Chapter 166: The End of the Road at Baiya

Everyone felt a shock in their hearts.

Another Imperial Edict?

But seeing Grand Eunuch Zhou walking slowly under the Imperial Envoy's ceremonial guard, no one was not shocked, and they knelt down one after another.

At this moment, that group of Baiya Army brothers in the field, as well as the martial arts practitioners, were actually the most bewildered. Only at this moment did they feel that their fate was so precarious. Only at this moment did they understand that their previous glory had all been Wei Shao shielding them from the wind and rain alone.

And today.

No matter what kind of ability or talent they possessed, they were all surrounded by these great armies, not daring to let out a single breath; their lives were just being manipulated by others like this.

What a powerless feeling this was.

Kneel.

They also followed and knelt down.

Crown Prince Xie Fang did not look very good.

Grand Eunuch Zhou held the Imperial Edict and smiled faintly: "My lords, it is truly lively today. How about I join in the fun as well?"

Everyone smiled bitterly.

You have already arrived, so what is there to say? Besides, you are holding an Imperial Edict, so you are the Imperial Envoy; who would dare to speak against you?

Grand Eunuch Zhou coughed dryly: "By the grace of the Emperor, the decree states: The matter of the Baiya Prefecture horse farm shall be settled today. The matter of War Horses is a vital instrument of the state. In those years, the situation was chaotic, and I had no time to attend to it, so I tasked the Prince of Wei to manage it behind the scenes. In the blink of an eye, decades have passed. The Prince of Wei has worked hard and achieved great merit, with outstanding contributions..."

Everyone listened, stunned.

Especially the Prince of Wei, who was startled at first, then smiled bitterly.

Liu Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief as he listened.

The others looked at each other in dismay.

The Emperor is indeed the Emperor; with one sentence saying the Prince of Wei controlled the horse farm at his instruction, this matter was turned from a major issue into a minor one, and from a minor one into nothing.

"I hereby grant a general amnesty: the Baiya Army and the martial arts practitioners are released from slave status, and past crimes are not to be pursued!"

The one hundred and eight brothers of the Baiya Army were all overjoyed.

"Wei Shao, appointed as Counselor of Qingzhou, to take office immediately!"

Wei Shao expressed his gratitude.

"The Inspector of Baiya Prefecture, Zhang Chengjiang, has been inactive for years and plotted murder cases; he is to be taken to Jinghua immediately to answer for his crimes!"

Zhang Chengjiang's face changed drastically.

The Crown Prince's face also turned black.

"Prefect Liu Zheng, who sees the subtle and knows the manifest, turned the tide and kept Baiya from chaos; his reputation for talent is high, he is qualified to be a Hanlin Academy Reader!"

The whole scene was in an uproar.

Before even reporting for duty at the Capital's Taichang Temple, he was promoted another level? Directly to the fifth rank? Liu Zheng was also bewildered; in his previous life, this would be a deputy department-level official!

"My lords, will you not thank the Emperor?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou laughed.

Only then did everyone wake up, kneeling down one after another and shouting their thanks.

"Hahahaha, congratulations to the Prince of Wei, congratulations to Prefect Liu!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou immediately offered his congratulations.

The Prince of Wei smiled bitterly and kept saying "mutual congratulations," but in his heart, he began to curse. Congratulations, my foot! He had painstakingly managed the horse farm for so many years, only for it to return to the old Emperor's hands in the end?

And yet, he was already the highest-ranking Feudatory King in the world; the Emperor took the horse farm and rewarded him with tens of thousands of bolts of cloth and ten thousand taels of gold, and that was the end of it?

Brilliant!

Truly brilliant!

Giving Wei Shao a position in Qingzhou and making him take office immediately, for fear that he might stay in Baiya for even a moment longer—this was clearly the rhythm of taking Baiya back completely.

Looking at the Crown Prince again.

After painstakingly plotting for so long, he ended up with Zhang Chengjiang unable to avoid prison, losing the entire game.

Viewed this way, he was even worse than the Third Prince...

At the beginning, he was still mocking the Third Prince, who had always thought the Baiya Army was under his and the Empress's control, never expecting that the two leaders of this Baiya Army had nothing to do with the Empress.

