Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

"Bang--!!!"

The entire city gate collapsed with a roar, sending wood chips flying like rain, shaking the city walls!

[Ding! Host has cleaved down the gate of Jinling City with a single strike, gaining 10,000 Xuanjia Cavalry!]

The system notification sounded, cold and arrogant.

The guards behind the city gate were completely dumbfounded.

"This...this is a human?!"

Lin Ruhai rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he was hallucinating—who could possibly chop the heavy iron gate of Jinling in half with a single axe?!

"Charge!!!" Wu Sheng roared, the war drums beat, and the army surged into the city like a tidal wave!

The soldiers on the city wall exchanged glances and silently lowered their weapons.

What's the point of fighting? Their head coach is personally wielding a knife and tearing down the door, who can withstand that?

Jia Yi took the lead, personally leading his elite troops straight to the Zhen residence. The other residences of powerful and wealthy people were left to Lin Ruhai and Wu Sheng to "visit" each and every one of them—every word reeked of bloodshed.

"Mom! Mom! Third Brother Yi has gone to town!"

Xue Pan ran into the inner courtyard, his face flushed, as excited as a child who had just snatched candy.

"This time, our family is going to turn things around! The Emperor will definitely remember the contributions of the Xue family!"

Aunt Xue had been unable to eat or sleep these past few days, fearing that her secret dealings with Jia Yi would be exposed, leading to the execution of her entire family.

Upon hearing that the army had entered the city, his heart finally settled down.

"Amitabha... We've finally made it through."

And in front of the Zhen residence.

Jia Yi dismounted, his cloak billowing.

Looking up, one sees an elderly woman dressed in fine clothes, sitting upright in a grand chair, blocking the very center of the gate, like an unyielding mountain.

"Is the visitor Jia Yi, the Duke of Qin?"

Old Madam Zhen rose shakily, her gaze meeting that of the menacing, iron-blooded army outside the door.

Even though she had witnessed the grand spectacle of thousands of troops arrayed before the emperor and the emperor personally leading troops in his campaigns when she was young, her heart was still pounding wildly like a drum at this moment.

"It is I, the Duke. Who are you?"

Jia Yi's eyes were cold and sharp; the blade was not yet drawn, but it already exuded a chilling aura. He recognized the old woman in front of him at a glance—the backbone of the Zhen family, the wet nurse of the retired emperor, and the powerful matriarch.

"I am... the Emperor Emeritus's wet nurse..."

Before the words were finished—

"Whoosh!"

A chilling light ripped through the sky!

Blood splattered, and heads rolled on the ground.

"Stop babbling!"

Jia Yi kicked the corpse aside, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade flashing, dripping blood, as he coldly surveyed the crowd: "Just state your family name, why bring up old tales?"

[Ding! Host has slain Old Madam Zhen, gaining the capture of one thousand elite Imperial Guards!]

"Cool!"

Jia Yi grinned, his eyes gleaming, then mounted his horse and brandished his long sword: "Charge! Raze the Zhen family mansion to the ground!"

The army surged in like a flood bursting its banks.

Inside the Zhen family mansion, a group of Zhen family members, who were being protected by private soldiers in the center, still held a glimmer of hope. But when they saw Jia Yi personally arrive, their eyes instantly shattered.

Our ancestor once said: "Want to enter the Zhen family mansion? You'll have to step over my dead body first!"

But now... she has collapsed.

"Jia Yi!" Zhen Yingjia rushed forward, his voice trembling, "For the sake of our past marriage ties... spare the children! They're still children!"

Jia Yi sneered, his knife tip touching the ground: "Has your Zhen family ever shown mercy to the common people?"

"You wear silk and satin, eat delicacies from the mountains, and sleep on golden beds and jade pillows—do you know whose mouths these things came from? They came from the tenant farmers who starved to death on the ridges of the fields! They came from the poor people who sold their children for a bite to eat!"

"Every bit of happiness you enjoy is bought with the blood and tears of the people!"

