In a panic, Cui Yunhong hid inside the ancestral hall. Outside, seven or eight guards were blown to pieces and lay on the ground, some dead, some screaming in agony.

Cui Yunhong had no idea that the situation would develop this way. He still planned to negotiate with Qin Hui and do everything he could to stabilize the situation beforehand, no matter the cost.

Once the Northwest is secured, the mission will be accomplished!

But unexpectedly, Qin Hui was so ruthless that he didn't even bother with questions and went straight for the most terrifying thunderbolt!

Then he saw several soldiers walk in and begin firing crossbows, instantly killing five more men. Five soldiers rushed up behind them, brandishing sharp blades and began hacking at people, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

The sharp knife slashed into flesh and tore at bone, making a piercing sound.

Hearing the fighting inside, twenty soldiers immediately rushed in in an orderly fashion, forming a wedge formation and engaging in battle in the not-so-spacious courtyard in front of the ancestral hall.

Before long, Cui Yunhong's voice broke down from inside: "Shangguan, I am willing to give up all my family property to you, please spare my life!"

Qin Hui didn't even flinch; money was, of course, very important to him.

He had already calculated how much he would gain from the destruction of the Cui clan.

But life is more important than money.

If Cui escapes, Qin Hui will lose his life.

Having finally climbed to the top, Qin Hui was only in his thirties with a bright future ahead of him. He was unwilling to lose everything because of a woman surnamed Cui.

Immediately afterwards, more and more people rushed in, and the killing inside became increasingly brutal.

The people below bought watermelons from the village entrance and presented them to Qin Hui and Huyan Tong, who then slowly began to eat the watermelons.

Someone screamed madly as they ran out of the ancestral hall, but as soon as they stepped out, their foot was chopped off with a knife, and they fell to the ground. Then, someone stabbed them in the back with a spear, and they died instantly.

A dozen or so soldiers, each wielding a saber, blocked the entrance; anyone who came out was killed.

Now that everyone in the Cui family ancestral hall has been killed, people are immediately sent to the Cui residence to kill all those over the age of twelve!

Drag them out immediately and execute them on the spot. Show no leniency and show no mercy!

The blood pooled together and flowed into a small stream.

Qin Hui then issued another order: anyone who had benefited from the Cui family should also be executed!

As a result, almost all the officials in the village were arrested.

They were all bound up and executed amidst cries of agony!

The clan chief, Cui Yunhong, was shot in the throat with an arrow, his head severed and presented to Qin Hui.

Qin Hui ordered his men to pack it up and send it back to Tokyo with utmost urgency, to be presented to the emperor.

Subsequently, they plundered all of the Cui family's treasures.

Finally, a fire burned the Cui family's ancestral hall and residence to the ground.

Destroying the Cui clan ancestral hall is a great achievement.

Qin Hui took out one-third of the looted treasure and divided it equally with everyone, which was a fair share of the hard work these people had put in to fight the war.

...

Zhao Huan recently received several heads, namely the heads of the Wang family of Hedong and the Cui family of Hebei, as well as the heads of their elders.

Like the Li family of Longxi, these two families were thoroughly wiped out by Zhao Huan.

This is good news. Taking advantage of this rebellion, the imperial court launched a major purge in Hebei and Hedong.

After this purge, everyone from the prefect to the county magistrate, and then to the village head, was replaced by new people.

The Song Dynasty's weak and bloated bureaucratic system needed fresh blood.

This is a painful period, but for Zhao Huan, it is something he must face and experience.

When good news came from both Hebei and Hedong, all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

On the evening of July 1st, a red star fell from the sky, streaking across the heavens and illuminating half of the cosmos.

Almost everyone in Tokyo saw it.

The astrologer Shi Weiming, who was in charge of observing celestial phenomena at the Ministry of Rites, went before the emperor and said, "Mars guarding the heart is an ominous sign!"

His words made the emperor's courtiers uneasy.

Historical records state that when the tyrannical Qin dynasty ravaged the land, the celestial phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart of the sun appeared. Not long after, the First Emperor died, and the tyrant was quickly overthrown by the Second Emperor of Qin.

Now, what does this strange phenomenon from the sky mean?

Some people privately speculated that the current emperor was already ill, and the court was about to descend into chaos.

Some say this is divine punishment sent down by Heaven for the current emperor's excessive killing.

Of course, some people say that when Mars is in conjunction with Antares, a sage will appear in the world!

For a time, the city of Tokyo was abuzz with discussion.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival, in Shentangbao, Huanqing Prefecture in the northwest.

Cao Sheng, the deputy commander of the Dingbian Army, launched a rebellion of 80,000 Dingbian troops. He killed Di Mu, the commander of the Dingbian Army, at Shentangbao and displayed Di Mu's head on a sharpened wooden stake.

Along with Di Mu, 30,000 brave border guards were also killed!

Thirty thousand corpses were piled up, forming a Jingguan (a mound of corpses), resembling a living hell.

Blood formed rivers, flowing across the lawn.

The July wind turned cold and howled across the vast grassland, like the spirits of fallen soldiers unwilling to leave.

The Northwest is not yet pacified, yet we must depart.

I'm not reconciled!

This was a sudden and unexpected rebellion, and Dimu and the other generals were completely caught off guard.

Who is Di Mu?

He was a descendant of Di Qing, a famous general of the Northern Song Dynasty, and one of the top generals in the northwest border defense, as famous as Yao Pingzhong.

After building the Jingguan (a mound of stones), Cao Sheng led his 80,000-strong army to rampage across the northernmost part of Huanqing Road, looting the cities and fortresses that the Song Dynasty had painstakingly built, setting them on fire, massacring all the local people, and plundering their resources.

In total, 200,000 people were slaughtered and women were enslaved.

Screams echoed across the northwest sky, the red clouds filled the air, and the earth seemed to weep!

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!