Chapter 1286
The Imperial Decree at the City Gate
Chapter 1286 The Imperial Decree at the City Gate
The clerk said, "Lord Yan, go and proclaim my royal decree. In short, I will not force any Wei citizens who want to leave to stay, but they must understand the dangers outside the city."
"I will protect the people of Wei from the eviction ban. They need not worry."
"And I and my soldiers will defend the capital city to the death and will not abandon it."
Lord Yan was stunned. This Prince Ye was indeed a member of the Wei royal family; even his ancestors were a bit crazy!
He began to miss Old Lady Guan. If Old Lady Guan were still in Wu Garden, she could have persuaded the Prince of Ye. Now, with no one to persuade him, he just made this kind of royal decree so willfully.
"Lord Yan, hurry up and get on with it. Don't let this delay the important matter of the Wei people leaving the city to find a way to survive," Qi Tianshi said sarcastically.
"..." Lord Yan wanted to slap him: "Yes."
Lord Yan took the new royal decree stamped with the royal seal by the clerk of Shangguan, and called over Councilor Su, Prefect Zheng, Assistant Magistrate Qu, and the barely noticeable Prefect Xu, and together they left under the cover of night.
Upon reaching the gate of Wuyuan Garden, they were stopped again by Zheng Qianjia and the others: "This student greets Lord Yan and Lord Su..."
The students and young masters wanted to know the latest news about Lord Yan and his entourage after their meeting with the Prince of Ye, and whether they had returned to their quarters and were still guarding the door.
Yan, Su, Zheng, Xu, Qu and others did not want to bother with them, but since they were from prominent families, the officials stopped and met with them.
"Lord Yan, has the Prince of Ye issued a new order?" Lu Qian glanced at the box in Lord Yan's hand and knew that it must contain new documents, so he asked impatiently.
Lord Yan didn't have the energy to waste any more words with them, so he told the clerk about the new royal decree.
Lu Qian exploded: "Letting the Wei people flee the city to save their lives is tantamount to letting them be slaughtered by the enemy! Your Highness, Prince Ye, is doing this for the Qin family, completely disregarding the lives of the Wei people!"
Lord Yan's face turned cold: "A student dared to openly criticize a prince of the dynasty for favoritism towards his father-in-law's family. Guards, record this according to the law and impose a fine!"
"Yes." The accompanying clerk immediately noted down Lu Qian's mistake and said to the still bewildered Lu Qian, "Please go to the yamen to pay the fine. This is the lightest punishment. In the capital, you would be arrested on the spot and slapped."
Do you really think the Prince of Ye is still a mere clerk? Someone you can criticize at will?
This?
"Thank you for your mercy, sir. This young master accepts the punishment!" Steward Lu hurriedly accepted the punishment on Lu Qian's behalf, fearing that if he was too late, Lu Qian would lose control again and do something even more irreversible.
"This junior knows his mistake and thanks you for your leniency, sir." Lu Qian calmed down, admitted his mistake and thanked him, then asked, "Sir, I have heard that the people of Wei are pleading with the Qin family for righteousness and asking them to hand over the formula for the weapon... What is the Prince of Ye's opinion on this?"
Zheng Qianjia was also curious and chimed in, "What did His Highness Prince Ye say about the sharp weapon?"
"Shut up! Zheng Qianjia, is this something a student like you should be asking or interfering with?!" Magistrate Zheng suddenly flew into a rage, pointing at Zheng Qianjia and saying, "As your elder of the same clan, today I, on behalf of the Zheng clan, will teach you what it means to be proper. You are to copy the Zheng clan rules one hundred times. You can only leave the student temporary residence when you have finished copying them!"
This?
Everyone present was taken aback, not understanding why Judge Zheng suddenly lost his temper.
Only Judge Zheng knew how terrified he was that these scoundrels would implicate him and cause him to lose his position!
Zheng Si had tried to contact him, but he avoided him.
Not long after, the incident at the East Gate occurred within the city. What else did Magistrate Zheng not understand?
That's why he's afraid!
After thinking for a moment, Magistrate Zheng said again, "There's no need to copy the Zheng clan rules. You have your own parents and elders to teach you, it's not my place to interfere. You should make your own decisions and take responsibility for them."
