Chapter 304: Heaven Will Not Destroy Heluo (asking for monthly tickets)
Chang Suining walked down from the altar and stood on the stone steps of the altar. Although she was alone, she seemed to silently protect Zheng Chao on the altar behind her. She faced Li Xian and said in a normal tone: "I have been doing disaster relief work near Xingyang recently. Didn't General Li mention Guo Fu's subordinate?"
The Guo Fu she was referring to was the unlucky fellow whose return date she had seen during the pursuit of Yuan Miao that day.
"I have heard about it, but I didn't expect to see General Ningyuan in Xingyang City at this time." There was no strange expression on Li Xian's face, and he could be considered friendly.
Chang Suining also said: "I heard that the eldest master of the Zheng family was donating grain and praying for blessings in the city, so I came to join in the fun."
"This is really a coincidence." Li Xian smiled, looked at her and asked, "Then, may I ask if General Ning Yuan is going to obstruct Li's investigation at this time?"
The other side had previously prevented his people from taking away prisoners of war, and that account had not yet been settled.
Chang Suining: "Of course not. I just want to remind General Li that the Dasheng etiquette has always clearly stated that anyone who disrupts the sacrificial and blessing ceremonies initiated by the court officials will be suspected of destroying the country's destiny. Those in serious cases will be executed according to the law-"
Li Xian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he looked at the blood-spattered altar with amusement: "Is this also considered a blessing?"
Chang Suining glanced back indifferently and said, "Why not? Isn't there a precedent for this in Luoyang City?"
Li Xian's sarcastic smile condensed slightly: "Li doesn't know that this blessing was originally initiated by the Xingyang government--"
At this time, the magistrate of Xingyang County and other officials heard about the incident and rushed here. Li Xian asked the magistrate of Xingyang County about this matter.
The Xingyang County magistrate confirmed that the prayer was initiated with his permission, and the document was stamped with the seal of the governor's office.
It was true that he agreed, but he didn't expect that the Zheng family would kill the Zheng family on the altar! In terms of crime, murder should be arrested, but in Xingyang, the Zheng family's patriarchal law is more important, and the Zheng family should be dealt with first.
But now the Zheng family has become an accomplice of Xu, and the murdered head of the Zheng family has become the mastermind, so it is no longer his responsibility.
What he didn't expect was that General Li Xian suddenly came to Xingyang City to handle the case today without saying a word, wanting to catch the Zheng family off guard... If he had been informed in advance, he would not have agreed to this prayer!
No, it’s hard to say… After all, that’s 10,000 shi of grain…
The magistrate of Xingyang County has the spirit of seeking wealth and honor at the cost of danger.
The hunger of the victims cannot wait too long, if they wait one more day there may be the possibility of a riot. He does not expect that after the Zheng family's property is ransacked, General Li Xian will give priority to distributing the rice seized from the ransacked property to the hungry victims. This man's actions in recent times are obvious to all. He is bent on slaughtering the gentry, and those under him often take the opportunity to make money while hunting down the fugitives of the gentry.
It was General Ning Yuan who had been leading people to help with disaster relief and comfort the victims near Xingyang. When the flood first occurred, he and Hu Lin from Bianzhou sent people to warn Xingyang to prepare early...
The Xingyang County Magistrate had his own standards in mind, and at this moment he said: "The blessing ceremony has begun. If we rashly stop it in the middle, it may be suspected of disrespecting the gods..."
The reason why etiquette and law are called etiquette and law is because the etiquette system came before, not to mention that this was a time when a natural disaster broke out.
Li Xian did not want to get into trouble, so he just asked, "When will this prayer end?"
The magistrate of Xingyang County looked embarrassed and said that Zheng Chao was praying sincerely and wanted to pray here until the rain stopped... Don't ask, because asking is also a precedent set by Luoyang City.
Li Xian sneered in his heart.
