By September, the crisis of bandits from the surrounding area besieging the capital was finally temporarily averted.
Bandits once again wreaked havoc in various parts of Shandong.
Those local officials who had colluded with Zhao Sui and others are now terrified.
He regretted colluding with bandits to plunder the city.
The bandits were just putting on an act back then, but they're not doing it now.
They truly committed arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities.
After all, winter was just around the corner, and the bandits needed to cover the expenses of feeding their men and horses. They also needed to rob some gold, silver, jewelry, and other valuables to take home to support their wives and children.
The princes and vassals whose fiefdoms were in Shandong were also terrified and requested the court to send troops to rescue them.
The imperial court planned to send troops from the capital, but the princes and nobles resolutely refused.
The Beijing army was such a coward that it was unbearable to watch. In a real battle, they were utterly useless, too cowardly to kill the bandits, and dared not attack even when they were miles away from the bandits, letting them escape.
Therefore, the imperial court dispatched 500 cavalrymen from Xuanfu and 2,000 soldiers from Liaodong to Shandong to kill the bandits.
It's time to rectify official corruption.
Officials and generals at all levels who failed to suppress the bandits were all impeached.
Li Dongqian also took the opportunity to stir up trouble, directly sending someone to submit a memorial impeaching the Grand Censor Ma Zhongxi, with the target being Yang Yiqing, and even alluding to Empress Su Wanwan.
Because Ma Zhongxi was recommended by Yang Yiqing, and Liu Qi was once Su Wanwan's subordinate.
Ma Zhongxi missed a crucial opportunity, allowing the bandits to run rampant, watching them plunder and loot, and having no strategy to attack or suppress them. He simply held his troops and watched, resulting in the devastation of the prefectures and counties.
The border troops' rampage further highlighted the incompetence of the Beijing army led by Ma Zhongxi.
This is a heavy blow to the Su family's power.
Because Ma Zhongxi was once Su Jian's student.
Some even impeached him, saying that the bandits respected Ma Zhongxi's character and agreed not to attack Ma Zhongxi's hometown during battle, claiming that he "let the bandits go because of his family."
Amidst the uproar, Ma Zhongxi was imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice.
Yang Zhen was the most agitated among them.
With his wife and children injured and bedridden, he finally realized that even his former mentor could kill his wife and children if a key conflict of interest was involved.
The boy Yan Ge he took in was not of royal blood.
It's not worth them hurting people and robbing us like this.
The image of Li Dongqian, once surrounded by esteemed guests, passionately discussing his poetic ideals and the prosperous and peaceful era, is incredibly moving. The current state of the land, scarred and ravaged, and the intensity of the struggles, is all the more ironic.
His once-proud literary talent suddenly vanished.
You should know that his teacher, Li Dongqian, is a literary leader with an even higher reputation than him!
The beautiful realm in poetry ultimately succumbed to the bloody, cruel, and ugly reality.
Looking at his son lying on the bed, barely breathing, and his wife who was forcing a smile and coughing up blood from time to time, Yang Zhen could no longer stay there.
He tied his hair into two buns, wore a short-sleeved gauze dress, carried a pipa on his back, and sat on the ground with a few friends on West Chang'an Street, drinking and singing to vent his inner pain.
Li Dongqian had to pass through here on his way to his duty at the cabinet in the morning. Sitting in his sedan chair, he heard Yang Zhen singing mournfully:
"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were virtuous, while the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were renowned for their achievements. The Five Hegemons fought in the Spring and Autumn period, and the Qin and Han dynasties rose and fell in quick succession. A few lines of names are recorded in history, while countless desolate mounds lie in the northern hills. The fields of our ancestors are reaped by our descendants; what is there to say about the struggles between dragons and tigers?"
For some reason, Li Dongqian suddenly felt a surge of sadness.
He spent his life in petty scheming and despicable ways, and in his old age, he had no descendants to carry on his legacy.
Will the reputation I've built up become worthless when I fall from grace?