"Today, I show no mercy, I speak only of justice!"

"kill!!!"

With a roar, Jia Yi spurred his horse and charged forward, like a demon descending upon the world.

[Ding! The host led an army in a surprise attack on the Zhen family's three thousand private soldiers, capturing ten pastry masters!]

Jia Yi almost choked.

"A pastry chef? I'm currently leading an army to purge the powerful and wealthy, and you want me to hold a baking competition?! Are we having a dessert banquet tonight?!"

His forehead veins throbbed, but he didn't hesitate in the slightest—

The blade rises, the head falls!

The knife flashes, and the body is dismembered!

Three thousand private soldiers were torn apart like scarecrows before him, screaming in agony as blood mist filled the air.

Zhen Yingjia fought desperately, brandishing his sword to fight back, hoping to carve out a way for his descendants. But after only three exchanges, he was cleaved in two, his intestines spilling out, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

In the blink of an eye, all the male members of the Zhen family were executed.

The surviving women knelt in a row, trembling, their cries deafening.

"My lord! I warmed your bed for you! Please have mercy!"

"I know how to serve! I know all kinds of positions! Just let me go, and I'm willing to be your slave for life!"

"I'll do anything! Laundry, cook, serve tea, empty chamber pots—I'll do it all! Just don't kill me!!"

Jia Yi, expressionless, glanced around and uttered only one word:

"kill."

Leave no survivors.

Not one can be missing.

He wasn't afraid of killing the wrong person, but rather of someone escaping the net.

The Zhen family is cunning, with multiple burrows. If anyone manages to infiltrate the servants and escape, they will surely become a source of trouble in the future.

As for those innocent servants?

In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary; I would rather betray myself than betray the common people.

The flash of blades resumed, and the wailing gradually subsided.

Behind them, only a river of blood flowed.

Jia Yi turned and left, his boots leaving a trail of sticky red mud with each step.

A sudden downpour occurred.

The torrential rain pounded on the eaves, streets, and corpses, washing away the blood from the mansion and creating crimson streams that meandered into the ditches of Jinling City.

That night, the entire city bled.

The mansions of the powerful and wealthy, large and small, were overturned one after another, flames lit up the sky, and cries of anguish filled the air.

By the time the rooster crowed at dawn, Nanjing had already transformed into a completely different world.

Yesterday, the long street was bustling with traffic and restaurants; now it is as deserted as a graveyard.

The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood, mixed with the damp chill of the rain, making one want to vomit.

A rough estimate suggests that more than 10,000 people died last night, with the Zhen family and their cronies accounting for the majority—three thousand private soldiers and nine generations of relatives, not a single one was spared.

"Yi-ge'er," Lin Ruhai approached, holding a thick stack of incriminating evidence, "Does His Majesty have any news to send? I need to send someone to escort the stolen goods and letters to the capital. It's a dangerous journey, so I need a reliable person."

Jia Yi nodded: "Alright, I also have important matters to report to His Majesty."

He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Last night I ordered the Imperial Guards to raid the Zhen family's property—they found gold and silver treasures worth tens of millions of taels of silver, as well as secret letters from their years of collusion with Prince Zhongshun, not a single one was missing."

"These things," he said coldly, "let the court see for themselves how these 'respectable people' leech off the people and collude with traitors."

"By the way, the stolen goods seized from the Zhen family are worth five million taels of silver and must be escorted back to the capital."

As for how the ten million taels shrank to five million—

Jia Yi felt it was a profound arithmetic puzzle and was too lazy to solve it.

"Damn the Zhen family!"

"Being rolling in wealth isn't enough; they also want to squeeze every last drop out of the land and devour the very bones of the people!"

Lin Ruhai's face was ashen, and his eyes burned with rage.

Because of the insatiable greed of some people, how many families have been broken apart, lives lost, and wives and children separated?

To ensure the absolute safety of this shipment,

Jia Yi immediately dispatched five thousand elite troops, swords drawn and bows strung, their banners fluttering and their killing intent palpable.