Shanxi Province.
Taiyuan.
Wu Shen.
Also known to the people as Wu Million.
Savior of Shanxi.
Most popular official in Shanxi.
Living God of Wealth.
At this moment he was sitting inside the Governor's Office, calmly handling official documents.
In recent years Shanxi had been doing extremely well.
The common people had become prosperous.
And the name Wu Million had long become famous across the province.
At first everyone believed Wu Shen had personally brought a million taels of silver to rescue Shanxi.
But as time passed, the people gradually came into contact with the teachings of Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Only then did they finally understand.
That one million silver had actually been given by Tianzun.
The real savior of Shanxi was Tianzun.
Even so, their admiration for Wu Shen did not diminish in the slightest.
After all, he was the man who had implemented everything.
Wu Shen was reviewing documents when a messenger entered the room and bowed.
"Governor Wu, Governor General Lu Xiangsheng of Xuanda has sent word."
"The Jianzhou army has invaded. He asks the Shanxi Commander to join him in defending the capital."
Wu Shen nodded calmly.
"That is only proper."
"I will immediately order the Shanxi Commander to mobilize."
The current Shanxi Commander was Hu Dawei.
When Wu Shen first became Governor of Shanxi, Hu Dawei had only been a regional general.
At the time he was not one of Tianzun's people, so he had been quietly sidelined.
However, since he remained in Shanxi, he inevitably came into contact with the teachings of Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Little by little, he joined the faith.
After that, Wu Shen brought him back into an important position.
Among the military figures of Tianzun's faith in Shanxi, people like Xing Honglang, Lao Nanfeng, and Wang Xiaohua were often busy elsewhere.
They frequently participated in Tianzun's greater strategic plans.
So Hu Dawei, who had stayed in Shanxi all this time without running off on adventures, naturally became the Shanxi Commander.
Now that the Jianzhou army had invaded, Shanxi troops obviously needed to assist.
With a single order from Wu Shen, Hu Dawei immediately assembled three thousand soldiers.
Well.
Three thousand village militia, to be precise.
At this point, almost all the official troops within Shanxi had already transformed into Gao Family Village militia.
Some still wore the uniforms of imperial soldiers.
But inside they had already been completely reshaped by Tianzun.
Commander Hu Dawei, together with Regional General Liu Guangzuo, marched north.
Soon they arrived at Xuanda.
There they joined the relief army led by Lu Xiangsheng.
Alongside them were two other commanders.
Xuanfu Commander Yang Guozhu.
Datong Commander Wang Pu.
Ah.
Wang Pu was an old acquaintance.
Lu Xiangsheng led this group of familiar faces toward the capital.
After several days of marching, the walls of Beijing finally appeared in the distance.
Crowds of officials and commoners had gathered outside the city gates to welcome them.
At this moment the Qing vanguard led by Dorgon had already entered Northern Zhili.
Roaming cavalry were wreaking havoc across the countryside.
The entire capital was trembling with fear.
And because the emperor refused to recall Sun Chuanting, the burden of hope had fallen entirely onto Lu Xiangsheng.
To the people of the capital, he was now their final savior.
Both officials and citizens stretched their necks eagerly as they waited for his arrival.
When they finally saw the well disciplined Tianxiong Army marching forward, cheers erupted everywhere.
"Lord Lu has arrived!"
"The capital is saved!"
"Lord Lu is mighty!"
"Lord Lu, I have a daughter..."
However, Lu Xiangsheng himself was in no mood for celebration.
Not long ago, his father had died.
When Lu Xiangsheng received the news of his father's death, he had been devastated.
He submitted seven separate memorials requesting permission to observe mourning and retire temporarily.
Zhu Youjian had originally allowed him to return home for mourning.
But only a few days later, Hong Taiji launched the operation known as Cao Cao's Southern Campaign.
The emperor immediately changed his mind.
He revoked the mourning leave and forcibly summoned Lu Xiangsheng back into service as Minister of War.
No decent person could be cheerful when their father had only just died.
Lu Xiangsheng rode his horse toward the city gate, his face heavy with grief.
The cheering voices around him sounded distant.
All he could think about was the towering figure of his father.
Just then, a grand eunuch approached with an arrogant expression.
It was Gao Qiqian.
He had been sent to welcome Lu Xiangsheng on behalf of the emperor.
Originally Zhu Youjian had intended this as a gesture of care and respect.
But Gao Qiqian had his own ideas.
He wanted to establish clearly who was in charge.
He did not want a repeat of what had happened with Sun Chuanting.
That incident where Sun Chuanting's men had beaten Gao Qiqian's subordinates had been deeply humiliating.
Gao Qiqian walked up proudly.
"Lord Lu."
Lu Xiangsheng responded quietly.
"And you are?"
Gao Qiqian lifted his chin.
"Supervising Commander. Gao Qiqian."
He deliberately emphasized the words supervising commander.
The meaning was obvious.
I am here to supervise you.
You had better recognize your superior early.
Lu Xiangsheng, however, was still lost in his memories.
The last time he had seen his father.
His father had been standing at the city gate of Xuanda.
He had said:
"You stay here and do not move."
"I will go buy you some oranges."
Gao Qiqian's words barely registered in his mind.
He simply replied automatically.
"Greetings, Eunuch Gao."
Gao Qiqian instantly grew angry.
This man heard that I am the supervising commander and still shows no respect?
Not even a little flattery?
Does he not know how the court works?
Suppressing his irritation, Gao Qiqian forced a smile.
"Lord Lu, this time the Jianzhou army has invaded in great numbers."
"It is said that Hong Taiji himself is leading the army."
"With a force of one hundred thousand troops."
"The emperor has ordered the two of us to jointly command all reinforcements."
"We must cooperate closely."
He emphasized the word cooperate.
What he actually expected was for Lu Xiangsheng to immediately say something like:
"I will follow Eunuch Gao's command in all matters."
But Lu Xiangsheng had no patience for such empty court etiquette.
Especially not in his current mood.
He simply cupped his fists politely.
"I will perform my own duties properly."
Gao Qiqian froze.
Lu Xiangsheng continued calmly.
"I have only just arrived and am unfamiliar with the situation."
"Eunuch Gao is the supervising commander and must understand the situation well."
"Please brief me on the current military situation in Northern Zhili."
Gao Qiqian was furious.
Discuss military matters with you?
Who do you think you are?
He waved his sleeve impatiently.
"I suddenly feel tired."
"I must return to rest."
"You may speak with my subordinates."
With that, Gao Qiqian turned and left.
Lu Xiangsheng blinked in confusion.
A moment later, a young eunuch approached quietly and spoke in a low voice.
"The main Jianzhou army has not yet arrived."
"But Dorgon has already led the vanguard cavalry near Shunyi."
Lu Xiangsheng frowned.
Something felt wrong.
Based on past experience, the Jianzhou army always advanced extremely quickly.
Once they crossed the border, they would immediately split into several groups and begin burning and looting everywhere.
But this time...
Why did things feel different?