The Prodigal Son

"What did General Tang say to you?"

After leaving Qixia Pass, Xu Wan asked Qin Yu questions with great curiosity.

"You'd better not know about this! It's not exactly a good thing, but it's not necessarily a bad thing either."

Qin Yu smiled sullenly, cursing inwardly once again the people who spread those ridiculous stories.

If those rumors were to reach the Empress Dowager's ears, she would probably be so angry she'd explode on the spot!

I have to say, the person who spreads this kind of rumor is truly despicable!

The rumors about his affair with the Empress Dowager really hit a nerve with him.

Just as Qin Yu was feeling secretly annoyed, Wang Yansi came over again, pointing to the distant horizon and saying, "General Qin, that's a branch of Yuwang Mountain. It's autumn now, and if you have time, you can take Military Envoy Xu and Miss Que'er to the main peak of Yuwang Mountain and overlook the entire Yuyang from there..."

"You know, that's actually a good suggestion!"

Nan Que'er's eyes lit up, and she looked at Wang Yansi curiously, "I heard that Yuwang Mountain was transformed from the evil dragon that the ancient Yu the Great slew?"

"That's indeed a saying."

Wang Yansi chuckled and said, "Legend has it that thousands of years ago, the ancient King Yu unified the surrounding tribes with his unparalleled power..."

Not long after, a wicked dragon appeared in the northwest of Yuyang, causing havoc.

The evil dragon stirred up storms and caused floods to plague the people of the ancient King Yu for years.

King Yu was furious and decided to personally slay the evil dragon.

Then, King Yu found the evil dragon and fought it for three days and three nights.

In the end, King Yu chose to be swallowed by the evil dragon, sacrificing his own life to unleash a devastating sword strike from inside the dragon's belly, cleaving it in two.

After the evil dragon died, its body transformed into a mountain.

After the evil dragon was slain, the territory of the ancient King Yu was no longer threatened by floods.

To commemorate the ancient King Yu, people named the mountain that the evil dragon's body had transformed into Yuwang Mountain.

It was because the evil dragon was cut in two that Yuwang Mountain was divided into north and south sections by a large canyon.

The canyon through which the Qujiang River flows is where the evil dragon was severed.

At the exit of that Grand Canyon, the statue of the ancient King Yu is still preserved to this day.

Some say it was to highlight the achievements of the ancient King Yu, while others say it was to use the statue of the ancient King Yu to suppress the resentment of the evil dragon.

In many places in the Min Kingdom, there are still Yuwang Temples.

There are also rumors that the ancient King Yu did not actually die, but was enshrined as an immortal for his merit in slaying the evil dragon, and will forever protect the people of the ancient land of Yu.

Nan Que'er naturally didn't believe the rumors Wang Yansi had told her.

However, it was quite boring along the way, so having someone to tell stories was nice.

Seeing that Nan Que'er and the others seemed very interested in the legend of the ancient Yu the Great, Wang Yansi continued to tell them about the mythical deeds of the ancient Yu the Great.

As they were talking, Wang Yansi suddenly handed over a palm-sized cloth bag, saying with a smile, "By the way, General Qin, I have something here. I heard that this item was obtained near the statue of King Yu, and that it possesses the divine power of King Yu, which can ward off disasters and evil spirits. I see that General Qin is very interested in the ancient King Yu, so I would like to give it to you!"

"Oh?"

Qin Yu took it.

The bag wasn't large, but it felt surprisingly heavy.

Upon opening the bag, they discovered a pure gold statue of King Yu!

This must weigh at least seven or eight pounds, right?

Do I really have the potential to become a corrupt official?

Before I've even taken any action, someone's already offering me a bribe?

Haha!

Very good!

When you're feeling sleepy, someone will bring you a pillow!

A greedy glint appeared in Qin Yu's eyes. He quickly put the cloth bag away and said with a smile, "My family happens to be lacking something to ward off evil spirits, and I think this is perfect! Thank you very much, General Wang!"

Seeing Qin Yu's greedy look, Xu Wan and Nan Que'er couldn't help but exchange a silent glance.

That bastard, he's putting on quite a show!

"General Qin, you're too kind!"

Seeing that Qin Yu had accepted his gift, Wang Yansi was overjoyed. He then tentatively said, "My son may not be a master of both literature and martial arts, but he does have some real skills. It's a pity that treacherous officials were in power in our dynasty in the past..."

"No problem, no problem!"

Qin Yu laughed heartily and lowered his voice, saying, "Our dynasty is in dire need of capable people right now. I'll talk to Lord Du and Commander Fang later. As long as he has real skills, he will definitely have a place to use them!"

"Thank you, General Qin!"

Overjoyed, Wang Yansi probed again, "I wonder if my son might have the honor of serving under General Qin?"

"I'm going back to the capital before the new year, why is he following me?"

Qin Yu smiled at Wang Yansi, "If he comes with me, you and your son might not see each other for three to five years. Are you willing to let him go? Min County is in dire need of reconstruction and has great potential!"

"Yes, yes! General Qin is right!"

Wang Yansi wisely stopped talking about the matter and instead began to tell them about the local customs and traditions of Yuyang.

To be honest, Wang Yansi really does have some talent as a storyteller.

Listening to him along the way, Qin Yu and the others really learned a lot.

It was past mid-Shenshi (3-5 PM) when they finally arrived in Yuyang.

From the outside, Yuyang looked no different; it was still a magnificent city.

However, upon entering the city gate, a scene of utter devastation greeted the eye.

Many of the houses on both sides of the street are dilapidated, and occasionally you can see houses that have almost completely collapsed.

On the street, pools of dried blood were still clearly visible.

Although Qin Yu was mentally prepared, he was still greatly shocked when he saw this scene.

This dilapidated scene hardly resembles a capital city anymore.

"General Qin, are you very surprised?"

At this moment, Wang Yansi's voice rang in Qin Yu's ears.

"really!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly and sighed, "What a pity for such a beautiful city!"

"This place is actually quite good!"

Wang Yansi pointed ahead, saying with deep regret, "The palace area was completely burned to ruins by that fire, and the surrounding houses were also destroyed! If the palace hadn't been burned down, the timber alone would probably be worth several million taels of silver..."

Qin Yu glanced sideways at Wang Yansi, "General Wang, don't overthink it. Out with the old, in with the new!"

"That's true, that's true!"

Wang Yansi chuckled and continued to lead Qin Yu and the others.

As they walked by, heads popped out from the dilapidated houses, staring at them blankly.

There was no hatred or fear in their eyes.

It was as if all my energy and spirit had been drained away, leaving me completely numb.

Whether we live or die is entirely up to fate.

Looking at those numb and empty eyes, Qin Yu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Although the war between the two countries did not reach Yuyang, Yuyang was not spared from the chaos of war.

Many of the people of Yuyang did not die at the hands of the Ning army, but at the hands of the fleeing soldiers and the powerful local tyrants who took advantage of the chaos.

Therefore, in many situations, your own people are more dangerous than your enemies.

The enemy might also try to win people's hearts and minds.

Meanwhile, their own people often think of taking advantage of the chaos, bullying the weak, making a fortune from the national crisis, and plundering everything they can.

They even wanted to use human corpses to make oil for lamps...