Chapter 27 The Secret Guard: The affairs of the world are inherently unclear.
Lin Jianshu returned to the farm two days later.
His brows were furrowed, and he exuded a chilling aura. Chen Liangyu knew that Bo Gongzhai and the government troops had clashed.
He tossed a roasted pheasant wrapped in leaves to Chen Luan, looked at him a few more times as if reluctant to part with it, and then took Zhai Ji away without a word.
"General Lin!" Chen Liangyu called after him.
Someone grabbed her and dragged her backward.
"General Lin, the Northern Yong are warlike. If our dynasty's military strategies fall into their hands, they will surely launch another attack on Dahe, igniting war once more and causing widespread suffering among the people! General Lin!"
Chen Liangyu struggled, and in her desperation, she injured several people who were blocking her way before she was able to break free and catch up with Lin Jianshu.
"My maternal grandfather created the He Family Military Strategy to resist the invasion of Bei Yong. The battle in the northern border lasted for sixteen years! Uncle Lin!"
Lin Jianshu paused when she mentioned his former teacher, and slowly began to speak, “When my teacher was still alive, he taught us about morality and discussed the state and people’s livelihood with us. Decades have passed in a flash, and only now do I realize that there is no such thing as morality. It is merely a tool used by emperors to deceive and mislead the world. But I am unwilling to drift with the tide and follow the crowd. I still remember my teacher’s teachings: the people are more important than the ruler. The ruler should be a model for the world, and should be a person of virtue, talent, benevolence, and love for the people. The current emperor has lost his virtue, ascended the throne by stepping on the lives of his people, and has been sitting on the throne for nearly twenty years. I thought that when the world became clear, justice would come, but they only want to bury the filth and shame of the past years and cover up their flaws. If there are mistakes, one should take responsibility and admit fault. Since they are unwilling to correct them, then it is not impossible for the world to change hands.”
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Back then, when he was being chased by Prince Fengde, he fled into a village. A family gave him a gourd of water to drink, and the whole family died at the hands of Prince Fengde. Prince Fengde held a knife to the head of that family's young son, forcing him to kneel and beg before he would spare his life. At that time, I thought that a prince who was willing to kneel for a young child must be a good emperor."
After saying that, he took a step forward. Chen Liangyu tried to stop him again, but Lin Jianshu knocked her to the ground. Immediately, several people came up with a rope, tied her up tightly, and threw her into the woodshed.
As night fell and stars shone brightly, a thick fog descended upon the mountain village.
When the government troops broke through Bogong Village, the first person to find them was Zhang Jialing, who was in a great hurry.
The torches burned down the houses, and the thatched huts quickly turned to ashes under the scorching fire, with thick black smoke making the mountain fog even denser.
The ground was littered with corpses.
A young general approached them, cupped his hands, and said, "Jiang Andong of the Northern Army is here to meet Commander Chen." He added, "His Majesty has ordered that Commander Chen be summoned back to Yongdu immediately."
Chen Liangyu nodded in return.
Eunuch Wei stood in the center of the open space, surrounded by firelight, with the corpses of the several monkeys at his feet.
He kept his head down, his expression unreadable, and muttered to himself, only a few words could be vaguely discerned: "Go, leave it to me."
As they walked, they saw several familiar faces. The two bandits who had guarded them, who looked like gatekeepers, were also lying dead in the grass. A net had been erected around the open space, and those squatting inside were mostly the elderly, women, and children.
Ah Yin raised his head and glared at them with hostility.
For a fleeting moment, Chen Liangyu hoped that Lin Jianshu had escaped when he didn't see him. A renowned general should not die in such an dishonorable manner.
With this departure, the history of the Qing Dynasty will no longer contain the story of Gui Tou Dao Lin Jian Shu. Instead, the military records of Da Huan will record: "In a certain year and month, a certain general led troops to suppress a number of mountain bandits, and the bandit leader was executed."
Before long, her fears were confirmed.
Soldiers dragged his body out of a civilian house; the wound on his neck was deep and long, and the blood was still wet.
Zhai Ji followed behind, his face showing no joy at his accomplishment.
Zhai Ji cannot be allowed to live; he must be killed before he returns to Bei Yong.
We must not allow him to bring the Yin-Yang Three Scrolls back to Bei Yong.
Perhaps because of the intense killing intent in his eyes, Zhai Jiwei straightened his clothes and walked straight toward Lin Jianshu.
He said, “Chen Liangyu, the world will be unified and war will cease. There is only one way to completely end the chaos. Do you think that if you don’t offend others, they won’t offend you? With the world in turmoil and taxes not reduced, how can we talk about living in peace and prosperity? Do you really think you can maintain peace in the Zhonglian area during this chaotic world? I really don’t know whether to say you are too arrogant or that you have no brains.”
