In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 543 Resentment and Rage!

"How could the prince be dead? How could he possibly be dead?"

Zhu Changhe's pupils trembled, and he muttered incoherently to himself. He simply couldn't believe that someone like the prince could die.

It should be noted that the Prince's mansion is heavily guarded, with 200 personal guards of the eighth rank or above, plus Xia Yan, the fourth-rank peak personal guard commander, and the Prince's own strength. Even if a battle-hardened army came, it would be impossible for them to break through the mansion in a short time.

But then Steward Wang told him that the prince was dead, which left Zhu Changhe completely blank, with no idea whether Steward Wang was lying.

"Oh dear, General!"

Steward Wang stamped his feet anxiously and said, "This is absolutely true. The prince has indeed been killed by a thug. What we need to do now is to seal off the city as soon as possible and capture the murderer. Otherwise, if the court and His Majesty blame us, neither you nor Master Wang will be able to escape responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changhe instantly snapped back to his senses, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes.

As the commander-in-chief of the Qingzhou army and a third-rank military officer of the imperial court, strictly speaking, he had no responsibility to protect the Prince of Qing. However, he was near the prefectural city, while the Prince of Qing died in the prefectural city...

Under such circumstances, the imperial court and His Majesty would not care whether Zhu Changhe had a responsibility to protect the Prince of Qing.

In other words... the death of the Green King is very likely related to Zhu Changhe.

The thought of this made Zhu Changhe tremble uncontrollably.

He didn't rise to the position of commander-in-chief of the Qingzhou Army through his own abilities, but rather through the favor of the prince. This meant that the Prince of Qing was his only backer, and now that the Prince of Qing is dead, the officials in the capital will probably never let him sit in this high position as commander-in-chief of the Qingzhou Army again.

After all... the higher you go in officialdom, the fewer positions there are, and countless people are eyeing the position Zhu Changhe holds.

If Zhu Changhe himself had no flaws, it would be fine. But unfortunately, Zhu Changhe is not a clean person. He has done a lot of despicable things, such as bullying men and women and accepting bribes. In the past, with the help of the Prince of Qing, he was able to hold on to his position as the commander of the Qingzhou Army. Now that the Prince of Qing is gone, those powerful families in the capital who covet this position can take away his official hat in no time.

Not to mention... Zhu Changhe has a fatal flaw at this time, which is that the Prince of Qing died in the prefectural city!

If those officials in the capital were to use this matter to cause trouble, let alone securing his position, it's uncertain whether Zhu Changhe could even save his own life...

The thought of this possibility made Zhu Changhe tremble even more violently.

"General, are you okay?"

Noticing Zhu Changhe's unusual behavior, Butler Wang hurriedly asked.

"fine."

Zhu Changhe waved his hand, forcing himself to calm down, and then said, "Steward Wang, you are right. The only way for us to make amends and avoid being punished by the court is to capture the murderer."

As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in Zhu Changhe's eyes. He had finally managed to climb to this position by serving the Prince of Qing, and he would never allow himself to lose this position, much less risk his life!

"Somebody come!"

Zhu Changhe roared.

Soon a messenger entered and knelt on one knee: "General."

"Issue my order: mobilize the entire army and surround the city. No one, not even a fly, is allowed to leave the city before I give the order."

"Yes."

The messenger received the order and left.

Soon, a large number of soldiers in the camp began to move.

It must be said that the Qingzhou army was indeed elite, at least in terms of speed in executing orders. In less than half an hour, the 50,000 Qingzhou soldiers had completely surrounded the four directions of the prefectural city.

At the same time, all four city gates were tightly closed, giving no one a chance to leave the city!

"Why are you stopping us? We want to leave the city."

"I'm just a merchant, why are you stopping me from leaving the city?"

"Exactly! We have travel permits, why won't they let us leave the city?"

"..."

Many caravans and pedestrians who wanted to leave the city looked at the tightly closed city gates with dejected expressions.

They were all well-informed people, and upon learning of the death of the Green King, they immediately realized that if they did not leave the city quickly, they might not have another chance to leave.

However, they were too late. Before they could even leave the city, the Qingzhou army had already reacted quickly and sealed off the entire prefecture.

Even some people who had successfully left the city were forcibly driven back by the Qingzhou army.

"Choke!"

A general from the Qingzhou army drew his sword and announced loudly, "The general has ordered that the city be sealed off, and no one is allowed to leave the city even a step."

"Why can't I leave the city? I want to leave the city and go home."

"That's right! I want to leave the city."

"You soldiers are so domineering! We came into the city to sell vegetables. Why can't we leave the city after we've sold our vegetables?"

"..."

Some of the bolder men spoke up in protest. The city of Fucheng, with a population of 50, saw a huge flow of people coming and going every day. Merchants would transport goods into the city to sell, and vegetable farmers from outside the city would also transport fresh vegetables to sell. Even villagers from nearby areas would come to the city to make a living...

It can be said that the closure of the prefectural city affected the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people.

Therefore, when they saw the city gates were closed, many people were very dissatisfied and demanded that the Qingzhou army open the city gates and let them leave.

However... it was clearly impossible for the Qingzhou army to open the city gates.

Looking at the clamoring crowd, a general from the Qingzhou army had a cold glint in his eyes and swung his sword!

"Pfft!"

Blood splattered, and a huge head flew into the air.

The man who had just spoken was instantly beheaded with a single blow. This bloody scene silenced the crowd. The people who had spoken earlier touched their necks and instinctively backed away, afraid that they would also be stabbed.

"Noisy!"

The general wiped the blood from his blade and said coldly, "In the Qingzhou Army, those who disobey orders die!"

Upon hearing this, the businessmen and ordinary people present fell silent.

It was only then that they realized that the Qingzhou Army... or rather, the army of Kyushu, was not someone to be reasoned with. These soldiers wielding sharp blades were truly capable of killing.

The Qingzhou army, in particular, under the rule of the Qing King, had long since developed an arrogant and spoiled nature; killing was nothing new to the Qingzhou soldiers…

It's just an everyday meal.

"Everyone, retreat immediately!"

The general glanced once more at the people at the city gate and said, "Otherwise, die!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the people dared not linger and quickly left.

Upon seeing this, a look of satisfaction appeared in the general's eyes.

However... he failed to see the resentment and anger hidden in the eyes of many ordinary people.