After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 546 - 540 Regret

Originally, Shi Le was listening intently, but his expression changed, and he put down his wine glass, suppressing his anger as he said, "Is Prince Wang trying to stir chaos in the Han Kingdom, to throw the entire world into turmoil?"

Wang Yan replied, "Why would the General say such a thing?"

He said, "I am genuinely considering the General’s interests. In the past, I was young and didn’t like to engage in politics, only wanting to avoid calamities for myself. But now, I truly wish to strategize for the General. Otherwise, why would I make so many suggestions?"

Shi Le became even more infuriated. He was once a person of the Jin State. Though he was Jiehu, he was born in Shangdang, where his family, from grandfather to father, were minor tribal chiefs. He, too, was once the future heir of the tribe, living a tranquil life with the villagers in shared farming, albeit poor but harmonious.

Because he was robust and daring from a young age, the villagers relied on him, and even the local Han landlords treated him with respect. Later, during the Bingzhou famine, he got separated from his family and had to go out to seek shelter with relatives, but was captured and sold by soldiers along the way, turning from a citizen to a slave!

If not for the negligence of people like Wang Yan, how would he end up struggling to survive as a slave?

If officials fail, then so do the people.

The more Shi Le thought about it, the more upset he became, his expression growing increasingly grim. He directly smashed the wine glass on the table and exclaimed, "Your reputation is known across the world, you hold a high position, and were entrusted by the court from a young age, all the way until now with greying hair, yet claim you do not engage in court politics! It’s evident, disrupting the world is truly your fault!"

Shi Le stopped drinking and directly ordered Wang Yan to be taken away.

Wang Yan’s face changed. He was always clever and shrewd, otherwise, he wouldn’t have, upon seeing the young Shi Le, immediately determined he could become a national threat;

Nor would he, upon meeting Zhao Hanzhang, think she could achieve greatness in the future;

Nor would he have thought out the plan of having three safe havens to prolong his and Mrs. Wang’s lives before the country completely descended into chaos.

At this moment, he also realized Shi Le’s murderous intent. Although chilled and frightened, he knew there was no use in pleading, so he sighed and followed the soldiers out.

Back in the confinement room, he sighed quietly, "Alas, a life spent evading disasters, yet ultimately the actions to avoid them brought the greatest calamity."

The Jin Minister imprisoned with him remained silent.

He lamented, "Even if we aren’t as wise as the ancients, had we not just blindly pursued superficial glamor and frivolity, but worked diligently to uphold the nation, perhaps we wouldn’t be in today’s predicament."

Finally, a Jin Minister couldn’t help but speak up, "Wasn’t this trend started by the Grand Commandant?"

Wang Yan fell into silence, sighing as he awaited death.

Someone noticed his unusual behavior and furrowed their brows, "With your expertise as Grand Commandant, convincing Shi Le to spare your life shouldn’t be difficult, so why has Prince Wang embraced a death wish?"

Wang Yan: "It’s not that I want to die, but rather that I must die."

He paused, still frowning slightly, "My death is due to my reckless words, but as for you all, you might just escape this misfortune."

Shi Le had once considered sparing them, hoping to employ them for his own use, but Wang Yan’s words earlier made Shi Le think that employing him would cause more harm than good, fearing he might create unrest for him and the world.

Nonetheless, Wang Yan had a keen eye and great talent, so despite his murderous intent, Shi Le hesitated, thus asking his strategist Sun Chang, "Should this person live?"

He said, "I’ve traveled the world for many years, and I’ve never seen such a person."

Sun Chang said, "He’s a senior official of the Jin State Court; even if our lord spares him, he would never serve us wholeheartedly. His attitude towards the Jin State has already shown, much less towards our lord?"

He said, "Killing him is no great loss."

Shi Le remained silent for a moment and sighed gently, "But don’t use a blade against him, let it be—leave him a complete corpse."

Thus, they took out the Jin Ministers imprisoned with Wang Yan and pushed the wall over, burying him and Prince Xiangyang alive, crushing them to death.

The other Jin Ministers and Jin dynasty heirs weren’t as "fortunate," as Shi Le thought about Zhao Hanzhang’s army arriving soon; he really didn’t want to fight her.

Fighting must yield benefits.

What point is there in fighting now?

These Jin Ministers aren’t worth it, but since he neither wants to release them nor fight Zhao Hanzhang for them, he simply decided to kill them all. When Zhao Hanzhang arrives and sees the bodies, she will naturally withdraw her troops.

Thus, Shi Le gave the order, and the Jin dynasty heirs, officials, and aristocratic gentlemen he had been detaining were massacred. The next morning, they broke camp and left, leaving behind a field of corpses.

Seeing things go awry, Xun Xiu immediately led his men to pursue them, his eyes widening at the sight.

"This, this, how did they all get killed?"

Weren’t they just supposed to kill Wang Yan?

When Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Erlang arrived, Xun Xiu had already collected the bodies. Without coffins, he could only find a few empty houses to place them in, laying mats on the ground. Wang Yan and Prince Xiangyang’s corpses were also found and placed separately.

Zhao Hanzhang had predicted as much, even having orchestrated some of the events, yet upon seeing so many corpses, she couldn’t help but fall silent.

She examined them one by one, finally sighing, "Bury them on site, we can’t let them be exposed to the wilderness."

"Yes."

Xun Xiu asked, "General, are we going back now?"

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and said, "Why go back? You chase Shi Le."

Xun Xiu’s eyes widened, "Why pursue him now?"

He said, "With no Jin Minister left in Shi Le’s army, if we engage in battle with him now, it’ll result in mutual destruction, right?"

"I told you to follow him, not engage in battle," Zhao Hanzhang said. "Follow him from afar, let him know you’re there, but stay out of reach. Be cautious en route, avoid being ambushed."

"What does the General mean?"

"Luoyang is too poor, I want to visit southern Bingzhou. Wang Mi has amassed considerable wealth over the years; Shi Le’s money is hard to seize, but with Wang Mi dead, it’s still worth trying."

Moreover, Zhao Hanzhang dispatched people to find the retreated Qihu Army, calling them back to serve as her backup, preventing the Xianbei from taking advantage of the situation.

Xun Xiu knew about this and felt uneasy, "Will they agree?"

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and said, "I’ve promised to pay them."

Xun Xiu awkwardly smiled, agreed, and then tallied the soldiers and provisions before setting off to chase Shi Le.

However, he was more than a day late, even though he marched swiftly, it would take a long time to catch up. Yet he unexpectedly caught up the following day.

It turned out Shi Le encountered the returning Jin Army on the way. This Jin Army was led by He Lun, who escaped with troops from Luoyang. He was a subordinate general left in Luoyang by Prince East Sea. They broke through when Wang Mi besieged Luoyang, followed by Prince East Sea’s Princess and forty-eight princes of the Imperial Family.

Unfortunately, Xun Xiu arrived a step too late; Shi Le killed them all and plundered all their possessions before continuing to Shangdang.

Shi Le intended to seize Shangdang, his childhood home. Now with Wang Mi dead, he was quite eager to take it.

Zhao Hanzhang was also heading to Shangdang, taking a different route, and simultaneously, Liu Cong was heading there as well.