Chapter 195: Injustice
When Liu Lin heard that question, he knew that he had no chance of survival today.
To put it bluntly, it doesn’t matter whether the melon is sweet or not… Of course, Liu Lin had just eaten it at noon, so it must have been sweet… But the problem is not the melon?
The current situation is that one side wins and the other side loses, and it is a complete victory and defeat. The winner is like Zhang Rong holding the knife in his hand, and the loser is just like the melon in the car, at the mercy of anyone who cuts it. There is an asymmetry between the two sides. Once the one holding the knife suspects that you are not sweet, you will not be sweet either, not to mention that you are not sweet to begin with!
So, thinking of this, Liu Lin was quite frank. He stood up calmly in the mud, saluted, and then said proudly: "Captain Zhang, I am Prince Liu Lin of Qi. I was lucky enough to escape from the Shutou Beach of Liangshanpo in the past, but I have always remembered the singing of Captain Zhang on the boat. Today, I finally fell into the hands of the leader, but I have nothing to say. I only ask you to let go of the surrounding followers..."
Hearing this, several attendants wanted to stand up, but the surrounding Dongping Prefecture soldiers roared and gathered around them.
In the dim rain, Zhang Rong, who was holding a knife and groping for melons, was stunned for a moment, and then he sneered: "As expected of a scholar, you speak so logically, unlike me, Zhang, who can only sing fishermen's songs that make people laugh... But why did such a scholar surrender to the Jin people and become a rebel, making us rough people look down on you?"
Liu Lin, dressed in shorts, did not hesitate and immediately bowed his hands in earnest, "It is true that we surrendered to the Jin people. Leader Zhang is a hero in the world. It is understandable that he looks down on my father and son, but I, Liu Lin, would never want to be called a traitor even if I die... Leader has been in Liangshanpo for many years. Don't you know what it means to force the people to rebel? It was the Zhao family who betrayed the world first. My father and I rebelled, but we are only traitors of the Zhao family, not traitors of the world!"
At this point, Liu Lin sneered, pointed his finger at the other party, and shouted: "Captain Zhang, don't you understand? We are from the same group!"
Zhang Rong nodded repeatedly, but quickly shook his head: "Prince Liu, you are so nice and powerful. If I hadn't been your neighbor in Jinan in Liangshanpo, I would have believed you... I just want to ask you, even if I am Zhang Rong, I have indeed suffered from the defeat and implicated the local people, but no matter what, I have never deliberately bullied the people of Dongping, right? But your family has become the emperor, and you have recruited soldiers in Jinan and plundered Yanzhou. How many people have fled and are almost catching up with Hebei. Do you really think I am blind?"
Liu Lin was speechless for a moment, because he knew that what the other party said was the irrefutable truth.
It is said that after the establishment of the Qi Dynasty and the accession of the Liu family to the throne, the Liu father and son felt that they were irreconcilable with the Zhao and Song dynasties. In order to protect themselves, they did their best. On the one hand, they respected Confucius, and on the other hand, they held the imperial examinations; on the one hand, they issued a manifesto to criticize and scold the three living officials of the Zhao and Song dynasties, and on the other hand, they begged for military aid from the Jin people in Hebei; turning around and recruiting soldiers on a large scale, on the other hand, they tolerated the separatist warlords such as Kong Yanzhou and Li Cheng to act recklessly… Although Jinan Prefecture was a famous large prefecture in the world, after several wars, its population was almost the same as that of Dongping Prefecture. This time, Liu Lin led more than 20,000 soldiers, and his father had more than 10,000 soldiers in Jinan, all of whom were recruited in a hurry. Could it be that the burden on the people was lighter than that of the Zhao and Song dynasties?
Not only that, some things cannot be seen just by looking at the surface.
For example, Zhang Rong also had more than 20,000 soldiers in Dongping Prefecture, but a considerable part of his troops were fishermen who had left agricultural production and refugees from Hebei who had fled there.
Although Kong Yanzhou dug a lot of dirt in Yanzhou, perhaps because he was born a rogue, his extortion was mostly limited to the rich and middle class, and he rarely targeted the poor.
On the contrary, in order to gain the basis of rule, the Liu family father and son treated the scholars and powerful people with great favors. However, they needed to prepare a large army to show the value of their existence to the Jin people, which meant that they were destined to extort the power of the poor people...
In short, there are some things about the suffering of the people that affect the rise and fall of a country that cannot be explained by reason or words. Although Liu Lin's words were deceptive enough, Zhang Rong was staying in Liangshanpo, which borders Jinan, and he knew it clearly.
Of course, Liu Lin's behavior was also a desperate attempt to find another way out. When this failed, he became frustrated. "Captain Zhang, I have no other intentions. I just ask you not to send me to Tokyo... Why not take me to my father and exchange for a large sum of gold, silver and weapons?"
The vision was getting dimmer, but Zhang Rong could still be seen shaking his head in front of the car. "If it was a month ago, I would have agreed. But I won't hide it from Prince Liu. This time, not only have I owed a huge favor to General Yue, but it would be hard for me to refuse from Emperor Zhao Song... If it weren't for Emperor Zhao's imperial guards who desperately blocked Li Cheng for a long time at Beixin Bridge, I'm afraid I would have died in Pingyin City first... If you ask me, Prince Liu, since you are so magnanimous, I will treat you sincerely. Let's go to Tokyo together. You will definitely have a good last meal in Tokyo!"
After hearing this, Liu Lin knew that he could not change his mind. However, this man was a person who was determined to survive and was not willing to give up easily. So despite his frustration, he still had some thoughts in his mind. He just thought that Zhang Rong was a separatist rebel who was hastily recruited. If he could not convince him today, he would try again on the way to persuade him, at least to give him a chance to survive.
Just shut up temporarily.
Not to mention what Liu Lin was thinking when he was taken away to change clothes, Zhang Rong captured Liu Lin, which was considered as revenge for last year's attack, but he did not show a happy face. Not only that, many close leaders and generals around him who heard what their leader had just said also had grim expressions.
As the rain got heavier, the troops from Dongping Prefecture and Liangshanpo did not return to the city. Instead, they took advantage of Liu Lin's camp and returned to their original central army camp. Then, they lit torches in the central army tent and prepared fruits, wine, meat and stir-fried dishes to celebrate.
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