Scourge Messenger

Chapter 255 Only Extermination

How did Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Zhaolie restore the dynasty?
As a unified dynasty that stood for more than two thousand years until it disintegrated three hundred years ago, the three kingdoms in the Central Plains were still under the influence of the Great Xuan Dynasty in every aspect. The Liang Kingdom even considered itself the legitimate successor of the Great Xuan Dynasty and denounced the Qi and Zhou Kingdoms as barbarians.

Studying the culture and history of the Great Xuan Dynasty is a basic skill for scholars and literati. For example, Ying Rushi spent a lot of time studying the history of the evolution of basic tokens during the Later Xuan period. He found that the folk customs of different regions were closely related to the tokens that were popular locally. If the defensive tokens were excellent, the people would be fierce; if the offensive tokens were easy to obtain, everyone would be in danger.

Even such a niche perspective has attracted researchers; naturally, the key historical periods of the reigns of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Zhaolie, and the restoration of the Great Xuan Dynasty, have long been discussed to death. Any random student from the academy could answer the question about Ying Le with great eloquence, let alone a renowned scholar of Confucian classics and Grand Tutor Yuan Shizhou.
However, Yuan Shizhou remained silent for a long time.

Ying Le was very patient, twirling and playing with her long hair with her fingers. Her long, smooth legs lay on the throne, gently rubbing against each other, making a sound that stirred the heart and soul. But none of the court officials dared to raise their heads, as if the person lying on the throne was not a stunning beauty, but a ferocious and brutal monster.

"I have heard that Emperor Guangwu's greatest achievement was resisting the tyranny of the usurper Xuan; and Emperor Zhaolie's greatest accomplishment was pacifying the chaos caused by the eunuchs of the Later Xuan." Yuan Shizhou removed his crown, knelt down, and bowed his head, saying, "If the country is in turmoil, it will surely be because of the incompetence of his ministers, who hold their positions without doing their jobs and are incapable of shouldering great responsibilities. This old minister is frail and old, and I fear that I will harm the affairs of the country. I beg to retire and make way for virtuous officials. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request."

"Grand Tutor, you flatter me," Ying Le said with a smile. "As a third-level messenger, you are at the height of your power. How can you talk about decline? Besides, what you said is only the cause of the turmoil, not the source of the revival. Please answer again."

After a brief silence, Yuan Shizhou continued, "The reason why Emperor Guangwu restored the Xuan Dynasty was that he had fought in hundreds of battles and never suffered a defeat, and the world submitted to him and dared not disobey. The reason why Emperor Zhaolie restored the Xuan Dynasty three times was that his benevolence and righteousness were unparalleled and heroes followed him, and his power extended throughout the land and the people were devoted to him. If Your Majesty were to attack Liang and Zhou, we, your ministers, would be willing to exert all our strength to assist in this great undertaking, so that our achievements could rival those of the divine Zhou and surpass those of the prosperous Xuan Dynasty."

Ying Le shook his head and sighed, "The former Divine Martial Emperor, with his sixth level of cultivation, was awe-inspiring throughout the world. Even the Northern True Man could not achieve what he had accomplished. How could I possibly do it? In the end, it was nothing more than the shedding of a million lives and the world in mourning. None of the three kingdoms could do anything to the others. The Grand Tutor's words merely stated the achievements of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Zhaolie, but did not explain how they achieved them. Please answer again."

Now that things had come to this, Ying Ru could easily tell that Ying Le hadn't asked the question to hear the correct answer, but rather to get Yuan Shizhou to give her the 'answer' she wanted.

Yuan Shizhou was also quite sensible. He thought Ying Le wanted to get rid of him, so he immediately resigned and stepped down to give way to a more capable person.
Then, thinking that Ying Le wanted to take away their aristocratic family's wealth, they offered up their family fortune to show their loyalty under the pretext of conquest.

The former represents power, the latter represents profit. Ying Le doesn't want either. What does she really want?
Yuan Shizhou's body trembled slightly as he knelt on the ground, remaining silent. Suddenly, the sound of orderly footsteps echoed outside the hall. As the sound grew closer, the faces of the court officials grew increasingly pale, and some even collapsed to the ground, unable to stand up.

The demon warriors entered the hall. Apart from Yuan Shizhou, who stepped forward to pay his respects, all the other officials were flanked by two warriors on either side. Their murderous intent was like a venomous snake, slithering over everyone in the hall.

