Jiaohua

Chapter 723 Army Assembled (Part [-])
Some time ago, when Xin Shun was in Hengxiang, he kept running to Ning'an Building.

What he did day after day was to sit in the Ning'an Building boringly and wait for Zhao Ning to arrange a meeting.

In fact, he knew that Zhao Ning would not see him, but he hoped that Zhao Ning could see his sincerity.

While waiting for someone, Xin Shun finally had time to calm down and read books. Among them, five or six books were related to punishment and prison.

Although he is one of the most valued counselors around Tian Dayao, but unlike Zhang Zhihao's overall strategy, Xin Shun wrote the most about regulations, law copywriting, and law writing.

However, not many have been adopted.

His milder set of laws, in Zhang Zhi's words, is contrary to the current troubled times.

In troubled times, heavy codes should be used, and kindness will only breed evil.

Tian Dayao prefers to peel and stuff grass and beheaded to show the public, rather than convincing people with virtue and treating people with benevolence.

Xin Shun didn't want to give up what he had thought before, but still insisted on writing the legal order he wanted, so as soon as he arrived at Congxin, he came to the government office to find some past files.

Xin Shun ordered two stools to be brought in, one for the girl to sit on.

The girl looked at the stool a little awkwardly, and then looked up at him.

"Sit down, don't be afraid if I'm here." Xin Shun still had a gentle tone, and sat down opposite her.

"Thank you sir..." The girl sat down.

Xin Shun's personal attendant brought tea, and one of them was handed to the girl. When the girl took it, her hands were shaking.

"Speak slowly, it doesn't matter what you say." Xin Shun said.

"Yes." The girl bowed her head.

Outside the gate of the yamen, the old woman was sitting under the tall stone lion by the side of the road and waiting. Many people coming and going cast their eyes on her.

The girl had been in for a long time, and the longer the time, the more frightened the old woman became.

Suddenly there was a loud thunder, and the old woman looked up at the sky. The dark clouds in the dark and gloomy sky were rolling steeply, the strong wind hit violently, and several lightning bolts tore through the sky. In an instant, there was another big thunder, and there was also heavy rain like a waterfall.

Pedestrians on the street held their heads and quickened their pace towards home.

The old woman also got up and went to hide from the rain under the eaves at the corner of the government office.

With just such efforts, she became a drowned chicken. The rain was so heavy that she might not even be able to carry an umbrella.

The old woman pulled her sticky clothes and suddenly felt that something was wrong. She turned her head in a hurry, before she could see anything clearly, someone covered her mouth with one hand, and a dagger stabbed her dozens of times in the back .

The old woman was thrown to the ground, and the blood was washed out over a larger area by the heavy rain.

After a long time, some pedestrians finally saw the old woman in the corner, and a scream sounded, and more and more people came to look at her.

When the yamen guards walked over without haste holding umbrellas, the woman's body was already cold.

"Ridiculous!" Xin Shun got up angrily, "It's unreasonable, this is the Yamen, killing people in front of the Yamen!"

The girl quickly walked to the door, looking at the woman's body being carried in, her knees softened and she collapsed on the ground.

Send someone to call Wu Zuo, in the rainstorm, half an hour has passed.

The girl was helped aside by two of Xin Shun's attendants, her pale face did not recover for a long time.

And when Wu Zuo arrived, a tall young man came to look for Xin Shun.

"Mr. Fengcai," the man walked quickly, "The general is looking for you, please go to the military township department as soon as possible."

Xin Shun frowned, thought for a while, called his followers, and whispered in his ear.

The follower nodded: "Yes."

"Don't be afraid," Xin Shun looked at the girl, "let me protect you, no matter what happens, I will make the decision for you."

"Thank you sir, thank you sir!" The girl hurriedly stood up and saluted.

As if the heavy rain was pouring over the world, Xin Shun's carriage rushed to Junzhensi, there were still people running around along the road who hadn't returned home.

