Chapter 585
Chapter 585
“Give us our money back! Give us our money back!”
Thousands of young men had surrounded Prince Ning Zheng’s Marquis of Changping Estate, leaving no room to escape. Of course, they all knew that Shen Lang hadn’t kept a single gold coin, having given it all to the King for military expenses and even adding some of his own. But did they care about such things? Besides, with the scions of most of the State of Yue’s powerful families gathered here, would the King really dare to arrest them? The law doesn’t punish a crowd.
They didn’t dare to storm the Marquis of Changping’s Estate, so they just shouted from outside. They also filed complaints against Shen Lang for defrauding them, reporting the incident to the Ping’an and Wannian county offices, as well as the Tianyue Central Command. Of course, such a messy case would never receive a proper verdict even if they sued. These sons of noble families had nothing but time on their hands, so they surrounded the Marquis of Changping’s Estate every day, their curses growing fouler by the minute.
“Shen Lang, may the son you father be born without an asshole!”
“Shen Lang, you swindled us! You won’t die a peaceful death!”
“Shen Lang, if you needed money, you could have just made the women in your house sell their bodies! Why did you have to cheat us out of our money?”
Despite them surrounding his estate and spewing profanities, Shen Lang didn't even get angry. The King, however, was the first to fly into a rage, ordering the Imperial Guard to drive them away. After all, the King was the one who ultimately received the money; Shen Lang had merely collected it on his behalf. But too many people were involved, and money had been taken from too many families, so the King felt a twinge of guilt. He only had them chased away, not arrested. In the end, Shen Lang declined the King's goodwill and decided to handle the matter himself.
***
“Waaaah!”
Shen Lang’s precious daughter was crying her heart out. She was usually a very quiet baby and rarely cried, but it was so noisy outside that she couldn’t sleep, and she finally burst into tears. At first, the noble scions had been cautious with their insults, but when neither the King nor Shen Lang reacted, they assumed Shen Lang had a guilty conscience.
‘He swindled so much money from us, of course he’s feeling the heat. We represent most of the powerful families in the State of Yue. No matter how capable Shen Lang is, would he dare to make an enemy of all of us?’
Soon, their curses grew louder and more unspeakable. They felt their numbers were too few for effective cursing, and besides, they were all pampered youths. The effects of the Golden Dragon’s blood had already worn off, returning their bodies to their former useless state, so they didn't even have the strength to curse properly. Eventually, they started hiring ruffians to do the cursing for them. Most ruffians didn’t dare to curse Shen Lang, but the noble scions were offering generous sums of money, and it was a good opportunity to curry favor with them. Moreover, this time, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were backing them. So, some of the bolder ruffians took the money, covered their faces, and cursed on behalf of the noble scions.
When Shen Lang still showed no reaction, they grew bolder, and more and more ruffians joined the cursing ranks. In the end, the crowd surrounding the Marquis of Changping’s Estate swelled to five thousand people. They hurled vile insults day and night, making it impossible for the baby, Shen Mi, to sleep. She was terrified. Eventually, they became even more audacious and started flinging feces into the Marquis of Changping’s Estate. In an instant, a foul stench filled the entire estate.
Shen Lang held Shen Mi, gently soothing her.
“Don’t be scared, little one, don’t be scared!”
The baby was crying so hard she was convulsing. Bing’er took her and began to breastfeed her, which finally calmed her down a little.
“My lord, send in the soldiers!” Bing’er said, filled with fury.
Shen Lang replied, “Soon, soon.”
Prince Ning Zheng would soon finish his work at the commandery. The joint training of the capital’s garrison was about to conclude. Everything had an order, and that order had to be precise. The most important thing was for Ning Zheng to gain complete control over the twenty thousand garrison soldiers. Only then could he deal with the ruffians in the capital. Operation Spring Thunder—that was the codename for the operation to restore order to the capital and sweep away all the troublemakers.
The reason for this unprecedentedly forceful crackdown on troublemakers was that desperate times called for harsh laws. In a few days, the grand army would march south to the battlefront of the Southern Ou Kingdom, and a war that could shake the nation to its core was about to erupt. For that, a more stable domestic environment was needed. Therefore, they would use this opportunity to launch a surprisingly large-scale cleanup operation, rounding up all the ruffians, thugs, and villains who had plagued the capital for some time, and eradicating all those who committed evil deeds.
The secret decree the King gave Ning Zheng contained only a single number.
What did it mean? It meant that a total of three thousand people could be sentenced to the ultimate punishment according to the law. In fact, the King and Ning Zheng had wanted to spare their lives, sending them into exile for a lifetime of hard labor instead. But the Great Heavenly Ritual had been an unprecedented success, and these ruffians were practically asking for death. On top of that, the sons of powerful families were causing a commotion, which truly enraged the King.
‘I may not be able to touch you powerful families, but I can certainly deal with the ruffians you’ve hired.’
Furthermore, some of the noble scions from these powerful families were not entirely innocent themselves, being intricately involved with the leaders of the capital's underworld organizations. Thus, when Operation Spring Thunder was launched, the fire would inevitably reach them. This cleanup operation would be used as a pretext to capture a whole bunch of them and execute them without mercy. In other words, it was a strategy to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, and this operation had to be kept absolutely secret. Not even the Blackwater Terrace was involved; only Lü Jun had discussed the operation with Ning Zheng.
