Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 481 New Creation

“That’s a good answer.”

The young officer with a black scarf on his face nodded slightly and waved his hand. Having just answered the question, the middle-aged man from the Lu family's side branch stepped aside as if he had been pardoned. His back was completely wet with sweat, and he felt like he had walked through the gates of hell.

He had a premonition that if he had not answered properly just now, he would probably die a miserable death!

"General, if you have anything to ask me, please feel free to ask me. I will tell you everything I know."

The second person nodded and said.

"But I don't want to ask you any questions."

The young officer sneered, pointed at the man in front of him, and shouted to the crowd, "Tell me, should he die?"

Hearing this, those dull faces under the light of the fire showed some movement.

But still no one spoke.

"Since no one is speaking up to protect you, silence is tacit consent, which means you deserve to die, right?"

The young officer looked at the middle-aged man from the Lu family's branch with a half-smile. He was a little fat and it was obvious that he had a good meal on weekdays.

"No, sir, I have done nothing wrong. Aren't the tenants in this farm more comfortable than the self-employed farmers outside?
They should all be grateful to Mrs. Lu for taking care of them!
You, tell me quickly, someone shouldn’t have died, wasn’t he nice to you all the time?
Your rent is indeed very high, but you don’t have to perform labor for the court, pay silk, or dredge the canal!

Can't these things pay the rent? "

The man roared and shouted wildly at the crowd, but unfortunately no one paid any attention to him.

The descendant of the Lu family's side branch in front of him was trying hard to defend himself and remind everyone that he might have done some good deeds in his daily life.

"Haha, you are lining your own pockets and yet you still dare to make such a noise!
You are trying to show off your Lu family's ability to make money, right?

The state has its own tax system, and you withhold the state's taxes to enjoy a life of luxury.

Not only do you not know how to repent for such a serious sin, you even dare to make excuses.

It's really not a pity to die!"

The young officer shouted at him and winked. The burly man beside him stepped forward and stabbed the Lu family member to death without any hesitation.

"Next, you, that's you."

He pointed at the man standing at the edge, trying to quietly retreat back into the crowd. There seemed to be a pool of water, or an unknown liquid, at his feet.

"Tell me how you guys manage the court and the county governments.

I just don’t believe that the imperial court can’t collect taxes from such a big farm like yours.”

The young officer asked loudly.

"Military, why are you asking this?"

The man asked awkwardly, his teeth chattering with fear.

This kind of thing cannot be told. It is a secret known only to the top leaders of every wealthy family. It is also the foundation of their intricate network of relationships and their survival.

How can you talk nonsense!

Not to mention that the person in front of me only knows the basics, even if he was personally involved, he can't say it out!
puff!
A Tang knife stabbed into the abdomen!
The young officer became impatient and pulled out his Tang knife to stab the man to death. He then kicked the body aside and blood flowed all over the floor.

The large number of tenants present also came to their senses at this moment, and the horrified expressions on their faces gradually faded, like a crowd of spectators.

Damn, these soldiers don't seem to be coming for them! So why are they worried?
These people were no longer nervous! They all relaxed and watched the show.

This kind of drama may only come once in a lifetime!

"Do you still respect the law? Why do you kill people just because you disagree with them? What's the difference between you and ordinary bandits?"

Lu Mai, who finally couldn't bear it any longer, stood up and pointed at the group of soldiers pretending to be bandits and questioned them.

"When did I say we weren't bandits? How can a bandit not kill people? If they don't kill people, can they still be called bandits?"

The young officer asked back with a strange look on his face.

Lu Mai couldn't utter a word of what he had been holding back.

Yes, the other party has admitted that he is a thief, what else can you do?

"You, yes, you. Let me ask for you.

All you poor people who work in the fields, do you think this person should die?"

the young officer shouted to the crowd.

"Damn it! He deserves to die the most!"

"Kill him, kill him!"

As expected, the onlookers were not afraid of making a big fuss! Immediately, several people shouted loudly!
Lu Mai looked at the group of tenants with horror. He could not understand why these tenants, who had received "favors" from the Lu family for many years, would betray their master.

Don’t they know that with Lu’s protection, they will not be in trouble with the government? Those self-cultivating farmers are often extorted by the government and pay a lot of taxes beyond the regulations of the court. Don’t they live better than those people in Lu’s farm?

These officers pretending to be bandits were obviously not coming for the tenants! Why would they be accomplices to the evil?
"Oh, sorry then."

The young officer shook his head in disappointment, and a soldier beside him rushed forward and chopped the scion of the Lu family's branch, who was so scared that he peed his pants, to death.

