lady, please calm down

Chapter 340 Does the sun rise as usual?

September [-], evening.

Thousands of people gathered for many days and produced a large amount of feces, which could not be cleaned up in time. The stench outside Xuande Gate was overwhelming.

Over the past few days, the body and spirit of the delicate and frail scholar had been pushed to the breaking point by exposure to wind and sun.

Combined with yesterday's notice urging people to leave, at dusk, the first wave of dispersion appeared among the scholars.

After nightfall, more and more scholars left.

Seeing this, Li Jue, the toughest among the scholars, led his people to surround the classmates who wanted to leave. Once anyone said that he wanted to leave or was caught by them while leaving, they would beat and humiliate him.

This shocked some scholars, but also intensified the divisions within the scholars.

Seeing that they might collapse, the [-] gentry from Ji County who signed a petition a few days ago finally went to the front line.

In the time of Xu, the censor Zhongcheng Wang Bingzhen led a group of officials to come among the scholars again.

The squire represented the public opinion, and Wang Bingzhen represented the officials. The recognition and support of both the officials and the people allowed the shaky scholars to reset their minds.

"The notice said, ordering me to leave when I am ugly? Bah! Just imagine, classmates, if we just left in despair, how could we have the dignity to claim to be pillars of our country! We will never leave this place until we get rid of the traitors!"

In Li Jue's impassioned shouting, a group of academicians followed him.

On the ninth day of September, their request was only to thoroughly investigate the matter in Xiangfu County. At most, they wanted to accuse the Cai family of condoning the murder of domestic slaves.

Later, their target began to be clearly identified as Cai, followed closely by Cai Yuan, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

Today, he has unabashedly targeted the King of Chu who has a heavy army.

But they are not afraid. Firstly, scholars are the seeds of officials and the pillars of the country. Secondly, the law does not punish everyone. No matter how cruel you are, King Chu, can you still kill us all?
In the distance, Wang Bingzhen and Sun Qi, who both came from Xiangfu County, silently watched Li Jue who was performing hard. Wang Bingzhen nodded with satisfaction and sighed: "The people's support can be used!"

So far, the Huaibei faction has been relatively cowardly, but at this point, Sun Qi, Wang Bingzhen and even the Ji County gentry behind them have been completely exposed. Either they will force the King of Chu and his faction to compromise this time, or they will wait for the King of Chu. Slow down this breath and settle the scores later.

Sun Qi was not as optimistic as Wang Bingzhen, and worried: "It has been so many days, and the scholars can no longer hold on."

Wang Bingzhen heard that Sun Qi was weak in will and couldn't help frowning: "Master Sun, we are not fighting for you and my family! Now all the gentry are staring at Tokyo City! All you see is the thousands of gentry in front of you. , In fact, thousands of gentry in Daqi are waiting for King Chu to fall."

Sun Qi nodded, but said: "I always feel a little uneasy about the notice yesterday. He wouldn't really jump over the wall in a hurry, right?"

"Hahaha" Wang Bingzhen laughed before saying anything, and said firmly: "He? How dare you! Even the First Emperor who unified the six countries was scolded for thousands of years for cheating Confucianism. Even if he is not afraid of being infamy for thousands of years, he dares to mess around. This world's gentry They will also attack in groups!"

After hearing what Wang Bingzhen said, Sun Qi's uneasiness gradually dissipated.

Most scholars thought so too, but the word "Chou Shi" still seemed like a lingering haze hanging over everyone's minds.

Until late at night, it became quieter and quieter in front of Xuande Gate.

Everyone gradually fell silent, always looking up at the sky involuntarily and thinking about the time.
Even backbone figures like Li Jue began to feel restless. Occasionally, they would say a few words to encourage morale, but most of the classmates around them were absent-minded.

Only after squeezing through the crowd of people sitting and lying down and coming to the side of Xiangfu gentry Li Yiren, Wang Shanshu, Sun Shaoming and others, and listening to their encouragement, could Li Jue regain some courage in his heart.

