Chapter 436 The Li Clan
A new snowfall has fallen, adding to the festive atmosphere in the white sky, but Jinyang City has still not recovered from the previous turmoil.
Although people are still panic-stricken and unprepared, the living can be treated carelessly, but the sacrifices to the dead cannot be careless. Especially during the turmoil that just passed, family members of both the powerful and ordinary people lost their lives in accidents, which made the atmosphere of this New Year even more solemn.
How ordinary people live and die, only those close to their own clan are affected. But when a real big shot dies, the impact is much greater.
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 kowtowed and begged for mercy. However, a soldier raised the handle of a knife and violently smashed it between his lips and teeth. Blood immediately poured out of his mouth.
"You idiot, please be gentle. How many days can he survive after smashing his teeth?"
After seeing this, the soldier commander immediately cursed, but he was not concerned about his life or death. He continued to shout angrily: "Beishan still has a few thousand soldiers left. If we can't capture enough Han slaves, I will 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 the person, then the person would naturally be reduced to hard labor in the end.
There are quite a few teams that are arresting criminals all over the city, and their harvests are continuously sent to the camp south of Jinyang Palace.
Zhao Yanshen, the 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, and assigned the prisoners to different places according to their respective charges. Those with lighter charges were sent to the state for service and could still survive, while those with more serious charges were fined. 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 surrounding a mother and her son, standing very conspicuously among the dejected and embarrassed prisoners.
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.
Soon it was the turn of this group of people in the marching team. Zhao Yanshen raised his eyes and saw that the official responsible for leading the prisoners came forward and whispered: "These are the family members of Luo Chao, the criminal official and the traitor general. The mother and son are among them." Wife and children.”
After Zhao Yanshen heard this, he nodded and wrote directly to make a judgment. 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 allow the slaves to follow the mistress and 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. However, a gaze from elsewhere was attracted to him.
Chen Yuankang was walking towards this 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 the serious crime of defecting, 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 in this scene, but didn't say much. Corruption and bribery were prevalent throughout the Eastern Dynasties, and those like Chen Yuankang were considered restrained, at least they did not violate major national laws. And Zhao Yanshen can only keep himself clean and can't control others too much.
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 had been asking 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, a criminal household in Qinghe County, for 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 and read it, then walked straight to the small tent where the Li clan members were detained.
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, an acquaintance 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 and 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.
The other tribesmen couldn't accept the news, and while they were talking quietly, Chen Yuankang strode in.
Several adult men in the tent hurriedly stood up and stepped forward to greet them, guarding the women behind them. Chen Yuankang didn't pay attention to their alert looks, he just bowed and smiled and said: "You must be from the clan of Duke Xuanjing. General Gao Da, the son of the King of Bohai, has sent an envoy to visit his hometown because he has something to inquire about.
However, the general is currently busy with official duties and has no time to come to see you all. Please wait here for a short time. This is Chen Yuankang, the Right Chancellor of Daxingtai, who has been ordered to come here to comfort you all. 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 my relatives and friends in Jinyang. I am here to wait for the prince’s inquiries. I will never hide anything from you!”
Li Pei, the oldest Li clan member here and Li Xiao's nephew, took a step forward, bowed deeply to Chen Yuankang and said respectfully.
Chen Yuankang sighed after hearing this, and immediately 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 are summoned to Jinyang this time. Shi Ziya In fact, I don't want to cause anger and harm, but I have brought you here for protection. However, the turmoil in Jinyang is too deep, and you and other clan members, Li Tai, are 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 the bad boy Apan was responsible for what happened to them. Although they were inevitably resentful, they were also slightly proud. This kid made his neighbors uneasy in the past years when he was in his hometown. Now he is even more vigilant to his neighbors. He is really not a freeloader!
"This is my brother-in-law Ji Chu. 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 everyone in the Li family. He was very polite to them. Although they didn't 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, and they will 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. They worry about their food when they are pregnant, worry about their upbringing when they are young, and worry about their marriage when they grow up. "