The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Even at a time like this, she's still struggling; the queen bee's will to survive is truly extraordinary.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Let me guess, you want to use the wealth you've plundered over the years to save your life, right?"

Yan Zhen roamed Wushang for two years, and the amount of grain, gold, and silver he plundered was considerable; if obtained, it would be a substantial income.

Yan Zhen, whose thoughts had been exposed, showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, he calmly smiled and said, "Isn't this what you came for?"

Guan Xing nodded and said, "That's true, but you've forgotten one thing: the Han army is a righteous army and never makes deals with villains who harm the people."

"I want you to obediently hand over the looted wealth, but I will not agree to any of your conditions."

Yan Zhen was so angry he laughed, and couldn't help but curse, "Trying to get something for nothing? You're even more shameless than me, but why do you think I'd say that?"

"Just because you're in my hands," Guan Xing said calmly, "I can easily torture you to make you talk."

"You could be a tough guy and refuse to confess, but the question is, can you handle it?"

"Here's what we'll do. I have a few torture methods for you to try. If you think you can't take it, then confess honestly. If you think it's nothing, then we'll give it a try."

"Let's warm up with a whip first. Dip the whip in salt, and one lash will tear your skin apart. I wonder how many lashes you can withstand?"

"Secondly, the tiger bench. They fix you to a long bench, tie your calves with ropes, and then place bricks under your feet. With each brick added, the ropes tighten a little more. I estimate that after three or four bricks, your legs would break."

"If you're not afraid of that, let me tell you the third one. I'll give you a hot bath with boiling water until your skin is bright red, then I'll take a steel brush and scrub you hard a few times. With one stroke, all the blood and flesh will be scrubbed into minced meat. I reckon it won't be long before I get to the bone. Just imagine that scene, ugh..."

"If you can withstand one more, find a saw blade and insert it into your shoulder blade, then have two people pull it back and forth. You can clearly hear the sound of the bone being cut by the saw blade."

"Stop talking..." Yan Zhen felt his scalp tingle as he listened, and glared at Guan Xing from the corner, saying, "You're the real bandit. Compared to you, I'm practically a saint for ten lifetimes."

These tortures sent chills down his spine just thinking about them. If they were actually inflicted on him, Yan Zhen felt that death would be a relief.

Not only him, but Ji Jie and Meng Jun behind him also felt their scalps tingle and looked at Guan Xing with a hint of fear in their eyes.

Captain Guan looked thin and weak, and had a scholarly appearance, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless. If he had fallen into my hands, I would have suffered a fate worse than death.

Guan Xing continued, "I believe the Queen Bee is a tough guy who can withstand torture, but can you guarantee that your brothers will be as tough as you? If they can't hold back and confess, then you've been holding back for nothing, haven't you?"

"They may not know the location of your treasure, but they should know the places you frequent. With that information, finding your hidden wealth is only a matter of time, don't you think?"

Yan Zhen grew anxious and, after a moment's thought, said, "General Guan, besides my wealth, I have other uses. I know the locations of many Yue tribes, and even the hiding place of the Yue chieftain. I can give you all this information, just asking for a way to live. What do you say?"

South of Wushang are mountains, where many Yue tribesmen hide and raid every now and then.

Eastern Wu did not tolerate the Shanyue people. Whenever they dared to cause trouble, they would immediately send troops to suppress them. Even when the Shanyue people did not cause trouble, Eastern Wu would come over every few days to plunder them and replenish their own money, food and manpower.

In short, the people of Eastern Wu were subservient to Cao Cao, but they attacked the Yue tribes with full force.

Now, the pitiful Shan Yue has become Yan Zhen's lifeline again, and he desperately hopes that Guan Xing will spare his life for Shan Yue's sake.

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "You're overthinking it. My biggest enemy right now is the Wu army. I'm already struggling to deal with them. How can I have the mind to provoke the Shanyue? Are you trying to harm me?"

