For a moment, the haze hanging over Luoyang City became even thicker. Killings, counterattacks, escapes, scoldings, questionings, suppressions... all the chaos and noise turned into blood.
Officials of all ethnic groups serving in Luoyang City and nearby counties and prefectures were also liquidated and arrested one after another. Li Xian acted swiftly, leaving no room for maneuver, regardless of gains and losses, and without asking for consequences. He had only one goal - to fulfill the empress's will and completely wipe out the Luoyang gentry.
On this day, as the sky was about to get dark, Li Xian, wearing armor and carrying a sword, walked out of an ancient and secluded three-story house, listening with a smile to the intermittent screams and curses coming from behind him.
"You are a humble commoner, yet once you succeed, you dare to slaughter my noble family!"
"...You are doing evil things and disregarding the will of heaven and people..."
"Whether we have done something wrong or not should be determined by the law of the country. How can we allow you to be so rampant and slaughter people at will?"
"The way to govern the country and keep the people safe has been passed down for hundreds of years by us... If you dare to cut off the lifeline of our noble family, you will cut off the fate of Dasheng and the inheritance of humanity!"
"The Demon Queen is courting her own destruction!"
"Sure enough, when a country is about to fall, all the monsters will appear!"
"You who aided and abetted the tyrant...will be punished by Heaven...punished by Heaven!"
“…”
Li Xian stepped down the stone steps, sneered, and said to himself: "Whether Dasheng will perish or not, whether we will perish or not, is still unknown... But the death date of you scholars who think you are superior to others has really come."
He looked at the blood under his feet. This was not over yet. Luoyang City was just the beginning.
Before mounting the horse, he bent over and picked up a light pink petal scattered in the blood, then stood up and looked at it carefully.
"What a pity for the peonies this year."
There was pity in his eyes, but a smile soon appeared: "But next year, it will bloom better."
With the nourishment of the blood of these scholars and officials, the peonies in Luoyang City will surely bloom in their most prosperous year next year, and he will definitely enjoy them carefully then.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me…!”
"Please let me go. This was all a plot by the clan leader and the thief Xu. I really knew nothing about it!"
A man in a long gown and covered in blood rushed out of the courtyard, fell inside the door, and cried out to the soldier who was chasing him with a knife.
Growing up in an environment full of books and fine products, and adhering to the principle of a gentleman staying away from the kitchen, he had never even seen a chicken being slaughtered in his life, let alone such a bloody and horrifying scene!
His father was beheaded with a knife because he cursed the visitor. He was frightened to death and fainted, but woke up soon. Everywhere he looked was like purgatory!
Li Xian turned back with interest, raised his hand to stop the soldier who was about to chop him down with his knife, and said, "Since he has not resisted, he should not be killed indiscriminately. Instead, he should be taken to jail and await trial."
The frightened man fell to the ground and bowed to Li hurriedly: "Thank you... Thank you General Li!"
Li Xian smiled even more happily: "Li is just doing his duty."
Hearing the laughter, the man raised his eyes in fear and looked at Li Xian who was looking down at him. He felt a deeper fear in his heart and every pore in his body was trembling.
Soon, he was dragged away.
"What a pity." Li Xian said again, "What a pity! General Cui is not in Luoyang City. He missed so many wonderful things."
He looked at the plaque hanging on the mansion. This was the family with the same roots as Cui Jing, a family that had always been known for its integrity, a family that even dared to defy the imperial power.
People only know that they are out of reach, but they don't know that many of them are so scared when they see blood that they piss and pee. Some even kneel at his feet and beg for mercy.
He was happy to show some mercy to these people. After all, only those in high positions were qualified to show mercy.
Li Xian mounted the horse and took hold of the reins. The peony petal between his fingers was quickly crushed into pieces by the rough reins.
…
The Luoyang prison was already filled with "important criminals" from the aristocratic families who had been arrested by Li Xian. These aristocratic families had taken root in Luoyang City for hundreds of years, like lush branches and leaves of a big tree. If a group of serious criminals had not just been killed, the cells would be almost full to hold them.
There were cries of women and children in the cell, as well as unwilling scolding. Seeing Li Xian's figure appear in the prison, the scolding and cursing became louder, and they were clearly heard by Li Xian through the cold iron bars, but he didn't care at all.
He led his men straight to the torture chamber, and looking at the old man who was tied to the rack, with his gray hair in disarray, his long gown stripped off, and his only inner garment stained with blood, he asked calmly, "Is the elder clan leader still unwilling to confess the remaining accomplices?"
