The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 354 Kill the chicken and scare the monkey

Shen Pei looked at the soldiers around him, drew his sword, pointed it at Su You, and angrily shouted, "Su You, you traitor, you actually betrayed your lord."

Su You, however, had a calm expression. He snorted coldly and said with a sneer, "Shen Pei, you don't even look at the situation in Yecheng. Yecheng has no more than 10,000 soldiers and no more than 3 to 5 generals. How can they compare with the Prime Minister's army? Yecheng will fall overnight."

"Hmph, we have received great favors from the Yuan family, so we should serve the Yuan family, die for the Yuan family, and achieve the reputation of loyalty and righteousness." Shen Pei said loudly with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

"That is to fulfill your reputation of loyalty and righteousness, Shen Zhengnan! What does it have to do with the brothers below?" A loud shout came from a distance, and a group of people were seen slowly coming.

Under the firelight, the leader appeared in front of everyone, holding two swords, wearing black armor, and riding a yellow flying horse.

"General Su You pays homage to the Prime Minister."

When Su You saw the person coming, he knew the other person's identity after a little thought. He quickly rolled off his horse and bowed to the ground.

"See the prime minister."

The surrounding soldiers also knelt on the ground.

"General Su, there is no need to be so polite. All the soldiers, please stand up!"

Qin Shou's voice was very kind, which made Su You and others feel at ease.

"Thank you, Prime Minister."

Su You and others hurriedly stood aside.

"Qin Shou, you are a traitor and a bandit of the Han Dynasty. How dare you stand in front of me?"

Shen Pei's eyes were red, and it was unclear whether he was fearless or angry because Qin Shou had just exposed his true identity.

"I served the emperor, protected the Han Dynasty, and destroyed Li Jue and Guo Si, and killed Yuan Shu. How can I be considered a traitor to the Han Dynasty? It was Yuan Shao who attempted to support Liu Yu and disobeyed the order of the emperor of the Han Dynasty. He is a traitor. Why didn't you, Shen Pei, say anything?"

"You, Shen Pei, are not much better. You were an official in Wei County, working for Han Fu. When Yuan Shao seized Han Fu's territory, you immediately pledged allegiance to Yuan Shao. According to what you said, you are also a disloyal person."

"No, Yuan Shao disobeyed the emperor and plotted a rebellion. As a minister of the Han Dynasty, you did not advise Yuan Shao and did not keep your loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Now you are even more loyal to Yuan Shao. You are the real traitor."

Qin Shou said disdainfully.

Isn't it just cursing? As if everyone can curse, for people like Shen Pei, as long as we stand on the moral high ground, we can solve the problem.

Shen Pei was speechless. He couldn't say things like "Yuan Shao is wise and brave"! What's the difference between him and a rebel like Qin Shou?
"Kill me quickly!"

"My Lord is in the South, so I shall die facing the South."

Shen Pei said with a cold snort.

He had nothing to say and could only wish for death. Perhaps someone would praise his loyalty in the future and his name would go down in history.

Qin Shou was furious when he heard this and sneered, "Your master has never been Yuan Shao. The only person you can be loyal to is the emperor. If you want to die, you can only wait for the emperor's decree."

It is easy to want to die, but it is not easy to die in an upright manner and leave a name in history. Qin Shou thought that Shen Pei was too hypocritical.

In history, there was someone who falsely conveyed Yuan Shao's orders and supported those he was loyal to to take power. Don't such people have any selfish motives?

Everyone has selfish desires, and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you stand on the moral high ground but do dirty things, and you have a dirty bottom yourself but still talk about others, that is a bit disgusting.

In troubled times, we are all the same, so what is there to boast about?

Shen Pei was furious when he heard this. He was a smart man and immediately understood what Qin Shou meant. He wanted the emperor to kill him. If he died at the hands of Qin Shou, he might be known as a loyal man and be famous for eternity. But if he died at the hands of the emperor, he might be infamous for eternity. Shen Pei could not accept this.

He did it even though he knew it was impossible. In addition to repaying Yuan Shao's kindness, he also wanted to preserve his reputation. Even if it meant death, Shen Pei was willing to do it.

How can I wait for the emperor's edict to sentence me and make the final judgment on me now?

"Qin Shou, kill me quickly, kill me quickly."

Shen Pei shouted loudly.

"Take him away, including his family, and send him to Chang'an, where he will be handed over to the relevant government for trial and conviction."

Qin Shou said coldly.

There was a fierce light in his eyes. The army had just entered Jizhou, and they had to use both kindness and severity, to persuade some and beat others, to prevent these aristocratic families from taking advantage of them. So they needed to catch a chicken and kill it in front of the monkeys.

Unfortunately, Shen Pei had a bad fate and became the chicken. Qin Shou wanted to use him to intimidate the aristocratic families in Jizhou.

"Has the Yuan Shao residence been arranged?"

Qin Shou asked.

"I have ordered people to guard it and no one is allowed to enter. Yuan Shao's concubines are still living there." Jia Xu said hurriedly.

"Go and have a look."

Qin Shou nodded. Now that Yecheng had been taken, he would stay here for a long time to command the cavalry to completely take over Hebei.

When they arrived in front of Yuan Shao's general's mansion, Qin Shou couldn't help but chuckle at the magnificent building in front of him, "Yuan Shao is a wealthy man after all. A general's mansion is more luxurious than the imperial palace."

"If you don't have the strength yourself, you will end up being a tool for others. Yuan Shao's General's Mansion will eventually be taken advantage of by our lord." Jia Xu said.

"Hey! Who are they? Why are they in Yuan Shao's mansion?"

Qin Shou was about to enter when he suddenly saw a lot of people kneeling on both sides. On one side was a beautiful middle-aged woman with some maids and servants, and on the other side was a middle-aged man with several women.

"My lord, on the left is Yuan Shao's widow Liu, and on the other side is Yuan Xi's wife Zhen's clansmen. Leading them is the head of the Zhen family, Zhen Yan, and his family." Xin Ping explained.

Qin Shou glanced at the women in the crowd and found that it was Zhen Mi, a beautiful woman, worthy of being the Goddess of Luo River created by Cao Zijian. He decided to study the other party's character later.

"Yuan Shao had one wife and five concubines, why is there only one now?"

Qin Shou suddenly became curious.

"My lord, Liu is cruel and jealous of other concubines who are favored by Yuan Shao. She has ordered her servants to kill all of them." Xin Ping said again.

"I can understand that you killed Yuan Shao's concubine to prevent her from falling into my hands, but how can you live while she is still alive? Send her to death and bury her next to Yuan Shao's tomb."

Qin Shou felt disgusted after hearing this. It was clear that Liu was not considering Yuan Shao but herself. Seeing her mean look, he thought that because she was not favored by Yuan Shao, she vented her anger on other wives and concubines. He took the opportunity of entering the city to kill all these women.

"Kill." Xin Ping was secretly shocked and quickly ordered the soldiers to take action.

Liu never expected that this would be her end. She screamed in shock. However, it was all useless. She was killed by Dian Wei in public.

(End of this chapter)