The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Upon hearing Wang Wen's menacing military order, Zhao Dadan instinctively tensed up, gripped the tiger tally tightly, and loudly replied, "This subordinate obeys!"

Xu Wu, standing to the side, looked at him as if he were a club!
Do you understand the military order? Then you will obey.

Wang Wen also had this doubt and loudly questioned, "Repeat the military order."

Zhao Dadan: "Immediately prepare provisions and lead two thousand militiamen to march south to Hangzhou tomorrow. We will confiscate the property of the Prince of Ning, the Prince of Nanyang, the Qian family of Lin'an Hall, the Wang family of Jinma Hall, and the Hong family of Jinshu Hall, leaving no one alive. The General will also allocate five hundred elite Demon-Suppressing Guards and two hundred naval troops to accompany us and provide support!"

"very good!"

Wang Wen waved his hand: "Go ahead and do it. Don't have any doubts. If the sky falls, I, Wang Wen, will hold it up. As long as I live, no one can judge you!"

This is why he admires Zhao Dadan.

Compared to his childhood friends Xu Wu and Chen Feng, Zhao Dadan was a true veteran of the military, and he understood better what it meant for military orders to be absolute.

And this guy really did rebel...

Zhao Dadan bowed his head: "Please, General, await my report of victory!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode away.

Xu Wu watched his departing figure, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back.

He is talkative and thoughtful, but he knows when to speak and what not to say.

For example, right now, he knows that what his older brother needs isn't just someone to whisper in his ear and correct his mistakes, but someone to sharpen his knife and carry his pot...

So he swallowed the words of advice to his elder brother to "think twice before acting," and instead said, "Where is Ma Feng!"

Ma Feng once again passed through the wall and entered, clasping his hands in greeting: "Your subordinate is here!"

Xu Wu: "Immediately dispatch two hundred underworld messengers to Hangzhou to keep a close watch on the Ning Prince's Mansion, the Nanyang Prince's Mansion, the Qian family of Lin'an Hall, the Wang family of Jinma Hall, and the Hong family of Jinshu Hall day and night. They must wait for my royal army to arrive and guide my royal army, ensuring that no one escapes... You will personally lead the team to handle this matter."

Ma Feng glanced at Wang Wen, who stood expressionless and silent in the hall, and said with his hands at his sides, "This subordinate obeys!"

Wang Wen took a token from the desk and tossed it to Ma Feng: "I suspect those five families must have some tough opponents. If you encounter a strong enemy, take this token and go to Taihu Lake to seek help from the Taihu Corpse King Zhi Baiqing... Listen carefully, I want those five families to die openly and honorably, and I want the whole world to know why they died!"

Ma Feng bowed without hesitation, hands clasped: "I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into golden light and emerged through the wall.

Xu Wu secretly observed his elder brother's expression out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that his brother still had a stern face and his expression had not softened at all, Xu Wu knew that the five families probably could not quell his brother's anger.

He dared not ask any more questions, and looked out into the hall: "Come in, all of you!"

A group of generals' camp commanders, dressed in black casual uniforms, filed into the main hall and greeted the general with clasped hands, saying, "Greetings, General!"

"Effective immediately..."

Wang Wenlian lost all interest in the usual greetings and pleasantries, and went straight to the point: "The Demon-Suppressing Guards under the Huainan Demon-Suppressing General's Office have been divided into smaller units and dispatched to various prefectures, counties, and towns in Huainan and Jiangnan to supervise the disaster relief efforts of local officials, gentry, and merchants."

"Those who try to raise prices arbitrarily or take advantage of the chaos will be killed!"

"Those who hold positions without doing their jobs and stand idly by, kill them!"

"Those who fan the flames and incite unrest, kill them!"

"Regardless of rank or social status, human or demon, anyone who violates this law will be executed immediately!"

"I grant you the right to open the granaries and distribute grain!"

"I grant you the right to establish your own government and military headquarters on this very spot!"

"I grant you the power to temporarily assume military and political authority over a region!"

"Others may not care about the lives of these millions of people, but we will!"

"Others dare not offend those powerful and influential figures, but we do!"

"We will stop the natural and man-made disasters that others cannot stop..."

"Tell the brothers below for me: go ahead and do what they think is right and good. If the sky falls, I, Wang Wen, will hold it up; if the whole world is against us, I, Wang Wen, will shoulder the burden!"

He was so angry that his face was contorted with rage, his facial muscles twitching violently as he spoke, and spittle flying everywhere, but his eyes remained steadfast and unwavering throughout.

At the height of his excitement, he slammed his hand on the table, shattering it, and roared, "I'm going to test just how deep the waters of the Great Zhou are! I'll see if they can drown me, Wang Wen, and the two thousand five hundred upright heroes of the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion!"

