Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 365: Differences between Officials and Civilians
When he heard that the eight leaders would be beheaded and the remaining hundreds would be exiled to Liaodong, Lao Xianyu felt a chill sweep through his body. His first reaction was to get off the car and run away, then rush into the palace to rescue Xian Yunhe, or flee to the ends of the earth. Although he was not such an impulsive person, he only had one sister and one nephew.
However, he finally held back. He hadn't made any preparations beforehand, and hadn't contacted anyone . Moreover, the palace was now guarded by Du Heng and his troops. It was like a den of dragons and tigers. Even Xian Yunhe had gathered so many people, but he had taken the palace by surprise and kidnapped the eldest prince. What's more, he was alone at the moment?
Although the old man and the young man in front of him were of extraordinary status, if he could hold them hostage, there might be a glimmer of hope, but the moment the old salty fish had the idea, he dismissed this unrealistic idea. So, after struggling in silence for a long time, he got up from his seat and knelt on the ground and said, "Master Ge, I know this is a luxury, but is there really no chance for them to survive?"
"Even if I am exiled, as long as I can survive..."
It was the first time that Zhang Shou saw the old man, who was either smiling or passionate, show such an expression. He used to think that the old man was acting. After all, except for the time he visited the palace, he had never seen anyone show excessive concern for Xian Yunhe. But thinking of the feelings that he occasionally revealed in his words, he glanced at Ge Yong.
At this glance, he saw that although Ge Yong was silent, his eyes were looking at him. Thinking of the teacher's childish personality, he felt that he seemed to have guessed what he should do. Well, it's best to play dumb at this time...
At that moment, he whispered, "Teacher, is there really no way?"
"I thought you were smart, but you're being stupid now." Ge Yong snorted in annoyance, and then emphasized, "So what did I say just now? This is a preliminary discussion, not a decree from the court. Why are you in such a hurry? Although the margin is not big, if it's just to kill someone, anyone can do it. Why should I travel hundreds or thousands of miles to Cangzhou in such a hurry?"
Seeing that the old man who was kneeling on the ground suddenly raised his head with a hopeful expression on his face, Ge Yong said earnestly: "However, others may be able to escape death penalty, but they will not be spared if they are alive. But I will not lie to you. Your nephew is the main culprit and it is almost impossible for him to survive. If he doesn't die, there will be many people who will speak up for the eldest prince."
At this point, Ge Yong couldn't help but sigh sincerely: "Princes who break the law are punished just like ordinary people. This is the favorite saying of Emperor Taizu. He did so when he was conquering the world, and he killed people who had been trusted for many years. But after he really won the world, he still failed to do so. At that time, a trusted general rode his horse through the streets and trampled civilians to death, but he still failed to pay for his crime."
"So, now that the emperor treats the eldest prince like this, others will not say that he loves the people like his own children and is impartial. Instead, they will say that he is an unkind father and is cold and heartless... Even the emperor will be criticized, so think about it, why should Xian Yunhe be spared from death?"
Even after getting off the car, Lao Xianyu was still confused by Ge Yong's detailed words. He was a veteran imperial teacher, and his analysis was reasonable - the emperor threw his eldest son into the Zongzheng Temple, beat him with a stick, and then imprisoned him. In the eyes of the court officials, this was naturally the biggest explanation. In this case, should the rioters also give an explanation?
Moreover, if that was the case...Zhu Tingfang's previous severe punishment of those big households was also paving the way for the final severe punishment of the "rioters"? Xian Yunhe, that stupid boy, why didn't he discuss it with him before doing such a thing!
After entering the palace, Ge Yong did not go to see Xian Yunhe first. Instead, after Du Heng hurried out to greet him upon hearing the news, he said concisely: "Take me to see Xu Cheng, the magistrate of Changlu County first. The emperor has something to ask him on his behalf."
Du Heng glanced with some envy at Zhang Shou, who was supporting the old master beside Ge Yong, and thought that if he had such a teacher, his career would not be as full of twists and turns as it is now. He instinctively ignored the old salted fish following behind him and responded respectfully.
When they reached the gate of a side courtyard, he pointed to the three main rooms in the center and said, "Xu Cheng is imprisoned here. The side rooms on both sides are for the county magistrate, the registrar, and six clerks, including the clerk and the head clerk, a total of eleven people."
Ge Yong nodded slightly but said nothing until Du Heng's personal soldiers went to unlock the door and pushed it open. He looked inside in the light of the setting sun and it took him a while to make out a dishevelled, untidy man sitting on the ground in the middle of the room.
