Su Xiu grew more furious as she spoke.
"Did they execute all the families of those sinners? Especially the families of the ringleaders?"
Young Duke Lu Jun replied, "Aside from a few who slipped through the net, all have been condemned."
Su Xiu immediately became dissatisfied, "How could there still be ones who slipped through the net? Doesn't that fail to show Her Majesty's iron-fisted methods?"
"Hmph, these stinking men stand on our heads all day long. We finally have a female sage ruler, how can we let these stinking men press down on us again?"
"If we don't show them some ferocity, they won't know that we women can also hold up half the sky—no, the whole sky."
Su Xiu's reaction greatly exceeded Young Duke Lu Jun's expectations. He had thought this woman would remain as cold as frost toward him.
He didn't expect that when speaking of such matters, she would be so voluble and extremely indignant.
He could only say, "The Chifeng Army was formidable after all. Being able to annihilate them completely was only possible because they had just fought a bloody battle with the barbarians, and through the use of clever stratagems, they were entirely wiped out!"
"However..."
A hint of arrogance appeared on Young Duke Lu Jun's face, "It's just a pity that I am not the commander of the Imperial Guards, otherwise I would definitely ensure the Chifeng Army is left with not a single piece of armor intact, and not a single one of their family members would escape."
As the two discussed the true reasons and process behind the annihilation of the seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army, several pedestrians passing by showed great shock on their faces.
After quickly walking to the end of the street, they immediately shed their disguises, rode fast horses to the General's Manor, and reported every detail of the conversation they had heard to Ren Tianye.
Ren Tianye was instantly dumbfounded.
"What the hell?"
"The reason the Empress slaughtered the seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army was because the Chifeng Army's commander, Lin Yi, disagreed with her marrying the Third Prince of the barbarian tribe?"
"No... what the f*ck!"
Ren Tianye couldn't help but want to curse.
Because of Young Duke Lu Jun's entry into the city, several guerrilla generals, including Deputy General Wang Ming, were present, and they all boiled over with rage.
"Has the Empress gone mad? Those are barbarians! The barbarians and Great Yu have been enemies for generations. How could she marry a barbarian?"
"By doing this, is the Empress being fair to the border army soldiers who have died over the past centuries? Is she being fair to the commoners slaughtered by the barbarians at the borders?"
"Seventy thousand loyal souls, all buried beneath the walls of Shanhe City just because of the Empress's marriage! And she is marrying a barbarian. If those seventy thousand loyal souls knew this in the netherworld, how could they ever be willing?"
"No wonder Commander Lin fiercely opposed the Empress's marriage and risked his life to stop it. It turns out the Empress's marriage partner is a barbarian, a barbarian! Commander Lin spent his whole life fighting the barbarians and knew their wolfish ambitions well. How could he approve?"
...
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
They felt the injustice suffered by the seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army. At the same time, they felt somewhat fortunate. If they hadn't decisively executed the Assistant Regional Commander Zhang Wei and immediately seized Yunji City back then.
Given the Empress's temperament, the fate of these men would probably have been incredibly miserable as well!
But compared to these people, the most shocked was Ren Tianye.
At this moment, Ren Tianye connected all the events that had occurred recently.
Empress Regnant Xiao Mingzhao, in order to help the Third Prince secure his position, ordered Zhan Shubai, the original defending general of Yunji City, to secretly communicate with the Third Prince and leak information to him.
This allowed the Third Prince to send people to pursue and suppress the First Prince's forces, helping the Third Prince to establish a firm foothold among the barbarians and even vie for the throne of the barbarian kingdom.
And such matters had probably been going on for a long time. Now that the time was ripe, the Empress couldn't wait to marry the barbarian Third Prince.
For this reason, she eliminated the court officials who obstructed her.
Especially the commander of the seventy thousand Chifeng Army, Lin Yi.
But...
That Third Prince was a barbarian!
A barbarian who had been enemies with Great Yu for generations!
Moreover...
Ren Tianye's gaze narrowed.
This Third Prince was not just a simple barbarian. He also had Japanese blood in his veins.
Barbarian blood meant he must have wolfish ambitions.
Japanese blood meant he must be sinister and cunning.
Ren Tianye knew very little about the barbarian Third Prince, but he could already sketch out his image in his mind.
He must be a guy with ulterior motives!
If Empress Regnant Xiao Mingzhao insisted on marrying the barbarian Third Prince, there would definitely be a great disaster in the future. It was even highly likely that she was using the empire as her dowry, destroying the eight-hundred-year-old Great Yu Dynasty in one fell swoop!
Thinking of this, Ren Tianye couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis.
He originally thought that once the news of the massacre of the seventy thousand Chifeng Army soldiers spread back, the world would definitely be in turmoil. Now that the Empress was going to marry the barbarian Third Prince, the barbarians, without the suppression of the Chifeng Army, would definitely be restless.
The chaos that was about to erupt in this world would probably be more terrifying than expected. Beneath the seemingly calm surface of the sea right now, the waves were already surging violently.
At any time, it could stir up monstrous tides.
When a huge wave crashed down, countless people would perish.
But his current small boat was still too small. Let alone the strength to vie for hegemony over the world, he didn't even have enough power to withstand the wind and waves.
"It seems that next, I must lay the foundation, develop, and build up my army even faster."
Pondering like this in his heart, he said to the spy who came to report, "Continue to monitor that Young Duke Lu Jun. If there is any sign of disturbance, report back immediately."
"Yes!"
One general after another disguised themselves again, all dressing up as ordinary commoners. They passed by the entrance of the Su residence one by one, striving not to miss a single word or movement.
However, they were surprised to find that after a long time had passed, the Second Miss of the Su family, Su Xiu, still had not invited that Young Duke Lu Jun into the Su manor. Instead, she issued an order for the guest to leave again.
"Young Duke, it is getting late. The army is still waiting for you outside the city, so I won't keep you. Please go back."
Su Xiu became cold again, her face as calm as an ancient well, and her eyes revealed a sense of aloofness and arrogance.
But this appearance made the Young Duke even more fascinated.
How many women in the capital flocked to him? What kind of woman in the world could he not get? But he didn't like the ones that came easily.
Someone like Su Xiu suited his taste very well.
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the clinking of jade pendants, mixed with noisy sounds. Looking up, he saw a group of people walking out of the main gate of the Su manor.
He also recognized the person in the lead.
Back then, she had gone to the capital with Su Xiu. It was Su Xiu's eldest sister, Su Jin, who was said to have married an assistant regional commander with a deep background in the military.
But a mere assistant regional commander was nothing in his eyes. Even if this assistant regional commander had countless connections in the capital, what connections were worth mentioning in front of him, the Young Duke?
Behind Su Jin followed a squad of soldiers, which looked quite imposing.
He still turned a blind eye to them, but he greeted Su Jin rather politely: "Eldest Sister, long time no see. Why are you dressed so plainly?"
"Young Duke?" Su Jin was also quite surprised. "Why are you here?"
"I came to see Sister Su."
Su Jin looked at Su Xiu, then at the Young Duke, and then shook her head: "Young Duke, you should give up on this idea. Xiu'er is going to marry my general."
...
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
