Novel East
Chapter 102.1
Watching Lin Beifans retreating figure, the four Emperors breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they were startled by Lin Beifan, his attitude also made it clear that they could do whatever they wanted without him taking it to heart, because he had enough confidence and ability to deal with them.
Even though it was somewhat suffocating for the monarchs of fallen nations, this was already the best outcome.
Stop overthinking, lets keep drinking!
Alright, to drinking!
The four Emperors continued to sing loudly and drink merrily.
Meanwhile, far away in the Peng Kingdom, General Great Yue Zhao was in a very somber mood.
Because the 400,000-strong army he led had been buried under earth and rocks after a massive upheaval of the land. ๐ฏ๐๐ท๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ ๐ต.๐๐๐
Even though he arrived in time and did his utmost, he was only able to save a few hundred people.
Most of them are missing arms or legs; theyre ruined.
After fighting three countries, our troops hardly suffered any losses, but they were wiped out by a sudden upheaval of the earth!
A 400,000-strong army vanished just like that; how is he supposed to report this to His Majesty?
To make matters worse, the Emperor of Peng Kingdom and his family have actually escaped.
Despite his strict surveillance, they still managed to flee.
And their whereabouts are still unknown.
This was already the third Emperor he had let slip away!
One or two could be explained away as negligence, but this was the third one. Now, the Great Yue court was beginning to suspect whether he had taken bribes to deliberately let the Emperor escape.
Some even went as far as to accuse him of treason and colluding with the enemy.
General Zhao felt extremely aggrieved, but he didnt know how to explain himself.
Now, all he could hope for was that the gains from the Peng Kingdom would make up for all the losses. ๐ง๐จ๐๐๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ.๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ
At that moment, a military officer hurried in.
General Zhao, weary, asked, I had ordered you to take over the national treasury and the internal affairs department. Have you obtained anything?
Your Excellency, there is no gain!
General Zhao was furious: The national treasury and the Imperial Household Department are the key places for storing silver, how can there be no gain?
The officer gave a bitter smile: But General, we have already searched the national treasury and the Imperial Household Department thoroughly, only to find that they have long been empty! Even if we dig three feet into the ground, we cannot find a single coin! Please forgive us, General!
Impossible! You are deceiving me, I do not believe it! General Zhao exclaimed, then he rushed towards the national treasury like a bolt of lightning.
Upon discovering that it was indeed empty, not even a fragment of silver to be found, he then hurried non-stop to the Imperial Household Department, only to find that it was also empty, leaving behind nothing but some worthless tables and chairs.
General Zhao was enraged: Who did this? Who the hell did this?
Having lost 400,000 troops and let the Peng Kingdom Emperor escape, he was now relying on these treasures of gold, silver, and jewels to mitigate his own guilt. But now that they were gone wasnt this tantamount to a death sentence for him?
Bring up the officials of the Peng Kingdom! he ordered.
A short while later, the officials of the Peng Kingdom were brought forward, kneeling on the ground and wailing.
General, spare our lives!
General, we are innocent!
Please, give us a way out!
General Zhao said expressionlessly, Right now, I am in a very bad mood. I hope you all will cooperate accordingly. Ill ask a question, and youll answer. Answer well, and your life will be spared. Answer poorly, and heads will roll!
The group of elderly officials seemed to see a glimmer of hope and hurriedly said, Please ask, General. We will hold nothing back and tell everything we know!
Very well, then I shall ask!
General Zhao lowered his head, Where have the gold, silver, and jewels from the national treasury and the Imperial Household Department gone? I expect you to answer honestly!
One bewildered official replied, The gold, silver, and jewels from the national treasury and the Imperial Household Department have always been there. Where else could they be hidden?
Without a change in expression, General Zhao drew a knife and swiftly brought it down.
With a wet thud, the head of the elderly official fell to the ground, blood spurting out.
Ah!!! The surrounding officials were startled, stepping back in terror.
I am very dissatisfied with this answer, continue!
General Zhao, holding a blood-drenched sword, pointed it at another elderly official and demanded, Now its your turn. Speak, where is the treasury silver hidden?
The mans face was ashen, sweat dripping profusely: I I dont know
Another wet slicing sound and the second head fell to the ground.
Ah!!! Everyone screamed again in shock.
Its your turn now, quickly tell me what you know! General Zhao interrogated the third person.
But I I really dont know Please, General, have mercy
With a squelch, the third head fell to the ground.
In this manner, General Zhao beheaded over a dozen men, yet he still did not receive the answer he sought. Enraged, he bellowed, Fine! You all you value money over your lives! Speak up, where have you hidden the treasury silver?
The officials trembled with fear: General, it wasnt us, we truly didnt hide the treasury silver!
General Zhao continued in fury: But apart from that dog Emperor, only you lot would have the capability to empty the national treasury! Hes now fleeing for his life, too preoccupied to care, if not you, then who else?
It really wasnt us, where would we get the courage?
General Zhao was extremely angry. He had all their heads chopped off, leaving the scene blood-soaked and ghastly.
Now, immediately search the imperial palace and the capital city from top to bottom, he commanded.
Inspect every household, leave no one unchecked. I refuse to believe we wont find a single clue!
Yes, General! Their remaining troops were deployed.
A day later, they had searched the entire imperial palace and capital city, but the sum of silver they found was less than 10,000 taels, most of it in copper coins.
Upon hearing this result, General Zhao was nearly faint with anger.
Who the hell did this, robbing us so thoroughly?
Just then, a soldier hurried in: General, theres terrible news! When we went to inspect the granary, we found that all the grain was gone!
General Zhao was shocked: What? Even the grain is gone? Weve just had the autumn harvest, how can there be no grain?
General, there really is none, not a single grain of rice to be found!
Impossible! General Zhao, fuming with rage, stormed into the granary only to find that it was indeed empty, the floor cleaner than his own face.
He wanted to drag the officials of Peng Kingdom for questioning but realized that he had already executed them all, leaving no one to answer his queries.
Fortune does not come in pairs, yet misfortune does not come one at a time; one piece of bad news after another kept coming in.
General, theres trouble! The Peng Kingdom iron mine has collapsed, and all the iron ore inside has been mined out!
General, theres trouble! The Peng Kingdom silver mine is now also emptied!
General, theres trouble! Weve searched the other cities and found no money or food anywhere!
General, something terrible has happened
General Zhao grew angrier as he listened, his entire being was in turmoil!
After all the effort he had put in, fighting for a month and sacrificing 400,000 soldiers, was it all just for loneliness?
Yet, this wasnt even the worst of the news.
Reporting to the General, we have just received the latest intelligence. The Emperor of Peng Kingdom and his family have fled to Great Xia, and they have been conferred the title of Duke of Peng Kingdom by the Emperor of Great Xia, enjoying all the privileges of a duke!
Ah!!! General Zhao exploded with rage!
I let the third Emperor slip away, and hes ended up in Great Xia, of all places, even being granted the title of a duke!
Theres no need to think too hard about it; he must have offered Great Xia a price they couldnt refuse!
Otherwise, why would Great Xia be willing to bestow a dukedom?
That is to say, hes lost another treasure, allowing Great Xia to reap the benefits without any effort!
This is already the third time!
The third time, I tell you!
Watching others make money is even more distressing than losing money himself!
At this moment, he truly felt an urge to kill!
He wanted to vent so badly!
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