The whip snapped, and a sharp, piercing sound rang out in Mei Tianfu's ears, like thunder. He instantly stopped crying, grabbed his head, and rolled over to avoid the attack, shouting in panic, "Mother—what are you doing? Who, who hit me?"
He rolled a few times, but his massive body hit a boulder. Unable to roll any further, he curled up, trembling with fear. He held his head in his hands and raised his head, sobbing and asking, "Who hit me? Why?"
Guo Honglei looked down at the man, shook his whip, and said in a deep voice, "The whip didn't even touch you. You're screaming like a ghost. Aren't you ashamed?"
"My ears, my ears are almost deaf." Mei Tianfu shrank his neck, looking up at the tall and straight young captain in fear. He raised his hand with a row of deep dimples and rubbed his ears in grievance.
Guo Honglei looked at the prisoner, his face expressionless, looking at him with a look of grievance. He asked coldly, "You just said you didn't want to be exiled and wanted to go back home?"
"Well, yes, yes!"
Mei Tianfu's eyes lit up, and he nodded rapidly. He struggled to get up from the pile of pebbles, knelt hunched over, and kowtowed, begging: "Please, sir, please look into my affairs, please have mercy on me, I've been wronged! Please let me go home, I want to sue the government, I want to overturn the verdict—"
"Shut up!"
"Don't be so rude in front of the captain. Who allowed you to talk nonsense?"
"This fat guy really needs a lesson. How cold is the river? He just jumped into the river and tried to commit suicide, and implicated two of our brothers. Fortunately, nothing happened. Otherwise, I would never let him off!"
"Hey, have you ever heard of the words 'life-saving grace'?" The personal guards were disdainful and displeased, and took turns scolding.
Mei Tianfu was timid and was surrounded and scolded by a group of burly border soldiers. He dared not breathe, tears kept streaming down his face, and he cried so hard that his voice was trembling.
Nearby, Cuimei couldn't help but laugh and whispered, "A grown man crying in public, it's so, so rare to see."
Jiang Yushu was also amazed and whispered, "Don't make any noise to disturb them, just wait and see what happens."
"oh."
Guo Honglei waved his hand to stop the guards. With a dignified demeanor, he spoke slowly, "Mei Tianfu, you're not wronged. I've seen the files of this batch of recruits. You and the deceased have a long-standing feud. During the drunken brawl that day, you first ordered your servants to assault the deceased, injuring him. Then you attacked him with a bench, causing him to fall and suffer severe head injuries, killing him instantly. What injustice have you committed? How dare you speak so arrogantly, intending to sue the authorities? Who gave you the guts?"
"Your Excellency, you don't know that I was drunk and unconscious in the tavern that day. He was the first to insult me, and then we started arguing and fighting. It was a mess, and who would have thought he would fall and die?" Mei Tianfu said with a sad face, firmly denying:
"If I have the intention to kill someone, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"
Guo Honglei's eyebrows arched, nearly laughing in anger. With a stern face, he demanded, "Foolish creature! Didn't the government sentence you to 'manslaughter'? If it was 'premeditated murder', you wouldn't have to cry and say you 'don't want to be exiled'. How about going to jail and waiting to be executed later?"
"I--" Mei Tianfu was speechless.
“Hahahaha~”
"Oh my! He's already admitted to accidentally killing someone, and yet he's still clamoring to overturn the verdict!"
"All flesh, no brains." The soldiers burst into laughter. The others were also amused, staring at Mei Tianfu with all kinds of puzzled looks.
Guo Honglei's expression was calm, a commanding presence without anger. He spoke slowly and calmly, "Besides, if it weren't for your family's efforts, you would have been exiled to the Southern Barbarians mid-year. A three thousand li journey, plagued by poisonous insects and miasma, would probably not be as comfortable as being exiled to Yongzhou. At least you're free from the trouble of acclimatization."