Having not seen the sun for many days, Xu Cheng raised his hand and used his sleeve to block out the light. After finally getting used to it, he finally saw the people coming.
He didn't know Zhang Shou or Du Heng, but he had seen Ge Yong. Even if he had only seen him at the Jinshi Banquet when he was specially invited by the chief examiner, he would never forget that scene because of his prominent status. It was a pity that he passed the Jinshi exam too late and could not have such a mentor.
Even so, he still rolled and crawled to the door and loudly protested: "Grandmaster Ge...Grandmaster Ge! This humble official is wronged, wronged!"
"Shut up! As a county magistrate, you are governing Cangzhou like this. You are unworthy of being a governor!"
Although Master Ge walked with fluttering sleeves and a celestial bearing, he had been immersed in the officialdom for most of his life and had seen all kinds of people. After being stopped by Zhang Shou, he slowly walked forward with the support of Zhang Shou. After standing still, he said calmly, "You colluded with the powerful families, were greedy, and even allowed people to set fire to the houses of the people under your rule. You still dare to say that you are wronged?"
"Your humble servant... Your humble servant was just confused for a moment. I was afraid of the power of the eldest prince, so I obeyed him in everything..."
"You still want to blame others and make all kinds of excuses! Xu Cheng, where have you thrown away all the books of sages that you have read since you were a child? The emperor asks you, after five years as a county magistrate, if you were taken back to the capital in a prison cart, how many people do you think would applaud, how many people would set off firecrackers, and how many people would happily throw rotten eggs and rotten vegetable peels at you?"
Ge Yong shouted, and seeing Xu Cheng kneeling on the ground subconsciously, and then bursting into tears, and continuing to hum something like being deceived, he sighed with boredom, and then said coldly: "Anyone who incites the good people to rebel and captures the city will be executed. The palace is no different from the city, and you also captured the eldest prince, which is an unforgivable crime."
"There will be a prison cart to escort you and other Cangzhou officials to the capital soon. You can take care of yourself!"
Xu Cheng, who had just straightened up, had never expected that Ge Yong was not here to sentence him personally, and that he would really have to go to the capital in a prison cart. His face immediately turned pale and he was about to collapse.
What was even more unexpected to him was that when Ge Yong left, he lightly mentioned the fate of the eldest prince after entering the capital. Knowing that even a noble like the eldest prince could not escape the emperor's wrath, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Although the current dynasty does not punish civil officials with canings in the palace like the Tang Dynasty did, and is tyrannical and cruel, officials were still executed during the reign of Emperor Taizu. Moreover, the eldest prince was caned 100 times in the Zongzheng Temple. What if the emperor was furious...
Furthermore, just as Ge Yong said, if he really took the prison cart out of the city, the people of Cangzhou, who had always been resentful of him, would probably set off firecrackers to celebrate, and someone would really dare to throw rotten vegetable peels and rotten eggs all over him... What should he do?
By the way, he received a lot of tributes from the warriors in Cangzhou, and he also opened the door to them. Can he expect these people to save him? At the very least, they can maintain order and give him a little dignity... No, it's impossible! These guys are greedy for profit and avoid harm. I'm afraid they hate him so much that they didn't even have time to ask for huge tributes in the past. How can they save him! Besides, who dares to pass on the message for him!
When they walked out of the yard, Zhang Shou looked back and saw that Old Salted Fish was worried and pale, while Du Heng beside him was hesitant to speak. He simply asked the question in their hearts on their behalf: "Teacher just scolded Xu Cheng, which made people happy, but I think a person with his temperament will not repent and will do something stupid in panic."
"What can he do? Escape? If he can run away from this palace, General Du might as well write his name backwards. To bite someone? No one is trying him right now, and no one is listening to him. It's useless even if he shouts at the top of his lungs. As for committing suicide... that's easier. No one in the three judicial departments of the capital is willing to try his case. Instead, they directly stripped him of his official position and status."
Seeing Du Heng's anxious expression, he was obviously thinking about how to divide the responsibilities if something happened to him during his detention. Zhang Shou, who had just deliberately brought up this topic, asked thoughtfully, "Teacher, are you trying to force him to commit suicide?"
"If we send him to the capital in a prison carriage, he will need an escort. The expenses for food, drink, and defecation along the way will be huge, and it will disturb the people and occupy the rooms in the posthouse. The people in the court don't care about this expense, but the emperor does. He doesn't want to spend this money on a damned person."
