Chapter 1299
The Great Wei is probably doomed
Chapter 1299 The Great Wei is probably doomed
Shi Laoda and his men were also terrified that once they left the city, they would be met with enemy swords.
Finally, he decided to postpone his departure from the city by going to Wuyuan to see the truth. He nodded and said, "Yes, son promises mother that he will postpone his departure from the city and go to Wuyuan to see the truth first."
Phew, his wife and his sister-in-law all breathed a sigh of relief... Good heavens, who knows what the situation is like outside, the men said they wanted to leave the city, and they were very worried.
Like their mother-in-law, they preferred to stay in their hometown even when it wasn't safe outside the city.
Boom boom boom!
The messenger beat the drum, and Vice Commissioner Jiang shouted, "Men, register the Wei people who want to go to Wuyuan to see the truth. For safety reasons, only two hundred people will be selected, with priority given to families with upright reputations!"
Why go to the home of treacherous and cunning people? That's as if they think things aren't chaotic enough already.
"How can there only be two hundred people? We are commoners, powerless to even kill a chicken. If only two hundred people go, won't we become the victims of the King of Ye's guards?!" An old man shouted indignantly.
"Guards, tie up this old scoundrel who openly spreads rumors about the Prince of Ye! Make him kneel to one side, and treat his family members the same way!" Jiang Qianshi was furious. He pointed at them and cursed, "The Prince of Ye is too reasonable to you, which is why you dare to repeatedly spread rumors and slander him without any evidence. If this were in the capital, as long as you dare to say these slanderous things about the royal family in public, you wouldn't even need to be interrogated. The patrolling soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison would beat you to death in the street!"
These words startled everyone present.
Yes, the Prince of Ye was restored to his princely title by imperial decree and was a member of the Wei royal family personally recognized by the emperor, yet they still treat him like a lowly clerk.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, a chill running down their spines.
"Mmm mmm mmm!" The old man had been tied up by Wei soldiers, his mouth gagged with a rag, and the men in his family received the same treatment.
The women and children were not tied up, but were driven to stand next to the men in the house.
Slap, slap, slap! The old man's wife, enraged, went up and slapped him several times, yelling, "You old dog Liu, you're such a busybody! Now you've ruined the whole family, are you happy now? Are you happy now?!"
Slap, slap, slap, several more slaps.
Old Man Liu glared at her angrily: "..."
That old hag is definitely taking this opportunity to get revenge!
Just wait, once I can move around again, I'll give you a good beating, make you remember the fear you had when you were young, and let you know who's in charge at home.
clap clap clap!
Granny Liu knew this old geezer very well, and slapped him hard a few more times, knocking out three of his old teeth. The old man finally cried and begged for mercy.
Jiang, Ping, and everyone present: "..."
It's obvious she took the opportunity to get revenge; it seems the old man has caused his wife a lot of distress over the years.
The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law of the Liu family pretended not to see it... They also felt that Old Man Liu was troublesome and would make a fuss over nothing, often causing trouble for the whole family over the slightest rumor.
This trip out of the city was also because there are two young great-grandchildren at home, and they were afraid that the little ones might die on the way. The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law did not want to leave the city.
But Old Man Liu insisted on leaving the city, saying that someone would escort him and that if he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult to leave the city.
They also said that many people would die in the war, and they would return to their hometowns after the war was over. By then, most of the people in their hometowns would be dead, and those of them who returned alive would be able to divide the property of the extinct families, instantly transforming them from ordinary citizens into wealthy households.
My ancestors, what kind of wicked words are these?!
Old Liu felt there was nothing wrong with it, but his family still disagreed with him leaving the city. So he threatened to hang himself, right at his own doorstep, which caused his children and grandchildren to be cursed by the neighbors as extremely unfilial.
His family had no choice but to agree to let him move his entire family out of the city to find a way to make a living.
As for how Old Man Liu knew that someone would escort him out of the city?
It was because he "found" a note, and that's what it said. (Oh, right, the old man isn't illiterate; he can read.)
No need to guess, it was Zheng Siye and Tong Dajia's men who precisely slipped the note to them. There were quite a few families like Old Man Liu who 'found' the note, mostly families in the capital city who were afraid of death and had a history of believing rumors.
