Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 712 I have a headache and I want to kill people

In the city of Bianliang, where the outer city walls had not yet been closed, the people lining the streets were excited and restless.

"kill him!"

"Kill this bastard!"

Someone shouted loudly and then threw stones at the prison van.

Li Guiren in the prison car held his head with both hands to prevent himself from being hit. In fact, he already understood his current situation quite well.

That means you will not die well!
This parade was arranged by Fang Zhongyong. As for its purpose, just look at the people shouting "beat to death" on the streets, and anyone with a discerning eye will understand what it is for.

It's all a show, it's all acting, it's all to boost morale and vent public grievances.

This is a war on propaganda.

On the second floor of Zhuangyuan Building, Fang Chongyong stuck his head out of the window of the private room and saw the prison van carrying Li Guiren passing by downstairs. His face was expressionless and indifferent to the extreme.

The people are in a frenzy, and the desire to avenge their enemies is a simple emotion among them. At this time, there is no need to talk about legal or illegal things.

Sentencing the most heinous criminals to death will give ordinary people a sense of security, even if the criminal has little direct connection with them.

This is human nature.

Thinking of this, Fang Zhongyong asked Yan Zhuang beside him, "When Li Guiren sent people to dig the Yellow River embankment, did he ever think that he would end up like this?"

"Probably not."

Yan Zhuang shook his head. He thought that if Li Guiren knew that Shi Siming had done such a ruthless thing, he would definitely not dig his own grave by sending people to dig the Yellow River embankment.

"Let's go to the Dali Temple and see how Wei Zichun will conduct the trial."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand gently, indicating that Yan Zhuang didn't need to continue.

After Li Lin's death, Wei Zichun was immediately appointed by Fang Chongyong as the acting Chief Justice of the Dali Temple. It was only one step from being a criminal to being in charge of trying people.

Many people understood some unspeakable things from this appointment.

Wei Zichun understood even more clearly that there was no turning back for him.

The two followed Li Guiren's prisoner car and came to the Dali Temple. At this moment, the place was already crowded with people, more lively than a festival.

Zhang Guangsheng and his personal soldiers were responsible for maintaining order at the scene, and the crowd made way for the prison van. At this time, no one was throwing stones or anything, after all, it was in front of the government office.

The gate of the Dali Temple was open, and the crowd watched Li Guiren, who had been hit by stones and covered his head, not daring to let go, slowly walk into the Dali Temple with the support of two Yamen clerks. People followed behind them, just at a distance, and also walked slowly.

Fang Zhongyong suddenly felt like chewing gum.

This scene, this process, is completely useless and is purely for show to outsiders.

But the people just buy into this!

Watching the evildoer being executed, it feels as if I were chopping off his head with my own hands, and I feel an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in my heart!
It is true that people who like to watch the fun don’t mind getting into trouble.

The Dali Temple lobby was where prisoners were interrogated. People no longer dared to go inside and could only stand outside and watch. Fang Zhongyong did not want to get involved and pretended to be just an ordinary bystander, watching Wei Zichun's trial.

"Li Guiren, you are a military governor appointed by the imperial court, but you ordered the people under your jurisdiction to cross the river and dig the embankment on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Do you know your guilt for doing such a cruel thing? "

Wei Zichun, dressed in a scarlet official robe, asked sternly.

Whether he, the "acting" Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, can remove the word "acting" depends on whether he can prove the power of the imperial court today.

Therefore, it is hard to say whether Li Guiren was nervous or not, but Wei Zichun was quite nervous.

"The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. What's the crime?"

Li Guiren answered calmly. Although he was disheveled, his eyes met Wei Zichun's, showing no sign of weakness.

"Since you have admitted it, I will now pronounce the sentence. You will be beheaded in front of the main gate of the Imperial City at noon tomorrow. After the execution, your head will be hung on the top of the Imperial City for thirty days as a warning to others!

Come, take the prisoner to jail."

Wei Zichun pronounced the verdict immediately without going through any complicated and lengthy procedures.

Anyway, it’s just a matter of revenge!
"Good! Good judgment!"

Fang Chongyong shouted in the crowd, and then a warm cheer broke out outside the main hall of the Dali Temple.

Li Guiren showed a look of surprise. He had a lot to say, but... no one listened!
"I… wuwuwuwu!"

Just as Li Guiren was about to shout, the police officer who had been prepared stuffed the rag in his hand into his mouth. Li Guiren could only whimper and could not utter a word.

After eighteen years of shouting, he is still a hero?
Shouting that my fate is in my own hands?
Shouting that it was unfair, shouting that it was innocent, crying for mercy?

Haha, nothing, not even a chance. The Bianzhou court didn't even let him speak.

