The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

However, Liu Guodong clearly underestimated Su Che's abilities. Su Che directly ordered his men to surround and wipe out Liu Guodong's entire family. Moreover, Su Che already knew that Liu Guodong had connections with the Gao family of the Tianming Empire.

The Gao family—that's the kind of family Su Che hates deeply!

......

It was late at night, but the lights were still on in Su Che's study.

Su Che stood by the window, watching Liu Guodong being arrested and brought to justice, and then looked at the sparse lights outside the city.

He stroked a warm, smooth jade pendant in his hand; it was a "token of love" given to him by Lin Chu in his previous life, and now it only felt ironic.

The sound of a wooden clapper came from outside the window; it was past midnight.

"Sir, you should rest now." Zhao Jianing walked in carrying a scroll of documents and gently advised Su Che when he saw him still standing.

"I can't sleep." Su Che turned around, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on his face. "The news from Xiao Pan's side should have spread by now, right?"

"Judging by their pace, the first batch of refugees should arrive by noon tomorrow at the latest. I never expected Lin Chu to trust Gao Tianci so much! We've been away from Tianming for so long, and I never imagined that Gao Tianci would have left the northern border of Tianming in such a state. Exorbitant taxes and levies have left the people homeless and starving."

Zhao Jianing put down the document, which was a secret report sent back by Pang Xiaopan from the border three days ago: "The storybooks and nursery rhymes we distributed in advance have gone viral in several prefectures and counties in the northern border of Tianming. Coupled with the 30% 'suppression tax' imposed by Gao Tianci... the people's resentment is like dry tinder."

"Fortunately, we received the news in advance and took countermeasures," Zhao Jianing said.

When Su Che saw the message, he realized that although he was in Jiangqiong, he was still a part of Tianming.

Seeing news of people being displaced and homeless still moves me somewhat.

"Mr. Su, the best thing I've ever done in my life was following you. Although I had some doubts when you wanted to leave Tianming, in the long run, you were right."

A cold smile appeared on Su Che's lips: "We've endured for so long, and now it seems Yun Jin has become a qualified empress. It's time to collect some interest on our grudge from Tianming!"

Add fuel to the fire, then send a message to the spies on the border to add fuel to the fire. Say, "Jiang Qiong, Bei Lan City, open the granaries and distribute grain. All refugees who fled at dawn will be allocated land and exempted from taxes for three years."

Zhao Jianing's pupils contracted slightly: "Sir, isn't this price too high? Although Beilan's granaries are abundant, if too many come..."

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub." Su Che walked back behind his desk and sat down, tapping the tabletop lightly with his fingertips.

"What I want is not a few hundred or a few thousand refugees, but the complete loss of popular support in the three prefectures and twenty-eight counties of Tianming's northern border. The more Gao Tianci blocks the border, the more the people want to escape. The more they escape, the more troops they will send to suppress them. Once the vicious cycle starts, it cannot be stopped."

He looked up at Zhao Jianing, his gaze like a deep pool: "Jianing, do you know why the downfall of dynasties throughout history often began with refugees?"

"Due to famine? Due to tyranny?"

"Because of hope," Su Che said slowly.

"When people can only wait to die in their hometowns, but hear that there is a way to survive elsewhere, even if that way is separated by mountains of knives and seas of fire, they will vote with their feet. What we need to do is to make that way look easier to walk."

Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

"Report—" A guard knelt on one knee outside the door, his voice panting, "The Bureau of Civil Affairs has discovered more than a dozen Tianming civilians at Shili Pavilion outside the city! They've brought their families, saying... saying they've come to seek refuge with the Jiangqiong Empire!"

Su Che and Zhao Jianing exchanged a glance.

It came faster than expected.

Su Che quickly sent someone to inform Yun Jin, and after explaining some things to Yun Jin, the group rushed to Beilan City overnight.

"Mr. Su, it seems that the time is almost here for me to fulfill my promise regarding our deal from back then..." Yun Jin said in a low voice.

......

As dawn broke, Su Che was already standing on the arrow tower of the north gate of Beilan City.

