Chapter 169

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Many more people continued to die.

Even before the culprits of the Yongbong Guild incident had all been killed, the reckless executioners received additional work.

The number of those sentenced to death continued to skyrocket.

The former magistrate of Aninhyeon who sold Guanghon Mountain to the commoners, the local aristocrats and martial artists who collaborated or facilitated this, as well as their families—all were implicated.

In just one county, the number of people involved exceeded four hundred.

Their punishment was, of course, execution.

“Morphine and cocaine sales weren’t this bad, so I let my guard down…! But after taking on the new product, my underlings started bowing excessively… Wait, stop it! I said stop it…! Bastards… Please…”

“If you wish to die peacefully, expose your superiors.”

“I don’t know… I don’t know. Things didn’t turn out the way you’re saying. The people who brought us the goods knew nothing either…!”

“All of you say the same thing. Carry out the execution.”

“No!”

It wasn’t only in Aninhyeon that the bloodshed occurred.

At the palace, Lady Kang, once favored by the Emperor, suffered greatly.

“The evidence is already here. Confess your crimes and beg for mercy.”

“Let me see His Majesty. I’m truly innocent…!”

“Over two hundred silver bars and leftover Guanghon were found at the residences of Magistrate Gan and Judge Sim. We even obtained confessions about secretly burying the victims of Guanghon.”

“How could I have known about that…? I don’t even know where Aninhyeon is.”

“It cannot be helped. Strike her.”

“Aaaaaaaargh!!”

Beating, questioning, and more beating.

Lady Kang, who had lived in luxury all her life, couldn’t bear it for even half a day before breaking her silence.

“I did nothing, but perhaps it was the inns under my name…”

“Are you saying the palace maidens were responsible for something this big?”

“Not the maidens, but… sob sob. My father and brothers.”

“The criminal has begun to speak. Inform the Grand Hall.”

“Aaaah….”

Ultimately, Lady Kang confessed that her family was involved with Guanghon.

From that point, the bloodshed escalated on a massive scale.

Her father, older brother, younger brother, and brother-in-law—all who held official positions—and their families were implicated.

“Arrest them all.”

Lady Kang’s family was exterminated in a single day as all its members were dragged away by the officials.

After being tortured into confessing under duress, they were immediately taken to the execution grounds.

It was unavoidable. The Emperor’s decree was clear: all those involved with Guanghon must die without exception.

Even the officials didn’t dare comment on the harshness of the punishments. The shock of the disaster at Yongbong Guild was still fresh.

So they were all executed.

The method was primarily slow slicing. However, this method began to be replaced by beheading due to the orders of the traveling executioner (imperial official who bypasses the Ministry of Justice and implements the emperor’s will), as it was taking too much time to execute so many with slow slicing.

There were simply too many people to kill.

They killed and killed and killed some more.

When the executioners collapsed from exhaustion, the imperial guards joined in the bloodshed. By this point, it was no longer about execution—it was outright slaughter.

This went on for ten days.

The capital city of Nanjing, the seat of the empire, gradually turned crimson with blood.

…

…

“Is it over?”

“It appears the executions are still ongoing. I will verify.”

Emperor Tang Yeon-cheol simply shook his head after hearing the eunuch’s report.

After all, those who had been or would soon be executed were no longer his concern.

Even if some of them still had their heads attached, what difference did it make? They would soon be dead anyway.

To be honest, it was merely a routine inquiry from Emperor Tang. It was difficult for him to stay composed given the sheer number of deaths.

More than two thousand people had been sentenced to death under his orders.

Courtesans and attendants who distributed narcotics through the Yongbong Guild, their families.

The remnants of the Nan Gong and Huang Bo families who attacked the Yaowang Sect based on rumors.

Aninhyeon’s former magistrate and his supporters.

And even…

“Apparently, I will have wiped out my own in-laws as well.”

Lady Kang and her entire family were being wiped out. It was a heavy blow, even for Emperor Tang.

Lady Kang.

She was one of the emperor’s favored concubines.

She wasn’t just beautiful but also had the talent to comfort him and provide a sense of calm. Since taking her as a concubine, he had summoned her for intimacy at least once a week. Though she hadn’t yet given birth to a son, she had delivered a beloved daughter.

Concubines could always be replaced.

But even he, a mere mortal despite his throne, struggled with the weight of sending an admired woman and her family to their deaths. It wasn’t just uneasy—it was deeply distressing.

The actions were beyond what could ever be justified by humanity.

But he had no choice. Failing to punish them would have been unfair.

