A new snowfall has fallen, adding to the festive atmosphere in the white sky, but Jinyang City has not yet recovered from the previous turmoil.
Although people are still panic-stricken and unprepared, the living can be dealt with carelessly, but the sacrifices to the dead must not be careless. Especially during the turmoil that just passed, family members of both the powerful and ordinary people were killed in accidents.
Let the atmosphere of this New Year become more solemn.
The life and death of ordinary people only affects those close to the family. But the death of a truly important person has a much greater impact.
I don't know when, a rumor began to spread on the streets of Jinyang City, saying that King Gao was seriously injured while supervising the battle on the Yubi front line, so the army hurriedly withdrew to Jinyang. However, after nearly two months of rescue, Gao Gao was seriously injured.
The king eventually died. He was afraid of unrest in the country, so he kept his funeral secret.
As soon as this rumor appeared in the market, it spread quickly as if it had wings. Naturally, it was quickly learned by the officials, so there were more soldiers patrolling the streets and alleys of Jinyang City.
The first task is to hunt down and capture the ignorant villains who spread rumors and curse King Gao.
"What are you two talking about?"
The two people met and had a conversation at the corner of the street. After saying a few words, a group of armored soldiers suddenly rushed out from somewhere else. Without any explanation, they pulled the two people apart. One of the soldiers leading the team raised his leg and kicked one of them to the ground and trampled on him.
Shen said fiercely: "Han slaves and dog thieves don't dare to speak loudly. They must be secretly cursing King Gao to die. Take him away! Take him to a slave camp and send him to Beishan for hard labor!"
"It's unfair, it's unfair... Xiaomin is buying from others..."
After hearing this, the man was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy. However, a soldier raised the handle of his knife and violently smashed it between his lips and teeth. In an instant, blood poured out of his mouth.
"You idiot, please be gentle. How many days can he live if his teeth are smashed?"
Upon seeing this, the soldier commander immediately cursed, but he was not concerned about his life or death. Instead, he continued to shout angrily: "Beishan still has a few thousand soldiers left. If we still can't capture enough Han slaves, I'll use you thieves to make up the number!"
Although these Xianbei soldiers were cruel to the Han people, they were equally unkind to their fellow barbarians. The other interlocutor stood aside with his head hunched, thinking that he would be spared, but in the end he was taken over and questioned.
After finding out where his home was, he sent a soldier to visit him and ask for a fine. If his family refused to pay the money to redeem him, then he would naturally be reduced to hard labor in the end.
There are many teams of people arresting criminals all over the city, and their harvests are continuously sent to the camp south of Jinyang Palace.
Zhao Yanshen, a meritorious officer of the Prime Minister's Office and a member of the army, personally presided over the reorganization work of all the prisoners here. He assigned the prisoners to different places according to their respective crimes. Those with lighter crimes were served in the state and could still survive, while those with more serious crimes were paid.
When fighting in other states, depending on the distance, there is a difference between not getting a good death and maybe getting a good death.
The prisoners escorted from various places were not only strong men, but also many old, weak, women and children. Among them, there was a group of more than a dozen men and women surrounded by a mother and her son, standing among the dejected and embarrassed prisoners.
Conspicuous.
The woman was in her twenties. Although she was dressed as a prisoner, she still had a good temperament and a good face. She was holding a young child in one hand, who she thought was her son.
The marching team soon came to this group of people. Zhao Yanshen raised his eyes and saw that the official who was responsible for leading the prisoners came forward and whispered: "This is the family of Luo Chao, the criminal official and the traitor general, and the mother and son are among them."
Wife and children.”
After Zhao Yanshen heard the words, he nodded and immediately wrote the verdict. The mother and son and their female disciples were sent to Jinyang Palace as palace slaves, while the remaining male disciples were sent to Beishan as slaves.
"I beg the general to be lenient and let the slaves follow the mistress and the young master..."
Several criminals suddenly came forward, kowtowed and begged. One of them even took off the bandages from his prison clothes, shook out some jewelry and property, and tried to bribe Zhao Yanshen before his companions came in under cover.
Zhao Yanshen was not interested in this, and did not even look at the valuables offered by the prisoners, but a gaze from elsewhere was attracted to him.
Chen Yuankang was walking towards this place with several servants. He quickly noticed the treasure leaking from the fingers of the prisoners. He stood aside and raised his hand to summon an on-site official to ask what was going on. After hearing this, he laughed.
Said: "Many people in Jinyang Palace have fled, so it is time to replenish some servants. It is rare that these loyal servants still refuse to get up when their master is in trouble, so they all confiscate the silkworm rooms and use them as palace slaves after the punishment is completed, so they can stay together."
It’s all about the relationship between master and servant.”
After hearing this, the slaves of the Luo family hurriedly came forward and thanked them profusely. Their master had committed a major crime of defection, and it was good that they could survive, so they no longer cared about other injuries and disabilities.