If he punishes Zheng Qianjia as an elder, and Zheng Qianjia causes trouble, he can step in as an elder to clean up the mess for him.
So it's best to just stay away from these things.
"My lords, the number of cases in the city has increased significantly. I must rush back to investigate and must take my leave now." Magistrate Zheng took his leave. Those present: "..." Well, another one acting strangely!
"You students, stay put and don't wander around. The city is dangerous. If you get into trouble, we don't have enough soldiers to rescue you," said Qu Tongzhi. He then followed Lord Yan to the east gate to read out the new king's decree.
"Come on, let's get in the carriage and go check it out. If there's trouble at the East Gate because of the new king's decree, we can lend a hand." Lu Qian grabbed Shi Songxin and tried to pull him onto the carriage.
A feeling of disgust welled up in Shi Songxin's heart, and he shook off Lu Qian's hand.
But Yang Zeru said, "Let's go and take a look. If we encounter any slanderous remarks against the Qin family, we can correct them... We owe the Qin family a life-saving grace, and as students of the sages, we should purify the turbid and quell the chaos."
"Yes, yes, let's get in the car now, quick!" Lu Qian, like a madman, was the first to get in the car.
Seeing that someone was taking the lead, the other students thought about it for a moment and followed suit.
Fearing that good students like Yang Zeru would be harmed by Lu Qian, Shi Songxin had no choice but to get on the carriage.
It was already dark, and a curfew should have been in effect, but today was special, and since they were students, the patrolling Wei soldiers questioned them and then let them pass.
"We beg the Qin family for their righteous cause, to offer up the formula for this powerful weapon, so that the people of Wei may see hope in defeating the enemy!!"
Two miles from the east gate, groups of Wei people knelt on both sides of the main road, repeatedly chanting these words.
When one group got tired of shouting, another group took over. In short, the cries for the Qin family's righteous cause never stopped.
"Waaah, sir! Our Great Wei has a rule that we cannot leave corpses exposed in the wilderness! Please, sir, have mercy and allow us to collect the bodies of these righteous old men who died by jumping in the line of duty!"
"We're not causing trouble, we're just terrified. We beg the Wei army to open the city gates so our whole family can escape! If we don't leave now, once the enemy's main force arrives, we'll have no chance to escape!"
The kneeling crowd at the East Gate was chanting these words.
No sooner had the shout been finished than the drumbeats began.
The messenger shouted, "Silence! Silence! The new King of Ye has issued his decree!"
After shouting three times, the Wei people at the city gate finally stopped, somewhat bewildered, yet also feeling a sense of triumph.
Hahaha, look, as long as there are enough troublemakers, even a prince will have to come out and give them an explanation, and will have to compromise with them!
Lord Yan and Magistrate Qu ascended the high platform at the city gate, looked down at the kneeling Wei people, and began to read: "By royal decree of the Prince of Ye, the Wei people are permitted to leave the capital city to seek a way to survive. However, if they encounter enemy troops after leaving the city, they shall bear their own life and death!"
What do you mean?
Wei Min, who was kneeling and pleading, was stunned. Kang Erye, the people from Tong Family Escort Agency, and Zheng Siye's people were also stunned.
Was the King of Ye thrown into disarray by their antics? He actually agreed to let the people of Wei abandon the city and flee?
"We beg the Qin family to uphold righteousness and hand over the weapon!"
Master Zheng and Chief Tong's men immediately abandoned their petition to leave the city to find a way to survive, and shouted for the Qin family to uphold righteousness.
Boom boom boom!
"Silence! Silence!"
Lord Yan continued reading: "The King of Ye decrees that the matter of the sharp weapon is of great importance and must be discussed again after General Liang's army returns to the city!"
The clerk knew he couldn't let anyone keep an eye on the Qin family, so he brought up General Liang as an excuse and a shield.
Sure enough, these words left Master Zheng and Chief Tong's men dumbfounded once again.
General Liang is of high status and position. Although he is seriously injured, it is said that he will be returning to the city soon. Military affairs should indeed be dealt with after he returns and consults with the relevant parties.