Jiapingguan Chronicle

Song Yaojia glanced at the identical, indescribable expressions on everyone's faces and shrugged helplessly.

"Merchants are driven by profit, and this is especially true of merchants who made their fortunes as tomb raiders. Their foundation is such that they want to turn everything into gold and silver to the maximum extent possible to satisfy them."

"So, this small gang that initially claimed to be making money off ordinary people has ultimately strayed from their original intentions?" Jin Miaomiao curled her lip in disdain. "After all, ordinary people don't have much money, so it's not very effective to scam them, right?"

“That’s for sure.” Song Yaojia nodded. “They’re doing the same work, but one can earn a few taels of silver, while the other can earn hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands if they’re lucky. So why choose the one that only earns a few taels of silver?”

“Perhaps the work of ordinary people is even more arduous than that of merchants and the powerful, because they may have more problems and so on.” Song Yaojia thought for a moment, “I have seen their files and found that during the interrogation, Gongsun Yue asked them this question. They said that they put in more effort than they earned, which was not worthwhile at all. On the contrary, they needed to do more work to make their efforts and income reach a balance.”

"So, in the early stages of building their reputation, they actually lost money, right?"

“That’s right, that’s exactly what I mean.” Song Yaojia nodded to Shen Cha. “But back then, they didn’t care much about this in order to build their reputation. But once they had a reputation, whether it was good or bad, they had established themselves in the industry and gained a foothold. Once they had that reputation, the group they served changed, and they needed to start making money. Otherwise, not only would they be unhappy, but the elders of the Ma family would also disagree.”

“That’s true.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “People like them wouldn’t do a business that loses money.”

“Normally, businessmen wouldn’t do business at a loss, so it’s inevitable that they’ll make some changes. They might still take on some small orders, but they won’t put in the effort anymore.” Song Yaojia looked at the others. “Shall I continue?”

“Alright!” Shen Cha nodded. “Something happened to the late Empress Dowager’s cousin’s family, didn’t it? Many people saw the ghost and were frightened, right?” She thought for a moment, “Given his status, he could have easily asked the late Empress Dowager for help. There was no need for him to seek help from a charlatan, was there? The officials of the Imperial Observatory, led by Gongsun Yue, are all experts in their fields. Although Xijing City is a bit far away, it would only take three days to get there if they traveled. There was no need to search from Yangzhou itself. Why is he so foolish as to not seek help from there?”

“It’s too late.” Song Yaojia sighed, took a sip of tea, and said, “Let me start from the beginning. This case was so tragic that I remember it exceptionally clearly. Every time I see fortune tellers or palm readers setting up stalls on the street, I think of this case.” He took a deep breath to calm himself and said, “The late Empress Dowager’s cousin’s surname was She, the famous She of Liuzhou.” He looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, “You two should remember him, right?”

"Liuzhou She?" Jin Miaomiao and Mei Lin exchanged a glance, both completely bewildered. "Who is that?"

"His name is legendary, known as the number one killing god of the Great Xia Dynasty." Shen Haolin sighed and looked at Shen Cha. "The first lesson my father taught us was about him."

“I remember that after hearing this story, I couldn’t sleep well for several nights in a row, and I even dreamed about that scene.” Shen Cha was silent for a while. “I never expected that the She family of Liuzhou would be related to the late Empress Dowager.”

"Your styles of doing things are a bit similar, aren't they?" "Yes." Shen Haolin nodded, looked at Jin Miaomiao and Meilin, and said, "In the middle of the second year of Emperor Taizu's reign, a serious riot broke out in Liuzhou. Prefect She Nanqi of Liuzhou was ordered by the emperor to lead troops to suppress it. The rebels were remnants of the previous dynasty, and their fighting strength was not weak. It was not easy for She Nanqi to fight them, but he was an experienced general. After a month of hard fighting, he finally led his troops to massacre the rebels' stronghold."

At this point, Shen Haolin and Shen Cha exchanged a glance, their faces showing expressions of pain and reluctance to recall the event.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, then at Song Yaojia who had the same expression, and exchanged a glance with Meilin. "Why do you all have such expressions?"

“Take it literally,” Song Yaojia said, shrugging at Jin Miaomiao. “It means to slaughter the entire lair.”

"So that means no one was left alive?" Jin Miaomiao suddenly realized and said, "There should have been some who surrendered, right?"

"Yes, but also..." Song Yaojia made a throat-slitting gesture, "Do you understand?"

"Huh? This..." Jin Miaomiao understood what Song Yaojia meant. She looked at Meilin beside her, and the two stared at each other for a long time before they came to their senses. "Isn't this a bit too much? There have been very few things like this since ancient times!"

“Otherwise, how did he get the title of God of Slaughter?” Shen Cha sighed softly, “And he has more than one stronghold.”

"What do you mean?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Cha with disbelief. "You mean he slaughtered more than one stronghold?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha gently closed her eyes. “According to the post-war statistics, the total number of wounded soldiers, surrendered soldiers, and surrendered generals was…” She paused for a moment, “…a total of seven thousand people.”

"Seven thousand people?" Jin Miaomiao couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and then at Song Yaojia, seeing the pained expressions on their faces, and said, "How could he do that? Hasn't he been held accountable? That's impossible!"

“Back when Emperor Taizu was in power, there really wasn’t any. She Nanqi even got promoted two ranks for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, and he almost entered the Ministry of War.” Shen Cha calmed herself down and continued, “But his glory didn’t last long. Seven years later, Emperor Taizu passed away, and Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, and he began to purge the rebellion.” She sneered and said, “When Emperor Taizong was still the crown prince, he was very dissatisfied with She Nanqi’s behavior that time, and even had many arguments with Emperor Taizu. In fact, both Emperor Taizong and Emperor Taizu knew very well that She Nanqi…” He wasn't a good person, much less a good official, but his military achievements were undeniable. If he were punished after suppressing the rebellion, it would demoralize a large number of soldiers. She spread her hands helplessly. "You know, back then, everyone who supported the previous dynasty was extremely hostile; everyone wanted to eliminate them. Therefore, She Nanqi did what most military commanders at the time might have done. Besides, we don't know what exactly happened in the old stronghold that led him to make such a decision, until those who knew the truth came out." (End of Chapter)