Chapter 38: Gathering of Heroes (8)

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  Here is the translation:

  The second update is presented to you, and I'm being thick-skinned again asking for votes. If you think this book is worth reading, please don't forget to vote, it's a recognition and support for the author, thank you everyone!

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  Out of the hemp sack came the famous Wu Fu concubine, Chen Yuanyuan, who had been passed back and forth between Tian Xiangong, the Emperor, and Wu Sangui, and was renowned in later generations for the legend "A crown removed in anger for a beauty".

  At this time, she was extremely disheveled, with a rag still stuffed in her mouth. Her beautiful eyes looked around, and apart from Wang Jia Yan, who could be asked for help, it seemed that she couldn't even tell who were officials and who were bandits.

  Just as she was at a loss, Zhu Ciyan had already become furious. Lao Duan and his gang not only disobeyed orders to plunder, but also raped women. This beauty fell into their hands, even if it was extortion or kidnapping, she would definitely be humiliated before being released. Having witnessed this himself, the last bit of hope for survival that Duan Baishou and a few others had was naturally also declared extinct.

  "Don't think about it anymore," Zhu Ciyan said resolutely, "Kill them all, leave no one alive."

  If it were several months ago, Zhu Ciwen would not have been able to bring himself to kill so many people. Living people standing in front of him, he had to consider the consequences of killing them, think about their families, and think that a person from childhood to adulthood is not born out of thin air... Killing people is not as easy as touching one's upper and lower lips!

  But as the situation developed to this day, he himself had also killed people with his own hands and witnessed countless killings and life-and-death struggles. The ferocity and bravery of later generations combined with his experience of killing people in this generation, plus the chaotic and desperate national affairs made him harden his heart... Until now, he can finally be called calm and composed when ordering to kill people.

  As soon as he spoke up, all the others in the room turned to look at him.

  But what they saw was a tall and handsome young man with a pale face, wearing a grey robe and an arrow-patterned garment. He held a straight sword in his hand, his expression cold and elegant, and it was he who gave the order to kill.

  "Huh? How is it him?" Hui Mei recognized him at a glance, Zhu Ci was the young man who had taken up the cause that day, but how did he come to be here tonight, and yet he seemed to be the leader of this group, giving orders to kill people as soon as he opened his mouth.

  At this moment, she was only surprised and muttered: "Who is this little thief... who can he order to kill again?"

  It was also astonishing to Wang Jiayan and Feng Kechang, who did not know what kind of person this handsome young man was or what his intentions were. To talk about the temperament of a noble son, Feng Kechang was naturally the standard elegant gentleman, but compared to Zhu Ciyu, his temperament was slightly inferior.

  "Lord Baihu, this situation is utterly wrong......"

  Three Imperial Guards had just been fiercely killed, although the time was short, they all got some injuries, but at this moment, they couldn't control the situation, and as they watched, the situation became more and more chaotic. The three Imperial Guards were extremely depressed in their hearts.

  If this were twenty years ago, when the Wei family was at its peak, such a thing would never have happened in the capital!

  It was Chen Yuanyuan, as soon as she saw Zhu Cixian come out, her eyes were already fixed on Zhu Cixian's body... She was very clear, the young man in front of her was absolutely not an ordinary person!

  ……

  ……

  Just as everyone was stunned by Zhu Ci's appearance, Li Gong and others also rushed over. At this time, dozens of good hands surrounded Duan Baigu and others. With a loud order, the crowd shot without hesitation. More than a dozen strong crossbows were fired first, and in an instant, more than half of them fell. The remaining few martial officers naturally fled in all directions. Duan Baigu had already seen Zhu Ci, and his mouth was wide open as he shouted: "Young Master spare..."

  Before he could even cry out, Ren Shang's iron bow relaxed and the iron arrow flew out, but it was inserted directly into Duan Baiguan's throat from behind his neck and came out through the front, instantly turning his eyes white as he died.

  The rest of the officers fled in all directions, but with everyone's swords and knives rising together, it didn't take long before corpses were piled up everywhere on the city wall, bloodstains were clearly visible, and even the continuously falling heavy snow couldn't cover them up!

  "Little master, how will you dispose of the corpse? And what about these people, how will you deal with them?"

  Killed Duan Baihu and others, Li Gong and others were also terrified in their hearts. Violating military discipline, the young master would resolutely eliminate them, and no one had anything to say. Although they were colleagues, at critical moments, they couldn't help but be lenient.

  But the young master is decisive and bold, this kind of strong and daring personality, seems to be no less than the emperor's... Of course, the young master rewards and punishes clearly, in this aspect, he is absolutely much stronger than the emperor.

  "Send someone to deliver them to the execution ground and cremate them tonight." Zhu Ciyan hesitated for a moment, then said: "They disobeyed orders, abducted people's wives, and had reason to be put to death. But after all, they were people who served under me, I couldn't let their orphans go unprovided for. Li Gong, after this is over, investigate the number of people involved, for those below the rank of battalion commander, give each family 100 taels of silver... and for these several hundred officials, give each family 200 taels of silver... that's how it will be."

  "Yes, I shall obey your orders, young master."

  Li Gong nodded in agreement, and someone went to collect the bodies of Duan Baigong and others. However, the rest of the people intentionally or unintentionally surrounded Wang Jiayan and others in the middle. If Young Master wanted to silence them, he could naturally kill them all at once, making it more convenient.

  He knew what his subordinates meant, but looking at the people in the field, he had other plans.

  He took slow steps forward, but first looked at Wang Jiayan.

  The old man was puzzled by what he saw and vaguely felt that the young man in the arrow jacket looked familiar, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall where he had seen him before.

