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Chapter 333: Chapter 333: Collapse of the Four Heavens

"Commander-in-Chief, the flood from the Great Luo Empire has finally been stemmed!" Iron Blood exclaimed with excitement.

"What's happened?" Yi Yan frowned, looking towards Iron Blood.

"They returned empty-handed. According to your arrangements, the formations were set, but the fifteen routes of the Great Luo Empire all returned in defeat. It's been over three months now. As per your words, Xiao Wang will definitely send reinforcements within a month," Iron Blood exclaimed.

Yi Yan lightly wiped his palms with a towel, frowning deeply.

"What's wrong?" Iron Blood asked, puzzled.

"Something's not right, something's definitely not right!" Yi Yan furrowed his brow.

"What's not right?" Iron Blood asked, puzzled.

"Fifteen routes of the army, but look at those commanders—they're missing. Zhongshan is gone, Gulin is gone, and two commanders of the Great Luo Legion are also absent. Their lieutenants are leading the troops," Yi Yan squinted.

"Well, it seems so, but under the Commander-in-Chief's arrangements, even if they are there, what can they do? These twenty cities now seem to have merged into one whole. They can't break through," Iron Blood remarked.

"No, it's not right. With them there, at least those routes wouldn't suffer such a crushing defeat. Especially Zhongshan, his absence from the battlefield makes me worry they might cause trouble in our rear. Something just doesn't feel right. I'll immediately write a letter to His Majesty, hoping there won't be any more surprises from that side," Yi Yan said —

Xiaowang's Great Camp.

Xiaowang sat at the command table. Various generals stood on both sides.

Xiaowang held a letter in his hand, glancing at it before passing it to Xiaoyuan Feng and others to read.

"Father Commander, Yi Yan has really held them off," Xiaoyuan Feng exclaimed in surprise.

"But the price is too steep, isn't it? Sixty cities, almost half of the cities of the Dayu Dynasty," Xiaoyuan Deng shook his head.

"But in the end, we've turned the tide!" Xiaoyuan Feng said.

"Turned the tide? Heh, let's see," Xiaowang shook his head.

"Father Commander, should we not send troops now?" Xiaoyuan Feng frowned.

"Wait another month. If Yi Yan still holds them off, then we will go to their rescue!" Xiaowang said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" the generals responded —

Sky City! In the court hall.

Nalan Piaoxue looked at the incoming reports with a rare smile on his face.

"Blessings upon Dayu, Your Majesty, the Grand Commander has finally halted the advance of the Great Luo Empire!" a minister congratulated.

"Your Majesty, all the Wishful Stones from the treasure maps have been retrieved by the people or the army. The market prices of Wishful Stones have all been restored. The people no longer leave the city to search for treasure. Everything has returned to its former glory. Dayu has recovered! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" another minister cheered.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" the ministers echoed.

Indeed, now Dayu Dynasty appeared to be flourishing once again, except for those sixty lost cities. The situation was overwhelmingly positive. Yi Yan had halted the Great Luo troops, and over ninety cities had been restored. The people were no longer in disarray, and the army was reorganized and ready. Everything was announcing to the world that the former glory of Dayu had returned, the powerful Dayu had returned!

"Good, Minister Zhu is right. Draft the documents immediately, proclaiming to the world of Dayu, let us unite against our enemies and defend together!" Nalan Piaoxue was also in a great mood —

Is the situation of the Dayu Dynasty really all well and good? Perhaps only Nalan Piaoxue feels this way. Although the Dayu Dynasty has found the Mustard Stones, what about the Spirit Stones? The lost Spirit Stones? While Spirit Stones can be borrowed, what about the people's hearts? Simply finding treasures, without actual treasures to find, does that restore people's hearts? Once the people's hearts are lost, it will be very difficult to regain them.

Take the city-defending generals, for example. They were once loyal and patriotic, but their morale has been lost. They dared to disobey military orders, abandon their posts, and defy imperial commands to search for treasures. Now that there are no treasures to be found, when they return to defend the city, if they see that they cannot withstand the enemy's attack, will they become deserters again? Having experienced the first loss of morale, subsequent occurrences will be much easier. At the very least, they will not resist as stubbornly as before.

