Chapter 316 Qiang Di's Provocation
The potato planting arrangements were made, the major matters were settled, and Xiao Yanci's injury was almost healed, so they began to prepare to set off.
But no one expected that at this juncture, a not-so-small disturbance arose in the city.
Some Qiang flute players disguised themselves and sneaked into Xiping City.
Their target is Lin Zheng.
During the last ambush on Gu Qishan, Lin Zheng showed up and killed the second prince of Qiangdi. When the news of this incident came back to Qiangdi, it aroused the anger of Qiangdi Khan Langgo Doji.
Langgo Doji wanted to kill this rebellious son.
Soon after, the news that Gu Qishan was not dead was passed back to Qiangdi, which made Langgo Doji even more furious, and everyone in Qiangdi was extremely angry.
They did not have the ability to take Gu Qishan's life, but were unwilling to let Lin Zheng go. They were determined to take Lin Zheng's head and offer it as a sacrifice for the second prince.
That's why this assassination happened.
But they did not succeed. When they sneaked into Lin Zheng's room, what was waiting for them was a carefully planned trap.
Lin Zheng had already received Hai Dongqing's notification about their assassination.
All twenty assassins were captured.
The next day, they were hung upside down at the city gate. Langodoji was furious, but he did not dare to send anyone to assassinate them again.
But soon, rumors about Lin Zheng's identity began to spread in the city.
Originally, Zhao Shuning and Gu Zhaolin had spread this rumor, but the last rumor was vague, while this time the rumor was very detailed and even people from the same village as Lin Zheng's mother came out to testify.
Lin Zheng's identity became a topic of conversation, and his mother's humiliation was exposed.
Under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, the people of Xiping City also developed deep hostility towards him.
"So he's a descendant of the Qiangdi people. No wonder he carries a sense of hostility. He's obviously not a good person."
"Wasn't there a rumor earlier that he was a Qiangdi? Then the matter was dropped. I thought it was a misunderstanding, but I didn't expect it to be true."
"The Qiang flute man is sworn enemies with them. Xiping City cannot tolerate the Qiang flute man. Kill him!"
"Yes, kill him and eliminate this evil!"
Public opinion in the city was incited, and their hostility towards Lin Zheng reached its peak. As a result, Jiang Nansheng, who often went in and out with Lin Zheng, was also attacked.
Langodoji's tactic of sowing discord was successful.
Seeing that Xiping City, which had finally stabilized, fell into chaos, Gu Qishan's face was as gloomy as water.
Many veteran generals in the army also suggested that Lin Zheng be dealt with to avoid causing chaos among the people.
The person who said this was publicly scolded by Gu Qishan. "Lin Zheng's mother is from Da Qi. She is a victim, and Lin Zheng is also a victim. If we eliminate Lin Zheng, what's the difference between us and the executioner? Wouldn't we just fall into the trap set by the Qiang Di people? Moreover, Lin Zheng killed the Second Prince of Qiang Di. He has made great contributions. Not only should he not be punished, but he should be rewarded!"
The veteran who made the proposal was scolded to the point of being speechless.
"Then General, given the current situation in the city, what should we do? If we don't appease the people's grievances, disaster may ensue."
Gu Qishan pondered for a moment and soon came up with an idea.
It is actually very simple to manipulate the thoughts of the people. All you have to do is touch their interests and make them resonate with you.
The next day, Gu Qishan ordered the people to gather together on the pretext of teaching them the key points of potato cultivation.
The people gathered together and Gu Qishan stood on the high platform.
He did not talk about potato planting first, but went straight to the point and brought up the matter of Lin Zheng.
"You all think that Lin Zheng should be killed, right?"
Everyone immediately echoed loudly, "He deserves to be killed!"
Gu Qishan pulled out a list. "This is the list of over a thousand women abducted by Qiang Di in Xiping City over the past ten years. Qi Chuntao and Qi Meilan from the Qi family in Yu Village, Wang Mei and Wang Erya from the Wang family... and He Zhaodi and Chen Yufeng from Cifu Village... Every one of them is recorded in detail on this list. Does anyone still remember them? If they returned alive with their children, would you also think they deserved to die?"
This time, everyone was silent.
Among the people present were even the relatives of the abducted women.
When they heard their daughter's name, the fragile strings in their hearts were plucked and their eyes became red unconsciously.
If my daughters could come back, I would accept them no matter what, even if it meant bringing the child back with me, because that would be their grandson.
Gu Qishan looked at the expressions of the crowd and knew that his words had some effect.
At least, someone has resonated with it.
"Lin Zheng's mother was just one of thousands of unfortunate women. Lin Zheng's birth was not what they wanted, and he couldn't choose his biological father. This shouldn't negate his right to live."
"What's more, not every Da Qi person is a good person. Not every Qiang Di person is an unforgivable villain. It's too hasty to judge life and death based on bloodline so directly and crudely."
"Not long ago, Qiang Di, still harboring evil intentions, sent assassins into the city with the intention of assassinating Lin Zheng. Because Lin Zheng had killed the Second Prince of Qiang Di, Qiang Di held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. Lin Zheng had indeed rendered meritorious service to the Great Qi."
"Qiang Di's assassination attempt failed, so he came up with this method. He deliberately misleads public opinion and incites the crowd to kill someone with a borrowed knife. If we really kill Lin Zheng, we will have fallen into his trap."
Gu Qishan's words shocked the people and made them clear their minds instantly.
I see.
They were almost incited.
This storm was easily resolved with just a few words from Gu Qishan.
Jiang Nansheng and Lin Zheng stood far behind the crowd, watching this scene and taking in the changes in everyone's expressions and attitudes.
Jiang Nansheng's tense expression finally relaxed, and the heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
"A Zheng, it's okay."
Lin Zheng's heart was filled with ripples uncontrollably.
He had been under attack from public opinion these days, but he thought he didn't care. Even if these people wanted to kill him, they didn't have the ability to do so.
But now, he realized that he also cared.
He also longs for everyone's acceptance and recognition, and this acceptance and recognition is also for his mother.
Until her death, my mother longed to return to Da Qi, to her hometown and her family, but she was worried that she would not be accepted.
And now, she doesn't have to worry anymore.
He looked in the direction of Gu Qishan, with a hint of respect in his eyes.
After the storm subsided, most people's hostility towards Lin Zheng disappeared, but there were exceptions.
Jiang Herong was already dissatisfied with him, and after this incident, he looked at Lin Zheng even more dissatisfied, and nothing about him was pleasing to the eye.
But with the pressure from Old Doctor Jiang, he didn't dare to do anything.
Lin Zheng was neither warm nor flattering to Jiang Herong, but was basically polite yet distant - this was also Jiang Nansheng's attitude towards him. Lin Zheng used Jiang Nansheng as the standard for everything. He would respect whoever Jiang Nansheng respected, and would be cold to whoever Jiang Nansheng was cold to.
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