Chapter 455: You Deserve to Die

The atmosphere at the scene.

Was strangely eerie.

Only the scorching farm behind them was still burning. The people in the fire had already stopped even screaming by this point. The intense suffocation and burning left their bodies with nothing but the final struggles before death.

And then.

Just those hundred-thousand-plus people.

The hundred-thousand-plus people who had been incomparably arrogant just a moment ago, one by one, turned into black charcoal, falling down one after another.

In the great fire.

Chen Ran had already gone mad.

He was frantically clawing at the ground.

Perhaps when he intended to use Poppy to control Liangshan, he never imagined there would be such a day.

The great fire was about to swallow him.

His twisted face could no longer be recognized as his own.

After a whole night of roaring, his throat had lost its voice.

Finally.

A mass of fire ruthlessly lunged over.

Completely submerging him.

……

Over here, it was equally quiet.

Xie Zhen looked at Liu Zheng with a gloomy face.

The others also looked over one after another.

The torches were still crackling in the light rain, echoing the farm over there from afar.

Everyone was watching Liu Zheng at this moment, waiting for him to speak.

Xie Zhen was even more curious.

Why had he seen through his almost seamless plan?

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Brother, actually, it is very simple. Let us cast aside all matters, all the complex factors..."

He looked at Xie Zhen quietly and said indifferently: "In the entire Southern Barbarian invasion, who was the only beneficiary?"

The air at the scene froze instantly.

Xie Zhen's expression changed slightly.

The Southern Barbarian invasion...

Since Liu Zheng entered Chuan Shu, the whole affair had indeed been moving in Xie Zhen's direction... At a glance, it seemed everything was a coincidence. But when all the coincidences were gathered together, it was no longer a coincidence.

From the very beginning, who exactly brought in these Southern Barbarians?

At this time, a question mark had to be placed there.

Was it Xie Yang?

Actually, at that time, the clamor for Xie Yang to inherit the throne in Chuan Shu was greater than that for Xie Zhen. In such a situation, as long as things developed slowly, Xie Zhen's position would be in jeopardy. How could Xie Yang voluntarily lead the Southern Barbarians into Chuan Shu?

Of course, the Southern Barbarians were indeed in contact with him.

But this must have been a trap Xie Zhen designed for him!

Xie Zhen had been pretending to be honest, pretending to be benevolent and righteous...

By comparison, Xie Yang had instead become a treacherous person.

In reality, it had always been Xie Zhen playing everyone in the palm of his hand.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "So I am also curious, how did you make Xie Yang the blade in your hand, to lead the Southern Barbarians and kill his father?"

Xie Zhen was silent for a moment.

Things had reached this point, and he had nothing left to pretend, so he laughed loudly: "The Grand Canal..."

Liu Zheng nodded.

Ever since he knew Xie Zhen was the mastermind, he had considered this. The Grand Canal had too great an impact on all the Feudatory Kings of the Longyan Dynasty. All kinds of interest relations, all kinds of interest clashes... Xie Zhen only needed to stir up the threat of Liangzhou to Chuan Shu regarding the Grand Canal within Chuan Shu, and naturally, some people would not be able to sit still.

The first to bear the brunt was Xie Yang—because at that time, Xie Yang was the one most likely to inherit the throne.

Xie Yang must have used this matter to offer Admonishment to the Old Shu King.

The Old Shu King still had some affection and understanding for Liu Zheng. Or rather, the Old Shu King had his own considerations; on this matter, he certainly did not follow Xie Yang's wishes.

In such a situation, Xie Zhen stood out, added fuel to the fire, supported the Grand Canal, and praised the great talent and bold vision of the Governor of Liangzhou...

And so.

Everything that followed happened.

Xie Yang felt that if things continued like this, he would surely be sitting and waiting for death. Gritting his teeth hard, he led the Southern Barbarian invasion, and everything followed logically. The Old Shu King was wounded by a poisoned arrow and died suddenly.

And then, Xie Zhen requested aid from the Liangzhou Army.

Liu Zheng led his army south and easily took down his competitor.

Sworn brotherhood...

