klisemfg Chapter 306: Blood and Loyalty, Incorruptible
Chapter 306: Blood and Loyalty, Incorruptible
chaos.
Chaos.
The entire Shengjing city was much more chaotic than when the Yan army captured other cities.
At least the Yan army will not rob house to house.
Looting and massacre are common in wars.
Generally, the attackers massacre the city and rob it to vent their anger, while the defenders protect the people.
But this bizarre and counterintuitive scene actually happened in Shengjing.
The attackers didn't move a single step within a few miles of the city.
The defenders took the initiative to rob the people and gave the money they got to the attackers.
It's really embarrassing.
The whole Shengjing was in chaos. Soldiers shuttled back and forth, kicking open one door after another, searching for gold and silver from house to house.
A ten-man security force team came to a remote home in the inner city. Looking at the simple house, the captain kicked the door open.
The land in the yard was not even paved with flagstones.
There are two chickens in the shed next to it.
The security forces strode in and shouted arrogantly,
"Who's inside? Come out!"
A plainly dressed woman in a pudding-like dress came out with a little girl about ten years old. She looked at them nervously and asked,
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"
"I'm asking you, is this the home of Zhang Qiong, a third-rank doctor?"
The woman nodded nervously.
"Who are you to him?"
"I am his wife, and this is our daughter, Master Jun. Did my master do something wrong?"
"Zhang Qiong has been beheaded for disobeying His Majesty. By His Majesty's order, the entire Zhang family is imprisoned and their property confiscated."
"Do it!"
Two soldiers immediately stepped forward and tied up the mother and daughter, while the others rushed into the house and searched through all the drawers and cabinets.
The mother and daughter cried loudly. The pillar of the family had died. They were heartbroken and were pinned to the ground by the soldiers, unable to move.
The captain sneered,
"A family in a third-grade compound must have a lot of wealth, but they pretend to be quite poor. Search them thoroughly and find all the gold and silver!"
The soldiers went in quickly and came out quickly.
"Captain, this family is so poor! They don't have a single valuable thing, and all they found was two taels of silver and fifteen coins. That's less than my monthly salary. How unlucky!"
"Have you searched carefully? Keep looking!"
The captain shouted with a gloomy face.
Then, he walked up to the mother and daughter and shouted coldly,
"Tell me, where is your family's money hidden? Tell us quickly!"
"We don't have any money..."
"Bullshit! How could a third-rank official's family be poor? Every official is rich! If you dare to delay me from making money, I'll kill you!"
After a while, two soldiers ran out excitedly.
"Found it, found it!"
I saw two people running out carrying a box, their faces full of excitement.
"Captain, this box is so heavy and locked, it must be full of gold and silver."
"Open open!"
The captain looked at the mother and daughter and snorted coldly.
"Didn't you say you had no money? What is this? Tell me what this is?"
The soldiers cut the lock with a knife and then opened it.
"Huh? Why is there only a piece of clothing and a sword?"
A soldier took up the clothes and looked at them, and said,
"This is a python robe. How come he has a python robe at home?"
Another soldier drew his sword and said,
"This sword is made of really good material. There are words engraved on it. I can't read. Can anyone tell me what these words are?"
"It's a heart of red blood."
Mrs. Zhang, who was lying on the ground, said expressionlessly.
"Ten years ago, my father made great contributions to local governance, quelled rebellions, and never accepted bribes, always maintaining a clean record.
When the emperor learned about it, he specially summoned the master to the capital, appointed him as a third-rank official, and gave him a dragon robe and a sword.
The sword is engraved with "Red Blood and Red Heart" to praise my master's loyalty and courage.
The master never showed off these two items, and when the family was so poor that they could barely afford to eat, he never pawned them.
The captain looked at the sword and clothes and was silent for a long time.
Only then did he understand that this third-rank official was truly honest and incorruptible, with nothing at home and no integrity.
He is a good and honest official who truly serves the people.
But such an upright official was beheaded by the emperor after his deathbed remonstration.
The captain looked at the sword and the dragon robe, swallowed his saliva, and said,
"Help him up quickly, what are you doing?"
The soldiers were shocked and rushed to help the man.
The captain said,
"If Lord Zhang had worn this dragon robe and held this sword today, and let the Emperor see his unwavering loyalty, perhaps he wouldn't have been killed?"
He sighed, put the sword back into the scabbard, and then put the clothes, sword, and the two taels and fifteen coins into the box.
He held the box and said,
"Madam, Miss, the Emperor has ordered you to be imprisoned. We shouldn't be doing this, but the Emperor's orders are unbearable.
Lord Zhang was killed for disobeying the imperial order. We can't...
But don't worry, we will arrange a single room for you, the best cell, and let the jailers take good care of you.
Shengjing is in such chaos now that it’s safer in prison than at home.
If you stay at home, you might be killed at any time."
"Let's go."
The soldiers sighed, knowing that the captain had softened his heart.
Not to mention the captain, they are also human beings with conscience. When they think about treating the family of a good official so roughly, they want to slap themselves twice.
After walking out of the door, they headed towards the government office.
Along the way, they saw many soldiers moving back and forth, beating people and robbing them of their money.
Mrs. Zhang was shocked when she saw this scene and asked,
"What's going on? What are they doing?"
The captain whispered,
"The Yan people wanted compensation and ceded territory before they would withdraw, but even if all the money in the national treasury was used up, it would not be enough.
There is no other way but to take money from the people.
If the people don't give it to me, I will beat them or kill them. So I said, "You'd better go to the prison with me, it's safer than at home."
Shengjing is in chaos, the situation is about to change."
"How could this be... How could this be? Why are you robbing the people of their money? Why aren't you going to fight the enemy?"
Mrs. Zhang watched this scene with tears in her eyes and a face full of sorrow.
"Madam, please speak less and keep your voice down."
"Don't the civil and military officials in the court care? When the emperor issues such an order, all officials should advise against it."
Mrs. Zhang said anxiously.
This woman didn't care about her own situation at all, but was extremely worried about the people in the city.
The captain lowered his head in shame and said,
"It is said that among all the civil and military officials in the court, Lord Zhang was the only one who protested against this.
The result... you saw it too."
However, instead of feeling sad, Mrs. Zhang straightened her bound waist and said proudly,
"My master... served his country with all his heart and fought for his people. He died a worthy death."
"Nizi, don't cry, your father is a hero, not a traitor!"