The old man hung his head, as if he heard nothing, or seemed to have fainted, but his thin body was trembling slightly due to the great pain he was enduring.
"The elder patriarch is indeed a man of great character, just like your calligraphy." Li Xian said with a smile: "To be honest, when I was young and grew up in Luoyang, I also copied your calligraphy, but unfortunately it was always in form but without spirit."
"...You are such a despicable and cruel person, and you are worthy of learning my father's calligraphy!"
A middle-aged man who had just been brought here spat with disdain.
Li Xianwei turned around and looked at the middle-aged man. Instead of being angry, he smiled and said, "It has been many years since I last saw you. Although Mr. Yuan looks embarrassed, his spirit is no different from that year."
The man sneered. Although he was forced to kneel on the ground, he still looked down upon Li Xian. He cried out sarcastically and sadly, "Heaven is so unfair. These evil spirits are in power!"
Li Xian laughed: "It seems that Yuan Dalangjun is just like the elder patriarch, both of them are proud and would rather die than give in. This is admirable."
As he spoke, he looked behind the man with a curious look in his eyes: "I just wonder, with the same bloodline, does Young Master Yuan also have such a strong character?"
The man's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he struggled to turn around.
A boy who looked no more than ten years old was brought over. Although he was young, he was very stubborn and struggled to give in: "Let me go!"
But with the strength of just a child, how could he contend against the officers and soldiers? He was soon pinned to the ground.
Li Xian walked towards him.
"Li Xian, what do you want to do!" The man suddenly struggled.
Li Xian walked up to the boy and stepped on his right hand.
"I vaguely remember that when I was your son's age, Luoyang City held a grand peony festival every spring... That year, out of curiosity, I plucked a Luoyang brocade flower, which angered the young Yuan Dalangjun."
The young man said that this Luoyang brocade belonged to his Yuan family. It was really disappointing for a commoner like him to dare to touch it.
He wanted to run, but was pinned to the ground. The Yuan family members didn't need to do anything. The young men who tried to curry favor with the young master of the Yuan family and their servants beat him up. Some even laughed and left urine stains on his head and body. Of course, they did this after dragging him far away to avoid offending the young master of the Yuan family.
At that time, his aunt had entered the palace and gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Not only did she not receive favor, but she was also seen as a bad omen. The Ming family was of ordinary origin, and his father was just a small military general.
But it was not until this day that he truly realized the gap between scholars and common people was as huge as that between heaven and earth.
The prosperity of Luoyang City has always belonged to these gentry, and in the eyes of these gentry, they will not tolerate any "usurpation" from the common people like them.
It was not until several years later that his unfavored aunt suddenly got lucky, and her luck started to rise steadily.
His aunt wanted to support useful confidants. His mother and aunt were sisters. As his father was promoted to an important position, they moved to the capital with their whole family and left Luoyang.
He originally thought that he didn't need to take the Luoyang Yuan family seriously anymore, but when he arrived in the capital, he realized that compared with the real four great aristocratic families, the Luoyang Yuan family that trampled him underfoot was nothing.
In the court, most of the important positions were held by the four major families. Their influence spread throughout the court, and not only in the court. They owned a large number of private slaves and land. They were prestigious, well-known, and had countless students. Everyone in the world knew their surnames. They were rich, not only in money and land, but also in those important books on state governance that were passed down from generation to generation. They set up private schools to train their own children, and controlled the path to officialdom for generations, and long despised and suppressed the poor.
Their surnames are Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang.
Among them, the Cui family was the leader. Even the emperor of the time treated them with more than a little respect.
Even though his aunt later became the queen and his cousin became the crown prince, the Cui family members still disdained to associate with him.
Later, his aunt even became a real emperor, and his father became the Duke of Korea. Instead of suppressing his attitude, Cui's attitude became hostile in addition to contempt.
But even though his aunt knew all this, she still chose Cui Jing as the new commander of the Xuan Ce Army between his father and Cui Jing, because his aunt wanted to use the Cui family behind Cui Jing to suppress other forces in order to preserve the Xuan Ce Army.
Therefore, he knew and believed from a long time ago that the existence of the gentry was the source of all injustice.
Yes, he hated all the sons of the aristocratic families, including the one who was recognized as the most outstanding among the sons of the Cui family, the head of the aristocratic family.
He couldn't help but hate a man who was much younger than him, whose qualifications were nowhere near his and his father's, but who was born to be above him in every way. Even after more than ten years since his aunt ascended the throne, this had not changed in the slightest.
