Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 134 Those who bring disaster to our people, though numerous, shall be killed!

The white-spear soldiers behind Qin Liangyu, those fierce soldiers who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, did not show any hostility, nor even the slightest vigilance.

They simply watched quietly, observing how and why the legendary imperial guard made way for a young man.

Those seasoned veterans who have been through countless battles understand better than anyone else that the person who can make such an army act in this way must be someone whose identity transcends ordinary imagination.

The spears, like a forest of blades, did not tremble in the slightest, but the hands holding the white-shafted spears gripped them even tighter due to the invisible pressure.

Qin Liangyu's intuition did not tell her whether the person who came was hostile.

Her intuition crumbled completely when she saw the almost fanatical expressions on the faces of the distant Beijing garrison soldiers and the arrogant Imperial Guards as they looked at that young man's back.

She could no longer stand still.

This female general, who had spent her life on the battlefield and witnessed countless grand scenes, almost instinctively rushed out of the ranks the moment that absurd yet singular thought occurred to her, and strode towards that figure!

Without thinking, and without needing to think, this was an instinct ingrained in the very bones and blood of a Ming general!
The young man continued walking, at a moderate pace. She, however, strode forward to meet him.

The distance between the two was rapidly shrinking.

Fifty steps.

Thirty steps.

When they were only ten steps away, Qin Liangyu suddenly stopped.

She felt as if she were blocked by an invisible wall of air, unable to take another step forward. Her body was taut like a fully drawn bow, her eyes fixed on the face that was getting closer and closer.

He took the last ten steps and stopped in front of her.

At that moment, Qin Liangyu finally saw the person's eyes clearly.

Those were deep, weathered eyes, completely out of character for his age, yet filled with supreme majesty.

It was as if those eyes had witnessed a thousand years of wind and frost, and seen thousands of miles of mountains and rivers!
Qin Liangyu's previous vague and crazy guesses were now confirmed by the owner of these eyes in an undeniable way, turning into a cold yet burning confirmation!
Apart from the current emperor, who else in the world has such magnanimity?
Besides the current emperor, who else in this world could make the most elite Beijing garrison and the most arrogant Embroidered Uniform Guards show such an expression?

Besides the current emperor, who else in the world, at such a young age, possesses such a pair of emperor's eyes, seemingly able to see through people's hearts?
Qin Liangyu's mind went completely blank.

Her legs seemed unable to bear the weight of her body and armor any longer, and suddenly went weak, about to kneel down uncontrollably!

The hard silver armor collided with the equally hard ground, producing a dull yet chilling sound.

"Your subject is Qin Liangyu, Vice Commander-in-Chief and Commander-in-Chief of Sichuan!"

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, yet it remained powerful and penetrating.

"I was unaware of His Majesty's arrival and was late in welcoming him; I deserve to die!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty's life is of paramount importance, and the safety of the nation rests on your shoulders! Why... why would you personally venture into such a perilous place!"

She almost shouted the last sentence.

There was the fear of a subject towards his ruler, the worry of an old general towards his commander, and even more... a deep-seated incomprehension.

Zhu Youjian did not answer her immediately.

He quickly stepped forward, reached out his hands, and personally helped the accomplished female general up from the ground.

The emperor's movements were firm and powerful.

"General Qin, please rise."

His voice was calm, but beneath that calm lay a suppressed grief and rage as hot as molten lava.

“Every day, what is delivered to my desk are reports of the devastation in Shaanxi and of people exchanging their own children to eat.”

"If I continue to sit idly by and allow my people to die like weeds on this land, then the bandits will sweep across the Central Plains, and the Ming Dynasty will perish!"

The emperor's voice suddenly rose, and his suppressed grief and indignation transformed into a thunderous rage that seemed to shake the entire wasteland, like metal striking stone!

"I have come here today to tell the whole world!"

"I will personally turn this corrupt world around! Those who bring disaster to my people, no matter how many, will be executed!"

These words were spoken with unwavering conviction and conviction.

Qin Liangyu felt a surge of heat rush from her chest to her head.

Having spent her life in the military, she had heard countless impassioned speeches and witnessed countless hypocritical and pretentious performances, but never had a single sentence felt so real to her as it did today.

Because what she saw in the young emperor's eyes was not political maneuvering, not scheming, and not even the ruthless determination to preserve his empire.

Words can be deceitful, but actions cannot be faked!
The emperor guards the nation's gates, the monarch dies for the state... Throughout history, no matter how loudly the slogans were shouted, how many people could actually do it?

But the person before us, with the highest rank of emperor, personally set foot on this land that has become a purgatory!

The resolute look in his eyes, combined with his earth-shattering act, ultimately coalesced into a weighty, suffocating sense of responsibility for the lives of countless people, a responsibility so heavy it was almost unbearable…

The Emperor's Duty!

Zhu Youjian supported her without letting go; that gentle yet firm strength seemed to silently confirm his earlier vow.

He looked into the female general's eyes, which were slightly red from excitement, and slowly said something that was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"I have read through all the battle reports from the southwest region in the Qianqing Palace."

The emperor's voice became low.

"From the Bozhou Campaign during the Wanli era to the She'an Rebellion during the Tianqi era... I know it all."

"I know that it was your husband, the Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu, General Ma Qiancheng, who led the troops in the Battle of Nanchuan and died on the battlefield, sacrificing his life for the country!"

