EBE Chapter 410
Chapter 410
"Once these people become addicted, no amount of family wealth can withstand their consumption. Some would even sell their land, houses, and even their own sons and daughters just for a single puff, resulting in broken families and separated spouses. They are one of the most unstable factors in society.""Not only do the bodies of such people weaken day by day, making them unable to do heavy labor, but from then on, their minds are filled with nothing but opium.
Because they are addicted, they turn into evil spirits if they don't smoke it. Therefore, to get this substance, they will even lose their basic moral bottom line as human beings. If this were to spread to the army..."
Yue Fuguang did not continue, because upon hearing these dangers, Xie Zhiyan's face had already turned somewhat pale. Not only was he imagining what would happen if soldiers and officials smoked this substance, but he also realized that this thing had not been eradicated in Great Yan as he had thought.
Xie Zhiyan gazed in the direction of Room Bingzi, lost in deep thought.
Yue Fuguang, meanwhile, continued chatting with the system about Wu Chengbin. "Little Zhu, it's still early. Tell me in detail about this Wu Chengbin and the opium paste."
[Does Master just want to enjoy the gossip, or do you want to intervene in this matter?]
Yue Fuguang toyed with a bright red apple in her hand. "We can ignore the rest, but since this involves opium, we must give the Emperor and the lords a warning.
The lingering poison of this substance doesn't just affect the current generation; it will also impact the next generation, and the generation after that. If it spreads, its harm will be no less than that century-long catastrophe."
It would actually affect the next generation?
Hearing this, the officials who had been either busy or pretending to be busy could no longer sit still.
If the examination compound hadn't already been locked down, Ling Yinghua, Ji Hongming, and the others would have loved to report this to the Emperor immediately and order a thorough investigation.
Ji Hongming even ordered someone to quietly retrieve Wu Chengbin's file. Since this man had been framed, starting the investigation with him would surely yield some clues.
[Master, this Wu Chengbin is originally from Xinzhou Prefecture. He rushed to Shangjing City from his hometown last October to prepare for the imperial examination. Coming with him was his classmate and good friend, Song Qingsong.
Because Wu Chengbin was quite famous locally for his talents, and so was Song Qingsong, the two became close friends.
However, in terms of academics, Wu Chengbin was always able to steadily suppress Song Qingsong. Because Song Qingsong always ranked below him in every examination, Song Qingsong outwardly acted as if he were a gentle breeze and bright moon, seemingly unbothered.
In reality, caring the most about fame and fortune, he deeply hated Wu Chengbin in his heart for keeping him in this eternal second place.
So, upon arriving in the capital, the moment someone sowed a bit of discord and provided a method to harm him, he willingly became a knife in someone else's hands.
Song Qingsong comes from a good family background. For this trip to the capital, he brought not only a pageboy but also a female cook.
After Wu Chengbin accidentally got an upset stomach, he had no choice but to accept Song Qingsong's kindness and share meals with him.
By then, winter had already arrived, and Wu Chengbin, completely unaware, passively began consuming opium.
At first, he even felt that the smoke from burning the jujube paste cake could refresh his mind and invigorate his spirit, but after a little over a month, he found that he seemingly could no longer live without this substance.]
"He has become addicted!" Yue Fuguang sighed. "Jealousy truly twists a person beyond recognition. Do you know who the person behind this is, and why they want to harm Wu Chengbin?"
[Master, although Wu Chengbin's family has fallen into decline, his ancestors used to be wealthy. His grandfather, named Wu Kenan, was once a border defense general.
No less than a hundred Nanzhao and Nanyue people died at his hands, so in the hearts of some people from those two countries, they absolutely detest Wu Kenan and the Wu family.
By the generation of Wu Chengbin's father, his two older uncles had both died in battle one after another. His father was in poor health, and to leave a bloodline for the Wu family, his grandfather Wu Kenan had his father study literature instead of martial arts.]
