Chapter 20 The Demise of the Jin Family

Things in Sky Moon City could only be arranged this way for the time being.

However, Lin Chen certainly wouldn't truly trust others so much that he'd completely let go of his city.

That's why Lin Chen was seeking out Winter.

Frankly, Lin Chen was more willing to trust Winter than the Guardian Duke, Long Yandao, whom he had never met.

"Mr. Winter, didn't you say you would find Princess Qingyue to help me? But why did the Guardian Duke appear instead?" Lin Chen asked, expressing his confusion upon meeting him.

"Hehe, does City Lord Lin feel that the Guardian Duke's arrival was too sudden… To be honest, it was my idea to have the Guardian Duke resolve the issues in Sky Moon City."

Winter explained to Lin Chen some of the things he had done.

Including his suggestion to Princess Qingyue to ask Long Yandao to step in.

Winter went on to analyze many things with Lin Chen.

After hearing Winter's explanation, Lin Chen understood much more.

First of all, the current outcome was good.

Long Yandao's arrival completely intimidated those marquis nobles.

Even Jin Qiang accepted Long Yandao's arrangements without objection.

In reality, although Long Yandao seemed to only be telling Jin Qiang to go back and rest, everyone knew that Long Yandao was actually seizing power... He directly took Jin Qiang's authority, even stripping him of his position as the provincial governor of Zhenhai Province.

Did Long Yandao have that much power?

Lin Chen wasn't sure.

But from what Winter told Lin Chen, given Long Yandao's status, even if Jin Qiang's backer was the King, he definitely wouldn't disrespect Long Yandao for the sake of just one Jin Qiang.

Or rather...

The King might also be happy to see things develop in this direction.

Because if things continued to develop in any other direction, even the King might not be able to handle it...

Suppose Long Yandao hadn't appeared today and resolved this matter, then Lin Chen would have defeated Jin Qiang, possessed a city, and had the Soul-Slaying Array, in which he could fight Third Revolution experts...

So, what would the Dragon Spirit Kingdom do?

They would definitely have to do something!

Send troops to suppress him?

But who would they send?

The main problem was that Lin Chen was too powerful!

Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Ruin, coupled with the amplification of the Soul-Slaying Array, plus the Soul-Slaying Strike...

To be honest, no one below the Third Revolution in the Dragon Kingdom could withstand it.

If they kept suppressing him, Sky Moon City might even grow stronger.

And the nobles were already very dissatisfied...

At that point, it might escalate into an internal crisis for the Dragon Spirit Kingdom.

What king wouldn't want domestic stability?

At this time, Long Yandao's appearance provided everyone with a relatively peaceful way to resolve the matter.

First of all, the dead were already dead.

So, they would be ignored.

Everyone would focus on looking ahead.

Of course, Lin Chen was the one who killed the people.

But now, they couldn't punish Lin Chen; the reasons had already been explained.

Allowing Lin Chen to go to the Imperial Battlefield was actually equivalent to letting Lin Chen atone for his crimes... It was just that some things weren't said explicitly.

Long Yandao stepping in, plus Lin Chen going to the Imperial Battlefield, and then the King reconciling with the nobles, with everyone giving each other face, would mean that this matter would be temporarily put to rest.

That was about it.

Next was Winter… or rather, Princess Qingyue behind him; she had also put in some effort in this matter.

She had even invited the Guardian Duke.

Princess Qingyue definitely had her own demands.

Winter said to Lin Chen, "The Princess hopes that City Lord Lin will first announce a donation of ten Prism Soul Crystals to the Princess as a military expenditure donation for the Imperial Battlefield… However, this money will be managed by the Princess's affiliated businesses. Of course, since it's military expenditure, the Princess will definitely allocate it to the Dragon Guardian Army in installments. In addition, as a condition for exchange, the Princess will send someone with a special status to Sky Moon City."

"Who?" Lin Chen frowned.

Winter smiled and said, "This person's status won't be simple; either they're a member of the royal family, or a prince or princess… In short, the reason they're coming to Sky Moon City is for the Princess to intimidate those nobles. With them here, it can be guaranteed that no short-sighted nobles will dare to invade City Lord Lin's Sky Moon City again."

Lin Chen understood that this Princess Qingyue had some tricks up her sleeve.

