Almost simultaneously, every military district across Liyue received orders from Ganyu, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
No explanation was required for a decree issued by the Tianquan.
The commanders of every military region immediately began mobilizing troops.
A massive purge swept through every corner of Liyue.
This day became the apocalypse for the Treasure Hoarders of Liyue.
"Damn it! Which idiots dared touch the ores from Blackrock Quarry?"
"Do they have a death wish?!"
"Those bastards can die if they want, but why drag us down with them?!"
"Spare me, Boss! Spare me! AHHHH!!"
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
The Treasure Hoarders were utterly bewildered by the Millelith's sudden cleansing campaign.
Some, after learning the reason behind it, immediately began cursing the fools who had provoked the Liyue authorities.
Seriously—were they suicidal?
You dared mess with an official Liyue operation?
How was that any different from shitting directly on the heads of Liyue officials?
The worst part?
The matter had even alarmed the man standing at the absolute peak of Liyue's hierarchy.
And once that person made a move—
One lift of his hand, and everyone beneath died.
No exceptions.
Some Treasure Hoarders refused to go down quietly, grabbing weapons and attempting to fight back against the Millelith.
But Treasure Hoarders were, at their core, nothing more than bandits and vagrants.
Against ordinary peacekeeping guards, they might still put up some resistance.
But before Liyue's actual standing army?
It was like slaughtering chickens with a butcher's knife.
They had no chance.
Many were skewered by spears before even breaking through the Millelith's defenses.
Some even shouted in protest.
"We didn't do anything wrong! Why are you taking our lives?!"
"This is indiscriminate killing!"
"You can't just kill people because you want to—even soldiers can't do that!"
But the only response they received was the cold thrust of Millelith spears.
If it had been the Millelith Guards, perhaps they would merely be pinned down and dragged to prison.
But the Millelith Army was different.
Who cared whether you lived or died?
Their orders were simple:
Kill.
And if one insisted on defining their crime?
Then their greatest mistake was simply this—
They became Treasure Hoarders within Liyue.
Thus, the sweeping purge raged across the nation.
By afternoon, the Abyss Order had returned the remaining ores.
Just as Jiang Yan had predicted.
After the Abyss Sovereign handed part of the shipment to Rhinedottir, some had already been consumed.
Only about two-thirds remained.
Recalling the Abyss Sovereign's unwilling expression while returning the ores—the resentment practically radiating from behind the mask—
Jiang Yan couldn't help but find it amusing.
Though the Abyss Sovereign had not returned everything, the outcome still fell within expectations.
The merchants who suffered losses accepted the Ministry of Civil Affairs' compensation plan without complaint.
That alone was enough.
Most common people never demanded much.
They only wanted an explanation and enough compensation to recover some of their losses.
Of course—
There were always exceptions.
Some greedy merchants refused the compensation entirely, hoping to extort more from the Ministry.
Jiang Yan never even bothered involving himself.
In fact, he couldn't care less.
If every trivial issue required his personal intervention, then what was the point of employing secretaries?
Just handle it boldly.
Whatever happened, he would cover for them.
With Jiang Yan's silent approval, the Ministry's methods became extremely ruthless.
You didn't accept compensation?
Fine.
Then you got nothing.
The Ministry directly redistributed the compensation meant for those merchants to others who willingly accepted settlement.
This operation stunned the greedy merchants.
Even the merchants who had already accepted compensation nearly laughed themselves silly.
After all, while they shared the same trade, they were still competitors.
Seeing rivals suffer losses while gaining additional profit themselves?
Naturally, they were delighted.
The rejected merchants attempted to cause trouble.
They wanted to force Jiang Yan to step in personally, just like before, and "seek justice."
Unfortunately for them—
Jiang Yan liked dealing with troublesome people the most.
Originally, Ganyu had already forbidden him from interfering further.
But now?
These idiots practically begged him to intervene.
And that suited him perfectly.
He didn't even appear in person.
He simply said one sentence to Ganyu:
"If they refuse to abide by Liyue's rules, then expel them from Liyue."
"Liyue has never lacked merchants."
Those words instantly made everything clear.
The Tianquan of Liyue was not someone to provoke.
If you were genuinely wronged—
He would stand up for you.
But if you caused trouble without reason—
Then Liyue had no place for you.
In the end, those merchants were forcibly expelled under Millelith escort.
And Liyue permanently banned them from conducting trade within its borders.
This punishment was devastating.
Without access to the commercial capital of Teyvat, even returning home offered no relief.
No one wanted to trade with merchants expelled from Liyue.
And thus, the matter finally came to an end.
After a week-long cleansing operation by the Millelith Army, Treasure Hoarders throughout Liyue either fled, hid, or were eradicated.
Almost none remained.
Liyue's swift and decisive actions served as a warning to both foreign merchants and future immigrants.
Liyue was a tolerant nation.
Here, your ambitions could flourish.
But—
You had to obey Liyue's rules.
Otherwise—
The fate of those merchants and Treasure Hoarders would be your example.
The blood on the Millelith's spearheads had not yet dried.
If you wished to challenge the rules—
Then go ahead and try.
Did you really think Liyue had grown too soft to draw its blade?
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