After the fairy disappeared

Chapter 1357 It’s too many to write about
King Yao clearly welcomed the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce to settle in Yao Kingdom, but Xue Zongwu interfered, committing murder, arson, and extortion.

Dong Rui originally thought that He Lingchuan would at most use some tricks to teach him a lesson.

After all, he was a general of the Yao State, with extraordinary reputation, martial arts, power, and followers.

I didn’t expect that He Lingchuan would dare to set the target directly as Xue Zongwu.

"Didn't you just say that we should shut up the people? Wouldn't it be better if we don't shut them up and just slap them in the face?" He Lingchuan smiled faintly, "Killing him can not only enforce justice, but also vent our anger. It's a two-pronged approach, isn't it?"

This is really cool. Dong Rui clapped his hands and laughed: "Miao Miao! Have you been collecting clues about Xue Zongwu these days?"

He Lingchuan pushed the information in his hand forward: "These are it."

Xue Zongwu is a famous general of the Yao people, the Prince's Guardian, and a serious official in the royal court!
"You are really good at picking. All the villains we have killed in the past cannot match his weight alone, whether in reputation or cultivation." Dong Rui picked up the materials and continued to read, "Massacre the city? Oh, I remember Fu Liushan told this story. Yao country rarely sent troops abroad in the past hundred years, and Xue Zongwu himself accounted for several records. When he was leading the army, the northern tribes fought to the death and refused to surrender. After Xue Zongwu broke through the city, he ordered the massacre of 270,000 people in the city, claiming that no one was left alive!"

"That was one of those times." Since He Lingchuan was thinking about Xue Zongwu, he had memorized his information by heart. "He massacred the city three times, and 500,000 people died under his sword. It was truly a bloodbath. Since then, all the tribes have been terrified and dared not resist."

Dong Rui nodded: "Old Master said that his army is holding a killing competition in the city. Those who kill the most in an hour will be rewarded by Xue Zongwu himself. I wonder if this is true?"

"It's true. Our people asked a merchant in the city. When he returned from a long journey, he found the whole city dead silent and stinking. His wife, concubine, three children, parents, brothers, neighbors, and even the family he often quarreled with, were all killed. The scene was so horrific that he fell seriously ill for three days after escaping and still has nightmares from time to time."

In the Panlong world, when He Lingchuan led his troops to attack Longchuan in Yuheng City, he was also ruthless and cruel. The Longchuan bandits feared and hated him, and gave him the title of "He the Butcher". But compared with Xue Zongwu, this so-called "butcher" was as kind as an angel.

"Civilian casualties are inevitable in war." He Lingchuan himself led troops to fight and knew that "battle damage" was usually unavoidable. Once a war broke out, civilians would be the first to suffer. "But deliberately massacring a city is horrifying even in the Golden Plains."

Liu Chengshou of Shizhoutou treated the common people like cattle and horses, scraping the ground three feet deep, and the cannibal Zhao Guangzhi treated the common people like pigs and sheep, eating them immediately and slaughtering them, but they never launched a massacre and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in just a few days.

"Don't forget that Tu Yuanhong was also killed by Xue Zongwu, and more than a hundred people were buried with him in Tonglin Village. I don't know how he offended Xue Zongwu." He Lingchuan said casually, "Xue's style of doing things is like this. Is it a big deal to kill us foreign merchants' branch of the Chamber of Commerce?"

Dong Rui continued to read the information: "In Shuangxi and Songke, he allowed his subordinates to commit numerous crimes? What places are those?"

"You know that Yao State occupies many mines, horse farms and grain areas in the western, central and southern parts of the Shining Gold Plains, but those are not within its own territory, right?"

"Yes, didn't Yangshan also deal with them?" Yangshan Chamber of Commerce also needs these resources.

"Yang Shan has tried to do business with them, but they are more difficult to deal with than Yao State itself." He Lingchuan stretched lazily. "These places are called 'tribute lands', and are usually divided into two types. One is that local officials manage and collect goods, and then pay tribute to Yao State; the other is that Yao State directly sends troops to occupy them, conscripts local people to cultivate and mine, and then sends the output back to Yao State, and the locals get almost nothing."

"Shuangxi has fertile land and sweet rain, and is a well-known grain-producing area. This place is blessed by God, and there was a bumper harvest last year, but more than 900 people starved to death, and this is just a rough estimate. Some people were so hungry that they stole grain trucks when they saw them heading to Yao State. Xue Zongwu ordered these people to be tortured to death, and then their stomachs were stuffed with rice and thrown outside the city."

Dong Rui clicked his tongue: "What kind of evil taste is this?"

The targets killed by the Black Armor Army all had their own perversions.

"There are a lot of refugees outside the city." He Lingchuan didn't say anything else. Dong Rui clicked his tongue twice and understood.

"These two tribute lands are under the management of Xue Zongwu, who is like an emperor there. If the leader is not upright, the subordinates will be crooked. How do you think his subordinates will treat the local people?" He Lingchuan walked to the window, took out a three-finger-wide booklet, and threw it on the table with a bang. The sound was very important. "These are the crimes he condoned his subordinates to commit in the past ten years. There are so many bloody cases that one booklet cannot record them all."

