Inside the capital, countless people stared blankly at the screen.
From the Immortal Perspective, what they saw was nothing short of horrifying. Continuous explosions bloomed across Wu Sangui's army, one chain after another. One side exploded, then another, like a relentless storm that refused to end.
Wu Sangui's fifty thousand troops were stunned in an instant.
The strongest among them, over two thousand elite soldiers capable of charging in full armor, immediately rushed forward. Standing still meant death, so they chose to gamble on movement.
They barely took a few steps before they were met with a wall of gunfire.
Firearms. Endless firearms. So many that no one could even count them.
And the rate of fire…
It was terrifyingly fast.
Zhu Youjian suddenly felt a long-buried memory claw its way back to life and punch him straight in the face.
Years ago, he had read a memorial written by a certain vice general named Luo Xi. The man claimed that Shi Jian's troops had fired four volleys of gunfire within ten breaths and crushed Mongol cavalry.
At the time, Zhu Youjian had dismissed it as nonsense. He had stripped Luo Xi of his post on the spot and thrown him out for "writing fiction."
And now?
Now he was watching that same "fiction" unfold right in front of his eyes.
Wu Sangui's elite troops collapsed in barely ten breaths under the storm of bullets.
As for the rest of the army, they fared even worse. The bombardment had already shattered their morale. Fifty thousand men broke almost at once, screaming as they fled in every direction.
Zhou Di, the commander-general of Shanhai Pass, needed exactly zero point zero one seconds to make his decision.
He peeled away from Wu Sangui's army, ran to the side of the battlefield, and knelt down neatly.
Surrender.
Clean. Efficient. No hesitation.
That left only Wu Sangui's core forces stranded in the center of the storm, being torn apart by shells and bullets, trapped between panic and annihilation.
Zhu Youjian's mouth hung open.
He forgot to close it.
So did every official around him.
The common people said nothing. But when they turned their heads to look at the emperor and his officials, there was something new in their eyes.
Mockery.
---
Wu Sangui's army collapsed into complete chaos, scattering in all directions.
Firearm units had one well-known weakness. They were not great at pursuit.
Under normal circumstances, this would have allowed many enemies to escape.
Unfortunately for Wu Sangui, Gaojiacun did not rely on firearms alone.
A heavy cavalry unit that had been shadowing the battlefield from a distance suddenly charged forward.
Ma Shouying's armored cavalry.
They swept in like a steel tide and cut off the fleeing soldiers.
The moment the fleeing troops saw cavalry blocking their path, they understood.
There was no escape.
So they dropped to their knees.
Surrender again.
---
From the perspective of the audience, the battle felt fast.
In reality, it was even faster.
At most, the time it took for two sticks of incense to burn.
That was all it took for the entire battle to end.
Wu Sangui and his son were unlucky. A shell had struck them directly, sending them off to the underworld before they could even consider rehabilitation.
No labor reform. No second chances.
As for the tens of thousands under his command, they were all captured.
Every single one.
Not a single man escaped.
---
"Alright, alright." Zhu Cunji stretched lazily. "General Shi, you stay here and handle the cleanup. I am heading back to the capital."
Shi Jian smiled and waved him off. "Leave it to me."
Zhu Cunji turned and left without another thought.
Soon, the Immortal Perspective followed him again, drifting through the air as he returned.
Before long, Zhu Youjian could see him with the naked eye.
Zhu Cunji walked back as if he had just taken a casual stroll, not fought a battle involving tens of thousands.
He returned to the hotpot table and dropped into his seat.
"Hey, the dishes I like are all gone."
Zhu Yujian pointed without hesitation. "Flat Rabbit ate the most."
Flat Rabbit looked completely unapologetic. "I am poor. I cannot afford good food most of the time. Since you are treating us today, of course I eat more."
Everyone froze.
"You are a founding-level figure. How can you be poor?"
Flat Rabbit shrugged. "Gave it all to the poor."
Silence.
Zhu Yujian cleared his throat. "The battle is over. Time to return to business. Who is going to persuade Zhu Youjian to abdicate?"
"I will go." Chen Qianhu stood up. "I am full anyway."
He wiped his mouth, then suddenly frowned.
A strand of beef was stuck between his teeth.
It bothered him.
Very much.
He instinctively reached for a toothpick.
Then remembered he was out in the field.
No toothpick.
So he did the next best thing.
He used his finger.
Digging around in his teeth while walking toward the southern gate of the capital.
Step by step.
Calm.
Focused.
And absolutely horrifying.
---
Chen Qianhu stopped outside the gate and looked up.
On the walls stood Zhu Youjian.
Now, Chen Qianhu already looked intimidating on a normal day.
Right now, he had one finger in his mouth, digging around, occasionally pulling it out with a bit of saliva trailing along.
It was… not a good look.
In fact, it was the kind of look that haunted people's dreams.
The officials and citizens on the capital walls collectively sucked in a breath so sharply it could have vacuumed dust off the stones.
They instinctively took three steps back.
Zhu Youjian let out a miserable scream and toppled backward, chair and all.
Wang Chengen rushed forward and caught him. "Your Majesty, hold on."
Zhu Youjian trembled. "He is coming to eat me."
Wang Chengen was drenched in sweat, but still spoke with absolute loyalty. "This servant will protect Your Majesty even at the cost of his life. If he wants to eat you, he will have to eat me first. Once he is full, he will not harm Your Majesty."
Zhu Youjian froze.
What kind of comfort was that?
Yes, it was loyal.
But it somehow made everything worse.
---
Chen Qianhu grinned.
A line of saliva slid from the corner of his mouth, mixed with a hint of chili oil, bright red and deeply unsettling.
Inside the city, hearts pounded wildly.
If you gathered all those heartbeats together, they could probably form a full symphony.
Loud. Grand. Terrifying.
Chen Qianhu finally spoke.
"Zhu Youjian, you have seen the situation. I advise you to abdicate and hand the realm over to collective governance. Otherwise…"
He trailed off.
A sinister chuckle followed.
"Heh heh heh…"
On the walls, at least two thousand people completed the sentence for him in their minds.
"If you do not, he will eat the emperor!"
Zhu Youjian: "!!!"
Chen Qianhu: "What the hell are you all thinking? Stop adding lines for me!"
He snapped.
The reaction was immediate chaos. Guards tightened their grip on their weapons, but the memory of the earlier battle flashed in their minds.
Their weapons were useless.
Completely useless.
Despair crept in.
Chen Qianhu took a deep breath and corrected himself.
"What I meant was… otherwise… I will beat him."
The crowd gasped again.
"So he beats the emperor before eating him? He will not even grant a quick death. That is even more brutal than we imagined."
Chen Qianhu: "!!!"
---
Zhu Youjian could not take it anymore.
He jumped to his feet and fled, covering his face.
Wang Chengen hurried after him. "Your Majesty, wait for this servant!"
Only Wang Chengen followed.
Not a single official moved.
At this point, imperial authority had completely collapsed.
Everyone knew it was over.
So the officials began thinking for themselves.
What posture should they use to surrender?
How could they secure a good position in the new regime?
Among the crowd, the Grand Secretary He Fengsheng quietly glanced at Liang Shixian.
Most officials looked troubled.
Liang Shixian did not.
He looked calm. Too calm.
The king of quiet coasting clearly had a plan.
He Fengsheng carefully moved closer and whispered, "Brother Liang, guide me. In this moment of dynastic change, how do I stay invisible and continue coasting?"
Liang Shixian did not even hesitate.
"Go home. Close your door. Sleep properly. Do not get involved."