Chapter 426: Hurry Up and Poison Him

Chen Guanlou spoke in the calmest tone, uttering the cruelest words, then tossed in a date as a final sweetener.

The effect of the date was unexpectedly excellent.

The poisoned rebel leader Da Ming Wang was so moved he burst into tears, his cheeks twitching as if he could not believe it.

"Can I really be recorded in history? Will I be written about at length?"

"Absolutely. You rebelled for years, forcing the retired Pingjiang Marquis back into court to lead troops. Your existence holds extraordinary meaning; your contribution is immense; your impact on the Great Gan Dynasty is profound and positive. You are not a grain of sand blown away by the wind.

You are a rock, a mountain standing before the Great Gan Dynasty. You deserve to be recorded in history. If necessary, the historians will even write a biography for you.

Do you know what a biography means? It means in the annals, you will have your own personal account, occupying at least one or two pages. How many people throughout all dynasties have earned even one or two pages in history? Even some incompetent emperors didn't get that honor."

Chen Guanlou's relentless flattery and output made the iron-blooded warrior Da Ming Wang burst into loud sobs!

Da Ming Wang wept with such intense emotion.

Mu Yiguan could hardly bear to watch; he glared at Chen Guanlou with his eyes, as if to say: What kind of time is this, and you're still tricking people?

Da Ming Wang wept as he kept repeating: "It's worth it! Worth it! My whole life is worth it! Even if they flay me alive, I won't fear. Let the old emperor use any method he wants. If I so much as frown, I'm not Da Ming Wang, the rebel who made imperial troops tremble in fear.

Wuh… Chen Yuli, I never thought the one who truly understood me would be you. You are the chosen successor. Whether you accept it or not, I've already decided: after I die, all my assets, my followers, my Qian Cai—they're all yours. If you'll take them, you can raise an army overnight."

"Don't brag to me. If you had the capital to raise an army overnight, how could you have lost everything—even your underwear? I've been honest with you, every word true. You? Full of lies, still lying to me."

Chen Guanlou let out a cold, mocking laugh, his expression full of disdain and revulsion.

Mu Yiguan's head was spinning; he asked, "He's lying to you?"

"Do you believe him?" Chen Guanlou shot back. "If he really had a hidden card, would he be in this position? He's completely cornered, with no way out—that's why he surrendered. Had he any chance left, he wouldn't have lost so badly."

Mu Yiguan clicked his tongue in admiration, then turned to Da Ming Wang: "So you really lost everything—even your underwear—and you're still fooling Chen Yuli? Lucky for you Chen Yuli is sharp and saw through your scheme. If it were a more honest man, he'd have fallen for your trick and lost his life."

Da Ming Wang snorted, sounding utterly righteous: "Honest men aren't worth my attention. I have no interest in deceiving honest men. Only someone as cunning as Chen Yuli can lead an army in rebellion. These days, there's no place for honest men. When I was young, I was too honest—I believed everything people told me, wasting too much time. If only I'd woken up a few years earlier, studied more while I still had time, I wouldn't have lost so miserably."

Da Ming Wang looked like a man consumed by regret, cursing that time could not be relived.

If only I could relive it… I'd overturn the Great Gan's heavens and make myself emperor, giving the poor a way to survive.

Just talk!

Once he became emperor, the dragon-slayer would become the dragon himself. He might even do worse than the old emperor.

Chen Guanlou trusted no rebel—whether born of peasants or nobility. Anyone who took up rebellion, who made a living from treason and execution, all followed the same pattern. Their words might be true, but they would never apply to themselves.

All of it was lies to get others to hand over their heads.

Once enough people were tricked into giving their heads, and enough died, when rebellion succeeded and rewards were handed out, they'd never reach you. They already had their inner circle—old comrades, old villagers, old subordinates. These were the trusted ones, the fixed core, the only ones entitled to share the spoils after victory.

As for those tricked into joining? Ha—if you didn't lose your head early on, good luck surviving afterward.

Dreaming of a peaceful end? Who do you think you are?

Accumulating merit for your descendants?

If you can't even enjoy your own fortune, who cares about your descendants? The dead don't care about the living; why should the living care about the dead?

"So you admit you're deceiving Chen Yuli?" Mu Yiguan sounded furious.

Da Ming Wang chuckled. "You're a physician. Why care so much? Chen Yuli doesn't mind being deceived—why are you defending him? Just do your job."

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Now you understand why no scholar followed him into rebellion. Look at his attitude—even before becoming emperor, barely even a local warlord, how arrogant and conceited he is toward talented men. If I were a physician, even if I had medicine, I wouldn't lift a finger to heal him."

Mu Yiguan nodded vigorously, fully agreeing.

He finally understood why Da Ming Wang was doomed to lose.

He wasn't even trying to treat scholars with respect. He came from the common people, yet even a physician who saved his life got no basic courtesy. Tsk… he lost fairly.

Da Ming Wang looked resentful: "I have a sword. I don't need people to respect me—I only need them to fear me. That's how I'll sweep the world clean."

"Yes, yes, yes, you're so mighty—you ended up in Tianlaomiao." Chen Guanlou mocked, enjoying Da Ming Wang's breakdown. He reminded Mu Yiguan: "Hurry up and poison him. I can't stand his arrogant face—he deserves a beating."

Mu Yiguan grunted, rummaged through his medicine chest, pulled out several vials from the bottom, mixed them, shoved the concoction into Da Ming Wang's mouth—and there, Da Ming Wang was poisoned again, too weak to shout.

Da Ming Wang sat up on the bedboard. "You really aren't afraid of poisoning me to death! I was poisoned last night, and today you poison me again. If I die in Tianlaomiao, Chen Yuli, how will you explain it?"

"If you die, it's the palace's problem—not mine," Chen Guanlou said carelessly.

Da Ming Wang was baffled. "You're in charge of the Jia-zi prison. Aren't you responsible?"

"The Ministry of Justice is first in line. They insisted on locking you in Tianlaomiao. The jailers of Tianlaomiao? They're insignificant specks of dust. Who bothers arguing with dust? Waste of energy."

Da Ming Wang had no reply. He turned to Mu Yiguan: "Do you agree with him? He's so reckless—if I die from anger, won't you be implicated?"

Mu Yiguan paused, then said: "I can't say for sure. But those above won't waste time quarreling with jailers of Tianlaomiao. Either kill, or let go. Chen Yuli is from the Pingjiang Marquis's clan. The higher-ups may not respect the Chen family, but they'll at least respect the Pingjiang Marquis. So even if you die here, Chen Yuli will be fine."