Water Margin people

Chapter 1668 Reform through labor

"Everyone come out!"

Teams of soldiers walked into the cells and yelled at the literati. Each team was responsible for one cell.

This time, the scholars who had been waiting for a long time did not panic or cry, but slowly walked out of the cell.

"Why did these people change their personalities overnight?"

Lu Fang looked at those literati with confusion. They were still crying when they first came yesterday.

"Never mind them, they'll start crying again after the trial!"

Guo Sheng spread his hands indifferently.

The literati were escorted to the square yesterday. Countless people gathered along the way to watch the excitement.

The square was bustling with people, but fortunately the army took control of the situation in advance.

Sun Lei sat on a high platform, with a group of civil and military officials standing on his left and right.

A drumbeat sounded and the bustling crowd fell silent.

"You have disregarded the laws of the country and are suspected of rebellion. The emperor has ruled that you will be sent to perform forced labor and undergo labor reform from today. You will be pardoned when you have been reformed!"

Pei Xuan went straight to the stage and read out the verdict.

Those literati who were waiting to get angry were stunned. They didn't expect the public trial to be so frivolous. They were convicted without even a trial. They were also required to do corvée labor and undergo some kind of labor reform. However, they were literati and had not been required to do corvée labor since ancient times.

"You are such a disgrace to the people! I would rather die than let you humiliate me!"

An old scholar was so angry that he jumped up and down, rushed out of the crowd and yelled, and was about to crash into the stone pillars in the square.

Wu Song was quick-witted and quick-handed. He took two steps forward and kicked the old scholar, knocking him to the ground.

"You still want to kill yourself, don't you see I'm here?"

Wu Song said speechlessly, this old man is so weak that he can't walk for more than two steps without gasping for breath, and he wants to jump over me and hit the pillar? Wouldn't his reputation be ruined?

"One by one, if you have the guts, just get past me. If you have the guts, I can ask His Majesty to spare you!"

Wu Song stared at the scholars and said.

A few more fearless people rushed forward, but Wu Song knocked them all to the ground with one hand.

A group of young people who were dissatisfied also rushed forward to use the human wave tactic.

When Wu Song saw that they were young men, he showed no mercy and knocked them all down in no time.

This stunned all the people. They must have come here to find out the situation in the court. The Wu Erlang in front of them could kill a tiger with his bare hands.

Sun Lei had a gloomy expression on his face, and he slowly walked forward with the civil and military officials.

"Erlang, let me try!"

Lu Zhishen was also itching to play. Although these literati were not worth mentioning, it would not hurt to have more people to play with.

The scholars were so frightened that they quickly retreated and had to push Kong Ruiyou out. They didn't dare to fight with these warriors.

"You're the one scolding me, old dog?"

Sun Lei stepped on the old man who was still lying on the ground. He was a man who respected the elderly and loved the young, but he was definitely not a person with an overflowing heart of a saint. The old man had to be responsible for what he said.

The old man struggled to speak, but Sun Lei stepped on him, squeezing all the air out of his lungs, making it impossible for him to speak.

"Pei Xuan, what crime should you be punished for insulting your father?"

Sun Lei asked expressionlessly.

"He should be sentenced to immediate death for the crime of disobedience and gross disrespect. This person insulted the emperor and father in public, and his entire clan should be executed!" Pei Xuan said immediately. Insulting the emperor and father at any time is a serious crime, not to mention that this person insulted them in public.

"Punish the entire clan! I have been on the throne for so long and I don't think I have ever tried this kind of punishment!"

Sun Lei looked at the literati opposite him with a smile.

The scholars then realized that the old scholar had gotten into trouble. He should have died to show his loyalty. Why insult the emperor? He would not only not be able to eat mutton, but also get into trouble.

"Old man, considering your age, there should be a lot of people from the three tribes, right?"

Sun Lei looked at the old man on the ground and said with a smile, and that smile made the scholars feel frightened.

The old Confucian scholar on the ground was also afraid. He was already at this age, and if he died, he died, but he didn't dare to implicate the three clans.

"Catch this old man and his three clans and send them to labor reform together. I think this family has serious ideological problems!"

Sun Lei did not order the old man to be executed, and then the three clans to be exterminated. He felt that killing these people was too easy for them, and they should be allowed to repent through labor.

"you can not!"

The old man shouted with his last bit of strength, but he fainted after shouting these three words.

"Anyone who doesn't agree can come out. I don't mind doing some hard labor! We can also raid your homes! I heard you're all quite rich!"

Sun Lei looked at those literati and smiled grimly.

No one dared to say a word, including Kong Ruicao, who had been advocating for the other side to become emperor.

These people came here to fight for the interests of the family, but they dare not implicate the family, let alone the three clans. If all relatives and friends are implicated, there will be almost no possibility of turning things around.

"Then take him away, do some hard labor reform, and try to get lenient treatment!"

Seeing that no one dared to speak, Sun Lei smiled and waved his hand.

"do not fight?"

Lu Zhishen was somewhat dissatisfied, as he hadn't taken any action yet.

"How dare these guys claim to be the descendants of Confucius? Each generation is worse than the previous one. Confucius was a great man, but now he is just a bunch of rats!"

Sun Lei said with disdain.

The originally dejected literati were somewhat angry, but they did not dare to show it on their faces and could only swallow their anger and accept the humiliation.

"Are you not convinced? It is said that Confucius was nine feet six inches tall. In the war-torn era, he dared to travel alone around the countries with a sword. He was not afraid even if he heard there was a tiger nearby. Although the countries at that time were only around the Central Plains, that era was not simple!"

"Look at his disciples. Each of them is so weak that they can barely even tie a chicken. A roar from them can scare them to stagger. They are as timid as mice. Calling them mice is an exaggeration!"

Sun Lei looked at those scholars with disdain and said, if Confucius were here, he would definitely come up and fight them.

"A scholar who is nine feet six inches tall?"

Lu Zhishen and Wu Song were both extremely surprised. They had not read any books and did not know much about Confucius, but in their impression, scholars were as thin as bamboo poles and would fall down if the wind blew.

"The measurement scale is different, but it's at least more than seven feet. You can ask him, Kong Ruiyou, is your ancestor a Shandong man who is nine feet six and has a sturdy physique? Your family should still have a wooden statue of Confucius enshrined in it."

Sun Lei looked at Kong Ruiyou and asked.

"The majesty of our ancestors makes us, the younger generations, ashamed!"

Kong Ruiyou's face turned red. The emperor respected his ancestors very much, but the more he did so, the more he belittled their descendants. However, he had to agree. If he did not agree, he would be accused of forgetting his roots.

"Let's go. Think carefully about where you went wrong while you're working! Don't even think about running away. The whole world belongs to me. Where can you run to? Where can your family run to?"

Sun Lei looked at those literati and said.

The soldiers came forward and took the scholars away, but the common people felt that they had not seen enough. They really wanted to see how the scholars who used to be high and mighty worked? Would they swing their hoes in the same way as they did?