The city of Yangzhou is as prosperous as the prosperous times.
Ma Jiang had previously occupied the city. Although the rebels were brutal in defending the city, they did not destroy the city. Later, the Lady of Chu besieged the city. The brutal attack and defense did not last long, and Ma Jiang ran away.
The city and people of Yangzhou City are basically completely preserved.
After Mrs. Chu's arrival, countless people poured in, including wealthy businessmen, wealthy families, refugees and beggars of all kinds. However, the government administration was strict and order was established. Those with money could not do whatever they wanted, but those without money could also find a way to survive. Yangzhou City became more prosperous.
People were coming and going on the street in winter. The child wearing a tiger head hat was held on his shoulders by his family to prevent him from being squeezed. He could also clearly see the colorful silk flower sheds newly installed by the shops on the street.
Elegant restaurants and street vendors complement each other, and there is a group of people juggling in the spacious area where the two streets meet.
People were turning like windmills, and monkeys with big red flowers on their heads were beating gongs and spinning in circles, and adults and children all cheered.
The two businessmen who were watching clapped their hands and threw down some money, then continued talking the next moment.
"It's getting colder and colder. I need to stock up. When will it arrive?"
"Don't worry, Shandong is too popular. I have other options. There are plenty of them in Mobei."
"Mobei is too far away. There are many rebel areas along the way."
"Let's find a way."
They were watching having fun, thinking about business, laughing, or frowning, and the rebels they talked about seemed to have become nothing more than a big deal.
They have a lady from the state of Chu here, a deity who comes to this world to be kind and loving to the people, and who has no worries about anything.
Everyone on the street has their own excitement and fun, shouting and laughing one after another, until the sound in one place overtakes the rest.
"Hitting someone, beating someone."
Hit someone? Fight?
The city of Yangzhou is crowded and prosperous, and all kinds of entertainment are common, but fights are not common. The government punishes fights extremely severely, ranging from hard labor to being kicked out of the Lady of Chu...
Mrs. Chu ruled not only the city of Yangzhou, but also the entire Huainan Road, part of Xuanwu Road, and not even Yizhou. There were also Chu troops on Jiangnan Road, and the lady's lover controlled Shannan Road...
There is no way around here.
Anyone who dares to fight in the street is either a reckless man or a fool. People immediately flock to see him.
After squeezing through, I realized why the shout was about beating someone and not fighting.
A man was kneeling on the ground, with bloody marks on his naked back. A man standing behind him whipped his whip, and the whip hit the kneeling man's back, adding another bloody mark. The man was beaten forward and fell forward.
Hitting the ground with his head...
"This old slave is guilty!" The man who hit his head on the ground shouted, stood up, knelt down a step forward, and then arched his bloody back...
There was a snap, and another whip came down.
The people around were screaming, and the children were held in their arms to cover their eyes. It was so scary, and it reminded everyone of the atrocities committed by the rebels during the occupation that everyone tried to forget.
Now was not the time for the rebels to occupy the city. This atrocity was immediately questioned by those around them.
"Are you going to punish the guilty slave? The master punishes the slave privately, but he must be punished!"
"If he makes a mistake, he will be sent to the government, and the government will convict him. Private individuals are not allowed to kill him!"
Even more indignant people rushed forward to wrest the whip from the hands of the attacker.
"Everyone, please calm down!" The man who beat the man raised his whip and shouted loudly, "This is not to punish the guilty slave, he is not a slave, he is an official, he is the governor of Yizhou!"
official?
The indignant crowd stopped, fisted their fists, and looked at the man kneeling on the ground. There were so many officials that they couldn't even recognize and remember all the officials from Huainan Road, let alone Yizhou.
Then I saw that in addition to the man holding a riding whip, there was another person standing next to him, holding neatly folded official robes and hats.
The prefect is a very important official, and everyone in Yizhou knows it.
Yizhou is actually not adjacent to Huainan Road, but rather far away. It belongs to Yanhai Road.
However, Yizhou did not say that it was also affiliated with Huainan Road, because this was the last words of King Zhao.
When Yizhou was in crisis, the Lady of Chu led troops to help. Although King Zhao was in trouble, the people of Yizhou were saved. King Zhao felt that the Lady of Chu was kind and no one else could rely on him, so he could only entrust his territorial subjects to
Mrs. Chu.
Yanhaidao could only pinch his nose and bear it when he was accused of mulberry and scolding Huai. He didn't care. The position of Yizhou belonged to them, but as the fief of King Zhao, he had never had any dealings with them, so he could just give it to Mrs. Chu.
