Chang'an is good

Chang Suining walked down the altar and stood on the stone steps of the altar. Although she was alone, she seemed to silently shield Zheng Chao above the altar behind her. She faced Li Xian and said in the same tone as usual: "I have been During the disaster relief near Xingyang, didn’t General Li’s subordinate named Guo Fu mention it?”

The Guo Fu she was talking about was the unlucky guy who had her sights set on his return date when he was chasing Yuan Miao that day, and whose waistband she had seen.

"Li has heard about it, but he didn't expect to see General Ning Yuan in Xingyang City at this time." Li Xian's face was calm and he could be called kind.

Chang Sui Ning said the same: "I heard that the eldest son of the Zheng family was donating food and praying for blessings in the city, so I came to join in the fun."

"This is really a coincidence." Li Xian smiled, looked at her and asked: "Then, do you dare to ask General Ning Yuan to obstruct Li's handling of the case at this time?"

The person on the other side who obstructed him took away the prisoners of war before, and this account has not yet been settled.

Chang Sui Ning: "Of course not. I just want to remind General Li that Da Sheng's etiquette has always been clear. Anyone who disrupts the ceremony of offering sacrifices and praying for blessings initiated by the imperial government without authorization will be suspected of destroying the national destiny. In serious cases, according to the The law should punish——"

Li Xian's brows moved slightly, and he looked at the blood-spattered altar amusedly: "Is this counted as a blessing?"

Chang Sui Ning glanced back nonchalantly: "Why don't you count this? There is a precedent for this in Luoyang City."

The sarcastic smile on Li Xian's lips froze slightly: "I don't know, this act of praying for blessings was originally initiated by the Xingyang government—"

At this time, the governor of Xingyang and other officials heard about the incident and rushed here one after another. Li Xian asked the governor of Xingyang about the matter.

The governor of Xingyang confirmed that the prayer was initiated with his permission, and the document was stamped with the seal of the governor's office.

It was true that he agreed, but he didn't expect that the Zheng family would kill the Zheng family on the altar!
In terms of crime, murder should be arrested, but in Xingyang, the Zheng family has a larger clan, so the Zheng family should deal with it first.

But now that the Zheng family has become an accomplice of Thief Xu, and the murdered head of the Zheng family has become the mastermind, it is no longer under his control.

What he didn't even expect was that General Li Xian suddenly came to Xingyang City to handle the case today without saying a word, hoping to catch the Zheng family off guard... As long as he had greeted him in advance, he would not have agreed to this prayer!

No, it’s hard to say… After all, that’s ten thousand stone grain…

The governor of Xingyang has some spirit of seeking wealth in danger.

The stomachs of the victims could not wait too long. If they waited one more day, there would be a possibility of riots. He did not expect that after the Zheng family was ransacked, General Li Xian would give priority to distributing the rice and food obtained from the ransacked house to the hungry victims as soon as possible. , this person's behavior and methods during this period were obvious to all, and he was bent on killing the nobles. Those under him often took advantage of the opportunity to make money in the process of hunting down fugitives from the nobles.

On the other hand, this General Ningyuan has been leading people to provide disaster relief near Xingyang these days, comforting the victims. When the floods first occurred, the other party and Bianzhou Hu Lin sent people to warn Xingyang to prepare early...

The governor of Xingyang had a steelyard in his mind, and he said at this moment: "Since the blessing ceremony has begun, if it is stopped rashly in the middle, it may be disrespectful to the gods..."

The reason why etiquette is called etiquette is because etiquette comes first, not to mention that this is when a natural disaster breaks out.

Li Xian didn't want to get into trouble, so he just asked: "Can I ask when this blessing will end?"

The governor of Xingyang looked embarrassed, saying that Zheng Chao was sincere in his prayers and wanted to pray here until the rain stopped... Don't ask, it was a precedent for Luoyang City.

Li Xian sneered in his heart.

