Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 69: If they live, Shaanxi will die.

What?! Why take nine out of ten counties?!
Upon hearing the emperor's words, Sun Chuanting was stunned.

The main problem was that, in Sun Chuanting's view, the emperor's words were simply too shocking.

This was a hundred times more horrifying than when he asked himself yesterday whether his royal family members should be killed.

No wonder Sun Chuanting lost his composure like that.

He had previously heard that His Majesty had started a massacre upon arriving at Tongguan, but he hadn't thought much of it.

Sun Chuanting also felt at the time that His Majesty's move might be intended to make an example of someone.

but now.

Sun Chuanting realized that he had greatly underestimated the ruthlessness of the new emperor.

Of the thirty counties under Xi'an Prefecture, only one in ten remained.

In that case, tens of thousands of people would die in this massacre!

Even if Emperor Taizu had acted in this way, he would have been lying low for months or even years before launching a thunderous attack.

Your Majesty, he has only been in Shaanxi for two days!
Sun Chuanting's breathing became rapid, and he couldn't help but look up at the emperor in front of him.

The young emperor's face always seemed to wear an unchanging expression; you could never glean any insight into his true feelings.

Sun Chuanting's voice trembled slightly: "Your Majesty, isn't selecting nine out of ten a bit too harsh?"

In response to Sun Chuanting's question, Zhu Youjian asked calmly, "Sun Chuanting, what was the purpose of your journey all the way to Shaanxi?"

Upon hearing the Emperor's question, Sun Chuanting hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, I see that the people in Shaanxi are suffering terribly and wish to save them from their misery."

"If those people live, Shaanxi will die."

For Zhu Youjian, this kind of massacre was nothing.

What? Tens of thousands of people died?
What about yesterday?

But Zhu Youjian in this life also understands.

Not everyone has the experience of surviving a meat grinder-like battlefield.

Therefore, if you want to motivate people, you still need to explain some things to your subordinates.

As soon as these words fell.

Sun Chuanting indeed fell into deep thought.

He pondered deeply last night and has figured out what methods His Majesty intends to use to save Shaanxi.

The land was reshuffled, and the farmland that had been seized by the gentry and wealthy families was redistributed to the people.

Only in this way can the entire Shaanxi province be truly revitalized, rather than merely reducing the number of people who starve to death.

However, the gentry and wealthy families would certainly try every means to stop this move.

After all, no one would stand by and watch their property be confiscated by the public.

In this situation, the most efficient way is to kill them.

Without any explanation or trial, they were simply killed.

Can the current emperor really execute all these people with a single word?
The answer is yes.

Sun Chuanting knew that Shaanxi was not as wealthy as the Jiangnan region.

If you want to implement something like equal distribution of land there.

It's just starting to take shape.

Those powerful and wealthy families who could afford to spend hundreds of millions of taels of silver to build gardens dared to unite and rebel.

But Shaanxi is different.

No vested interest group dared to openly defy imperial power here, because their power was not strong enough.

Moreover, the Emperor's arrival in Shaanxi to provide disaster relief and his mandatory order for local officials to provide aid to the victims had already won him the hearts of the people.

They had all the advantages: favorable timing, geographical location, and popular support.

Now, it all depends on whether I dare to accept this job.

Sun Chuanting had never killed anyone with his own hands, so he had an instinctive fear of it.

But in times of fear.

He couldn't help but think of the displaced people in Yan'an Prefecture, who were neither human nor ghost, frantically fighting over the corpses.

After a struggle, Sun Chuanting gritted his teeth and replied, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Seeing Sun Chuanting's resolute expression, Zhu Youjian nodded, indicating that he could go and carry out his mission.

Half an hour later.

Sun Chuanting led a contingent of the Divine Might Battalion's personal guards to the county town closest to Tongguan. Upon hearing of the imperial envoy's arrival, the local magistrate hurriedly led a group of officials out of the city to greet him.

Facing a group of menacing black-clad guards carrying the imperial banner, the magistrate knelt down in fear, kowtowing and trembling as he said:

"Your Excellency, I have gathered all the refugees in the suburbs in accordance with the imperial decree, and they are ready for Your Excellency's inspection at any time."

Facing the seemingly humble county magistrate kneeling on the ground, Sun Chuanting glanced at him indifferently, the emperor's words echoing in his mind.

If these people live, Shaanxi will die.

If these people had taken even the slightest measure to save lives and provide disaster relief earlier, would the situation in Shaanxi have deteriorated to this point?
Think of this.

Without further hesitation, Sun Chuanting jumped off his horse, drew his sword, and thrust it straight into the official's chest and abdomen.

"Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy?!" The county magistrate was stunned by the sudden thrust of a sword.

However, the tip of the sword was stuck in the twisted clothes and could not pierce the flesh directly.

Seeing this, a guard from the Divine Might Battalion handed over a cleaver, saying, "Ahem, Lord Sun, use this, it works well."

"Spare me! Spare me, Your Honor!" The magistrate was so frightened by this action that he cried out for his parents and retreated backward on all fours.

The other officials buried their heads in the ground, afraid of attracting unnecessary attention at such a time.

Without saying a word, Sun Chuanting threw down his sword, picked up the cleaver, and then used all his strength to slash at the magistrate's neck.

This time, there were no further surprises.

Sun Chuanting swung his sword wildly, as if he wanted to vent all the horrors he had witnessed in Shaanxi over the past few days.

The magistrate was hacked to pieces of varying sizes, and even the cleaver in his hand began to develop large nicks and slits.

Sun Chuanting then stopped what he was doing and stood with his hand on his knife.

Today he realized a truth: a knife is more useful than a sword.

He was breathing heavily, and his body was trembling violently.

But Sun Chuanting was surprised to find that his brain did not seem to be very afraid of this kind of thing.

On the contrary, his thinking seemed to have become clearer.

He was still unsettled after leaving His Majesty's side, and then he had to ride a horse all the way.

Sun Chuanting didn't really have time to think too much about it.

Only now did he begin to ponder the deeper meaning behind His Majesty's decision to kill nine out of ten.

It goes without saying that this was to force officials and gentry to hand over their land.

The most important thing is.

Killing nine out of ten will maximally crush the will to resist the united efforts of the counties in other prefectures.

The message was sent out.

They would fight to the death for that one chance to survive.

Sun Chuanting, who was nearing forty, understood instantly.

The Emperor assigned me this task not only to free up some of my time for other things, but also to test my abilities.

After all, for the emperor, killing these people was just a matter of a word; he didn't need to do it himself.

A subtle understanding developed between the emperor and his ministers.

Sun Chuanting wiped the blood from his face, his gaze hardening.

Facing the Divine Might Battalion guards who were wreaking havoc, he calmly gave the order:
"After dealing with these people, immediately come with me to the border counties within Xi'an Prefecture."

there.

This will allow the message to reach other state capitals more effectively.

After a day of constant running around.

Sun Chuanting had just barely managed to deal with the officials and gentry of five counties.

but.

He cleverly chose the one out of the five that best suited the resettlement of disaster victims.

Then, in front of a group of refugees, he praised the local officials.

After doing this.

Sun Chuanting did not allow the refugees from these five counties to rest any longer.

After giving them enough food, they were sent back to their hometowns immediately.

Nothing spreads the message better than these firsthand accounts from displaced people.

(End of this chapter)