A Contradictory People, the Final Cleanup

"Thank you for Your Majesty's gracious reward."

After the imperial edict had been read, Zhu Cilang couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement. He hadn't expected Ye Chen to make him a marquis.

He had been prepared for some kind of favor from Ye Chen, but he hadn't expected it to be so generous—or for Ye Chen to be so bold.

After all, this was a marquisate. It was probably the highest station an ordinary person could reach. Even if he was a marquis without any real authority, he was still a marquis.

As long as he didn't do anything stupid, he could live a life of luxury, eating and drinking to his heart's content and waiting for death. He'd have all the money and face he could want. He'd reached the peak of life in an instant.

Ye Chen had decided on Zhu Cilang's reward after careful consideration.

After all, no matter what, Zhu Cilang was the nominal ruler of Huaxia and represented its orthodox line.

On top of that, given what Zhu Cilang had done this time, a paltry reward would be worse than no reward at all. It would only make Ye Chen look stingy.

To Ye Chen, a marquisate without real authority was insignificant. But if it could make Huaxia wholeheartedly accept him, then it was absolutely worth it.

Sure enough, when the officials and common people behind Zhu Cilang heard the reward, the tension in their faces eased. Their resistance to Ye Chen diminished considerably.

Seeing this, Ye Chen couldn't help chuckling to himself. The human heart was a complicated thing. The hearts of the people of Huaxia were the hardest to understand, yet sometimes they were easy to satisfy.

Huaxia was, in a word, a deeply contradictory people.

For example,

Huaxia's five-thousand-year history was entirely a chronicle of war. It seemed that whenever people weren't fighting, they were on their way to fight.

And yet it was also a chronicle filled with the word peace.

But it was precisely this opposition between spear and shield, locked in endless struggle, that had produced such a splendid civilization.

With Ye Chen's arrival, the days that followed saw every rebel army across Huaxia surrender.

Those who refused were shown no mercy.

For a time, heads rolled through city after city.

At the same time, order was gradually restored in the cities.

Half a month later, the clouds of war hanging over Huaxia had completely cleared.

Everyone also learned that the Yanhuang Empire had brought all this about. Before long, the name of the Yanhuang Empire had taken root in people's hearts.

Once Huaxia had been successfully taken over, Ye Chen finally had time to deal with the empires that lacked good sense.

These included the empires Gu Hongchen had driven out, as well as several others that had foolishly tried to negotiate terms with the Yanhuang Empire.

This time, Ye Chen dispatched troops to these empires in separate groups. He also ordered the vassal states—the Russian Dynasty, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Dynasty, and others—to send troops and join the Yanhuang Empire's forces in conquering them.

They didn't want to agree. Ye Chen clearly meant to use them as the main force and as cannon fodder.

But they were in no position to resist. Besides, they had already declared their submission to the Yanhuang Empire. If they refused now, it would be treason, and Ye Chen would probably send troops against them the very next moment.

In the end, they had no choice but to send their armies.

Qing Empire.

The Qing Emperor, Aisin Gioro Hong Taiji, shot to his feet as he listened to the guards' report.

After standing stunned for a long while, he slumped back down, utterly dejected. "It's over. It's all over."

The ministers below looked just ashen. The guard had just reported that the Yanhuang Empire's army was attacking the empire's border.

Among them, the prince Aisin Gioro Fulin was especially pale. He knew exactly why this was happening. During the peace talks, he had made demands of the Yanhuang Empire in hopes of securing greater benefits.

Although Hong Taiji had told him to do it, Fulin had been the envoy. If they needed a scapegoat, he was the obvious choice.

The other ministers were no fools, either. They could all see what was coming.

One by one, they glared at him with bloodshot eyes, as though he had murdered their fathers.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Yanhuang Empire is attacking our borders because the Crown Prince said something offensive while negotiating with them. That must be why they've come against us.

"So, for the sake of the millions of people of the Great Qing Empire, I beg Your Majesty to put Aisin Gioro Fulin to death, and thereby show the Yanhuang Empire..."

Guwalgiya Aobai immediately stepped forward. Looking up at Hong Taiji, he spoke with righteous indignation.

The other ministers' eyes lit up. They hurriedly chimed in. "I, Dorgon, agree. I beg Your Majesty to put the Crown Prince to death..."

"I agree..."

After Aobai spoke, the ministers in the hall joined in one after another. At that moment, all they wanted was to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, once the Yanhuang Empire's army reached the capital, it would be too late.

Aisin Gioro Fulin looked at the righteous, supposedly loyal ministers around him, all claiming to have the Great Qing's best interests at heart. He felt suffocated by the crushing sense that everyone had turned against him.

Then he looked up at his father, Hong Taiji, and saw a flicker of agreement in his eyes. Fulin's heart sank.

He knew he was going to be made the scapegoat.

Suddenly, he felt a rush of blood rise in his chest. The next moment, he spat out blood, and his vision went black as he passed out.

Everyone stared for a moment at Aisin Gioro Fulin, who had suddenly collapsed after spitting blood. Then they acted as if they hadn't seen a thing.

Above them,

Hong Taiji looked at the "loyal and devoted" expressions on his ministers' faces and couldn't help sighing. A moment later, he announced the Crown Prince's crimes and ordered him bound and sent to the front lines to see if that might stop the war.

When they saw the Crown Prince dragged away like a dead dog, the ministers cried out, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Hong Taiji's mouth twitched. If they had shouted that in the past, he would have been pleased. But now? The words sounded like pure mockery. He wanted nothing more than to kill the bastards standing before him.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Hong Taiji began discussing with the others how they should respond to the war.

Obviously, Hong Taiji wasn't naive enough to believe that handing over the life of a Crown Prince would make the Yanhuang Empire withdraw.

He had sent the Crown Prince to face the Yanhuang Empire's judgment only because he was clinging to a glimmer of hope. After all, until things were settled, no one could say for certain whether this would work.

Qing Empire's border.

The armies of the Russian Dynasty and the Zunghar Khanate served as the main force, launching a fierce assault on the Qing Empire's border.

Behind them, the Yanhuang Empire's army provided support.

The generals commanding the two armies looked as miserable as if someone had died.

Ye Chen had really screwed them over this time. He'd made their soldiers serve as the main force, while the Yanhuang Empire's army stayed behind, doing little more than picking off stragglers and claiming the kills.

By the end of the battle, nine out of every ten of their soldiers were dead, while the Yanhuang Empire had lost only a few unlucky men.

No one would have looked cheerful after seeing that.

Then the two of them noticed the grief and anguish on the face of the Yanhuang Empire's general beside them. Their fists tightened, and one of them gritted his teeth. "General Yan, you really do treat your soldiers like your own children. A few of them die, and you're already this heartbroken."

"I can't help it. Their parents personally entrusted these men to me. Now they've died here in battle. How am I supposed to face their parents when I return? Ah, my heart aches."

As he spoke, Yan Yun couldn't help sighing.

At that, the two men nearly wanted to hit him. They'd never met anyone so infuriating.

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