"You've collected so much information in just a few days?"

"I have been eyeing Xue Zongwu for a long time, and the collection work started two months ago." He Lingchuan said slowly, "He is an important target, but it was difficult to take action before. But I didn't expect that he would cause trouble for me before I could settle accounts with him."

"A Yao man, an important official, has committed crimes." He Lingchuan raised three fingers one after another, "Are all the elements complete, except for killing people?"

"In terms of his crimes, he is qualified." Dong Rui admitted that this target was worthy of the Black Armor Army's dispatch. "But how do you plan to attack him? This guy is a martial artist with a high level of cultivation. He has earned his current status through fighting. Oh, and he also has Yuanli and an army!"

The more Dong Rui read Xue Zongwu's resume, the more difficult it became. This man was different from the targets that the Black Armor Army had killed before. To sum it up in one word:
Too strong.

Even if all the hundreds of black-armored soldiers were sent out, they would probably have little chance of winning against Xue Zongwu and his army.

Those were not Zhao Guangzhi's scattered soldiers. Dozens of black-armored cavalrymen were enough to kill thousands of the enemy and make them flee in panic.

"How about we think of a reason to lure him out of town and kill him?" Dong Rui's mind raced. "Won't he have to run back and forth between the country and the tribute land? Should we ambush him on the way?"

"No." He Lingchuan rejected it outright. "I want to kill the famous general of Yao Kingdom within the territory of Yao Kingdom. This will achieve the most sensational effect!"

If Xue Zongwu died abroad, the people of Yao would be surprised but not necessarily deeply shocked.

It is inevitable that the general will die in battle, and everyone is prepared for this.

Only by making them all feel incredible and unbelievable, can the Black Armor Army become the true "divine soldiers sent from heaven".

"Also, with his level of cultivation, it would be useless if we went with more people. On the contrary, it would make it more difficult to advance or retreat."

Dong Rui had another ominous premonition: "What do you mean?"

He Lingchuan pointed at himself, then at him: "How about just the two of us?"

"You keep making things difficult for yourself." Dong Rui smiled bitterly, "Can you pick a softer one? I think the other generals of Yao Kingdom are not bad either. Do you want to pick a few more to kill?"

"For example?"

"Uh..." How would he know? He was not familiar with Yao State.

"Xue Zongwu is different from others. Killing him has several benefits." He Lingchuan said, "It is good for the people, no need to elaborate. It can make the Black Armor Army famous in Yao Country, no need to elaborate. When the people of the Shining Gold Plain hear about it, they will truly respect the 'Nine Nether Emperor' from the bottom of their hearts. He is also the knife that King Yao wields at the surrounding forces, and it is the fastest and sharpest knife that can hit whatever it points to. If this knife is broken, the power of Yao Country will be affected."

"Secondly, he is also the general guarding the northern border of Yao State. With him in charge, the Luodian people in the north dare not harass the south. If he dies, the border issue will reappear. You also know the moral character of the Luodian people."

Dong Rui leaned on his head, tired of reading the information, and simply asked He Lingchuan directly: "Anything else?"

"Xue Zongwu was loyal to King Yao, so he had some unpleasantness with Qingyang. He was arrogant by nature, and Qingyang made him suffer a lot. He also used Xue Zongwu, King Yao's confidant and beloved general, to intimidate other ministers." He Lingchuan chuckled, "His death may cause some suspicion. After all, Xue Zongwu is not someone who can be killed by everyone."

"No matter what, what are you going to do?" Dong Rui rubbed his face, "Do we have an insider in Xue Zongwu's army? How can we know his whereabouts?"

"It's not difficult to determine his whereabouts." He Lingchuan had already prepared a plan. He stood up and opened the sand table. "He will definitely attend the birthday ceremony of King Yao."

"That's an opportunity. How do you know when he set out and where he passed by?"

"This man is ambitious and loves pomp and circumstance. The military guard of honor will escort him to Jiangwang Pass and then return to the northern border." He Lingchuan pointed at the sand table. "The road is so grand that even a blind man would not lose sight of him. But starting from Jiangwang Pass, well, this is also the rule of Yao State. The vassal general can only bring 200 elite soldiers through the pass to the capital."

Without the king's order, a general cannot lead the army back to the capital without permission. This is an iron rule in every country.

If he rashly led his army back to the capital, it would definitely cause suspicion from the superiors and shake the government and the public. Therefore, when Xue Zongwu returned to the capital, the number of guards around him was limited, which was a good opportunity for He Lingchuan.

"It's more than 320 miles from Jiangwang Pass to the capital." He Lingchuan said seriously, "This 300 miles is the area where we will attack."

Xue Zongwu left his own territory and rushed back to the capital, which was like a tiger leaving the mountains. There must have been gaps in his own security.

"Where were we then?" Dong Rui reminded him, "We also have to go to Yao Kingdom to celebrate your birthday. Didn't that guy named Fan say before that he wants to go with you? Oh, and King Yao has also sent you additional guards!"

"If we calculate the day of our journey well, we may be able to get close to Xue Zongwu on the way." He Lingchuan did not keep him in suspense and revealed the answer directly, "His journey is longer than ours. We will leave after he sets off."

(End of this chapter)