"Brother Wang, please accept my condolences."
Inside the side hall, looking at the distraught Prince Qing, Jin Fengluan pursed her lips and spoke. Her gaze swept over Prince Qing, whose body was covered in blood, making Jin Fengluan's heart pound with anxiety.
Prince Qing stared at her blankly for a long while before finally speaking:
“Jiande is my only remaining son.”
Jin Fengluan raised an eyebrow and sighed:
"Yes, Your Majesty, how could I not know?"
"Although Jiande sometimes acted foolishly, he was ultimately a loyal and righteous man. I was heartbroken to learn of his sudden passing, and even now, my heart still aches." Jin Fengluan shook her head and sighed.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Prince Qing suddenly interrupted:
"Then why do you want to move Jiande...?"
Sensing the change in Prince Qing's tone, Jin Fengluan quickly retorted, "No, Brother, you've misunderstood."
"After Jiande returned from Nangang, he came to me to plead for that wretched child. I explained the consequences to him, but he not only refused to listen, but also defied me and suddenly went mad in the palace."
"I know he acted impulsively and will surely regain his senses after this period. So I ordered the Imperial Guards to capture him and send him to the Prince's residence. I will wait for my brother to return from Nangang so that he can comfort him."
"Who would have thought that Jiande would actually... die like that, alas."
"This is something I never expected." Jin Fengluan put her hand to her forehead, her face showing grief.
Prince Qing observed coldly, but suddenly heard a faint metallic clanging sound. He lowered his head, touched his face, and said sadly:
"Jiande was covered in wounds, a shocking sight. I..."
Upon hearing this, Jin Fengluan's expression changed slightly, and she gritted her teeth, saying:
"Brother, I instructed those guards to treat Jiande well. Just subdue him and send him back to the palace. After giving this order, I left."
"I never imagined they would take advantage of this situation and use my orders to secretly attack Jiande. I have now investigated thoroughly and found out that these people had a personal grudge against Jiande and were taking this opportunity to rebel against their superiors."
"Having learned the reason, I have already sent men to arrest them and execute them on the spot! These scoundrels are truly unforgivable!"
Jin Fengluan's face was full of anger. She flung her sleeves in frustration, but her gaze remained fixed on Prince Qing, who had his head bowed, waiting to see how he would react to her words.
Prince Qing was hunched over, his hand covering his face, but his eyes were cold and sharp as knives, peering through the gaps between his fingers at the screen.
The candlelight flickered, revealing several shadows behind the screen. Recalling the sounds he had heard earlier, Prince Qing was almost certain that there were axemen hiding behind it.
Thinking of this, Prince Qing suddenly let out a howl, tears streaming down his face. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, crying out:
"Your Majesty! They must be executed along with their entire families!"
"I only have one son, and they must be made to pay for his death!"
Upon hearing this, Jin Fengluan finally felt relieved and nodded.
"Good! Brother Wang!"
"I will definitely avenge you! Execute them! I will definitely exterminate their entire clan!"
"As for Jiande, I will certainly give him a grand funeral!"
Prince Qing sat on the ground, nodding and sobbing, his grief evident in his expression.
Seeing his appearance, Jin Fengluan continued, "Brother Wang, please accept my condolences. Jiande has passed away. You must take care of yourself. Dagan cannot lose its pillar of support."
"To be honest, while those guards were certainly hateful in Jiande's death, I don't think they were the real culprits."
Upon hearing this, Prince Qing stopped crying immediately. He buried his head and choked out, "Who is it?"
Jin Fengluan's expression remained unchanged as she waved her arm and said coldly:
"It's the traitor Qin Ze!"
"It's him! It's definitely him!"
“If it weren’t for him, Jiande wouldn’t have lost a leg. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have moved to Nanze. Without him, we should be in Nanjing now.”
"Jianren, Jianzhong, they won't die!"
"It is because of this traitor that our Jin family is now dwindling in number, forcing my brother to bury his son."
Jin Fengluan grew angrier with each word, her face turning red with anger, and then she shouted:
"Speaking of which, isn't this all the traitor's fault?! He deserves to die!"
"I have mobilized troops and made all preparations. This time, I will make him pay for his crimes in blood! I will avenge my brother!"
These words clearly ignited the anger in Prince Qing's heart. He raised his head, his gaze as cold as ice, and gritted his teeth, saying:
"I will make the person who killed my son pay!"
“Yes, Brother Wang!” Jin Fengluan nodded.
——
Night had fallen.
After leaving the palace, Prince Qing glanced at the night sky before getting into his carriage, but only for a moment before boarding with a blank expression.
After sitting down, Prince Qing closed his eyes and uttered indistinct words.
"I'll make you...all of you pay with your lives!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he leaned back, his狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) face disappearing into the thick, inky darkness.
——
The chaotic night has finally come to an end.
The following day, around noon, a large army marched slowly and steadily toward the road leading to Nangang.
The large red banner fluttered in the wind, making it particularly eye-catching, and the army was even more imposing. Although the number of people was not particularly large, less than 100,000, it was an army composed of multiple branches of the armed forces.
In addition to each soldier riding a warhorse, there were also a large number of warhorses pulling wooden carts loaded with various long-range firearms. The dark barrels of the cannons reflected the sunlight, and the cannonballs pulled on the wooden carts next to them were even more awe-inspiring.
These weapons were not taken from the warships, but were redeemed by Qin Ze using his points. This also includes the army that is currently on the march.
Now that we're going to Nanze to defeat the Jin family, we no longer need to exchange for a large number of troops.
Of course, this was not because Qin Ze underestimated the enemy, but because the troops he had exchanged now possessed advanced weapons and had extremely high mobility. Such an army was in no way inferior to a massive army built on sheer numbers.
Furthermore, Qin Ze considered that the next enemies to be dealt with were those foreign states, and therefore more troops should be deployed to fight against them.
The battles with them would naturally not take place domestically, but rather on the vast ocean or their own territory, requiring a large deployment of troops.
At this moment, Qin Ze led his army forward, not taking the difficult side roads, but going straight along the official road. There was no need to hide now, and it was time to show the power of the new dynasty!
Qin Ze firmly believed in one principle: the common people follow the crowd; in other words, whoever is strong and seems likely to win, they will follow.
Just like now.
As we passed through a village, some of the farmers who were spring-plowing in the fields were already cheering.
Qin Ze looked up at the sun high in the sky. The sunlight was intense enough that just one glance was enough to make him immediately lower his head.
At that moment, several scouts were riding up from not far away.
Undoubtedly, having set out early to scout the route, they had already brought back firsthand military intelligence.
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