At this moment, strange emotions were aroused among the people around the altar, and there was a commotion everywhere. They could not hear the content of the negotiations between Li Xian and others. They only saw that the soldiers brought by General Li Xian drew their swords and surrounded the altar with a fierce momentum, wanting to take Zheng Chao away.
There were many scholars crowding in the front. When they first heard about the affairs of the Luoyang gentry, they felt relieved for a while, thinking that the students from poor families would finally have a chance to succeed.
However, as the scope of the court's massacre and humiliation of the gentry expanded, they, as fellow scholars, gradually developed a sense of fear and discomfort. They began to ask themselves, is this large-scale massacre of literati really worthy of applause?
Even among these people, most were innocent scholars who were unaware of the situation, and there were also many women and children from the gentry.
This wavering right and wrong was made clear by the truth that "the eldest master of the Zheng family is Mr. Caotang" that suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Killing innocent people indiscriminately is wrong!
Not all the gentry are greedy and greedy, and they don’t all deserve to be wiped out!
Mr. Zheng cannot be taken away without explanation like this and then be humiliated and slaughtered like those Luoyang scholars!
In the crowd, someone made the first sound: "Mr. Zheng sacrificed his relatives for the greater good. He has great righteousness in his heart. He has done favors for Xingyang before. He is definitely not an accomplice of the Xu thief's conspiracy. I hope the imperial envoy will investigate according to the law!"
The scholar emphasized the four words "investigate clearly according to the law".
For a moment, there were countless voices of agreement.
"Not only that, Mr. Zheng also made great contributions to the flood control and disaster prevention of the Yellow River. If it weren't for Mr. Zheng, Xingyang City would have been flooded by the Yellow River long ago!" A Che was mixed in the crowd. He could not see the person, but only heard his voice.
When these words were spoken, the people of Xingyang were all surprised.
Many scholars were shocked when they heard this and their eyes turned red.
It turns out that Mr. Zheng not only used what he learned at home to support them, he even secretly went to control the flood at the risk of his life!
How many good deeds has Mr. Zheng done that they don’t know about?
Mr. Zheng is like a roc, and they are like chicks who have been selflessly fed by Mr. Zheng, but they have only now come to know the true face of their benefactor.
For a moment, the emotions among the people became more excited. They looked at those scary long swords and began to show a defensive look in their eyes.
Some scholars even began to think, if the existence of the gentry is unfair, then what about these people? If such brutal killing methods were used to completely replace the gentry, would everything become fair?
If the world's culture, morality and etiquette were completely slaughtered, how could the upright character of literati be found in the world!
The nobles were guilty and should be punished, but they should not be slaughtered like this! Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Li Xian laughed sarcastically in his heart.
These ignorant people were instigated by just a few words. They are so stupid that they are destined to be ants trampled underfoot for the rest of their lives.
And he didn't have to confront these ants. Zheng Chao was just a man who wanted to use some tricks to survive, and he couldn't escape anyway.
Li Xian did not insist on taking Zheng Chao away. He ordered people to guard around the altar until the prayer was over: "The rest of you, follow me to Zheng's house!"
The magistrate of Xingyang County and others immediately gave way, feeling a mixed sense of panic in their hearts. Today, Xingyang City was destined to become the second Luoyang.
Li Xian glanced at Chang Suining who was "watching the fun" and asked with a smile, "Does General Ning Yuan want to come with us?"
He suspected that Zheng Chao's prayer today was related to Chang Suining, and this was also a test to see if she would obstruct it again. However, seeing Chang Suining shook her head without any interest, he said, "I will not bother General Li with his work."
Li Xian smiled and nodded, then rode his horse to leave.
In fact, when he was negotiating here, he had already sent 3,000 troops to Zheng's house from another road to "pave the way" for today's trip.
When he came here today, he had no intention of letting any member of the Zheng family escape from Xingyang.
He had sharpened the sword himself last night. As the head of the aristocratic families in the Central Plains, Cui Jing's maternal family was so noble that they naturally deserved his special respect.
