Chapter 1370
Our legitimate imperial court does not support robbery
Chapter 1370 Our legitimate imperial court does not support robbery
Jiang Dalang, clad in heavy armor and wielding a long spear, stood on the platform, looking down at the people below. Pointing to the skeletons, he said, "These are the skeletons that the enemy from the Eastern Desert threw to our army... They not only kill and seize land, they also eat. We Wei people are their rations, and these skeletons are what they left over!"
"They also use bones as decorations to highlight their achievements!"
"That's just how things are. The enemy is just that ruthless. If you leave the city, you're very likely to encounter the Eastern Desert soldiers lurking in various places, and you're very likely to end up as a skeleton!"
"So it's not that the King of Ye and the government troops want to keep you bound inside the city, but that if you leave the city, there are only a hundred miles of open wilderness without city walls for defense. Not to mention you Wei people, even a hundred thousand Wei soldiers would have to fight their way out!"
"Furthermore, the situation in other prefectures is currently unclear, and they may have already been occupied by enemy forces. If you mistakenly enter, you will be entering enemy territory and will surely die!"
Jiang Dalang's words made sense, but the people of Wei were too scared to listen. They cried out, "Aren't you here too? Let's go together! Before the enemy arrives, let's escape together, soldiers and civilians alike. Even if we encounter a small group of enemy soldiers, you will fight them off. We will definitely be able to escape safely to Taizhou Prefecture!"
Jiang Dalang replied in a deep voice: "The wilderness is not a city. If the Wei army encounters the enemy, can they not run away? If you encounter the enemy, can you form a formation and not run away? You will instinctively scatter and flee. At that time, the Wei army will have to fight the enemy and rescue you. The Wei army does not have that much energy and manpower."
Jiang Dalang glanced at the King of Ye, and like Su Su, felt that the King of Ye was too reasonable.
In my previous life, during the Great Sheng Dynasty, when a city was besieged, the only course of action was to defend it to the death. If any civilians tried to abandon the city and flee, they would be beheaded and their bodies hung at the city gate to deter others from doing so.
Unlike the King of Ye, who held a grand meeting to explain the advantages and disadvantages to the people of Wei and repeatedly persuaded them to stay.
"I'm not advising you to stay so you can defend the city with the Wei army. How many enemy soldiers can you kill? Letting you leave will make things easier for the Wei army, and they'll have more supplies to allocate!" Jiang Dalang bluntly told them the truth: "The reason we're stopping you from leaving the city is because the Prince of Ye and the imperial army have some basic compassion and can't bear to see you die tragically, so they want to save your lives!"
"Young Master, you mustn't speak rashly!" the Prince of Ye rebuked him, then bowed to the Wei people and said, "Fellow villagers, please don't be offended. Commander Jiang is young and speaks rather bluntly, but he has commanded hundreds of thousands of Wei troops in battles against the enemy. He knows the enemy's ferocity, which is why he is so blunt in advising you not to risk leaving the city."
The people of Wei fell silent, unsure of what to say. Faced with this predicament, they were at a loss for what to do.
She only cried softly, then finally burst into loud sobs, cursing, "Why us? What sins have we committed to deserve this war?!"
“We’ve never enjoyed any privileges. Every bite of food we eat is earned through hard work. We’ve never broken the law or harmed anyone. Why is God treating us like this?”
"Damn you, God, are you trying to mess with us? We'll cut off your supplies, and even if we die, we'll turn the world upside down! We'll show you how to be indiscriminate in your dealings with others, and how to stop protecting us!"
God: You bunch of cowards, you dare to curse me, but not your emperor and government? Believe me or not, I'll send down a bolt of lightning to wake you up!
Old Qiong said, "Fellow villagers, we can't control what happens to us, but since we've encountered it, we have to figure out how to get through it!"
Wen Tao lost face yesterday, and he's here today to save face, so he immediately chimed in with advice: "Yes, folks, don't suffer, don't complain, and don't feel it's unfair. We've just been through this!"
Unfortunately, he was unlucky!
He attracted attention the moment he opened his mouth.
