Chapter 396

On top of that, Su Qiao sat there without a word, holding his tea cup and watching with sharp eyes those who had not spoken up.

His posture was as though he meant to note down every single person who hadn't supported him, one by one, and deal with them later on purpose.

Su Qiao was no ordinary imperial envoy.

He was an imperial envoy with the authority to act on his own discretion.

Who could stand that?

If Su Qiao jotted you down in his little notebook and turned on you later, that would be terrible!

So the fence-sitting officials of the Caoqiqiang Sect also switched sides on the spot.

Don't be fooled by Su Qiao's expressionless face.

Inside, he was overjoyed.

This round was no loss — with only this many people so far, they had already scraped together nearly nine hundred thousand taels of silver.

And that was with only this many people; there were still officials in the hall who hadn't spoken.

Once everyone had spoken, it would surely reach at least one million two hundred thousand taels.

They're all rich!

Sure enough, once the Daozhongli Sect switched sides, the remaining opposition couldn't hold out either and all began speaking up to pledge donations.

And they couldn't pledge less than before.

However, just when everyone was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief—

Su Qiao spoke again!

Is it over?

Not at all!

This was only the appetizer!

Su Qiao's plan wouldn't be laid out all at once.

They were testing Su Qiao, and Su Qiao was testing them too.

"I believe that all of you are the pillars of the court, and that donating money to defend Great Ming is truly a heartfelt act of patriotism! However, among the loyal and devoted ministers there are also treacherous ones with hidden motives. To ensure certain victory in this battle, I feel we should bring out the younger generation."

Hmm?

The younger generation?

The brows of everyone in the hall knit together, a bad premonition rising in their hearts.

Surely he's not going to pull some trick again?

Their premonition was right — Su Qiao really did have a new idea.

"I know everyone hopes their sons will succeed; who doesn't want others to say their children are like tiger fathers rather than dog sons? So this time it's the Langdeji Society to train your sons! Like Censor Yu said earlier, it's hard to pick a general. Since that's the case, I will personally lead the troops and bring your sons along to see the world — that counts as sharing the burden for the country!"

The ministers below turned pale one after another, truly not expecting Su Qiao to come up with such a proposal.

What kind of wild move is this?

Is he making every family send their juniors as hostages?

That's going too far!

"Lord Su, you—" someone rose unhappily to speak.

Su Qiao cut him off cleanly.

"I know you all must have objections, but I want to say, I'm not negotiating with you — this is a mandatory demand. Why is it that the Japanese pirates can repeatedly raid our borders and always slip past Great Ming's guard posts?"

"Isn't it simply because there are traitors, Han traitors who tip off the Japanese pirates and help outsiders slaughter our own Great Ming compatriots? Let me tell you, I'm taking your sons into life-threatening danger to broaden their horizons — basically going to risk our lives. I hope none of you will hold me back…"

Su Qiao didn't finish the rest of his sentence, but everyone present understood exactly what he meant.

A threat!

A bare-faced threat!

Anyone who dared hold him back couldn't be sure Su Qiao wouldn't simply let their son "die in battle"!

Could anything be more vicious than this?

Su Qiao had the imperial edict giving him authority to act on his own discretion; even though this matter was somewhat Hu Nao—

No one could stop him.

They could only listen to Su Qiao.

If looks could kill, Su Qiao would have been slain countless times over by everyone present.

After agonizing in anger for a long while, everyone could only accept the fact.

They just cursed Su Qiao in their hearts countless times!

As the saying goes, speed is vital in war — the Japanese pirates would arrive the day after tomorrow.

Since the decision to fight this battle had already been made, naturally no one dared waste time.

Moreover, the "hostages" Su Qiao had proposed had to go along tomorrow — no one wanted to lose.

Compared to their previous lazy, dragging feet, their efficiency now greatly increased!

Provisions, troop deployments, the scorched-earth plan and so on — all were settled within a single hour.

Su Qiao couldn't waste time; he had to go back today to pack, take the sons of every family, and head to Suzhou Prefecture together.

Fortunately, Suzhou Prefecture wasn't far from Nanjing.

Otherwise, he really feared being too late.

……

Su Qiao bade farewell to the officials glaring at him, returned to the relay station, and told Liu Rushi about his going to Suzhou.

When Liu Rushi learned Su Qiao was going to personally lead troops against the Japanese pirates, she couldn't help showing a worried look.

"Don't worry, this time we have certain victory in our grasp. We have at least ten thousand troops, while the Japanese pirates number only three thousand-plus. Besides, we still have gunpowder."

Su Qiao smiled and comforted Liu Rushi.

Upon hearing this, Liu Rushi nodded. "I will not follow you, to save you from worry. I will rise and wait here for your return!"

"Good!"

Su Qiao bid farewell to Liu Rushi here.

The various ministers who returned from the palace to Nanjingcheng were in an uproar as soon as they entered their homes.

Each family was forcibly required to "hand over" their Young Master to follow Su Qiao to Suzhou together.

It was mandatory!

Some had other thoughts, wanting to secretly arrange for their sons to run away.

But they failed completely.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Southern Town Pacification Office had been watching every family closely from early on.

No one could escape!

When most Young Masters learned they were to guard the city, their faces turned pale; they wailed like ghosts, trying to avoid it.

Avoidance was impossible; in the end, their legs trembling, they were forcibly dragged away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

By the time Su Qiao counted the heads, these young masters almost all wore mournful faces.

249, taking hostages!

In a short time, Su Qiao left everyone else speechless.

Not only is fighting unacceptable, but losing is even more unacceptable!

Besides, everyone must contribute; those with money give money, those with strength give strength.

Just when they couldn't find an excuse to exploit them, here it came!

Su Qiao began proposing that everyone help.

But no one was willing; Luo Yanlin was the first to switch sides.

He and Su Qiao performed a double act in perfect sync.

He directly spoke first, offering to donate fifty thousand taels of silver.

Everyone immediately glared angrily at Luo Yanlin.

You are a dog turning traitor against your own pack!

Do you still want to survive in Nanjingcheng?

But Luo Yanlin seemed not to see anyone, ignoring everyone, making the others' teeth itch with anger.

If it were just Luo Yanlin being bought off by Su Qiao,

then they could still understand.