Chapter 2165 - 2158: From Today On, You Are My Pillar King

Ever since the day Zhang Menglong returned, he didn’t say much, and some even thought he had reached some kind of balanced agreement with King Zhanshan and others, or perhaps suffered a setback.

However, later on, news came that several cities in the Qinglan Kingdom were destroyed. If Zhang Menglong had truly lost, he would likely have been killed already, and the Mansha Kingdom would surely face retaliation from the Qinglan Kingdom.

Yet, for several days afterward, no bad news arrived, leading him to believe that both sides could not do anything to each other, achieving some sort of balanced agreement.

Even so, this definitely boosted the Mansha Kingdom’s status significantly within the Qinglan Kingdom.

Even the Qinglan Kingdom couldn’t do much against them, let alone the other surrounding kingdoms.

But he couldn’t imagine that not only did Zhang Menglong defeat King Zhanshan, but he even injured the Grand Emperor, the most powerful member of the royal family.

"Huh? Mourning clothes? What do you mean?" The Emperor still hadn’t realized.

"Didn’t I trouble them a few days ago?" Zhang Menglong said, "Originally, I intended to destroy ten of their cities to settle this matter, but King Zhanshan was surprisingly perceptive. He not only admitted his mistakes but also expressed willingness to take responsibility for it."

"I said, just compensate a bit and rebuild the cities, but he insisted, saying that’s not enough. He claimed that in addition to these, a monument would need to be built in the city, and he must wear mourning clothes and reflect upon his actions for 100 years, and I couldn’t pull him away!"

The Emperor immediately knew Zhang Menglong was exaggerating.

If King Zhanshan was truly such a person, he’d rather write his name upside down!

Everyone knows King Zhanshan of the Qinglan Kingdom has an explosive temper, decisive in killing, and would annihilate families over a single disagreement.

Among the numerous vassal kingdoms of the Qinglan Kingdom, almost half of those that were destroyed had provoked King Zhanshan and got obliterated, and situations similar to theirs are not uncommon. No one can withstand the attacks from King Zhanshan’s forces

Now you tell me this person has turned a new leaf? You might as well believe Zhang Menglong is Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

"Let’s go, let’s take a look outside!" The Emperor, knowing that hearing is no substitute for seeing, immediately led the civil and military officials towards the front of the palace.

They saw a robust man in a white mourning robe with mourning ropes tied around his forehead, kneeling right in front of the Mansha Kingdom’s palace, with tens of thousands of others kneeling behind him.

"Father, that seems to really be King Zhanshan!" Princess Shadeer took a closer look and recognized that the man kneeling on the ground was indeed King Zhanshan!

Everyone’s gaze instantly fell upon Zhang Menglong. What exactly did he do that day?

Given King Zhanshan’s arrogance and high standing, even destroying ten of his cities would barely make him kneel.

There’s no way this could be a matter of conscience; it’s entirely impossible.

"What are you looking at me for?" Zhang Menglong remarked, "I just reasoned with him that day and convinced him."

"Reasoned with him?" Karon muttered, "Probably physical reasoning, right?"

"What did you say?" Zhang Menglong glared at Karon.

"Nothing, I was saying the master teaches students well, surely he’s good at educating others too."

"That’s a must," Zhang Menglong stepped forward, "King Zhanshan came pretty early today."

Upon hearing this voice, King Zhanshan trembled all over. He had almost developed PTSD towards Zhang Menglong.

After returning, the royal family exerted immense pressure on him, stating that regardless of Zhang Menglong’s demands, he must comply, otherwise he wouldn’t need Zhang Menglong to act; the royal family would execute him first!

He knew well that if he failed to meet these demands, the entire Qinglan Kingdom’s royal family would be left in turmoil because of him.

"King Zhanshan’s teaching was very correct in the past few days, I really shouldn’t have vented my anger on countless ordinary people, I feel deeply regretful for what I have done, now I’m willing to pay the price, erect a monument for them, and guard the grave for a hundred years.

King Zhanshan pointed to the people behind him and said, "I am also here with enough sincerity, my people will help the Mansha Kingdom rebuild the cities, and apart from compensating their economic losses, I will additionally compensate them 1 million Qinglan Currency per person."

"As for those who died, if they have relatives, I’m willing to compensate them an extra 10 million Qinglan Currency, and if they don’t have relatives, I’m willing to compensate the Mansha Kingdom at a rate of 20 million Qinglan Currency per dead person.

"Wow, that’s a substantial compensation, the King Zhanshan of Qinglan Kingdom indeed swims in wealth!" The people in the royal family couldn’t help but marvel.

In the Mansha Kingdom, a common household’s annual income is roughly 100,000 Mansha Currency, but as a vassal state, there is a significant gap between their currency’s purchasing power compared to Qinglan Kingdom’s.

The currency value of Qinglan Kingdom is equivalent to about 27 times theirs.

million Mansha Currency equals the income of a typical Mansha Kingdom household for 270 years.

The entire city had a death toll of 300 million, and billions were displaced, making the compensation absolutely astronomical.

This compensation only covers the civilian casualties and accounts for a small portion of the total compensation amount, the funds for reconstruction provided to Mansha Kingdom even suffice to build five cities of similar scale.

"It seems King Zhanshan indeed came with sincerity," Zhang Menglong was relatively satisfied with this compensation, "I hope within these 100 years, King Zhanshan can thoroughly reflect on his mistakes, and recognize the preciousness of life!"

...

"Your Majesty, envoys from the Huiteng Kingdom and the Xiwat Kingdom have arrived." Just after returning to the palace, someone reported this news.

"What are they here for?" The Emperor was taken aback; not long ago, they had just concluded their war with the Huiteng Kingdom, and it’s only been a short time.

"The Huiteng Empire brought lots of gifts, stating that from this day forward, they wish to maintain friendly relations with the Mansha Kingdom eternally," an official said, "The Xiwat Kingdom brought back many cultural artifacts previously looted from our country and also came with many gifts."

"Haha, we originally planned to arrange some time to deal with them, who would have thought they’d show up themselves."

This Xiwat Kingdom, a long time ago, also brought profound catastrophe to the Mansha Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, I assume they must have heard about our conflict with King Zhanshan," General Xiwat remarked with a laugh, "They definitely ought to contemplate whether their kingdom can fight as well as King Zhanshan."

"I estimate this is just the beginning," the Emperor smiled, "Seems we need not expend a soldier or a sword, before long, the cultural artifacts lost outside our country will be returned to us, perhaps we might even reclaim a few cities."

"Hahaha!" General Xiwat laughed heartily skyward, "The Mansha Empire will rise from today onwards!"

"Peer King, you deserve all the praise!" The Emperor excitedly announced, "Peer King, from today you shall be my pillar King!"