Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3600: Ashes and Dew

Smoke rose from Luoyang City.

"Reinforcements will arrive soon! Anyone who disrupts the morale of the army will be executed!"

The blood drops dripping from the tip of the knife formed a dotted line on the bricks and stones, as if trying its best to outline the fate of the man.

The wolf smoke turned into a black dragon with bared fangs and claws, rising straight up.

The Cao army soldiers looked up, with expressions of sadness, joy, or numbness and silence on their faces.

Man Chong gritted his teeth and shouted, "The Prime Minister has led the army to Sishui Pass!"

Man Chong spoke forcefully, as if he was stating a fact, but in reality he himself was unsure.

The Han Dynasty's Luoyang City had already fallen, and being trapped in the inner city of the imperial palace was like holding on to the last bit of Han's dignity...

No one can tell who cares about these faces and who doesn't.

What Man Chong regretted most was that he didn't have time to "put to use" the sons of the noble families in the city...

These young men from aristocratic families, whom Man Chong had been thinking about so much, were also performing wonderful scenes at this moment.

The stone slabs of Suzaku Street were covered with blood and charred black.

Fresh blood and old blood were mixed together, and it was impossible to tell whose blood was shed.

At the side of Zhuque Street, several sons of Wang Clan of Langya knelt down under the memorial archway, stopped Zhang Liao, and cried with a miserable expression. Their white gauze robes were still a little wet. This was the result of them soaking it with well water just now, so that they could cry to Zhang Liao and other cavalry soldiers about their "being coerced by the bandits".

"General, please understand!" The leading scholar suddenly opened his shirt, revealing the scar on his chest, "This was left by the Manchu bandits using a branding iron... We cannot coexist with the Manchu bandits..."

Zhang Liao gave him a disdainful look and found it ridiculous.

iron?

Was this something that was scraped there on the spur of the moment by someone?

Just as these sons of the nobles were crying, several hussars came up carrying two or three boxes and dumped them on the ground with a loud noise.

Many gold, silver and copper coins were poured out of the box, as well as some miscellaneous gold and silver objects, rolling all over the floor.

On the upper layer of this box are the bamboo slips of "Book of Rites" used by the children of the aristocratic families to conceal their identities.

Now these bamboo slips are scattered among gold and silver, and seem to be quite meaningful.

"General! All this money was found in their room!" the hussar soldier reported.

"Whose are these things?" Zhang Liao asked, looking at the Langya disciples.

The Langya disciples were in deep sorrow. The one at the front gritted his teeth and denied, "No, I don't know... It's not ours..."

If it was just gold, silver and copper coins, then it would be easier to deal with, since there was no marking on the coins to indicate who they belonged to. However, it was different for the other gold and silver utensils...

Some of it did belong to the Wang family of Langya, but a large part of the rest was plundered by them during this period of time, especially after Cao's army entered Luoyang City. A lot of the wealth of the Hongnong Yang family and the small gentry who had originally been under the Yang family in the Heluo area were plundered by these guys.

If there were no marks on these utensils, they could be pretended to be brought by Wang of Langya from Shandong. However, most of these utensils have markings, and some are even marked as belonging to someone with a certain surname, so it is naturally difficult to say that they belong to them.

"These, these were stuffed into our room by the Manchu thieves...in order to frame us..."

"Ah, ah, yes, yes..."

The Langya Wang family member said this with gritted teeth.

As for why it wasn’t shipped away earlier?

There is no express delivery business these days. If you entrust the wrong person, not to mention the money, even the person may disappear halfway...

So these people originally hoped to take the enemy with them when they could escape, but they didn't expect that before they could think of any way to escape, the Cavalry Army captured Luoyang City.

Zhang Liao picked up a few items at random and understood everything.

Zhang Liao glanced at these descendants of the Wang family of Langya and suddenly laughed.

"You keep saying that you hate the Manchus..." Zhang Liao laughed, "Well, I'll give you a chance! The Manchus are in the inner city now. Give them swords and guns, and let them take revenge if they want, and take revenge if they want!"

……

……

External conflicts have never defeated China. Only when internal and external factors are intertwined do outsiders have an opportunity to take advantage.

However, China's internal problems have always existed and have never disappeared, or, rather, they are only temporarily hidden for a short period of time and will quickly revive again.

Although Cao's soldiers had many problems in the defense of Luoyang City, the ultimate cause of the fall of Luoyang City cannot be entirely attributed to these Cao's soldiers...

Three streets away, a group of young men from noble families gathered together, eagerly discussing how they could save their lives, or in other words, how they could please Zhang Liao.