Li Guiren was dragged away by the police like a dead fish. Fang Chongyong, who was watching the fun outside the door, had no idea what this brave general was thinking at the moment.

He instructed Yan Zhuang beside him, "Before the execution, have someone put a small note in each of Li Guiren's ears."

"Sir, what's the use of that?"

Yan Zhuang asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Fang Zhongyong came over and laughed softly, "One note has the word 'good' written on it, and the other has the word 'pain' written on it, together they say 'it hurts so much'. Li Guiren couldn't speak after his head was chopped off, so I said what he didn't say."

Yan Zhuang thought for a moment before he realized that Fang Chongyong was teasing Li Guiren. The person was dead, and he still said "it hurts". This was just like killing someone and destroying their heart.

At this time, the crowd also dispersed. Fang Chongyong heard a lot of discussions among the crowd, but they were not talking about Li Guiren, but when the government would deal with Shi Siming.

It seems that there are also bad sides to publicizing this matter. Now the people of Bianzhou all know that Li Guiren was instigated by someone to dig the river embankment.

As long as the "real boss" Shi Siming is not dealt with, this matter will not come to an end.

Fang Chongyong remained calm on the surface, but he was thinking about how to defeat Hebei.

The two came to the street. Now the Bianliang city has taken shape. Even though the city wall is not complete, its internal streets and houses are being built rapidly. At this moment, it already has a bit of the flavor of an ancient town in the previous life.

"When do you think Shi Siming will attack Bianzhou?"

Walking along the canal with Yan Zhuang and others, Fang Zhongyong asked as they walked.

"Sir, the art of war is a matter of deception. I do not think Shi Siming will cross the river immediately after the autumn harvest."

Yan Zhuang said calmly.

Fang Zhongyong nodded slightly and said, "I'd like to hear more details."

"Hebei lacks boats. If Qiu comes, how can we cross the river? How can we return to Hebei after robbing them?"

Yan Zhuang didn't talk about anything else, he just talked about the most important thing.

After all, they were separated by the Yellow River, and if they rashly crossed the river to fight, Shi Siming's troops might have more cavalry, which would give them a great advantage on the vast plains.

However, he had no advantage at all as he was blocked by the river.

On the contrary, Bianzhou has a well-developed water network, and the Bianzhou army has an absurd number of ships. If they use boats instead of horses, it is not certain who will bully whom at that time!

"I don't think Shi Siming would treat us as fools. After the autumn harvest, everyone will be a little alert. Although we are harvesting crops at this time, we are also on guard.

Only when the harvest is completed and the river begins to freeze will the anxious heart fall and only then will they relax.

The canal has been closed for navigation, and the Yellow River has frozen over in many places. The time is right for the cavalry. It would be strange if Shi Siming did not send troops at that time. "Yan Zhuang said with certainty.

"Immediately order Liu Longxian to set out from the three cities of Heyang and attack Weizhou, which is adjacent to him. We don't have to wait for news from Li Sheng, let's give Shi Siming a blow first."

Fang Zhongyong made a chopping gesture.

"Weizhou is the western gateway of Xiangzhou. Losing Weizhou means that Yecheng can be attacked and taken down in one fell swoop. Just ask Shi Siming if he is panicking."

he added.

Since Shi Siming could drag Li Guiren into the water, Fang Chongyong could also drag Liu Longxian into the water.

After all, everyone could see what happened to Li Guiren, and Liu Longxian had no choice at all.

The first wave of the Hebei war was over. The second wave was started by Shi Siming. Fang Zhongyong had no choice but to join the game as a player and gamble against Shi Siming.

"Official, isn't it a bit hasty to act now?"

Yan Zhuang asked in a low voice.

"It was Liu Longxian who did it. What does it have to do with us?"

Fang Chongyong asked rhetorically.

Yan Zhuang was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.

If we talk about it in name, Yecheng actually belonged to the court of Bianzhou. Couldn't Shi Siming have occupied it whenever he wanted?

When he occupied Yecheng, why didn't he say that Yecheng belonged to the Bianzhou court?

Now Liu Longxian is attacking Yecheng. That is his personal behavior. What does it have to do with the court in Bianzhou?
If you want to blame someone, just blame Shi Siming for being ugly, which made Liu Longxian want to beat him up.

Yan Zhuang didn't expect that Fang Chongyong actually wanted to fight Shi Siming without breaking him.

"What a wise opinion, sir!"

Yan Zhuang exclaimed in admiration.

"Shi Siming is a man-eating beast. Going straight up to attack him would play right into his hands, which is not a good idea.

We need to slowly tease him, anger him, distract him, and make him lose his rationality.

