Eternal Night

Chapter 559 Rebellion
"They're back!? They're really back!?"

In the heart of the most powerful dynasty in the world, a group of people who held the highest power in the empire were trembling, including even the empire's master... or at least the nominal master.

Emperor Zhao Gou was trembling as if he had the late stages of Parkinson's disease, but no one mocked him, and no one commented on the emperor's appearance at this time, because with very few exceptions, almost all the ministers were in the same state.

"What should we do? What should we do? They're back, they're back at this time?" Zhao Gou said, his voice trembling with tears.

Only Zong Ze, the Grand Councilor of State and Military Affairs, roared, "Where is the Imperial Censor?!"

The ministers were jolted awake, their eyes lighting up as they all looked at Zong Ze. Zhao Gou's eyes were practically glowing, and he almost jumped off his throne. He immediately cried out to Zong Ze, "Rulin, save me! Rulin, save me!"

Zong Ze, his face ashen, cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, do not panic. Immortal Wu never kills innocent people. We have done our best to govern the country, reclaim land, relieve disaster victims, and bring peace to the world. Although Yang Zhewan and other former members of the Immortal Island were assassinated in Yangzhou, this was the work of traitors. We have a clear conscience. We have come to this, we have come to this!”

The ministers all bowed their heads, each cursing the idiots and morons in their hearts.

Zong Ze was naturally not afraid. He had survived the Great Purge unscathed, and everyone knew that he and Wu Pifu had a relationship... no, they were friends.

Wu Pifu was enraged. They were all in danger, but Zong Ze could simply be replaced by a different emperor. Now he was making these sarcastic remarks, talking about not killing innocent people, as if all the Confucian scholars who mourned back then deserved to die...

Just then, a round of applause rang out in the hall. Everyone was startled and lowered their heads, no longer daring to look or think. With the applause, a few people in the hall who looked up saw a person rushing towards them from afar, like a thunderbolt across the sky, arriving at the entrance of the hall in the blink of an eye.

"well said."

Wu Pifu clapped his hands lightly and said, "I am a very reasonable person and I am not one to kill indiscriminately. As long as you are in the right, I will stand up for you no matter what grievances you have suffered. I have also heard about the specific situation. It seems that there has been a rebellion in Yangzhou and several surrounding prefectures, as well as some port cities, such as Quanzhou Port? Is that right?"

Emperor Zhao Gou was initially terrified, his face turning deathly pale. But after hearing Wu Pifu's words, a sliver of color returned to him, and he immediately roared in a shrill voice, "Immortal, please forgive me! That is indeed the case! That is indeed the case! Those people from all the southern coastal prefectures deserve to die! They all deserve to die!"

Wu Pifu ignored Zhao Gou and simply looked at Zong Ze, saying, "Tell me the specifics."

Zong Ze's face darkened, but he immediately cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Wu, this matter is indeed caused by Mr. Yang Zhewan's excessive radicalism. He personally presided over the major land reform, which should have been carried out gradually, but he was extremely radical. In the Tokyo Circuit alone, he killed more than a thousand wealthy households and dismissed and executed thousands of officials. Moreover, he even went so far as to clean up the national treasury and granaries at this time. This is truly, truly..."

Wu Pifu said "Oh," and then asked, "So, is there a rebellion in the Tokyo area?"

Zong Ze was about to continue complaining, but Wu Pifu's interruption made him unable to continue. He could only mutter, "No, that's not the case. After all, the prefectures of Tokyo Circuit are heavily armed, and the Bianliang Imperial Guard can suppress them at any time. Moreover, Mr. Wu's prestige makes the villains dare not act recklessly, so naturally there has been no rebellion. But what should the officials and wealthy families in other prefectures and circuits do in the face of this situation?"

Wu Pifu said thoughtfully, "That's right. I've said several times that I want to wipe out the demons of the world, but I've been delayed by one thing or another. If I kill too few, people in remote states won't believe me. They'll think it's just hearsay. Indeed, you're right. It's my problem. I've killed too few."

Zong Ze was dumbfounded. He immediately said, "No, sir, that's not what I meant..."

Wu Pifu waved his hand and said, "No, you are right. I have also inquired about the situation. I came here just to confirm that you did not cause any trouble. It is true that the coastal states colluded with foreign supernatural beings, and local tyrants and officials colluded with each other, which is why they rebelled. This has nothing to do with you. Don't worry, I will not hold a grudge against you."

Almost all the ministers exhaled at the same time. Each person's voice was very soft, but together they created a loud, unified exhale. Zhao Gou's face visibly flushed, and he laughed heartily, "Immortal, you are wise! Immortal, you are wise! Since I heard your teachings, I am now wholeheartedly devoted to the people. Any imperial edicts that infringe upon the interests of the working people are now sent to Mr. Yang Zhewan for decision. I will certainly not fail your teachings!"

According to Wu Pifu's super brain perception, Zhao Gou actually really thought and did this, without the slightest bit of malice. He truly regarded himself as a human seal called the emperor, and he really did pick up the ancient sages, especially Mencius's books, to study diligently every day. This... he's going to become a model of a wise ruler?
As for the ministers present, they had a lot of affairs involving male thievery and female prostitution, and they had also embezzled public funds, but they had never actually harmed the people. Moreover, in terms of the scale of their corruption and embezzlement... at least in the Song Dynasty, they were only slightly worse than being completely incorruptible.

In this situation, Wu Pifu really couldn't make a move. He nodded to Zhao Gou and the officials in the hall, then looked at Zong Ze and said, "Zong Ze, don't worry, I'll go to the coast and kill them all. I'll wipe out all the rebellious officials, gentry, local tyrants, and wealthy merchants, along with their backers, their children, and their connections. It won't cause any problems for the court."