"Money! Everyone likes money! Give him money!"

"No, no! Money is dead stuff! How can it move people's hearts?!"

"So what's your trick?!"

"I heard that a few days ago, you married a beautiful girl, who is as beautiful as a fairy..."

"That woman is a servant!"

"Brother! As the saying goes, women are like clothes. It is unwise to abandon your brother of many years for a piece of clothes!"

"..."

The beautiful girl who was about to be sent away still had the hairpin that she had just been awarded a few days ago inserted in her hair.

The makeup is beautiful, but the eyes are very empty.

If only a body is worth praising, then only a body is worth it.

……

……

In the streets south of the city, there were also many sons of the aristocracy. Not only were they not afraid of the Hussars, they even openly declared that they wanted to meet the Hussar General!
They were dressed in long robes and crowns, looking like ordinary people. "I am loyal to the cavalry, and I am willing to donate all my savings to help the cavalry general to support the Han Dynasty!"

They waved the land deeds of the Heluo region in their hands, trying to strengthen their persuasiveness.

The hands holding the land deeds were as smooth as sheep fat, and between their fingernails were traces of cinnabar used to mark bets during yesterday's cockfighting and dog racing.

As for how much those land deeds are worth now, that is another question.

……

……

The most unbearable ones are not those children of the aristocrats who are either rich or have connections, but those children of poor families who were trapped in Heluo and left in Luoyang. They were forced to Heluo and originally thought they would have a feast, but they didn't expect that they themselves were the meat on the chopping board!

In order to save their lives in the chaos of war, some of them attacked the scattered corpses of Cao's soldiers, dragged them to their side, smeared their bodies with blood, and raised the bloody knives to show the hussars that they were brave "rebels."

Some people took off their silk and brocade robes, put on coarse linen clothes, and cut holes in their bodies to show that they were gloriously wounded in the fight with Cao's soldiers...

But the fresh wound was silently mocking these guys.

……

……

The setting sun soaked through the Chiwen Temple of the Taimiao, and broken Changle tiles floated in the moat.

The streets were stained with blood and black smoke billowed in the city.

After Zhang Liao entered the city, he did not immediately order an attack on the inner palace. Instead, after controlling the main traffic arteries, he immediately began to restore order and control disasters in the city.

By the time the sun began to set, Zhang Liao had already taken over the internal and external defenses of Luoyang City.

Man Chong and others were trapped in a jar... The setting sun was blood-red.

The tricolor flag of the Hussars, unfurling in flames and blood, fluttered on the main street in front of the inner city of the imperial palace.

The damaged flag of Cao’s army was swaying weakly on the inner city of the imperial palace.

When Zhang Liao appeared on Qianmen Street, the cavalry soldiers on duty shouted in unison, while the remaining Cao army defenders on the city walls remained silent.

Zhang Liao sat upright on his horse and raised his head slightly.

This was once the Han Dynasty Palace.

When Zhang Liao followed Ding Yuan to Luoyang, he was not even allowed to approach the gate of the imperial palace. Even when Dong Zhuo controlled the court, Zhang Liao and most of the Bingzhou soldiers could only stay in the suburbs of Luoyang.

And now...

Zhang Liao saw Man Chong.

Man Chong stood by the parapet and stared at Zhang Liao.

Although Zhang Liao was inevitably stained with blood and fireworks when he entered the city, it did not diminish his prestige, but instead added some majesty of a hundred battles. The scarlet cloak fluttered in the wind, and the red tassel on the helmet was like a raging fire. Although he was under the palace city, he held his head high.

Man Chong, who was on the palace wall, got a temporary chance to catch his breath after the hussars stopped attacking the inner city. However, he had no time to tidy up his clothes. The fish-scale armor on his body was torn and stained in many places and was no longer shiny and bright.

"Greetings, Envoy Man."

Zhang Liao sat on his warhorse and saluted.

Man Chong snorted, perhaps in response or to express dissatisfaction.

Zhang Liao said in a clear voice, "Your Excellency, please be wise. Although this palace is a legacy of the Han Dynasty, how can bricks and tiles stop the heavenly army? The soldiers of the cavalry are kind-hearted and do not want to see the palace walls destroyed and the halls destroyed by fire. Why don't you..."

Man Chong slammed the wall heavily with his hand, "Hey! You have no father and no king, how dare you call yourselves heavenly soldiers?!"

Man Chong pointed his halberd at Zhang Liao and shouted at the top of his lungs, "You are using your subject to attack your lord and destroy the land where the Han Dynasty was born. This is the behavior of a beast! Such evil will surely be punished by heaven!"