It's just that he came too frequently to seek comfort, which made Li Zexuan, Li Yiren's son, slightly unhappy.

After Li Jue came over to talk for the fourth time, Li Zexuan looked at his leaving figure, frowned and said, "It's embarrassing!"

On the side, Li Yiren, who still had scab marks on his face, looked at the scholars, squires, and officials surrounded by pits and valleys, and whispered: "People are different. Some people are born as cows and horses, and some people are born with horses. "Everyone is just a pawn driven by others, but some people are born to be talented strategists."

There is a deep sense of pride in these words.

Li Zexuan knew very well what his father meant and couldn't help but smile slightly with satisfaction.
Ten days ago, Mr. Cai humiliated his father in the south of Dongjiaba, Xiangfu County. Afterwards, his father made a decisive decision and took the life of his cousin Li Jixuan, setting off a turmoil that swept through Kaifeng Prefecture.

My father just used a small trick to force these proud men to fight for his Li family.

So what if the domineering Cai family is the woman of the King of Chu?

Thinking about it, Li Zexuan was afraid that the King of Chu wouldn't be able to hold on for a few more days. At that time, the Cai family would definitely be thrown out to appease the anger of the scholars in the world.
It's a pity that I can't see this demon concubine crying with regret and pain with my own eyes, which makes me regretful.

Thinking of this, Li Zexuan was unwilling to ask his father in a low voice, "Dad, when the King of Chu shows weakness, can we bring that Cai family over and deal with it personally?"

Li Yiren glanced at the two characters and rebuked in a low voice: "Confused! Even if the King of Chu couldn't bear it, he wouldn't be able to hand the person over to us or the government office. It is very likely that the Cai family was hanged in the back house by the King of Chu. After all, that was The prince of the imperial court, we must give him this face! People, you must know when enough is enough."

"What a pity" Li Zexuan sighed.

While the father and son were sighing, they suddenly heard someone from Li Jue's side shouting in the distance, "It's time for ugliness, it's time for ugliness!"

Everyone within a ten-foot radius looked over and saw that the person who spoke had a timer beside him.

Then, with the incense leakage as the center, the surrounding area quickly became quiet, and everyone held their breath and concentrated, as if waiting for something.

For the past ten days, there has been a brief moment of tranquility outside the noisy and chaotic Xuandemen.

Until another sixty or seventy breaths passed, except for the sound of the wind and the sound of the clock from the distant bell tower, there was silence everywhere.

'call'

I don't know who took the lead and let out a long breath, and then there was a loud gasping sound.

The discussion gradually became louder.

"Hahaha, let me just say that King Chu is threatening us!"

"Yes, yes! Look, everyone, nothing happened when it was ugly. Haha!"

"Hahaha, King Chu is scared!"

"Hmph! I'm really looking forward to him coming. If we speak for the country, he still dares to catch us!"

"Brother Li, that's right! We are not afraid of that domineering national thief! I just hate that he doesn't dare to come!"

As a representative figure of the hard-line faction, Li Jue received a lot of praise. Just as he was returning the compliment in a reserved manner, he suddenly heard a faint sound of sonorous footsteps.

Li Jue subconsciously raised his head and looked in the direction of the imperial camp in the west of the city.

His action seemed to be contagious, and other scholars nearby also turned and looked over.

In the hazy night, I can't see clearly, but I can hear the increasingly clear footsteps on Niuxing Street, which is connected to Yujie, through the mid-autumn night wind.
Just a few dozen breaths later, groups of soldiers holding guns and knives appeared in everyone's sight.

The scholars couldn't help but commotion, and some smart people on the periphery saw that the situation was not good and hurried away.

This is also the last chance.

Not long after, soldiers also appeared on the west and south sides, and the soldiers surrounded Xuande Gate.

However, with Wang Bingzhen and other officials and Li Yiren and other gentry here, the scholars were not too panicked.

Until the ugly moment
Zhou Liang, the commander of the Black Flag Army who is the best at doing dirty work among the Huaibei Army, appeared at the intersection of Niuxing Street and Yujie Street in front of Xuande Gate. The officials and squires who were wondering were surprised when they saw this man wearing a general's armor. They gathered around.

