A Nation of Contradictions, The Final Purge

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless grace."

As the imperial edict was read aloud, Zhu Cilang felt a surge of excitement in his heart. He had never expected Ye Chen to grant him the title of Marquis of Great Ming.

Though he had prepared himself beforehand, knowing that Ye Chen would surely treat him favorably, he had not anticipated such generosity and boldness. After all, this was a marquisate—the highest peak an ordinary man could reach. Even a marquis with no real power was still a marquis.

From now on, as long as he did not court disaster, he could live a life of indulgence, idling away his days in luxury. With money to spend and face to save, he had instantly reached the pinnacle of life.

The enfeoffment of Zhu Cilang was a decision Ye Chen had made after careful deliberation.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, Zhu Cilang was the nominal ruler of Huaxia, representing the orthodox name of the land.

Given the other party's actions this time, if the reward were too small, it would be better not to give it at all, because a meager reward would only make him seem petty.

To him, a powerless marquisate was trivial and insignificant, but if it could win the complete allegiance of Huaxia, it would be well worth it.

And indeed, upon hearing the reward for Zhu Cilang, the civil and military officials behind him, as well as the countless common folk, all visibly relaxed, their rejection of Ye Chen greatly diminished.

Noticing this, Ye Chen chuckled inwardly. The hearts of men in this world—the thoughts of Huaxia's people were the most complex and difficult to fathom, yet sometimes, they were also the easiest to satisfy.

One could say that Huaxia was a very contradictory nation.

For instance.

The five-thousand-year history of Huaxia was entirely a chronicle of war—either in the midst of battle or on the road to it.

Yet at the same time, it was a history book filled with the word "peace."

But it was precisely this opposition of spear and shield, their endless entanglement, that had written such a brilliant civilization.

With Ye Chen's arrival, in the days that followed, all rebel forces across Huaxia submitted one after another.

Those who refused to submit were killed without mercy.

For a time, heads rolled in every major city.

At the same time, order was restored in all the great cities.

Half a month later, the dark clouds of war hanging over Huaxia were swept clean.

Meanwhile, everyone came to know that all of this was brought by the Yanhuang Empire, and in that moment, the name of the Yanhuang Empire became deeply ingrained in people's hearts.

After the smooth takeover of Huaxia, Ye Chen finally found the time to deal with those empires that lacked foresight.

For instance, the few empires that Gu Hongchen had driven out, as well as those that had overestimated themselves and tried to negotiate terms with the Yanhuang Empire.

This time, Ye Chen dispatched troops in batches to these empires, while also ordering the Russian Dynasty, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Dynasty, and other subjugated empires to send troops to cooperate with the Yanhuang Empire's forces in punishing these nations.

To this, they were reluctant to agree, because Ye Chen was essentially forcing them to serve as the main attacking force—cannon fodder.

But circumstances left them no choice. Having already expressed their submission to the Yanhuang Empire, refusal now would be seen as betrayal, and the next moment, Ye Chen would likely send his troops against them.

Thus, in the end, they could only helplessly dispatch their armies.

In the Qing Empire.

Emperor Aisin Gioro Hong Taiji listened to the report from the guard below, and the man shot to his feet in shock.

After a long moment of stunned silence, he slumped back into his seat in defeat, muttering softly, "It's over. It's all over."

Below, the ministers were ashen-faced, for the news the guard had just delivered was that the Yanhuang Empire's army was attacking the empire's borders.

Among them, Prince Aisin Gioro Fulin's face turned the color of dirt, because he knew exactly why this was happening. During the peace negotiations, he had put forward certain conditions to the Yanhuang Empire, trying to wring out more benefits.

Though it was Hong Taiji who had ordered him to do so, he had been the one acting as the envoy. So, if a scapegoat was needed, he was the obvious choice.

And what he could figure out, the other ministers—sharp as monkeys—understood all too well.

At that moment, they all glared at him with red-rimmed eyes, as if he had committed some heinous crime against them.

"Your Majesty, your minister believes that the Yanhuang Empire's attack on our borders must be because the Crown Prince said something offensive during his peace mission to the Yanhuang Empire, thus provoking their assault. Therefore, your minister humbly begs Your Majesty, for the sake of the millions of people of our Great Qing Empire, to execute Aisin Gioro Fulin, to express to the Yanhuang Empire..."

Guwalgiya Aobai stepped forward from among the ministers, looking up at Hong Taiji with righteous indignation.

Seeing this, the other ministers' eyes lit up, and they quickly chimed in, "Your minister Dorgon seconds the motion, begging Your Majesty to execute the Crown Prince..."

"Your minister seconds..."

As Aobai spoke, the ministers in the hall followed suit one after another. At this moment, they only wanted to resolve this matter quickly.

Otherwise, once the Yanhuang Empire's army was at the gates, everything would be too late.

Aisin Gioro Fulin looked at the crowd of ministers around him, all putting on a show of righteousness and loyalty for the sake of the Great Qing, and felt a suffocating sense of betrayal wash over him.

Then, his gaze turned to his father, Hong Taiji, on the throne, and he saw a flicker of intent in the Emperor's eyes. That sight plunged his heart into utter despair.

He knew that this time, he was doomed to bear the blame.

Suddenly, he felt a surge of blood rush to his chest. The next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and then, darkness closed in as he fell unconscious.

Seeing Aisin Gioro Fulin suddenly spit blood and collapse unconscious, the crowd paused for a moment, then acted as if they hadn't noticed a thing.

Above.

Hong Taiji looked at the "loyal and devoted" expressions of his ministers and sighed inwardly. The next moment, he announced the Crown Prince's crimes, then ordered him bound and taken to the front lines, to see if this could quell the war.

Watching the Crown Prince being dragged away like a dead dog, the ministers immediately shouted, "Your Majesty is wise and sagely!"

Hearing this, the corner of Hong Taiji's mouth twitched. If they had shouted like this before, he might have been pleased, but now—hah—it only sounded like sheer mockery in his ears. At this moment, he truly wanted to kill every last one of these bastards before him.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Hong Taiji began discussing with them how to handle this war going forward.

Clearly, Hong Taiji wasn't naive enough to think that sacrificing a Crown Prince's life would make the Yanhuang Empire withdraw its troops.

The reason he was sending the Crown Prince to the Yanhuang Empire for disposal was merely clinging to a sliver of hope. After all, until things were settled, no one could be certain whether this method would work or not.

The Qing Empire's border.

The armies of the Russian Dynasty and the Zunghar Khanate, as the main force, furiously assaulted the Qing Empire's border.

Behind them, the Yanhuang Empire's army supported the two main forces as auxiliaries.

Seeing this, the two generals in charge of this offensive wore faces as ugly as if their mothers had just died.

The truth was, Ye Chen had screwed them over this time. He made their soldiers take the lead while the Yanhuang Empire's army hung back the entire time, picking off scraps and easy kills.

By the end of the battle, ninety-nine percent of their men were dead, while only a few unlucky bastards from the Yanhuang Empire's army had fallen.

No one would look happy seeing that.

At that moment, the two generals glanced at the pained and grieved expression on the Yanhuang Empire's general beside them. Clenching their fists, they ground their teeth and said, "General Yan truly loves his soldiers like his own sons, doesn't he? To be so heartbroken over just a few dead men."

"What can I do? Every soldier under my command was personally entrusted to me by their parents. Now that they've died here on the battlefield, how am I supposed to face their parents when I return? Ah, it breaks my heart."

As he spoke, Yan Yun let out a sigh.

Hearing this, the two nearly wanted to punch him. They had never seen anyone so infuriating.

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