Emperor Nalan's decree quickly spread throughout the Sky City and radiated towards more distant cities.

At the height of the Sky City's celebration, the fifth step of the Sky Collapse Plan was initiated!

Zhu Cunli, whom Nalan Piaoxue referred to as Zhu Aiqing, Minister of Rites of the Dayu Dynasty, Chief of the Zhu Clan in the Sky City, suddenly became a nominee!

Not nominated by Nalan Piaoxue, but nominated by the people.

It's unclear when, but suddenly, the people had a list in their hands.

During the market changes, the Zhu Cunli family colluded with several merchants to inflate prices. Many of Zhu's descendants participated, earning large amounts of Spirit Stones. This isn't the key issue. The key lies in the manipulation of Mustard Stone prices during this critical market collapse. The Zhu family also invested heavily, inflating Mustard Stone prices to acquire vast amounts of Spirit Stones, countless Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, during this period, the Zhu Cunli family loaned large sums of money to many people at exorbitant interest rates. As a result, numerous people still owe Zhu Cunli large amounts of Spirit Stones and interest.

A parasite of the nation? No, at that time, everyone was frenzied. How could the Zhu family miss such a good opportunity? Without Zhu Cunli's initiative, the family's descendants would have followed suit in a frenzy.

Zhu Cunli only found out later that he was involved in the allocation of Spirit Stones during the Mustard Stone speculation.

However, this was sufficient, because every transaction, every moment of Spirit Stone flow, from beginning to end, was meticulously detailed.

To what extent was this list detailed? Even Zhu's own family might not have been able to produce such a detailed record of Spirit Stone transactions. What's even more rare and valuable is that this detailed list was compiled from various people's accounts without leaving any traces.

During the Dayu Dynasty's most perilous times, this official of the Dayu Dynasty took the lead in disrupting the national economy? If Zhu Cunli had informed His Majesty early on, would the Dayu market have collapsed? How could the people have been driven to flee their homes? Even now, many people have left the cities due to lack of Spirit Stones.

A calamity, a calamity for the Sky City, a calamity for the Dayu Dynasty!

Zhu Cunli!

For a moment, countless people were filled with righteous indignation, unable to vent their resentment towards the Dayu Heavenly Dynasty, and instead focused it all on Zhu Cunli.

Just two days later, suddenly, a "People's Petition" appeared, pleading with Emperor Nalan to dismiss Zhu Cunli, to give the people justice, to give His Majesty justice, to give the Sky City justice, and to give the Dayu Dynasty justice.

In an instant, Zhu's family seemed to have become the enemy of the people, facing severe criticism.

It's unknown who first placed the "People's Petition" on the square in front of the palace, where some people kneeled, begging Emperor Nalan to punish Zhu Cunli and give the people justice.

Before long, more people added their names, writing them on the "People's Petition."

Most of these people were those who owed money to Zhu's family, the ones who initially borrowed Spirit Stones from them at high interest rates. Indeed, if the Zhu family were no more, would we still owe them money? This "calamity."

Also included were friends brought along by those who owed Spirit Stones to Zhu's family.

Their numbers grew increasingly.

Before long, the "People's Petition" had grown to be the "Fifty Thousand People's Petition."

And there's another strange phenomenon: the dozens of people who initially kneeled in front of the palace have slowly disappeared among the increasing crowd of commoners kneeling. The number of people kneeling has increased, but the original ones are no longer there.

"Bold! Zhu Cunli!" Nalan Piaoxue shouted angrily.

In the grand hall, the officials were as silent as cicadas in winter!

"Your Majesty, I admit my guilt. It's just that at the time, my sons begged me, so I agreed to make the loans. I did not participate in it myself," Zhu Cunli pleaded on his knees.

"Humph! Zhu Cunli, the prestigious Minister of Rites, colluding with merchants, disrupting the Dayu market, causing people to become homeless. Now, with the people's discontent boiling, accusations are flying. Yet you show no remorse. The Dayu Dynasty was almost ruined by your hands!" Nalan Piaoxue shouted furiously.