"Uh..." Yan Zhen gave up and leaned against the wall, resigning himself to whatever happened.

Destroy it, I'm tired.

Guan Xing continued, “You are guilty of countless crimes and evil deeds. Even if I wanted to let you go, the people of Wushang would not agree. The only thing I can promise you is to hand over the looted wealth and give you a quick death. Think about it, but remember, my patience is limited and I won’t wait for you for long.”

"Fine, I'll confess." Yan Zhen reluctantly gave in and honestly revealed his secret treasure trove.

What else can we do but tell? Can we take all that wealth to our graves?

Guan Xing laughed and said, "You should have cooperated earlier. Why did you waste my breath?"

"Ji Jie, take a statement from Chief Yan, have him sign and put his fingerprint on it, and then cross-compare it with the statements of the other chiefs. If they match, everything will be fine; if they don't, we'll have a good talk with Chief Yan."

Yan Zhen: "..."

That damned Guan Xing, you're even more despicable than that bastard Zhu Hong.

He wanted to fabricate a story to make Guan Xing take a longer, more unnecessary trip, or to leave half of the benefits to Guan Xing so that he wouldn't get all the advantages, but he was also afraid of being betrayed by his own men and getting beaten up by Guan Xing.

It's not worth enduring torture when you're about to die. Besides, the torture Guan Xing mentioned is too terrifying. If you were to suffer a few of those tortures, you probably wouldn't even have a whole corpse left.

Forget it, I'll admit defeat. I can't take it with me anyway.

With this in mind, Yan Zhen readily revealed the location of his hidden treasure. Guan Xing had him sign his name and press his fingerprint on it before leaving satisfied.

Watching his retreating figure, Yan Zhen felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Who says bandits are ruthless? These officials are far more ruthless than us bandits.

If I had known this would happen, I would have pursued a career in government.

Unfortunately, I realized it too late, and it hurt too much.

Besides the queen bee Yan Zhen, the poisonous bees also have seven leaders, who together with Yan Zhen are known as the Eight Great Vajras.

The Eight Vajras had been plundering for years, and in addition to public funds, each of them had their own secret treasury. They originally intended to save some money for themselves, but now...

Under Guan Xing's coercion and enticement, all eight of his henchmen obediently revealed the location of their vaults.

After the interrogation was completed, Guan Xing convened a meeting with everyone.

Inside the county government hall, Xie Chong stepped forward first to report: "Captain, in this ambush, we killed 213 bandits and captured 1,375. After interrogation, 87 of them were found to be utterly wicked and beyond redemption, while the others did not deserve to die. Please advise on how to deal with them, Captain."

The members of the Poisonous Bees were all bandits who robbed and plundered. It was unrealistic for them to be completely innocent. Guan Xing couldn't possibly kill all of them. He could only differentiate them based on their crimes and then deal with them separately.

Guan Xing pondered, "For those whose crimes don't warrant death, ask them their opinions. Those who want to stay can be incorporated into the army for training and reform, while those who want to go home can be given travel expenses and sent away."

"As for those serious criminals, let them be executed along with Yan Zhen. We need to give an explanation to the people of Wushang who were harmed by them."

“But before the execution, we need to squeeze out as much of his remaining value as possible. Shen Yi, you take this group of people around to the nearby villages and tell the people that the poisonous bees have been wiped out, so they can go out to work with peace of mind. After that, take them back to the county town and execute them publicly, just like you dealt with Gu Mu.”

As I said before, the most important thing about the reform is propaganda; we must spread the goodwill of the Han army.

If you do charity work but don't promote it, then you've wasted your time!

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this. They were about to kill Yan Zhen, yet they still wanted to squeeze more money out of him. Captain, you really are like a shrew who squeezes every last feather from a passing goose.

“Yes, sir…” Shen Yi stepped forward to receive the order.

Guan Xing continued, "Let's talk about the work ahead. Wu Jun hasn't given us much time, and there are a few things we need to get done quickly."