Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

"Yo!"

"Still pretty tough! No wonder he's from the Secret Intelligence Bureau, even with both hands like this, he didn't scream!"

"Look at this—that's what a real tough guy is!"

Li Shenghai grinned as he looked at Zhao Yuanyi, who was sweating profusely from the pain but still gritting his teeth to keep from crying out.

"However, Commissioner Zhao, have you forgotten what I just said?"

As he spoke, Li Shenghai took two deep puffs of his cigar and then suddenly pressed it down on Zhao Yuanyi's hand!

Sizzle..............

"Ah!" With a sizzling sound of burning meat, Zhao Yuanyi couldn't help but cry out!

"That's more like it! If it hurts, just yell it out. What are you pretending to be, some tough guy in front of me!"

"I've already told you, I'm the kind of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force."

"If you bow your head and admit your mistake now, it might not be too late."

"Li Shenghai!!!" Zhao Yuanyi glared at the monstrous-faced Li Shenghai with a pained expression: "If you have the guts, kill me!"

"I guarantee—your fate will be a hundred times, a thousand times worse than what I've suffered today..."

"Holy crap! You really don't know how to spell 'death'?!"

"You still dare to threaten me?"

Li Shenghai then waved to his subordinates beside him.

"Ah~~~"

Following Li Shenghai's instructions, the two henchmen roughly pulled the two daggers out of Zhao Yuanyi's hands.

"Commissioner Zhao, you're asking for trouble by talking like that."

"You dare to threaten me again and again in front of so many of my brothers!"

"Do you know—you've made me lose face!"

"I've already given you a way out, why aren't you taking it?"

"Come! Come! Come!"

"Considering you are from the Secret Intelligence Bureau and represent the Great Qian Dynasty, I will make an exception this time."

"I won't let you crawl between my legs anymore."

"If you admit defeat and apologize to me in front of the brothers, I won't hold this against you."

"How about that? Isn't that enough face for you?"

"If this were anyone else, I wouldn't have the patience to waste so much breath here..."

"Come on! Speak! Tell me you're wrong."

"Tell me and I'll have someone treat your wound and send you out immediately..."

"Pooh!"

Zhao Yuanyi spat fiercely in Li Shenghai's direction: "Li Shenghai! Just wait and see what the court's wrath will bring!"

"You don't deserve to be my subordinate!!!"

"I am a special envoy of the imperial court, and I would rather die than do anything that would dishonor the dignity of the court."

"Li Shenghai, I'll say it again—if you have the guts, kill me right now!"

"What? You can't stand it anymore?"

"You only want a quick death, and you want me to give you a quick one so you can suffer less?"

Li Shenghai looked at Zhao Yuanyi, whose hands were trembling slightly from the blood, with a mocking expression: "Don't even think about it!"

"Trying to act tough in front of me, hoping to end your life?"

"There's no door!"

"I'd like to see just how tough you secret intelligence agents really are."

"Today, I will personally 'entertain' you, this 'distinguished guest' of the imperial court."

"Don't think that only your secret intelligence agency knows how to use torture. We are also very professional at torturing people."

"I also give Commissioner Zhao a guarantee—I will make him know what it means to wish he were dead!"

"Take him to the torture chamber!"

Seeing that Zhao Yuanyi still showed no sign of yielding, Li Shenghai directly ordered his men to drag Zhao Yuanyi away by force.

-------------------------------------

"General, what should we do with those lackeys who came with the man surnamed Zhao?"

One of his men watched as Zhao Yuanyi was dragged away and then asked Li Shenghai for instructions.

"Holy crap..."

Li Shenghai gave a forced smile to his subordinate who had asked for instructions, his gaze instantly turning sinister: "Is this your first day with me?"

"Does this even need to be asked?"

As he spoke, Li Shenghai pointed in the direction where Zhao Yuanyi had been dragged away: "Their boss just made your boss lose face!"

"I'm so angry now!"

"What do you think should be done about those people?"

"Do you want me to teach you how to do it step by step?"

"Understood, I'll go take care of it right away..." The subordinate hurriedly called a few of his underlings and fled from Li Shenghai's sight.

