Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 446: Aren’t you being too extreme? _1
Everywhere, incomplete and rotten human parts, seared by intense heat, littered the ground. The pervading stench made many soldiers queasy, yet they all endured it.
"Spare those who surrender! Drop your weapons and crouch with your heads in your hands!" a multitude of soldiers shouted.
One by one, the Hu Lu tribespeople threw down their weapons and crouched, heads in hands. The scene was simply too horrifying. A deafening explosion, followed by a fierce gust of wind, and then people were not just torn apart but also cooked. A single wave of bombing silenced all who resisted. The next step was to process the surrender.
"Find a guide to lead us," Wang Linchi said calmly. They were heading to the Imperial Court and definitely needed a guide rather than flying there themselves, lest they go astray.
Upon receiving the order, Li Zheng immediately entered the Hu Lu Tribe with the Imperial Guards to select someone. When selecting, they were to look for those who were spineless and had exploitable weaknesses. If anyone refused, their entire family would be killed as a threat. As long as they had wives, children, parents, or friends, there was no concern about non-compliance. After coercion, some benefits would be offered, such as better living conditions.
It was well known that the Hu Lu lived harsh lives. As a nomadic people, their agriculture was underdeveloped and their livestock rearing limited. They also faced heavy exploitation from their own Northern Royal Court, especially regarding conscription. Otherwise, where would the Northern Royal Court find the troops for the annual southward raids for grain? Besides, Dajing was no pushover. If Dajing truly allowed southern raids for grain without resistance, why stop at raiding? Why not just occupy Dajing entirely? In reality, every raid for grain incurred enormous losses; sometimes, fewer than one in ten returned. Yet, they had no choice but to continue, or they would starve.
"Sir, the guide is here," Li Zheng quickly returned, bringing a woman with him.
"A Dajing person who was captured?" Wang Linchi asked, sizing her up. The woman's expression was a mixture of madness and elation; she had clearly been abducted during one of the raids for grain.
"Yes, Sir! I know the location of the Imperial Court!" the woman declared without hesitation.
Her past must have been incredibly harsh, Wang Linchi thought, but that doesn't concern me. All I care about is reaching the Imperial Court.
"Good," Wang Linchi promised. "As long as you lead us to the Imperial Court, I can grant you one reasonable request." Since she sought revenge, offering a reward was essential. Otherwise, how could they ensure her dedicated cooperation?
"I want to castrate all the royalty of the Imperial Court," she said, her voice thick with hatred.
Wang Linchi was momentarily speechless. "Your technique isn't quite up to par; castration can easily lead to death. Why don't you torture them first? Then, when we get back, I'll let you watch the 'Nine Clans Elimination Game' or the Khan's entire family perform a cross-dressing dance," he suggested diplomatically.
The woman stared, stunned. She hadn't expected Wang Linchi to be even more ruthless than she was. She merely wanted to castrate them, but Wang Linchi planned to humiliate the Khan so profoundly it would likely make him die of shame. A thrill coursed through her; this was the true feeling of revenge.
"I want the Khan's entire family to dance in flimsy gauze! And I want them to dance in public for everyone to see!!" The woman felt she needed to be even more brutal.
"Ah? Men and women both?" Wang Linchi was taken aback.
"Yes! Let everyone see their hideous state! It would be best if they could tour the entire Jing State," she exclaimed, growing more excited.
She's completely unhinged, Wang Linchi thought. "I'll try my best..." he said, unable to fully commit to such an outlandish request.
"Sir, when do we leave for the Imperial Court?" The woman was already impatient.
"Let me see... Old Li, arrange a room for this brave woman and let her rest for a bit." Wang Linchi was finding her intensity a bit much and wanted to prevent her from taking matters into her own hands immediately.
Seeing this, Li Zheng quickly had someone lead her away to get settled.
"Every year, at least several thousand Dajing people are abducted. She's just one of them," Li Zheng stated.
"Where do you think these Hu Lu invaders come in from?" Wang Linchi asked. Dajing had border outposts and the Great Wall to defend against the Hu Lu. Theoretically, the cavalry of the Northern Royal Court shouldn't be able to pass through.