Yanhaidao does not have many soldiers and horses, so it is difficult to protect itself. So many people and so many mouths are also a drag.
"The soldiers and horses in Yizhou are the Zhenwu Army left behind by my wife."
"Then this prefect was also appointed by Madam?"
People on the street began to talk, and the original anger calmed down a bit. If they were not slaves or civilians, but officials...
Everyone asked: "Did this gentleman make any mistakes?"
The attendant did not answer, but whipped him again with the whip. Accompanied by the sound of whipping and painful shouts, the man fell down and hit his head on the ground.
"Old slave is guilty!" Weijia shouted while lying on the ground.
His pure voice had become hoarse, and the pain made his whole body tremble, but he still supported his trembling body and knelt forward, waiting for another whipping.
"Oh, it's so miserable."
"Where is this going?"
"This seems to be Mrs. Xiang Chu's residence..."
It was Mrs. Chu who appointed her an official, and she was guilty, so Mrs. Chu was punishing her, right? Otherwise, how could anyone whip himself for no reason?
Since it was Mrs. Chu's decision, no one dared to stop it, or even question it. Mrs. Chu must be right...
only.....
There were sounds of whipping, falling, cries of pain, the man's fair back was torn, his knees, hands, and forehead were all torn, leaving patches of blood as he knelt on the road...
The last time Yangzhou City saw blood was when the rebels took over.
More and more people gathered on the street. They looked at the bloody man who was being beaten and kneeling with fear and anxiety.
What mistake did he make? He received such a terrible punishment. The most important thing is that Mrs. Chu also beat someone.
The beating was so fierce...
.....
.....
"Is this the end of the world and being whipped on the street?"
"Why is no one taking care of him? Where are the city patrol officers?"
"The city patrol knew that he was the governor of Yizhou, so he didn't dare to act rashly."
"It is said that Yizhou's defense line made a mistake and allowed An Shouzhong to attack his wife. He deserves death."
Hearing this, Observer Song stopped and said, "Didn't I tell you this a long time ago? When he and Zhou Xian met with his wife, she personally said that it had nothing to do with them. To put it bluntly, how could Yizhou's defense line be so long?
, they really think highly of themselves by coming here to admit their mistakes."
The officials around him nodded, but were puzzled.
"yes."
"What's going on?"
"Yizhou has nothing to do with the attack on my wife. They just found an excuse to come and take a look."
"Zhou Xian has already left. Master Wei said he would stay here to visit friends for a few days, so why did he go out to the street to harm himself?"
Everyone was talking a lot about this matter, which was inexplicable.
"Is it true that Madam punished him?" someone asked hesitantly.
No, Madam never punishes anyone, she is magnanimous and can tolerate even those prefecture officials who defected to the rebels without considering their faults.
"That's why he's gone crazy." Someone asserted.
That Wei Wei didn't look like a crazy person. Most of them had dealt with this Wei Wei. He was a eunuch, but he was not annoying at all.
"You can't say for sure. He is an imperfect person, and he was stimulated by King Zhao's death. Maybe his heart has long been abnormal."
Everyone was talking more and more confused, and Inspector Song interrupted with a wave of his hand.
"Whether Madam is really angry with him and wants to punish him, or he has lost his mind and gone crazy." He shouted in a deep voice, "We cannot let him harm himself in public."
He walked out of the Yamen and looked at the crowds gathering on the street leading to the Yamen. It was as dark as dark clouds, casting a shadow over the originally bright Yangzhou city.
"This is ruining Madam's reputation!"
Mrs. Chu is a fairy-like figure. She is kind, loving and generous. She gives away a lot of money to others. She has no selfish interests and no selfish anger.
How could she punish someone so cruelly for a crime that was not a crime!
Immortals don't do this kind of thing, and kind and wise people don't do this kind of thing either. Those who do this kind of thing are often cruel and mediocre people.
The officials' faces turned pale.
"Bring him back quickly!"
...
...
The Dao Yamen were still a step too late, and were already taken away by the officers and soldiers sent by Mrs. Chu.
At this time, he was kneeling on the ground, the whip was thrown beside him, blood was flowing from his body, and flowers bloomed on the smooth ground.
The delicate eunuch lay prone in the blood flowers, like a snowman melting in the sun, and would disappear in the next moment.
There was no pity in Li Minglou's eyes: "It's over, why do you want to ruin my reputation?"
The snowman in the blood flower slowly raised his head and looked at the woman sitting above him with pure eyes.