"General, why don't you rest first, and I'll go to the torture chamber to vent your anger for you!" Liu the One-Eyed rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight.

"No need. I said I would personally 'entertain' Commissioner Zhao properly, and I must keep my word!"

"The general truly keeps his word!"

As soon as Li Shenghai finished speaking, a bald man in plain clothes walked over with a smile.

"That goes without saying!" Li Shenghai tilted his head and looked at the bald man with disdain, "I always keep my promises."

"However, there is one thing I need to make clear."

"I cooperated with you entirely because I could not accept the Great Qian Dynasty's policy on the opium issue."

"Will the weapons, ammunition, and free funds you promised to provide arrive in three days?"

Li Shenghai remained incredibly arrogant: "I've already laid out the unpleasant truths beforehand."

"If I don't see the weapons and funds you promised in three days, you won't be leaving Ganla alive!"

"Please rest assured, General, the weapons, ammunition, and aid funds we promised to provide have been delivered ahead of schedule."

The bald man quickly smiled ingratiatingly: "General, you can send someone to take it over first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Now that we are facing a common enemy, we will definitely help the general to better deal with the Daqian Zhenguo Army in Ganla."

"We will not only provide the general with weapons, ammunition, and funds, but we will also do our best to facilitate the general's intelligence."

"If needed, we can even send a group of guerrilla warfare experts to the general to help train his troops and provide guidance on some guerrilla warfare experience."

"Guerrilla warfare expert?"

Li Shenghai scoffed at the bald man's words: "Forget it! I'm the most professional guerrilla warfare expert!"

"What do you so-called guerrilla warfare experts know about the operational environment of Ganla?!"

"If you're willing to pay, I can train you on how to play guerrilla warfare and hide-and-seek with the Daqian Zhenguo Army..."

Li Shenghai's words immediately drew laughter from his subordinates.

However, the bald man didn't take Li Shenghai's mockery and arrogant attitude to heart at all, and maintained his humility and smile.

"It seems that the general has a clear plan on how to deal with the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"Then I wish the general a swift and successful mission!"

"Mr. Ji knows how to talk."

"Unlike that Zhao Yuanyi, who has a foul mouth and is stubborn, thinking I wouldn't dare touch him just because he's from the Secret Intelligence Bureau!"

Kokichi Saburo is employed by a spy organization in Xiluo and is specifically tasked with operating in the southern region of Qianzhou.

After the Xiluo army voluntarily withdrew from the southern part of Qianzhou, Koki Saburo was ordered to lie low in Ganla.

"Mr. Xiao Ji's Mandarin is really fluent!"

"If I didn't know Mr. Ji's identity, I would never have guessed that he was a remnant of a foreign power..."

"Oh! No! I'm sorry, I misspoke! I didn't mean anything by it, Mr. Ji, please don't take offense."

"The general's words are so humorous..." Kokichi Saburo showed no displeasure whatsoever; his smile was absolutely radiant.

"Someone, please entertain Mr. Ji properly for me. Tonight, I want to drink with Mr. Ji until we drop."

Seeing that Koki Saburo was so "cooperative", Li Shenghai was very pleased: "I'll go and personally 'greet' that tough-as-nails Commissioner Zhao first."

"Once I'm done here, let's have a good drink!"

-------------------------------------

After a while.

The door to the torture chamber opened, and Li Shenghai, a sinister grin on his face, walked in accompanied by two of his men.

Seeing Zhao Yuanyi bound to the rack, Li Shenghai asked, "How is it? Have you figured it out yet?"

"You really prefer to suffer here rather than bow your head and admit your mistake?"

As he spoke, Li Shenghai pointed to the stove and the red-hot branding iron beside him: "If I were to really use those methods on you, you'd be in real trouble!"

"Li Shenghai, actually I really admire you..."

"Hey! Listen to this..."

"Has our Commissioner Zhao finally seen the light?"

A look of surprise appeared on Li Shenghai's face.

"I truly admire your stupidity!"