Despite Winter saying that a prince or princess would be sent to protect Sky Moon City, Lin Chen was very familiar with this tactic...

Wasn't this just a hostage!

Princess Qingyue definitely had other requests.

Otherwise, just ten Prism Soul Crystals wouldn't be enough for her to make such a move, with the royal family sending a hostage to a subordinate's city, would it?

The key point was that since Princess Qingyue had said this, it meant that she had already convinced the King's side.

"What other instructions does Princess Qingyue have?"

Lin Chen was amused.

As expected, Winter understood him best.

Frankly, Lin Chen was still a little worried about his city with the plan Long Yandao had proposed, using the Guardian Duke's prestige to suppress the remaining five marquis families in Zhenhai Province.

But Princess Qingyue's move relieved Lin Chen's worries.

It was a royal hostage!

Ask yourself, who would dare to defy the world and attack Sky Moon City, knowing full well the situation?

What would happen if something happened to the royal hostage?

Princess Qingyue's method could at least guarantee the safety of Sky Moon City.

It's just...

If Lin Chen agreed to this, then the royal family would definitely be wary of him from beginning to end.

After all, no true subject would be willing to receive a royal hostage.

Although Princess Qingyue's words sounded very nice, saying that she was sending a direct member of the royal family to protect Sky Moon City…

"The Princess hopes that City Lord Lin can sign a transaction order of at least 5 billion gold coins per year with her affiliated businesses. These transactions can cover various aspects, including various materials, scrolls, and special materials, and so on. In addition, when City Lord Lin goes to the Imperial City to meet with the council and His Majesty to receive his title, he cannot request a fiefdom. Besides that, Sky Moon City will also voluntarily state that it will pay 300,000 soul crystals to the royal family every month."

Winter relayed many of the Princess's requests.

But in reality, Lin Chen was very clear in his heart.

These should be what Princess Qingyue and the King had discussed, hoping that Lin Chen would do.

The royal family was even giving a hostage; this was a very shameful thing. No matter how nice the royal family's words were on the surface, the feudal lords were probably aware of the situation, so Sky Moon City also had to pay a price.

At least 5 billion in orders per year was a business matter.

300,000 soul crystals was equivalent to 3 billion gold coins; this was what had to be offered to the royal family every month...

In short, this deal wasn't actually a loss for Lin Chen.

Previously, Jin Qiang had demanded that Sky Moon City offer 3 million soul crystals per month, and later this number had even doubled.

But what about now?

300,000 soul crystals a month, offered to the royal family, and in exchange, the royal family had to send a hostage to Sky Moon City!

Lin Chen was very familiar with this kind of history.

From the Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the feudal lords gradually eroded the Zhou royal family in this way.

The royal family sending hostages to the feudal lords was a Pandora's Box...

Once opened, it was hard to say how big the impact would be.

Didn't this prove that the royal family was actually powerless to control domestic conflicts?

And Sky Moon City could receive such treatment, in addition to everyone being Blue Star people, it was also due to Lin Chen's terrifying strength... Lin Chen thought for a moment and then smiled.

Wasn't it just money!

Gold coins and soul crystals, he had exchanged a lot before the game servers shut down.

Lin Chen didn't care about this small amount: "Please tell Princess Qingyue that Lin Chen agrees to her proposal!"

"I knew City Lord Lin would definitely agree."

Winter smiled and said, "300,000 soul crystals a month isn't much, but if City Lord Lin is promoted to Earl and is still willing to voluntarily offer it to the royal family, then the meaning is different… So, Lin Chen, rest assured. What the royal family wants is your attitude. After you arrive in the Imperial City, the royal family will definitely protect you. It's also true that the Guardian Duke needs you to help him command the Central Army, so he will also protect you. You don't need to worry about anything."

"Why did the Guardian Duke choose me?" Lin Chen asked.

"Haha..."

Winter immediately said, "City Lord Lin, do you know how rare it is to have a First Revolution realm expert who can kill a Second Revolution peak expert on the Imperial Battlefield? I can tell you a little… City Lord Lin, you will definitely have a great future on the Imperial Battlefield!"

It seemed that the reason Lin Chen and Sky Moon City could get this result, not only getting away from the conflict with the nobles unscathed but also receiving the treatment of having a royal hostage sent, in addition to financial reasons, the need for Lin Chen on the Imperial Battlefield was also a very important factor.

