After persuading the empress to go out of the city to view a batch of elephant soldiers, Ren Baqian was taught a lesson. This made him realize that the people of this world were different from those on Earth and that they reacted differently when encountering things.
Subsequently, these elephant soldiers were sent to the Yun Nation to test how much power they could exert on the battlefield.
After the elephant soldiers left, it was time for the lantern-grabbing contest. Previously, Ren Baqian was coerced by the empress into participating in the contest. Then, he shook his head and won a bunch of shoes.
This time, he accompanied the empress and watched from the sidelines. The two of them were whispering to each other throughout the contest, and it was quite a public display of affection.
Two days after the lantern-grabbing contest, there was another very important matter.
The troops that were transporting the spoils of war and captives from the Yun Nation finally arrived.
There were close to 100,000 captives, 300 carriages filled with gold, silver, jade, and gemstones, and nearly 1,000 ox carts filled with salt.
Originally, there were slightly more than 100,000 captives, but thousands of them died during the month-long journey because they wanted to escape, were beheaded in public, or were injured, and died due to other reasons. In the end, only 96,400 captives arrived.
The number reported was a round number of 96,400. In reality, it could be a little more than that. As they couldn't place too much hope on the statistical ability of the aboriginal militia, who were originally made up of ordinary people, the militia who were transporting the goods had easily omitted the numbers after the 1,000 digits.
As for the missing dozens of captives, at this level, they didn't have much of a concept in their minds.
This procession, which was made up of the militia, spoils of war, and captives, stretched for hundreds of kilometers. The ox carts that were transporting the spoils of war arrived outside Lan City at noon, and the end of the procession would only arrive at noon on the third day.
Naturally, it was impossible to send all 100,000 captives into Lan City for the empress, the officials, and the commoners to view. Logically speaking, a group of captives with the highest status should be selected and paraded through the streets of the city. This was the so-called prisoner offering.
For example, the warlords of the dozens of cities that had been breached and the military generals that had been captured.
Unfortunately, Zi Donglai did not have such a thought in his mind. He had a great time killing. Almost all the castellans and officials in dozens of cities were killed by him. The squires who wanted to resist were also killed. The obedient squires and some low-level officials were left in the original city to maintain order.
In the end, after picking and choosing from this batch of captives, the ones with the highest status were actually only a few lieutenants of the city lord's army and a sect leader of a small sect. There were also a few wealthy merchants who were sent into the city as captives, and they really couldn't be considered anything special.
When the burly and energetic militia escorted hundreds of carriages filled with spoils of war into the city, the entire Lan City was in an uproar.
Both sides of Jingyang Street were filled with people who had heard the news. Even the shops on both sides of the street and the open windows on the second floor were filled with people. When they saw the queue, they immediately cheered.
The militiamen looked at the crowds on both sides and heard the cheers from both sides, and they all looked excited. Seeing this scene, they felt that it was all worth it.
Furthermore, they also understood that they were receiving cheers that should have belonged to the soldiers of the Protectorate of the Northeast.
The ox cart at the front was pulling stacked boxes. The heavy ox cart squeaked as it moved along the stone road.
Even if the boxes weren't opened, the onlookers could imagine what was in the boxes. Images of the boxes filled with gold, silver, and other valuables popped up in their minds.
The reality was just as they thought.
More than 100 carriages at the front were filled with gold and silver. Excluding the boxes, each carriage carried 600 kilograms of gold and silver. The 100 carriages contained 60,000 kilograms of gold and silver. Most of it was silver, and a small amount of it was gold. The total value was equivalent to millions of taels of silver.
However, there were also some jewels and ornaments that were worth more than twice as much.
Behind these 100 carriages were 200 carriages filled with gold and silver utensils, calligraphy, paintings, and other valuable-looking objects. When the cloth covering the carriages was removed, the dazzling gold underneath was revealed. Many items were piled up in a messy manner, giving off a feeling that they were of great value.
It took two hours for the 200 carriages to pass through the crowd. During this time, the cheers were even louder than before.
After passing through the crowd, there were more than 10 haggard-looking captives with their hands tied up and their clothes in rags.
All of them lowered their heads and dragged their weak bodies as they staggered forward. Compared to the tall, strong, and fierce-looking aboriginal commoners that crowded both sides of the road, they were like shivering quails.
"Who are they?" At this moment, the commoners stopped cheering. All of them stared at this group of captives and asked around.
"They seem to be captives!"
"Beat them to death!" someone immediately shouted.
"Beat them to death, my ass. They are to be presented to Her Majesty. Are you going to present them to Her Majesty after they are beaten to death?" someone at the side scolded angrily.
"Oh, that's fine too!" that person immediately replied excitedly. It was worth it to be able to take this opportunity to see Her Majesty!
"It's impossible to present them to Her Majesty. Not in this lifetime. Instead, they will be brought back and given 30 lashes! Don't worry, we will be very gentle! "the public order officer, who was standing at the side, immediately said sinisterly.
At the thought of the public order officer's barbed whips, everyone immediately shriveled up.
The aboriginals were valiant, and there weren't many commoners in Lan City who hadn't been whipped before. Many of them had been sent to the palace twice, thrice, or even more! Three lashes from that kind of whip would cause one to be bedridden for several days. After 30 lashes, one would lose his life.
At this moment, Ren Baqian was wearing an official's robe and standing above the imperial city gate with the empress and the others.
The square in front of the palace below was filled with carriages arriving one after another.
"Greetings, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is mighty! "The militia below immediately cheered when they saw the empress appear at the top of the city wall.
These people couldn't think of anything like, "Your Majesty is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and will benefit the common people for thousands of years. You will rule the world for thousands of years!" In the end, they could only shout, "Your Majesty is mighty!" However, the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic.
These militias came from other cities, and 99% of them had never seen the empress before. At this moment, they were all excited to see her. This trip was really worth it.
"Well done!" the empress said faintly from the top of the city wall. Her voice was flat, but her voice spread throughout the city.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" These plain words made these people feel as if they had received the greatest reward.
"Present!" Following a shout, everyone opened the boxes on the carriages, and the carriages immediately reflected the dazzling gold and silver light.
Tu Wan and the other people from the Ministry of Revenue were elated. 300 carriages of gold and silver were worth at least a few million taels of silver. This batch of gold and silver would be replenished to the national treasury, and the financial situation would finally be a little better.
Tong Zhengye, Qin Chuan, and the others also looked happy as they touched the slips of paper in their arms. The slips of paper were filled with the areas that their departments needed to spend money on.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