“I never imagined that the Grand Tutor could be so slow-witted.” Ying Le clapped his hands. “However, I believe that as long as you see these ‘clues,’ you will definitely be able to answer the question correctly.”

As the demon warrior led a group of people out of the rear hall, Yuan Shizhou broke down, unable to contain his emotions any longer. His eyes widened in fury as he roared at the Qi emperor, "Ying Le, you can't... My family is innocent! I, Yuan Shizhou, will bear all the consequences! You can't... you can't do this..." His voice nearly choked with sobs as he pressed his forehead to the ground, screaming, "Please, have mercy... let them go..."

"Grandpa, Qian'er is so scared!"

"Father, stand up! There are no cowards in the Yuan family! Don't you understand yet? Ying Le, that tyrant, is determined to exterminate our entire clan. Begging her is useless! The Yuan bloodline is spread throughout the Central Plains. We may die, but the Yuan clan will never be wiped out!"

"Master, you must at least save Zhen'er and Qian'er's lives! They can't be harmed!"

"Father, save me! I don't want to die!"

The group of people escorted out by the demon warriors were Yuan Shizhou's relatives. Their hands were bound with hemp ropes, and some cried out, some roared, and some begged for mercy, making the hall noisy with all sorts of sounds.

Ying Le watched this scene with a smile, completely unconcerned about being scolded, as if she were watching an amusing farce. On the contrary, the Yuan family members only dared to speak to Yuan Shizhou from beginning to end. At this moment, Ying Le seemed to be an outsider; no one dared to look at her, and no one dared to criticize her.

"Your Majesty," Yuan Shizhou took a deep breath and shouted, "What exactly do you want this old minister to do? What exactly do you want the Yuan family to do?!"

"This is not the answer I wanted to hear, Grand Tutor." Ying Le's right hand blazed with flames. "It seems the 'clues' are not 'obvious' enough." With a flick of his right hand, flames bound Yuan Shizhou's grandson, Yuan Qian, like ropes, suspending him in mid-air to burn. The hall was instantly torn apart by the child's agonizing screams. The flames did not engulf Yuan Qian, but rather began to burn slowly from the soles of his feet, flesh, bones, and nerves. Within a few breaths, Yuan Qian fainted from the pain, only to quickly revive, tormented beyond endurance.

"Father-in-law, father-in-law, I beg you, please save Qian'er!" Yuan Shizhou's wife knelt on the ground, crying and kowtowing until her head bled. She cried her heart out: "Qian'er is your favorite grandson!"

"Father," Yuan Shizhou's son said, biting his lip until it bled, "Ying Le, that tyrant... Ying Le, you will die a horrible death! The entire Ying family are beasts, bastards! If you have the guts, kill us!"

As for Yuan Shizhou's wife, she had already fallen into a coma.

Yuan Shizhou's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched, his teeth seemingly grinding to powder, and his voice sounded like a curse emanating from the depths of his soul: "Your Majesty!"

“I am not in a hurry. I still have many clues that I can slowly hint at to you, Grand Tutor,” Ying Le said leisurely. “I believe that you, Grand Tutor, definitely know the answer.”

At this moment, the hoarse wailing stopped abruptly, and a charred corpse, with only the upper half remaining, fell onto the hall, without even a drop of blood flowing out.

“Burning from the bottom up still kills people too quickly,” Ying Le said calmly. “This time, let’s try burning the limbs first and save the organs for last.”

"Father-in-law!"

"master!"

"Ying Le, you bitch—"

"Your Majesty," Yuan Shizhou suddenly calmed down, stood up and said, "I ask Your Majesty to grant this old minister a request."

"Yes." Ying Le agreed without even asking what it was about.

"Thank you Lord for your grace."

Yuan Shizhou let out a long sigh, turned around, and bowed deeply to the other officials, his face full of apology. He looked at the languidly beautiful woman on the throne and bowed, asking, "How did Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Zhaolie restore the dynasty?"

"Prosperity lies in aristocratic families, prosperity in great clans! All the world's resources originate from secret realms, and these secret realms are controlled by aristocratic families and great clans. To control a great clan is to control a secret realm!"

Ying Le asked, "The Great Qi was founded on the military achievements of its northern border. If it wishes to prevent the demise of the past, what advice does the Grand Tutor have for me?"

Yuan Shizhou: "The only solution is to exterminate all the powerful and influential families."

Ying Le laughed heartily and pointed at him: "Good, we'll do as you say!"

(End of this chapter)