Zhang Liao looked at the crooked Xiezhi crown on Man Chong's head and suddenly found it very funny. He raised his voice and said, "I heard that Envoy Man is good at laws and is strict in abiding by them. Doctor Sang said in the past that "salt and iron should be distributed equally so that labor and leisure are equal." Now Shandong's wealthy and powerful people monopolize the benefits of mountains and lakes. Compared with the government-run business, which is worse? Can labor and leisure be equal now? Gao's salt fields in Bohai have thousands of hectares, all of which are private salt. The profits they have made are hundreds of millions of dollars! May I ask Envoy Man, this private salt pond boiling violates the "Law on Theft" "Anyone who privately casts iron utensils to boil salt will have his left toe chopped off." And I would like to ask, have you cut off a few toes of Gao's according to the law?"

Man Chong took a long breath and said, "I have never been to Bohai! If I had been to Bohai, I would have been punished according to the law!"

Zhang Liao nodded, "Yes. Let's talk about the places that Envoy Man has visited! May I ask if the Xun family of Yingchuan occupied 10,000 acres of good farmland in Yanzhou for the benefit of the family, can this be considered loyal and filial? During the Zhongping period of the Yingchuan family, the Zhong family privately minted 1 million five-zhu coins, can this be considered loyal and filial? In the past, in the southern area, the millet inside the high walls was red and rotten, but outside the city, the bones of the refugees were exposed in the wild. Is this what you call "ritual law"? "

Man Chong held on to the battlement tightly. "The Julu has a clause about discussing the nobles! The Book of Rites says that officials should not be punished! This is the law about 'discussing the nobles'! It is in line with etiquette and law, how can it be against it?!"

"What a good 'discussion'!" Zhang Liao clapped his hands and sighed, "The Xun family of Yingchuan pretended to be 'equally distributed' to carry out the real tax collection. Compared with the virtuous and good literature who criticized the 'county officials for making salt and iron tools,' isn't it just the pot calling the kettle black? The rich have fields stretching across the fields, but you still stick to the old system of naming fields according to the 'Land Law'. Isn't it like cutting a boat to find a sword? The reason why Wen and Jing ruled was that the fields of the world were cultivated by the people of the world, and the laws of the world were respected by the people of the world! The law of the eight discussions is a bad policy!"

Man Chong's neck veins bulged, "What nonsense you are talking about! If we follow your heretical doctrine of 'equal distribution of land', we will not be able to distinguish between the noble and the humble, and will confuse the superior and the inferior. It's like a monkey wearing a crown, and we will eventually become a laughing stock! These fools have been deceived by you and are bringing disaster to the Han Dynasty. According to the law, they should all be beheaded!"

Zhang Liao laughed loudly, "In Shandong, there are many households with hundreds of thousands of relatives, but none of them have paid a penny in taxes! Lord Man! This is the law from above. If there is a reason for everything, can we ignore the law of rent in the Household Law? If we don't return the land to the people, and still treat the people like grass and imprison them like thieves, the Yellow Turban Rebellion is a lesson for us!"

Man Chong angrily slammed the city wall again, "If the monopoly is abolished and land is divided equally, then as the "Salt and Iron Theory" says, "the powerful will bully the weak and lonely"! The land of a clan is not owned by one person, but is accumulated by several generations! If it is divided equally in one day, no one will be diligent for a hundred years! If everyone in the world is lazy and waits for the land to be divided, how can there be a Han Dynasty, how can there be China?! The world has its own ethics, and the universe has its own destiny! The distinction between the noble and the humble should not be confused! "

Zhang Liao snorted coldly, "Those who violently attack the weak and lonely are not cavalry! There is no use in talking too much! I have one last question! When Emperor Gao took up his three-foot sword to conquer the world, did he ever ask the elders of Pei County about their status? ! May I ask you, sir, when Emperor Gao hid his dragon, was Taigong a noble one? Or a lowly one? Was he the emperor? Or was he a commoner?"

Man Chong was dumbfounded, and he didn't even realize that the copper wristband on his wrist had fallen off because the buttons broke off.

Zhang Liao waved his hand and turned his horse's head, "Don't blame me for not giving you a chance! If you don't open the gate and surrender at the hour of Mao tomorrow, you will be crushed to dust! The emperor's palace was destroyed in an instant, all because of you!"

Zhang Liao originally thought that Man Chong, who came from a humble family, could understand the significance of what the General of Cavalry did, but he was disappointed.