But now...

The Third Prince was staying out of it, while this Crown Prince...

Had already lost a round!

Consequently, the Third Prince Xie Ling also had a smile on his face: "Everyone is happy, everyone is happy, this is good, this is good! Prefect Liu, I shall wait for you in Jinghua!"

A group of people also congratulated Liu Zheng one after another.

Fifth rank!

Deputy department-level!

Young and deeply favored by the Emperor, who wouldn't be envious?

Liu Zheng also smiled bitterly and responded to them one by one.

At this moment, he no longer dared to underestimate the old Emperor, who was rumored to be in poor health and not long for this world. Far away in Jinghua, yet able to grasp the situation so minutely—who else could do this?

It turns out the Prince of Wei, the Crown Prince, and the Third Prince were all working for the old Emperor after all!

With one word from him, "take back," and it was taken back.

The key was that the Baiya Army was now nearly disintegrated; if they didn't let it be taken back, what else could they do?

From now on, Baiya would no longer be the Baiya of the Baiya Army, but the Emperor's Baiya! Without a doubt, the old Emperor would soon send a trusted Inspector to manage the affairs of Baiya.

"In that case, can everyone disperse? Let the whole scene celebrate together; all this fighting and killing is not appropriate for the occasion!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou laughed loudly.

Only then did the more than one hundred thousand troops gathered at the Baiya Palace slowly disperse.

In the end, only Wei Shao, Du Biao, and those brothers of the Baiya Army, along with Liu Zheng, Liu Dahao, and the others, remained here.

The few of them looked at each other, then immediately burst into loud laughter.

"Big Brother!"

Du Biao could not help but let tears stream down his face.

Wei Shao laughed heartily: "Third Brother, a dignified man, why act like a woman? Do not worry about my status; we have always been brothers!"

Du Biao was deeply moved.

"Big Brother, we will follow you!"

"The brothers will follow you for a lifetime!"

The remaining brothers also expressed their stance one after another.

Wei Shao, however, said coldly: "Follow me? I am merely a Counselor, what future is there in following me? These years, Wei Shao dares not claim much else, but knowing you all spend without restraint, I have secretly saved up a fortune for you. Hahahaha, come, come, come, everyone follow me to collect your silver, one thousand taels each, and then we shall disperse. Go back, everyone find a proper job, and live your lives well, alright?"

Everyone wept bitterly.

The scene was enough to move anyone.

For ten years, these One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Baiya Army had followed Wei Shao to build this enterprise; the hardships involved can be imagined. Today, it has all vanished into nothingness, and everything from the past is like passing smoke, making one sigh.

Liu Zheng also sighed deeply.

In reality, today's outcome was already the best possible one for the Baiya Army.

If the Baiya Army had been allowed to continue developing like this, it would certainly have met the most tragic end! Being wiped out as bandits!

How could the dignified Longyan allow a group of official-bandits to grow and thrive?

Harvesting.

If it is to be harvested, then let it be harvested.

At the very least, as long as these people no longer live so extravagantly and dissolutely, they can still live their lives happily.

Seen in this light, Wei Shao is indeed a very qualified boss.

"Prefect Liu..."

Wei Shao suddenly looked at Liu Zheng and smiled bitterly: "It is just that the Baiya Army is about to disperse, and those businesses in Yinzhou..."

Liu Zheng hurriedly shook his head with a smile: "No matter, Zheng already has a Method."

Everyone was curious.

Liu Zheng smiled without a word, his eyes flickering.

Wei Shao suddenly trembled all over: "Liu Prefecture Marquis, Prefect Liu, today we must drink a large cup of wine, come, come, come!"

Then he pulled Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng toward the banquet hall.

At this moment.

The group of martial arts world figures in the banquet hall had long since fled in fear.

Only this empty, opulent-looking banquet hall remained; the delicacies and fine foods inside now looked so ironic, so desolate.

Wei Shao, a hero at the end of his road, stared blankly, a look of loneliness flickering in his eyes, before he immediately burst into loud laughter:

"Good!"

"Is this actually Immortal Brew?"

"Brothers, today we drink until we are drunk!"

The crowd roared their agreement, yet some were already unable to hold back their tears.