"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gracious favor."
After the imperial edict was read, Zhu Cilang could not help feeling excited. He had never expected Ye Chen to ennoble him as the Great Ming Marquis.
Although he had been prepared beforehand and knew that Ye Chen would certainly treat him favorably, he had not expected the reward to be so generous—or for Ye Chen to be so bold.
This was a marquisate, after all. It could be said to be the highest position an ordinary person could attain. Even a marquis without the slightest real power was still a marquis.
As long as he did not court death in the future, he could completely spend his days indulging in pleasure and living off his wealth. He would have money when he wanted it and face when he needed it. He had reached the peak of life in an instant.
Ye Chen had settled on Zhu Cilang's reward after careful deliberation.
After all, no matter what, Zhu Cilang was nominally the ruler of Huaxia and represented the legitimacy of Huaxia's orthodox rule.
On top of that, considering what Zhu Cilang had done this time, if the reward had been too small, Ye Chen might as well have given him nothing. A small reward would only make him seem petty.
To Ye Chen, a marquisate without any real power was insignificant. But if it could make all of Huaxia submit to him wholeheartedly, then it was absolutely worth it.
Sure enough, after hearing Zhu Cilang's reward, the civil and military officials behind him, as well as the countless commoners, all relaxed considerably. Their rejection of Ye Chen was greatly reduced.
Noticing this, Ye Chen could not help laughing inwardly. The hearts of the people in this world... The thoughts of the people of Huaxia were the most complicated and difficult to understand, yet sometimes they were also astonishingly easy to satisfy.
It could be said that Huaxia was an extremely contradictory nation.
For example.
Huaxia's five-thousand-year history was entirely a history of war. It could be said that they were either fighting or on their way to fight.
Yet at the same time, it was also a history filled with the words "peace."
But it was precisely because of the opposition between this spear and shield, their endless entanglement, that such a splendid civilization had been written.
With Ye Chen's arrival, in the days that followed, all the rebel armies throughout Huaxia submitted one after another.
Those who refused to submit were shown no mercy.
For a time, heads rolled in city after city.
At the same time, order was gradually restored in the cities.
Half a month later, the war clouds hanging over Huaxia were swept away completely.
At the same time, everyone learned that all this had been brought about by the Yanhuang Empire. For a time, the name of the Yanhuang Empire became deeply rooted in people's hearts.
After successfully taking over all of Huaxia, Ye Chen finally found time to deal with those empires that lacked foresight.
For example, the several empires driven out by Gu Hongchen, as well as the few empires afterward that had overestimated themselves and tried to negotiate terms with the Yanhuang Empire.
This time, Ye Chen sent troops to these empires in batches. At the same time, he ordered the Russian Dynasty, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Dynasty, and the other empires that had submitted to send troops to assist the Yanhuang Empire's armies in conquering those nations.
They did not want to agree, of course. Ye Chen clearly wanted them to serve as the main attacking force—to be cannon fodder.
But circumstances overruled them. Since they had already expressed their submission to the Yanhuang Empire, refusing now would amount to betrayal. Ye Chen would probably send troops against them the very next moment.
Thus, they could only reluctantly dispatch their forces.
Qing Empire.
After hearing the report from the guard below, the emperor, Aisin Gioro Huang Taiji, immediately jumped to his feet in shock.
After standing dazed for a long while, he slumped back down in despair and muttered, "It's over. It's over. Everything is over."
The officials below were also ashen-faced, because the guard had just reported that the Yanhuang Empire's army was attacking the empire's borders.
The prince, Aisin Gioro Fulin, looked even more terrified. He knew exactly why this was happening. During the peace talks, he had proposed several conditions to the Yanhuang Empire in an attempt to secure greater benefits.
Although Huang Taiji had instructed him to do so, he had been the envoy who went there. So if they needed someone to take the blame, there was no one more suitable than him.
The other officials were all as shrewd as monkeys. How could they fail to understand this?
At that moment, they all glared at him with bloodshot eyes, as though he had killed their fathers.
"Your Majesty, I believe the Yanhuang Empire attacked our borders because the Crown Prince said something offensive when he went to the Yanhuang Empire for peace talks. That is what provoked this attack.
"Therefore, I humbly request that Your Majesty, for the sake of the countless people of our Great Qing Empire, execute Aisin Gioro Fulin to express our..."
Gūwalgiya Aobai immediately stepped forward from among the officials. Looking at Huang Taiji above him, he spoke with righteous conviction.
Seeing this, the other officials' eyes lit up, and they hurriedly said, "I, Dorgon, second the motion. I humbly request that Your Majesty execute the Crown Prince..."
"I second it..."
After Aobai spoke, the officials in the hall followed suit one after another. At that moment, they only wanted to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, once the Yanhuang Empire's army reached the capital, it would be too late for everything.
Aisin Gioro Fulin looked at the group of righteous officials around him, each pretending to be a loyal subject thinking of Great Qing. He felt a suffocating sense of betrayal and abandonment wash over him.
Then he looked toward his imperial father, Huang Taiji, and discovered a trace of hesitation in his eyes. This caused his heart to turn completely cold.
He knew that he was destined to bear the blame this time.
Suddenly, he felt a surge of blood rise in his chest. The next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he fainted.
Seeing Aisin Gioro Fulin suddenly spit blood and collapse, everyone froze for a moment before acting as though they had seen nothing.
Above them.
Huang Taiji looked at the "loyal and devoted" gazes of his ministers and could not help sighing inwardly. The next moment, he announced the crimes committed by the Crown Prince, then ordered his men to bind the Crown Prince and take him to the front line to see whether this war could be quelled.
After seeing the Crown Prince dragged away like a dead dog, the officials immediately shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Hearing this, the corners of Huang Taiji's mouth twitched. If they had shouted this in the past, he might have been happy. But now, all he heard was mockery. At that moment, he truly wanted to kill these bastards in front of him.
After taking several deep breaths and calming himself, Huang Taiji began discussing with everyone how they should respond to the war.
Obviously, Huang Taiji was not naive enough to believe that offering the life of a Crown Prince could make the Yanhuang Empire withdraw its troops.
He had sent the Crown Prince to the Yanhuang Empire merely because he still held a sliver of hope. After all, before the matter was settled, no one could be certain whether this method would work.
Qing Empire's border.
The armies of the Russian Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate served as the main forces, fiercely attacking the Qing Empire's border.
Behind them, the Yanhuang Empire's army served as support for the two main forces.
Seeing this, the two generals in charge of the attack looked as though someone had died in their families.
Ye Chen had truly cheated them this time. He had made their soldiers serve as the main force, while the Yanhuang Empire's army stayed behind throughout the battle, doing nothing but picking off weakened enemies.
In the end, after one battle, ninety-nine percent of their soldiers had died, while only a few unlucky soldiers from the Yanhuang Empire had fallen.
No one would look happy after seeing such a situation.
At that moment, the two of them saw the grief and anguish on the face of the Yanhuang Empire's general beside them. Their fists tightened, and they gritted their teeth as they said, "General Yan, you truly love your soldiers like your own children. You're this heartbroken just because a few soldiers died."
"I can't help it. All the soldiers under my command were personally entrusted to me by their parents. They died here in battle, so how am I supposed to explain it to their parents when I return? Alas, my heart aches."
As he spoke, Yan Yun could not help sighing.
Hearing this, the two men nearly felt like hitting someone. They had never seen anyone so infuriating.
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