Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 543 This is the most romantic declaration of war I have issued for you

Shifang Building was burning, and Dayun was roaring. The fire burned all night, and Shifang Building was a pile of fire when we woke up in the morning. Dayun was tossed all night, and it burst before morning.

Everyone in the market was talking about the Shifang Tower. Those who knew the inside story said that the head of the Dugu family spent 270,000 taels to buy the Shifang Tower, and then set it on fire with his own hands in order to win the favor of General Yixiao who came from the south. Also burned were the indentures of the slaves in the tower.

Some people also said that this was a demonstration, a test given by the old nobles of Chang'an to the young general from the south.

But no matter what, Shifang Tower collapsed on an inconspicuous night. This building that could turn living people into food became a torch that illuminated the entire Chang'an city on an unforgettable night. Its flames only dimmed a little when the sun rose from the east.

Those whose indentures were burned came to the ruins of Shifang Building in the morning. Looking at the Shifang Building that was still burning but had collapsed into a pile, some of them knelt on the ground and cried, while others cursed their past selves.

Many people came to watch the excitement. They were talking about it. Some were sighing and lamenting, while others were expressing their great passion. Some even described the collapse of the building as the overthrow of the Afang Palace. They talked a lot about threatening to kill people, but no one present cared.

Li Yuan also came here in casual clothes. His heart was pounding, because as an emperor, he knew clearly the meaning behind this building.

This has nothing to do with who the boss behind it is, it is simply a symbol. It is the connection between the powerful and the rich, the cannibalism and exploitation of the lower class by the upper class, and the opposition between the rich living in luxury and the freezing corpses on the streets.

The collapsed building and the scorched earth beneath it were oozing blood all the time, carrying a heavy smell of blood.

On this day, all the powerful people in Chang'an had quieted down. Their usual arrogance seemed to have disappeared, and even the officials quickened their pace when they went to work.

Although they didn't know why, but when they reached this level of officialdom, their sense of smell was extremely sensitive. When they woke up, they heard flying ashes falling all over Chang'an, and they couldn't help but feel nervous.

Everyone was asking about this matter, and Yang Ying from the Yang family was pacing back and forth in the room. There were many people sitting next to him, and everyone had a gloomy look on their faces.

"Insanity!"

Yang Ying shouted, "How arrogant you are!"

"Master Yang, don't be angry. I'm afraid this time the person here really has bad intentions."

"I don't care if he's good or not! I want him dead!" Yang Ying was almost in a state of irrational rage at this moment, his eyes were red and his hair stood on end: "What's the situation over in Western Turkestan? Tell them to hurry up!"

"Master Yang, it won't be that fast. Western Turkic is 1,700 miles away from Chang'an. It will take 20 days for the envoys to get there, not to mention that they will have to mobilize troops. Moreover, they are currently in a standoff with the Turkish royal court, so I'm afraid they won't be able to allocate troops."

"I want the man for me, I want the weapon for me, I want the money for me. I want him dead!"

Everybody was silent. They could all understand Yang Ying's rage. Xia Lin and the kid from the Dugu family were so infuriating. Even a king would have to be polite to them. After all, apart from the troops around the capital, most of the military power was in the hands of the big families.

Such a blatant declaration of war would kill not only Xia Lin, but even the emperor. How many emperors have died of fear throughout history? There are so many bizarre ways of death. At worst, they put pressure on the emperor, and if they can't kill him, they can drive him away.

To be honest, the foreign races are all losers, but the foreign races blessed by the Force are different. Back then, they were able to work with the Turks to force Emperor Hongbao to move the capital and give up large tracts of resources in the north. Now they can use the same trick to force Emperor Wude to drive away these annoying flies.

"Emperor Wude has 270,000 soldiers, including 140,000 old and weak border troops, so there is no need to worry. Among the 130,000 soldiers, there are only 30,000 cavalry, and there are only 3,000 elite black-armored cavalry, and they have all been taken to Jiange to plot against Bashu. If we can prepare enough swords, armor and horses for the barbarians, they can form 100,000 cavalry and kill their way into Guanzhong from top to bottom. Even if they can't capture the city, they can naturally make Emperor Wude retreat."

Yang Ying turned around and said with a smile: "One month, I will give you one month. Gather all the things within this month. Don't blame me for being arrogant. The battle flag has been raised. If you retreat at all, don't blame me for being dragged to the top of Chang'an City and cut off in the middle."

It must be said that Yang Ying's foresight and sensitivity are really good. He pointed outside and said, "I will make him live happily for another month!"

Of course Xia Lin didn't know about this. After all, he didn't do much farming in the north, and the information network was incomplete, so apart from being careful and alert every day, he would just stroll around the large construction site in Xin Xianyang.

On this day, he was chatting with the officials of the Ministry of Works of the Great Wei at a large construction site. The manpower and material resources required to build the new Xianyang could not be completed by Li Tang alone. It just so happened that the Great Wei had excess production capacity. So although the two sides were nominally fighting, a bridge of cooperation had already been built on the other side.

