Upon hearing this, Hu Pan's lips twitched involuntarily a few times.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside, followed by the sound of a cup shattering.
Hu Pan's expression changed, and he looked at Qin Yu, quickly saying, "Your Majesty, this is a code; Lord Xing may be here!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said in a low voice:
"Old General, just like last time, hurry up and scream, don't give yourself away."
"Okay!"
Upon hearing this, Li Dingbang immediately joined in with a loud wail: "Ah...it hurts, it hurts so much..."
"Hu Pan, you beast, you wait! I'll haunt you even as a ghost! And that treacherous minister Xing Jun, I'll haunt you day and night to claim your lives! Ah!"
Outside the door, Xing Jun walked in triumphantly.
He frowned slightly upon hearing Li Dingbang's screams.
Hearing this scolding again made his face turn extremely ugly.
That old bastard still hasn't behaved himself?
He snorted and strode towards the number one cell in the Heavenly Rank. He wanted to personally whip that old bastard a few times to make him behave himself.
However, he was startled by what he saw as soon as he entered the prison.
Hu Pan was sprinkling maggots onto Li Dingbang's back, and as soon as the maggots landed, they began to gnaw at the flesh and blood on Li Dingbang's back.
At this moment, Li Dingbang was screaming and howling in pain, the sound of which was even more shrill than that of a pig being slaughtered.
When Hu Pan saw Xing Jun, he was slightly surprised and quickly asked respectfully, "Lord Xing, what brings you here?"
Xing Jun's eyelids twitched, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He frowned and asked, "Hu Pan! What are you doing?"
Hu Pan fawned, "Isn't this just torturing the old man? What's wrong, Lord Xing? Are our methods ineffective? If not, please give us your guidance."
No way? This is just too much torture.
Xing Jun always believed that his methods were truly ruthless, because if he weren't ruthless, he wouldn't have been able to climb to this position!
But when he arrived today, he realized that compared to Hu Pan, he was nothing, not even a little devil; Hu Pan was the real Yama.
Watching the maggots frantically devour his wound, he felt his stomach churn and almost vomited.
He suppressed the nausea in his stomach and praised, "No...you did a great job, that's how it should be, let this old thing know the pain!"
"Thank you for the compliment, sir!"
Hu Pan chuckled and continued to grab the maggots, throwing them at Li Dingbang's body.
As he fell, he muttered, "You old bastard, you deserve to be slowly eaten to death by maggots. That way, you'll be the first person in history to be devoured alive by maggots."
Li Dingbang continued to scream and wail, his heart-wrenching cries growing ever more agonizing.
Xing Jun looked at Li Dingbang's current appearance and a cold smile appeared on his face.
Although he was secretly pleased, he was afraid he would throw up immediately if he continued to watch such a scene!
So, Xing Jun rubbed his forehead, coughed lightly, and said, "Hu Pan, I have high hopes for you. Continue to torture him properly with your methods. I trust you completely, so I'll be leaving now."
"Your humble servant obeys! Respectfully seeing you off, sir!"
Hu Pan hurriedly cupped his hands in farewell, and only after watching Xing Jun leave did he close the prison door.
To be honest, even though it was acting, he was still on edge.
But after Xing Jun left, Li Dingbang's screams stopped immediately, which relieved him.
"General, how are you feeling now?"
Hu Pan watched Li Dingbang nervously, afraid that he would shout again and then faint.
Li Dingbang grinned and said, "To be honest, I didn't feel any pain at all, just a tingling sensation in my back."
Qin Yu then took off his hat and explained with a smile, "It's normal to have this feeling. It's okay, just let the insects continue to eat the rotten flesh. Once they've finished eating all the rotten flesh, we'll be all done."
Li Dingbang nodded, then continued to lie on the ground and endure the pain.
As time went by, an hour later, when Li Dingbang looked at the wound on his back again, maggots had eaten away all the rotting flesh.
Hu Pan exclaimed in surprise, "That's really strange. These maggots really do stop eating after finishing the rotten flesh. It's amazing."
"Of course. Alright, enough talk. Bring me some gauze. We need to bandage the old general quickly, or the wound might get infected."
Qin Yu gave an instruction, then took the gauze and bandages handed over by Hu Pan and helped Li Dingbang treat his wounds.
After the bandaging was finished, Li Dingbang sat up, stretched his shoulders, and then looked at Qin Yu with a face full of gratitude, saying excitedly:
"Your Majesty, this old minister is feeling much better. I thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace!"
Qin Yu waved his hand and smiled, "General, you are too kind. I said I would like to continue to serve as a pillar of the Great Xia in the future."
At this point, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up to ask, "By the way, General, I have some important matters to discuss with you today."
Li Dingbang was taken aback, then said righteously, "Your Majesty, please ask. This old minister will certainly not keep quiet if he knows the answer."
"Then... I'll get straight to the point."
Qin Yu paused here, then continued, "General, you are well aware of military affairs and the chaos in the court. I would like to hear your perspective from the military: how should I break through the military's defenses?"
Li Dingbang frowned upon hearing this.
He didn't answer easily, but instead thought about it seriously.
He was acutely aware of Qin Yu's current predicament, and that Sima Lie in the court now held absolute power.
Otherwise, Qin Yu wouldn't have needed to go to the Heavenly Prison and disguise himself as a eunuch.
After a moment, Li Dingbang let out a long sigh, then said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that if you want to change the situation, you need to have a fierce and invincible army that is absolutely loyal to you!"
"Oh?" Qin Yu asked in confusion.
How can this be done?
Li Dingbang asked, "Does Your Majesty know about the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu's eyes lit up immediately, and he said:
"Of course I know. This was created by the old general during the reign of the late emperor. It is extremely powerful and is the only heavy cavalry in our Great Xia!"
"That's right!"
Li Dingbang smiled slightly, then continued to ask, "Does Your Majesty wish to control this iron cavalry?"
"This is the most formidable iron cavalry in the Great Xia Dynasty. Even Sima Lie coveted it. How could I not want to have it in my hands! What a pity... alas!"
Qin Yu sighed, clearly understanding the significance of this heavily armored cavalry.
Li Dingbang said with a faint smile, "Your Majesty, since this old minister was imprisoned, the status of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry has plummeted. Not only were they exiled to the desolate Xuanfu for garrison duty, but Sima Lie also embezzled their food, equipment, and military pay."
"Even so, this old minister dares to guarantee with his life that the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry has not betrayed us until now. As long as Your Majesty takes action, the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry will surely regain its former glory!"
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