Jiuxi

Chapter 973 971 [Good and evil will eventually be rewarded]

From the beginning of January when the Qi army recaptured Heluo to now, nearly four months have passed, and there can be said to be some happy and some sad people in the city.

For those powerful officials and gentry who had transformed themselves into the lackeys of Jing State, the lives of many of them had already entered the countdown the moment the Qi army entered Heluo City.

Then Lu Chen left them alone for several months.

All the people were confined in their own mansions and under the strict surveillance of the Qi army's elite soldiers, they could not have any contact with the outside world.

Although there was no problem with food and clothing, the agony of waiting to die was enough to destroy their will.

Therefore, when these powerful officials and gentry who once controlled the power of life and death in Jiangbei were brought out from their respective mansions by the Qi army soldiers, they actually felt a sense of relief.

The rising sun shines on the square in front of the imperial palace.

More than one hundred dignitaries and officials were brought here. After seeing the scene in front of them, many of them felt confused.

On the east side of the square, there were many benches lined up in a row, which seemed to be seats prepared for these people.

Under the somewhat rough command of the Qi army soldiers, more than a hundred people came to the open space on the west side of the square.

Witnessing this scene, everyone thought secretly that it seemed that the young prince also knew that the law does not hold everyone responsible. Besides, he would not be able to govern this magnificent city with millions of residents alone in the future, so wouldn't it be up to these powerful officials and gentry to take charge in the end?
You have to know that these more than one hundred people represent more than one hundred families. If you count the network of relatives and friends, they can almost influence every aspect of Heluo City.

Some of the more creative people thought more deeply. With the current power of the Prince of Huai'an, he might not be tolerated by the Jiangnan court. In this case, he must have a solid foundation in Jiangbei. Isn't this an opportunity for them, the aristocratic families?

A moment later, with the sound of orderly footsteps of thousands of Tiger Guards, Lu Chen's figure appeared in everyone's sight. They couldn't help but hunch their bodies, with humble and respectful expressions.

A relatively spacious platform was temporarily built on the north side of the square, and outside it were guards standing solemnly with a murderous aura.

Lu Chen stepped onto the stage and faced the more than one hundred middle-aged men with their own thoughts. Behind him stood Liu Yin, Song Shifei, Qin Zilong and Kang Junli, the cavalry general of the Ruishi Camp.

"The criminals pay homage to the prince!"

Everyone in the audience knelt down and saluted.

Lu Chen walked to the edge and looked at them coldly.

The morning sun was not scorching, but the hundreds of people kneeling in the audience felt uneasy.

Although those empty seats gave many people hope, they did not forget that it was in this place six years ago that Lu Chen cursed Yu Xunchen to death in front of them and ordered the heads of Zhang Junsi and others to be chopped off.

"Get up."

Lu Chen's calm voice came from above.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone shouted, then stood up carefully.

They found a group of people on each side of the platform.

There were only about ten people on the left, and the leader was Wang Heng, who was from the Wang family of Zhailin.

The former dignitaries who were reduced to prisoners could not help but spit fire in their eyes. In the past, they regarded the Wang family as the leader, but they did not expect to be severely tricked by the other party, especially that year when Wang An set up a killing trap on his birthday and killed dozens of dignitaries and officials, all of whom were close relatives of those present.

But at this moment they didn't dare to say even a harsh word, for fear of angering the young prince on the platform.

On the right, there were dozens of people, most of them were dressed simply, their ages ranged from thirty to fifty years old, and their eyes were full of contempt and hatred when they looked at this group of prisoners.

These are the famous people from Jiangbei who Chen Xun recruited in the past few months. Among them are former Qi officials who fled into the mountains after Jing State moved south, as well as loyal people who have become famous in recent years but have always refused to work for Jing Yan.

"Everyone, please take your seats."

Lu Chen opened his mouth to invite them, and then his personal guards came forward and guided the famous people from Jiangbei and the children of the Wang family to sit on the east side.

Seeing this scene, more than a hundred former dignitaries felt a chill in their hearts.

Those seats had nothing to do with them. Instead, they belonged to the famous scholars in Jiangbei who were ridiculed and mocked by them in the past, as well as the descendants of the Wang family who they hated. This was obviously a very unfavorable signal.

But some sharp-eyed people noticed that nearly half of the seats were still empty.

"Six years ago, I led my army to attack Heluo, and I met some of you. Even today, I still remember it clearly. At that time, you generously donated a large sum of money to help me with military funds. This money played a huge role in the subsequent Northern Expedition. I am really grateful to you."

Lu Chen looked at the more than 100 people below the stage and said slowly: "However, the court has emptied its coffers for this national war that has lasted for more than a year. The wealthy families in Jiangnan have donated money and materials enthusiastically, which enabled hundreds of thousands of troops to hold on and drive the Jinglian people back to the north of the Jing River. Now the people's livelihood in Jiangbei is in decline, and everything needs to be rebuilt. Silver is needed everywhere. Thinking of this, this king can hardly sleep all night."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate reaction from the audience.

An old man in his sixties said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness, the criminal is Xu Zhili of the Xu family. My family has little wealth, but at this difficult time for the court, I am willing to donate 720,000 taels of silver and 7,000 dan of grain!"

"The criminal Shen Xuesong is willing to donate 1,500 taels of gold, 430,000 taels of silver, and 4,200 dan of grain!" "The criminal Chen Chong is willing to donate 310,000 taels of silver and 4,000 dan of grain!"