"Who ordered the general to mobilize soldiers at night in the capital?" Sun Shaoming was already feeling a little afraid, but his words were quite polite.

But some people who were still confused about the situation yelled: "How brave! Are you going to rebel?"

In the chaos, Li Yiren, the leader of the gentry, and Wang Bingzhen, the leader of the officials, looked at each other and stepped forward together. Finally, Wang Bingzhen said: "What is this general here for?"

Zhou Liang glanced at Wang Bingzhen with a half-smile but asked, "Are you the Censor Zhongcheng, King Bingzhen?"

Seeing that the other party recognized her, Wang Bingzhen felt confident and replied calmly: "It's me."

After receiving confirmation, Zhou Liang only tilted his head slightly, and two soldiers came forward. Without saying a word, they tied Wang Bingzhen behind his back and took him back.

This time, it was like poking a hornet's nest.
Amidst the shouting and cursing, several officials rushed over and tried to snatch people away.

A few days ago, the Huaibei Army patrolled without weapons and tried their best to avoid conflicts with the soldiers.

The officials thought it would be like this again this time.

Unexpectedly.
'噌~噌~' After a few clear chants of the blade being unsheathed, there were only a few flashes of cold light, and the steps of the Yanguan who were rushing forward all stagnated.
An official lowered his head in disbelief and looked at the foot-long wound between his chest and abdomen. Blood dripped down, quickly soaking into the official robe, and leaving a pool of blood on the bluestone of the imperial street.

The Black Flag Army are all men who have experienced many battles on the battlefield. When they use their swords, they don't want to look good, they just want to kill.

Like the big swords and iron guts used by skilled people who are brave, they like to rub their necks when killing people.This technique requires precision. After all, the neck is too small as a target. If the knife is not accurate and it is applied to someone else's chin or collarbone, it will give the enemy a chance to counterattack.

The killing methods practiced on the battlefield are different. Soldiers like to cut open the chest and abdomen of people. The targets in the chest and abdomen are large and difficult to hide. If the sword is swung out diagonally, even if the opponent cannot be killed on the spot, he will quickly lose the ability to move.
Huang Shiqian, a student of Taixue who was originally standing at the front of the melon-eating crowd, watched helplessly as an official was cut open with a knife and his intestines fell to the ground.

But this man didn't die immediately. He knelt on the ground in panic and tried to stuff his intestines back.

This scene made Huang Shiqian vomit on the spot and start to retreat crazily.
But the crowd behind them didn’t know what was happening, and they were still yelling and pushing forward.

Huang Shiqian was pushed and pushed closer and closer to the soldiers involuntarily.

At this time, although the squires and officials were equally panicked, they were more knowledgeable than scholars like Huang Shiqian. Li Yiren suppressed his fear and shouted, "Why are they guilty of killing innocent people?"

Zhou Liang looked over when he heard the sound, with a look of surprise in his eyes. He smiled and said to Pao Ze beside him: "I was afraid that this old boy would run away! I didn't expect to catch him so easily. Now I can pay tribute to Empress Cai."

Li Yiren, who was close at hand, could not help but be horrified when he heard it clearly.
After discovering that he had misjudged, Li Yiren's first reaction was to run away, but the crowd pushing behind him left him with nowhere to escape.

The black flag troops guarding the intersection were neat and tidy, but anyone who squeezed in a knife's throw away from them, no matter who they were, officials or gentry, would just wave their hands with a knife.

In an instant, dozens of corpses fell in random directions at the junction of the two sides.

Fear made the officials and squires at the front cry and howl.
The scholars in the rear finally realized something was wrong.

I don't know who shouted, "The Huaibei Army is killing people!"

The wave of people pushing forward stalled and quickly retreated to the rear.
At the end of Haishi.

His blood was so high that his cries and howls could be clearly heard even within the imperial city, separated by several palace walls.

