"I don't want your life, what else would I want if not money?"

"What do you need so much money for?"

"None of your business!"

Yang Qingzhi, rendered speechless by Zhao Cheng's retort, couldn't help but laugh and said, "Tell me, tell me, how much do you want?"

"Look at how insincere you are!"

Zhao Cheng crouched down and stared at Yang Qingzhi, his expression and posture resembling that of a ruthless bandit kidnapping a tycoon. He coldly said, "Give me whatever you think you're worth! I'm only giving you one chance. If you're worth what I want, I'll let you go. If not, I'll kill you!"

Yang Qingzhi shook his head.

Zhao Cheng asked, "What do you mean by shaking your head? Are you unwilling?"

“No,” Yang Qingzhi said. “I just thought that if you had used this opportunity to get me to betray the Southern Zhou spies, I would still think you were a loyal and patriotic person. But I didn’t expect you to be so selfish and take the opportunity to make money.”

"You're smart, but you're still a bit slow!"

"I...stunned??"

"What is loyalty to the emperor and love for one's country? It's not about groveling before your country in front of outsiders, but about having absolute confidence in your country. As for those spies from Southern Zhou, Great Jing has its own specialized agencies to deal with them. Besides, your spies aren't any good. Even I, Zhao Cheng, was able to wipe out all your spies in Yanchuan. How long can the other spies hide?"

"What the hell?"

"Nothing at all!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingzhi's face instantly turned red.

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit.

Zhao Cheng's words caused him great pain.

"Well, have you made up your mind yet?" Zhao Cheng urged.

As Yang Qingzhi closed his eyes in thought, Zuo Zhu crawled a step closer to him and said, "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. You must survive!"

Yang Qingzhi let out a long sigh and said, "Then you should go."

"yes!"

"Zhao Wu, you go with him and send a message to Dong Twelve, telling him to go to Qingdong City to collect the money!"

He glared at Zuo Zhu and snapped, "Watch your time! I don't have that much patience!"

Zuo Zhu turned and left.

Zhao Cheng glanced at the arrow stuck in his arm and said, "Pull the arrow out! Aren't you afraid of getting infected?!"

Zuo Zhu ran while pulling out arrows, with Zhao Wu close behind.

Zhao Cheng was unaware of the network of Southern Zhou spies in the thirteen cities of Jingdong, and naturally did not know their ability to raise money, but he had a price in mind.

If the amount reaches 300,000 to 500,000, then Qingzhi won't feel like he's lost out by releasing the sheep.

If it doesn't reach that number...

We'll talk about it later.

He believed that a minor governor of the Southern Zhou Dynasty wouldn't be unable to come up with even a few hundred thousand.

Life is unpredictable, and the results are often unexpected, sometimes a pleasant surprise, sometimes a shock.

Zhao Cheng was pleasantly surprised this time.

Zuo Zhu raised one million taels of silver for Yang Qingzhi's ransom!

Zhao Cheng was almost speechless with shock, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

In the Southern Zhou Dynasty, Yang Qingzhi was probably the richest second-generation rich kid, second only to the princes of the Southern Zhou court.

A million taels? Worth it!

This is an outrageously expensive junior governorship!!

Watching Yang Qingzhi lead his remaining troops south, Zhao Cheng took out the sachet he had found in the bandit's lair from his pocket, and could smell the scent of silver.

It smells so good!

Zhao Wu said, "Master, you said he has unlimited potential, so why did you release him? If we let him grow, wouldn't he be a disaster for our Jing Kingdom?"

Zhao Cheng said, "Whether he can grow up to be a success is unknown, but he's right, I can't kill him."

“If we let him go back, the Southern Zhou court will hold him responsible for the loss of the Seven Generals of Yangmen and this defeat. He can shield us from their wrath. But if we kill him, we will bear the wrath of the Southern Zhou. The court’s northern expedition is at a critical juncture, and we really can’t afford to fight on two fronts.”

“Of course…” Zhao Cheng opened the sachet in his hand and said, “This is what made me decide to release him.”

Zhao Wu asked, "What is this?"

"I found it in the bandit's den. It's a pair with the one he had on him. He must have dropped it on the mountain."

Yang Taozhi, who was standing nearby, said, "So, he was actually the one who wiped out those bandits?"

Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "Of course... He wiped out the bandits so that he could lie low in Lingshan in the future, but he promised to release those women and children and treat them well. I have to remember this favor."

"To be honest, what I'm really afraid of is being constantly on the mind of the Grand Commander of Southern Zhou!" Zhao Cheng laughed nonchalantly, stretched, and said, "Let's focus on the present and worry about the future later!"

Zhao Wu muttered, "You've played the good guy, and you've made money off him too. You're really hypocritical!"

Zhao Cheng slapped Zhao Wu on the head and shouted, "You're quick to learn these phrases!!"

Yang Taozhi withdrew her gaze from the distance and turned to walk into the forest, saying, "Let's go, if we don't go back soon, they'll start to get suspicious."

At the foot of Lingshan Mountain.

Yang Qingzhi, Bao Sheng, and Zuo Zhu led a thousand remaining soldiers south.

As he walked, Yang Qingzhi stopped and looked back at the vast, towering mountains, feeling an indescribable sense of loneliness.

Two thousand elite troops arrived, the Seven Generals of Yangmen, full of fighting spirit, vowing to make great contributions to serve the country.

Now, however, they have only a thousand wounded and depleted soldiers. They haven't even captured Lingshan. Before they've even taken the first real step in their plan, they've already lost half their men and returned in defeat.

"Alas..." Yang Qingzhi sighed deeply, filled with sorrow.

Zuo Zhu comforted him, "Young Commander, you must cheer up..."

Seeing that Bao Sheng had been coughing the whole way, Yang Qingzhi asked, "General Bao, are you alright?"

Bao Sheng clutched his bandaged abdomen and said, "I was only hit by an arrow, it's nothing serious."

Yang Qingzhi gently patted Bao Sheng on the shoulder and said, "Of the Seven Generals of Yang Clan, only General Bao is left. You must take care of yourself!"

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