AWB Chapter 858: More Than Just Ten Thousand People's Books?
Chapter 858: More Than Just Ten Thousand People's Books?
A quarter of an hour ago.
Rong Xin, dressed in mourning clothes, walked at the front, holding an empty memorial tablet, with Zong Que half a step behind her.
Behind him were Rong family relatives and former subordinates carrying the coffin, as well as soldiers who had survived the Chenzhou disaster.
Seventeen years have passed, and the youngest of those soldiers who survived the ordeal in Chenzhou are now over thirty years old.
These people were scattered, some old, some disabled, and there were only about twenty of them left.
During the Northern Expedition, General Rong Che led 130,000 soldiers.
After all these years of searching, they've only found this many people.
I survived that disaster by sheer luck.
The coffins they carried contained not a single intact skeleton, but only fragments of bones dug out of the mass burial pit. These included bones belonging to soldiers, civilians, men, women, the old, and the young, as well as several skulls, none of which were larger than the palm of a hand. They had been buried shallowly and had been gnawed away, leaving only a small portion of the skull remaining.
Besides these remains, there was also a small jar of soil dug out from the Chenzhou burial pit.
That's not soil from Chenzhou; it's the weathered bones and blood of the soldiers and civilians who died tragically in Chenzhou.
For many of them, this was the first time in their lives they had ever walked this road from the city gate to the palace gate. They walked for almost two hours without stopping.
But it took them a full seventeen years to get here.
The Imperial Guards were prepared from the moment they received the order, but no one dared to stop them along the way.
When they arrived at the Dengwen Drum outside the palace gate, Liao Feng, the commander of the Imperial Guards, finally found an opportunity to step forward and stop the people.
"Halt! This is a sacred palace ground; how dare you trespass!" Liao Feng placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, drew his sword from its sheath, and swept his stern gaze toward Rong Xin, who stood at the front.
Wen Qingqing, who was mingling among the onlookers, nervously grabbed Lu Yangyang's arm and whispered, "I just saw a lot of imperial guards outside the palace gates, and there were also some inside, as well as archers. Are they planning to kill us all?"
Lu Yangyang lowered her voice, "Don't worry, they wouldn't dare."
Lu Yangyang's gaze fell on Zong Que. With him there, no one could stop them.
As expected, Zong Que stood beside Rong Xin without moving an inch, his gaze fixed on Liao Feng, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Liao Feng, the martial arts champion in the third year of Yongxing, joined the Imperial Guard in the fifth year of Yongxing, and became the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard in the fifteenth year of Yongxing. One year after the death of the commander of the Imperial Guard, He Cong, you succeeded him as the commander of the Imperial Guard."
Liao Feng's face immediately darkened.
The reason why he became the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards a year after He Cong's death is naturally because there were several deputy commanders of the Imperial Guards. Historically, those who could serve as commanders of the Imperial Guards were all his confidants, and it was not easy to get this position.
"If I remember correctly, Commander Liao, you spent a total of 200,000 taels of silver to smooth things over. Your son also married the niece of the Duchess of Xiao. Commander Liao, let me ask you this: are you loyal to His Majesty or to the Duke of Xiao?"
Zong Que's voice remained calm and not loud, but under such circumstances, everyone around him could hear it clearly.
Liao Feng, who had been so aggressive, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his back straightening instinctively.
I knew this prince was very difficult to deal with, but I never expected that at this moment, the other party would expose his secrets without any regard for anything else.
The key question is, how did he, a deposed crown prince, know about such a secret matter?
Liao Feng looked uncertain, unsure of what kind of evidence Zong Que held, and for a moment he didn't know how to refute it.
Zong Que raised his hand and beckoned to Liao Feng, "Commander Liao, come closer. I have a few words to say. Would you like to hear them?"
Liao Feng didn't want to listen, but he didn't dare not listen.
If he didn't step forward now, who knew what Zong Que would say? He dared to stop people because he was instructed by his superiors, but he really didn't dare to do anything to Zong Que. After all, no one knew what His Majesty was thinking, and if he was not careful, he would surely face retribution later.