If he wanted to destroy this lingering injustice, there was only one possibility... that was to make the aristocratic system completely disappear from this world! Fortunately, God really gave him this opportunity. What he was doing now was what he longed for most in his heart, and it was also something that no one had ever done since the aristocratic system came into being.
From now on, the system of the aristocratic family will disappear under the leadership of Li Xian.
Li Xian lowered his eyes and looked at the boy under his feet, as if he saw his miserable self again.
No, this boy was gritting his teeth and he didn't look embarrassed at all.
So he moved his feet, slowly squatted in front of the boy, grabbed the boy's right hand with one hand, and took off the dagger from his waist with the other hand.
Looking at the sharp dagger, fear finally appeared in the boy's eyes and he struggled violently.
The boy's father was also struggling, and he hoarsely said, "Li Xian! Don't touch my son!"
"My son is still a child. Even when the Changsun clan is punished, the lives of children under the age of fourteen will not be harmed! You must not harm my son!"
Li Xian sighed, "I don't want to hurt my child either, but the elder clan leader is reluctant to give out the remaining accomplices, so there is no other way to interrogate him."
As soon as he finished speaking, his dagger swung, blood splattered, and two severed fingers flew out of the boy's palm.
"ah--!"
The boy screamed, trembling and twisting his body in resistance, but he was held down tightly.
The middle-aged man stared at his son's severed finger with eyes wide open. He struggled desperately, "Li Xian! You killed people indiscriminately along the way. Where are the rules and etiquette? Where are they!"
"Etiquette and law?" Li Xian sneered, "Isn't that something you nobles made up to control and enslave the world?"
As he spoke, he pinched the boy's bloody wrist again: "It seems that Young Master Yuan is still young, and can't compare to the hard bones of Young Master Yuan and the Elder Clan Leader... Or are the bones in other parts of his body harder?"
He looked over the boy's body, as if thinking about the question seriously.
The boy’s head was pressed to the ground, his chubby cheeks were squeezed and deformed, his face was in tears from the pain, his eyes were red, and he said tremblingly: “I’m not afraid, you can break my body but you can’t break the will of my Yuan family… just come and kill me!”
He was not very clear about what he was insisting on. He had been taught the ways of a gentleman since he was young. His father taught him and his sister that a gentleman's will cannot be broken!
However, upon hearing this, his father Yuan Dalangjun suddenly burst into tears, as if his pride had been shed: "Stop, please stop!"
Yuan Dalangjun suddenly kowtowed in the direction of his father: "Father, father...please forgive me for my incompetence and my unfilial behavior!"
The old man tied to the rack trembled and closed his eyes.
Before Yuan Dalangjun could speak, the old man took the initiative to say, "...It's the Zheng family."
Hearing this, Li Xian released the boy's wrist and turned to look at the old man: "Zheng family from Xingyang?"
"Yes." The old man lowered his head, his voice seemed to be ground.
At Li Xian's signal, someone quickly took the old man down from the rack, brought the prepared confession to him, and asked him to sign it.
The old man raised his eyes and looked at Li Xian steadily.
"Yes." Li Xian suddenly laughed: "I have prepared a confession long ago. I knew it was the Zheng family. Whether you admit it or not, I can cut off your hand and sign this confession--"
As he spoke, he looked around at the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren and said with a smile, "But I just want to see the way your Yuan family's bones are broken. It's really interesting."
The old man slumped on the ground closed his eyes again.
After a moment, he suddenly stood up, and using the last of his strength, he slammed his head against the spiked stake.
"Father!"
“Grandfather…Grandfather!”
Li Xian made a "tsk" sound, turned around and left, no longer paying attention to the shouting behind him.
The body of the Yuan family head was quickly dragged away, and the boy with two broken fingers was quickly thrown back into the cell.
That night, the boy had a high fever and in a semi-conscious state, he kept repeating, "Sister... don't come back, sister, don't come back..."
The woman holding him burst into tears upon hearing the sound.
…
The rain continued, but the actions of hunting down and killing the remaining members of the nobles who had fled outside Luoyang City did not stop because of the rain.
In a dark alley, a slender figure was hiding in panic, when suddenly someone patted him from behind.
Good night, good night. I have been feeling a little depressed writing recently, but the rise and fall of the aristocracy is an important thread in this book and I cannot avoid it. If I just briefly mention it, it would seem too superficial, so I still have to write a little about it.
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