Chapter 2686: The Moves of Cang Yan and Wu Song

The king of Ye Gan stared at him and continued questioning: "What good does it do us to keep fattening the enemy?"

After several days of arguing, the demon emperor finally made a decision: Between Between Between Beijia would launch the first phase of sanctions against Cang Yan, banning dozens of sea routes, prohibiting the sale of over a thousand types of goods, and demanding the expulsion of large numbers of Cang Yan people from Between Between Between Beijia's territory, a significant portion of whom would be arrested on charges of espionage.

There would be second and third phases as well, depending on Cang Yan's response.

This was both the demon emperor's explanation to the various vassal demon kings and Between Between Between Beijia's punishment of Cang Yan!

No one can casually challenge Between Between Between Beijia's dignity without paying a price.

While the Ling Xu Wang Ting was drafting this statement, Fushan Yue, who had long been stationed in the Yang Shan Islands, informed the Jiu You Da Di in advance and expressed his concern:

"Once this edict is issued, I fear Chi Yan will no longer be able to trade with Cang Yan on such a large scale as it does now."

Chi Yan, through the Yang Shan Islands as a foothold, had directly reaped the greatest benefits from trade cooperation with Cang Yan and was the vassal demon state whose national power had grown fastest over the past twenty years for Between Between Between Beijia. The wealth gained from sea trade with Cang Yan accounted for more than thirty percent of Chi Yan's total national income.

The Ling Xu Cheng's orders, Chi Yan had no choice but to obey. But this would mean Chi Yan losing its most important source of income.

Fushan and his son were naturally deeply worried.

He Lingchuan, however, comforted Fushan Yue: "Don't worry, it won't come to that. When will the official documents from Ling Xu Wang Cheng be issued?"

"At least seven days from now." Fushan Yue knew the efficiency of the Ling Xu ministers all too well. Deciding which routes to ban and which goods to prohibit required careful listing; it couldn't be done hastily, or one might cut one's own major artery. After all, Ling Xu Wang Cheng also profited greatly from Cang Yan, and many of Cang Yan's investments in Ling Xu Cheng included shares held by Ling Xu nobles and officials. Between Between Between Beijia's sudden ban on selling to Cang Yan would also harm the interests of many Between Between Between Beijia people.

"So, within seven days, there must be a change." He Lingchuan laughed, "Perhaps the demon emperor will change his mind."

Within seven days? Fushan Yue racked his brains but could think of nothing Jiu You could do.

Can the decision made by the Between Between Between Beijia Di Jun be changed just because Jiu You says so?

He asked again, but He Lingchuan said nothing more, only telling him to wait and see.

Very well, Fushan and his son would just wait and watch.

In Bo Lang Guo, after much difficulty, several candidate princes had finally reached an agreement to first select a supreme commander to lead the Bo Lang army in revenge. But at this moment, a notice from the enemy state Wu Song arrived, its content shocking:

Wu Song Guo holds over sixty thousand Bo Lang prisoners, to be executed in batches starting today!

Hui Xuan Bao, Wu Song Gang, Xing Tan, and Deng Xian Zhen are the places where Wu Song Guo fought bloody battles against Bo Lang Guo, suffering the greatest sacrifices and heaviest military and civilian casualties. Therefore, these four locations will publicly execute fifty prisoners of war each day, with methods ranging from beheading and strangulation to being devoured by insects and beasts, until all sixty thousand prisoners are dealt with!

Of course, the truth behind the scenes is that the Bo Lang prisoners are being held separately in these several places; to avoid prolonged delays, Wu Song Guo has decided to carry out executions on the spot.

The notice includes a list of the first fifteen days of executions, recording the names, ages, and home addresses of the prisoners awaiting execution!

If Wu Song Guo executes two hundred prisoners per day, three thousand will be executed within fifteen days. Moreover, it sent the news to Ling Xu Cheng, which took six days to arrive, so during those six days, one thousand two hundred prisoners have already been killed, and Between Between Between Beijia can verify this afterward!

