Erniu strode into the command tent, his eyes brimming with smugness. He gripped tightly with his right hand a disheveled man—his hair was disheveled, his face was deathly pale, and he was covered in blood, his former imposing presence completely gone.
"We've been searching for ages, and we've finally found him!" Erniu laughed heartily, throwing the man in his arms to the ground.
The soldiers looked closely and immediately recognized the man as none other than Prince Xi of Yan!
Wang Jian's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but whisper, "Good lad, this stroke of luck has actually fallen on your head?"
He knew that his men were all eager to capture Prince Xi of Yan alive, but they never expected that Erniu, that blockhead, would beat them to it.
It really does prove the saying that fools are lucky.
King Xi of Yan was so dizzy from the fall that he could barely lift his head after several breaths. Seeing the many figures in the tent, he recognized the one sitting at the head of the table as none other than the Qin Grand Commandant, Efu, who had massacred the city of Ji and whom he feared.
"You...you...you wicked husband...you?" King Xi of Yan's voice trembled, his lips quivering so much that he couldn't utter a coherent sentence.
Erniu slammed the knife on the table and grinned maliciously, "What's wrong? Why is the King of Yan stuttering? Your Majesty, weren't you incredibly domineering during the siege, vowing to fight the Qin army to the death? In the end, you've become a coward hiding in the cellar?"
King Xi of Yan was filled with shame and indignation, yet powerless to refute. Now that Ji City had fallen, any further words from him would be futile. His limbs went weak, and only endless despair remained in his heart.
The wicked man slowly rose, looking down at him with cold indifference in his eyes: "King Xi of Yan, you swore on the city wall that you would rather die than surrender. But what was the result? You hid in the cellar, but you still couldn't escape my Qin army."
King Xi of Yan hesitated, unsure how to defend himself. His shoulders hunched, and he lacked the courage to even meet their gaze. Now, all that remained was a desperate will to survive, hoping that these ruthless executioners before him would spare his life.
"Grand Commandant!" Wang Jian broke the silence. "Ji City has been secured, and the garrison has collapsed. Some civilians have fled into the mountains and forests outside the city. There may be sporadic resistance, but it won't amount to much. In my opinion, we should stabilize the city for now to prevent any remaining resistance from causing trouble."
The wicked man nodded slightly. “Indeed, we must inspect and rectify the situation to prevent any unforeseen complications. As for Prince Xi of Yan…” He changed the subject, a bloodthirsty smile creeping onto his lips, “Let’s let him and his son meet first… I imagine they have so much to say to each other. Even if it means death, let them speak their minds, shall we?”
Upon hearing this, King Xi of Yan felt a chill run down his spine. He had long heard that his wicked husband was ruthless and merciless, never showing any mercy and disregarding etiquette and rules.
How much longer can I survive in this situation?
Seeing the fearful expression on Prince Xi's face, Erniu's smile widened: "Your Majesty, don't worry. You can't escape. As for how long you can live, that depends on the Grand Commandant's mood."
"Take him away and lock him up first." At the wicked man's command, several soldiers of the Black Dragon Armor Army immediately stepped forward, dragged Prince Xi of Yan out of the command tent, and carried him away.
Seeing this, Wang Jian turned to look at the wicked man: "Grand Commandant, the capital of Yan has fallen. What's the next step?"
The wicked man, his expression indifferent, cast his gaze upon the ravaged sky outside the tent: "First, report the victory to the King, then reorganize the cities of Yan under your control, and from there, use them as a base to expand throughout the entire territory of Yan, and take it all under your control."
He slowly raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, as if to crush the heavens and earth: "The world's destiny will inevitably be aligned with Qin. Anyone who stands in the way will be destroyed!"
As his words fell, the soldiers inside and outside the command tent felt a chill run down their spines, yet were also filled with inexplicable excitement. This campaign had been incredibly lucrative, yielding more in one year than in more than ten!
In the days that followed, the wicked man occupied Ji City and constantly promoted the various new policies of the Qin state, which somewhat eased the relationship between the Qin army and the people of Yan.
but!
There are always some ignorant and fame-seeking individuals who try to obstruct the unification of the world. In order to achieve their own fame and success, they constantly incite the people of Yan to preserve their reputation.
Among them, Mo Xia was the most active, and even infiltrated the military camp several times to assassinate generals, which enraged the evil husband, who even ordered several times to slaughter all the people of Yan.
If it weren't for the wise and prudent Wang Jian's repeated dissuasion, those Yan cities occupied by the Qin army would surely have become a wasteland of dead souls by now.
“Cough cough…” Wang Jian coughed lightly, then said in a deep voice, “The most important thing now is to take back the remaining counties of Yan. Scoundrels and assassins are not respectable, and we must not let them delay the important matter.”
"General, how are your injuries?" The wicked man hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, gently patting his back, and asked with concern, "If you're not feeling well, you should return to Xianyang to recuperate as soon as possible!"
“I’m getting old,” Wang Jian sighed with a wry smile. “A mere minor injury like this, back in the day… I wouldn’t have even blinked.”
A few days ago, Mo Xia launched another assassination attempt, and by sheer coincidence, his target was Wang Jian, who was out patrolling alone.
Although Wang Jian was old, his skills were still not to be underestimated. At the cost of being stabbed four times, he successfully killed the nine Mo Xia assassins.
Fortunately, the injury was not serious; the cut on his arm was deep enough to expose the bone.
"We won't be marching these next few days, which will allow me to recover from my injuries. I should be fully healed by the time we set off again!" Wang Jian, not wanting to miss out on the credit for conquering two countries, waved his hands repeatedly to indicate that he was fine.
Seeing his certainty, the wicked man said no more, only angrily saying, "Wait another half month, then divide the troops into two routes and subdue the Liaodong and Liaoxi prefectures."
A hint of joy and gratitude flashed across Wang Jian's face. They had been resting in Ji for almost half a month, and there was no need to wait another half a month. It was just that her husband was taking care of her and indulging her.
"General, please get some rest!" The wicked man smiled, turned around, and left the tent.
Back in his tent, the wicked man summoned Erniu and Chun Ning, and coldly ordered, "Immediately send an envoy back to Xianyang. In my name, Grand Commandant, I order Yang Duanhe to immediately dispatch the elite Black Ice Guard to Yan... Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"
"You two shouldn't be idle either. From today onwards, lead troops to thoroughly search Jicheng. Anyone found acting suspiciously should be executed immediately without questioning!"
Turning the land of Yan into a living hell is somewhat unrealistic. If the premise is "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," then things will be much easier.
The two nodded simultaneously and asked in a low voice, "Brother, those self-serving scholars and literati..."
"Anywhere Qin's weapons can penetrate, kill them!"
The two exchanged a glance, then bowed and accepted the order.
Watching the two figures depart, he swept his gaze across the tent, his voice resolute and fierce: "I don't mind using swords to teach those who resist to understand the might of Qin. With the two prefectures pacified, there will be no more obstacles between the north and south of the world. My Qin state will eventually be unified!"
Outside the tent, a cold wind howled, carrying the smell of blood and fire, a scene of carnage with corpses strewn everywhere!
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