Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 594 Chasing Xu Shouhui

Chen Jie looked at the obviously clever eunuch in front of him and asked, "What is it?"

"Lord City Lord, this humble servant begs you not to send us home."

"Please, Lord City Lord, do not send us back home."

Upon hearing Ji Shun's words, the eunuchs behind him immediately knelt in a row.

Chen Jie frowned slightly as he looked at them: "Don't you want to go home?"

"miss you!"

At this moment, Ji Shun immediately spoke up, "I want to, but this servant dares not reply."

Chen Jie looked at them with some confusion, when Ji Shun continued, "Lord City Lord, we are all crippled. After we were captured by the false emperor and castrated, there was no turning back for us."

“If we go back now, we will only face death. Our families will definitely beat us to death if they find out we are going home.”

"Kill you?"

Chen Jie looked at them, and Ji Shun said, "We are both disabled now. When we go home, we will definitely be discriminated against and humiliated by our neighbors. We may be able to grit our teeth and endure it, but our parents will also feel ashamed because of us. They may even be unable to hold their heads up in the village for the rest of their lives and be encouraged and bullied."

“If we don’t go back, our parents can still live peacefully in the village. At most, they’ll just consider it the loss of a son. But if we go back, it will bring endless disaster to our family.”

"So I beg the city lord not to let us go back. Just consider us dead. We don't want to implicate our families!"

"We beg the city lord to grant our request!"

Led by Ji Shun, a group of eunuchs knelt down. In this era, people's minds were not tolerant. For these eunuchs, going home was almost like killing them. They already had no skills and had become disabled. If they went home now, wouldn't they be scorned by the villagers?

Moreover, they would implicate their families. If these eunuchs were driven to desperation, they might demean themselves and sell themselves into brothels, which would be a huge poison to the morals of the entire Huangzhou Prefecture. So these people really cannot be easily driven away.

That bastard Xu Shouhui really left me with a mess.

Thinking this, Chen Jie looked at Ji Shun and then said, "It's all up to voluntariness. Jin Yanzi, you cooperate with Ji Shun and tell everyone that those who are willing to leave will receive repatriation expenses, and those who are unwilling to leave will not be forced to stay. We'll build a textile factory for them and settle them down there, since we're going to set up a factory in Xiangyang Prefecture anyway."

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, Du Xiong, who was standing to the side, said, "My lord, once we take Xiangyang Prefecture, the entire Hubei region will be our territory. You will be a warlord now, so why not take this opportunity to declare yourself king and become emperor?"

"And these eunuchs are perfect for serving the lord, isn't that just right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Du Xiong and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Why don't you become the lord?"

"I dare not!"

Du Xiong immediately lowered his head, and Chen Jie said, "Although we have taken Hubei Road, it is still too early to talk about becoming king. There is no rush to become king. Our current strategy is to stockpile grain, build high walls, and delay declaring ourselves king."

"It's just an empty title. Do you think I'm like Xu Shouhui, that I have to be the emperor?"

"Besides, even if I were to become king, I wouldn't need eunuchs to serve me. We all come from the common people, so why use such cruel methods to harm people who are also commoners?"

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, Ji Shun and the others visibly paled. They had originally thought they could serve Chen Jie just as they had served Xu Shouhui, and become eunuchs second only to the emperor.

However, hearing Chen Jie's words that he would not use eunuchs directly blocked their path to promotion, so they all looked gloomy, but dared not show it.

Chen Jie really didn't want to use eunuchs. The thought of being served by these androgynous people every day made him instinctively disgusted. If he really needed someone to serve him, wouldn't it be better to replace the eunuchs with palace maids? They would be more pleasing to the eye.

As for more political considerations, such as using eunuchs to check and balance officials, or creating a powerful eunuch like Wei Zhongxian in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Jie had no such ideas. Chen Jie needed a successor, but not one who knew nothing. Chen Jie would establish a strict system for selecting a successor.

They will be trained from the bottom up, gradually learning the hardships of life, before finally ascending to the throne. It is not desirable for them to be ignorant and become puppets in the hands of ministers. If that happens, then the successor has failed.

Moreover, the harm caused by eunuchs is obvious. As for their role in checks and balances, Chen Jie really doesn't think much of them; he has countless ways to do so.

Thinking it over, Chen Jie directly ordered Jin Yanzi to lead people to gather these eunuchs and palace maids together and make unified arrangements. Those who did not want to leave should be registered. Chen Jie could not let these poor people lose their place to live.

As for the rest, Chen Jie would deal with it later. So the group headed straight for the palace and soon passed through the palace gates and entered the palace. Once inside, Chen Jie took a look and thought that Xu Shouhui was really wasting people's money and resources by building such a large building in Xiangyang City. He wondered how much of the people's wealth he had plundered.