  Wei Yue smiled faintly and said, "I have seen His Highness the Crown Prince."

  He then knelt down first and pulled Wang Jiayuan and Feng Kechang, who were still in a daze, saying softly: "The one before us is the Crown Prince."

  "What?"

  Wang Jiayan's mouth can hold a duck egg, and Feng Kui Zhang's appearance is not much better... Even if Wei Yue said that the person in front of him was Li Zicheng, these two would not be so surprised. After all, Li Chuang is a fugitive, disguising himself to check Beijing's defenses still has some reasonable excuse, but the Ming dynasty prince, in the middle of the night, in the midst of heavy snowfall, brought dozens of armored soldiers to the top of Beijing city wall, holding bows and swords, and even eliminated a group of mysterious masked bandits... This plot is really too hard for Wang Jiayan to accept.

  "Wang Qing's poem that he just recited is quite good. If I write it down tomorrow and send it to the Duan Jing Hall for you to collect, would that be alright?"

  Looking at the dazed old minister, Zhu Ciyan was smiling and only looked at Wang Jiaxun and said: "Have you never seen me before?"

  "This old minister has never served in the Eastern Palace, only on New Year's morning to pay respects, had once bowed from afar to His Highness the Crown Prince." By this time, Wang Jia Yan finally believed that the person before him was indeed the Crown Prince, but when answering, he was still very wooden and surprised, apparently still not having recovered.

  "Your famous saying, I appreciate it very much."

  "I am ashamed..."

  "Officials and soldiers are incompetent in suppressing bandits, but skilled in harassing the people." Isn't this what you said during Chongzhen's early years? As time has passed, it has proven that your words were quite reasonable. However, no one has taken them to heart and organized them until now, which is too late for regrets.

  Scathingly denouncing the officials and soldiers for their ineptitude in suppressing bandits, while being adept at harassing the people - this is a truthful statement that has offended many high-ranking military officials and local governors. This is also one of the most offending incidents in Wang Jiayang's life. If not for his daring words and unyielding spirit, how could he have reached his current position?

  Of course, there are some things that Zhu Cixu would not say truthfully. This old man in front of him is very dedicated to national affairs and is a rare civil official who dares to take action and do practical things, his character is also not to be doubted.

  Seventeen years after the Jia-Shen incident, among the few names on the list of those who died for their country, was this very Wang Shilang.

  So in terms of character, Wang Jia Yan is more trustworthy than Xin.

  Since that's the case, Zhu Ci didn't plan to reveal all the facts either. After saying a few words, he said: "Just now, several military officers were from the Imperial Guard, and I and my subordinates discovered that their movements were suspicious, so we followed them here, which happened to help Wang Qing out of trouble, haha."

  "So it was."

  Wang Jiayan sighed and said: "On such a deep night with such heavy snow, the old minister's life is indeed fortunate to have come."

  "This is a blessing for the country!" Zhu Ciwen said, stepping forward and staring at Wei Yue, "Wei Baihu, your skills are excellent."

  "Thank you for your praise!"

  "Your grievances were mentioned by Li Gong and several others a few days ago. He and Wang Yuan also killed their way back from the Songshan formation. Why can they continue to serve the country, but you cannot?"

  "This..."

  "I know, your sister is Wei Qinghui, isn't she? She was forcibly selected into the palace, I've investigated and found that she's serving in the Qianqing Palace, but hasn't been favored. Don't worry, later I'll make arrangements for you to be reunited with your siblings."

  Wei Yue was already deeply moved, his hands supporting himself on the ground, his forehead downwards, almost as if he was about to knock his head against the ground, but this man was after all a stubborn mule-like personality, and in the end, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

  "You still dare to speak!" Zhu Ciyan smiled and said to Wei Yue, who was struggling to support himself: "Isn't it just asking the Emperor to admit his mistake? You really are ungrateful... However, it doesn't matter. Although it's said that monarchs and ministers have no grudges, I'll let you off today."

  After saying that, he bowed deeply and got up with an unchanged expression. He smiled at Wei Yue and said: "I am the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince is also a prince. Does this bow still work today?"

  "I am at fault, from now on, I wish to serve Your Highness the Crown Prince, and exert the labor of a dog or horse!" The words of apology spoken by Wei Yue were originally just angry words after his heart had cooled down, but unexpectedly, the Crown Prince of a country actually really apologized to him like this.

  In that case, even if I were to sell this life of mine to the prince again, what could be done?

  Zhu Ciwen was even more delighted, Wei Yue's skills and relationships were both excellent, getting this subordinate was a great help, tonight's harvest was not small.

  When the Crown Prince was about to leave, Feng Kai Zhang had already stepped aside. At this time, he came forward and paid his respects, saying: "Your servant Feng Kai Zhang, paying homage to Your Highness."

  "Oh, Feng Kai Zhang..."

  The name still has some impression, but for a moment, I couldn't think of who it was. Just as Zhu Ciwen was hesitating, Wei Yue stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, this is the eldest son of Tianjin Governor Feng Yuanfei, who came to Beijing with an important mission..."

  "Oh, oh, I see!"

  Zhu Ciwen's eyes lit up, and he almost jumped up! Recently, he had been unable to come up with a specific plan to escape, but the person in front of him was a gift from heaven! Feng Kechang went to the capital to visit all the big shots, but no one would see him, and the Ministry of Rites also refused to forward his memorial. Later generations who read history could not help but feel indignant at the shamelessness of the late Ming dynasty's officialdom, which was hard to believe.

  But among the courtiers, there are always ministers like Wang Jiaxun and loyal sons like Feng Kezhang. Tonight, it just so happens that they all met, isn't this also heaven's will?

  The way of nature is subtle, and it's in these small things that it's embodied!