Jiarou, who had been paying attention to the development of the situation, hurriedly put on her clothes and got up after a night terror. She wanted to go to Xuandemen, but she couldn't even come out of the bedroom.

Huang Doudou, who was guarding outside, only said: "The rebels in the capital are causing chaos at night, and the King of Chu's troops are quelling the chaos. The King of Chu has given instructions, please don't be alarmed, and you can go back to the palace to sleep. Everything will be fine by daybreak."

Jiarou was so angry that she almost couldn't help but kick this slave.

It’s not like she didn’t know what was happening outside the imperial city in recent days. She just heard this news and knew that King Chu actually risked the disapproval of the world and took action!
The education she received since she was a child is that the 'gentry' is the foundation of the country. At this time, Chen Chu's attack on the gentry is undoubtedly destroying her foundation of the Qi Dynasty!

Jia Rou was able to grow up healthily in a strife-ridden harem despite losing her mother at a young age, so she was very tolerant.

But at this time, he finally couldn't help it. He looked at Huang Doudou, who had a flattering but determined attitude, and said coldly: "The rebels in the capital are making trouble at night? Who are these rebels?"

Huang Doudou smiled brightly, but said: "I don't know what I am doing now. Whoever the King of Chu says is a traitor is a traitor. Ye Liang, Your Highness should go back to the palace to rest quickly."

Jia Rou was helpless and silently glanced at Xuandemen in the night, turned around and returned to the palace, rejected everyone, sat on the bed and shed a few tears without holding back.

"What's the use of crying!"

As if she hated herself for being cowardly, Jiarou pinched the back of her hand hard. Then, her eyes gradually became colder, and she began to seriously plan a plan that had been hidden in her heart for a long time.
Outside Xuande Gate, it has become a Shura field.

In just half an hour, Zhou Liang's Black Flag Army and Peng Er's Guangjie Army had taken control of the situation.

Thousands of soldiers held their heads in their hands and knelt down along the base of the city wall.

It's not like no one has ever resisted such a humiliating posture.
Just half a quarter of an hour ago, someone shouted, "A scholar must be killed but not humiliated," and then his wish came true.

At this time, the Huaibei Army was arresting people in the crowd according to the list.
The first selected officials, including Yushi Zhongcheng Wang Bingzhen, Hube Duzhilang Sun Qi, and many middle and low-level officials, have been mentioned at the intersection of Niuxing Street and Yujie.

Sun Qi was so frightened that he was paralyzed and was carried over by two soldiers.

But even at this time, Wang Bingzhen still did not believe that the Huaibei Army dared to kill him.

Seeing that a soldier had walked up to him with a knife, Wang Bingzhen, who had his hands tied behind his back, shouted to the soldier: "I am Yu Shi Zhongcheng. Tell the King of Chu that I want to see him!"

The soldier looked up and down as if he was crazy, then kicked Wang Bingzhen in the knee. The latter fell to his knees in pain. The soldier did not hesitate and slashed Wang Bingzhen on the back of the neck.
After all, the knife is harder than the neck.

The good man's head rolled to the ground. It was only then that the soldier replied to Wang Bingzhen, "My lord, why don't you meet us as soon as you want? I still want to see you."

This scene happened in front of thousands of scholars.

There was no more noise among the kneeling crowd.

Huang Shiqian, who was lucky enough to escape with his life, felt hot in his crotch and a stream of smelly liquid flowed down his legs.

Next, each official was either scared to the point of peeing or urinating, or he was suppressing his fear and shouting angrily, but in short, he could not escape the fate of being killed with a knife.

Soon, the crossroads became a river of blood.

During the 200 years of the Qi Zhou Dynasty, it had become a rule to rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats. After enjoying the 200 years of prosperity, they had never seen the miserable situation before them.

In a daze, it felt like I had returned to the troubled times of the late Tang Dynasty when the lives of literati were as cheap as dogs.
Dozens of officials took less than a quarter of an hour.

After them, it was the turn of the [-] Ji County gentry who signed the petition.

