After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

While Wang Qingyan was torturing Baili Sanniang, He Yao escaped Lincheng via a completely different route.

From the massacre of over a hundred guards to the final survival of only a dozen or so who managed to escape into Qu City, even the guard captain couldn't imagine what would have happened to them if any link in the chain had gone wrong.

but......

Touching the small vial of blood he kept close to his body, the head guard felt a renewed sense of hope.

...

After rumors spread that "the Wang family has an endless supply of rice and silk," Lu Jian immediately ordered the spies from the Investigation Department to infiltrate the starving people.

Bai Liming naturally followed suit.

Therefore, even though they ultimately failed to stop those bastards, Manager Li, from making a foolish move, they still managed to minimize the casualties among ordinary people through some deliberate guidance.

But Lu Jian never expected that when the people of Lincheng suffered a catastrophe, the entire capital city would also "go crazy".

It was probably a backup plan left behind by Wang Qingyan when he was forced to leave the capital.

Ten times more morning shoots and vines than Yu Fengdu Garden suddenly burst forth from the ground in various parts of the capital and grew wildly.

The entire city was terrified, and all they could do was frantically flee, hide, scream, and run for their lives...

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Lu Jian didn't even have time to change his dragon robe before leading his troops out of the palace and heading straight for the Wang family's old residence, where he personally cleared out the largest morning-blooming mother tree in the city.

He then ordered the soldiers who were arriving one after another to bypass Fengdu Garden and extend the defense line of the outskirts of Beijing to more than 100 miles away.

He then took the opportunity to kill some opportunists, allowing the people of the capital to see directly that their monarch had the absolute ability and courage to provide them with a stable life!

Gradually, the people who were afraid of the Chaosheng tree, the human Gu, and even the name Wang Qingyan, became bolder as they witnessed Lu Jian exterminate the Chaosheng trees one by one.

Especially after the first ordinary person stood up and followed Lu Jian in burning a morning-blooming tree to death, everything became less terrifying.

Not to mention, none of the high-ranking officials and nobles whose wealth was a hundred or a thousand times greater than theirs backed down.

Of course, the high-ranking officials and nobles stated that they were all acting voluntarily, and it was definitely not because Lu Jian had issued the decree to "exterminate nine generations of their families".

As Lu Jian brought the situation under control with force, people realized that those "monsters" that could move and make strange noises were at most just a slightly special tree.

They are afraid of fire, afraid of knives, and even more afraid of pain.

Even a frail woman who lives a secluded life can easily pick up a stone and smash it until it cowers and trembles.

"kill!"

"Kill the entire Wang family!"

"Kill all these monsters!"

......

The people, who hated the Wang family to the core but were unable to take revenge on Wang Qingyan himself, gradually began to unleash their fury on these Gu trees in this atmosphere...

The pain of losing loved ones and the misfortunes in their lives quickly caused the number of Gu trees to decrease drastically.

At the same time, Lu Jian's prestige reached an unprecedented height.

He hardly needed to say anything more, and the people under his rule achieved unprecedented unity.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Lu Jian also used the power of the people to expand into many places near the outskirts of Beijing.

Half of the victims were taken in, and the other half were housed among the starving people who were bound to flee to the capital.

On the eighth day, the royal residence in the capital, which no one had dared to approach before, was razed to the ground by the united people.

The human poison hidden beneath the Wang residence was subsequently exposed.

Initially, the people of the city were both shocked and furious.

Many people were so frightened that they fainted.

But when Lu Jian arrived, he saw...

"This...this..." Cui Yuanshu's face turned pale, and after a while, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed that it was utterly outrageous.

The Vice Minister of War was also horrified. He rarely saw such a scene even on the battlefield. "It's... utterly inhuman!"

Without the Gu Tree, the Gu people under the sunlight quickly turned into piles of withered bones, their stark whiteness sending chills down one's spine.

Who would have thought Wang Qingyan would do something like this?!

"This is bizarre, this is really too bizarre!"

The onlookers' disgust and anger suddenly turned into fear, and even Lu Jian felt extremely terrified.

However, such sentiments must not be allowed to spread among the people.

Therefore, the Vice Minister of War was immediately dispatched to gather a large quantity of white cloth tools...

Then, light three incense sticks. Whether it's just for show or to set an example, just bow three times devoutly to the piles of white bones.

"I hereby swear that one day I will bring the Wang family to justice to comfort your souls in heaven."

“Alas…they are pitiful too…” Cui Yuanshu seized the opportunity and began to shake his head repeatedly, sighing with regret.

Qian Li, who arrived later, expressed his sympathy loudly and was deeply saddened, saying, "Who can say otherwise? They are all citizens of our Great Wei!"

"Yes, it's so pitiful!" said a newly appointed official from the Ministry of Justice.

The older civil official from the Ministry of Rites broke down in tears, overcome with grief, saying, "I wonder whose children they are. If their parents knew, their hearts would break..."

As low sobs rose and fell among the crowd, the surrounding people no longer felt afraid, but were instead filled with righteous indignation.