The system shook its head. [Unfortunately, his father achieved nothing in either literature or martial arts. After his grandfather died, the family fell into decline. Later, to treat his father's illness and to support Wu Chengbin's imperial examinations, the family wealth accumulated by the Wu ancestors was mostly depleted.
Wu Chengbin only brought one pageboy with him to the capital for the exam, which gave Song Qingsong and the people behind him an opportunity.
The person behind this was originally a Nanzhao spy. Later, he was bought off by the Nanyue people and became a double agent, physically in Nanzhao but loyal to Nanyue.
His family has a blood feud with the Wu family; his own father died at the hands of Wu Kenan.
Someone in Nanzhao used poppies to produce an opium paste much purer than smoking poppy shells. Once this spy learned the news, he immediately passed it on to Nanyue.
Gan Sheng, whose ambitions toward Great Yan had never died, immediately thought of using this substance against the military and civilians of Great Yan.]
Gan Sheng could be said to be the one among the emperors of the six nations who most enjoyed using venomous schemes. To achieve his goals, his heart was truly black.
"So this substance was bought by Gan Sheng from Nanzhao and then smuggled into Great Yan?"
[Exactly. Taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver things to Lan Xuan'er in Shangjing City before the New Year, that Nanzhao spy snuck into Shangjing City with the substance.
He unexpectedly ran into Wu Chengbin, the grandson of his enemy, which led to the subsequent plan. Of course, dealing with Wu Chengbin was only out of personal revenge, done in passing.
Their true target is the New Army of Great Yan.]
"The New Army?" Upon hearing that it was aimed at the New Army, not to mention the Crown Prince who nearly crushed his chair's armrest, even Yue Fuguang could no longer remain calm.
What was the New Army? It wasn't just an army; it was the sharpest blade in Great Yan's hands, and it also contained Yue Fuguang's own blood, sweat, and tears.
It was also the first arrow Yue Fuguang intended to shoot at her opponents to expand their territories, and one of the guarantees for whether she could complete the system's tasks.
If it were destroyed, wouldn't she have to start all over again? How much time would that waste!
Anyone who affected the progress of her tasks was an enemy!
A cold glint flashed across Yue Fuguang's eyes. No one noticed that at this moment, Yue Fuguang had already developed a murderous intent toward Gan Sheng, the man who always came out to disrupt things.
[It is the New Army. Gan Sheng also knows they are Great Yan's strongest combat force, so naturally, he wants to destroy them!]
Yue Fuguang stroked an emerald bead in her hand. The cool sensation struck straight to her heart, allowing her to calm down slightly. "Little Zhu, the New Army has strict discipline. I'm afraid it won't be easy to make them all acquire the bad habit of smoking opium, right?
Could it be that someone in the high command of the New Army has been bought off?"
The Crown Prince was thinking the exact same thing at this moment. The New Army had currently expanded to nearly three hundred thousand men, including two hundred and seventy thousand land troops and nearly thirty thousand naval troops.
The supreme leader was naturally his royal father. Below him was his young aunt, Yue Fuguang, and he himself commanded nearly fifty thousand men.
It was impossible for the three of them to have any issues, which left only the Minister of War, Huo Ying, Great General Wei Shouyi, and the generals below them.
Huo Ying, who was currently attending the morning court, and Wei Shouyi, who was currently drilling the troops, both felt an inexplicable, sudden chill run down their bodies at this moment. They sneezed several times in a row, and as they looked up at the bright sun shining outside, they couldn't stop the coldness gripping their bodies.
[Master, someone has indeed been bought off. However, the method they are using is extremely clever.
Recently, a method to refresh the mind has become popular in Nanzhao, which is smoking dry tobacco. Nanyue then figured out a way to mix opium paste into the shredded tobacco.
They even thought of adding this substance into the charcoal fires used for heating in the military camps.]
Yue Fuguang sneered coldly, "Why is it Nanzhao again? Don't they have a bit too many ideas, and they never ponder over anything good."