Chen Liangyu said, “Unification of the world? Ha, you make it sound so simple. Have you ever thought about how long this road will take to reach the end? Fifty years? Eighty years? Or a hundred years, or several hundred years? How many innocent people will die in the process of war and famine? There has never been a country that benefits from prolonged warfare! You admire conquest, but you don’t need to use the stability of the world as an excuse.”
Zhai Ji said, "Great achievements always require sacrifices. Temporary sacrifices can bring eternal peace. How can you not understand this calculation?"
“Even if the world is truly unified, the war will not end! After unification, it will split again, and new forces will fight and compete with each other. The war will never stop, it will never end.” A trace of sadness flashed in Chen Liangyu’s eyes. “A lifetime is only a hundred years, or even less than a hundred years. If I can use my life to protect a peaceful place and let a generation live and work in peace, then I will have no regrets in my life.”
Zhai Ji said, "Short-sighted, and womanly indifference!"
Chen Liangyu said, "To have ambitions higher than the sky is nothing but a fool's dream!"
And so they parted on bad terms.
Looking back, Zhang Jialing was holding a woman in his arms, whispering words of comfort. She was a hostage he had rescued from the bandit stronghold.
Chen Liangyu pulled Zhang Jialing away. She had always disliked his frivolous and dissolute manner, finding his fierce and unruly demeanor far more appealing than his wild and unrestrained spirit when riding a horse through the bustling city.
"What are you doing?" Zhang Jialing said with displeasure, "Her father is dead. That man killed him."
Suga Jin ordered the soldiers to hold him down, while he continued to curse.
"Have all the hostages been rescued?" Chen Liangyu asked.
Lin Jianshu had ordered that they should only rob the wealthy and not take lives. If the bandits kidnapped someone and found them to be from a wealthy household, they would send a message to the hostage's home and demand further ransom.
Today, Suga saw that the government soldiers had gone mad, indiscriminately slashing and killing indiscriminately, injuring many hostages.
"They've been rescued and settled outside the village. They'll return to the city tomorrow with the nearby garrison."
We went to a nearby city to ask for help!
“It’s not safe for Miss Yan Jiu to go with the main group now that she’s an orphan.”
That's true. Chen Liangyu squeezed in between Zhang Jialing and the woman, asking, "Miss, where are you from? Who else is in your family?"
The woman sobbed as she knelt down and kowtowed to her: "I am Shen Yan, the ninth child in my family. You may call me Yan Jiu, sir. My family are salt merchants from the Eastern Baiyue region. We moved here from Pingcheng. My father was killed, and only my uncles and aunts who passed away are left in the family. They are now waiting for my father and me to come to Helu Town."
"I'll send someone to escort you there." Chen Liangyu pulled the person out, looked around, and called over two soldiers.
“Me, me, me, I can do it,” Zhang Jialing volunteered, raising his hand. “I’ll take her back.”
"I don't need you."
Shen Yan continued to sob, sniffed, and said, "Young Master Zhang... he's fine."
Chen Liangyu was speechless for a moment, "He... well, alright."
After handing everything over to Jiang Andong, who was there to meet her, Chen Liangyu rode swiftly back to Yongdu and locked herself in her study to write memorials.
The memorial was submitted and quickly received a reply. After deliberation, the central government deemed the policy of "replacing suppression with land reclamation" feasible and drafted a land reclamation policy, which was then distributed to various prefectures and counties for implementation.
On the seventh day after Lin Jianshu's death, a light drizzle began to fall.
On that same day, Suga was beheaded.
Chen Liangyu went to the execution ground and delivered a pot of farewell wine.
Suga Jin chuckled, "I didn't expect anyone would come to see me off. You're a promising talent, but remember, don't be blindly loyal."
Before the execution, the executioner began to read out Suga Jin's charges one by one.
He listened quietly and dismissively the whole time, but when the charge of "sexual assault against women and murder of children" was announced, he charged at the executioner like a mad bull, knocking aside the soldiers holding him down.
"Bullshit! Fuck your mother! I've been trained in the military, how could I do such a disgraceful thing? Killing children is something your emperor does. I'll be waiting for Xie Lin to commit suicide on the eight hundred miles to the Yellow Springs!"
Four or five soldiers rushed forward, the red-tasseled spear shafts striking Suganin on the back, knocking him to the ground. Blood flowed from Suganin's mouth, mingling with the rainwater and meandering towards a low-lying area.
"I'm a soldier..."
He roared in the howling wind, clinging desperately to the ground, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the execution platform, blood gushing from his mouth.