Then Lin Chen had nothing to worry about!

Because now, he wasn't without backers.

Princess Qingyue needed Lin Chen and Sky Moon City to be stable and then create wealth and even stable income for her.

The value of ten Prism Soul Crystals was too great; the royal family was probably waiting for this money to do many things.

What's more, there was also the stable monthly and annual income in the future.

In addition, the Guardian Duke also needed Lin Chen's strength to help him do many things on the Imperial Battlefield...

Since he was needed, then he must be safe!

Before Winter bid farewell, he also said to Lin Chen, "City Lord Lin, rest assured, my trade route also goes to the Imperial Battlefield. In the future, I will focus on staying in Sky Moon City for a period of time, working hard to develop the Chamber of Commerce here. At that time, if City Lord Lin wants to contact Sky Moon City, or if the people of Sky Moon City want to contact City Lord Lin, you can completely avoid going through the imperial post and directly have my Chamber of Commerce secretly help you pass on the news."

"Thank you, Mr. Winter." Lin Chen smiled and said, "In my opinion, I shouldn't have a better friend than Mr. Winter in the Dragon Spirit Kingdom."

"Indeed, I always treat people with sincerity..."

Winter smiled and gave Lin Chen a suggestion: "Before City Lord Lin goes to the Imperial City, you might as well go to Falling Leaf District. The Tianshin Tea on the Tianshin Tree is very good. In addition… you might as well go and see Jin Qiang. His days, including the Jin family's days, will definitely be difficult in the future. Perhaps… there might be gains if City Lord Lin goes there."

"Understood."

Lin Chen nodded.

Then, he watched Winter leave.

But Lin Chen was also thinking in his head: Is this Winter really as honest and reliable as he claims to be?

Probably not necessarily.

But, from the time Lin Chen met Winter until now, Winter hadn't done anything that was detrimental to Lin Chen or Sky Moon City… Based on this alone, Lin Chen could be sure that Winter shouldn't have any hostility towards him.

So his words could be trusted.

Then…

What exactly was Winter plotting?

This probably shouldn't have much to do with the current Lin Chen.

Otherwise, Winter wouldn't have been so eager to cooperate with Lin Chen.

He had even actively helped Lin Chen do many things.

Soon, it was the day for Lin Chen to leave Sky Moon City.

Before leaving, Lin Chen also told Zhang Chunlin and the others about the hostage matter. In the end, everyone reached a unified opinion that when the royal hostage entered Sky Moon City in the future, special personnel would be arranged to take care of and protect him.

At the same time, he would also be shown more of the special aspects of the Eastern people of Blue Star.

Lin Chen embarked on the road to the Imperial City.

Escorting him along the way was Jin Mu.

Once, the vice-general of the Jin Family Army.

His strength was also at the peak of the First Revolution.

In addition, Jin Mu had another identity...

Jin Qiang's nephew.

Jin Qiang had no children.

He didn't have any sons or daughters.

So, in fact, Jin Mu was equal to his future heir.

Along the way, Jin Mu definitely didn't like this Lin Chen, who had seriously injured his uncle, so the two didn't have much interaction.

It wasn't until they arrived at Falling Leaf City that Lin Chen said his first words to Jin Mu.

"Let's go, let's go to your uncle's place."

Lin Chen also said, "There's no need to hide it from anyone; just go directly… Jin Mu, you also want to go back and see him, right?"

Jin Mu nodded silently in response to the words.

At the moment Jin Mu turned his head, it could be seen that his expression was still a bit moved…

The current Jin family was already a far cry from what it used to be.

How glorious the Jin family was in the past, how down and out it was now.

Jin Mu didn't even dare to think that he could see Jin Qiang again before he went to the Imperial Battlefield…

Unexpectedly, this opportunity came from Lin Chen.

The carriage turned its head towards the Jin family.

As for the Tianshin Tea, Lin Chen wasn't in a hurry to taste it.

Falling Leaf City was very big.

But the tree in the middle was even bigger.

Walking in the streets covered with fallen leaves, it seemed that no matter where you were, you could see that tree when you looked up.

This tree should be very old!