At this moment, strange emotions were aroused among the people around the altar. There was a commotion everywhere. They could not hear the content of the negotiations between Li Xian and others. They only saw the soldiers brought by General Li Xian. He fiercely drew his sword and surrounded the altar, intending to take Zheng Chao away.

There were many scholars crowding in the front. When they first heard about the Luoyang gentry, they felt relieved for a while, because they felt that students from poor families would eventually come to the fore.

However, as the scope of the imperial court's massacre and humiliation of the gentry expanded, they, who were also scholars, gradually felt a little frightened and uncomfortable. They began to ask themselves, is such a large-scale massacre of literati really worthy of applause?

Even among these people, most of them are innocent and uninformed scholars, and there are even more naive women of the noble family.

And this wavering sense of right and wrong was crystallized in the fact that "the eldest master of the Zheng family is Mr. Thatched Cottage" suddenly appeared in front of us at this moment——

Killing innocent people indiscriminately is wrong!

The gentry are not all greedy people, and they do not deserve the death of the Manchus!

Mr. Zheng cannot be taken away without any explanation and then humiliated and slaughtered like those Luoyang scholars!

In the crowd, someone who did not know made the first voice: "Mr. Zheng killed relatives righteously, with great righteousness in his heart, Yu Xingyang has kindness first, and he is definitely not an informed accomplice of Xu Thief's treason. Lord Wanwang Imperial Envoy will investigate clearly according to the law!"

The scholar emphasized the four words "according to the law and clear inspection".

For a time, there were countless echoes.

"Not only that, Mr. Zheng also made great contributions to the Yellow River flood control and disaster prevention. If it weren't for Mr. Zheng, Xingyang City would have been flooded by the Yellow River!" A'che mingled in the crowd, not seeing him, only hearing his voice.

When this was said, the people of Xingyang were all surprised.

Many scholars were shocked when they heard this, and their eyes turned red.

It turns out that Mr. Zheng not only stole what he learned from home to support them, he even secretly went to risk his own life to control the floods!

How many good deeds did Mr. Zheng have that they don't know?

Mr. Zheng is like a big roc, and they are like chicks who have been selflessly fed by Mr. Zheng, but only now do they know the true face of their benefactor.

For a time, the emotions among the people became more excited. They looked at those formidable long knives, and their eyes began to look defensive.

Some literati even began to think, if the existence of the gentry is unfair, then what about these people?If such a brutal method of killing is completely replaced by such people, will everything be justified?

If all the literati and etiquette in the world were wiped out in this way, how could there be any literati in the world with such integrity!

The nobles were guilty and should be punished, but they did not deserve to be massacred like this!
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Li Xian laughed sarcastically in his heart.

These ignorant people are incited with just a few words. They are really stupid. They are destined to be ants trampled under their feet for the rest of their lives.

And he doesn't have to confront these ants. Zheng Chao, who is just trying to survive, can't escape anyway.

Li Xian did not insist on taking Zheng Chao away, he ordered people to guard around the altar until the end of the blessing: "The rest of the people follow me to Zheng's house!"

The governor of Xingyang and others immediately gave way, feeling a complex panic in their hearts. Today, Xingyang City is destined to become the second Luoyang.

Li Xian glanced at Chang Sui Ning, who was "watching the excitement", and asked with a half-smile: "General Ning Yuan, do you want to go with us?"

He suspected that Zheng Chao's prayer today was related to Chang Sui Ning, and his words were also a test to see if she would obstruct him again. However, Chang Sui Ning shook his head without interest and said, "I won't disturb General Li on his errands."

Li Xian smiled and nodded, then drove his horse to leave.

In fact, when he was negotiating here, he had already sent 3000 troops to Zheng's house via another road to "clear the way" for today's trip.

When he came today, he had no intention of letting any of the Zheng clan members escape from Xingyang.

He had personally sharpened his sword last night, and the head of the Central Plains gentry, Cui Jing's family, was so noble, so he naturally deserved his special attention.

