The next morning, Greenberg rushed to the church in a great hurry.
Two corpses lay outside the church, half-burnt, blackened and emitting a pungent, burnt smell, as if they were charred embers from hell.
Inside the church, the scene was a complete mess. Five corpses lay scattered about, burned beyond recognition, a truly horrific sight.
Before long, Li Guangyi arrived with a group of men.
He initially thought it was just a common fire, since such accidents occasionally happen in the city.
But Greenberg paced back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Suddenly, his eyes widened as if he had discovered some earth-shattering secret, and he noticed the pickaxe and hoe left outside the church.
Greenberg's already flushed face turned even redder with anger, and he was instantly enraged.
"It must have been done by those troublemakers in the neighborhood! Li Guangyi, immediately send troops to arrest all the people in this area. We must find the murderers and arsonists!"
Upon hearing this, Li Guangyi was first taken aback, then almost burst out laughing. Had Greenberg lost his mind?
Li Guangyi sneered at Greenberg, saying, "Hmph! Greenberg, don't you even know where you are? I've already been more than generous by not arresting your people. Now you want me to help you arrest innocent civilians? What a joke!"
Upon hearing this, Greenberg was immediately enraged. He glared at Li Guangyi and pointed directly at him.
"You...you dare speak to me like that! Do you know the power of the Jewish Cult?"
Greenberg, a missionary who had always been high and mighty, was now being looked down upon by Li Guangyi and could not swallow this insult.
Li Guangyi stood with his arms crossed, looking calm and composed.
"I don't care how powerful your damn Jewish cult is, I only know that if you dare to harm the people here, I will never forgive you!"
After saying that, he turned and left without hesitation, leaving Greenberg raging in front of the church.
After Li Guangyi left, Greenberg was so angry that he trembled all over, his anger as uncontrollable as a volcano about to erupt.
He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "Li Guangyi, how dare you treat me like this? It's outrageous!"
After saying that, he immediately and anxiously contacted the officials of the Six Ministries who supported him in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Go quickly and tell those officials that the situation is urgent. Tell them to immediately mobilize their servants and soldiers and make sure to arrest all the villagers around the church. Don't let a single one escape!"
The missionaries under his command received the order and rushed to the capital.
These officials already harbored resentment towards Li Guangyi and had long sought an opportunity to force him to relinquish his military power.
Upon receiving Greenberg's distress signal, they naturally seized the opportunity and arrived with their men in just two days.
The officials, each with their own men, charged into the surrounding villages like wolves and tigers.
The villagers were terrified, their cries and pleas for mercy echoing through the sky, but these people ignored them.
Soon, thousands of people were driven outside the burned-down church, trembling with fear and looking at each other in bewilderment.
Greenberg stood at the church entrance, a cunning glint in his eyes, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fellow villagers, one of you has committed the heinous crime of murder and arson! This is blasphemy against our great Jewish faith! Today, we must find this murderer, or the gods will be wrathful, and none of us will escape unscathed!"
As he spoke, he waved his hands, his face displaying a fierce and menacing expression. His voice seemed to possess a magical power, bewitching the villagers' minds.
The news reached Li Guangyi's ears immediately, and upon hearing it, he was furious.
"That bastard has gone too far! I've tolerated him time and time again, but he's only gotten worse. Today, I will not stand idly by!"
After saying this, Li Guangyi summoned his two thousand imperial guards without hesitation.
The two thousand guards, all looking heroic and spirited, marched toward the church in a grand procession at Li Guangyi's command.
In an instant, the sound of horses' hooves clattered, flags fluttered, and the scene was truly magnificent.
Soon, they arrived outside the church, where they saw officials who opposed Li Guangyi standing there with their soldiers, as if facing a formidable enemy. The atmosphere was extremely tense, with both sides poised to draw their swords.
What angered and chilled Li Guangyi even more was that the captured civilians, with their vacant eyes as if possessed, actually stood with Greenberg.
One of the people shouted, "We must help the Jewish cult find the real murderer and sacrifice his life to the gods so that we can be safe!"
Upon hearing this, Greenberg smiled smugly and pressed his advantage, shouting, "That's right! The gods will protect everyone. As long as the murderer is found, everyone will live a good life from now on. But if anyone dares to obstruct us, they are defying the gods!"
His voice echoed in the air, as if a layer of gloom was hanging over everyone's heads.
Looking at the scene before him, Li Guangyi felt a mix of emotions, and he was saddened by the ignorance of the people.
"Greenberg, stop inciting people! Your evil deeds will cost you your life!"
Greenberg, however, was unconvinced and sneered, saying, "Li Guangyi, do you think you can stop me? The people are all standing by my side. Are you going to lay a hand on your own people?"
On a treetop not far away, Chen Zhennan's figure was hidden among the dense foliage. He clenched his teeth, the muscles in his cheeks bulged, and his eyes were filled with angry flames as he stared intently at the disgusting scene in front of the church.
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