Minister Zhan went to the Zheng family and brought the decree from the Emperor of the Holy Ceremonial Ce.
Due to the current pressure from all sides, in her personal opinion, the treatment of Zheng by the Emperor of the Holy Ce could be considered very merciful.
Anyone in the Zheng clan who conspires with Zheng Ji will be sentenced to death.
Those who knew about the conspiracy and the direct descendants of Zheng Ji were all sentenced to exile.
However, innocent members of the clan and children under the age of fourteen who were found to be innocent after investigation were not punished, but were sent away from Xingyang and settled in various places. From then on, they all became commoners, and there was no more Xingyang Zheng family in the Central Plains.
All property, land, books, and servants were confiscated.
Needless to say, the Zheng family's wealth and population were huge, so confiscating their property was not an easy task. Even though Li Xian had already roughly counted and divided the property, for Minister Yu Zhan and his entourage, everything that followed would still be a huge task.
During these two days, those clansmen who were about to be sent away from Xingyang gradually left the Zheng family's mansion that had stood for a hundred years.
Among the group of clansmen, a young man turned his head to look at the door of his house where the plaque had been removed. The once glorious words "Zheng's House" were no longer there.
The next moment, he saw a dark gray figure walking out of the door.
The young man's eyes, which had become dark and sunken due to his rapid weight loss in recent days, were immediately filled with hatred, and he called out the man's name: "...Zheng Chao!"
Unlike them who were about to be forcibly expelled from Xingyang, Zheng Chao, who killed the head of the family and was also a legitimate son, was not implicated at all.
The court and the so-called emperor pardoned Zheng Chao for his meritorious service in flood control and prayer, and instead praised him! They also heard that the empress even intended to recruit him to serve as an official in the court!
It was simply ridiculous and disgusting! The tribesmen beside the young man also looked at Zheng Chao with hatred.
As for the women who were holding their children in their arms or holding their hands, most of them had numb expressions. They had cried and their tears had long since dried up. Now all that was left was confusion about the unknown future.
"...You are a shameless villain who betrayed your clan for fame and fortune! You will be punished by heaven!"
With a curse, the young man threw a shoe at Zheng Chao.
The cloth shoes hit Zheng Chao's shoulder, and the officer in charge of the deportation scolded the young man. The woman beside the young man pulled him back, shook her head at him, and her eyes contained an expression of persuasion that she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
"Why, seeing that he is about to rise to prominence and become an official in the court, you are all afraid of him?" The young man's eyes were red: "I am not afraid of him! What is there to be afraid of such a filthy villain!"
He stared at Zheng Chao: "You are stepping on the bones of my Zheng family members... Zheng Chao, are you walking on this road to fame with peace of mind?"
Zheng Chao bent down to pick up the cloth shoe, walked up to him, handed it to him, and still treated him as a junior, saying: "This journey is long, you can't stop and you can't lose your shoes."
The young man threw away his cloth shoe, looked at the umbrella behind Zheng Chao, and said with gritted teeth: "Enough! Stop pretending to be righteous!"
Zheng Chao smiled meaninglessly, not angry, and left with his hands behind his back: "Well, then I'll follow you barefoot."
As Zheng Chao and as an elder, he has fulfilled all his responsibilities.
"Zheng Guancang, are you worthy of the ancestors of the Zheng family?!" A hoarse questioning voice sounded behind him.
Zheng Chao said without even turning his head: "Of course I deserve it. What I have done is of great merit. Not only do I deserve it, but I also have a lot to spare. If they want to express their gratitude to me, they will definitely bless me with a smooth life and live to the age of ninety-nine."
"You, Zheng Chao...you are so shameless!"
Zheng Chao didn't care at all and left with ease.
No one will listen to those explanations about the pros and cons, so there is no need to explain. The Zheng family are all people who have been reading and enlightened since childhood. There is no need for others to explain the truth. If you are willing to think about it, you will naturally understand it.
He couldn't smash their heads one by one and pull out the string if they didn't want to figure it out, right? For these people, the road ahead would be difficult. They would no longer be the sons of noble families who were looked up to by others. They would change into cloth clothes and work like ordinary people. It was difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Some people might "unbear the humiliation" and be worn out, or even choose to give up their lives to preserve their so-called integrity.
But in Zheng Chao's opinion, being able to choose to die by oneself is also a good thing.
Being able to decide your own life and death is also a rare freedom.
Those who are willing to survive, know how to be self-reliant and refuse to compromise with adversity are the true continuation of the spirit of his Zheng ancestors.
The decline of the gentry was inevitable, even if it did not happen today, it would surely happen in the Ming Dynasty. Under such circumstances, Zheng Ji acted radically, and the empress was determined to uproot and crush the gentry. This was a "win-win solution" that he had never dared to imagine before.
