Chương 608: The territory of the Han Dynasty has never been so vast.

When King Fan Man of Funan learned of the successive destruction of the Shan and Pyu kingdoms and the annihilation of the entire navy, he was both shocked and furious, and smashed several cups.

He knew that this was a battle that would determine the life or death of Funan.

So he mobilized the entire nation's forces, assembling an army of 50, 000, including 10, 000 of the most elite elephant troops (three war elephants and 10, 000 soldiers), and arrayed them on the plains outside the capital, ready to fight the Han army to the death.

On this day, the weather was gloomy, with dark clouds looming overhead and a cold wind howling.

The two armies faced each other, their banners obscuring the sun.

Fan Man stood atop a heavily armored war elephant, spear in hand, her gaze fierce as she stared at the Han army opposite her.

Behind him, three thousand war elephants formed a neat square formation, like a wall of flesh, with archers on their backs holding poisoned arrows, ready to fire.

Behind the elephant formation were 40, 000 Funan infantrymen, armed with swords, spears, and shields, their morale high, shouting slogans.

"General Yue Fei of the Han Dynasty!" Fan Man shouted in broken Chinese, her voice drifting in the wind.

"You have invaded my Funan territory without cause, slaughtered my people, and destroyed my vassal states. Today I will fight you to the death and show you the might of my Funan elephant cavalry!"

Yue Fei, mounted on his warhorse and holding the Li Quan spear, stared coldly at him, his gaze as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Fan Man, you dominate the Indochina Peninsula, bully neighboring small countries, and repeatedly harass the borders of my Great Han. Today, I am here on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Han to punish you, acting on behalf of Heaven. If you know what's good for you, quickly open the city gates and surrender, and I may spare your life. Otherwise, on the day the city falls, not a single one of you will be spared! Think it over!"

"Arrogance!" Fan Man roared in fury, and ordered, "Elephant charge! Crush the Han soldiers!"

At his command, the three thousand war elephants roared simultaneously, their deafening roars sending chills down one's spine.

They marched heavily toward the Han army.

The earth trembled violently beneath the elephant's hooves, as if the whole world was shaking.

The elephant cavalry of Funan is Fan Man's trump card, having defeated surrounding enemies countless times and is their most prized military force.

In Fan Man's view, as soon as the elephant cavalry charged, the Han army's formation would collapse instantly, followed by a one-sided massacre.

But he didn't know that his proud elephant cavalry had become sitting ducks in front of the Han army's artillery.

Yue Fei looked at the approaching herd of elephants without the slightest panic on his face; in fact, there was even a hint of a smile on his lips.

He raised the command flag and loudly gave the order:

"Artillery ready! Fire!"

Three hundred tiger-squatting cannons and one hundred large cannons, which had been deployed in front of the battle lines, opened fire simultaneously.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The shells whistled as they flew toward the elephant herd, exploding among them.

Solid iron pellets easily pierced through the elephants' thick hides, tearing them to shreds like paper.

The shrapnel rained down on the archers on the elephant's back, instantly felling a large number of them, leaving a cloud of blood.

The elephants were terrified by the loud cannon fire and the intense pain, and let out horrified cries.

They stopped obeying their owner's commands and turned to run back in panic, not knowing where to go.

"Stop them! Stop them now!" Fan Man was terrified, her face turned pale, and she frantically waved her spear, trying to control the situation.

But it was too late.

The frightened elephants charged into the Funan infantry formation behind them like madmen.

They rampaged through the area, trampling and injuring countless Funan soldiers; the sound of bones and flesh shattering was enough to make one's teeth ache.

Funan's formation collapsed instantly, and the soldiers cried out in despair, scattering and trampling each other in their flight.

"Musketeers, fire a volley!"

At Yue Fei's command, five thousand musketeers lined up in three rows and took turns firing at the fleeing Funan soldiers.

The crisp sound of gunfire rose and fell, bullets like the scythe of death, reaping the lives of Funan soldiers.

"Cavalry, charge!"

