In less than half a month, the feudal lords from various regions each led their armies to encamp outside the capital, creating a scene reminiscent of the eighteen allied lords attacking Dong Zhuo.
Ding Yun was that Dong Zhuo.
However, she wasn't holding the emperor hostage to command the lords.
Instead, she directly became the emperor herself.
Outside the capital, although the feudal lords felt it wouldn't be long before they were engaged in struggles for the throne amongst themselves, they hadn't reached that point yet. Thus, they gathered harmoniously.
They jointly discussed the matter of attacking the capital.
They discussed much, focusing primarily on three points: first, whether the rumors were credible; was Anping truly impervious to blades and spears, and incredibly strong?
Second, how they should attack, and how many troops each should contribute. Third, how to divide the spoils if successful, who would be emperor, and who would withdraw.
Clearly, the first point was the most crucial.
Yet, the feudal lords were confident that anything they hadn't seen was false and mere hearsay. They didn't take the rumors seriously at all, instead arguing incessantly about troop contributions and the division of spoils, nearly coming to blows.
And while they were arguing over the spoils.
The common people in the city began to panic. After all, with hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding them, who wouldn't be panicked?
Regardless of victory or defeat, they would likely suffer losses.
However, compared to the common people.
The imperial court held a different attitude.
Not only was Ding Yun not panicking, but all the civil and military officials were also completely at ease. This was because they had witnessed Ding Yun's capabilities and knew that they didn't need to take any action, nor worry about the capital being besieged, running out of supplies, or lacking sufficient troops.
The current Empress Anping alone was enough to capture the leaders and round up all the feudal lords.
It was less like the capital being surrounded by feudal lords now.
And more like they were delivering themselves.
The subsequent events unfolded exactly as the officials had predicted. The feudal lords camped outside the capital were, for all intents and purposes, defenseless.
Ding Yun captured them all in one fell swoop.
Not only the feudal lords, but even the generals they brought along were apprehended overnight and all hanged at the capital's city gate that very day. Following this, the allied forces naturally dispersed.
With their leader and high-ranking officials all dead, what else could the remaining employees do but break up and go their separate ways?
It was like the four members of the Journey to the West.
If Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong were both dead, wouldn't Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing quickly part ways and return home?
Before long, the allied forces returned to their respective regions.
Simultaneously, Ding Yun issued a strict order, forbidding them from harassing the local populace on their way back. However, upon their return, they were permitted to attack the rebellious feudal lords' mansions and divide their assets.
Upon hearing this decree, the soldiers withdrew with excitement.
Many officials, however, broke out in a cold sweat. They had initially thought this Empress Anping was merely a reckless fool, but unexpectedly, she wasn't entirely so. She knew how to kill with a borrowed knife. This decree not only garnered the favor of many local citizens and the soldiers of the allied army but also allowed them to use these very soldiers, who had been raised by the feudal lords themselves, to destroy the remaining powers in their respective regions, saving her the trouble of pursuit.
As the soldiers returned to the regions where the feudal lords resided, it was likely that the feudal lords' children and their ilk would not only lose all their assets but also their lives.
The ultimate outcome was no different from extermination.
After resolving the feudal lords' affairs, Ding Yun formally began the process of exonerating the Qi family, using carved block printing to reproduce tens of thousands of copies of evidence detailing the corrupt deeds and schemes of figures like the Left Prime Minister and others, and how they framed the Duke of the Protector of the Nation. These were then distributed throughout the land. Simultaneously, the Qi family members who had been exiled were, naturally, pardoned.
And this was merely the beginning. After the Qi family's half-month journey and return to the capital, Ding Yun directly removed all the Zhao family members from the Imperial Ancestral Temple and replaced their ancestral tablets with those of the Qi family.
She also changed her own surname.
To Qi Pingan.
Her birth mother was posthumously honored as the Empresses of Compassion, Benevolence, Virtue, and Holiness.
Her maternal uncle was posthumously honored as the Duke of the Protector of the Nation, Shoulder-to-Shoulder.
Finally, even the name of the Zhao Kingdom was changed, from Zhao to Qi, signifying a complete and thorough dynastic change.
A dynastic change that caused minimal casualties among the populace.
It was unavoidable; the original host's dying wish was for the Zhao Kingdom to be annihilated. If Ding Yun didn't do this, how could the Zhao Kingdom be considered annihilated? Now, the imperial family no longer bore the surname Zhao, and the country no longer bore the name Zhao. Therefore, the Zhao Kingdom was naturally considered to have fallen.
To be honest, as Ding Yun was doing all this, she was somewhat worried that the officials would desperately try to stop her. After all, the actions she was taking were quite significant, unprecedented even, and certainly rebellious, defying all propriety.
But to her surprise, although the officials were somewhat astonished.
In the end, not a single one stepped forward to object.
Later, Ding Yun learned through eavesdropping the reasons why the officials did not object. Firstly, they felt that since there was already a female emperor, any further absurdities were not surprising and they were too lazy to interfere.
Secondly, they believed Ding Yun was truly capable of killing.
Since the Zhao imperial family was nearly extinct and the feudal lords were mostly dead, their opposition would be futile.
It was better to let her proceed.
Lest they lose their own lives.
This demonstrated that sometimes, the extent of officials' opposition depended not on whether the emperor was in the right, but on whether the emperor dared to kill. When an emperor dared not kill, officials could potentially trample all over them and act presumptuously.
With no opposition from the imperial court officials or nobility, and the Zhao clan severely weakened and powerless to resist.
Ding Yun's changes were thus all smoothly and gradually implemented, spreading throughout the entire country. Meanwhile, the Qi family, having just returned to the capital.
Mysteriously, as if from a pie falling from the sky, they became royalty, transforming from a banished criminal clan into the imperial family.
This showed that life's fortunes could indeed be wondrous.
At this point, considering that the original host's wishes had been largely fulfilled, Ding Yun ceased making any further grand moves. Apart from slightly adjusting policies and purging the court, the only major undertaking was the establishment of a Grand Secretariat, to which most power was delegated.
She herself then began a nationwide inspection tour.
This was partly to inspect the governance of the country and partly to sample the local delicacies she had been too busy to fully enjoy previously.
As for concerns about the Grand Secretariat becoming too powerful and uncontrollable, as long as she was alive, such matters were clearly not a cause for worry. Thus, Ding Yun truly became a contented absentee landlord, preparing for her national tour.
Most importantly, she did not tour with a large entourage but traveled alone, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, no one knowing where she would be on any given day.
One can imagine how terrified unscrupulous individuals, families, or officials across the land must have been!
As soon as the news was released, and before Ding Yun had even left the palace, the prevailing atmosphere across the nation had begun to clear. Some families even earnestly instructed their younger generations not to cause any trouble, forbidding them from retaliating even if bullied by commoners, with immediate death as the penalty for any violation.
This was to avoid implicating the entire family.
Some families with poor reputations even started desperately doing good deeds, almost to the point of offering a few taels of silver to each household to speak well of them. Local officials were no different, becoming incredibly diligent and not daring to accept bribes.
Their aim was not to achieve merit, but merely to avoid any demerit.