These tribesmen will disperse separately, but as General Ning Yuan said, they will be like stars in the daytime, seemingly non-existent, but in fact they are just temporarily hidden. Even in places where they cannot be seen, they will still shine brightly, continuing the thousand-year-old cultural heritage and glory of Heluo.
That's good.
Zheng Chao was in a very good mood. He had never felt so open and positive. The energy he had accumulated over many years of decadence was so abundant that it seemed to overflow. Turning around, he saw a dirty, tangled, long-haired dog squatting at the foot of the wall. He felt itchy and wanted to grab it and wash it thoroughly, making it look brand new.
He is born with abundant energy, and once he is reborn, he wants to give new life to all things as well.
Zheng Chao really walked towards the long-haired dog. Just as he was about to squat, he heard footsteps behind him: "Mr. Zheng!"
Zheng Chao looked back and saw a young man in official uniform. He raised his hand and saluted: "Excuse me, sir, do you have anything else to say?"
But he saw the other party shook his head and bowed respectfully to him: "Junior Song Xian, I came here to see you off, sir."
Hearing this title, Zheng Chao showed a look of realization: "Excuse me, it turns out that he is the new number one scholar of Song Dynasty!"
Any top scholar from a poor family would be an extraordinary figure.
Zheng Chao bowed again and said, "I would also like to thank Mr. Song Zhuangyuan for pleading for me in Beijing."
"Song has received guidance from you in Caotang. I admire you as a person. This is a sincere act. You don't need to thank me." Song Xian looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with sincere eyes: "It was you who made me know that not all the nobles in the world look down on others. We should not generalize and judge things by the small part. You are now criticized by the nobles, but this noble act will benefit future generations."
Looking at the open-minded young man in front of him, Zheng Chao smiled modestly and said, "I'm just trying to survive. Sir Song, thank you for your praise."
After another conversation, Song Xian asked about his future plans.
Upon hearing that Zheng Chao had no intention of going to Beijing to seek an official position, Song Xian was stunned and felt regretful.
Zheng Chao did not think it was worth regretting. In his opinion, the reason why the Emperor of the Holy Ce said this was only because he now had some reputation among the people, and he was just being polite out of decency.
If he really went there, who knows what would happen to him.
Furthermore, even if he was willing to sacrifice his relatives for the sake of justice, it would be somewhat shameless for him to use this as an excuse to seek an official position in the court. If he ever quarreled with his colleagues, the other party would be able to control him by bringing up this matter to express sarcasm.
He would never seek such humiliation.
He wanted to devote his life to the cause, but he had to save his life first. A new emperor appoints new ministers, so he might as well live a low profile and wait for the future.
Anyway, he wants to live to be ninety-nine.
Zheng Chao smiled and said, "I have no intention of attending the imperial court. I plan to travel around and give lectures..."
Although Song Xian felt sorry, he also knew that such matters could not be persuaded. After giving some instructions, he bowed deeply to Zheng Chao again and said, "I hope to see you again one day, sir."
Zheng Chao: "The world is in turmoil, and the court is also in turmoil. You and I should take care of ourselves."
Song Xian agreed and watched the free figure leave.
Zheng Chao walked for a long time before he left the long alley where the Zheng family's houses were scattered and occupied an entire street.
Zheng Chao cleaned his ears and finally his ears were quiet and he could no longer hear the scolding.
He was also detained in the Zheng family during these days, and his ears were callused from listening to the scolding every day.
The curses were very vicious, and the way they cursed him was very particular. When one person got tired of cursing, another person would take over. They took turns day and night, cursing outside his door non-stop.
There are many people who curse him, but poor thing he only has a pair of ears, and he has to stuff cotton wool into them day and night so that he can barely survive until today.
Zheng Chao dug out all the cotton wool that remained in his ears and looked forward. Before leaving Xingyang to travel and teach, he had to go somewhere first.
…
"How is your injury recovering?"
Chang Sui'an followed Chang Suining to visit Cui Jing one day, but Cui Jing asked him a question first.
"I've been nursing for half a year, and now I'm all better!" Chang Sui'an answered, and then asked Cui Jing: "Grand Commander, is your injury serious?"
Cui Jing: "It's okay, just take care of it for a while."
"That's because you, the Grand Commander, are strong enough. If it were an ordinary person, he would probably just be lying down!" Doctor Cao took the opportunity to say.
Listening to this unsolicited flattery, Cui Jing was speechless.
He wanted to change the doctor, but after repeated inquiries, Yuan Xiang learned that although Doctor Cao was a bit of a chatterbox, he had excellent medical skills and was an expert in trauma. He was the best trauma doctor in the entire Xingyang City.
