The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

Within the capital, a climate of fear and unease prevailed.

The once bustling street is now desolate, with every household's doors and windows tightly shut and no sign of human life.

"Rumble..."

The iron hooves trampled across the long street, their sound like muffled thunder.

A thousand Snow Dragon Riders, clad in silver armor, formed a white torrent of steel that swept through the silent capital.

Leading the group was Chen Baipao, who had no expression on his face.

Beside him, Qian Kun, the Vice Minister of Revenue, rode a small horse, his face ashen, constantly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

He was a death knell hanging over the heads of the traitors, the other end of which was also around his own neck.

Their first target was the residence of former Prime Minister Zhao Kang.

The vermilion gates of the Zhao residence were tightly shut, and the two stone lions in front of the gates still stood majestically, but inside the residence was already in complete chaos.

The snow dragon riders stopped in front of the mansion gate, and a chilling aura spread out.

Qian Kun steeled himself and stepped forward, shouting at the top of his lungs, "By order of the Ninth Prince, the residence of the traitor Zhao Kang is to be searched! Everyone inside, open the gates and surrender immediately, or you may be spared death!"

His voice was shrill with fear, sounding particularly jarring in the empty street.

From inside the door, a voice, aged yet full of vigor, came out; it was the old steward of the Zhao family.

Relying on his lifetime of service to the prime minister and his familiarity with high-ranking officials, he still acted arrogantly.

"Insolence! This is the residence of the current Prime Minister! Who are you people, daring to make a scene here! Without an imperial edict, without a document from the Secretariat, who dares to trespass! Do you intend to rebel?"

He tried to intimidate these soldiers by using Zhao Kang's past influence and so-called "rules".

"The Prime Minister's residence? Quite the boastful tone." A centurion of the Dragon Riders sneered, whispering to his comrade beside him, "Listen to this, daring to talk to us about rules. The rule of the Great Snow Dragon Riders is: quick swords and fast horses."

"That's right, we only follow His Highness's rules." Another soldier rubbed the dragon pattern on the hilt of his sword with his thumb, his voice low. "An hour later, there will be no more Prime Minister's residence in this capital, only the criminal property of the Zhao family's traitors."

"Documents from the Secretariat? Ha! By the time they finish writing the documents, the northern barbarians will have already stormed the palace." Another person interjected, "His Highness says to copy, so that's an imperial edict."

Chen Baipao sat upright on his horse, not even lifting his eyelids.

He didn't even bother to respond to such clamor.

He simply raised his right hand slightly and then waved it downwards.

A simple and efficient action.

A Snow Dragon Knight behind him understood and spurred his horse forward, not bothering with any kind of ramming board.

He leaped off his horse, raised his right foot, clad in an iron boot, and with all his might, slammed it hard against the vermilion gate.

"boom!"

A loud bang.

Those two doors, made of exquisite materials and incredibly heavy, were as flimsy as paper in the face of absolute power.

The bolt broke, and sawdust flew everywhere.

The two large doors collapsed inwards, burying the old butler who was still shouting behind them.

"Click..."

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible, and the butler's scream was quickly swallowed back down, and he fell silent.

Seeing this, the guards in the mansion and the assassins raised by Zhao Kang knew that things could not be resolved peacefully.

"Clang clang!"

The sound of weapons being drawn was incessant.

Dozens of guards formed a makeshift formation, armed with knives and spears, attempting a last-ditch effort.

A guard leader, his eyes bloodshot, roared hoarsely, "Avenge the Prime Minister! Fight them to the death! Killing one is enough, killing two is a bonus!"

Dozens of people shouted and, losing their minds, rushed towards the snow dragon riders at the door.

What awaited them was an overwhelming force.

The soldiers of the Great Snow Dragon Riders didn't even disperse; they simply drew their standard Northern Liang swords from their waists in perfect unison.

The blade is long and narrow, gleaming with a cold light in the sunlight.

"Pfft!"

A flash of light, and blood splattered.

The dozen or so guards at the front were cleanly and neatly cleaved in two, swords and all.

Hot blood splattered across the artificial hills and precious flowers in the courtyard, adding a bloody touch to this exquisite garden.

The guards behind were terrified by this bloody and cruel scene.

Their weapons clattered to the ground, and one by one they threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Sir, spare us! Sir, spare us! We were forced into this! It has nothing to do with us!"

Chen Baipao didn't even linger on the corpses and surrendered soldiers. He simply ordered in a calm tone: "Those who resist, kill without mercy. Those who surrender, tie them all up and imprison them for trial."

As soon as the order was given, soldiers stepped forward and used ropes to tie up the kneeling guards tightly.

"Boss, it's all cleaned up inside," a centurion reported.

"Proceed according to plan. Team one, search the treasury; team two, take control of the women in the inner quarters; team three, follow me." Chen Baipao gave the order and dismounted.

Subsequently, under Qian Kun's guidance, the soldiers charged straight in, rushing deep into the Zhao residence.

Qian Kun knew the Zhao residence's layout like the back of his hand. He led his soldiers to a rockery in the back garden and activated the secret passage mechanism.

A secret passage leading underground was revealed to everyone.