However, just as Li Xian led his men around the altar, the crowd in front was suddenly separated, and a team of neat and oppressive troops came towards him, blocking his way.
Li Xian reined in his horse and frowned quickly - Cui Jing? The team of people and horses approached quickly, and the young man in the lead sat on the horse and said, "Yesterday, Zheng Chao reported that the head of the Zheng family colluded with Xu Zhengye. With the evidence, the Zheng family has been controlled and all the resistance has been eliminated."
What? Li Xian even thought he had heard it wrong.
So, did Cui Jing personally lead people to suppress and control the Zheng family? He already knew that Cui Jing was near Xingyang on his way to Xingyang. Cui Jing did not avoid suspicion and came back at this time... Was he feeling sorry for the Zheng family and wanted to fight against the court for the Zheng family? If so, he was looking forward to it.
But the fact is that this person got ahead of him and took control of the Zheng family...
He understood that offering food and praying for blessings, killing Zheng Ji, inciting the people... and the Zheng family's counterattack and suicide attempt that should have happened but never happened...
Ha, that’s why!
Cui Jing said calmly, "Besides that, the Zheng clan members have already offered all of their books in the hope that the saint will show mercy to us. We do not ask for the Zheng clan members to be punished, but only for the lives of innocent members to be saved."
Li Xian's eyes swept across the boxes held in the hands of the three Xuan Ce soldiers beside Cui Jing. Each of the three boxes contained the keys to Zheng's three secret book chambers.
Countless scholars also looked at them. The value of these three boxes is immeasurable. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the greatest secret treasures of Heluo in the Central Plains.
Li Xian slowly retracted his gaze and looked at Cui Jing: "With Grand Commander Cui stepping forward to sacrifice his relatives for the greater good, the case is indeed progressing rapidly."
"Cui is acting on orders. Since I have been ordered to report, there is no reason for me to turn a blind eye out of favoritism." Cui Jing looked at him and said, "General Li can take away anyone in the Zheng family who is suspected of conspiracy according to the law for questioning."
Li Xian sneered in his heart.
Now the Zheng family has been controlled by Cui Jing's people. Even if he wants to take someone away, he must go through Cui Jing's eyes and ears. He naturally believes that Cui Jing dare not shield anyone for personal reasons, but what's the point of only killing those who deserve to die?
His knife was originally sharpened for the entire Zheng family in Xingyang.
This trip was really a complete disappointment.
Li Xian suppressed his dissatisfaction, raised his hand holding the reins to Cui Jing, and said with admiration: "General Cui handled the case so impartially. I will report to the saint the truth about General Cui's killing of his own relatives for the sake of justice."
Every word he said was based on the principle of "killing relatives for the sake of justice".
This is the only "interesting" thing today.
He naturally knew that Cui Jing's move was ostensibly to suppress the rebellion personally, but in reality it was to protect the Zheng clan, and it was a well-intentioned move... But people in the world would not think so, and the gentry would certainly not think so.
Soon, they would hear that it was Cui Jing who personally led his army to break down the Zheng family’s gate and personally handed over all of the Zheng family’s books.
Thinking of this, Li Xian smiled and bowed to Cui Jing again. After having Zheng Ji's body taken away, he rode away on his horse and led his men to Zheng's house.
The people around looked at the outstanding young man, whispering to each other with different expressions.
Cui Jing was sitting on the horse, with blood stains between his fingers that were holding the reins. This blood stain seemed to be the evidence of his "killing his own relatives for the sake of justice".
He looked past those complex, fearful gazes and only looked above the altar.
Chang Suining smiled at him.
Cui Jing's tense brows relaxed silently.
Chang Suining was about to step down from the altar when a bloody hand suddenly grabbed the corner of his robe.
She turned around and saw Zheng Chao, who was limp all over, showing her an incomprehensible expression and begging, "General Ningyuan, please stay and pray with me..."