Zong Ze was dumbfounded. The surrounding ministers, now free from the fear of being killed, were also dumbfounded. They opened their mouths wide, each wanting to ask: would killing them all leave no aftereffects?
Before they could speak, Wu Pifu turned and left the main hall. Then, he soared into the sky and instantly flew thousands of meters away, heading towards his residence.

"...This, this." Zong Ze was already somewhat at a loss. He shouted urgently, "Mr. Wu, Immortal Wu, this is unacceptable! Killing them all is really, really..." Unfortunately, Wu Pifu could no longer "hear" him at this moment. However, a minister said to the bureaucrat of the same faction beside him, "Immortal's actions... don't seem so wrong, do they?"

The bureaucrat beside him seemed to have some wisdom, and immediately smiled and replied in a low voice, "It's not just that there's nothing that can't be done; if we could really kill them all, it wouldn't just be a matter of having no aftereffects. It would directly extend our country's lifespan by at least a hundred years!"

"We... can have a prosperous New Year now."

However, some officials turned pale and began to tremble again.

Because their ancestral home was in those coastal areas, their disciples, sons, and families were closely connected with the rebels, and even... their families might exist among the rebels.

Wu Pifu didn't care about any of that. He returned to his residence and said something to Huang Rong. Huang Rong, always eager to stir up trouble, insisted on going with him. Zhao Fubao also wanted to go, but firstly, she was afraid of war because she knew Wu Pifu was going to fight, and secondly, she didn't dare to be disrespectful in front of Huang Rong. So she could only smile and lower her head.

And so, Wu Pifu, carrying Huang Rong, soared into the sky. Witnessed by everyone in Bianliang City, it truly looked like an immortal had appeared out of nowhere... Although there was no immortal aura, a thunderous sound rang out in the air, followed by visible ripples in the air that impacted the surroundings. Wu Pifu had already gone far away, and this spectacle was not much less impressive than the so-called immortal aura.

Meanwhile, in Jiangdu City of Yangzhou, nearly 50,000 troops outside the city were deploying to bombard the city walls with catapults and crossbows, while only 10,000 troops were defending the city walls. Soldiers were frequently wounded and fell to the ground, and morale continued to decline. Some soldiers were already glancing around at their comrades with shifty eyes.

Inside the Jiangdu City Lord's mansion, Qin Hui paced anxiously back and forth, saying as he walked, "Why haven't reinforcements arrived yet? Ten days have passed. Could it be that Mr. Hader harbors a personal grudge against Mr. Yang?"

Nearly ten days had passed since Yang Zhewan's assassination, and Qin Hui immediately knew that something terrible had happened. He hurriedly dispatched over a hundred cavalrymen to send an urgent military dispatch to Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital.

At this time in the Song Dynasty, Yang Zhewan presided over the land and tax reforms of the entire Song Dynasty, including measuring fields, investigating granaries, warehouses, land, taxes, official corruption, local gentry and local tyrants, etc., while Khadyev presided over the military reforms of the Song Dynasty, including elite troops, training, military system, weapons, logistics, etc.

Thanks to this, Yang Zhewan and Hadeyev have both established Level 3 shelters and become extraordinary individuals.

However, this assassination attempt came suddenly, and the assassins were a group of more than thirty people from the Song Dynasty's superhuman realm, as well as from the Arab world and the even more distant Qin Dynasty. So even though Yang Zhewan was already a superhuman and had a large army protecting him, he was still seriously injured. Although he did not die, he fell into a coma.

Subsequently, the coastal states launched a rebellion, forming armies from all directions, claiming they would purge the court of corrupt officials and kill the sorcerer (Wu Pifu). Jiangdu City was besieged five days ago, but the expected new army of Hadev was still nowhere to be seen.

Qin Hui was a typical scholar of the Song Dynasty and a typical political figure. He was naturally good at political affairs, and his forte was judging people and currying favor with his superiors. As for choosing sides in politics, he was a master at it. However... he was no good at fighting!
Just as Qin Hui was becoming increasingly anxious, the sky in the distance suddenly turned dark, with flashes of dark red lightning. Even from a distance, Qin Hui could vaguely hear wails and groans.

"It's over! Another blood sacrifice, the superhumans are going to join the battle!" Qin Hui was shocked. He rushed to the outside of the mansion and looked up at the sky. The more he looked, the uglier his face became.

The 10,000-strong personal guard that once protected him and Yang Zhewan were newly trained troops trained by Hadyev. They fought to the death and had incredibly high morale. Now, however, there are less than 4,000 left. They are mixed with the original garrison of Jiangdu, barely numbering 10,000, and that is how they managed to defend the capital of Yangzhou.

The massacre of thousands of new soldiers was a blood sacrifice orchestrated by both native Song Dynasty superhumans and overseas superhumans. This broke the army's morale and caused the army to fall. Just when Jiangdu was on the verge of collapse, these superhumans launched another blood sacrifice...

Is Heaven determined to destroy Qin Hui?

He finally managed to befriend an immortal, does that mean he has no chance of achieving immortality and ascending to the celestial realm?

Just as Qin Hui was in despair, a ripple in the air suddenly exploded in the sky, and he saw a figure rushing straight towards the distant Yin Thunder area.

Before he could get a good look, a huge tiger's roar came from the distant area of ​​dark thunder. The dark clouds and thunder that covered half of the sky suddenly exploded, and a white mist like a pillar of heaven shot into the sky, straight up to the ninth heaven.

Qin Hui suddenly laughed.

An immortal has arrived!
(End of this chapter)