Gift of the Fox

Chapter 35: Bloody Emperor Beilangshen

After the coronation of the new emperor, the rumours about Beilangshen's severity and bloodthirst spread all across the empire and even beyond its borders - the ruthless 4th prince who had killed his brother the emperor, massacred the whole Guan Clan in a single hall and didn't even pity a heartbroken mother who had already lost two eldest sons.

"Please! Mercy at least my young boy! Wang San! No!" 

Lady Mu's desperate screams deafened the hall, but the emperor's eye remained icy cold.

"I'm having mercy on him - I'm not torturing him to death."

He swung his hand and the executioner landed his sword on Wang San's neck. The bloodied head rolled off. Lady Mu was shedding tears in agony and scratching her face with her nails.

"You monster!"

"Am I? You, the whole Guan household, murdered Emperor Wang Ru, then, killed my mother Yin Yue, who was absolutely innocent, and what's more, you blamed all of your disgustful sins on her, shaming our clan's name!" 

Shao swung his hand again, and Mu was killed just like her other clan members. Seeing such bloody slaughter, Xin Tao got in indignation:

"How can you be so ruthless to them?"

Shao glared at him:

"Don't you ever dare raise your tone in front of me! These people killed my whole family and left me to suffer, seeing their deaths before my eye! They murdered my father, the late emperor, my mother, everyone!"

Seeing the emperor in such a wrathful and bitter mood, Tao decided to talk to him later.

Beilangshen didn't get satisfied with the blood of only the Guan Clan. He slaughtered all of the supporters of Wang Di and Wang San, all the friendly clans of the Guan Clan, and didn't even give the Yin Clan, his own household, much free space. He instead decided to discard the noblemen from the high positions altogether and assigned mixed-blooded army warriors to their places, building a strong system of mixed-blooded, denied, and thrown-aways, who would only listen to his orders. It was a completely tyrannical and militaristic system. Bloody orders were being written down and sealed one after second. The whole country fell into huge turmoil. Some noblemen would rebel, but the rebellions were suppressed in blood, so, eventually, people had no choice but to cope with it. 

Beilangshen freed the Vidar slave warriors and gave them full positions in the army. Since only he could speak Nordic among the Wanglongian noblemen, this army was his private guard and obeyed only to him as to their Vidarian kin (the Vidar warriors were all well acquainted with his late father Erik von Thorsten, for they were his people; So, they always fulfilled the orders of Wang Shao, whom they perceived as one of their brethren). 

Xin Tao rose from the private servant position to the grand vizier one, along with Nick Beanson. Furthermore, Beilangshen showed grace to his two brothers who were desperately fallen in love with the slave maidens and attested to their request for marriage. Thus, Liz Schettner and Tiegan Brown were freed and wedded to their beloved Wang Wu and Wang Hu. As the three brothers were completely loyal and obedient to their eldest brother, Beilangshen left them in their high positions but kept them off politics. Wang Wu, Wang Hu, and Wang Jong didn't have high ambitions either way so they obeyed the emperor in this matter too.

Beilangshen's severity wouldn't end here. He ordered to strengthen the police system of the country and made the laws strict and severe like they were only in Nordheim. Every criminal was often sentenced to the death penalty. 

Even though Wanglongian nobles were not satisfied with such tyranny, the other tribes of the empire (Moguls, Nipons, Koryeoians, etc.) were quite happy, for they finally gained a chance to get appointed to high positions and were treated equally to Wanglongian natives. People argued about Beilangshen - some considered him a bloody monarch, while others claimed that he was just and righteous. One thing was clear, though - the empire of Wanglong got stronger and fiercer than ever before, with his bloody reforms. Hence, soon, the savage armies of Lord Beilangshen were more than ready to lead conquering wars in all directions, instead of just leading defensive wars as it was in Wang Ru's epoch. 

Nick and Tao got their hopes high that if Beilangshen led his armies to the north against Sorovin, they would finally manage to free their beloved little country from the Sorovs' clutches and reunite with their family.