However, just as Li Xian was leading people around the altar, the crowd in front of him was suddenly separated, and a group of clean and oppressive people came towards him, blocking his way.

Li Xian reined in his horse and frowned very quickly—Cui Jing?
The group of people quickly approached, and the young man who led it sat on the horse and said: "Yesterday, Zheng Chao reported that the head of the Zheng family had colluded with Xu Zhengye. With the evidence, the entire Zheng family has been controlled, and all the resisters have been eliminated. "

what?
Li Xian even felt that he heard wrongly.

So, Cui Jing personally led people to suppress and control the Zheng family?
On the way to Xingyang, he already knew that Cui Jing was near Xingyang. Cui Jing did not avoid suspicion and came back at this time... Was he unable to bear it and wanted to fight against the imperial court for the Zheng family?If so, he had some expectations.

But the fact is that this person got ahead of him and took control of the Zheng family's situation... He understood that he offered food to pray for blessings, killed Zheng Ji, incited people's hearts... and the Zheng family's counterattack and death-seeking move that should have happened but never happened. ...

Ha, that's it!

Cui Jing looked calm: "In addition, the Zheng clan members have voluntarily donated all the books in the clan in order to report to the sage. They are wide open and do not seek to offend the Zheng clan, but only to save the lives of innocent clan members."

Li Xian's eyes glanced at the boxes held by the three Xuance soldiers beside Cui Jing. Each of the three boxes contained the keys to Zheng's three secret book collections.

Countless scholars have also looked at it. The value of these three boxes is inestimable. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the largest secret treasures in Heluo in the Central Plains.

Li Xian slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at Cui Jing: "With Governor Cui coming forward to kill the family, the case is really progressing very quickly."

"Cui acted according to the order, and since he has to report, there is no reason to turn a blind eye." Cui Jing looked at him: "Everyone in the Zheng family who is suspected of being an accomplice, General Li can take him away for interrogation according to the law."

Li Xian sneered in his heart.

Now that the Zheng family is controlled by Cui Jing's people, even if he wants to take away anyone, he must go through Cui Jing's eyes and ears. He naturally believes that Cui Jing does not dare to protect anyone for personal gain, but only kills those who deserve their crimes and are about to die. , what's the point?

His sword was originally sharpened for the entire Zheng family in Xingyang.

This trip was really disappointing.

Li Xian suppressed the discomfort in his heart, raised his hand holding the rein to Cui Jing, and said in an admiring tone: "Cui Dadu handles the case so impartially, Li will definitely report the truth to the saint about Cui Dadu's righteous act of killing relatives."

He never left the four words "righteousness destroys relatives".

This is the only "interesting" thing today.

He naturally knew that Cui Jing's move was called personal suppression, but in fact it was to protect the Zheng clan. It could be said that it was well-intentioned... But no one in the world would think like this, let alone those noble clans.

Soon, they will hear that it was Cui Jing who personally led the army to break through the gate of the Zheng family and donate all the books in the Zheng family.

Thinking of this, Li Xian smiled again and handed over to Cui Jing. After letting people take Zheng Ji's body down, he rode away from here and led people to Zheng's house.

The common people looked at the outstanding and eye-catching young man, discussing in a low voice, with different eyes.

Cui Jing was sitting on the horse, and there was wet blood between the fingers holding the rein. This blood seemed to be the evidence of his "righteous killing of relatives".

He looked beyond the complicated sights filled with fear and only looked at the top of the altar.

Chang Suining smiled at him.

Cui Jing's tense eyebrows relaxed silently.

Just as Chang Sui Ning was about to step off the altar, a bloody hand suddenly grabbed the corner of his robe.

She turned her head, and saw the limp Zheng Chao showing her a weeping expression, and begged, "General Ning Yuan, please stay and pray with me..."