At all execution sites, the air reeks of blood and the ground is soaked in crimson. Civilians watching crowd in three layers inside and three outside, all clapping and cheering.

These are the elite of Bo Lang Guo and the soldiers of Between Between Between Beijia, just being slaughtered until heads roll across the ground.

Upon receiving this notice, the demon emperor also fell silent for a long time. The Ling Xu Cheng populace was filled with righteous indignation, and the ministers all memorialized the throne, requesting a military campaign to exterminate Wu Song Xiao Guo and rescue the Bo Lang prisoners!

Such a tiny state, daring to bully Between Between Between Beijia— isn't this inverting the natural order?

But the previous difficulty returned: aside from the Bo Lang aquatic tribe, if the Between Between Between Beijia army marches by sea to Wu Song Guo, it will take at least over a month just to reach the destination. Before the battle even begins, Wu Song's side will have already executed six thousand Bo Lang prisoners!

Six thousand people— are they just going to die pointlessly like this?

If we dispatch the Bo Lang army for a fifth landing at Wu Song Wan, they may not even be confident of victory, because the Cang Yan army might still be in Wu Song!

The list of executions for the first fifteen days sent by Wu Song Guo, because it includes the names, surnames, and addresses of the prisoners, has caused their families to wail to heaven and earth, begging Bo Lang Guo and Between Between Between Beijia to rescue them quickly.

The families of prisoners not yet listed are in agony, as if waiting for the guillotine, suffering every day.

Know this: the Bo Lang king's original campaign against Wu Song was supposed to be a sure victory, so many Bo Lang nobles had accompanied him, originally hoping to gain the monarch's favor and earn some military merit and reputation— why not?

Now it's come to this: the Bo Lang king is dead, and they have been thrown into Wu Song's great prison, like livestock awaiting slaughter.

These noble families, famous, prestigious, wealthy, and powerful, are naturally eager to seek aid from Bo Lang Guo and Between Between Between Beijia, sending daily memorials to Ling Xu Wang Cheng that come like snowflakes.

So, are they supposed to wait for the Between Between Between Beijia army to slowly march a month by sea, while their own relatives are sent to the executioner's blade?

Then, what if we go by land? Ling Xu Wang Cheng has specially convened a meeting to discuss this.

Taking the land route would require making a very long detour; even if marching at full speed, the time taken would not be much less than by sea, and moreover, they would need to borrow passage from several countries and regions along the way.

Borrowing passage is a sensitive matter. Who would willingly allow the Between Between Between Beijia army to march unhindered into their own territory, especially when Between Between Between Beijia's vassal demon states have been plundering everywhere in recent years?

This time, Between Between Between Beijia's troop dispatch is to rescue people, requiring a race against time— who has the leisure to slowly negotiate passage along the way?

At this moment, the ever-silent Xia Guo Guo Shi finally spoke:

"Instead of making a long, arduous journey to rescue people, it would be better to find Cang Yan and work something out— faster and more reliable. Cang Yan is the suzerain state of Wu Song; its commands must be obeyed by Wu Song."

Upon saying this, the court fell silent.

Yes, this is the most time- and labor-saving method.

If Cang Yan orders Wu Song Guo to release the prisoners, Wu Song Guo will have no choice but to release them.

Nonsense— those sixty thousand prisoners were originally captured by Cang Yan; if Cang Yan wanted to release them, Wu Song Guo would not dare to detain them.

Anyone can think of it, but no one wants to mention it.

To mention it would be to lose face for one's own country.

"Coincidentally, the statement sanctioning Cang Yan hasn't been issued yet, so we haven't broken relations with Cang Yan." Xia Guo Guo Shi didn't mind making the suggestion himself, "As long as we speak up, Cang Yan should willingly release the prisoners."

Is it not just a matter of the demon emperor opening his mouth? Why must we exhaust the troops and mobilize the masses, both sending armies and seeking passage?

So far, relations between the two states have remained normal, and Cang Yan still maintains normal trade and civilian exchanges with Between Between Between Beijia.