The ordinary soldiers beneath the city walls, the common merchants, and even some young children all responded loudly to Yuwen Huai'an.
"Defend our homeland and slay the fiends!"
"We are willing to devote our strength!"
A crowd of uninformed commoners began blindly following along. The information they received was limited, yet they chose to believe the false messages they had heard.
As the saying went, people had two ears, yet loved listening to only one side.
Yuwen Huai'an merely needed to add slogans about defending and loving the Heaven Dou Empire to his speech, and these ordinary people would forget themselves and place righteousness above all else.
They would not consider whether the Heaven Dou Empire was truly worth doing this for.
These middle-class families were led around by the nose by Yuwen Huai'an.
Inside a palace in the Silves Kingdom.
Yuwen Huai'an sat cross-legged in the ruler's seat, while a group of nobles and merchants sat below him.
"Everyone, I, Yuwen Huai'an, won't beat around the bush. I'll get straight to the point."
"Those rebels are beyond our ability to resist. When the day comes that they attack, only death awaits us."
"Do you think the new regime will tolerate people like us from the old regime?"
A greasy fat man below narrowed his eyes and spoke tentatively. "Lord Yuwen, you jest. We are merely people struggling to survive. We don't understand what you mean."
The former ruler of the Silves Kingdom sat quietly to one side and did not speak rashly.
Yuwen Huai'an's expression darkened slightly. "Are you sure you don't understand?"
As he spoke, Yuwen Huai'an took out the golden badge from his robes. "We are all citizens of the Heaven Dou Empire. When the Empire is in trouble, none of us can retreat!"
"I believe that since the Emperor gave me this golden badge, he must trust me greatly."
Seeing that Yuwen Huai'an was not easy to fool, the greasy fat man put away his fake smile.
"Tell us your plan. I don't believe you love the Heaven Dou Empire." The fat man leaned back in his chair casually.
These political and commercial tycoons all knew exactly what the other was really like.
If anything truly happened to the Heaven Dou Empire, they would run faster than anyone else.
The ruler of the Silves Kingdom, who had remained silent for a long time, slowly spoke. "Lord Yuwen, isn't this too risky? The Empire will punish us."
"Shut up. A dog of the Empire like you thinks you deserve to speak?"
Yuwen Huai'an despised people like him from the bottom of his heart. He had grown too accustomed to being a dog and had lost every shred of pride.
"Lord Yuwen, aren't you being too insulting? I believe the Emperor can still distinguish right from wrong."
He had been cursed at and still addressed the other party as lord. Wasn't that just pathetic?
"Not a single noble or ruler from the Skyfrost Duchy survived. Even in the small cities they had conquered before, every noble was exterminated."
Yuwen Huai'an's gaze turned cold as he questioned him, "Do you think you can survive in their hands?"
Upon hearing that all nobles had died, the ruler's newly risen temper immediately deflated. "I am willing to cooperate with Lord Yuwen, as long as Lord Yuwen can spare my life."
Yuwen Huai'an issued orders to the merchants present. "You merchants should have no shortage of cargo ships, right? Prepare the largest cargo ship for me. I will tell you my plan later."
"If you want to live, do as I say!"
The fat man's mind raced at Yuwen Huai'an's words. "Lord Yuwen, based on what you said, it seems those rebels only kill nobles like you who devour people!"
"Heh." Yuwen Huai'an sneered. "Has grease clogged your brain?"
"When did I ever say they only kill nobles? Do you merchants spit out the bones after devouring people? Believe me, those madmen will not spare you. Once they attack, your lives and your property will both be taken."
At the mention of money, the fat man immediately came to his senses, and panic appeared on his face.
"Let me remind you of one more thing. I had someone tell my fortune. The Empire cannot escape this disaster."
Yuwen Huai'an said no more after that.
Over the next few days, these merchants began packing up their assets on a massive scale, and the prosperous commercial empire of the Silves Kingdom collapsed in an instant.
Yuwen Huai'an had not been idle these days either. He had done something major.
Two weeks later.
At this point, exactly one month had passed since Yuwen Huai'an left Heaven Dou City.
The Silves Kingdom was now desolate, and the economic collapse had dealt a tremendous blow to the functioning of society.
The people who had once been filled with lofty ambitions now lay in the streets, gaunt and haggard, with no one paying them any attention.
Standing atop the city walls, Yuwen Huai'an spoke to the people with a grief-stricken expression. "My fellow countrymen, I have failed you. I truly never expected those merchants to stop loving even their own country."
"Given our current situation, those rebels will probably take us without any effort at all. I truly hate this! I hate that I did not stop them sooner."
"Lord Yuwen, we believe you did your best. Leave quickly. You are a good man." The people in the streets weakly urged Yuwen Huai'an to leave.
Yuwen Huai'an pretended to shed tears and raised a hand to wipe at the corners of his eyes.
"My fellow countrymen, I will certainly take care of your descendants. One day, I will avenge you."
By the coast.
Several large ships stood side by side, carrying merchants, nobles, and their vast fortunes.
A fat man sat aboard one of the ships, anxiously looking into the distance.
"Just what is Yuwen Huai'an doing? Why hasn't he come yet?"
Everyone was waiting here for Yuwen Huai'an.
Over the past two weeks, Yuwen Huai'an had told everyone his plan.
He claimed to have discovered a new continent and said he could lead them there, after which they would seize that land for themselves.
The route was with Yuwen Huai'an, and everyone was now waiting for him.
"Big brother, do you think Yuwen Huai'an might be deceiving us?"
"Impossible. Everything he owns is on the ship beside us. I personally checked. He would never be willing to abandon it." The fat man spoke with certainty.
Yet the more one hoped something would not happen, the more likely it was to happen.
Suddenly, the Golden Holy Dragon flew rapidly over from afar, followed closely by a group of Republic Empire warriors.
Bai Fan stood atop the dragon's back and shouted, "Board the ships!"
In an instant, the ships were flooded with countless warriors, and the nobles and merchants aboard were seized.
Yuwen Huai'an stood on the shore with his arms crossed, silently watching the scene unfold.
All the gold, silver, and treasures aboard were removed.
The fat man's tiny eyes sharply spotted Yuwen Huai'an on the shore. The fat all over his body trembled as his voice cracked.
"Yuwen Huai'an, you beast! You actually dared to scheme against us! Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!"
Da Niu roughly gagged the fat man.
Bai Fan leaped down from the dragon's back and stood facing Yuwen Huai'an.
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