The old emperor only desires immortality; you must not rebel.

The Holy Emperor got out of bed again.

With the emperor's current physical condition, he could experience the dregs of feudalism twenty times without sleep or rest.

After the palace maids, their faces beaming with fervor, finished dressing Lu Cheng, the Holy Emperor announced that he was summoning Qin Xiong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to the palace for an audience.

This imperial guard, which had once fought alongside the emperor through thick and thin, has now been bestowed the title of "Jinyiwei" by the emperor.

However, it will take a long time to complete the transformation.

These uncultured soldiers only know how to shout "loyalty." If you put them in charge of intelligence work, they'll probably resort to torture to extract confessions.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

As soon as Qin Xiong entered the palace, he immediately found a comfortable position to kneel down.

Lu Cheng looked down at him and said calmly, "Get up."

"How is the collection of my silver coming along?"

Lu Cheng plans to build a villa on the mountain outside the city, which will of course require a lot of money.

Although the Xie family obtained a lot of money from the confiscation of their property, every penny of that money was used for its own purpose.

After careful calculation, the emperor discovered that the money was far from enough to build a wine pool and meat forest.

"Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Qin Xiong lowered his head and hesitated before saying, "We haven't collected them all yet."

Even setting aside aristocratic families, those officials wouldn't easily make friends with them.

The real wealth was in the hands of various officials and powerful families.

However, when it comes to using normal methods, this group of people always finds various excuses to shirk their responsibilities.

Lu Cheng suddenly curled his lips into a wicked smile.

"The King of Liang is coming!"

After a deep yet simple conversation with the emperor, he successfully extracted a lot of information from Consort Shu.

Qin Xiong looked up in astonishment, his eyes filled with shock.

King of Liang?

Having witnessed the power of the Holy Emperor, Qin Xiong felt little fear, but rather excitement and fervor.

He couldn't wait to show them the divine power of the Holy Emperor.

"His Majesty!"

Qin Xiong said earnestly, "This humble general is willing to lead the army to annihilate the rebels!"

As a staunch supporter and fanatic of the emperor, Qin Xiong felt that this kind of thing suited him better.

He will dedicate his loyalty to His Majesty!

Collecting taxes is the most troublesome thing!

Since gathering the private armies of aristocratic families, the Imperial Guard has now expanded to more than 15,000 men, and its combat strength has more than doubled.

After witnessing the divine power of the Holy Emperor, they were all willing to offer their "loyalty" to him!

The Holy Emperor closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Draft an imperial edict!"

"Tell them that the Prince of Liang is going to burn, kill, and loot the capital. I am willing to protect them, but they will have to pay for the repair of their weapons."

The Holy Emperor rose from his dragon throne, his hands clasped behind his back. The evil dragon behind him seemed to solidify, its scales and claws flying, its oppressive aura sweeping across the entire hall.

Lu Cheng smiled mockingly and said, "Those who are unwilling to pay, I will not force them, but I will have to ask them to leave the capital."

The emperor always finds a way to collect taxes from those landlords and gentry.

"However, it's ultimately not good that they don't pay."

Winter is almost here, and the starving people outside the capital are still going hungry!

As the Holy Emperor, having seen it, he naturally could not ignore it, especially since it concerned his grand plan for longevity.

How could there be people starving to death under the emperor's nose?

"Prepare your carriage!"

"To the Pei residence!"

He now actually hopes that these powerful families will immediately raise their flags in rebellion, so that he won't have to go through all this trouble.

He would ruthlessly suppress them, and all the money would naturally be his.

……

The Holy Emperor has left the palace!

The entire street was immediately cleared.

Pei Mansion

Pei Zhixing was somewhat bewildered upon receiving the message.

He really couldn't understand what this damned emperor was planning to do by suddenly coming to the Pei residence.

Could it be that they are planning to win over the Pei family again, and then win over the other major families?

After the Xie family was wiped out, the Pei family naturally became the undisputed leader of the prominent families in the capital.

However, Pei Zhixing immediately ordered people to prepare a welcoming ceremony.

After all, if we neglect the emperor and he notices something, it would be troublesome if he escaped.

Before the arrival of the Liang King, we still need to keep this incompetent ruler in check.

Pei Zhixing led the Pei clan members to stand in front of the mansion gate. Upon seeing the dragon banner approaching from afar, they immediately bowed in salute.

"This humble subject greets Your Majesty!"

"Long live Your Majesty!"

The people behind Pei Zhixing bowed to him one after another.

"tread!"

"Tap tap!"

Horse hooves trod on the bluestone floor.

Elite heavy cavalry lined both sides of the street, slowly pressing forward. Their chilling aura and iron-blooded pressure were overwhelming, making the Pei family members feel heavy-hearted and their breathing rapid.

The dragon banner pressed forward.

On the imperial carriage, Lu Cheng said calmly, "I heard you don't pay taxes?"

Pei Zhixing was taken aback.

Pay taxes?

Oh, is that so?

The emperor's sudden and inexplicable attack left Pei Zhixing momentarily speechless.

Fuck you!

Pei Zhixing really wanted to curse this damned emperor.

Once the Liang King ousts you from the throne, you'll be nothing but a roadside stall. He'll kick you to death then!

Given the family's wealth and influence, if they had started paying taxes from twenty years ago, they would have been bankrupt.

Lu Cheng slowly sat up straight and smiled, "Are you planning to pay a tax on favors, or a tax on the dead?"

Pei Zhixing, with an extremely thick skin, grinned broadly and said, "Hand it over!"

"How could we be unwilling to pay taxes? It's just that, as Your Majesty knows, our family is very large and our assets need some time to be inventoried."

"Once the assets are liquidated," Pei Zhixing assured him, "we will definitely make up for the shortfall!"

The Holy Emperor smiled!

It's not that we won't pay, it's that we'll pay later, let the poor pay first, right?

The Holy Emperor stepped down from the dragon carriage, his smile vanishing as he lowered his head and looked down at Pei Zhixing, who was bowing slightly.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

A calm and powerful voice suddenly rang out!

The wind howled!

Smoke and dust billowed!

The evil dragon behind the emperor was faintly taking shape, exuding overwhelming ferocity.

I'm here! How dare you try to fool me!

The Emperor flew into a rage, glaring at Pei Zhixing: "You are showing contempt for me!"

"Qin Xiong!"

"Kill them for me!"

They still don't understand that the emperor keeps them around to generate a continuous stream of wealth for him, not because he fears their strength.

As the Holy Emperor, he was not afraid of their rebellion, but they could not refuse to pay taxes to him!

After a slight pause, Qin Xiong excitedly drew his knife.

Clang!

Clang!

The accompanying guards immediately drew their swords.

The soldiers all wore incredibly excited smiles.

Pei Zhixing's smile was replaced by astonishment, his expression a mixture of shock and anger: "Your Majesty, you are treating human life like dirt!"

"A tyrannical ruler!"

"You tyrant!"

How dare he!?

"Bang!"

No sooner had Pei Zhixing finished speaking than Qin Xiong kicked him to the ground, picked up the scabbard, and slammed it into Pei Zhixing's mouth.

A series of heart-wrenching screams and wails echoed within the Pei residence.

Eight cuts per second is not a sign of respect for the Pei clan, but rather the limit of physical endurance.

Although the Holy Emperor did not say anything, Qin Xiong still leveled the wheels.

Those who disrespect the emperor shall die!

Those who disobey the emperor shall die!

"kill!"

"Kill them all, let the blood flow like a river!"

loyalty!!