At the same time, Zhang Jian materialized his Primordial Spirit Divine Sense, sweeping through the void, reflecting the Beichu Imperial Palace. He detected that those demonic cultivators within the palace had disappeared without a trace.
It seems they fled in fear!
Zhang Jian thought to himself, these Primordial Spirit Masters are as cunning as foxes, each one seasoned to perfection.
But he wasn't surprised.
After all, someone is bound to get caught!
He descended with a massive hand, within the depths of his palm, five shadows of the Red Dragon swirled around, vaguely enveloping the majestic Beichu's National Fortune golden light that had just surged upwards.
Inside the palace, Emperor Chu Huan Xuan instantly looked up, only to see a majestic Golden Dragon soaring behind him. Yet in that moment, the feebly breathing National Fortune Golden Dragon was torn to pieces under the countless scarlet dragon claws.
Zhang Jian raised his hand and seized.
Boom!!
The entire sky seemed to be collapsing, ripping under the scarlet giant hand.
An apocalyptic scene spread across the heavens and earth.
Beneath the giant hand, large areas of the Beichu Imperial Palace collapsed.
This was completely unmatched in magnitude, as Zhang Jian's hand tore through layers of void. Moments later, a figure clad in a Red and Yellow Dragon Robe was caught in his hand.
Huan Xuan's clothes were stained with blood, and he had already fallen unconscious.
With the Dragon Soul of National Destiny ripped apart, he was severely injured at the first moment.
Seizing Huan Xuan, Zhang Jian's indifferent voice flowed throughout Guangyuan City.
"I am Zhang Jian, Emperor of Great Xia. Now that the false Emperor of Beichu, Huan Xuan, has been captured alive by me, if you rebellious ministers of Beichu recognize the Celestial Destiny, then do not imagine resisting the Great Xia Celestial Army. Prosper with Great Xia, perish against Great Xia, surrender and your lives will be spared, wealth preserved. Resist and your entire family will be annihilated. You have been warned!"
As his words fell, Zhang Jian raised his hand and slashed towards the center of Guangyuan City, a violet-golden light descended from the sky, splitting a crack several hundred miles long, piercing the immensely thick city walls of Guangyuan City.
This scene left millions of citizens in Guangyuan City stunned, trembling in fear.
The entire city fell silent.
Zhang Jian looked at the scene, nodding to himself.
With this move, the destruction of Beichu was a settled matter.
Great Xia and Beichu are fundamentally too vastly different.
If it were a Saint King Dao cultivator of equal standing, he would have been more cautious.
But Emperor Huan Xuan clearly wasn't.
Then, Zhang Jian descended to the expeditionary army camp that had not yet traversed the land of Shuangyuan County.
Zhang Jian casually handed Emperor Chu Huan Xuan to the expeditionary army's commander, An Ruming, and then floated away.
"His Majesty's Dao Practice is truly unfathomable!"
Inside the headquarters, An Ruming and others still bore expressions of shock, along with excitement and joy on their faces.
Capture the bandit by seizing the leader, and now that Emperor Chu Huan Xuan has been captured by the Great Xia Emperor, half of the Northern Expedition is as good as accomplished.
An Ruming raised his hand, signaling several personal soldiers beside him to take care of Huan Xuan. His gaze fell upon a few marveling Primordial Spirit Masters.
"Esteemed Masters, we should act swiftly, seizing the moment while Beichu is leaderless, and strike directly at the vital point!"
Huang He Daoist nodded.
"It indeed should be so!"
Nearby, the Phoenix Spirit's expression remained unchanged, her demeanor indifferent, as if all of this was as it should be to her.
An Ruming's eyes quietly glanced at the peerlessly beautiful Divine Maiden, only to involuntarily pull away after a single glance.
He had already been informed of the origins of this Master, and there were rumors that this beautiful Divine Maiden was closely related to the Great Xia Emperor. To look at her too much was to be wary of falling out of favor with the Great Xia Emperor!
...
Within Haojing City
Having defeated the remaining Dragon Vein and Dragon Soul of Beichu, Zhang Jian did not again take action.
The Northern Expedition was also an opportunity to temper new soldiers and generals in the expeditionary army. Direct involvement in every matter would cause these generals to become reliant, losing their opportunity for growth.