Well, in politics, there is no such thing as a life-and-death fight. Unless there is an irreconcilable hatred like a massacre, people generally won't fight to the death.

"Would you like to know about the stone and cement here as soon as possible? As for the money, I'll pay half of the deposit first, and I'll give you the other half when the goods arrive."

"Master Xia, between us...why don't you just give enough? Besides, most of these are Fuliang's business, why are you trying to lower the price so much?"

Xia Lin laughed. "Fuck you... No, didn't your teacher teach you to be steady and sustainable? With your fucking quotes, even if you have a mountain of gold, you can't afford to build it. If I don't lower the price for you, and the funding chain is cut off halfway through the construction of the city, you won't have anywhere to cry."

"Isn't this just to make more money..." "With trade, there is money to be made. This is not money that can be made overnight. This is money that will revitalize the entire economy after it is circulated. I'm not asking you bastards to make quick money. What will the people do if you make quick money? Oh!?"

"Yes, yes, yes...I am right, as the adults have taught me."

As Xia Lin finished scolding the official from the Ministry of Works of Wei, the official pointed his finger and said, "Zhao Wenquan, you bastard, you're still running! Come and die!"

The man named Zhao Wenquan was an official from Li Tang's Ministry of Works. When he heard Xia Lin's call, he shrank his neck and came to him: "My Lord..."

"Fuck you. Yesterday afternoon I told you to put that batch of goods into the warehouse, but you ignored my words. That's cement! If it rains, then 28,500 taels of silver will be wasted. Fuck you, do you want to do it or not? I tell you, if you don't want to do it, go to the Ministry of Revenue and file a report. Get the hell out of here. There are plenty of people who will do it for you."

"Yes, yes, yes... I know I was wrong, sir. My son fell seriously ill last night, so I rushed back and reported it to Sima Du."

"Du Ruhui, right?"

Xia Lin turned and left, and the officials from the two countries' Ministry of Industry looked at each other and smiled bitterly. The Wei official patted the Li Tang official and said, "Don't worry, sir. He is like this."

"Ugh……"

"Ugh……"

The two sighed and went back to work separately. No one expected that the first person Li Tang and Tian Wei would reconcile with was the Ministry of Industry...

Du Ruhui was really smart. When he saw Xia Lin coming towards him aggressively from a distance, he ran away. Xia Lin watched him running and chased him, cursing him as he ran. Finally, Du Ruhui burst out with the strongest explosive power in his civil servant career and finally got rid of Xia Lin.

But just as he sat down in a corner to take a break and catch his breath, a sinister voice suddenly came from above his head: "Run, why don't you run?"

Du Ruhui looked up and saw Xia Lin lying on the boulder like a murderous ghost. Grand Marshal Du Ruhui, the top adviser under Emperor Li Tang, was so frightened that his face turned pale.

"My Lord, please listen to my explanation."

"I don't want to hear it! Don't explain to me. I want the result! I told you to store the goods but you didn't. I told you to settle the accounts but you didn't. What are you doing here? You are the leader here, right? Xianyang City was built for you, right? After it's built, you will ascend the throne right here, right? You are not young anymore. Why are you acting like a big shot here?"

"Don't read it... Don't read it." Du Ruhui was sweating profusely at this moment: "I will do it right away. His Majesty summoned me back to the palace yesterday, saying that the barbarians in the west had made unusual movements. That's why I went back. I will definitely finish it today..."

"The barbarians in the west, you mean the Western Turks?"

"Yes." Du Ruhui nodded and said, "There have been troop movements these days, but it is still unclear who they are targeting."

Xia Lin's brows gradually frowned: "That's not right. The Turkic royal court has been keeping a close eye on the Western Turks. What can they do?"

"I don't know... I really don't know. The spy hasn't come back yet."

Xia Lin touched his chin and said, "Strange... Grand Marshal, go and find out tomorrow if they are gathering north of the Hexi Corridor. If they are gathering there, they will go south to attack the Xia capital. If they attack the Xia capital, they will attack Chang'an."

Du Ruhui was stunned for a moment, and then his expression immediately became serious: "My Lord, are you serious?"

"You still don't believe it, come on."

Xia Lin brought Du Ruhui to his temporary residence, took out a map and gestured a little: "The Western Turks are currently entrenched in the area from Yiwulu to the north of Suzhou. The Turkic royal court is to their north. If they gather in the south, how can they bypass the 2,800-mile grassland to attack the royal court? They must be heading straight to Xiping County and Longxi. When they reach Longxi... that's not right."

Suddenly, Xia Lin stared at the map and felt something was wrong: "What's the point of attacking from this line? Are we aiming for the endless yellow sand or the scorching heat of the Gobi Desert? It's not right."

Du Ruhui also came forward and thought carefully, then pointed at Pingliang County and said, "If they go to Pingliang County along the Silk Road, is it possible?"

Xia Lin and Du Ruhui immediately looked at each other and said in unison, "Oops."

(End of this chapter)