At the end of March, the ice and snow had just melted, and the river water was piercingly cold. Mei Tianfu's clothes were soaking wet, and his teeth were chattering with cold. He couldn't accept the sudden transformation from the son of a wealthy businessman to a lowly prisoner. He wiped his tears and muttered stubbornly, "Even if it was manslaughter, exile shouldn't be a sentence. It's too harsh. Come to think of it, it must be because I didn't arrange things well enough! If I had to do it again, I would definitely ask my father to get more money and bribe everyone in the government office to avoid disaster."
Guo Honglei shook his whip, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "When a prince breaks the law, he's still guilty just like a commoner. How much silver can your family afford for manslaughter? Spending money to ward off disaster is simply wishful thinking."
"In Qinzhou, half of the pawnshops and restaurants in the city belong to our Mei family!" When talking about his family background, Mei Tianfu was full of confidence and held his head high with pride.
Guo Honglei remained calm and said calmly, "So what? If you break the law, you must accept the punishment. Stay on your way and don't daydream about 'spending money to avoid disaster.' Back then, my family was much richer than yours, but we accidentally broke the law, were stripped of our titles, all our property was confiscated, and we were sentenced to exile according to the law. Be a man and atone for your sins. If you have the ability, you still have a future."
"What do you mean by 'de-nomination and confiscation'?" Mei Tianfu didn't understand for a moment and was puzzled.
The other prisoners had been there to watch the fun, but now some of them understood and stared at Qianhu in shock; some were bewildered and looked at each other in confusion.
A new official cannot command the support of his people without establishing his authority. Guo Honglei's face darkened, and he changed the subject, issuing a commanding stern warning: "Not only did you cause trouble by jumping into the river, but you also spoke outrageously, disrespecting the government, and wantonly violating the rules I established. You show disrespect for your superiors, and you deserve to be punished!"
"Come here, give him fifty lashes to serve as a warning to others!"
"Yes!" The soldiers answered happily, feeling extremely annoyed, and scrambled to teach the sobbing dandy coward a lesson.
Mei Tianfu knelt there in a daze. A sudden gust of river wind blew past, and he shuddered, completely awakening. He hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Sir! Sir, please spare my life. I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have said such nonsense. Please be magnanimous and forgive me this time. I won't dare to do it again next time!"
Guo Honglei glanced at Jiang Yushu, who understood and quietly left. Immediately, he put his hands behind his back, turned, and walked away, saying, "If I don't punish you, you might mistakenly believe there's no discipline in the army. If you do it again, I'll use a military stick and give you fifty lashes until you wake up."
"Sir! Captain Guo, spare my life, please, spare me just this once—"
"Shut up!"
"Ouch, the noise is giving me a headache." The soldiers worked together and quickly held the man down.
When he was out on business, he did not carry a special whip with him. The soldier in charge of the execution carefully selected a horse whip and swung it in the air, making a sharp "crackling" sound.
Mei Tianfu's face turned pale, he was terrified and filled with regret. He cried bitterly and begged for mercy, "Oh, spare my life!"
Then, the horsewhip was raised high and dropped heavily. With every "snap" sound, Mei Tianfu screamed and wailed in pain.
Suddenly, the other prisoners became more respectful of their leader and behaved well, fearing that they would be punished.
As the Qianhu couple walked away, the soldiers folded their arms, chattering and mocking them with disdain: "You admitted to accidentally killing someone, yet you're still crying foul? That's ridiculous."
"He relies on his family's wealth to act lawless and arrogant. I despise this kind of dandy the most!"
"Tsk, how dare you show off your wealthy family in front of Captain Guo?"
"Hahaha, we almost laughed our teeth off."
…
At this time, a brave prisoner smiled and asked cautiously, "Sir, I'd like to ask you, what is Captain Guo's background?"
Several personal guards laughed, and only after Guo Honglei brought it up did they dare to reveal, "Our Captain Guo was originally the second son of the Marquis of Jingyang's mansion!"
"Marquis Jingyang, have you heard of this? Captain Guo's ancestors were founding heroes, renowned for their military exploits and fame."
"It's hard for ordinary people to imagine how wealthy the Marquis' Mansion is."
