Chapter 974 Crimes against Humanity



As the head of a noble family, Old Man Dou's abilities are naturally unquestionable.

As early as when he discovered that His Majesty was planning to push Yun Ye out to compete with the Dou family, he had already made all the preparations.

All the connections that the Dou family had built up over the years were put into motion, like a huge spider web, surrounding Yun Ye from all directions.

He had already taken care of officials in various parts of Chang'an, even the censors. The memorials impeaching Yun Ye were all written by the Dou family after collecting intelligence from all over. They were reviewed and studied by him personally, and there would never be any loopholes left.

He has also made detailed arrangements for the Cheng family, the Niu family and the Li Jing family, who are on good terms with the Yun family. Various exchanges of interests have already been made, and he is just waiting for the Cheng family and the Niu family to respond.

If nothing unexpected happened, as soon as the sun rose, countless memorials impeaching Yun Ye would fly into the palace like snowflakes.

Old man Dou only needs to sit at home and watch with a smile as Yun Ye is bullied by the officials in the court and even falls into an irretrievable situation.

But why, why did such a thing happen on the eve of the plan!

Old man Dou lay on the low couch, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Images of a green bamboo sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hands clasped together, and the note fluttering in the cold wind kept flashing through his mind.

This was something that Old Man Dou had never encountered in his life, and it was also what made him feel extremely anxious.

“Boom!”

There was another deafening thunder, and Old Man Dou was suddenly awakened from his trance.

He remembered what Yun Ye had said to him in the palace, and also remembered Yun Ye's suspected identity as a disciple of a god.

If there really are immortals in this world and gods in heaven, then will the evil deeds done by the Dou family really be punished?

Just as an emotion called fear was gradually emerging in Old Man Dou's heart, a servant suddenly came to report from outside the door.

Old man Dou sat up with the help of his old servant. He had not slept all night and his face was exhausted, but at this critical moment, he still had to listen to the information he should hear.

Sure enough, the servants came to report that the Yun family sent people to the county government to deliver the complaint, and also sent a large number of guards to post notices everywhere in Chang'an City.

Someone from the Dou family secretly tore off a piece and brought it back. After old man Dou read it, he angrily tore it into pieces.

The reason is very simple. Yun Ye actually dared to use facts and truth to slander the reputation of the Dou family. It is really outrageous!

What's even more infuriating is that Chang'an County Magistrate Zuo Kui actually had the guts to accept the complaint. Was he going to go against the Dou family? !

Old Man Dou was a little anxious, but more urgent things were still to come.

It takes time for news to spread, so it did not cause much stir on the first day.

However, this is only the calm on the surface, and the undercurrents are still surging non-stop.

People from the Yun family, Cheng family, Niu family, and even the academy and the Eastern Palace scattered into the 108 markets in Chang'an.

They combined the notices posted by the Yun family and continued to spread the horrific news that the Dou family liked to turn people into wax.

The people of Chang'an City did not dare to offend the Dou family, but they also secretly noted down the news, and with the sentiment of sympathy for their own kind, they took the initiative to spread the news more and more widely.

The worst thing is that Yun Ye took advantage of the situation and gave different responses to different people.

For example, for families where someone is missing, the person who spreads the news would secretly make them believe that the missing person might have been captured by the evil Dou family and turned into a murderer.

There are many other methods like these, like gusts of wind, blowing the fire more and more vigorously.

On the third day, the heavy rain that had lasted for three days finally stopped, but there were still thick dark clouds gathering over Chang'an.

Due to the spread of the Yun family knights, the entire Guanzhong region knew about the evil deeds of the Dou family, and the reputation of the aristocratic family was completely ruined.

Also today, Yun Ye personally took to the streets and sounded the urging call in full view of the public.

In the Tang Dynasty, common people had no way to sue officials. Even if they won the case, they would still be punished with eighty strokes of the cane, not less.

But Yun Ye was not an ordinary citizen. He was the Marquis of Lantian in the Tang Dynasty and a general who had returned from a great victory. As soon as he arrived at the county government office, the Chang'an County Magistrate Zuo Kui and the county magistrate and county lieutenant came out to greet him in person.

But Yun Ye seemed not to see them. Even though the county magistrate was standing right next to them, he still insisted on beating the drums on both sides.

This behavior immediately attracted the attention of the people of Chang'an. The area outside the county government office was soon crowded with people watching the fun.

But the people from the county government didn't dare to come forward to drive them away, because Yun Ye was standing in front of them, and the guards of the Yun family were also surrounding them, vaguely blocking the way of the yamen runners.

Not only that, after entering the lobby, the Yun family guards also blocked the door and refused to close the county government office, striving to ensure that everyone could see what was happening in the county government office.