The villagers stared at him, pointing at him: "Wen Tao, you still dare to show off? Do you think everyone doesn't know how much money your Wen family has amassed over the years? How much land in Northeast China have you annexed? And how many servants have you bought at low prices during the famine?!"
"Your Wen family has been abusing your power to extort money, causing our wages to drop and our land rent to rise every year..."
"And then there's the colored cloth. Before the Qin family's new dye came out, it would take an entire year's savings for an ordinary family like ours to buy a piece of red cloth to make a wedding dress!"
"Your Wen family lives off our hard-earned money, and you still dare to spout hypocritical words! You, you, you, we'll fight you to the death!" "Folks, let's go, let's smash up the Wen family's house, rob them, it's our turn to enjoy ourselves!"
"Yes, let's go, let's enjoy ourselves before we die, then we won't have lived in vain!"
Wen Tao was stunned, his face turning deathly pale.
Lord Yan, Prefect Fei, Elder Qiong, and General Chu all looked very unwell... The situation they least wanted to see had occurred.
Wen Tao hurriedly hid behind Uncle Qin and pointed at the crowd below, saying, "Help! Help my Wen family! My Wen family is also a family of righteous people who donated money to help the country fight against the enemy!"
Boom—!
A loud bang startled Wen Tao, who screamed and immediately lay flat on the high platform.
This also startled Wei Min, who was attending the meeting in front of the gate, so much so that he squatted down with his head in his hands, and the chaos at the scene was brought to a stop.
Jiang Dalang pointed at the crowd that was about to attack the Wen family and gave the military order: "Take down these people who are taking advantage of the chaos to commit evil!"
"Yes!" Wei Jun set off from four directions and captured more than twenty Wei civilians who were shouting and making a fuss about going to rob the Wen family.
They were so upset, they cried uncontrollably.
Some Wei Min couldn't bear it and questioned them on their behalf: "Commander Jiang, Master Qin, you also come from humble backgrounds. You were also forced to seize the secret formula by powerful families like the Wen family. Why are you still protecting Wen Tao?!"
Jiang Dalang's only wish in this life was to help Qin Xiaomi succeed, so he was indicating that she should speak on this matter that would bring him honor.
Qin Xiaomi said, "Because the current Great Wei Dynasty is a legitimate dynasty, and legitimate dynasties uphold the law. This kind of thing, where people gather to rob someone's door, is not allowed, no matter who does it!"
The Prince of Ye nodded and added, "The court is not protecting the Wen family, but the law. If the rites and music collapse, everyone will suffer, including you."
"I have been an ordinary citizen of Wei for thirty years and I know how hard your lives are and how afraid you are of powerful foreign enemies. But let's not break the law and do anything that would harm Wei's ability to resist the enemy."
"I will not run away. I will stay with you through life and death, and I will keep an eye on you to prevent you from causing trouble!"
No, you just spout this empty, hollow, bullshit nonsense?
Wen Tao panicked and shouted, "My Wen family donated a large amount of supplies, which is a righteous act. My Wen family has done a good deed! Fellow villagers, don't be blinded by jealousy, but see the good things about the Wen family!"
"My Wen family feels wronged. We were living a good life and had the ability to escape and find a way to survive, but we stubbornly defended the capital city and even had to donate our family fortune to everyone!"
Waaaaah, it hurts, it hurts so much! Wen Tao feels like his heart and liver have been ripped out... You bastards, you eat from my Wen family and then you beat me up, you're not human!
"You bastard, we're all old folks in the capital city. Do you think we don't know what kind of people the Wen family are? Donating money is just a way for you to protect yourselves, and you're even trying to take credit for it! Folks, smash him!" The Wei people were indignant. In this situation, they no longer feared powerful families and used their water pouches, gourds, smelly shoes, and other items to throw at Wen Tao.
Bang bang bang!
Fortunately, the shield bearers helped block the objects, otherwise Uncle Qin would have been seriously injured.
"You bastard, you only know how to use me as a shield, I'll beat you to death!" Uncle Qin turned around and started punching and kicking Wen Tao, who was hiding behind him.