In Nalan Piaoxue's view, if Zhu Cunli had reported the truth about the market, even without Yi Yan, one could discern something suspicious. Sixty cities were lost because of these corrupt officials!

Yi Yan had said before leaving, "Do not incite public anger, do not defy!"

"Guards, seize Zhu Cunli!" Nalan Piaoxue shouted.

"Yes!" A group of guards rushed into the hall and grabbed Zhu Cunli.

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, please have mercy!" Zhu Cunli cried out for forgiveness.

But Nalan Piaoxue was furious.

"Humph, mercy? Not only will I execute you, but I will also exterminate your entire clan. I will issue an edict to inform the world and set an example!" Nalan Piaoxue shouted angrily.

"No~~~" Zhu Cunli screamed in horror.

But he was dragged away by the guards.

"Humph!" Nalan Piaoxue flicked his sleeves and left the court!

In the court, the officials dared not breathe heavily, bowing their bodies, waiting for Nalan Piaoxue to leave.

Zhu Cunli was executed. At the execution platform, the Zhu Cunli clan was exterminated, a total of four hundred people, all beheaded with a single command.

So many people witnessed it! Those who owed money to Zhu Cunli's family couldn't help but applaud!

Among those applauding were also the people arranged by Zhongshan.

Zhu Cunli was dead! His nine clans were exterminated. Who's next?

Among the court officials, most of the families had participated in the Mustard Stone speculation. Who could absolve themselves? If you don't want others to know, don't do it yourself. The commoners didn't know much, but when the Sky Collapse Plan was initiated, Zhongshan sent people to pay attention and gathered more than enough evidence.

Zhu Cunli was just a precedent, an official involved to a limited extent. There were many more deeply involved who had yet to be exposed.

Zhu Cunli's nine clans, completely wiped out!

"Public anger" was extinguished. However, "public anger" could take many forms; however much was needed, Zhongshan could produce it.

In the house of the Minister of Revenue, in the largest council chamber.

"Master, Master, something's not right. Look, these are some sudden documents circulating in the market!" a servant handed over some papers to the master, who was the Minister of Revenue.

After reading the papers, the Minister of Revenue's eyes widened.

"Father, what's wrong?"

"Yes, Lai Fu, what's the news?"

...In the grand hall, everyone was puzzled. The master gently handed those papers to everyone, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sat down.

Everyone looked through them in succession! Their expressions turned panicked, nervous, incredibly nervous.

"What should we do about this?"

"What should we do? There must be someone deliberately targeting us. This evidence is even more detailed and extensive than the Zhu family's. The Zhu family was wiped out, all nine clans... What..."

The Zhu family members were filled with fear. Some of the more timid ones were trembling.

After a flurry of voices, they all looked towards their patriarch.

Taking a deep breath, the patriarch finally opened his eyes.

"Father, what should we do?" one of them asked anxiously.

Looking at everyone, the patriarch said, "It seems we cannot stay in Sky City any longer. Notify the whole clan to prepare carefully. We will leave at the You hour!"

"Leave at the You hour? Father..." the person asked anxiously.

"We either face extermination by His Majesty or leave quickly. If we don't leave now, we may never get another chance. With the vastness of the world, where won't we find a place for our clan to survive? Go!" the patriarch commanded.

"Yes!" the crowd responded in solemnity.

Similar to the situation in the Minister of Revenue's household, there were many more instances like this. On that day, numerous prestigious officials of the Dayu Dynasty suddenly received ample evidence of their clans facing confiscation and extermination.

Escape! Among the clan leaders, only a few pondered carefully and prepared to beg for forgiveness from His Majesty. Most fled overnight.

The next morning, in the court, Nalan Piaoxue looked at the officials arriving in small groups, slightly puzzled. But soon someone traced the source.

Fleeing in fear of punishment?

"Go on, keep fleeing! A bunch of useless worms, you're draining our resources!" Emperor Nalan shouted angrily.

The court officials dared not interrupt, but they all sensed that something bad was about to happen.