"I heard that the prince broke the law and his entire family was exiled to Xicang. Otherwise, you people would never have the chance to meet this noble young man who was born into a noble family."
…
Marquis' Mansion? Marquis? Crown Prince? Young Master?
The prisoners were dumbfounded, discussing the matter among themselves. Some asked curiously, "Then, isn't Captain Guo a fugitive now?"
The personal guards raised their heads, watching Mei Tianfu being punished, and sneered, "Nonsense! Convicts can't be generals."
"Our lord is capable, brave, and skilled in battle. He's already made it big, been promoted to a lieutenant, and now commands a thousand men. Humph, you guys are cowards, cowards, and you can't catch up to him even if you ride a horse."
As if they saw a bright way out, the prisoners were inexplicably excited, talking enthusiastically and showing great respect to their leader.
Not far away
Jiang Yushu and the others walked towards the carriage. Hearing the miserable cries, she couldn't help but look back and whispered, "Will fifty lashes cause serious injuries?"
Guo Honglei shook his head. "No. They used a horsewhip, and as I've instructed, just enough to cause minor injuries. To scare the new recruits, to enforce discipline, and to serve as a warning to others."
"Alas, looking at those new recruits, I'm worried about you." Jiang Yushu sighed, worried and sympathetic, saying, "It will be very difficult to train them into loyal warriors to defend the border."
Guo Honglei smiled generously and explained, "Most of the prisoners sent into exile have committed crimes themselves, while others, like us, were implicated and convicted. According to the law, the government must accept as many as they bring to the camp and train them slowly."
"Captain Guo, thank you for your hard work."
"It is both my duty and my ambition, and I am happy to do it." The young captain was heroic and full of energy.
Jiang Yushu's eyes sparkled with admiration. After a pause, she reminded him, "It's time for lunch! We originally planned to rush to a nearby town to rest, but unexpectedly, we were delayed by the travel documents. Luckily, we brought some dry food with us. Let's eat together."
She couldn't help but secretly feel lucky: because of the delay, we met by chance...
Guo Honglei nodded happily. Cuimei and Zou Gui quickly arranged the dry food. The two sides compared:
The military rations were hard, multi-grain steamed buns, which had been steamed a few days earlier.
What we brought from home were pancakes, steamed buns, hard-boiled eggs, and sweet pastries made early in the morning.
Although it was expected, Jiang Yushu still felt very uncomfortable after seeing it with her own eyes. While chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened, she secretly made up her mind:
One day, I will turn this desolate frontier into a prosperous granary! A full Xiping granary will allow soldiers to eat better and have more energy to defend the border.
After the meal, both parties set off together.
Guo Honglei and his personal soldiers rode on horseback, escorting the new recruits, while more than 300 prisoners walked.
Jiang Yushu and his entourage followed, taking out a map and surveying as they went, taking the opportunity to mark the conditions of the cultivated land along the way, stopping and starting as they went. Because the prisoners were walking, the carriage was light and could keep up.
I was so busy that before I knew it, the sun was setting.
Compared with the devastated Yongzhou, the Guo Mansion in Heqin County is peaceful and harmonious.
In the courtyard, Guo Yu and Gong Baozhu each dragged a kite, carefree, laughing and chasing each other.
But in the east wing, the doors and windows were closed, and the master and servant were plotting to deal with Liao Xiaodie.
Wang Qiaozhen, still harboring resentment, carried grudges both old and new. She resolved to seek revenge. She slipped a paper bag into a trusted maid and whispered, "Dissolve it in tea and give it to Liao Xiaodie. Be very careful."
"Yes." The maid gritted her teeth, clutching the paper bag in her palm, and said, "Madam, don't worry, I will definitely see to it!"
Wang Qiaozhen smiled and instructed, "Quietly, watch her drink it with your own eyes, and then find a way to throw away the cup and the medicine. Throw them out as soon as possible. Understand?"
"clear."
Wang Qiaozhen urged, "Go! I can't wait, I really want to see the show right away."
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