"I'm a soldier too..."
He was dragged away by his trouser leg, the execution token splashed water on the ground, and the long sword swung, leaving behind a mess of scarlet blood.
When he went mad, he killed many government soldiers and wealthy hostages. Execution seemed inevitable and justified, but for some reason, Chen Liangyu felt deeply saddened for a long time.
When Madam Shan discovered that she hadn't touched her food all day, she knew she couldn't persuade her, so she went to the front hall to invite Yan Baizhang.
It happened to be the sixteenth day of the lunar month, and the moonlight was bright and clear, its rays shining brightly.
Chen Liangyu sat alone on the rooftop, casually picking up a jade flute and playing with it in her hand. Before she knew it, she brought it to her lips and began to play. All things slept in the night, and the world was silent. The melodious music carried far and wide.
After returning from Xiling, she intentionally or unintentionally avoided Chen Yuanqing, and her close family members noticed this subtle change in her.
“Uncle Yan, I always feel that he shouldn’t have ended up like this. They, and Uncle Lin, shouldn’t have ended up like this today.”
With tears welling up in her eyes, she hugged her knees and wept uncontrollably.
Yan Baizhang knew she had a knot in her heart, and after she cried until she was exhausted, she told him the whole story from back then.
"At that time, the late emperor was critically ill, and the five princes were vying for the throne, each ruling their own territory. A great famine also struck, with withered corpses and white bones everywhere. Court officials were busy with factional infighting, too preoccupied with their own problems to care for the people's livelihood. This situation persisted for a year or two without any improvement. Later, Prime Minister Xun unexpectedly learned of a secret technique from a medicinal herb farm in the south and offered the emperor a plan: to train secret guards to assassinate other contenders for the throne and end the chaos in the royal family as quickly as possible. At that time, no one knew how long this chaotic state of misery would last. This strategy was probably the fastest way Prime Minister Xun could find to stabilize the empire."
Chen Liangyu wiped away her tears and asked, "Why didn't my father try to stop him?"
"The Marquis was unaware of the situation. Prime Minister Xun knew that your father and Lin Guitou would definitely object, so he kept it from them. After the truth came out, Xun Fan asked Lin Guitou, 'The youngest soldiers under the princes are only twelve or thirteen years old. Hundreds or even thousands of them die every day. If a major battle occurs, the number of dead will reach tens of thousands. What should we do? These children are already abnormal. They can only be kept alive by medicine. The medicine is very precious, more expensive than pearls, and cannot be afforded by ordinary families. Moreover, the famine problem has not been solved. Even if we release these children, they will still die. It is better to make the most of them.'"
Chen Liangyu said, “Throughout history, scholars have died remonstrating, warriors have died fighting, those in power have devised strategies, and commoners have farmed and woven to pay taxes and perform corvée labor. Everyone has their responsibilities! If ten thousand soldiers die, they are heroes who have fallen in battle; if one commoner dies, it means that those in power are immoral, strategists are useless, and generals are incompetent! How can there be any reason to push out an infant from a commoner’s family to shield the country when the country is not at peace? It was wrong from the beginning, and yet it continues to be wrong.”
Yan Baizhang was momentarily lost in thought.
On the one hand, he was gratified that his student was able to understand morality and etiquette; on the other hand, he didn't know how to tell her about that special period. During the Rebellion of the Five Princes, the various princes lacked troops, so they would forcibly conscript people into the army. Originally, even if it was forced conscription, each household was supposed to keep one male, but later, when things got desperate, anyone could be taken to fight.
Every family has no heirs, and nine out of ten houses are empty.
"Lin Guitou gave the same answer to Xun Xiang. In the end, Xun Xiang couldn't persuade Lin Guitou, so he tricked the Marquis into going there and falsely accused Lin Guitou of leading his troops to defect. When the Marquis arrived, he indeed saw Lin Guitou fighting with the guards. After learning about the secret guards, the Marquis was so angry that he almost killed Xun Xiang. It was at that time that the Marquis and Xun Xiang became sworn enemies. Secret guards have shorter lifespans than ordinary people. It's been almost twenty years. If there are still secret guards alive, there shouldn't be many left. The Marquis felt guilty about this for half his life. After returning from the northern border, the Marquis has been thinking about resigning and staying away from the court."
Chen Liangyu caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Chen Yuanqing standing under the eaves, looking in their direction. After a while, he lowered his head, turned around, and walked into the house. His back looked very desolate.
“Liangyu, things in this world are inherently unclear. I am only worried that after you have seen all the filth in the world, you may still be able to keep your original heart.”
Author's Note: This chapter has been slightly revised. Here are two more chapters to come!
Thank you for reading this far!
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