Yuanxiang comforted his own commander-in-chief, saying that healing the wound was the most important thing, and as for Doctor Cao's nagging, he should just bear with it and consider it as part of the medical fee.
Doctor Cao’s gossip is not only on the surface, but also in his heart.
He admitted that he had the intention of currying favor with the powerful, but every word he praised for General Cui came from his heart!
Recently, every time he helped General Cui change the dressings, he couldn't help but feel envious in his heart - if General Cui had this figure and this face, he couldn't imagine how successful he would be.
In front was Doctor Cao who was a gossiper, and behind was Chang Suian who was a secretive person.
Chang Sui'an asked Cui Jing a lot of questions and talked about what he had seen and heard along the way. Just when Cui Jing thought he was tired of talking, he found that he changed the subject and talked about his sister with great energy. It turned out that what he had just said were all appetizers, and now the main course was about to begin.
But a rough summary shows that what he wants to express is nothing more than the following three points:
So, Ningning is a genius in fighting.
Therefore, Ningning is also a genius in praying for blessings.
Therefore, Ningning is a genius among geniuses! In fact, when Chang Sui'an first heard about the battle of Bianshui, although he heard that his sister had won a great victory, he still felt a lingering fear. He couldn't help but write a letter to his father, asking why his father let his sister set an ambush to attack Xu Zhengye, while his father pretended to chase behind him. Shouldn't it be the other way around? His sister has only fought a few battles, how much experience can she have? On the contrary, why is his father, who has fought all his life, hiding behind his sister this time? He asked a lot of questions, and his father replied quickly. There were four big words written on the letter paper - You know shit! Although it was just a letter, Chang Sui'an still wiped his face, and felt that his father's saliva was all over his face.
While searching for his sister and listening to those "legends" about her, he gradually accepted the fact, slowly let go of his lingering fear, and began to immerse himself in the pride.
If there was one regret, it was that when he woke up in the middle of the night, he would always think of Qiao Yubai who was far away in the capital. He didn't dare to think about how hateful Qiao Yubai's smug face was at this moment.
Therefore, Chang Sui'an, now that he has the chance, will praise his sister and defend his status as the legitimate brother.
But Cui Jing didn't mind his noisiness. The two of them, one could praise and the other could listen, which made Chang Suining feel redundant.
The one who finally broke the noisy situation was Yuanxiang who came to deliver the message.
Soon, Zheng Chao was invited in.
Chang Suining looked over and saw that his robes were very old, and the scar on his forehead from praying had not yet completely disappeared, but at a glance, the depressed aura around him had been swept away.
Zheng Chao came to visit his nephew, who was cursed by the Zheng family and his nephew was expelled from the Cui family. The two were miserable and no one wanted them. They just happened to be a couple, so there was no need for either of them to look down on the other.
But as I walked into this place, I saw that my nephew was still surrounded by soldiers, looking very majestic and powerful, with an air of being able to call the wind and rain...
Looking back at his own poverty, Zheng Chao couldn't help but realize that the misery between people is not the same thing.
It looked like his eldest nephew didn't need his comfort at all.
But Zheng Chao still forced himself to say a few words of comfort and asked Cui Jing about his well-being, showing great concern.
He also explained his plan to travel and give lectures, and his words revealed just the right amount of reluctance.
Cui Jing understood what he meant and asked Yuanxiang to present a banknote to support his uncle's teaching trip.
Looking at the thick stack of banknotes, Zheng Chao sighed in his heart again. Although his nephew was also not accepted by the family, he still had such a huge fortune. This shows the importance of being self-reliant and starting a side business.
Zheng Chao was embarrassed and wanted to refuse, saying it was inappropriate, but Yuanxiang finally enthusiastically stuffed it into his robe around his waist.
Seeing that his waist and abdomen were bulging with silver bills, as if he was six months pregnant, Zheng Chao's eyes were filled with worry, and he said that he was afraid that he would be coveted if he went on the journey with such a large sum of money.
Cui Jing: "...I have prepared escorts for you, uncle. They will follow you secretly and protect you. You can rest assured, uncle."
Zheng Chao felt reassured by his nephew's thoughtful arrangements.
Cui Jing invited him to have lunch, but Zheng Chao declined. Now everything was ready, it was time for him to spread his wings and fly away, and he didn't want to wait even a moment.
"Ling'an, take good care of your injuries. The road ahead is long and difficult... After this trip, your uncle will write to you often and share with you what he sees and hears along the way."
Cui Jing did not want to stay any longer, as he was not fit to move around yet, so he asked Yuan Xiang to see him off.
Zheng Chao looked at Chang Suining with a smile.
Chang Suining understood and said, "I'll see Mr. Zheng off."
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