"What a terrible thing."

"The Wang family deserves to die!"

"Yes! Wang Qingyan deserves to die!"

"That's absolutely inhumane!"

"What a heartless thing! Even a dog wouldn't eat it!"

"This kind of person deserves to be torn to pieces, skinned alive, and dismembered..."

......

"Come and help, everyone!"

Taking the white cloth hastily dispatched by the Vice Minister of War, Lu Jian did not show much discomposure and began to collect the remains and transport them outside the city for burial.

People have no taboos when they see the emperor, so what else is there to say?

They mustered their courage and stepped forward to help clear away the remains. They spontaneously took up hoes and rakes and joined the civil and military officials in digging graves and building tombs for these unnamed people, burning incense and offering sacrifices.

Afterwards, Lu Jian, as usual, organized a meeting.

"Minister Baili, do you think those human-cursed insects are the root cause or the fruit?"

You've even started calling me "my dear minister"?

Baili Ming was speechless; this person was definitely setting a trap for her.

But under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only answer seriously, "I suspect that they are mutually parasitic."

"You mean, the human-like Gu provides nutrients to the Gu tree, and the Gu tree sustains the life of the human-like Gu?"

"I guess so."

"If the Gu tree doesn't support the life of the human Gu, they will die... So why aren't the Gu Guards like that?"

"Moreover..." Lu Jian glanced at the Ministry of Revenue, signaling them to tell him about the situation in the past few days.

Minister of Revenue Cui Yuanshu stepped forward and said, “So far, I have not received any news that the Gu Tree has appeared in other places.”

"This is also my opinion," said Xue Fengshi, who was now the Imperial Censor.

The imperial physician in charge of treating the Gu poison said, "I just went to the clinic and the Gu people there did not show any difference because the Gu tree was destroyed."

Lin Yuchuan, who was in charge of liaising with Qucheng, said, "From Lincheng to Liuzhou, Qucheng, and along the roads leading to the border, we have never seen any Gu trees."

Hearing that other people's answers were all similar, Lu Jian became certain of his own thoughts.

"You all know the function of a 'medicinal guide', right?"

"Your Majesty, are you saying that this batch of human Gu was not intended to be cultivated as Gu guards?"

"In other words..." said a general who thought himself very shrewd, "the traitorous king can no longer use witchcraft on innocent civilians!"

A shrewd colleague behind the general asked, "Then, Your Majesty, can we begin to quell the rebellion now?!"

Lu Jian, “…”

I almost couldn't control myself and kicked him.

Cui Yuanshu gave the two fools a disdainful look, stroked his beard, and cautiously spoke, trying to fathom Lu Jian's thoughts, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

“Besides the three cities, the situation of poisoning in Liuzhou, Cangzhou and other places is also quite serious. If we want to wage war, we must first deal with the places that are very likely to become the source of soldiers for the Wang family.”

"Otherwise, if a war breaks out, the situation will be very unfavorable for our army."

"Most importantly, since there is still hope for the recovery of human Gu compared to Gu Guards, the imperial court cannot ignore it."

"What the Minister of Revenue said is absolutely right," the Vice Minister of War wholeheartedly agreed.

"Firstly, the number of troops we can currently use is not much compared to the three cities, and the troops at the border absolutely cannot be moved."

"Secondly, we don't know if the bandit king still has any nascent tree seeds. We haven't reached the point where war is inevitable yet, so it's not advisable to push him too hard."

"Hmm," Lu Jian nodded. Of course he knew that sending troops now would be tantamount to suicide.

However, there are ways to fight without sending troops.

"The ancient texts record that there is no guide for feeding the Gu, but a variety of methods are used to introduce the Gu, which can drive all things."

"This Chaosheng can turn people into Gu poison and use Gu poison to form a defense mechanism, so why don't we make use of it?"

"..." The ministers looked at each other, somewhat unable to guess Lu Jian's thoughts.

"Don't worry, my lords, there's no rush." ​​He said it wasn't urgent, but his eyes kept glancing at Baili Ming and then at Cui Yuanshu.

Then, he concluded the court session, saying, "I've been busy these past few days, and I'm exhausted. You may all go and rest."

"Yes"

The crowd nodded and withdrew.

A short while later, a close attendant reported that Councilor Baili and the Minister of Revenue had returned.

"What are you two doing here?" Lu Jian, still dressed in his clothes, asked, pretending to be serious while holding a booklet.

Still pretending?

Baili Ming didn't waste any words with him, and stepped forward, saying, "Your subject is willing to defy the world's condemnation."

Lu Jian put down the booklet. "Counselor Baili, why don't you explain it more clearly?"

Baili Ming composed himself and said, "I am willing to cultivate a new 'medicinal ingredient' and put it into the water source of the three cities to resolve the disaster of Chaosheng."

"What if this method doesn't work, or it harms those who haven't been poisoned?" The risk was too great, so he had to prepare for the worst.

Baili Ming bowed his head, "Your Excellency will bear all the consequences."

Cui Yuanshu, standing to the side: Okay, okay, I'll take it!