"The entire Western Luo world was defeated by the Great Qian Zhenguo Army and forced to sue for peace and pay reparations. You actually think you can challenge the Great Qian Zhenguo Army by hiding in Ganla..................."

"It's obvious—this idea of ​​yours can no longer be described as naive or arrogant."

Zhao Yuanyi stared at Li Shenghai with an expression as if he were an idiot: "Your actions and choices can only be described as 'stupid'!"

"I'd really like to ask—where does your courage to openly oppose the imperial court come from?"

"Where does the confidence to wage guerrilla warfare against the Daqian Zhenguo Army in Ganla come from?"

"You don't really think that the mountainous terrain of Ganladuo will be an advantage for you in fighting against the Daqian Zhenguo Army, do you?"

Zhao Yuanyi fearlessly continued to retort to the extremely arrogant Li Shenghai.

"Commissioner Zhao, you're talking a lot of nonsense..."

"What? Are you lecturing me?"

"Teach me how to do things?"

Li Shenghai casually picked up the red-hot branding iron.

However, Li Sheng did not immediately brand Zhao Yuanyi with the hot iron.

"That's fine!"

Li Shenghai gave his subordinate a look, and the subordinate immediately understood and moved a chair to place behind Li Shenghai.

Li Shenghai placed the branding iron on the stove, sat down in his chair, and crossed his legs: "Anyway, I'm just idling around."

"Then I'll have a good argument with Commissioner Zhao about where my courage and confidence come from!"

"Do you think that the Great Qian Zhenguo Army is truly invincible just because it is invincible on the battlefield?"

"Let me tell you—wanting to fight against us shady forces is completely different from a real war!"

"And I'm not afraid to tell you the truth!"

"If this had happened before Ganla became the Ganla Protectorate of the Great Qian Dynasty, and Commissioner Zhao had asked me to give up all my opium business, I really wouldn't have had a good solution."

"No matter how unwilling I am, no matter how much I feel sorry for the interests involved, in the end it seems I can only accept my bad luck."

Li Shenghai said with a smug look on his face, "But now, Ganla has become the Ganla Protectorate under the rule of the imperial court."

"Now that the people of Ganla have become part of the Great Qian Dynasty, I am no longer afraid!"

"Do you know why?"

"Why?" Zhao Yuanyi asked instinctively.

"Don't know? Can't figure it out?"

Li Shenghai's smug expression deepened: "Then let me tell you—because now I've got you all under my thumb!"

"I've got the imperial court wrapped around my little finger!"

"What do you mean?"

Clearly, Zhao Yuanyi still didn't understand the meaning behind Li Shenghai's words.

"What is the loudest slogan that your Great Qian Zhenguo Army shouts all day long, and what is the loudest slogan that the imperial court shouts all day long?"

"Protect the personal safety of the people of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"What does protecting the personal safety of the people of the Great Qian Dynasty have to do with this matter?"

"The imperial court's policy of prohibiting the sale of opium is to protect the people of the Great Qian Dynasty from harm!"

"Yes! I know that opium is a completely harmful substance, and I don't deny that."

"Banning opium is indeed a great thing that benefits the country and its people!"

"I'm not denying that! I admit it!"

"But this policy of the imperial court is blocking my brothers' and my path to wealth. Can we agree to it?"

“We don’t have such lofty awareness as serving the country and the people.”

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have chosen to specialize in shady businesses!"

"It seems—after all this talk, Commissioner Zhao still hasn't grasped the crux of the matter!"

Li Shenghai said smugly, "Alright, I won't beat around the bush with you anymore."

"Let me be frank, I've already figured out how to deal with the Great Qian Zhenguo Army and how to challenge the imperial court!"

"And that's where my courage and confidence come from!"

As he spoke, a cruel and crazed glint appeared in Li Shenghai's eyes: "Doesn't the imperial court always say it wants to protect the personal safety of the people of Daqian?"

"Now Ganla has become the Protectorate of the Imperial Court, and the people of Ganla have become the people of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"I casually swept through several villages and took all the villagers hostage."

"What do you think the Great Qian Zhenguo Army can do to me?"

"What can the imperial court do to me!"