Ge Yong paused, then said lightly: "So, if he refuses to die today, he will be taken to Changlu County Court tomorrow. After Zhu Dalang interrogates him, he can behead this governor who harms the people. This time when I came, the court specially gave Zhu Dalang the power to judge the Cangzhou prison. Within three months, Zhu Dalang of Cangzhou prison can make a decision by word, and he can be beheaded first and then report to the emperor."
Zhang Shou thought that the court had already set the death date for Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng. If he did not commit suicide, he would be taken to the execution ground and beheaded tomorrow with an imperial decree. Although this was indeed very dramatic, it undoubtedly met the expectations of most people.
However, he never expected that the court would decide to pass the buck to Zhu Tingfang! Compared with such behavior, Wang Datou, who never passed the buck, was really a very straightforward person.
Not only him, but even Old Salted Fish, who had not spoken since entering the palace, could not help but say, "Leave it all to General Zhu? Doesn't that mean that all the offending things will be done by General Zhu alone?"
"Who recommended someone to come to this troubled place?"
Ge Yong sarcastically said something to Zhang Shou with a half-smile, and seeing him touching his nose awkwardly with a guilty look on his face, he sighed deeply.
"Xu Cheng is the first governor to be held accountable for causing the loss of a city due to the violent rebellion of innocent people since the first year of Yongchen. Many civil officials are unwilling to set this precedent, otherwise their disciples and nephews may suffer in the future because of the officials' oppression of the people, so they are unwilling to take the blame. In this case, the nobles do not take responsibility, but rely on those guys who shout every day that doctors cannot be punished?"
Du Heng immediately thought of the past events in which he was framed but could not find the culprit, and the time when Academician Kong almost lost his life but had to swallow his anger. Thinking of certain trends in the court, he suddenly felt angry.
Thinking that everyone would go to meet Xian Yunhe and others next, he had no grudge against this group of rioters, and because they had humiliated the 100-man team of the Ruiqi Battalion, he actually established some prestige because of this, so he was no longer interested in following Ge Yong.
If he had this much time, he might as well prevent Xu Cheng from committing suicide! Although he felt sorry for Zhu Tingfang... he didn't want to take that responsibility! Zhu Tingfang was the eldest son of Duke Zhao after all, but he was just a small character who had finally been transferred to the Ruiqi Battalion to make meritorious contributions!
Du Heng hurriedly excused himself and left, and the old man hesitated to speak, but finally whispered: "After what Grand Tutor Ge said just now, won't General Du send someone to watch Xu Cheng and prevent him from committing suicide?"
"I just said it on purpose for Du Heng to hear." Ge Yong smiled, but he didn't want to explain the reason. However, seeing Zhang Shou's enlightened look, he felt a little itchy and wanted to ask Zhang Shou what he was thinking.
This nagging feeling continued until he saw Xian Yunhe. Unlike the tall and strong man he imagined, the other party looked haggard and skinny. When he saw Lao Xianyu's distressed expression that he tried hard to hide, he thought about some of the inside story and had a rough idea in his mind. He immediately said to Lao Xianyu: "Bring him to the yard. The woodshed is too small to interrogate him."
The two accompanying soldiers from the Ruiqi Battalion saw Zhang Shou glance at them indifferently and remembered that when Zhang Shou came to visit them a few days ago, they had someone kick open the door of the woodshed to inquire about the matter. Afterwards, they also ordered to change the bandages for Xian Yunhe and move him to another place, but they only did half of it.
Du Heng had never taken care of this matter. It was all their subordinates' own decision. If they really wanted to investigate, it would be revenge for personal gain. But why should they treat such a culprit well? Changing the bandages for him was considered very polite!
Lao Xianyu hurried into the woodshed and helped Xian Yunhe out. Without having time to think about the other party's situation, he took the opportunity to whisper in his ear about Ge Yong's identity, and also told him about the fate of the eldest prince and the court's intention on how to deal with the so-called rioters.
Seeing that the man was not much moved when he heard the word "beheading", he angrily scolded: "You are the only son of your mother, and you refuse to get married. You don't even have children. Don't you think about who will sweep your mother's grave and burn incense for her in the future?"
"Uncle, aren't you unmarried? Find a good woman to marry. If you have children, you can adopt one to my parents." These words choked Lao Xianyu speechless. Xian Yunhe squinted his eyes to familiarize himself with the light outside. Seeing Ge Yongzheng looking at him with a sharp gaze, he broke free from Lao Xianyu, staggered a few steps forward, and then knelt down on his knees.
"You can kill me or chop me up, it's up to the emperor. I only hope that Master Ge can sympathize with the people's hardship. They were all dragged into this water by me!"