At least Lady Kang was spared exile to Waili Anzhi. The remaining family members were executed. Actually, her survival was due to the advisors who argued that the emperor’s daughter’s mother shouldn’t be put to death.

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

Lady Kang and her family, including her relatives, had sought bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to the circulation of Guanghon Mountain.

One could even argue that this was a crime worse than simply selling drugs, potentially.

If there had been no evidence, it might have been dismissed as slander.

But the contents of secret letters were verified, and the involved parties confessed. Moreover, they had unknowingly saved many commoners from the clutches of addiction.

Yet, despite all this, why did restlessness and anxiety persist?

‘Could I have made a mistake?’

A fleeting thought crossed Emperor Tang’s mind that perhaps the policy of killing entire families was too extreme.

Of course, this policy did instill immediate awareness about the dangers of narcotics.

From now on, people would be much less likely to become servants of Alan Medoff simply out of greed for wealth, given the stakes—after all, no one would want their entire family to die.

The problem was that there was no way to know how many were involved.

How many more would have to die?

It was entirely possible that the situation might escalate from thousands to tens of thousands killed if another secret letter was discovered within the palace.

Whether the ruler could properly govern the country after killing tens of thousands was questionable.

How would the common people and officials view an emperor who unleashed a massacre shortly after ascending to the throne?

“Haa.”

But it was too late to revoke the edict now. To do so would essentially admit that some of those already executed were innocent. No matter how anxious he might be, the emperor could not admit to killing innocent people.

The more he thought about it, the deeper his concerns.

As the night grew late, Emperor Tang paced in front of his bedchamber.

News spread that the emperor had killed over two thousand people in about ten days.

‘They truly are executing everyone.’

What he had initiated wasn’t entirely fruitless.

Our side found it increasingly difficult to distribute goods. One of our forcibly recruited distributors even pleaded with palace maid Ginyeong to allow them to stop.

They knew that getting caught would result in death—not just for themselves, but for their entire families. Recognizing that opting out would still mean death, very few defected, but it had undeniably become harder to operate compared to the earlier days.

Still, I wasn’t concerned.

The emperor was rampaging beyond my expectations.

And during the time he spent executing people, we had a plan ready.

Something prepared with Siena’s help.

It wasn’t particularly complex—just false accusations. The scale, however, was considerable.

“Alan, I think we should act now.”

“Alright.”

“It’s best to file all accusations at once. Our distributors actually welcome it, since drawing attention to the innocent will make them safer. Start with Assistant Commander An Hyun-seong and the Registrar… Actually, what does that position do?”

“For an Assistant Commander, he manages military-owned land. The Registrar is like a department head under a governor.”

Siena nodded in understanding at my explanation.

We planned to indiscriminately accuse numerous individuals.

Central officials, local officials, military officers.

From the 4th rank officials downwards to even rank-less minor clerks.

Our selections were diverse, but there was one commonality: most of the people we chose had no involvement with narcotics and were completely innocent.

It wasn’t just the officials.

Also some renowned martial artists who had already taken significant damage.

A few merchants who had suffered significant losses due to the emperor’s harbor control.

Even a concubine from the previous reign, who was sent out of the palace after the death of the former emperor.

Most accusations were planned to surface as petitions.

The complaints, though seemingly unsubstantiated, were crafted so that impartial investigations would quickly prove their innocence, were the government functioning properly.

However…

“Jinguo isn’t functioning properly, right?”

“Because the emperor is crazy?”

“Right. The executioners carrying out the sentences already know that some of the condemned are innocent. They kill anyway, as everything proceeds with a pre-determined outcome.”

The same would apply to the accusations we were about to file.

As too many accusations emerge simultaneously, they will probably attempt to determine guilt or innocence. The innocent will struggle to save themselves from execution, but it won’t go smoothly.

Either many innocents will die at the emperor’s hands…

Or people, exhausted by the ruler’s excessive killings, will rise in resistance.

If Tang Yeon-cheol halts the purges in response to resistance, imperial authority may suffer. Still, the madness might end…

“Not voluntarily, though.”

Starting a purge can be within a ruler’s discretion, but stopping an already initiated purge is extremely difficult. The backlash from earlier killings would almost certainly follow. He might finally stop after destroying all his foundations.

“Should we start?”

“Definitely.”

The next moment, through palace maid Ginyeong, we issued our instructions.

Perhaps they preferred accusing others over being accused themselves, but our surviving distributors were said to cooperate willingly.

This signified the coming of hell for Jinguo since this emperor was as lethal with executions as pentany.

**

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