It should be noted that when he did not advance and retreat with Su Jian, Xie Qian and others, he was ridiculed in the literati as a member of the eunuch faction.
What was the purpose of all these years of forbearance and struggle?
Li Dongqian got out of the sedan chair and went over to ask Yang Zhen, "Yongxiu's style is enough to make him famous for all time. Why bother to personally play music and indulge in romantic pursuits?"
Yang Zhen bowed and raised a glass of wine to Li Dongqian.
"In the past, you praised Ma Dutang for his hatred of evil and his profound sense of justice. Why do you question his character today?"
“Back then, Liu Jin’s confidant opened a government-run shop and monopolized the horse market, making a fortune. When the horse inspector found out about his crime, he impeached him and dismissed him. In order to put him to death, Liu Jin falsely accused him of “embezzling border reserves”, arrested the horse inspector, brought him to the capital and imprisoned him, and sent him to Liaodong in a prison cart to be humiliated at will.”
"When he appeared in Liaodong County in shackles and chains, the soldiers and civilians witnessed the rampant treachery of the wicked and the framing of the loyal and virtuous. In their anger, they mutinied outside the county seat. It was only because Governor Ma, for the sake of the overall situation, reasoned with the crowd that the riot was quelled. Upon hearing the news, Liu Jin dared not punish Ma Zhongxi with death, but instead stripped him of his official post and ordered him to go home to reflect on his mistakes."
"Nowadays, Ma Dutang is concerned that the bandits are ordinary people who have been abused by corrupt officials, and he strongly advocates for their pacification. So how can you slander him for cherishing his family's wealth and condoning the bandits?"
Li Dongqian clenched his fist tightly in his sleeve, his eyes blazing with anger, his voice hoarse, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.
"What wrong has my only daughter done to deserve being tortured to death by these bandits from humble backgrounds?"
Yang Zhen paused.
When news of the death of Li Dongqian's daughter, the wife of the Duke of Yansheng, spread, it was not said that she had been tortured to death.
After all, it concerns a woman's reputation, so of course it should be suppressed as much as possible.
How could an elderly father calmly accept such an extremely humiliating way of dying?
How could he possibly accept Ma Dutang's offer of amnesty?
But.
He was grieving the loss of his daughter, yet he also allowed others to harm their wives and children.
He clearly held Geng Ge'er in his arms and praised Wang Shi for being well-behaved and sensible!
Li Dongqian said nothing more, turned around and went back to his sedan chair to leave.
Yang Zhen suddenly said, "I hope that you, sir, have a clear conscience in this life."
Li Dongqian paused for a moment.
They couldn't help but laugh at Yang Zhen's naiveté.
Those in high positions are after power and interests; how can they have a clear conscience?
The death of one person is death, and the death of a thousand people is also death.
Wait for the sedan chair to start moving again.
Li Dongqian closed his eyes wearily.
Four thousand eight hundred people.
Four thousand eight hundred people were massacred in Zaoqiang County.
It's just a number.
It has nothing to do with him.
After all, Zhao Sui, whom he sent out, was constantly promoting military discipline and restraining the bandit groups.
But.
Is it really unrelated?
Liu Liu and his companions had no great ambitions and no lofty aspirations.
It was Zhao Sui who ignited their hope and taught them how to incorporate troops and strengthen their power.
The gang had indeed grown larger, but they had committed no shortage of atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting.
Li Dongqian suddenly looked several years older.
"I'm old now, and I feel at peace now that I've avenged my daughter."
He was still unaware that Yang Hu was dead.
Moreover, in his view, Yang Hu was not the only murderer who killed his daughter.
Zhao Sui was worried about how to keep Yang Hu's death a secret for as long as possible.
After all, Yang Hu had a notorious reputation, and it would be more effective for him to lead this band of outlaws.
After all, the nickname "Tiger of the City Slaughter" wasn't given for nothing.
...
The number of memorials impeaching Ma Zhongxi increased.
Some people even directly targeted Su Wanwan.
Lu Xingjian's approach was to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard imprison several officials who were prone to causing trouble.
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