Blood gushed out, and Sun Qi collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck with both hands.
Sun Qi struggled in agony, the despair in his eyes slowly fading, blood gushing from his throat, before finally ceasing his struggle.
...
The Prince's Mansion in Lingnan.
"Bang!"
Zhou Xiang shattered the heavy stone table with a single palm strike, his jaw clenched, his eyes filled with icy killing intent.
"Bastard! Even in war, one should not kill an envoy, yet Ba Qing dared to kill Sun Qi!"
Zhou Xiang was furious. Ba Qing had clearly done this on purpose, and his actions were outrageous! He was even less polite than the barbarians they had previously attacked.
"Your Highness, why should we endure this? Why not immediately mobilize our army, ambush them at Black Stone River, and deliver a crushing blow!"
Hou Jing's anger was no less than Zhou Xiang's. Sun Qi was someone he had personally chosen, but he never expected that he would never return and would die tragically at the hands of Ba Qing.
This revenge must be taken!
"Not yet."
"What?"
Hou Jing was somewhat surprised that the prince still said it wasn't enough, despite Ba Qing's blatant threats and intimidation.
"I will avenge Sun Qi myself, but not now. I must endure, I must endure. The commander-in-chief instructed me in his letter that I must endure."
Zhou Xiang sighed, clenched his fists tightly, and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.
After a long while, Zhou Xiang turned around and slowly sat down.
"Send a thousand taels of silver to Sun Qi's family and find a way to steal the body back for a proper burial. Also, send your five thousand men to Qing Shi County, the last county in the area."
Qingshi County?
Hou Jing frowned slightly and asked in surprise, "Your Highness, Qingshi County is 120 li away from Lingnan. It's so far away. My 5,000 men are the vanguard and the main force."
"Do as I command. Also, the remaining 80,000 troops shall be disbanded immediately, and all weapons and provisions shall be sent to Qingshi County."
Although Hou Jing did not understand, he dared not contradict Zhou Xiang's order, so he could only say "Yes, sir" and turn to leave.
"Guards, prepare a memorial stating that Zhou Xiang, the Prince of Lingnan, has been deeply indebted to the Emperor and cannot repay his kindness. He voluntarily requests permission to withdraw from his fiefdom, has already disbanded his army, distributed all the wealth of his royal palace, and handed over his military seal."
...
Inside the imperial palace in the capital, Wu Yunyin looked at the memorial presented by Ba Qing, a smug smile playing on her lips.
"Now you know fear? My 300,000 troops have arrived, and you're asking for permission to withdraw your fiefdoms? Humph!"
Wu Yunyin experienced success for the first time. Sure enough, this world still reveres strength. With money and manpower, she had already defeated Chen Zhennan, let alone Zhou Xiang.
Song Xuan, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, stepped forward and took the memorial in his hand.
“Yunyin, this sum of over ten million taels of silver should be confiscated.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Yunyin glanced at Song Xuan. If he dared to use such an intimate address when others were present, she would definitely punish him.
"I know, but this silver has been distributed to 130,000 people in Lingnan. If we forcibly confiscate it, it may incite a popular uprising."
Although Wu Yunyin was headstrong and simple-minded, she wasn't completely stupid; she still knew these basic common sense principles.
Wu Yunyin was in a dilemma, but Song Xuan couldn't let her hesitate. How could they not incite a popular uprising?
Song Xuan gave an awkward smile and closed the memorial.
"Your Majesty, Zhou Xiang's distribution of silver to the people clearly indicates his unwillingness to abolish the feudal system; otherwise, this money should have been handed over to the court. Didn't he want Lingnan to be exempt from taxes for three years? Then the court should issue an edict to exempt it for five years."
Five-year tax exemption?
Wu Yunyin secretly did the math in her mind. A five-year tax exemption would amount to more than ten million taels of silver. If that were the case, the people of Lingnan should be able to accept it.
"Alright, you shall handle this matter personally. Go to Lingnan and announce the imperial court's tax exemption policy so that the people of Lingnan may know the emperor's boundless grace."
As she spoke, Wu Yunyin took out a token from her sleeve. The front of the token was engraved with the character "Wu" and the back with the character "Di".
"I know there are people who oppose you. Take this, act first and report later, and let it protect you."
Song Xuan reached out and took the token, then knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty. I will certainly fulfill your wishes and prove to the world that what Chen Zhennan can do, I can do as well!"
Hearing Song Xuan's bold words, Wu Yunyin felt gratified. Finally, someone was willing to prove something for her.
Yes, even without Chen Zhennan, I still have Song Xuan by my side. Da Wu is full of talented people, and I don't believe there isn't anyone better than Chen Zhennan!
"Very well, take my decree and this golden token and arrow with you, and go to Lingnan to sound the first drumbeat of my reign as the Great Wu Emperor!"
After leaving the inner palace, Song Xuan immediately mobilized two hundred imperial guards and headed directly towards Lingnan.
After two days of frantic running, Song Xuan finally arrived at Ba Qing's camp and led his men directly into the marshal's tent.
"Ba Qing, the Emperor has decreed the confiscation of the silver distributed by Zhou Xiang. What are your thoughts, Commander?"
Upon seeing this, Ba Qing hurriedly got up and walked to Song Xuan's side, his face full of flattering smiles.
Although he is now the Grand Marshal of Pingnan, Song Xuan is the Empress's man, and he still cannot afford to offend him.
"Minister Song, does His Majesty have any further instructions?"
Song Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled faintly, "His Majesty didn't give any specific instructions, but our Great Wu army's expedition against Yan Kingdom requires more than ten million taels of silver, and we're also short of food and clothing, so..."
Upon hearing this, Ba Qing suddenly realized what was going on.
"Understood. Minister Song, just wait for my good news! Someone, come here!"
Outside the tent, Zuo Xianfeng Li Can entered the main tent upon hearing the sound.
"General, what are your orders?"
"Order the army to enter Lingnan, collect the silver, grain, bedding, and clothing distributed by Zhou Xiang, and send all the spoils to the Lingnan Prince's Palace. After the spoils are tallied and calculated, they will be sent to the capital!"
Upon hearing this, Li Can was completely dumbfounded. Had Ba Qing gone mad? Robbing silver from the people and even taking their grain was worse than some bandits.
"General, we are government troops, representing the imperial court to quell the rebellion. How can we plunder money from the people?"
Before Ba Qing could respond, Song Xuan suddenly walked over.
"You are Li Can? I recognize you. You and Marshal Ba Qing were both subordinates of Chen Zhennan. But you'd better know your place now. You are a member of the imperial court, but you may not be."
Upon hearing this, Li Can's face instantly darkened.
"Minister Song, what do you mean by that?"
Song Xuan shrugged and said coldly, "Do your job well, or you'll be the next traitor. Go, take your men into Lingnan, and act according to Marshal Ba Qing's orders, or you'll face certain death."
Li Can clenched his teeth, suppressing the urge to kill Song Xuan with a single sword strike, and silently turned and walked out of the tent.
Li Can had no choice but to obey orders. Even if he had just stabbed Song Xuan to death with his sword, Ba Qing would still enter Lingnan, and the outcome would be the same.
"Send word: the vanguard is to advance to Lingnan!"
...
Three days later, in Qingshi County, Chen Zhennan sat in the back hall of the county government office, looking at the report with a mocking smile.
"Three days, six counties, eight million taels of silver. If Wu Yunyin doesn't die, it's against all reason."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