Who could understand this feeling? It was the first time in his life that he killed someone, and the person he killed was his cousin. His family was finally going to collapse and dissipate. The sky seemed to have fallen on him, and yet he had to stay and pray.
Moreover, he is not only a sinner now, but also a traitor to the Zheng family. What if someone tries to assassinate him while he is praying? There must be someone who can fight to stay and protect him closely.
General Ning Yuan, who is known as the reincarnation of a great general, is a very good choice.
And for her sake, God might stop raining soon.
Zheng Chao was having all sorts of thoughts, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time. He felt that he was finally freed from the shackles, but he couldn't help feeling sad about the fate of his family's decline. However, he also knew that this was a blessing in disguise that he had achieved after trying his best.
Unable to refuse such a kind invitation, Chang Suining had no choice but to stay and pray with Zheng Chao.
There is a canopy embroidered with scriptures above the altar. Prayers can sit cross-legged under the canopy and recite scriptures, but when it rains heavily, this canopy is futile and cannot block much rain.
Zheng Chao was determined to atone for Zheng's sins. He did not sit cross-legged like a monk, but knelt above the altar and explained Zheng's faults to the world and the gods.
There were scholars who had received his guidance in the thatched cottage and were able to pass the imperial examinations. They gathered around the altar for a long time and were unwilling to leave, praying with him.
Li Xian's confidants went in and out of the Zheng family, which was tightly guarded by Xuan Ce's army, and took away those not innocent Zheng family members. All matters concerning the punishment of the Zheng family in Xingyang were carried out in this way, neither peaceful nor unusually peaceful.
After Li Xian rushed to Xingyang, the custody of the various noble families inside and outside Luoyang City was successively replaced by Cui Jing's people. From then on, there was no more forced killing of innocent people.
The rain caused the sky to darken quickly. Adian took the umbrella from Cui Jing, held it up to the altar, and held it above the head of Chang Suining, who was almost soaked.
Seeing Chang Suining looking up, Ah Dian said aggrievedly but firmly: "If Buddha wants to blame someone, blame me. It was me who insisted on holding an umbrella for you!"
Chang Suining smiled and said, "Don't worry, the Buddha won't bother with a child."
She turned her head and looked towards the Yellow River through the rain.
Zheng Chao was also looking in the same direction. He was counting the days, no, the hours.
In the darkness of the night, the cries of the people were heard.
Listening to the crying, Adian, who was sitting cross-legged like Chang Suining, held an umbrella in one hand and wiped his tears with the other.
That night, the people of Xingyang sewed two umbrellas for the people. One was for "Mr. Caotang" who went to the Yellow River to offer grain and pray for flood control, and the other was for General Ningyuan who killed the thief Xu and had been in Xingyang for many days to provide disaster relief.
When it got light, a child of five or six years old climbed up to the altar holding two umbrellas for all the people. After handing one of them to Adian, the child came to Zheng Chao, who had his hair loose and looked exhausted.
"Mr. Zheng, I will hold an umbrella for you. Everyone says that Buddha will not blame children!"
As the child's childish voice sounded, he opened the umbrella clumsily.
The moment the umbrella was opened, Chang Suining looked toward the sky through the colorful strips of cloth hanging from the edge of the umbrella.
She didn’t know if she was hallucinating, but she saw the dark clouds dissipating, and soon a blinding light broke through the clouds from the east.
“…It’s the sun!”
"This umbrella is great. Just open it and the sun will come out!" Adian jumped up excitedly.
Soon, countless excited voices came from all directions.
Chang Suining blinked, and his pupils were illuminated.
It's not an illusion.
Zheng Chao, with pale lips, lost all his strength and suddenly fell on his back, tears streaming from the corners of his red eyes. He looked at the sky which was getting brighter and brighter, and murmured: "Heaven will not destroy Heluo, Heaven will not destroy Heluo..."
…
The weather in the Central Plains cleared up and news from all directions was gradually transmitted back to the capital.
Good night everyone (end of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
