’Exotic people’

Hou Junji and Zhang Liang would’ve thought that this man was some illegitimate son of Li Er or something.

No, even that emperor wouldn’t have granted such power to his sons.

This was even more outrageous than a non-royal claiming kingship. Well, General Li Ba was also surnamed Li, after all.

Power... Not a traitor... A king of a different surname...

I see!

"So, this is the Eternal Prosperous Tang Dynasty plan... General," Hou Junji said after a moment of silence, looking at the image of Li Changhe, "When I found out that the second general in the Sequence to arrive was you, I was wondering whether we could win you over. It seems, General, that you’ve thought further ahead than I did. Thus, I, Hou Junji, surrender to you."

"Please forgive my earlier disrespect," said Zhang Liang, and the soldiers around him all knelt on one knee and saluted the image with clasped fists.

He was clearly not a fool.

Under Li Changhe’s various implications, he knew that even if he did not surrender, these soldiers would take his head to pay homage to General Li Ba.

After all, who doesn’t want to live?

Under the premise that the Great Tang would annihilate all of them, the warriors of Chenhai would surely resist fiercely.

But with the emergence of Li Changhe, this possibility became more and more remote.

At the same time, Zhang Liang and Hou Junji became isolated.

"In truth, I don’t care whether you two live or die. That’s a matter for the Great Tang court, but I can’t stand by and watch the soldiers of the Great Tang and their descendants get implicated by you," Li Changhe said to Hou Junji, the old cunning fox, "I don’t care whether that great fire was started by you, Hou Junji, or by Zhang Liang. I will assume it was a conspiracy by some Evil God, intended to create a rift between you and the Great Tang. And now, I, the Tian Ce General of the Great Tang, have exposed this conspiracy."

"As commanded, General’s wisdom shines bright!"

"From now on, the Chenhai Empire will be renamed Chenhai Capital Protectorate of the Great Tang. There will no longer be a so-called second empire. I do not intend to see any trace of the existence of a second empire."

"As commanded, not a single person will utter those four words."

"And I, Li Ba, Tian Ce General of the Great Tang, will be the Jiedu Envoy of the Chenhai Capital Protectorate. If the people of the Great Tang are displeased, let them come to me."

"As commanded, Jiedu Envoy, My Lord!"

(Sorry for being late... I waited a miserable 2 hours for a date!)

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