Bribery

End of December!

The Great Li Army swept across the land, recovering lost territory, and the few remaining Taiping Army realized that things were going badly.

They chose to flee immediately.

The death of Heavenly King Hong, in particular, left the remnants of the Taiping Army without their leader.

Leng Qing and his men encountered virtually no resistance and easily recaptured city after city.

Lizhou is about to be recaptured.

Then came a shocking event that left the entire government and the public stunned.

The tomb of the founding emperor of the Great Li has been desecrated!

All the treasures in the tomb were looted, leaving only a withered corpse discarded in a corner.

Upon learning of the situation, Hongjia Emperor was so enraged that he vomited blood and fell into a coma once again.

The imperial physicians throughout the Imperial Medical Academy were working feverishly, trying every possible way to save Hongjia Emperor!

The Capital Garrison immediately sealed off the Imperial City.

Leng Qing's face was ashen, as if his mother had died. He was the commander-in-chief.

Hongjia Emperor issued a strict order that the tombs of all the emperors of Great Li must not be disturbed!

That's terrible, their ancestral graves have been dug up.

The crucial point is that they haven't even found the person.

If Hongjia Emperor were to die of anger because of this matter, even he would feel a chill at the consequences.

Meanwhile, Qin Yan was overjoyed to learn of the situation.

"Haha, this Leng Qing is probably in for a lot of bad luck."

He has to take the blame.

As the commander-in-chief, Hongjia Emperor not only failed to complete the death order he issued, but also had the ancestral tomb of the founding emperor desecrated.

"Haha... Good thing I didn't go with them, otherwise I would definitely be in deep trouble."

Qin Yan crossed his legs and laughed loudly without restraint.

After Gan destroyed the main force of the Taiping Army, he took on the responsibility of guarding the prisoners.

He will not be blamed for this.

However, Ye Yingshan is rather unlucky; he'll definitely get punished for this!

Then the entire Pacification Army went into a frenzy searching for the grave robbers; in any case, anyone in Lizhou suspected of being a grave robber was arrested and imprisoned!

Early January!

Leng Qing and the others were completely at a loss!

The reward offered by the imperial court was quickly issued.

The mysterious thieves who looted the imperial tombs were the very ones who plundered Pengzhou!

A reward of ten thousand taels of silver will be given to anyone who can provide information.

If the ringleader can be captured, a reward of 100,000 taels of silver will be given, and he may be ennobled as a marquis!

Qin Yan was a little stunned when he learned what had happened.

"Damn, they managed to pin this on me. I seriously underestimated their shamelessness."

Qin Yan cursed inwardly.

Ba Wei to the side, looked over with a suspicious expression!

I sensed the other person's gaze.

Qin Yan raised an eyebrow and said irritably, "I didn't do it."

I rubbed my temples.

With their ancestral graves desecrated, the royal family is truly desperate and has actually granted them a noble title.

This is a reward that countless people would risk their lives for!

The next day!

The army that quelled the rebellion received an imperial edict from Hongjia Emperor, ordering all the main generals to go to the Capital to receive their rewards!

"Hongjia Emperor has calmed down."

Qin Yan chuckled softly.

But at the same time, one has to admire how incredibly resilient this guy is; he survived two near-death experiences at this age.

"Look at our crown prince, isn't he just getting his hopes up for nothing again?"

Ba Wei glanced at Qin Yan and said calmly, "He's probably not feeling well."

"Haha, I think so too."

Qin Yan laughed heartily, "But let's get back to business. I plan to take a batch of these Taiping Army prisoners back to Youshan Prefecture!"

Upon hearing this, Ba Wei immediately perked up.

"Although the Taiping Army won't die, being exiled as slaves is the least of their worries. I need to go and find Earl Yangshan Huo Chunwen about this."

This meant that those in charge of the Taiping Army logistics would most likely be transferred to major mines or border regions.

I'm going to eat the rest.

Those who were reduced to slavery could naturally be bought and sold.

Ba Wei's eyes flickered. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"It's nothing!"

That very night, Qin Yan hosted a banquet and invited Huo Chunwen.

"Young General Qin!"

Huo Chunwen always had a smiling face, giving people a friendly and approachable feeling.

Both parties took their seats.

"I wonder what brings General Qin to this old man's banquet?"

"A transaction."

Qin Yan said with a smile, "I know you are in charge of arranging the buying and selling and the deployment of prisoners!"

Actually, I own some mineral resources and need some strong slaves.

We need Lord Huo to help us out."

Upon hearing this, Huo Chunwen frowned slightly. "General Qin, this matter may be a bit difficult to handle!"

"Haha... I know."

Qin Yan said with a smile, "It's precisely because it's difficult that we need Lord Huo's help!"

As he spoke, a sandalwood box was pushed in front of him.

Huo Chunwen's eyes flashed, and he stretched out a fair hand, slowly opening the wooden box.

Inside lay a stack of silver notes, each worth a thousand taels!

"Here is thirty thousand taels, just a small token of my appreciation."

Upon hearing this, Huo Chunwen's eyes lit up, a greedy glint in them, and the next moment he smiled like Maitreya Buddha!

"Don't worry, General Qin, I'll secretly spare eight thousand men for you then!"

"Eight thousand people!"

Qin Yan calculated in his mind that the value of a strong adult slave was at least twenty taels of silver!

This is an absolute steal!

It has to be said that Huo Chunwen is really a good friend.

"Then thank you very much, Lord Huo."

Qin Yan smiled broadly, then hesitated slightly before asking, "What if I wanted another ten thousand?"

Huo Chunwen's slightly plump body trembled upon hearing this!

A hint of shock flashed in his eyes!

After glancing around, he lowered his voice and said, "Another ten thousand men, young general, what are you trying to do?"

If this gets out, we'll both lose our heads.

"You may not know this, but I own several mines and some fertile land that needs to be managed."

Hiring people is really expensive.

That's why I took a liking to this group of the Taiping Army.

Qin Yan had a faint smile on his lips, and then took out two more wooden boxes.

The total here is 100,000 taels.

"As you probably know, I killed so many Taiping Army, so those guys probably hate me to the bone."

But this group of people were indeed very suitable slaves.

"Does Lord Huo really fear that I'll lead this bunch in a rebellion?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Huo Chunwen was well aware of how ruthless Qin Yan was on the battlefield, having killed countless enemy generals.

They saw that the other person was still hesitating.

Qin Yan smiled faintly, "Lord Huo, how much more do you need? I can afford it if I grit my teeth."

Huo Chunwen rubbed his fingers together, his eyes flickering.

After a moment, Huo Chunwen gritted his teeth and extended one finger.

"Add another 150,000 taels of silver, and I'll round it up for you, making it 20,000 slaves."

As for the rest, I'll take care of it.

Qin Yan was overjoyed; this was equivalent to buying 20,000 people at half price!

However, he still outwardly showed hesitation.

"Even if I were to add another 150,000 taels, I couldn't come up with that amount in a short time."

Qin Yan gritted his teeth, as if he had made a great decision. "Give me some time, I'll raise the money for you within three days!"

"General Qin, rest assured, I will handle things perfectly for you."

"This is the person I can't give you all at once; after all, he's too big a target."

Huo Chunwen explained!

"Understand!"

Qin Yan smiled broadly!