The merit of supporting the true dragon is achieved only by risking one's life!

Upon hearing Zhang Yu’s words, Qiu Fu immediately nodded without any hesitation and said, "Since they have been captured, there is no need to delay. Behead them publicly in the streets to deter any traitors."

"Understood, General," Zhang Yu replied with a nod.

Naturally, they held zero tolerance for these traitors. Had they been the ones to fail and fall into enemy hands, their fates would have been far more gruesome, with all sorts of cruel tortures inflicted upon the generals loyal to Zhu Di.

Such was the harsh reality of victory and defeat. From the very day these men chose to betray Zhu Di and submit to the imperial court, their paths were destined to be locked in a mortal struggle with no quarter given.

"This time, there are over thirty thousand surrendered soldiers. Do the generals have any thoughts on how to handle them?" Qiu Fu asked, looking around at the commanders assembled in the hall.

"Reporting to General Qiu," Chen Heng immediately spoke up, "we should follow the usual practice of reorganization. Most of these surrendered soldiers were originally part of our Beiping military command. As for those troops transferred in by the court, they should be broken up and integrated. In short, all these newly reorganized troops are to serve strictly as foot soldiers and must not command troops. All military officers must be appointed from among our existing veterans."

"Mm," Qiu Fu nodded in approval, raising no objections.

"Many of my original men have been killed or heavily wounded in this campaign. Aside from those with minor injuries in the medical camp who can quickly return to the ranks, the rest will require a prolonged period of recovery or even honorable discharge and resettlement," Qiu Fu said in a deep voice. "Combining the number of surrendered troops with our current forces, our total strength will swell to nearly eighty thousand after this reorganization. By then, we will have eight Assistant Regional Commander battalions."

Judging by the current tally of prisoners, that was indeed the case.

"General," Zhang Wu chimed in, "we currently have six Assistant Regional Commanders, leaving two vacancies. These should be selected from among the meritorious officers within the army."

"I will report this matter to the Prince and let him decide on the promotions among the garrison officers," Qiu Fu stated gravely.

Below the rank of Assistant Regional Commander, Qiu Fu as the Regional Commander naturally held the authority to promote and dismiss personnel. However, for positions at and above the rank of Assistant Regional Commander, all imperial edicts concerning appointments and dismissals rested solely with Zhu Di.

"Dare I ask, General," Zhu Zheng inquired at this moment, "now that I am to command an Assistant Regional Commander battalion, may I lead the men from my former battalion of company commanders?"

Naturally, Zhu Zheng wished to select officers for the newly formed battalion from the company commanders under his direct command, as this would allow him to exercise much better control over his new forces.

"The formation of the Assistant Regional Commander battalions naturally requires our battle-tested veterans. General Zhu, you may use your former company commander battalion as the core for this reorganization," Qiu Fu smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Understood, General," Zhu Zheng replied instantly, feeling somewhat reassured.

Building an Assistant Regional Commander battalion entirely from scratch would have been cumbersome, but taking his existing company commanders along would allow him to quickly forge a brand new battalion.

The military council continued!

The primary focus of this session was the reorganization of the surrendered troops. The assembled generals offered their suggestions freely and spoke without reservation.

At such a critical juncture, the generals of the Beiping army harbored no internal strife. After all, everyone understood that they were all grasshoppers tied to the same rope; to engage in infighting right now would be absolute suicide.

To put it in grand terms, the path of "cleansing the ruler's side and saving the nation from peril" was a treacherous one. Once defeated, their entire clans would face utter annihilation.

Conversely, if they succeeded, every general sitting in this hall would become a foundational hero of the new dynasty.

To speak more bluntly: if this rebellion failed, they lost everything; if they won, they would attain the highest pinnacles of power and officialdom.

The so-called "Campaign of Jingnan" was merely a righteous banner raised to give the world a justifiable pretext.

As the military council was nearing its end, a shout echoed from outside:

"Report!"

"Reporting to General Qiu," a personal guard of Qiu Fu rushed breathlessly into the main hall and reported excitedly, "word has just come from the Third Assistant Regional Commander battalion—"

"Huailai City has been taken!"

"All the grain and military supplies that Song Zhong stockpiled in Huailai have been secured!"

"It is said that when our army breached the city, the men left behind by Song Zhong attempted to burn down the granaries, but our underground agents inside the city stopped them in time!"

Upon hearing this, the generals in the hall broke into excited smiles.

Capturing Huailai City's grain and military supplies was undoubtedly a massive boon for the Beiping army, which was currently facing a shortage of strategic resources. With the expansion of their troop numbers, their consumption of provisions would also surge, so failing to secure additional supplies would have spelled disaster.

"How much grain and military supplies are stored in Huailai City?" Qiu Fu asked immediately with great concern.

"Reporting to General Qiu," the messenger guard reported excitedly, "these supplies originally belonged to our Beiping army. Ever since our forces were taken over by the traitors, the military funds and resources were diverted elsewhere, and Huailai City served as the main depot."

"In addition, there are grain and supplies transferred by the traitors from other prefectures."

"According to current reconnaissance, the grain and provisions stored in Huailai City are enough to sustain the entire, undivided Beiping army for at least a full year."

"Furthermore, there are at least five thousand cannonballs stored there, along with countless iron shot and gunpowder."

Hearing this, Qiu Fu’s face immediately blossomed into a joyful smile. "Good! Splendid!"

"Song Zhong, oh Song Zhong," Qiu Fu laughed heartily. "You may be dead and gone, but you've left our army such a generous parting gift!"

Instantly, all the Yan army generals in the hall burst into laughter, overflowing with elation and mockery for the deceased Song Zhong.

"What an utter fool," Zhu Zheng sneered inwardly, a trace of derisive mockery toward the incompetence of the imperial court's generals flashing in his eyes. "With capable generals like these to assist him, how could Zhu Yunwen fail?"

"To reach this point and still leave such fatal vulnerabilities for the enemy..."

"They truly are overwhelmingly arrogant, imagining they could suppress Zhu Di in no time at all."

At this moment, Zhu Zheng could not help but sneer inwardly, mocking the sheer incompetence of the imperial officers.

When all was said and done, even now—after Zhu Di had already rebelled—neither Zhu Yunwen nor the imperial court had ever truly taken Zhu Di seriously. To them, he was merely a minor hazard that could be easily stamped out.

Such was likely the mindset of both Song Zhong in Beiping and the imperial court itself.

With that kind of mentality, if they didn't fail, who would?

Zhu Di had staked his very life on this, sparing no expense. By contrast, the court was merely treating it like a game, consumed by self-righteous delusion.

"Historically," Zhu Zheng mused silently to himself, "Zhu Di overthrew Zhu Yunwen in just over four years."

"That was likely because the late Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had left behind a foundation so immensely powerful that Zhu Yunwen managed to squander it for four years. Without that foundation left by the old Emperor, given Zhu Yunwen's utter lack of competence, he probably wouldn't have lasted even a year."

"Still, regarding the Campaign of Jingnan, there has always been a historical debate."

"Zhu Yunwen styled his reign Jianwen, favoring civil officials over military generals. In reality, this war was a contest between the military and the literati."

"With the scales of the military completely tipping toward Zhu Di, how could Zhu Yunwen not lose?"

Reflecting on the historical records concerning the Jingnan campaign, Zhu Zheng sank into deep, silent thought.

In any case!

Zhu Zheng was now a general of the Yan army. The glory of being a founding contributor to the new dynasty had already taken its first solid step toward realization.