The troops led by Li Sheng were not from the Bianzhou court, but the so-called Hebei Volunteer Army that opposed Shi Siming, and they did not fly under our banner. "

Fang Zhongyong sneered, with a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Shi Siming thought that after he was ready, he would find a convenient place to cross the Yellow River from the north bank, and then fight wherever he could, robbing as he went.

He had a nice idea!

Wars have a rhythm. If a head-on confrontation is too costly, then find a way to disrupt your opponent's rhythm!
Liu Longxian attacked Weizhou. Shi Siming should send troops to defend it, right?
Li Sheng led his troops to harass Youzhou from the rear, so Shi Siming should also send troops back to defend, right?
Being attacked from the east and the west, how could Shi Siming concentrate his superior forces to cross the Yellow River and plunder Bianzhou?

This is a typical case of "you fight yours and I fight mine".

The two looked at the busy ferry terminal, with boats lining up to unload their cargo, creating a prosperous and bustling scene.

At this moment, Yan Zhuang suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, Bianzhou is a place where four wars are fought. Even Shi Siming makes us feel like we are facing a formidable enemy. Do you think we should move the capital to Luoyang in the future?"

"I don't know either. Let's take it one step at a time."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said that the current direction of history has changed greatly, and what the future will be like is an unknown road.

He can no longer be a "prophet" and predict with certainty what the future will be like.

Let’s talk about it then.

……

They were paraded through the streets, publicly tried, and beheaded, with their heads hung in the imperial palace in Bianliang City for thirty days.

Li Guiren died, his death was insignificant, like a feather.

Shi Siming, who captured him, and Fang Chongyong, who killed him, seemed to have forgotten about him completely soon after.

Fang Chongyong's life was as busy as usual, and nothing particularly surprising or frightening happened.

Every day he went to the yamen during the day and returned home at night, assigning government and military affairs in an orderly manner.

It was similar to working in my previous life. It was very dull, not thrilling, let alone exciting.

However, Shi Siming had a very bad life!
It was not known whether the water and soil in Weizhou were incompatible with Shi Siming, but as soon as he arrived in Yuancheng, the river wind from the Yongji Canal caused Shi Siming's old headache to recur.

The good mood of capturing Xiangzhou and killing Li Guiren disappeared immediately.

So when Shi Siming was in a very bad mood and had a headache, he liked to kill people. He would often be smiling one moment and draw his sword the next.

This situation does not affect day or night, it just depends on when Shi Siming falls ill.

As the emperor of the "Great Yan Kingdom", Shi Siming had an "actor troupe" that did not perform operas but told him jokes.

These people were originally very favored. Although Shi Siming liked to kill people, he would not kill those who told him jokes.

But things are different now. This so-called "Son of Heaven" kills these actors and actresses at will.

On this day, when Shi Siming learned that Liu Longxian dared to send troops to seize Weizhou and threaten the flank of Xiangzhou, he immediately became furious!
Then his headache came back.

Shi Siming once again began to draw his sword and kill people without restraint, killing the eunuchs around him and the guards on duty. He did not stop until he had killed more than a dozen people.

"Liu Longxian! You are so brave!
I didn't come to trouble you, but you came to trouble me instead!"

In the lobby of the Yuancheng Governor's Mansion, Shi Siming held a horizontal sword in his hand, panting and roaring. He was the only one standing in the lobby, and everyone else had already laid down.

The ground was full of people he had just killed, but unfortunately they were all people around him, most of them were actors, and none of them had anything to do with Liu Longxian!
After venting his anger, Shi Siming's headache was gone. He sat down on the main seat in the hall and ordered his servants to clean up the place.

However, Shi Siming just sat quietly in his chair, watching the eunuchs clean up the mess tremblingly.

With so many people around, no one knew what this moody Emperor of the Great Yan State, who loved to kill people when he got angry, was thinking.

In fact, Shi Siming was just regretting why he didn't deal with Liu Longxian at the same time when he dealt with Li Guiren.

He is regretting!
A small leak will sink a great ship!

Shi Siming's plan was to plunder Bianzhou, and everything else had to take a back seat.

Now Liu Longxian has jumped out like a flea. Should we crush him to death?

Shi Siming fell into deep thought.

Reason told him that he had to endure it now, because Liu Longxian was obviously just the mantis that jumped out first to cause trouble.

There's someone standing behind him! We can't mobilize a large army to draw their swords and chop him down just because of this.

However, Shi Siming was completely unable to suppress his anger!

Because according to Li Guiren, the false surrender was Liu Longxian's plan. In other words, Liu Longxian was the culprit who caused him to fall from the city wall!

"Come here, pass the order down, call the generals in the camp outside the city, I want to conquer Liu Longxian!"

Shi Siming walked out of the yamen lobby and gave instructions to the messenger waiting outside the door.

(End of this chapter)