The Lovely Heiress Is Actually A God Beast

Chapter 1452: Chapter 1452: Emperor’s Thunderous Tactics

The Elder Ge and his grandson visited several places, but whenever they inquired about any villages near the city, people hesitated and seemed fearful, eventually saying nothing.

Elder Ge’s heart sank repeatedly. He hoped nothing was amiss in Jiangnan and had prayed at a temple before departing, wishing for a smooth journey without incidents.

But now, the answer was practically before his eyes.

There were no beggars in the city, creating an outward appearance of prosperity. The city’s residents were unwilling to mention surrounding villages, hiding a secret of floods that had occurred, submerging villages. Beggars were likely the remaining refugees from these villages, all secretly dealt with.

The beggar witnessed earlier had not been dealt with simply because he wasn’t a refugee.

Elder Ge, with his experience in officialdom, connected various clues and essentially grasped the situation, knowing the mutual protection among Jiangnan officials was not unfounded, and the flood had indeed happened but was concealed.

The emperor sits on the dragon throne in the Imperial Palace, yet is aware of affairs throughout the land. This is what sets the emperor apart from ordinary people.

Once the emperor is deprived of news from the realm, if Jiangnan’s flood truly remains hidden, what is the next step?

Elder Ge felt the Jiangnan flood seemed more like a test, probing the capability of the emperor ruling from high above.

In fact, this emperor’s ascension to the throne was somewhat unconventional, being a prince sent away in the past, hence many were dissatisfied and unwilling to accept him as emperor.

It’s unsure which Prince stands behind the Jiangnan officials.

What Elder Ge could comprehend, Little Taotie also understood deeply after receiving Elder Ge’s implicit letter.

The flood undoubtedly occurred.

The flood submerged an existence.

For the Jiangnan officials, testing the depth of the New Emperor with a village’s lives was deemed worthwhile.

It also showed their brazen confidence, perhaps thinking that even if discovered, since many were involved, the New Emperor would not impose severe penalties.

But they evidently miscalculated.

Little Taotie arrived—the prince expelled from the palace due to smallpox—with his troops to Jiangnan.

Upon arrival, he notified no one, suddenly appearing and ordering his troops to arrest the culprits.

All officials across Jiangnan, big and small, were captured by thunderous means.

The families of the offending officials initially remained unconcerned, believing it would result in nothing more than a few days’ imprisonment or a deduction of salaries.

But when they learned that the officials would be executed at the city gates, everyone was stunned.

At this point, no amount of begging or attempts to bribe could reverse the situation.

Little Taotie only punished the perpetrators, sparing their families from penalties, although those who had targeted refugees were dealt with separately.

Jiangnan underwent a rapid and thorough cleansing.

This swift action left the forces behind scrambling and nearly exposed.

Yet, ultimately they managed to keep it concealed.

Little Taotie thought them laughable indeed, openly seizing the throne, testing it with a village’s lives, gaining no advantage, utterly foolish!

Little Taotie joined forces with Elder Ge and his grandson; Elder Ge sighed slightly seeing the New Emperor and his troops.

He was constantly worried that he and his grandson would be discovered and secretly killed by Jiangnan officials.

Days of exhaustion and fear led to Elder Ge falling ill upon returning to the Imperial City.