These people were ordinary Wei citizens, but they were considered a different kind of assassins by Master Zheng and his men. These assassins didn't cost money to maintain; they would cause trouble if you spread a few rumors about them, making them very cheap.
After Old Man Liu and his family were arrested, the people present dared not complain that two hundred people were too few anymore; instead, they went to register.
All the households that left the city had been registered. The Wei army had a roster, so they quickly selected two hundred households with relatively upright families.
Boom boom boom!
Jiang Qianshi said, "Follow me to Wuyuan to see the truth!"
He then said to Vice Commissioner Ping, “Vice Commissioner Ping, wartime military law is in effect now. So if anyone causes trouble at the city gate while you are at Wuyuan to see the truth, you shall use military law to execute the rioters on the spot. We will share all the responsibility! Don’t be afraid!”
Vice Commissioner Pingqian: "..."
I'm your equal, and you're telling me not to be afraid? Do you think I'm your wife? Get lost!
"Have all Wei citizens heard this clearly? The Wei army has already treated you with courtesy. If you continue to cause trouble, don't blame us for using force against you!" the Vice Commissioner said angrily, his face dark.
Everyone: "..."
How did the Assistant Commissioner suddenly become so intimidating?
But it worked very well, and everyone became afraid.
"Yes, thank you for your courtesy, sir!" said one of the soldiers.
"Let's go! Those who have their own vehicles, please take them. We'll get to Wuyuan faster!" Jiang Qianshi led a hundred cavalrymen and two hundred Wei civilians from the west gate toward Wuyuan.
The main gate of Wu Garden was even more bustling than the city gate. A group of people were already kneeling at the gate, demanding: "Please, Prince Ye, hand over the body of scholar Lu Fenxu so that the people of the world can examine whether scholar Lu committed suicide or was murdered!"
"Please, Elder Qiong, abandon darkness and embrace the light, stand on the side of justice, and do not disgrace the sages and teachers, the Taizhou Academy, and the scholars and literati!"
"We request that the Wei army escort the Qin family grandfather and grandson back to the city and thoroughly investigate whether the Qin family's strong advocacy for establishing the village martial arts academy was actually to help the King of Ye raise a private army!!"
"We beg the Qin family to uphold justice and hand over the formula for the weapon to prove our own family's and the King of Ye's innocence!"
Jiang Qianshi was shocked to hear this. He hurriedly spurred his horse, bypassed the kneeling crowd, and took the special path through the second gate of the government army to the Wuyuan sentry post. He asked Lin Baihu, "Where is your Wei Qianhu? These people are shouting these false accusations without any evidence. Don't the Prince of Ye and Wei Qianhu care?!"
Are you crazy?
Is the Prince of Ye such a cowardly and incompetent man that even though others are spitting on his face, he still doesn't dare to punish them?
Lin Baihu said, “Reporting to Jiang Qianshi, the Prince of Ye has ordered that the more chaotic the situation, the more courteous we should be to all parties in the city. They just want the truth. As long as they do not harm others or themselves, they may kneel and petition at the entrance of Wuyuan.”
Jiang Qianshi: "..."
Jiang Qianshi was dumbfounded. It turned out that the Prince of Ye was truly spineless!
He was disheartened. His Majesty had put out such a person as the backbone of the nation. The capital city was probably doomed, no, the Great Wei was probably doomed!
"Go and inform them that I, the Vice Commissioner, request an audience with the Prince of Ye!" Vice Commissioner Jiang decided to meet the Prince of Ye to see if he was truly a coward.
"The King of Ye has ordered that if the two Vice Commissioners request an audience, they may be brought in directly without prior notice." Commander Lin summoned three soldiers, had Vice Commissioner Jiang disarm, and then led him into the Wu Garden.
We went to the front garden, the small guest house where Elder Qiong and Elder Xun were temporarily staying, and also the place where Lu Fenxu was treated.
In the courtyard of the small guesthouse, Lu Qian, Zheng Qianjia and other students, Magistrate Kang and his wife, and Judge Zheng are still there.