Li Yiren is the first to bear the brunt!

The psychological defense line had been completely destroyed by the round of killings. When Li Yiren was dragged over, he passed by Zhou Liang, as if he had found a life-saving straw.
"General, didn't you just say that you wanted to give me to Lady Cai? Why don't you take me to Lady Cai on a mission? Send me to Lady Cai. You can't just kill me. You can't. How can you deliver me to Lady Cai if you kill me, general?"

Li Yiren struggled and shouted at Zhou Liang.

He knew clearly that his life would be worse than death if he fell into Cai Hua's hands, but when death was right in front of him, it would be fine if he could live for one more day, one more hour, or one more quarter of an hour!

Just for this vague hope, Li Yiren shouted at the top of his lungs.

At this time, there is no trace of the elegant and gentlemanly demeanor in his appearance.
Because of his words, the soldier dragging him also stopped and looked at Zhou Liang.

Zhou Liang waved his hand casually and said, "Kill him, Empress Cai said, just give the head to her for a look."

"Ah! General, General, General, I beg you to tell Empress Cai again that I am willing to dedicate fertile land to you."

At Yinshi, Li Yiren, the instigator of the September turmoil in Tokyo City, suddenly stopped shouting unwillingly.

His end is the epitome of all the gentlemen present tonight.

At the last moment of your life, no matter whether you are willing to donate your family property or whether you are determined to die and refuse to give in, your life will be fixed in this cool morning.

After the gentry, there is the scholar
Compared with leaving no officials or gentry, the Huaibei Army only identified a few leaders among the gentry.

Naturally, this includes Li Jue, Li Yiren’s distant nephew.

Li Jue, who originally thought that the Huaibei Army would not attack the soldiers, peed on the spot when his name was called.

In an occasion like tonight, it was not a shame to defecate. After all, he was not the only one to defecate.

However, when the soldiers dragged him out, Li Jue, who had a strong desire to survive, pointed at another one of the soldiers and shouted: "General, I have been deceived by Li Yiren and his son! I will report this man. It’s Li Zexuan, Li Yiren’s son!”

Zhou Liang, who was angry because he couldn't find Li Zexuan, was happy when he heard this and walked over.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked beside Li Jue, Li Jue suddenly knelt down on his knees, bowed his head and said: "General, General! I'm going to report, that Li Jixuan is not a demon concubine, bah bah~"

Li Jue raised his hand to give himself a few big words, and changed his words: "Then Li Jixuan was not killed by Empress Cai, he died at the hands of Li Zexuan! In order to frame Empress Cai, their father and son actually killed their own nephew! Mr. Jiang , the villain is forced by them, so he has no choice but to wave the flag and shout for his family. General, a small crime will not lead to death, a crime will not lead to death."

As soon as these words came out, the scene was deathly silent.

After a few breaths, Li Zexuan saw that he could no longer hide it. He couldn't help but stand up and scold Li Jue angrily, "You bitch! My family provides you with food, drink and study, but you dare to bite my family back."

When Li Jue was scolded, he did not retaliate. He only turned to look at Li Zexuan, took two hurried steps, pointed at Li Zexuan, raised his head and smiled flatteringly at Zhou Liang: "General, he is Li Zexuan! Both father and son are bad! General, please kill him quickly."

Zhou Liang couldn't help but feel absurd. He currently couldn't understand the underlying reason for the conflict between Chen Chu and the gentry. He only felt that the Shura field in front of him was caused by the Li family and his son, which was a bit ridiculous.

In the distance, the private room facing the street of Fengle Building, which overlooks the whole city, is brightly lit with candles.

Chen Jing'an had been extremely drunk an hour ago.
Chen Chu stood by the window and looked at Xuandemen where corpses were strewn in the field.

Cai Yuan lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, unable to explain what he felt in his heart.

All he knew was that what happened tonight was the most brutal in the two hundred years of Qi and Zhou dynasties!

But I don’t know whether the sun will rise as usual tomorrow, or whether the Great Qi will be full of war smoke.
(End of this chapter)