The morning mist was thick, but the black dot that was moving slowly at the end of the official road could still be seen.

Not a dozen or so, but at least fifty or sixty people.

Men, women, and children, supporting the elderly and leading the young, some pushing wheelbarrows piled with tattered cotton wadding and earthenware jars.

Many more people carried burdens and staggered along.

At the front were an elderly couple; the old man was leaning on a tree branch, and the old woman was supporting him. They had to stop to catch their breath every few steps.

In the middle was a woman holding a child, who was only two or three years old. The child was lying on his mother's shoulder, not crying or making a fuss, but just staring with wide eyes at the city wall that was getting closer and closer.

"Open the city gates," Su Che ordered.

"Sir, should we conduct a search first?" The city guard hesitated. "What if there are spies among them..."

"A spy wouldn't bring an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child." Su Che's gaze swept across the crowd.

"Besides, even if they were, it would be easier to catch them if they were released into the city. If they are locked outside, they would become Gao Tianci's excuse to send troops to 'bring them back'."

The city gate slowly opened with a heavy creak.

The refugees were stunned; they seemed not to have expected the city gates to be opened so readily.

After a brief silence, the elderly couple suddenly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly towards the city gate.

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency! Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency!"

The crying seemed contagious, and suppressed sobs rose one after another from the crowd.

They fled throughout Tianming territory, witnessing countless closed city gates and cold arrows, and some even died at the hands of border guards.

This open city gate was the first ray of light they had seen in three months.

Su Che walked down the city wall, with Zhao Jianing following closely behind.

The refugees were led into a makeshift soup kitchen inside the barbican. When the steaming millet porridge was brought out, many people stared in disbelief.

The soldiers in charge of distributing porridge shouted, "Line up! Everyone gets some! The princess has ordered that all who come are subjects of Jiang Qiong, and there's plenty to eat!"

Su Che did not approach, but stood at a distance and watched.

Zhao Jianing said in a low voice, "I've already asked a few people, and they all came from Yong'an County in the northern border of Tianming."

In order to raise enough money for Gao Tianci's "bandit suppression tax", the local magistrate led his troops to seize the seeds and grain for spring planting, and forcibly conscripted laborers to build some kind of "Tianci Stele".

Of the more than 300 people in their village, over 30 starved to death, and the rest... all fled.

"Yong'an County is more than 400 li from here," Su Che calculated. "Those who can get here are all strong and healthy. The old, weak, women and children probably died on the way."

"Yes. The oldest in this group is sixty-two, the youngest is three, and there are only about twenty able-bodied people. When asked how they got here, they only said... they ate tree bark and grass roots along the way, and drank water from ditches when they were thirsty." Zhao Jianing's voice was somewhat deep.

"There was a woman who carried her feverish child for three days. The child didn't make it through last night and was buried this morning about five miles outside the city. She was afraid we would consider it bad luck and not let her into the city, so she didn't dare tell anyone."

Su Che remained silent for a moment, then suddenly walked towards the soup kitchen.

The crowd fell silent instantly, all eyes focused on the young man in his blue uniform, whose demeanor was completely different from the soldiers around him.

Su Che walked up to the elderly couple who had knelt down first and squatted down.

"Old man, how long did it take to travel from the nearest border post in Tianming to this Beilan City?"

The old man's hands trembled as he held the broken bowl, and his lips trembled as he couldn't utter a word.

The old woman answered in a trembling voice, "One month and seven days... Sir, we are not spies, we just... we just want a way to survive..."

"I know," Su Che said softly. "Have you encountered any Ming soldiers blocking your way along the way?"

"Yes! Yes!" The old man suddenly became excited, spilling some of the porridge in his bowl.

"Once you cross the Zhuoshui River, there are soldiers guarding it. They say the Empress has decreed that anyone who leaves the pass without permission will be considered a traitor and will be killed without exception! In our village, Wang Laowu's family had two members killed by arrows while crossing the river... their bodies are still floating on the riverbank!"

Suppressed sobs could be heard from all around.