"I know that it was your elder brother Qin Bangping and your younger brother Qin Minping who both died fighting to the death in the Battle of Hunhe!"

"I know that it was your son, Ma Xianglin, who fought to the death in the bloody battle to recapture Chongqing and relieve the siege of Chengdu, despite being hit by several arrows!"

"I know even better!"

His voice paused slightly, and his eyes were filled with an unprecedented solemnity.

"It was General Qin, a woman, who spent all her family fortune to recruit new soldiers. When everyone else had given up on the southwest, she single-handedly supported half of the Ming Dynasty's territory in the southwest!"

Not a single word of these words was empty praise.

Not a single word was a false compliment. Every name, every battle, was like countless red-hot steel needles, precisely and gently piercing the softest and most painful spot in Qin Liangyu's heart.

Her family has three generations of loyal and heroic figures.

Her husband, her brother, her younger brother, her son...

They sacrificed all their blood and lives for the Ming Dynasty.

But what do we get in return?
It was the court's suspicion, the civil officials' obstruction, the withholding of rations and pay, and the endless despair of fighting alone.

She thought she had already hardened her heart.

But, today.

Right here on this wasteland.

When this young emperor, in a calm tone as if simply stating facts, laid out all the sacrifices, achievements, and grievances of her family one by one…

This female general, who had never shed a tear on the battlefield, suddenly felt a surge of hot liquid rushing to her eyes.

Her tiger-like eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Qin Liangyu took a deep breath and forcibly forced back the tears that were about to spill from her eyes.

Then she bowed and clasped her hands in a gesture of the highest respect to Zhu Youjian.

"His Majesty……"

Her voice became somewhat hoarse as she tried to suppress her excitement.

"Your Majesty... you know so much about my family affairs, in such detail. I am terrified! On behalf of the Ma family, on behalf of the Qin family, and on behalf of all the fallen heroes, I thank Your Majesty!"

She paused, then looked up, her eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light.

"The 100,000 taels of silver bestowed by His Majesty a month ago has already relieved the White-Spear Army of its immediate crisis. Now, the morale of the army is greatly boosted!"

"The soldiers are saying in private that Emperor Tianqi owed us seven years' worth of pay, but Emperor Chongzhen made it up to us in less than a year after he ascended the throne!"

“Your Majesty!” she said resolutely, “I cannot guarantee anything else! But this 100,000 taels of silver will make these three thousand men understand one thing more clearly than any imperial edict—who they should truly serve!”

"Today, His Majesty has personally come here to comfort our loyal hearts with his heartfelt words!"

"Your subject, Qin Liangyu, hereby swears an oath!"

"We, the three thousand soldiers of the White-Spear Army, are willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty, even unto death!"

Zhu Youjian patted Qin Liangyu's sturdy arm armor heavily.

"it is good!"

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear from General Qin!"

"With your three thousand White-Spear Army soldiers here, I have the confidence to establish my rule in Shaanxi!"

……

After the emperor and his ministers had a heart-to-heart talk, the warmth on Zhu Youjian's face vanished instantly.

He turned to the side and issued the core military order for this mission in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"General Qin, your three thousand elite troops are my greatest trump card and my sharpest weapon on this trip."

"But I don't want anyone to see the sharpness of this knife yet."

A hint of doubt flashed in Qin Liangyu's eyes, but she didn't ask; she just listened quietly.

"I command you," Zhu Youjian's voice lowered even further, "to immediately divide your three thousand men into four divisions."

"Block the four main official roads leading from Xi'an Prefecture to Tongguan, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan overnight!"

"I hereby grant you the authority to act as you see fit!"

He took out a small, exquisite gold token engraved with nine dragons from his pocket and placed it in Qin Liangyu's hand.

"Holding this token is as if I were personally present! During the blockade, no official, merchant, soldier, or civilian may leave the territory of Xi'an Prefecture without my personal edict, not even a single tablet! Birds are not allowed to cross the Wei River without authorization!"

"Anyone who disobeys this order..."

His voice paused slightly, and a terrifying murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Act first, report later!"

Holding the gold medal in her hand, still warm from the emperor's touch, Qin Liangyu finally understood.

Your Majesty, is this... a city lockdown?!

Seeing the shock in her eyes, Zhu Youjian added a sentence, explaining his true intentions.

"I am preparing to close the gates in Xi'an and beat a few disobedient dogs."

"I do not want the dogs inside to have the opportunity to inform their kind outside when I am beating them."

"Furthermore, we do not want to give their kind the opportunity to scatter and escape!"

Close the door and beat the dog.

These four words, spoken lightly, sent a chill down the spine of Qin Liangyu, a veteran who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The last rays of the setting sun finally pierced through the thick clouds, like splashed blood, coating this vast wilderness with a magnificent yet eerie dark red.

The young emperor and the elderly female general stood side by side.

Their gazes were all fixed on the vast, desolate city in the distance.

In that city, not only was there a colossal beast that devoured countless people;

Beneath the shadow of that behemoth lay a rotten web of officials protecting each other, a web that had long since rotted to the core.
And those who wove this net and fed this beast were none other than the local tyrants and gentry who, like a poisonous weed, sucked the last drop of life out of the empire.

That wasn't a city; it was a festering sore, a rotten, living hell!
　I fear you are all waiting, so I will put down what I have written.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)