For a while, there were waves of shouting and everyone was extremely generous at this moment.

Of course they would feel heartbroken, but if they could exchange these material possessions for the safety of the entire family, or even gain the support of the young prince, it would obviously be an extremely worthwhile deal.

At the same time, they also knew that if Lu Chen was determined to do whatever it took and didn't care about public opinion at all, he could just send troops to seize everyone's property.

On the east side of the square, dozens of Jiangbei celebrities looked coldly at the servile dignitaries and officials. Everyone had a different expression, and many of them felt a little disappointed.

They came to serve Lu Chen not entirely for official positions, fame and wealth, otherwise they could have been loyal to Jing Lian people back then.

If Wang An can become the prime minister of the pseudo-Yan Dynasty, why can’t they become the minister or vice minister?

If Lu Chen easily let these Jinglian people's lackeys go today because of his greed for money, even if they would not leave in anger, they would distance themselves from this prince who rebuilt the Great Qi Dynasty.

Lu Chen swept his calm eyes over these celebrities, thinking that it was just as expected, so he said calmly: "I am indeed somewhat touched by your kindness, but please do not rush to express your opinions. I am not here for the gold, silver and food in your family today. Chen Xun."

Chen Xun, who was temporarily taking over the post of the prefect of Heluo Prefecture, strode over, stood in front of the hundred people, saluted to Lu Chen and said, "I am here!"

Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Read it."

"Follow the order!"

Chen Xun then took out a file from his sleeve, turned around and looked at the anxious prisoners, and his loud voice spread across the square: "Xu Zhili, originally from Dongqing Prefecture, Lingzhou, has been an official for generations and has received the grace of the Emperor of Daqi. The Xu family is a wealthy family in Lingzhou, with countless fields and properties, which are the result of hundreds of years of savings. In the tenth year of Yuankang in Daqi, Xu Zhili, as the head of the Xu family, led his clansmen to serve the thieves Jing and was willing to be their lackeys."

"In the past twenty-one years, the Xu family has been wantonly encroaching on land in various prefectures in Lingzhou. According to rough statistics, they have occupied more than 170,000 acres of good farmland and 21 pastures. In order to show their loyalty to the Jinglian people, the Xu family has exploited the people and oppressed the good people. According to incomplete statistics, they have directly killed more than 7,000 people of Daqi in these years."

"In the third year of Jianwu in the Great Qi Dynasty, Xu Zhili was appointed by the Jinglian nobles to serve as the governor of Weinan Road in the pseudo-Yan Dynasty. In the twelfth year of Jianwu in the Great Qi Dynasty, he went to Heluo to serve as the minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the pseudo-Yan Dynasty. In the fifteenth year of Jianwu in the Great Qi Dynasty, Xu Zhili was appointed by the Jing thieves as the co-governor of the pseudo-Nanjing Road."

The morning breeze was blowing gently and the square was dead silent.

The sixty-year-old man named Xu Zhili could no longer control the fear in his heart. He knelt on his knees facing the platform in front of him, begging for mercy.

Lu Chen did not look at him, and said to everyone: "Perhaps you are a little puzzled, why did the king recapture Heluo four months ago, but did not care about you? Did he not consider how to deal with you? Is it because he is afraid of implicating too many people and is hesitant? In fact, it is not. The king just feels that since we have to settle the past twenty years, we can't wrongly accuse a good person, nor let any beast go, for example-"

He raised his finger and pointed at Xu Zhili, his tone turned cold: "Like this old beast. So while I am fighting, I have people investigate your background and find out what you have done in the past twenty years. Only in this way can the people of the world believe that I killed people to give an explanation to the people of Da Qi who have been ravaged in the past twenty years, and not to covet the people's wealth you have plundered."

"My Lord, spare my life——"

Just as the white-haired Xu Zhili opened his mouth, a burly palace guard raised his palm like a palm-leaf fan and slapped him hard in the face.

This fierce slap made the other hundred people tremble violently.

Lu Chen didn't even bother to look at him, and said loudly: "Nan Yi."

"Be humble!"

Another capable man in his thirties appeared under the platform.

Lu Chen asked: "Have you brought everyone here?"

Nan Yi bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, all the 219 members of the Xu family in various places in Lingzhou have been captured. In addition, there are 71 members of the Xu family in Heluo City, and they have all been taken to Caishikou."

"very good."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, and said to Chen Xun: "You continue."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The file in Chen Xun's hand had now turned into a book of life and death. When he continued to look at the more than one hundred people in front of him, more than ten of them collapsed to the ground in an instant.

"Zi Yu."

As Chen Xun continued to name names and explain the crimes, Wang Heng turned to look at Wang Han beside him and said softly, "Do you understand now? If it weren't for the head of the family's decisiveness and the concubine's help to the prince over the years, our Wang family would still be sitting here? You still don't know what kind of person the prince is? It's not that the prince has to rely on people like us to help, but that the Wang family's children have to rely on the prince's protection to survive!"

Wang Han's face turned pale, and he no longer had the arrogance he had before. He said with shame, "Seventh Uncle, I understand."

Wang Heng nodded and said no more.

On the other side, the famous people in Jiangbei looked at the traitors who were constantly being pulled out and dragged aside, and the expressions on their faces gradually became excited, and some even couldn't help cheering.

After half an hour, Chen Xun, who was thirsty, finally stopped.

Up to this moment, twenty-three people had been dragged aside like dead dogs.

This means a total of twenty-three families, at least four or five thousand people!
(End of this chapter)