People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 63: Want to be a dog so much?
Wang Ze opened his eyes wide and glared at Xu Chen.

Veins popped up on Ju Su's forehead, and he narrowed his eyes with a stern look on his face.

Even Zhang Zhongjing, whose relationship with Xu Chen was gradually getting better, couldn't help frowning. Finally, he shook his head and sighed silently.

As for the other Han officials, their chests were heaving and their faces were red. If it weren't for the Yellow Turbans standing next to them with knives in their hands, they would probably have started cursing.

Comparing them to cruel vicious dogs is undoubtedly a great insult to them.

Every Han scholar is arrogant and self-righteous, and they all demand benevolence, righteousness, and morality from themselves. No matter whether they can really do so or not, they absolutely cannot tolerate such a personal insult from Xu Chen.

"You are the herdsmen of the people on behalf of the emperor. Aren't you just like the vicious dogs of the sheep? The so-called guarding the land and keeping the people safe is nothing but a way for the emperor and the powerful to drive away and intimidate the people!"

Xu Chen didn't care about their angry reaction. Instead, he sneered and pointed at the silent people.

"When they were suffering, did you, as their parents and officials, stand up to uphold justice?

Since the Han Dynasty cannot give justice to the people of the world, I will do it. If you powerful families want to enslave the people, I will wipe you all out. This is what my Natural God Cult will do!"

After Xu Chen finished speaking, the Han officials fell silent. They had run all the way here, so of course they knew what Xu Chen was going to do.

They even have their own scale in their hearts as to whether Xu Chen's actions were considered as treason or a righteous army.

But the reality is not just about benevolence, righteousness, and morality. No matter how righteous you are, you are still a butcher who kills powerful families. You are the enemy they cannot appease.

When they were feeling mixed emotions, Xu Chen's cold voice sounded again.

"If you really have the heart of a gentleman, if you really regard yourself as benevolent and righteous, then you should abandon darkness and join the light and serve the God. Do you want to be a vicious dog kneeling at the feet of the emperor, or a wise man to be served by the people? Make your own choice!"

When Xu Chen spoke, his eyes were on Wang Ze, but everyone understood that he was asking this question to all the Han officials who were captured.

All of a sudden, everyone's eyes were focused on Wang Ze.

The other Han officials all turned pale. They knew that the time had come for them to make a decision: should they join the rebels or remain unyielding?
They had always been mentally prepared to face this moment. Sure enough, the Yellow Turbans had just chosen a place to take root when they immediately began to force surrender.

The question now is, if Xu Chen is rejected, will he speak with a knife?
Thinking of Xu Chen's style all along, many Han officials couldn't help but shrink their necks. This guy's actions were not at all merciful.
They don't want to be thieves, but they are even more unwilling to die. This choice makes them suffer.

Sweat dripped down Wang Ze's forehead, and he was also under tremendous pressure in his heart. But after a long time, he still made a choice. Compared to compromise, he was more willing to sacrifice his life for justice.

"Even if you want to kill me, I will never surrender!" Wang Ze looked determined.

Xu Chen said indifferently: "You would rather die than be a vicious dog of the emperor and the powerful. Can't you really let you take a second look at these common people?"

Wang Ze's body trembled, and he looked at the people around him. He wanted to deny this statement. He wanted to say that he was loyal to the emperor and would also serve the people.

However, when he thought of the tragic stories that the people had just told, his mouth seemed to be blocked by a stone, and in the end he opened his mouth but could not utter a word.

No matter how much he whitewashed himself, he was powerless in the face of the fact that he had never protected these ordinary people. Wang Ze had nothing to say and could only respond in silence.

Xu Chen looked calm, and once again looked at the other Han officials behind him: "Do you also want to be dogs?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Han officials glared at each other again, but they just responded in silence.

They would never admit to being vicious dogs, but they were also unwilling to work for the rebels. They remained silent because they all made the same choice as Wang Ze.

Xu Chen understood this, and the people also understood this. This could be seen from the cold expressions on the people's faces when they looked at the Han officials.

Ju Shou, one of the Han officials, saw all this and could only sigh in his heart.

The so-called forced surrender was probably not the ultimate goal of the evil Taoist. What he really wanted to do was to alienate officials and the people. Now it seems that he really did it.

In the eyes of these people, Han officials have become an ugly image of those who would rather serve the emperor and the powerful than to uphold justice for the common people.

Ju Su could foresee that from today on, the people of Yuyang would only be filled with hatred towards the powerful families, and would no longer be able to trust the Han court and its officials.

When that evil Taoist divides the land equally in the future, Yuyang will really become an iron wall with the Yellow Turbans.

Of course, Yuyang City alone is not scary. What is scary is this method of manipulating people's hearts. It is really frightening. Can the Han Dynasty recover the land where the Yellow Turbans have passed in the future?
It is easy to recover lost territory, but it is impossible to regain lost people's hearts.
He could only watch all this and had no way to change it. It was not because he could not do anything as a prisoner, but because although Xu Chen's methods were vicious, they were not insidious.

Aren't Han officials the emperor's lackeys? Of course they are.
Didn't the wealthy and powerful enslave the common people? Of course they did.
This evil Taoist priest just stated the truth. He did not confuse right and wrong, and he did not distort the facts.

As a scholar himself, Ju Su knew these things very clearly. The reality was so cruel. The whitewashing of Confucian benevolence, righteousness and morality was, after all, just whitewashing.

He could say that this evil Taoist was playing with people's hearts, but he also had to admit that this was indeed what people wanted.

Under Xu Chen's gaze, a Han official could not bear the pressure and finally uttered a trembling voice: "Are you going to kill us?"

Xu Chen frowned immediately, looked over with some amusement and some confusion, then pointed at himself: "Does this lord look like he enjoys killing people at random?"

The Han officials were speechless and they really wanted to answer "yes".

However, Xu Chen quickly shook his head and waved his hands, saying with a half-smile: "If you don't surrender, I can't let you go back to be the dogs of the Han court, but I can let you be cattle and horses. You delicate and noble gentlemen can also taste the fun of the working people."

After Xu Chen finished speaking, he ordered Wang Dang to take everyone away.

Killing people is only a temporary pain. What Xu Chen wants is to make them feel long-term torture, and this does not require any special means. He believes that the most ordinary daily labor of ordinary people is enough to make these delicate old men want to live and die.

After getting rid of the Han officials, Xu Chen turned his head again and looked at the nobles with cold eyes: "Continue the trial!"

(End of this chapter)