Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 517 Relying on Favor (62)

Yan Zhen looked at the heads of the people, then at Xie Ying, his eyes filled with obvious doubt.

What does Xie Ying mean by this?

He wanted to use these heads to buy his own survival?

“These are the heads of all of Ji Tu’s sons. With the Northern Jurchens losing their heir to the throne, the various tribes will inevitably fight among themselves for the throne. For at least three years, the Northern Jurchens will be unable to invade Daliang again.” Xie Ying paused, his voice lowering. “I want to use these heads to exchange for you sparing the Xie family relatives.”

Yan Zhen narrowed his eyes: "And what about you?"

"I am willing to kill myself if you spare my family."

Yan Zhen stared at Xie Ying, then suddenly chuckled, "What if I don't agree?"

Xie Ying: "..."

Yan Zhen looked at him with a mocking expression: "You've already killed these Northern Jurchens, and the chaos in the Northern Jurchens is over. You're coming back to die with heads in your hands. There are so many Tingzhou soldiers here, and Zhao Yuan is here too. If I don't agree, what can you do? Can you escape?"

Despair gradually crept into Xie Ying's eyes. After a long while, he gave a sad smile: "The victor is king, the loser is villain. So be it, I accept my fate."

As he spoke, he pulled the dagger from his waist and threw it in front of Xie's father, who was kneeling in front of him: "Father, let's go. Don't wait for them to make a move. Let's leave with some dignity."

Mr. Xie was so shocked that his face turned pale.

He picked up the dagger with trembling hands, looked at the gleaming blade, gritted his teeth, and pressed it against his neck.

Xie's mother cried out, but dared not stop them.

Knowing that they could not escape death today, many of the men and women behind them burst into tears.

With the dagger pressed against Xie's father's neck, he trembled violently, yet he couldn't bring himself to strike.

Survival is an instinct; who would willingly end their own life unless absolutely necessary?

Father Xie closed his eyes, then finally released his grip and dropped the dagger. Tears streaming down his face, he looked at Xie Ying and said, "Ying'er, please see me off on my way."

As he spoke, he knelt up, raised his head, and made a gesture of offering his neck for execution.

Xie Ying's eyes reddened, and the pain in them almost overflowed.

He gripped the spear tightly, walked up to Xie's father, and called out a hoarse "Father" before thrusting the spear at him.

The Xie family members cried out in surprise.

"Second!"

"Second uncle!"

When the spear tip was only half an inch away from Xie Ying's throat, it was blocked and deflected by a sword. The force was so great that the spear in Xie Ying's hand flew out and landed with a clatter.

Xie Ying turned his head sharply and saw that the person who had stopped him was Zhao Yuan. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He then realized that Zhao Yuan's intervention was at the behest of Yan Zhen, who was standing next to him.

Seeing Xie Ying's complicated expression, Yan Zhen slowly walked up to him and stood in front of him. He leaned forward and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "How does it feel to be forced into a corner? In my previous life, that's how I was forced to my death."

Xie Ying was stunned and stared at her in shock.

"You asked me why I seem like a different person. It's because I've already died once. In my past life, I was driven to my death by you hypocrites."

Yan Zhen said in a low voice, "You tricked me into going on a marriage alliance, saying that you would bring me back and marry me after pacifying the internal and external troubles. But in my previous life, I stayed in Beijue for nine years and suffered all kinds of humiliation. When I returned to Daliang, what awaited me was a barrage of rumors and ministers who blocked the city gate and forced me to commit suicide to save face for the royal family."

Xie Ying looked on in disbelief and involuntarily staggered back two steps.

“When you need me, I’m the eldest princess sent by the Great Liang to marry a foreign ruler. Once you’ve squeezed out all my usefulness, I’m just a prostitute for everyone to have their way with. You’ve said all the good and bad things about me.” Yan Zhen looked coldly at Xie Ying. “Now, it’s your turn to experience the despair of being driven to the brink of despair.”

Xie Ying: "..."

After saying this, Yan Zhen withdrew the coldness from his eyes and returned to his calm and leisurely demeanor, saying loudly, "Xie Ying, I can spare the Xie family's lives, but you must die."

Xie Ying slowly recovered from his shock, and upon hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I know what to do."

As he spoke, he took one last deep look at the Xie family members kneeling in the front yard, then turned and walked out.

At this moment, Xie Yan struggled to break free from the crowd, clinging tightly to Xie Ying's leg, and cried out, "Second Uncle, no!"

Tears welled in Xie Ying's eyes as he patted Xie Yan's head: "Live well, and..."

He glanced at Yan Zhen and said, "Don't resent anyone."

After saying that, he pried Xie Yan's hands off and quickly left.

A short while later, Chen He came in to report: "Xie Ying has committed suicide."

He presented three tokens: "These are what he asked me to give you before he committed suicide."

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen's last remaining tension snapped.

She took the token, stroking the Xie family crest on it, feeling a warm sensation on her wrist.

She instinctively rolled up her sleeve, and the wound on her wrist had completely healed.

Before leaving the Xie family, Yan Zhen gave one last order.

"The entire Xie family was demoted to commoners, all their property was confiscated, and Xie family members were barred from holding official positions in the court for ten years."

-

In this round of major purges in the capital, one-third of the aristocratic families and officials in the court had their homes confiscated and were exiled. Countless fertile fields, shops, gold and silver treasures were seized.

Tan Xuanmo's harem, including the Empress and more than two hundred concubines, was released from the palace to find their own way to make a living.

The nineteen children born to these concubines were separated. The younger boys and all the girls left the palace with their mothers, while the boys over twelve years old were sent to Taoist temples and left with the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Yan. They were ordered to be strictly guarded and not allowed to leave the temples.

With official positions vacant in the court, Yan Zhen urgently summoned the officials of the six ministries he had established in Yunzhou to the palace to assume their posts.

In the Fengtian Hall, Yan Zhen, facing the memorial presented by the Grand Minister of Agriculture, frantically calculated the amount of farmland confiscated this time using his abacus.

Beside him, Zhao Yuan sat on the steps below the imperial desk, idly wiping his sword with a piece of silk cloth.

"More than 60,000 mu of land, and all of it is top-quality fertile land." Yan Zhen's eyes lit up after calculating the area of ​​fertile land, and he was already imagining and fantasizing about the bumper harvest next year.

If all of these were planted, how could we not be able to feed the people of Daliang?

If people use their land wisely and cultivate it well for two or three years, they will have stored grain in their homes and will not have to worry about going hungry even in the event of a natural disaster.

With surplus grain in the granaries and money in hand, the return of prosperity is just around the corner!

Yan Zhen picked up his pen and began drafting a memorial, his mind filled with planning what to plant according to local conditions. He didn't notice that Zhao Yuan had stopped wiping his sword and was looking at him with worry.

Seeing that Yan Zhen was too busy to pay attention to him, Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked to the imperial desk, placing one hand on the memorial: "Um, I have something to tell you."

Yan Zhen brushed his hand away: "Speak."

"Between the two of us, who do you think would be better off ascending the throne and becoming emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen paused, his pen still.

She looked up at Zhao Yuan: "Of course it's me."

Zhao Yuan: "..."

Yan Zhen's eyes slowly turned cold: "What, you want to take the throne from me?"