Emperor Nalan left in anger. In his view, these officials were expendable. He could promote others to take their place anytime. They were a bunch of puss-filled boils, incapable of achieving anything and only seeking to profit from the kindness of the previous emperor, exchanging it for wealth and power, ruining the court. They must be executed!

As he reached the entrance to his palace, Emperor Nalan suddenly stopped and said to a eunuch behind him, "Draft an edict for me. These traitors are all conspirators and traitors. They must all be executed, and a nationwide manhunt is declared!"

"Yes!" responded the eunuch immediately—

The court officials? Those who were part of the court? There were many more instances like this. On that day, numerous prestigious officials of the Dayu Dynasty suddenly received ample evidence of their clans facing confiscation and extermination.

Escape! Among the clan leaders, only a few pondered carefully and prepared to beg for forgiveness from His Majesty. Most fled overnight.

The next morning, in court, Nalan Piaoxue looked at the officials arriving in small groups, slightly puzzled. But soon someone traced the source.

Fleeing in fear of punishment?

"Go on, keep fleeing! A bunch of useless worms, you're draining our resources!" Emperor Nalan shouted angrily.

The court officials dared not interrupt, but they all sensed that something bad was about to happen.

Emperor Nalan left in anger. In his view, these officials were expendable. He could promote others to take their place anytime. They were a bunch of puss-filled boils, incapable of achieving anything and only seeking to profit from the kindness of the previous emperor, ruining the believed. unto asked ran.

Iron Blood, filled with excitement, ran towards the main hall: "Commander-in-Chief, good news, good news! Xiao Wang's messenger just arrived. He said they will send reinforcements the day after tomorrow!"

With a face full of excitement, Iron Blood had finally endured through another month. There was hope for the Dayu Dynasty. The moment Iron Blood received the news, his first thought was to report to the Commander-in-Chief.

Entering the main hall, however, what Iron Blood saw was Commander Yi Yan staring at a letter that had arrived from Sky City with a cold sweat on his forehead.

Ignoring Iron Blood's excitement, Yi Yan seemed indifferent.

"Commander-in-Chief?" Iron Blood called tentatively.

"It's over. Sky City has fallen!" Yi Yan said dejectedly, tossing the letter aside.

"Commander-in-Chief, what happened?" Iron Blood asked, astonished.

Pushing the letter towards him, Iron Blood immediately grabbed and examined it.

"It's nothing. His Majesty did well, executed them well. Those useless people deserved to be purged long ago. We can promote new ones!" Iron Blood said excitedly as he read the letter.

Looking at Iron Blood, Yi Yan shook his head reluctantly, showing a bitter smile, as if unsure of how to explain.

"Commander-in-Chief, what's wrong?" Iron Blood asked in confusion.

"Purge? They should have been purged long ago, but not now. Absolutely not!" Yi Yan said.

"Why?" Iron Blood asked, puzzled.

"Because these people are no longer just court officials. They've become pawns of the Daluo Heavenly Dynasty. Wherever they go, they spread the word that Sky City has fallen," Yi Yan said bitterly.

"No way, they wouldn't say such things, would they?" Iron Blood couldn't believe it.

"They won't, but Zhongshan will!" Yi Yan shouted angrily.

"Zhongshan? No, that can't be! But everything is fine here!" Iron Blood was incredulous.

"Everything might seem fine here, but this rumor will once again jeopardize nearly sixty cities. How do you think those city lords will react when they see these officials fleeing through their territories? When Zhongshan propagates this, it will be seen as confirmation that Sky City has fallen and the Dayu Dynasty is no more. What will those city lords do? They are already fragile after previous shocks. These rumors alone are enough to make them fearful. And if officials present themselves as 'evidence' that Sky City has fallen, how can they not believe it? If at this time, officials from the Daluo Heavenly Dynasty suddenly appear to offer protection..." Yi Yan's words grew more ominous.

Listening to Yi Yan, Iron Blood stared, mouth agape, looking at him dumbfoundedly. "No way, it can't be this coincidental, can it?"

"It can, it definitely can. Because all of this has been orchestrated. Orchestrated... Oh, former emperor, I have failed to guide His Majesty!" Yi Yan's expression turned somewhat manic.