Chen Yuankang was not interested in the gratitude of these people. He just motioned with his eyes to the slave to collect all the property they had bribed. Looking at the slave's familiarity, it was obvious that this was not the first time he had done such a thing.
Zhao Yanshen took this scene in his eyes, but didn't say much. Corruption and bribery were prevalent throughout the Eastern Dynasties, and people like Chen Yuankang were considered restrained, at least they did not violate major national laws. And Zhao Yanshen also
You can only take care of yourself and not care too much about others.
After making some extra money, Chen Yuankang was in a good mood. He walked to Zhao Yanshen's case and asked with a smile: "Excuse me, Zhao Canjun, are there any envoys from Yecheng today?"
Chen Yuankang came to ask for days. Zhao Yanshen knew what he was asking about. After rummaging through the case, he found an official document and handed it to Chen Yuankang and said: "Yecheng arrested the Li family of Qinghe County, a total of twenty men and women."
The three members have all been escorted here and are awaiting trial in a separate tent."
After hearing this, Chen Yuankang's eyes suddenly lit up, he raised his hand to take the official document, looked at it, and then walked straight to the small tent where the Li clan members were imprisoned.
In the small tent, men and women sat separately. The older one was in his thirties, while the younger one was still in his infancy.
One of the young men, who looked a little older but was only about 30 years old, whispered to a woman sitting in the back: "Uncle, someone acquainted here sent a letter saying that my family was arrested this time because Apanta led the Western soldiers.
The Malay invaders in Jinyang did a lot of work here, and King Gao was furious because of this..."
"How is that possible! How old is Apan?"
This woman was Li Xiao's wife, Li Tai's mother Lu. When she heard her nephew's words, she couldn't help but stare in surprise and said, it is really unbelievable that this unreasonable disaster was caused by the eldest son who had been away from home for several years and had no news.
Implicated.
When the other tribesmen heard the news, they couldn't accept it. They were discussing in low voices when Chen Yuankang strode in.
Several adult men in the tent hurriedly stood up and came forward to greet them, guarding the female relatives behind them. Chen Yuankang ignored their wary looks and just bowed and said with a smile: "You must be from the Xuanjing Gong clan, the prince of Bohai here."
General Gao Da had something to inquire about, so he sent an envoy to visit his hometown.
However, the general is busy with official duties and has no time to come see you for the time being. Please wait here for a short time. I am Chen Yuankang, the right minister of Daxingtai, who has been ordered to come here to appease you. If you have any needs, please feel free to tell me."
"Thank you Chen Youcheng for your condolences. It is an honor for a certain countryman to have the attention of General Gao. However, it is inconvenient for the female family members to stay in the military tents here. Moreover, they do not know foreign affairs, so it is useless to ask. I would like to ask Chen Youcheng if he can lead the female family members there.
I am temporarily living in the house of relatives and friends in Jinyang. I am here to wait for the prince to ask questions, and I will never hide anything from him!"
The oldest Li clan member here, Li Xiao's nephew Li Pei, took a step forward, bowed deeply to Chen Yuankang and said respectfully.
Chen Yuankang sighed after hearing this, and then said: "The Li family in Longxi is a famous family in the world. Although you live in the countryside, you still have many relatives and friends in the court or in the government. You must have heard why you summoned Shi Ziya to Jinyang.
The heavy flow of scholars actually does not want to cause anger and harm, and I have brought you here for protection. However, the former Jinyang is too turbulent, and you and other clan members Li Tai will be in too much trouble. If you rush to the market rashly, there may be unexpected disasters.
.”
After hearing what Chen Yuankang said, everyone finally confirmed that what they heard before was not false. It turned out that what happened to them was caused by that brat Apan. Although they were inevitably resentful, they were also vaguely proud. This boy caused trouble in his hometown last year.
It has made the neighbors uneasy, and now the incident has made the neighboring countries even more vigilant. He is really not a freeloader!
"This is my younger brother Ji Su. I will stay here to listen to you. If you have anything to do, you can ask him to report to you. I still have official duties, so I have no time to stay for a long time."
Chen Yuankang pointed to a young man behind him and said to the Li family. He was very polite to them. Although they did not take the money, he was very considerate. When he saw that the tent was indeed a little narrow, he ordered again: "Tell Zhao
Join the army and create a tent for this use. There are also children and young boys here. Bring two nursing does over..."
After hearing Chen Yuankang's meticulous instructions, all the Li family's children hurriedly expressed their thanks. Chen Yuankang took advantage of the situation and asked a few children in their arms whether they were boys or girls, and sighed: "There are also new children in my household, and I know how to behave."
It is really not easy for parents. When they are pregnant, they worry about their food, when they are young, they worry about their upbringing, and when they grow up, they worry about their marriage. Alas, there are endless things to worry about!"