Gao Lan led five thousand cavalrymen, like a black lightning bolt, charging towards the chaotic Funan army.

Wielding their lances, they charged wildly, as if they were in an empty field, slaughtering Funan soldiers until their heads rolled.

Luo Cheng took the lead, his silver spear flashing up and down, and no one could stop him wherever he went.

He spotted Fan Man immediately, now riding a different horse, and spurred his horse toward her, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Fan Man, prepare to die!"

When Fan Man saw Luo Cheng charging towards him, he hurriedly raised his spear to meet the attack. However, he was no match for Luo Cheng. After only one exchange, Luo Cheng knocked the spear away with a single thrust, and his tiger's mouth was shattered.

Luo Cheng swung his spear backhand and pierced Fan Man's chest, the spear tip protruding from her back.

Fan Man screamed and fell from her horse, dying instantly. Her blood stained the grass.

"Fan Man is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Luo Cheng held Fan Man's head high and shouted loudly, his voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield.

Upon seeing that their king was dead, the Funan soldiers lost all will to fight and surrendered, throwing down their weapons and kneeling on the ground.

This decisive battle lasted less than two hours from start to finish.

Of the 50, 000 troops in Funan, 30, 000 were killed in battle and 20, 000 were captured, resulting in the complete annihilation of the army.

That afternoon, the Han army captured Viyadapura, the capital of Funan.

The city gates were opened wide, and the Han army filed in.

Yue Fei ordered that soldiers be strictly prohibited from burning, killing, and looting, and that the people be appeased. At the same time, he sent people to collect the gold, silver, jewels, books, and documents from the Funan Palace and register them.

With the demise of Funan, the last independent regime on the Indochina Peninsula also came to an end.

In the time that followed... Yu Jin pacified the Mon city-states, Luo Cheng pacified the Mon-Khmer language tribes, and Huang Zhong led the navy to pacify the small kingdoms of Langya Xiu and Chitu on the Malay Peninsula.

With this, all the countries in the Indochina Peninsula were destroyed by the Han army, and this vast territory was officially incorporated into the map of the Han Dynasty.

On this day, Yue Fei stood on the shore of the rising sea, looking at the boundless ocean, with waves crashing against the beach.

Behind him was a large banner with the Chinese character "汉" (Han), fluttering in the sea breeze.

The sea breeze brushed his cheeks and fluttered his battle robe.

He knew this was not the end, but the beginning.

The territory of the Han Dynasty has never been so vast.

From Beihai to Zhanghai, from the Japanese islands to the Pamir Mountains, Han flags were planted on every piece of land that could be seen.

..................

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the sixth year of Shenwu, in the Liangyi Hall of Luoyang.

The late summer heat was fierce; the sun outside the palace was so hot that the floor tiles were hot enough to fry an egg, and even the bronze cranes under the eaves were scorching hot, the cigarettes in their beaks were twisted and warped from the heat.

Several large ice basins were placed inside the hall, with ice blocks piled up like small mountains. Ice water dripped down the rim of the basins, barely suppressing the heat, but unable to suppress the drowsiness and gossip of the officials.

Fifteen minutes before the court session, the palace was already in complete chaos, resembling a vegetable market.

Minister of Revenue Shen Wansan squatted behind a pillar, frantically clicking away on his abacus, the beads flying up and down. His mouth stretched from ear to ear. This month, commercial taxes had increased by 30%. He would have to go to Zuixianlou for a feast that night, and invite a few old friends over. He was in high spirits.

The Minister of Agriculture, Jia Sixie, leaned over and whispered:

"Old Shen, this year's cotton harvest is bountiful. Could the imperial court raise the purchase price by two coins? It's not easy for ordinary people to grow cotton; they only get so little from each acre."

Shen Wansan didn't even look up, his abacus beads clicking rapidly: "Sure, raise it! As long as it helps the people earn more money, don't worry about two coins, even five coins are fine! Anyway, the national treasury has money, we're not afraid to spend it!"