"It can only be the Great Families. Who else could it be?" Li Zheng replied. "Whether it's South Zhang North Kong or the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes, the North is a Cornucopia to them. They merely need to send provisions and military-standard equipment to the north to reap profits hundreds of times over. Who wouldn't be tempted? Even members of the Royal Family are involved in this trade. That's why many are unwilling to see the Southern Liu Kou and Northern Hu Lu exterminated; instead, they prefer them to grow stronger."
As an Imperial Guard, Li Zheng had seen much and didn't hide anything from Wang Linchi. "However, the Great Families are already deeply intertwined with Dajing, like flesh and bone. Trying to remove them would only severely cripple Dajing."
"So, if we want to reshape the world, we need a secure environment. At the very least, we must ensure there are no enemies around," Wang Linchi said. He didn't actually entertain this notion; he was merely stating a hypothetical. "Do you remember why I chose to become a Spirit Master?" he asked again.
Li Zheng chuckled. "Of course. It was because your clinic couldn't survive and was eventually driven to bankruptcy by clinics backed by the Great Families."
"You see, a Great Family needs only to open a single shop and, through its influence, can easily monopolize an entire industry. In Baihe County, only Huichun Hall and Shunmin Hall likely remain. And that's just the Great Families within a single county. Larger Great Families can join forces, their combined influence easily controlling government Officials and rendering the Court powerless. In more extreme cases, the Court Officials are their puppets. So how do ordinary people survive?" Wang Linchi continued, answering his own question, "Naturally, by selling themselves into servitude."
"Next comes raising private armies and hoarding armor. You should understand what follows that. Even if you don't, you should know about the assassination attempt on me, right?" Wang Linchi said calmly.
"Rebellion..." Li Zheng whispered. This topic was indeed unsuitable for public discussion.
Wang Linchi, however, was unconcerned. He was neither favored by the Great Families nor from one of them, so he was indifferent to what they said. "No, they won't rebel. You've missed a step," Wang Linchi corrected, then pointed towards the Hu Lu Tribe. "They will first weaken Dajing and support its enemies. Otherwise, why haven't the Southern Liu Kou and Northern Hu Lu been dealt with after all these years? It's precisely because there are people within our own ranks undermining our efforts and secretly funding the enemy. Otherwise, given their standard of living, could they truly withstand Dajing's military might?"
As he spoke, Wang Linchi picked up a spear, detached the spearhead, and asked, "Does this look familiar?"
"A spearhead from the Ministry of Works," Li Zheng remarked after a closer look. "It just lacks the Court's insignia and has been slightly modified."
"Incorrect," Wang Linchi stated. "It's not from the Ministry of Works. It was forged using Dajing craftsmanship. The Hu Lu can't produce something like this. Besides the Ministry of Works, who else do you think could manufacture military armaments of this quality?"
A chill ran down Li Zheng's spine, but he said nothing. It has to be the Great Families, he thought. They have their people in the Ministry of Works. Otherwise, who else could secretly transport military armaments to the northern Hu Lu?
"That's why I believe someone will start trying to hinder us very soon," Wang Linchi continued. "With me away from the Capital, some will dare to feign compliance while acting defiantly." He had a clear grasp of their mentality. Even if the Great Families hadn't thought that far ahead, the fact that Wang Linchi's annihilation of the Hu Lu would sever their revenue stream was tantamount to killing their parents. They wouldn't have dared act when he was present, but now, things were uncertain.
"But... with His Majesty here, nothing will go wrong," Li Zheng said, though his confidence wavered. He finally understood why the hundred-thousand-strong army sent south had been deadlocked for so long. When the army is mobilized, the Great Families can profit by supporting the Liu Kou, earning handsomely. The longer the war dragged on, the more the Great Families earned. Therefore, they would never allow the Court to truly eradicate the Liu Kou and the Hu Lu. They would undoubtedly try to sabotage their progress.
At this thought, cold sweat beaded on Li Zheng's forehead. Emperor Jing could indeed keep them in check, but he couldn't fight against such a powerful prevailing trend.
"Yes, His Majesty can indeed hold them off," Wang Linchi affirmed. "So we have three days. We must take their Imperial Court and give them no chance to react. By then, the outcome will be decided. Unless the Great Families openly rebel, they can only watch helplessly as the Khan dances." He smiled.
"Sabotage? By the time they begin their attempts, we will have already won the war. What good will it do then? They'll just end up looking like fools." If Wang Linchi hadn't planned to leverage the situation to save costs and time, he would have dealt with them directly already.