His roar echoed repeatedly in the empty hall, like a raging fire thrown into a pile of dry wood. A raging fire suddenly ignited in the hearts of the officers and soldiers below, burning their faces red and making them breathe heavily like cattle drinking water.

They all know...

They knew what the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion had been busy with these days.

They also knew that their general had been begging and pleading with officials, gentry, and merchants like a grandson, asking them to show leniency and spare the lives of the disaster victims.

Honestly, this was more frustrating for these tough guys than grabbing them by the collar and slapping them dozens of times across the face.

They can do these things.

But the general cannot!

But they were powerless to do anything...

The tables have turned, and now it's finally their turn to shine!

The officers trembled with excitement, crossed their hands, and roared in response: "Your subordinate obeys!"

Wang Wen stared wide-eyed, raised his hand and waved his sleeve, and a huge map of Huainan and Jiangnan appeared like a projection in the direction of the gate.

"Xie Zhixuan, your unit will be stationed in Suzhou, and you will also command Xuzhou, Bozhou, Sizhou, Haozhou, and Shouzhou!"

Xie Zhixuan stepped forward: "Here you are!"

...It was late at night, but the Qian family ancestral estate in Lin'an Hall, Hangzhou, was still brightly lit...

A group of charming maids dressed in light clothing flitted about like butterflies in a row in a magnificent lakeside mansion, adorned with flowers. They took turns serving dishes of delicious delicacies, while removing untouched leftovers.

Several elderly men with white hair and beards and slender figures sat cross-legged on a brocade couch, their hands, with nails as long as a zombie's, leaning against the thighs of young, beautiful, and plump maids. Each old man was surrounded by several charming maids who served him. They would glance at the dishes on the table, and immediately a charming maid would use ivory chopsticks to pick up the most exquisite part of the dish from the plate, place it on a small plate, and gently bring it to the old man's mouth.

The rare bighead carp, which is over two feet long, is only cut into a coin-sized piece of soft flesh under its gills, and then the whole fish is removed.

A small bowl of seemingly ordinary vermicelli is actually made with top-quality Lanling duck, black-boned chicken, pork, beef and mutton bones, countless dried seafood, and a few rare herbs to create a rich broth. The broth is made by simmering shark fin, and you eat the shark fin; the rest is just soup residue.

But even such exquisite and extravagant dishes were merely optional garnishes at the banquet; no elderly person's gaze lingered on them for more than two seconds.

"...In my opinion, we might as well give that down-on-his-luck fellow a few more sweet treats, at least to maintain appearances."

The discussion had been going on for a long time, but no consensus had been reached.

Just then, an old man wearing a thin silk robe with four-clawed dragon patterns, with sparse hair and beard and a sallow complexion, frowned slightly and said softly, "Otherwise, given that little rascal's eagerness for quick success and instant benefits, I'm afraid he might do something desperate!"

"Prince Ning's words are not without their wisdom and prudence, but I fear that the little rascal is like a dog, unaware of the value of money. Rather than repeatedly giving him handouts only to have him turn against us in the end, it would be better to cut off his hopes of taking advantage of us from the start. When he can no longer bear it, we can then step in to help him, and perhaps we can even forge a good relationship... Prince Ning, a bowl of rice is a kindness, but a bushel of rice can breed resentment!"

An elderly man with a slightly plump figure and a ruddy complexion replied in a deep voice.

The sallow-faced old man frowned slightly, remaining noncommittal.

“Brother Wang is right, but Lord Wang must not forget that although that down-and-out is born in the Year of the Dog, he has the teeth of a wolf cub. He even killed the young emperor. Once we push him too far, he will be driven to desperation and who can control him?”

"Brother Hong, you are mistaken. Everyone has desires, whether for fame or profit. Even if that down-and-out man is reckless and doesn't care about anything, he still has desires. We just need to avoid his sharp edge and address his symptoms, and we won't have to worry about not being able to control him..."

"I agree with Elder Qian's opinion. Observing that scoundrel's actions, he seems to be hypocritical, but in reality he is trying to win people's hearts and secretly harboring great ambitions. Since he is fond of fame, we will use this as a breakthrough point to praise him to death... Doesn't he want to be a saint? Let us make him a righteous and incorruptible saint who is not of this world!"

"Brother Wang's words coincide with mine. Such hypocrites are the easiest to deal with... Even if Wang Erhu wanted to rebel, could he do so without our help? In my opinion, his request for grain is a pretense; his real intention is to establish a relationship with us. Is he desperate? Let's give him a second chance!"