Liu Zheng asked again: "The one who has been in contact with Xie Ling has always been you, right?"

Xie Zhen chuckled: "Otherwise, why would I lead the Liangzhou Army into Chuan Shu?"

Liu Zheng nodded: "And so, when Chuan Shu was settled, you deliberately incited me to station troops in Liangshan, just wanting me to die in Liangshan... So, you have also known about the existence of this Poppy, or Opium, all along?"

After saying this, his gaze had become incomparably sharp.

Opium!

The existence that had caused the Huaxia nation to suffer so many years of humiliation!

Xie Ling and Xie Zhen have actually been operating to enter the Longyan Dynasty all along!

Such wolfish ambition!

How truly venomous their hearts are!

Xie Zhen laughed: "Second brother, the situation in Chuan Shu is complex. Your elder brother must accumulate family assets to guard against the unexpected, right? Xie Yang and Xie Chen are eyeing the throne like tigers; if I don't have something in my hands, how can I compete for the throne? When the time comes, the one who dies will be me, the one who dies will be me!"

His expression turned ferocious and terrifying: "The struggle for the succession has always been this way; it is either you die or I perish!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"What do you want the Mandarin to do?"

"Having lived in such a family status since I was young, what do you want me to do!"

His roar echoed across this Yuexi Plain.

Manic, angry, agitated, complex...

His fists were tightly clenched, then opened, his emotions so agitated that his whole body trembled.

This line of reasoning was naturally not enough to move one to tears. But the helplessness within it was something one could empathize with.

Xie Zhen stared fixedly at Liu Zheng, a self-deprecating smile flashing in his eyes: "Second brother, do you know? When your elder brother lured you into Liangshan, how much torment I felt in my heart, how much torment... If we could only remain brothers for this lifetime, how wonderful that would be."

"It is a pity..."

He looked up to the sky and laughed: "Xie Ling is the Third Prince, he is a prince!"

"You..."

"Are merely the son of a merchant, a mere Prefect!"

"What does it matter if you are famous throughout the world?"

"What does it matter if you have great talent and bold strategy?"

"What does it matter if your name spreads to the four seas?"

"That's right, you are a talent; to be precise, you should be a genius. But you are destined to only shine briefly in the long river of history. Sometimes, I really envy you... No, sometimes, I even want to become you!"

Xie Zhen's gaze was sharp: "If your talent were matched with my status, what could a mere Xie Ling do?"

"What could a mere Xie Fang do?"

"Therefore..."

He smiled lightly: "Therefore, your elder brother wants to become you... Your elder brother has been becoming you... I promoted the Imperial Examination in Chuan Shu, I created the Factory in Chuan Shu, I used the Point System in Chuan Shu, I organized the Production Team in Chuan Shu, and in Chuan Shu, I established the Cabinet, Public Education, and Public Healthcare..."

"I am imitating you..."

"The Mandarin is imitating you..."

The more Xie Zhen spoke, the more manic he became: "Do you know? Once these things arrived, the entire Chuan Shu came alive! Yes, alive, a vitality like never before!"

The entire scene was silent, listening.

Liu Zheng had not expected this either.

That he had brought such great changes to Xie Zhen...

Imitation...

One could even say it was replication.

He did not even know whether to feel fortunate or depressed.

The natural advantages and geographical conditions of Chuan Shu. If it followed the development model of Liangzhou, given time, the strength of Chuan Shu would shock the entire Longyan.

Liu Zheng took a sip of wine and smiled miserably: "So, after imitating for so long, does elder brother also believe that I am, all the more, deserving of death?"

"Only then can you truly become me..."

"Is that so?"

He lowered his head, looking at his own feet.

Xie Zhen nodded.

The rain began to fall harder at this moment.

The sky, too, brightened.

Liu Zheng slowly raised his head, his eyes already filled with bloodshot veins...

"You should not have touched opium..."

【Author's Note】

I had some things to take care of today, so I'm making up two chapters upon my return. Starting today, three chapters are the baseline, but the website's review process is too slow at night. Starting tomorrow, I will try my best to update during the day. Please urge for updates, please leave good reviews, and please tip.