Lin Chen deliberately went to the Jin family in a grand manner, which was actually expressing an attitude...

He had no personal grudges with the Jin family or Jin Qiang.

Doing so would make Lin Chen seem very magnanimous.

Besides, Lin Chen and Jin Qiang really didn't have any personal grudges.

The calculations between the two were directly based on their respective positions.

However, when Lin Chen arrived at the Jin family with Jin Mu and the others, he found that the huge mansion already seemed deserted. Not even a servant was seen, and there were traces of fighting.

"Uncle!"

Jin Mu's face changed drastically.

He led people and rushed into the Jin family.

Finally, after passing through several traces of fighting, and even some houses with roofs that had been broken, the group arrived in front of an ancestral hall.

"Jin Hu!"

Jin Mu shouted.

In the ancestral hall, a young man with an unusually strong and sturdy figure was kneeling in front of the ancestral tablets. Jin Mu rushed in and asked, "Who did it? Where's uncle? Jin Hu!"

"It's the Black Iron Guards…"

The man named Jin Hu clenched his fists tightly. After a while, his face was full of tears as he said, "The Black Iron Guards came. They… they crippled uncle, saying they were going to take uncle away for questioning! In addition, all of the Jin family's industries have been confiscated. Uncle wouldn't let me resist. They just left!"

"Black Iron Guards."

Jin Mu collapsed to the ground upon hearing this.

Black Iron Guards!

This was an organization controlled by the Dragon Spirit Kingdom's parliament.

They claimed to be the maintainers of the Dragon Spirit Kingdom's system.

In reality, they were just some lackeys controlled by the parliament!

But the Black Iron Guards had the authorization of the parliament, and their power wasn't small.

"Crying is useless at this time."

Lin Chen's voice sounded as he walked into the Jin family's ancestral hall, looked at the tablets enshrined above, slowly lit a stick of incense, and said, "Jin Mu, in my capacity as the commander of the Dragon Guardian Army's Central Army, I order you to intercept the Black Iron Guards… Just say, this commander wants to see your uncle."

"Lin… City Lord Lin…" Jin Mu looked over in surprise.

Obviously, what Lin Chen was doing at this time was beneficial to the Jin family.

But...

Why would Lin Chen do this?

Jin Mu didn't understand.

But, he knew… this might be his last chance to see his uncle.

Without hesitation, Jin Mu immediately led the guards and chased after them.

At this time, Jin Hu stood up and said, "I'm going too!"

"No."

Lin Chen stopped him and said, "If I were you, what I would do at this time is to collect all the tablets… The Jin family has no chance to turn things around."

Lin Chen was actually a little confused before…

The final solution to this conflict between himself and the nobles was for Sky Moon City to take the initiative to trade, provide orders, offer tribute to the royal family, and in return, the royal family would give Sky Moon City a hostage to ensure Sky Moon City's safety.

Then, Lin Chen would also join the Dragon Guardian Army and go to the Imperial Battlefield.

It seemed that both sides seemed to get what they needed and achieved relatively satisfactory results.

But...

As one side of the conflict, what about those nobles and the parliament that represented the interests of the nobles?

What benefits did they get?

Now, Lin Chen finally understood.

The Jin family!

It seemed that the King should have reached some kind of compromise with the parliament.

And the end result of this compromise was that the Jin family was uprooted!

First, Jin Qiang was pushed out to bear all the consequences.

Then all of the Jin family's resources were used to compensate the parliament...

Under such circumstances, even the survival of the Jin family's people became a problem.

The Guardian Duke stepped in and took away the Jin Family Army.

The King's side stripped the Jin family of its honor.

Finally, the parliament stepped in and took everything from the Jin family!

Under the joint efforts of the three parties, did the Jin family still have a way out?

Jin Qiang definitely had no way out.

After all, he had failed in Zhenhai Province.

But, these two Jin family brothers, Jin Mu and Jin Hu, didn't necessarily have to die.

So Lin Chen was saving them!

It wasn't that Lin Chen was kind.

But Lin Chen's current situation also required him to save them!

Because...

Lin Chen needed to control the Jin Family Army!

A beautiful day starts with a 5,000-word chapter!

In addition, Qidian had a glitch last night. Many people probably didn't see the chapter updated at 11 pm. You can read it now.

(End of this chapter)