Man Chong's harsh law enforcement was essentially intended to serve the need to consolidate the Cao Wei regime. During the law enforcement period, the targets also included some privileged classes, such as the powerful, nobles, political enemies, etc. Objectively, it also played a certain role in curbing the infringement of local forces on the people, but in the final analysis, the law was not really enforced for the people.

Just like when Man Chong was in Runan, he led his soldiers to break through the fortress of the rural tyrant. On the surface, it seemed that he was attacking the local tyrant, but in fact, if the tyrant's surname was not Yuan, but Cao, then it could be said that he was not afraid of power and stood up for the people...

……

……

Tonight in Luoyang City is destined to be a noisy yet peaceful night.

The noise came from the hussars coming in and out, and the flow continued until night fell.

The rest of the city was quiet. Whether they were surrendered soldiers, captives, or the sons of noble families, they were all waiting in the dark, not daring to make any noise...

Zhang Liao stood in the Situ Mansion where Man Chong originally lived.

He stroked the red pillars in the hall.

The marks left by swords and guns on the pillars made his fingertips hurt.

The moonlight passed through the broken carved windows, casting mottled shadows in the hall and also covering Zhang Liao.

The half bowl of wheat rice spilled on the ground and the golden tortoise seal that was found on the table set off each other interestingly, like an absurd silk painting.

Zhang Liao looked at everything in front of him and could imagine what happened to Man Chong when he received the news of the riot in the city...

Zhang Liao used his foot to stir the spilled wheat rice and saw that there was no oil or water in the bowl, only ordinary coarse wheat.

Perhaps it was because the supply in Luoyang City was insufficient, or perhaps it was because Man Chong was personally frugal, but at least from this bowl of wheat rice it could be seen that Man Chong was not a person who pursued the desire for food.

Man Chong was from a poor family.

However, the poor people in the late Han Dynasty were not really poor people, but the "lower-middle landlord class", and their promotion still depended on the political system constructed by the ruling group. Although Cao Cao tried to break the monopoly of the aristocratic families by promoting people on the basis of merit, it was obvious that after these poor people were promoted, they did not protect the interests of the "lower-middle landlord class", let alone the interests of ordinary people.

Zhang Liao flipped through the scattered text, many of which had Man Chong's comments.

"The soldier secretly hid the food and grass, and was flogged thirty times, but he was not punished..."

"The deserters from the South Gate are all punished..."

"Food is insufficient, and the number of wounded soldiers is halved..."

"The mob attacked the granary and was executed immediately..."

Zhang Liao sighed and threw the documents on the ground.

Strict law?
indeed.

But it is always the lower classes who are severely punished.

Take for example the Shandong gentry descendants that Zhang Liao met after entering the city.

Zhang Liao didn't believe that those guys didn't do anything wrong, but it was obvious...

At least in these documents, Zhang Liao did not find any record of these guys being punished.

Officials from poor families in the Cao Wei regime were generally trapped in a vicious circle of "promotion means alienation". Whether it was Cheng Yu, Man Chong, or some other poor families, although they received high positions and generous salaries, they had to prove their loyalty to the ruling group through more stringent law enforcement. Such behavior, in turn, intensified the oppression of the grassroots people by the Shandong political group.

In Man Chong's bedroom, Zhang Liao found a patchwork hemp cloth gown carefully locked at the bottom of a camphorwood box.

The coarse linen collar was worn to a shine, but it smelled of borneol, which only the sons of the aristocracy, and even the sons of ordinary aristocrats, could not afford. Only the powerful and wealthy could afford it.

Even more eye-catching is the jade sword pressed against the clothes, the scabbard inlaid with oriental pearls, tourmaline, agate and gems.

"Is this a family heirloom?" Zhang Liao laughed, "This is really... the clothes of a poor family, the soul of a noble family..."

Perhaps this patched hemp cloth robe had accompanied Man Chong through countless cold nights of hard study, and had been tightly tied and wrinkled thousands of times due to hunger. It had also witnessed the broken bamboo slips, scribbled laws and regulations, and erroneous Han Dynasty poems that Man Chong read on the desk.

But now, it was pressed deep into the bottom of the box, with a heavy, gorgeous jade sword on top.

"Haha, interesting, interesting..."

Zhang Liao shook his head and said it was interesting, but there was no smile on his face.

When the morning sun broke through the clouds, Zhang Liao threw the hemp cloth robe into the fire.

The smell of burning kudzu cloth mixed with camphor dissolves in the green smoke.

The drifting ashes floated towards the broken gargoyles on the eaves, lingering and dissipating, like the silent sighs of thousands of children from poor families.