「At that same moment, in the southern Jiangze Province.」
It was a region that bordered the northern territories, a location of immense strategic importance.
That was why Yuan Datong in Yanjing had placed one of his most trusted men here.
Inside the Governor’s Mansion in the provincial capital of Fuzze City, the atmosphere in the main hall was so heavy you could almost wring water from it.
The two rows of chairs were filled with people—all of them officials, both high and low, under Wei Ting’s command.
At this moment, every one of them sat with their heads bowed, deathly silent, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
At the head of the hall, a man in a military uniform with salt-and-pepper hair wore an ashen expression.
This was Wei Ting, the Military Governor of Jiangze Province. He was in his early fifties, with a burly frame and a stern, rigid face.
However, the Military Governor’s eyes were filled with an uncontainable rage.
He glared at his subordinates, who kept their heads lowered, then slammed his palm down on the tea table beside him.
Under the immense force, a crack split across the fine rosewood table.
"Who let those people from the Yellow Heaven Corps into the provincial capital?"
"A vice-consul from France was assassinated in the concession! How am I supposed to explain this to His Excellency the President—no, I should say His Maj...!"
Wei Ting had been indebted to the Yuan Family since he was young and was widely known as one of their most die-hard supporters.
Back when Yuan Datong was just a minor warlord, Wei Ting had served him with unwavering loyalty.
Now that Yuan Datong had ascended to that position, Wei Ting wished he could carve the word "loyalty" onto his own face.
’But what about now? This disaster happened right under my nose. The French vice-consul was assassinated. Will those foreigners just let this go?’
The more Wei Ting thought about it, the angrier he became. He swept his gaze across the two rows of trembling subordinates, the fury in his eyes practically spitting fire.
He was originally stationed in Jiangze Province to guard against and monitor the Southern Provinces.
For years, Wei Ting had worked diligently, running Jiangze Province with an iron fist, and nothing had ever gone wrong.
But recently, because that man in Yanjing had taken that seat, the entire Daxia New Country had been thrown into turmoil.
Even his Jiangze Province was showing ominous signs. A huge wave of opposition had risen up among the powerful officials, the social elites, the scholars, and even some of the common people.
What were they opposing? The Yuan Family in Yanjing, of course.
When Wei Ting first heard of it, he was livid. ’How dare they! These insolent peasants are trying to overturn the heavens!’
With a wave of his hand, he gave the order: anyone who dared to publicly oppose them, regardless of their identity or status, was to be shot on sight.
The effect was quite good at first. Faced with the barrel of a gun, those coddled dignitaries were scared out of their wits and didn’t dare utter another word.
After a few of the self-righteous, uncompromising scholars were dragged out and shot, the rest of them also obediently shut their mouths.
Wei Ting thought that would finally quiet things down, but before he could even catch his breath, the group that gave him the biggest headache appeared in the city: the Yellow Heaven Corps.
Those madmen spent all day shouting, "The Blue Sky is dead, the Yellow Sky shall rise," and most of them were fanatics who had no fear of death.
Not only that, but as soon as these Yellow Heaven Corps fanatics appeared, they immediately started causing trouble for Wei Ting.
They pulled off something major: they attacked the French concession, killing a large number of foreigners in the process and even managing to take out a vice-consul.
The government in Yanjing was already overwhelmed with the issue of that new position. The Southern Provinces were rife with undercurrents, the Western Countries were watching like hungry tigers, and the foreigners in the concessions were all waiting to watch the show.
And now this. A vice-consul and so many other foreigners were dead. Wei Ting didn’t dare to think about the consequences any further.
He only knew that if this wasn’t handled properly, it would bring immense trouble to the Yuan Family in Yanjing.
At this thought, Wei Ting’s eyes turned bloodshot. He stared at his trembling subordinates in the two rows of chairs and spoke, enunciating every word. "You useless fools. Take every soldier you have and go wipe out everyone in the Yellow Heaven Corps."
"After today, I don’t want to hear another word about the Yellow Heaven Corps in Jiangze Province."
The hall fell into a dead silence. No one dared to speak.
After all, ever since Wei Ting had become the Military Governor of Jiangze Province, he had never tolerated those madmen from the Yellow Heaven Corps like the other Southern Provinces did. He considered them a grave threat.
Whenever followers of the Yellow Heaven Corps dared to appear anywhere in Jiangze Province, Wei Ting would lead his army in a lightning strike, prepared to wipe them out to the last man, no matter the cost.
As a result, the Yellow Heaven Corps had found almost no foothold in Jiangze Province over the years.
But ever since that man in Yanjing ascended to his new position, those fanatics from the Yellow Heaven Corps had set their sights squarely on Jiangze Province.
Members of the Yellow Heaven Corps began appearing all over the province. Large numbers of their fanatics were even in Fuzze City, the provincial capital, right under Wei Ting’s nose.
They repeatedly demonstrated against the actions of the man in Yanjing, while also attacking the various concessions within the city.
After a long silence, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the left cautiously raised his head.
"L-Lord Governor, the members of the Yellow Heaven Corps... they appear and disappear like ghosts, their movements are unpredictable, and they all have no fear of death. I’m afraid..."
Before he could finish, a single glare from Wei Ting silenced him.
"Afraid of what?"
Wei Ting stood up and walked toward the man step by step. He looked down at him condescendingly. "Are you saying the troops under my command can’t even handle a group of lunatics?"
The middle-aged man trembled and quickly lowered his head. "N-no, Lord Governor, that’s not what I meant..."

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