Just then, a crisp sound, like silver beads falling onto a jade plate, rang out as the tea lid tapped against the teacup. The old men, who had been chatting amongst themselves, all fell silent and looked at the thin old man in the main seat who was drinking tea with his head down.

This thin old man was Qian Yijian, the patriarch of the Qian clan of Lin'an Hall.

The Qian family of Jiangnan are descendants of Qian Liu, the King of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. When Guo Rong, the founding emperor of the current dynasty, unified the country, the Qian family voluntarily surrendered their territory to the Zhou dynasty and received several royal titles. They also spread and multiplied in Jiangnan, with dozens of branches. Their profound heritage is comparable to that of the Wang and Ma families!

Qian Yijian's branch is a direct descendant of Qian Liu, the Prince of Wusu. They have lived in Lin'an, Hangzhou for generations and are the most prestigious and influential family in Hangzhou.

Even the Ningwang branch, which was a vassal king of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Nanyang branch, which was also a descendant of King Wusu Qian Liu, were subordinate to the Lin'an Hall Qian family after they voluntarily returned their fiefs, retaining only their royal titles and moving their families to Hangzhou.

Qian Yijian took a sip of tea, then turned his head as if to spit it out. A young and beautiful maid, who was kneeling beside the brocade couch and wearing only a pink mandarin duck-patterned bodice, immediately stepped forward, lowered her eyes, and opened her cherry-like mouth...

A maid stepped forward and gently wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, then helped him sit up.

"The insightful opinions of you wise men are all reasonable and logical. We may as well learn from each other's strengths and make up for our weaknesses by adopting a two-pronged approach."

Qian Yijian lowered his eyes and said slowly and softly, “On the one hand, he would give that little tiger a few treats every now and then, so as not to drive the hungry dog ​​into a dead end; on the other hand, he mobilized all the virtuous people in the family to praise his merits and put him on a pedestal.”

"As the saying goes, 'A fine jade doesn't clash with an earthenware pot.' You gentlemen are all descendants of distinguished families, seeking lasting prosperity. Why bother competing with such a short-lived, aggressive, and impoverished person?"

"When the heavens are arrogant, rain is sure to follow; when people are arrogant, disaster is sure to follow. Let's see what happens to him in thirty years!"

The elderly men exchanged glances silently, some in agreement, others in displeasure.

But after a moment, the elders bowed and smiled, saying, "Brother Boyue, your insight is brilliant!"

"At this critical moment, it is still Brother Boyue who needs to take charge of the overall situation..."

"In that case, my Wang family will contact that impoverished household and give him 100,000 shi of grain at market price!"

"Old Master Wang is truly a man of great wisdom and cunning, but... surely it can't be at the market price in Yangzhou?"

"Brother Hong is too kind. It is naturally priced at the market price in Hangzhou!"

"That's good then. The Hong family will take the lead in boasting about our achievements. We've recently recruited a few impoverished scholars, so we can use this opportunity to promote them to official positions..."

"Lord Hong has indeed killed two birds with one stone!"

"Please excuse my poor performance..."

"Gentlemen, let us drink this cup together and wish Jiangnan a hundred years of peace, prosperity, and lasting stability."

"Haha, kind words, sir..."

Amidst a burst of hearty laughter, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the study, interspersed with some suggestive and embarrassing music.

Just then, in the lotus pond outside the hermitage, two ghost messengers were desperately dragging a ghost messenger who was brandishing a knife and struggling.

The ghost guard brandishing his sword roared angrily in a low voice, "Don't stop me! Let me rush in and kill these bastards! If the General wants to kill or torture me, I, Zhao Laosan, will take it all!"

The other two ghost messengers earnestly advised in low voices, "A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan!"

"Don't do anything reckless. Have you thought about what will happen to the General and the millions of disaster victims in Jiangnan if you kill these old dogs?"

Upon hearing this, the ghostly guard with the raised sword wished he could turn around and use his sword to stab ten or eight holes in his two comrades: "Are you two deaf? Can't you hear what they're saying about the General?"

"I'm not deaf. If brute force were useful, I'd charge ahead of you faster!"

"You think you're the only one who's not afraid of death? I once single-handedly took on ten monsters with just my sword, and I didn't even blink!"

The ghostly guard, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace, looked left and right, before finally throwing down his sword in frustration: "What a shitty world!"

The two ghost guards who were holding him breathed a sigh of relief and slowly released him.

"Do you think the General doesn't know what kind of bastards these are? The General has no choice..."

"Even if we can't help the General, we absolutely must not cause him any trouble..."

The ghostly guard, brandishing his sword, looked disdainfully at his two comrades: "Do you need to chime in? I'm just feeling aggrieved for the General!" (End of Chapter)