"Good! Great kill, General!"

There were bursts of cheers and applause from the crowd of tenants, although not everyone was cheering. It seemed as if something terrifying had been released from the darkness.

"You don't know how dangerous the world is, so I haven't killed you. But none of these Lu family branches who manage the manor are innocent.

Go away and cool off."

The young officer patted Lu Mai's arm with the blade of his sword and said.

"Forget it. I don't want to waste time asking. I'll just kill the rest."

He pointed listlessly at the few remaining people managing the manor, and the soldiers behind him pounced on them and slaughtered them, just like killing chickens.

"The soldiers are coming, retreat!"

The young officer suddenly shouted without any warning!
The "bandits" around the open space immediately filed out and quickly left the manor collectively, leaving no one behind.

"Lord Lu, Zhuangzi has encountered an unexpected incident. What should we do now?"

The only member of the Lu family's branch who survived the disaster asked Lu Mai.

They actually didn't know each other before. Lu Mai was just the nephew of the owner of the manor. He came here to Xingguo Temple to worship Buddha and relax.

“You ask me this…”

Lu Mai was a little confused for a moment.

This group of "thieves" came in a somewhat strange way. Why did they specifically kill people from the Lu family?

He couldn't figure out what was going on.

Just as Lu Mai was about to answer, a group of soldiers in shining armor rushed in from the gate of the manor, led by Fang Chongyong!
"I am Fang Qing, the military envoy of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army. My scouts said that a group of thieves came to the manor to kill people and rob. I wonder where those thieves went? Did they go far?"

Fang Chongyong walked forward and looked at Lu Mai and asked.

Can you pretend even more? Lu Mai was almost furious at the young officer in front of him!
The other party had not changed his armor, and his uniform was even stained with blood from the previous murder. The few close associates around him were also exactly the same as the previous bandits.

They just took off the black cloth covering their faces! It was so sloppy that they didn't even change the weapons in their hands!

Obviously, this group of people did it on purpose and they had no intention of hiding their identities at all.

"General Fang, you came at a perfect time! The bandits just left and you came!

Didn't you run into that gang of thieves on the road?"

The young and energetic Lu Mai said with gritted teeth.

"Alas, it's all because those thieves ran too fast. I really didn't see them. What a pity."

Fang Zhongyong sighed softly, looking regretful, and looked at Lu Mai as if he was a fool.

I am just pretending to be a bandit and I am killing people. Are you biting me?

At this moment, everyone in the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army is fearless!
However, Lu Zhi, a middle-aged man beside Lu Mai, was more knowledgeable and tactful. He stepped forward and shook Fang Zhongyong's bloody hands, and said with tears of gratitude: "Military Envoy Fang arrived just in time. If you hadn't arrived now, everyone in the village would have been killed by those thieves!"

"Since the rebellion in Hebei, the prosperous scene of people not picking up lost items on the road and leaving their doors unlocked at night has disappeared. I am just a military officer and can do nothing about it.

How sad and lamentable! "

Fang Zhongyong sighed in a pretentious manner.

Lu Zhi understood and quickly said to Fang Zhongyong and his close associates, "This is not the place to talk. Generals, please go to the main hall to talk."

Hearing this, Fang Zhongyong also looked very easy to talk to, and followed Lu Zhi into the main building of the manor, where the children of the Lu family lived together. As for those tenants who were just watching the fun and not afraid of trouble, they had already scattered back to their own houses.

……

In the reception room of the main building of the Lu family manor, Fang Zhongyong put the stack of Luoyang Jiaozi on the table and said to Lu Zhi: "The Silver Spear Filial Piety Army is the imperial army, and it is their duty to protect the country and the people. It is inappropriate to accept these generous gifts. My subordinates are ignorant and accepted the gifts before. I will return them now."

"That's true. After all, there's no point in keeping these scraps of paper. They're not even accepted in the market. It's better to use them to make fire and cook! I don't think Envoy Fang can use them!"

Lu Mai on the side couldn't help but sneer.

Lu Zhi grabbed Lu Mai's thigh hard under the table, signaling him to shut up!

"You are too polite, General Fang. I wonder if your army has just arrived in Heyin County. Is there anything that Lu can help you with?"

Lu Zhi asked with a smile on his face.

"Well, to be honest with you, Mr. Lu, our army has fought dozens of bloody battles with the Hebei bandit army in Hedong, killing tens of thousands of enemies. Now we have to retreat to Henan for rest and recuperation.