Inside the sealed room, the torchlight illuminated the scene.

Gold bricks and silver ingots were piled up like mountains, and boxes of jewelry and jade were neatly stacked, gleaming in the firelight.

"My God..." a young soldier couldn't help but exclaim, but was immediately stopped by the centurion beside him with a look.

"Shut up! Open your eyes! Don't let your eyes deceive you and make a mistake in the accounting!" the centurion hissed. "Has His Highness forgotten his rules? Not a single penny less!"

Even though Qian Kun was used to wealth, he was still dazzled by the overwhelming riches before him.

His breathing became heavy, his throat bobbed involuntarily, and his eyes were fixed on the treasure.

While everyone was counting their valuables and their attention was diverted, he secretly slipped a beautifully carved, high-quality mutton-fat jade pendant into his sleeve.

He thought his little trick was completely unnoticed.

He didn't notice that behind him, a Snow Dragon Knight who was registering people caught a glimpse of the unusual movement on his sleeve out of the corner of his eye.

But the soldier said nothing; he simply kept it in mind.

When all the valuables had been inventoried, packed into boxes, and loaded onto the truck, ready to be transported away...

The dragon knight walked up to Qian Kun, said nothing, and simply extended a hand.

Qian Kun's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat soaked his clothes.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Sir, what...what can I do for you? But...but is there something wrong with the accounts? Please tell me, and I will investigate thoroughly!"

The soldier finally spoke, his voice low but clear: "Minister Qian, hand over the goods. Don't make things difficult for the brothers."

As soon as he finished speaking, several dragon riders surrounded him, their gazes unfriendly.

"You're quite quick, Minister Qian."

"Have you ignored His Highness's rules?"

Seeing that he didn't move, the soldier raised his other hand and tapped Qian Kun's wide sleeve lightly with the scabbard of his sword.

"Thump, thump."

Two soft sounds, yet they struck Qian Kun's heart like heavy drumbeats.

Qian Kun broke out in a cold sweat, which soaked his back.

He knew he was finished.

His hands trembled as he pulled the still-warm jade pendant from his sleeve, his face deathly pale.

He remembered Su Zhe's orders.

Losing a penny means losing a finger.

He fell to his knees with a thud and slapped himself hard across the face with both hands.

"Slap! Slap!"

"I deserve to die! I was foolish for a moment! I was blinded by greed! I beg you, sir, spare my life! Please forgive me this time, sir, for I am still of great use! I will never dare to do it again!"

Chen Baipao came over upon hearing the sound.

He glanced at the valuable jade pendant on the ground, then at Qian Kun, who was weeping uncontrollably, and stated in a calm tone, "Minister Qian, have you forgotten His Highness's words?"

Qian Kun trembled and hurriedly kowtowed, "General, spare my life! This humble official... this humble official was bewitched! This humble official will never dare to do it again! Please, General, have mercy on His Highness, who still needs this humble official's services..."

"Your Highness's rules are the law," Chen Baipao interrupted his pleas for mercy.

He didn't say how he would deal with Qian Kun, but only asked a question in return.

"Will you chop it yourself, or should I help you?"

Under Chen Baipao's emotionless gaze, Qian Kun completely broke down.

He knew that today, that finger was definitely broken.

Doing it yourself might save your life.

If this killing god were to make a move, the loss would not be as simple as losing a single finger.

He cried out and finally picked up a short knife that the guard had dropped earlier, its blade still stained with blood.

He closed his eyes, his facial muscles contorted, and with all his might, he chopped down hard on his left little finger, which was lying on the ground!

"ah--!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the Zhao residence.

The intense pain nearly made him faint on the spot, and blood gushed out from the severed finger.

But this excruciating pain also completely extinguished any inappropriate thoughts he might have had.

In the subsequent raids on his home, Qian Kun devoted himself more diligently than anyone else.

He personally supervised and counted everything, checking even the smallest copper coin or grain of rice repeatedly.

The accounts were kept meticulously, with no room for concealment or omission, for fear of any further mishaps.

Within half a day, the property of more than ten traitors, led by Zhao Kang and Wang Su, and their associates was completely confiscated.

When the inventory results were presented to Su Zhe, even though he had expected it, he couldn't help but be surprised.

The gold and silver treasures were piled up like mountains, enough to support the army for several years.

More importantly, they also seized 200,000 shi of military rations, 50,000 jin of iron, and 3,000 cartloads of medicinal herbs!

They even had thousands of sets of standard armor and hundreds of powerful bows and crossbows hidden in their private collection!

These supplies exceeded the Ministry of Revenue's annual output.

These parasites that have taken hold of the Great Qian Dynasty have practically moved the entire national treasury into their own homes.

With this batch of supplies, the empty treasury of the capital was reversed, and the city's defenses were much stronger.

Su Zhe looked at the list, but his face didn't show much expression.

These things were exactly what he had expected.

He put down the list, his gaze passing over Qian Kun, whose face was deathly pale from the pain of his severed finger, and looked at Chen Baipao, who stood solemnly to the side, asking another question:

"Besides these gold and silver supplies, have you found any... special blueprints or letters?"