"What happened next? After that... did the Empire fall?" Kane Si could not help asking.
"Not yet." Yu Lin Bloodhawk shook his head. "After the Barbarians captured the emperor, the ministers put his son on the throne. They also agreed to pay the Barbarians a portion of the treasury's funds every year to end the war between the two nations."
"Then... weren't they going to rescue the emperor?" someone asked anxiously.
"They called for his rescue every day, but it was only for show. In truth, everyone knew that no one really wanted to bring him back." Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed.
"W-why? How could they do that?" Kane Si really was an innocent, good-hearted young man.
"For no other reason than that his son had become the new emperor. If they rescued the old emperor, where would that leave the new one?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk patted Kane Si's shoulder and said earnestly, "Power always fascinates people, and it can easily lead them astray."
"Then... did no one really care about the old emperor anymore?" Kane Si felt deeply troubled.
"That's right! No one truly wanted anything more to do with him, and no one cared how much humiliation he suffered among the Barbarians." Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed. "Many even smeared his name, saying he had recklessly started a war in pursuit of grand achievements, making him a laughingstock."
"Outrageous! They went too far!" Kane Si seethed with righteous indignation.
"Yes! Far too far," Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed. "The peace the Empire bought with money did last for a while. Although there was some friction between the two sides, the clashes were no longer as serious. So the people of the Empire went on as before: those making money kept making money, and those smuggling kept smuggling. Whenever a conflict arose