As the Northern Expedition progressed smoothly, meanwhile, Jiangnan Dao special envoy Song Yingzhen continually sent intelligence back to Haojing City.
The noble families of Jiangnan Dao hid their fields, strong youth, stole national taxes, and the state of the land was shocking.
Zhang Jian was not surprised by this at all; the Zhang Family came this way.
Back then, the Qian Dynasty was constantly drained, stagnant, the Primordial Qi never recovering, always in a 'sub-healthy' state, until gradually dragged down by several natural disasters.
He naturally couldn't let Great Xia follow suit, nor let private land monopolies continue.
Taking advantage of the Northern Expedition's smooth progress, Zhang Jian authorized Song Yingzhen to rigorously investigate the matter and decreed for the noble families and gentry of Jiangnan Dao to voluntarily report to the County Governor's Mansions.
If voluntarily reporting and completing tax payments, leniency shall be granted, bygones forgotten.
But if continued concealment persists, once discovered, lands will be confiscated, families will be destroyed.
Moreover, to prevent anyone from opportunistically causing trouble, rebellion, or treachery, Zhang Jian ordered Marquis Dingyuan, Song Shang, to lead ten thousand Southern County troops to oversee the Jixian County in Jiangnan Dao, supporting Song Yingzhen.
While investigating the fields, Zhang Jian also directed Song Yingzhen to redistribute some of the confiscated land back to landless, destitute commoners.
This act immediately garnered support from countless citizens.
Numerous landless commoners were overjoyed.
Meanwhile, amidst these circumstances, many noble families were anxious and unsettled, instability arose.
In secret, a tide of currents surged.
Many noble families refused to be fish on the cutting board of the court and began secretive collaboration.
...
Inside Haojing City, Zhang Jian sat in the inner hall, reviewing memorials, simultaneously perusing the list of the first batch of Cabinet Ministers in the first year of Saintly Virtue.
He also noticed that Song Yingzhen had increasingly sent memorials through secret channels during this period.
According to secret reports, in each county of Jiangnan Dao, local noble families began re-contacting a portion of local demon and rogue cultivators, preparing to stir trouble.
Zhang Jian only glanced at it before setting it aside, his expression calm, unconcerned by the noble families' movements.
Instead, he decided to bide his time, waiting for them to fully expose themselves, to capture them all in one stroke.
These noble families and the current Great Xia Court aren't even on the same level.
He clearly differs from Emperor Jingwu; he possesses extraordinary power and can fully control Great Xia's highest military structure, unafraid of the noble families' collusion and conspiracy.
If anyone considers his benevolence as weakness, they would be gravely mistaken.
Zhang Jian also promptly released Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu, during this period, is reorganizing the Black-clothed Guards, expanding their scope beyond a portion of Martial Dao experts, involving all Three Religions and Nine Schools.
Letting them out can effectively monitor officials.
At this moment, Zhang Jian was suddenly moved, as blazing Sword Intent erupted instantly from within him.
The Sword Intent was intense, heavy, seemingly containing the power of mountains, rivers, Sheji, sun, moon, stars, and all heavens and earth.
That was his Lifebound Treasure, the Dragon Roar Sword, which after nourishing from Great Xia's national fortune has finally transformed and advanced to a Golden Body level Spirit Treasure.
"I can attempt to forge the third Lifebound Spiritual Treasure now!"
Feeling this change, Zhang Jian's lips curled into a smile, then he restrained the blazing sword light.
The Cauldron Casting Secret Technique is in hand, as the national fortune thrives, he can also choose to forge the Nine Tripods to stabilize the state, while securing the Great Xia Dragon Vein.
These Nine Tripods can serve as his third Lifebound Spiritual Treasure.
Nonetheless, Zhang Jian didn't do this; he had other considerations for the third Lifebound Spiritual Treasure.
And the Nine Tripods can serve as a National Fortune Spiritual Treasure intertwined with Great Xia's national fortune, which counts as an alternative Lifebound Spiritual Treasure.
Only the object of the Lifebound intertwining isn't him but the Great Xia's national fortune instead.
The Nine Tripods will thus ascend with the rise of Great Xia's national fortune, continuously transforming and advancing.