Liao Feng, his nerves taut, finally sheathed his drawn sword and walked step by step to Zong Que, bowing deeply as he approached, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Zong Que twirled the cane he had been holding in his left hand. At the top of the cane was a large gemstone. Now that the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed and the sun had come out, the light from the gemstone refracted and spread out, becoming particularly dazzling when viewed up close.
Liao Feng's lowered eyes felt slightly uncomfortable from the sting, and he subconsciously twitched his eyelids and squinted.
At that moment, Zong Que suddenly raised his hand, and the jeweled dagger pierced Liao Feng's neck in an instant. Blood gushed out from the dagger. Liao Feng stared wide-eyed in disbelief, instinctively trying to dodge, but Zong Que pressed his head down with his other hand, pushing the dagger in completely, his voice soft.
"The money I worked so hard to earn is not for you to spend on buying official positions and titles, do you understand?"
After saying that, he gently patted Liao Feng's forehead, and Liao Feng fell backward heavily. He pulled out the dagger from his hand, and blood splattered on Liao Feng's own face, without splashing a single drop on Zong Que.
Zong Que took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off the dagger, and looked at the Imperial Guards who were following Liao Feng and eyeing him menacingly. "The duty of the Imperial Guards is to protect the Imperial City. Who else is selling official positions and becoming a parasite in the Imperial Guards? Come forward."
No one dared to step forward; even those who had been holding their heads up lowered them in unison, each one drenched in cold sweat, none daring to glance at Zong Que.
Zong Que looked at the Dengwen Drum, which was being blocked, and said,
"Beat the drum for public hearing."
Rong Xin stepped forward, but was stopped by the guards surrounding the Dengwen Drum. The official in charge bowed, sweating profusely, and said, "Your Highness, the laws of our Great Zhao state that anyone who strikes the Dengwen Drum to appeal for justice must be punished with thirty strokes of the cane! Etiquette cannot be disregarded, and the laws of the state cannot be violated!"
Rong Xin turned her head and said softly to her clansman, "It's alright, I'll take it. The injustice done to my Rong family and Chenzhou cannot be stopped, not even by thirty strokes, let alone three hundred."
Behind her, the former Rong family members, their eyes red, spoke in unison, "We are willing to be tortured to seek justice for our Rong family army!"
The onlookers also chimed in, "We are willing to take the punishment in their place!"
"Yes, the Rong family army fought to protect their homeland, and General Rong died protecting the people of Dazhao. We absolutely do not believe that General Rong would betray his country and defect to the enemy! There must have been a great injustice in the Chenzhou case back then!"
"Yes! I don't believe it either! We are willing to take the punishment in place of this lady! To seek justice for General Rong and those soldiers who died unjustly!"
"I'd love to! I'd love to!"
The people raised their arms and cheered, and the officials' hearts were pounding with tension.
Zong Que raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Then he looked at the official and said, “The Great Zhao Law stipulates that anyone who beats the drum to appeal for justice shall be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. This is to prevent malicious petitions and abuse of power. In the twelfth year of Yongxing, an additional law was added to this provision, which exempts those who bring a petition from the people from the cane.”
This rule was added by Zong Que himself.
The clerk's heart started pounding even faster.
Sure enough, Zong Que said,
"The number of soldiers and civilians who died unjustly in Chenzhou exceeded 160,000, far more than 10,000."
"Step aside."
The clerk felt his legs go weak and dared not say another word. He bent over, sweating profusely, and made way for him.
The imperial guards also moved aside to make way.
Rong Xin stepped forward, holding the memorial tablet, placed it in front of the drum, and bowed.
Then he got up, picked up the drumstick, and struck the drumhead hard.
Boom, boom, boom.
The blank memorial tablet has no name. Too many people died unjustly in Chenzhou. This small tablet cannot hold so many names, nor can it contain the overwhelming injustices.