Chapter 802: First Volume, Chapter 802: Chaos in the Capital

First Volume, Chapter 802: Chaos in the Capital

The Ministry of War officials present dared not even breathe.

Seeing Chen Si's face dark with fury, Minister of War Zhang Bingguo quickly waved his hand, signaling all officials to withdraw first.

Once the DaTang was left with only "our own people," Zhang Bingguo cautiously asked: "General Chen, although our Great Di has suffered military defeat, our national prestige remains intact; the people spontaneously surrounded Qin Feng, and no official intervened—this is already leniency enough."

"General Chen may not be aware, but after Qin Feng's disturbance in Yucheng, many officials proposed harshly crushing this man's arrogance."

"Had it not been for Grand Secretary Li's suppression, Qin Feng today would not have merely been surrounded by the people."

Although Li Yu held great respect for Chen Si, he always felt Chen Si was overly fearful of Qin Feng, to the point of being timid and hesitant.

He immediately took up the thread, speaking in a low, firm tone: "Qin Feng is our Great Di's blood feud; the people's fury is both reasonable and justified!"

Hearing this, Chen Si let out a long sigh.

"Grand Secretary Li, Minister Zhang, you do not understand the methods of that man Qin Feng."

"Ultimately, this man has a face thicker than brick, bordering on shameless audacity."

"I guarantee Qin Feng will use this incident to pressure us; when that time comes, even if he demands increased war reparations, we will have no choice but to swallow our bitterness."

Increased war reparations?

Li Yu and Zhang Bingguo exchanged glances, their eyes heavy with gravity.

Through the diplomatic mission's joint efforts, the reparations had already been slashed by several tiers, yet for Great Di, they remained an astronomical sum.

But remembering how Qin Feng had beaten Lü Zhu Guo, both fell silent in unison.

They began internally weighing whether money mattered more than face.

Chen Si naturally understood their thoughts and immediately explained: "Everyone assumes that when Qin Feng arrives in Wang Du, enduring some humiliation is only natural."

"But have either of you considered this?"

"Liang's laws are strict: no one may ride a horse through the streets, unless there is urgent beidi war intelligence or an emergency of utmost urgency—even an Imperial Prince entering Jingdu must dismount and walk, at most riding a palanquin."

"Lü Zhu Guo rode his horse through the streets to show off, violating Liang's law; further, he charged into Heavenly Son's Subjects—Qin Feng's response was entirely justified."

"In contrast, when Qin Feng entered the city, he dismounted immediately at the City Gate; all his thousand accompanying soldiers remained stationed outside, and he brought only a small escort."

"Faced with the people's encirclement and interception, he merely endured, offering no resistance, not even a single defiant word."

"On the surface, Qin Feng lost face—but when he reaches the Imperial Court, he will recover every ounce of dignity."

Hearing Chen Si's words, Li Yu suddenly saw the truth.

Qin Feng strictly obeyed Liang's laws, showing no hint of overstepping; yet upon entering the city, he was blocked and cursed by Great Di's Heavenly Son's Subjects—minimally, this was outrageous; maximally, it was deliberate provocation toward Liang.

Given Qin Feng's nature, if he did not make this incident known throughout Heaven, he would not be Qin Feng.

Li Yu immediately clasped his fists in salute and bowed deeply to Chen Si: "General Chen, I have had little direct encounter with Qin Feng and failed to understand his tactics, repeatedly misjudging the situation—I beg you not to blame me. From now on, all matters concerning Qin Feng shall be decided solely by you."

Chen Si waved his hand, speaking with solemn gravity: "This is not merely my concern—it is the entire Great Di's concern. Grand Secretary Li, do not blame yourself; right now, we must find a way to appease Qin Feng."

"We have gone to great lengths to lure him to Wang Du—we must keep him steady, and absolutely must not let him roam freely outside the city; the disaster in Sangzhou must not replay elsewhere."

Sangzhou…

Li Yu's spine turned cold; only then did he awaken to the truth: Qin Feng was no one to be easily manipulated—if they slipped even once, the entire Great Di might be buried.

Li Yu dared not show the slightest contempt again and immediately turned to Zhang Bingguo: "Minister Zhang, dispatch troops immediately to the City Gate to restore order—do not let the mob continue cursing Qin Feng."

Zhang Bingguo also grasped the severity of the issue; he slapped his thigh decisively: "I'll go myself."

Chen Si and Li Yu nodded vigorously, speaking in unison: "Then we rely on you, Minister Zhang."

…

"Qin Feng, you son of a thousand curses, your children will be born without an anus!"

"Wretch, you slaughtered tens of thousands of our Great Di soldiers and forced us to pay exorbitant war reparations—you're a monster that devours flesh and spits out bones!"

"That's right—give back Sangzhou to us, or you won't go anywhere!"

Listening to the vile curses and insults around him, Ning Hu's face turned pitch black; he longed to draw his blade and charge right then.

But when he looked at Qin Feng, he saw Qin Feng smiling broadly.

As if these curses sounded… pleasant?

"Born without an anus? Cursing my descendants? Noted."

"Damn, this old man's tongue is even sharper—he cursed me to die before nightfall, struck by five heavenly thunderbolts?"

"Curse on, keep cursing!"

Seeing Qin Feng laughingly accept every insult, Ning Hu growled low: "Brother Qin, how can you still laugh?"

"You are the Tianlu Marquis of Great Liang—how can you endure such humiliation?"

Facing the indignant Ning Hu, Qin Feng's expression turned stern, irritable: "Humiliation? What humiliation? This is outright cursing!"

Ning Hu frowned: "What's the difference?"

Qin Feng snorted: "The difference is immense!"

"Insulting someone merits only a slap; cursing is equivalent to Zao Xu Gu Du and Yan Mei Zui—in severe cases, punishable as murder!"

"So many people cursing me together—this is a major matter!"

Recall that even in Qin Feng's time, malicious cursing could constitute disorderly conduct.

In this superstitious, feudal era, cursing someone was never trivial.

But since verbal curses are hard to prove, they rarely lead to conviction—hence why ancient practices like sticking pins into dolls or stepping on eight-character charms were severely punished upon discovery: ironclad evidence existed.

Now, so many Great Di civilians are openly cursing Qin Feng on the Street—and they've even spared the trouble of gathering evidence!

Watching Qin Feng's smug expression, Ning Hu finally understood: Qin Feng had seized another advantage over Great Di.

This man was terrifying—utterly relentless, leaving no opportunity unexploited to drive his enemies to ruin!

Meanwhile, Jing Ci, who had been trailing behind, watched more and more civilians surge forward, their vile curses and insults filling the entire Street.

A sense of foreboding rose in her heart.

"We can't let things go on like this. Although it's true that public anger is hard to defy, if we don't impose some restraint and allow Civilian Morale to keep boiling over, I'm afraid it will breed a great disaster."