Looking at Yun Ye sitting in the hall, the magistrate of Chang'an County smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Yun, since the promulgation of the Wude Law in the seventh year of Wude, our Tang Dynasty has never had this crime against humanity. As a people-friendly official, I have also dabbled in the laws of all dynasties, but I have never heard of this law. I hope Lord Yun can explain it to me." "Don't you understand?"

Yun Ye glanced at Zuo Kui and said calmly, "Then let me ask you, since China has had criminal law, various harsh punishments have emerged one after another, but why are tortures becoming less and less common in the Tang Dynasty?"

Zuo Kui hesitated and said, "This... is naturally due to your majesty's magnanimity!"

Yun Ye agreed, "You are right. Your Majesty is kind and merciful, so our Tang Dynasty has abolished all kinds of torture. Now, only whipping and beating are left. Things like being torn apart by five horses, gouging out eyes and cutting tongues are all gone now."

"This is the general trend and also what Your Majesty wishes."

"As the saying goes, governing a country with propriety and prospering a nation with benevolence, I believe that as citizens of the Tang Dynasty, we should enjoy the most basic human rights. Even if we are the lowest and most humble slaves, we should be different from livestock and beasts."

"Therefore, anyone who treats us Tang people like animals and abuses them is committing a crime against humanity!"

After hearing Yun Ye's words, the officials in the hall were thoughtful and understood what Yun Ye meant.

Yun Ye glanced at them, then turned around and shouted angrily at the crowded people outside the county government office.

"Now that our Tang Dynasty has conquered the Turks, it is a sign that prosperity is coming. But at this very moment, such a terrifying evil thing happened in Chang'an City!"

"The Dou family in Xinghuafang is said to be a thousand-year-old family with a long tradition of poetry and etiquette. But in order to vent their anger, they actually treated a fifteen-year-old girl as a human-shaped livestock and turned her into human wax alive!"

"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there is a lot of work to be done and the population is sparse. Every time Your Majesty offers sacrifices to heaven, he sincerely prays for the prosperity of the people's descendants and the reproduction of livestock. What are you doing, the Dou family? You are taking human lives lightly!"

"From birth to adulthood, a person has to go through so many hardships and their parents have to put in so much effort. Who would want the child they raised with so much hardship to become a candle lit in the Dou family's mourning hall?"

"Tell me, which of you would like your child to be a candle?"

As Yun Ye's angry voice was heard, the people outside the county government office became excited and shouted loudly, rushing towards the county government office.

Seeing the crowds of people outside the county government office, not to mention the many officials in the hall, even the Yun family guards at the door could not help but grip the hilt of their swords, with big drops of cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.

Looking at the excited people around him, Hong Cheng, who was dressed as a yamen runner, couldn't help swallowing his saliva, with some fear in his eyes.

As the leader of the Hundred Cavalry Division, Hong Cheng's appearance here was naturally under the instructions of Li Er, to cooperate with Yun Ye's operation.

But what he never expected was that Yun Ye’s words were so inflammatory that the entire Chang'an people were mobilized by him.

It is foreseeable that if Yun Ye continues like this, the overwhelming public opinion will likely turn into an uncontrollable riot.

Thinking of this, Hong Cheng couldn't help but cast a horrified look at Yun Ye.

Yun Ye stood at the gate of the county government office, glanced at Hong Cheng, and gestured to him that the plan remained unchanged.

Cold sweat broke out on Hong Cheng's forehead, but since Yun Ye was confident, he had no choice but to obey the emperor's order. He gritted his teeth and waved his hand, and rushed to Xinghuafang with the elite soldiers of the Hundred Cavalry Division disguised as yamen runners.

On the other side, at the Dou family mansion, Old Man Dou stood under the eaves, staring blankly at the dark clouds in the sky.

Since the day I left the palace, heavy rain has been falling in Chang'an for three days, and it only stopped today. However, the dark clouds in the sky did not dissipate. Instead, they covered the sky of Xinghuafang and shrouded old man Dou's heart.

For some reason, he always felt that this dark cloud was coming towards him, which made him feel frightened.

Just then, there was a noisy sound of footsteps and panicked shouts coming from the front yard.

Old man Dou frowned and immediately went to check with his old servant and a group of guards. He found that a group of uninvited guests dressed as yamen runners had broken into the Dou family through the main gate of the mansion.

Dou Huai'en, the third son of the Dou family, angrily ordered the guards at home to step forward and stop them.

But unfortunately, this team of yamen runners was obviously not the useless bunch of people who just lived off the land and waited for death in the county government. They used the water and fire sticks in their hands to perfection.

The guards of the Dou family were considered to be brave men picked from hundreds, but they were no match for this group of yamen runners.

In an instant, more than a dozen guards were beaten to the point of breaking bones, and the rest of the guards ran away in all directions.


Recommendation