Under the vast sky, Xilong Ferry across several streets, the last few cargo ships left the ferry after unloading, and docked along the long river line, connected to the huge stone pier by the river with thick hemp ropes.

The soldiers and handymen on the pier picked up the goods in the heavy rain and walked towards the depths of the port. Rows of carts and horse-drawn carriages were waiting in the open space.

Xin Shun got off the car outside the gate of Junzhensi's backyard, and tens of thousands of soldiers shouted uniformly in front of them, as if they were about to compete with the thunder in the sky.

"Have all the ships arrived today?" Xin Shun asked the guards of the military township who came up to meet him.

"All here, sir."

Xin Shun smiled, with rare satisfaction on his face, and looked forward.

All those who will arrive tomorrow and the day after, including those who came from land, and the Huiren camp that was originally in Youzhou, this time, there will be a full 300,000 soldiers and horses.

Although Tian Dayao has many soldiers and horses, most of them are scattered as the land area becomes larger. It is rare to gather such a large scale of soldiers and horses as it is now.

When the rallying slogan was heard, Xin Shun, a gentleman of Confucianism, also became very proud when he heard it.

"In a few seconds of thunder, the wind roars through the city, and it's hard to stop the powerful soldiers thousands of miles away. The sound of long horns and drums fills the sky, and the Big Dipper hangs upside down and covers the Nanchen!" Xin Shun opened his mouth and said.

"Good poetry, sir!" The attendants and guards beside him praised.

"Go!" Xin Shun said, "Let's go to the front to see the big scene!"

Zhi Changle leaned against the window, looking at the rolling black clouds in the sky, all his ears focused on the sounds in the distance.

"It seems like a big battle is going to be fought." Zhi Changle said.

Xia Zhaoyi had just woken up, and was sitting at the table behind him gently stirring the spoon.

Hot air rose from the bowl, and she said calmly, "If it's a fight with Song Zhiyi, I hope they can win."

Zhi Changle was a little surprised, and turned to look at her.

Xia Zhaoyi never sided with the winners or losers of any camp, and what he said now surprised Zhi Changle.

A simple carriage came from the end of the empty long street.

The carriage didn't stop anywhere, and the driver with the bamboo hat didn't look around, and went straight to the biggest restaurant by the river.

The shopkeeper was lying on the counter watching the heavy rain outside, and Mrs. Ding was scolding him.

Hearing someone coming, the shopkeeper seemed to have met a savior, and hurried out to greet him.

The entourage got out of the car and opened the umbrella, turned around and raised the curtain.

A girl dressed in rough clothes and looking extremely embarrassed supported the carriage and got out of the car carefully.

When Ding saw the young girl's attire, she couldn't move.

The follower looked at the shopkeeper: "Treasurer Hong."

The shopkeeper hurriedly cupped his hands: "Dare to ask?"

The entourage tilted the umbrella slightly and whispered in the shopkeeper's ear.

Ding wanted to roll her eyes, there was nothing to hide in such a heavy rain and such a deserted street.

But seeing her husband staring wide-eyed, he took a quick step back and bowed to his followers.

Ding's expression also changed accordingly, no matter how cowardly her husband is, it is not possible for her husband to do such a grand ceremony to anyone.

The attendant stopped the shopkeeper, pointed to the girl beside him, and continued to speak in detail.

"Success! It must be done, and I will take care of it properly!" the shopkeeper hurriedly said.

The entourage didn't stay much longer, and after telling the girl to stay here at ease, she left in a carriage.

"Come on, girl, please come in quickly!" the shopkeeper said to the girl.

The girl thanked her awkwardly, and stepped over the threshold cautiously.

Ding walked up curiously, and was taken aback when his eyes fell on the girl's old faded cloth shoes.

"Hey!" Ding said, "Aren't you the one who knelt outside the yamen today and made a fuss about that woman?"

(End of this chapter)