The most direct result of the unprecedented success of the Great Heavenly Ritual was that the capital’s garrison pledged their loyalty much more quickly. Ning Zheng's joint training had been quite effective, merging the Nirvana Army with the garrison. The integration of the two forces had not been fast, but after the effects of the Great Heavenly Ritual were maximized, Ning Zheng's reputation as one chosen by the heavens spread. While this rumor had a limited impact on the middle and upper echelons, it had a profound effect on the garrison troops under Ning Zheng's command. This was because only two thousand soldiers from the capital’s garrison had participated in the Great Heavenly Ritual, but what they witnessed firsthand left them deeply shaken, and the news spread from them to the rest of the garrison.
Gou Duhuan, the Ten Lan Brothers, and especially the crazed Lan, used this opportunity to relentlessly indoctrinate the garrison. Thanks to this, the joint training, which was originally supposed to take several months, was completed in just one month while the soldiers' morale was at its peak. Although still in the preliminary stages, Ning Zheng had gained control of the garrison, and this army now obeyed the commands of the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng.
***
At that moment, the thousand-odd noble scions and several thousand local ruffians had no idea that their deaths were imminent. They continued to surround the Marquis of Changping’s Estate at all hours, cursing Shen Lang’s ancestors eighteen generations back. They threw feces, then stones, their methods growing more and more intense. All that was left was to set the place on fire.
Meanwhile, in the Beiyuan Hunting Grounds, the final group of garrison soldiers finished their joint training and held their graduation ceremony. A full twenty thousand garrison soldiers stood in orderly ranks on the training grounds. They were a little surprised and puzzled.
‘The end of joint training isn’t such a big deal, so why did everyone have to assemble? Is something big about to happen?’
Everything that followed confirmed their suspicions. Carts rolled onto the training grounds one after another, carrying armor and weapons. They hadn't worn armor during the joint training. Now that they were being fully equipped, they were clearly about to undertake a major task. A short while later, the Fifth Prince and Admiral of Tianyue, His Highness Ning Zheng, appeared in full armor. Gou Duhuan, though still a Chiliarch, had served as the chief training officer for this joint exercise.
“Don your armor!”
At his command, twenty thousand garrison soldiers suited up in an orderly fashion.
“Draw your swords!”
“Take up your bows!”
Following each command, the garrison became fully armed, not even a tooth visible. Then, the King’s trusted eunuch, Grand Eunuch Lü Jun, appeared.
“A decree from His Majesty. All kneel!”
Everyone present knelt, though their armor only allowed them to go down on one knee.
“Of late, unrest has plagued the capital, and the people have not known peace. Lawless, rampant, and tyrannical individuals have repeatedly violated the laws of the nation, committing deeds that make one’s blood run cold. To stabilize the nation and ensure that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, We have decided to carry out Operation Spring Thunder to sweep away all lawbreakers in the capital. This operation shall be handled with utmost severity. Regardless of who is involved, there will be no leniency! We hereby appoint Marquis of Changping, Ning Zheng, as the commander responsible for executing Operation Spring Thunder. By Imperial Decree!”
Ning Zheng kowtowed and said, “This servant accepts the decree!”
A shiver ran through all the garrison soldiers. They had been right; a major operation was indeed about to unfold. Ning Zheng accepted the decree, mounted his warhorse, and commanded in a loud voice, “Grand army, advance on the capital!”
At his command, twenty thousand fully armed garrison soldiers marched majestically out of the Beiyuan Hunting Grounds and headed for the capital. Operation Spring Thunder had officially begun. An unprecedented great sweep of the criminal underworld was about to commence.
***
To calm his precious daughter, Shen Lang carried the baby down to the cellar. Here, the sounds of cursing from outside were almost inaudible. In the dim light, the baby’s ears perked up, and her eyes widened with utter delight. The wife of Sword King Li Qianqiu was singing. Her voice was so beautiful, and every song she sang touched the heart. She adored children and desperately longed to have one of her own. Although her loneliness sickness was cured, her skin had not yet fully recovered. Worried that she might still have some unclean spots, she yearned to hold the baby but didn’t dare. So, she sang to the baby instead, and the baby loved every song she sang.
“Giggle.”
Whenever a cheerful part of the song came, Shen Mi would giggle and even clap her chubby little hands. Bing’er was amazed.
“Aunty, you’re incredible. Our baby always has such a solemn expression and rarely ever smiles.”
It was true; Shen Mi was quite a serious baby and didn't laugh easily. Shen Lang would often make funny faces to try and make her laugh, but the baby would just stare at him with wide, curious eyes, never cracking a smile. She would even give him a suspicious look.
‘What is Father doing?’
But when the Sword King’s wife, Lady Qiu, sang a fun nursery rhyme, this solemn and serious baby actually laughed. Hearing the baby’s laughter, the Sword King’s wife felt her heart melt. She sang nursery rhyme after nursery rhyme, and it was a mystery where she had learned so many delightful songs. The baby listened to the songs, laughed, and opened her mouth as if to sing along, but since she couldn't speak yet, only gurgling sounds came out.