socalfunplaces Page 291
Page 291
Li Chang'an stored the Great Liang Dragon Sparrow in his system space, thinking it might come in handy later.
The hidden cave contained a meeting hall and a warehouse for storing armor and ore.
Li Chang'an said, "The Prince of Qingcheng has been found guilty of treason for secretly possessing armor!"
"I, the King, exercise the power of acting first and reporting later. Execute him on the spot!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Lingsu burst into tears, pleading, "Brother Chang'an, please spare my life!"
"I really don't know anything about what's going on here..."
The Imperial Guards raised their blades and beheaded Wu Lingsu.
Li Chang'an wanted to take all the valuables in Qingyang Palace, but Wu Lingsu knew the details of the wealth and knew she absolutely could not keep any.
Wu Lingsu's relationships with those noblewomen were leverage she could use to blackmail them into providing information.
Wu Lingsu knew too much, so she had to die.
The Imperial Guard then reported, "Your Highness, there are still several small bandit groups in the mountains, estimated to number over two thousand."
Li Chang'an said, "Let's keep them for now and wipe them out slowly."
Li Chang'an needs some time to upgrade the equipment of the Mo Dao soldiers and Bai Fei soldiers here.
Previously, the equipment that Tian Zong had built was all of a lower grade.
Now that we have resources and gold and silver, we can forge the strongest equipment.
After exploring the caves on the back mountain, Li Chang'an returned to the main hall.
Cao Zhengchun excitedly said, "Your Highness, Qingyang Palace has seized 50,000 taels of gold and 2 million taels of silver!"
Gu Dazu, who stood silently behind Li Chang'an, cursed inwardly.
When the Southern Tang Dynasty fell, its national treasury held only one million taels of silver.
Moreover, the former territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty was a relatively prosperous area.
This Wu Lingsu, supporting so many people, still manages to save up so much money!
Although Wu Lingsu did not have a fiefdom, he was truly as wealthy as a country!
Cao Zhengchun continued, "There are also calligraphy, paintings, artifacts, brocades, and other items, worth approximately 500,000 taels of silver!"
"This money came from offerings by pilgrims, tributes from bandits, and rewards from the imperial court."
"In addition, there are longevity-promoting, aphrodisiac, and conditioning pills... a thousand catties!"
Hearing this, Li Chang'an's eyes were opened.
"Does the King of Qingcheng eat elixirs like food?"
Cao Zhengchun smiled and said, "I asked those Taoist nuns. These pills were used by Wu Lingsu to cultivate relationships with powerful and influential people."
"Wu Lingsu's expertise in alchemy is truly genuine."
"In addition, a total of 30,000 shi of grain were seized from the bandit stronghold that was wiped out last night!"
Thirty thousand shi of grain, or three million six hundred thousand jin, is enough to feed ten thousand bandits for more than half a year.
This amount of grain is enough to feed Li Chang'an's two thousand soldiers for four or five years!
Even if we double the army, it should be enough to feed us for two years!
"The stronghold only has two hundred horses, but it has more than two thousand weapons!"
The warhorses were all cleaved in two by the Mo Dao team; only a few remained.
Li Chang'an was quite satisfied with the results of this bandit suppression operation.
All the money, converted into silver, exceeded three million taels!
Chapter 186 Xu Fengnian is ordered to marry! Gu Dazu's heart is won over! (23)
After taking stock of his spoils, Li Chang'an returned to the county town at the foot of the mountain.
The next step is to secretly manufacture equipment in Qingcheng Mountain and then recruit soldiers again to expand our strength.
As for why they stayed in Qingcheng Mountain, the reason is simple: to eradicate evil completely and eliminate the mountain bandits.
News of Li Chang'an's rampage through Qingcheng Mountain and the massacre of Wu Lingsu's entire family quickly spread throughout southern Yongzhou.
The people, who had suffered from banditry, finally saw the dawn of peace.
Because of rampant bandits in the mountains, they were robbed and bullied for many years.
The bandits have now been completely wiped out, and their protectors have been uprooted!
Destroying the old immortal of Qingcheng Mountain is something that ordinary people dare not even dream of!
When Li Chang'an returned to the city, the roadsides were lined with kneeling people!
"Long live the Emperor of Tang!"
"Thank you so much, Your Highness, for saving my life!"
May His Highness Prince Li enjoy a long and prosperous life!
Amidst shouts of gratitude and blessings, Li Chang'an rode past in a majestic manner.
When he reached the city gate, he suddenly waved his hand!
"Where is the Jin Yiwei!"
The thirty-odd Imperial Guards behind him immediately responded in unison with chilling cadence!
"exist!"
Li Chang'an pointed to the thirty-odd bandit leaders in the group and said with a sigh, "These people are all mountain bandit leaders and key members."
"Behead them all, then grind their bones to dust!"
The Imperial Guards received orders to behead all thirty-odd people and then gather their corpses together.
The fire blazed, and a pungent stench filled the air!
As the people watched the raging flames, they were all moved to tears!
These wicked bandits who rode on the backs of the people deserved to die! They were guilty and deserved their fate!
That fire was so damn satisfying!
"You deserve it!"
"Burn well!"
Good and evil will ultimately be rewarded!
As the fire was about to be extinguished, Li Chang'an's expression turned solemn.
"Those who bring harm to the people, even if they are kings and nobles!"
"I will show no mercy and will surely kill him with my sword!"
These words were chilling and filled with murderous intent!
Some merchants who had secretly traded with bandits couldn't help but tremble with fear.
"With me here, the bandits of Qingcheng Mountain will never dare to come down the mountain to cause trouble again!"
"However, the guilty must be punished, and evil must be eradicated completely!"
"I will take up residence in Qingcheng Mountain and wipe out all the mountain bandits!"
"I will not leave the mountain until all the bandits are wiped out!"
Upon hearing Li Chang'an's powerful words, the people erupted in cheers once again!
They never imagined that this young prince would have such courage!
"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving us peaceful days!"
"Your Highness, I have some wealth and am willing to contribute to the army's expenses!"
"This humble citizen is willing to join the army and follow Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, I want to be a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"
With the people's enthusiasm high and their support readily available, recruiting soldiers became much easier.
Afterwards, Li Chang'an led a campaign to suppress bandits in the mountains.
The news of his annihilation of Mount Qingcheng spread throughout the land.
Tai'an City.
Emperor Zhao Chun let out a series of cold laughs, "Wu Lingsu actually secretly kept weapons and armor!"
"The Great Pillar of the State, the King of Northern Liang, has really stretched his reach far."
"Li Chang'an actually breached Qingyang Palace, but he was far too audacious, killing Wu Lingsu outright!"
The old man sitting beside Zhao Chun was the Imperial Tutor Yuan Benxi.
Yuan Benxi now controls Zhao Gou and wields immense influence in the court.