"That corrupt official Lu Yan, training soldiers on the city wall in the middle of the night, what kind of trouble is he up to?"
She parted her lips slightly, her tone tinged with annoyance.
Although this guy is indeed quite capable, managing Shannan County very well.
He even helped her repel the barbarians, but training troops in the middle of the night was really hard to understand.
"Does it really mean they want to crush the barbarians? Or are they plotting a rebellion?"
Chen Qingwan muttered to herself.
She felt that the boastful statement of "crushing the barbarians" was too arrogant.
Moreover, the memorial clearly states that Lu Yan's training targets were not ordinary soldiers.
Instead, it was a "special forces" unit he had secretly assembled.
This made her doubt Lu Yan's true intentions.
Qiao'er, observing the situation carefully, cautiously spoke up:
"Your Majesty, could there be some misunderstanding?"
"Perhaps Zhao Dezhu deliberately framed Lu Yan out of jealousy of his effective governance?"
Chen Qingwan glanced at Qiao'er and thought to herself, "This girl is quite on Lu Yan's side."
However, Qiao'er's words were not without reason.
She had also heard of Zhao Dezhu.
He is a greedy and incompetent person, and it is not impossible that he is envious of Lu Yan's achievements.
After a moment's thought, Chen Qingwan made a decisive decision:
"Go to Qingshui County! I want to see for myself what Lu Yan is up to!"
So, Chen Qingwan, along with Qiao'er and several guards, disguised themselves as a merchant caravan.
He quietly left Shannan County and headed to Qingshui County to find out what was going on.
Along the way, Chen Qingwan and her group endured hardships and slept in the open, but all was well.
However, when they were less than an hour away from Qingshui County, they were still on their way.
However, they were ambushed and robbed by a group of bandits.
"This mountain is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!"
A bandit leader with a full beard, looking as if he hadn't washed his face for three days.
He led a group of bandits, each carrying a rusty machete.
They jumped out like a bunch of silly roe deer and blocked the caravan, their noses in the air.
They were all as arrogant as idiots.
Although the guards were highly skilled in martial arts, they were outnumbered and gradually lost ground.
Chen Qingwan and Qiao'er stayed in the carriage, listening to the sounds of fighting outside.
"Your Majesty, what should we do?"
Qiao'er gripped Chen Qingwan's hand tightly, her face pale.
Chen Qingwan comforted her:
"Don't be afraid, my personal guards are all experts who can take on a hundred men each, they will definitely be able to..."
Before she could finish speaking, a scream came from outside.
Immediately afterwards, one of the guards fell beside the carriage, an arrow lodged in his chest.
Just at this critical moment, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out in the distance.
Immediately following, a group of soldiers dressed in black and carrying muskets appeared.
Like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, they charged into the bandits' ranks.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Gunshots rang out continuously, and the bandits fell like wheat being harvested.
The leader was none other than Lu Yan.
He was dressed in black, and held a strangely shaped musket.
Like the Grim Reaper, he reaped the lives of the mountain bandits.
"Damn it, that bastard Zhao Dezhu made me travel all night and didn't get any sleep! Now I've run into a bunch of stupid bandits."
Lu Yan fired the gun while cursing under his breath.
"Sir, what should we do with these bandits?" Lu Fei ran over to ask for instructions.
Lu Yan glanced at the remaining trembling bandits and sneered:
"The men are castrated, and the women are sold to brothels!"
He had barely finished speaking when he heard a sharp rebuke: "Lu Yan! How dare you!"
Lu Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man dressed as a merchant.
But the woman, whose noble bearing could not be concealed, was glaring at him angrily.
"Oh, isn't this Miss Chen?" Lu Yan was taken aback.
Chen Qingwan angrily said:
"Lu Yan! In broad daylight, how dare you treat human life so lightly? You have absolutely no respect for the law!"
Lu Yan spread his hands innocently:
"Miss Chen, which eye of yours saw me treating human life like dirt?"
"These people are bandits, and besides, I just saved you!"
"You..." Chen Qingwan was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Lu Yan looked at Chen Qingwan's sullen expression.
It's like a Persian cat with its fur standing on end; it's kind of funny.
He raised an eyebrow, a hint of cynicism in his tone:
"These people are bandits who commit all sorts of atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting. I am doing this to rid the people of this scourge!"
"You...you're just being unreasonable!"
Although she knew the bandits deserved to die.
But Lu Yan's approach of "castrating the men and selling the women to brothels" is appalling.
It still felt too cruel to her.
Qiao'er saw that Chen Qingwan was so angry with Lu Yan that she couldn't speak.
He quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Chen Qingwan.
Like a mother hen protecting her chicks:
"Lord Lu, even if they are bandits, you cannot treat them so hastily!"
"We should at least hand it over to the authorities and let them handle it according to the law!"
Lu Yan rolled his eyes, looking completely unconvinced.
"Hand it over to the government? Those officials are all bloated and greedy, all they know is how to extort and demand bribes,"
"They might even be bribed by these bandits, and then released to continue harming the people!"
"I'm using violence to stop violence, to prevent future troubles!"
"You...you're absolutely unreasonable!"
Qiao'er was also furious with Lu Yan's fallacies and heresies.
The two sides argued back and forth, unable to reach an agreement, and the atmosphere became tense, with a fight seemingly imminent.
Upon seeing this, Lu Fei, Zhang Xun, and Han Sheng quickly stepped forward to offer their advice.
“Miss Chen, Miss Qiao’er, you don’t know this, but this gang of bandits has been entrenched in this place for many years, causing havoc in the village and committing all sorts of evil deeds.”
"The people of Qingshui County have suffered terribly because of them!"
Lu Fei said with righteous indignation.
"Yes, they robbed merchants, raped and plundered; their crimes are simply unforgivable!"
"Lord Lu is only resorting to this desperate measure because he is thinking of the people!" Han Sheng chimed in.
Although Chen Qingwan was still angry, she couldn't help but start to reflect after hearing these words.
Although she was an empress, she never truly understood the suffering of ordinary people.
They were even more unaware of the evil deeds committed by these bandits.
Although Lu Yan's actions were brutal, they seemed to be a last resort.
Moreover, she was also incredibly shocked by the special forces unit trained by Lu Yan.
These people moved swiftly, and their weapons were even more bizarre, capable of killing people out of thin air.
These people work together so well, they're even more formidable than the imperial guards in her palace!
Seeing that Chen Qingwan remained silent, Lu Yan assumed that he had convinced her.
He then smiled smugly:
"Miss Chen, do you understand now? I'm not killing innocent people indiscriminately, but eliminating a scourge for the people!"
Chen Qingwan rolled her eyes at him and said irritably:
Even if what you say makes sense, you can't be so cruel! You should at least give them a chance to repent!
"Repent and start anew?" Lu Yan thought he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"If these people could truly reform themselves, pigs could fly!"
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