Who would understand this kind of mood, it was the first time in his life that he killed his cousin, and the family finally collapsed and dissipated, the sky collapsed and fell on him, and he still wanted to stay and pray for blessings.

And now he is not only a sinner, but also a traitor to the Zheng family. If someone assassinates him while he is praying, there must be someone who can fight to stay close and protect him.

General Ning Yuan, known as the reincarnation of a general, is a good choice.

And for her sake, the heavens might stop the rain soon.

Zheng Chao was thinking wildly, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time. He felt that he was finally freed from the shackles, but he couldn't help but feel sad about the fate of his family's decline, but he also knew that this was a misfortune achieved through all his efforts. Fortunately.

Unable to resist the kindness, Chang Sui Ning Wei and Zheng Chao stayed together to pray.

There is a canopy embroidered with scriptures on the altar. Prayerers can sit cross-legged under the canopy and chant sutras. However, when the rain is heavy, this thing is in vain and cannot block much rain.

Zheng Chao devoted himself to atone for Zheng's sins. Instead of sitting cross-legged like a monk, he knelt on the altar and stated Zheng's faults to the world and gods.

Some literati who had been taught by him in the thatched cottage before they were able to obtain fame gathered around the altar for a long time and refused to leave, praying with him.

Li Xian's confidants went back and forth to the Zheng family, which was tightly guarded by Xuance's army, and took away those Zheng clan members who were not innocent.All the matters concerning the questioning of the Zheng family in Xingyang were carried out in an unquiet but extremely calm manner.

After Li Xian rushed to Xingyang, the custody affairs of various noble families inside and outside Luoyang City were also replaced by Cui Jing's manpower. So far, there has been no more forced killing of innocent people.

The rain made the sky darken quickly, Ah Dian took the umbrella from Cui Jing's hand, held it up to the altar, and propped it on top of Chang Suining who was almost drenched.

Seeing Chang Suining looking up, A Dian said aggrievedly but firmly: "If you want to blame Buddha, just blame me. I was the one who insisted on holding the umbrella for you!"

Chang Suining smiled: "Don't worry, Buddha will not care about children."

She turned her head and looked towards the direction of the Yellow River through the rain curtain.

Zheng Chao has been looking in the same direction. He is counting the days, no, he is counting the hours.

In the night, the cries of the people could be heard.

Listening to the cries, A Dian, who was sitting cross-legged like Chang Suining, held up an umbrella with one hand and wiped away tears with the other.

That night, the people of Xingyang sewed two Wanmin umbrellas overnight. One was for "Mr. Caotang" who rushed to the Yellow River to control the floods to offer food and pray for blessings, and the other was for General Ningyuan who had killed the Xu thief and had been in Xingyang for many days to provide disaster relief.

When the sky was getting brighter, a five- or six-year-old child climbed up to the altar holding two Wanmin umbrellas. After handing one of them to A Dian, the child came to the bun and spread his hair, describing Zheng Chao who was exhausted. around.

"Mr. Zheng, I will hold an umbrella for you. Everyone said that Buddha would not blame Zhi'er!"

When the childish voice sounded, he opened the umbrella clumsily.

The moment the umbrella was opened, Chang Suining looked at the horizon through the colorful strips of cloth hanging along the edge of the umbrella.

I don't know if she had hallucinations, she saw the dark clouds drifting away, and soon, there was a glare of bright light breaking through the clouds from the east.

"...It's the sun!"

"This umbrella is really good. Just hold it up and the sun will come out!" A Dian jumped up excitedly.

Soon, countless excited voices came from all directions.

Chang Suining blinked, his pupils illuminated.

It's not an illusion.

Zheng Chao, whose lips turned white, exhausted all his energy and suddenly fell to the ground on his back. Tears flowed from the corners of his red eyes. He looked at the increasingly brighter sky and murmured: "Heaven will never destroy the river, and heaven will never destroy the river." Lo..."

……

The weather cleared up in the Central Plains, and news from all sources spread back to the capital.

Good night everyone