Weapons, armor, food, supplies, silk, almost everything is missing, there is nothing you need!"

Fang Chongyong had a desolate look on his face and sighed continuously, almost describing the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army as beggars.

But according to Lu Mai's observation, the armors worn by Fang Chongyong and others were extremely exquisite, and were obviously high-end products produced by a workshop directly under the Ministry of Industry, which were not available to ordinary armies.

This kind of person is still crying poor, why doesn't God kill him with poverty?
"There is a lot of food and silk stored in the Lu family manor. I wonder if they can help the military envoy."

Lu Zhi asked cautiously.

Hearing this, Fang Zhongyong was overjoyed. He immediately shook Lu Zhi's hand and said excitedly: "With Mr. Lu's generous donation, the court is saved! The war situation is also saved!"

Seeing his excitement, Che Guangqian, He Changqi and others beside him were all wondering whether the incident in Queshu Valley where they were almost killed by someone actually happened.

"It's not right, it's not right!"

Fang Zhongyong seemed to have thought of something and sat down slowly. He shook his head and said to Lu Zhi solemnly:
"It's still not right. Today, the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army came to the manor to ask for food and fodder, and you gave them to them.

If other armies come to the manor to ask for food and fodder in the future, will you give them or not?

If we give it to them, we cannot afford it. Wars are frequent and the landlords have no surplus food.

If we don't give them, and show partiality to some and neglect to others, those soldiers are not as easy to talk to as our army. What should we do if they massacre the manor with blood?
Not right, not right! "

Fang Chongyong refused with an attitude of firm refusal.

"General Fang, with a general like you here, how dare other armies bully the Lu family manor? You must accept these grains and silks. If you don't accept them, I will not be able to sleep at night!"

Lu Zhi really lived up to the "straight" in his name. It seemed that he would be unhappy if he didn't throw away the grain and fodder from his own manor! His "straightness" was heartbreaking.

"How about this."

Fang Zhongyong took out a piece of yellow silk from his bosom and said to Lu Zhi:

"Although the sage has said before, this military envoy can collect military supplies from all over Henan for the purpose of fighting with this imperial edict. But I think the necessary procedures are still necessary.

Mr. Lu, do you have any paper and pen here?"

"There are some!"

Lu Zhi immediately ordered his servants to fetch the four treasures of the study, grind the ink and hand the paper and pen to Fang Chongyong. Now even if Fang Chongyong asked to play with his daughter, he would immediately offer it with both hands!

“Since I have the emperor’s order, I will write the IOU in the name of the current saint, Li Sanlang.

In the future, people from the Lu family can take this IOU to Chang'an to have it settled with the Jingzhao Prefecture or the Imperial Palace Treasury.

We fight and eat food for the sake of the saint's kingdom. If we borrow from you for supplies, it will naturally be repaid by the saint. This is a public matter, not a private one."

After saying this, Fang Chongyong quickly wrote down the IOU, fearing that Lu Zhi would go back on his word.

After the IOU was written, both parties breathed a sigh of relief. Lu Zhi wanted to get rid of this group of "plague gods" as soon as possible, so he ordered his men to take Che Guangqian to the granary to get the stored grain.

"Military Envoy Fang, if you need anything else, Lu's Manor will definitely meet your needs."

Lu Zhi said flatteringly.

"Well, to be honest, the army is still short of a clerk. This Lu family member is very righteous and has a unique personality.

This military envoy likes this kind of temper! The saint gave me the power to recruit talents from all over the country to serve in the army. Mr. Lu, you have been recruited by the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army! "

Fang Chongyong pointed at Lu Mai and laughed.

ha?
Lu Mai and Lu Zhi were both shocked! They had no idea what Fang Zhongyong was talking about.

"What's your name?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Lu Mai and asked in a deep voice, with an intimidating tone without even getting angry.

"Lu Mai, I don't have a courtesy name yet." Lu Mai answered honestly.

Who knew Fang Zhongyong burst into laughter and said, "A step means a step. A gentleman should be careful with his words and actions. How about you be careful with your words in your name from now on?"

This courtesy name is very good, but it was a pity that it came from such a soldier. Lu Mai had no choice but to cross his arms and salute, "Thank you, General Fang."

He didn't say whether he would accept this courtesy name or not.

"I can take this Lu family's Qilin child away. Mr. Lu, don't you mind?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Lu Zhi meaningfully and asked.

"Of course I don't mind. Jinyan, why don't you thank Envoy Fang for his support?"

Lu Zhi quickly pulled Lu Mai over to pay his respects.

(End of this chapter)