And so, Chen Jie passed through the gate and soon arrived at the palace. At this time, Ji Shun was sent by Jin Yanzi to help Chen Jie tour the palace.

"Lord of the City, this is the residence of the false emperor, and that wall is movable. No one is allowed to touch anything inside."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Ji Shun and said, "You seem quite clever. Have you ever been inside here before?"

Ji Shun said, "Although I hate the false emperor to the bone, I also fear him to the bone. We would never dare to enter the forbidden zone set up by the false emperor."

Hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Well, let's check the restricted area and see just how much wealth Xu Shouhui has plundered from the people!"

As he spoke, Chen Jie led Du Xiong, Zhang Dingbian, Shi Gengming, and several others into the area. Upon reaching them, Du Xiong looked around and said, "How do we open this wall? Should I just punch it open?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Shun said, "No, no, there's a mechanism in this wall, a mechanism."

As he spoke, Ji Shun led Chen Jie to the mechanism. It was a vase. Chen Jie reached out to unscrew the vase, but Ji Shun stopped him. Ji Shun then put his hand into the vase and twisted it a couple of times, saying, "There's a hidden latch inside. If you don't unlock it first and just twist the vase, the wall will lock from the inside, and you won't be able to open it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie nodded slightly and said, "I see. I didn't expect there to be such a mechanism design."

"Alright, Lord City Lord, please."

As Ji Shun was speaking, Chen Jie twisted the vase, and the next moment the large door behind it opened, revealing a passage that faced downwards, clearly leading underground.

As soon as the wall door was opened, a mixture of medicinal herbs and a fishy stench wafted out.

Upon smelling the stench, everyone frowned. Those who were more sensitive, such as Chen Jie, Zhang Dingbian, and Shi Gengming, recognized it as the foul odor of a rotting corpse. This smell was hard to describe; no other stench could compare to it.

"Lord!"

Du Xiong glanced at Chen Jie, who said, "Let's go in and take a look."

Ji Shun was standing next to Chen Jie when Chen Jie glanced at him and said, "I'm afraid you can't handle the scene inside. Maybe you shouldn't go in."

Upon hearing this, Ji Shun immediately said, "No, this servant will go with the city lord." Du Xiong replied, "It's not like there are mountains of corpses and seas of blood, is it really necessary? My lord, I, Old Du, will go first."

As he spoke, Du Xiong rushed in, followed by Zhang Dingbian and Shi Gengming. Chen Jie also went in, and Ji Shun, though trembling with fear, gritted his teeth and followed Chen Jie.

He wanted to establish a capable image for Chen Jie. As a rootless person, he understood all too well that the only one he could rely on was the strong. And who was the strong? Was there even a question?
It must be Chen Jiu Si, the man who could scare away even the false emperor.

Having figured this out, Ji Shun gritted his teeth and followed along. Who doesn't do everything they can for their future?

So the group walked directly down the tunnel, and the stench became more and more pronounced the further they went.

Soon they finally arrived at the deepest part of the tunnel, where it was pitch black, but there seemed to be an oil lamp on the wall.

Just then, Du Xiong reached out to light the oil lamp, when suddenly a hand grabbed his trouser leg.

"Help, help me!"

Ah!
Du Xiong was startled when he saw this and almost jumped up. He was about to kick him when Chen Jie stopped him: "Du Xiong."

Du Xiong paused, looking at Chen Jie. At that moment, Chen Jie reached out and used his internal energy to grab the tinder in Du Xiong's hand. Instantly, a flame floated up and landed on the candlestick not far from Du Xiong!

Whoosh, the candlestick was instantly lit, illuminating the space in front of it.

At this moment, Du Xiong looked down and finally saw what was grabbing his ankle: a pair of withered, large hands, so thin that a stranger might mistake them for chicken feet.

Du Xiong continued to look up from the pair of withered hands. As his gaze shifted, Du Xiong finally saw the owner of the hands: a man who was emaciated, with sunken eyes and a face so thin that there was no flesh left, and who looked like he was about to starve to death.

It looks exactly like a human skeleton.

Upon seeing this, Du Xiong was so frightened that he quickly pulled his leg back, staring in astonishment at the humanoid skeleton in front of him.

"Is this a human or a ghost?"

Seeing this, Chen Jie frowned. The next moment, he used his telekinesis technique to grab the flames in the air and then aimed them at the oil lamps in the space. With each flick, the oil lamps in the space were lit.

As the oil lamp was lit, the environment inside the space was completely exposed. Chen Jie looked around and was truly surprised by what he saw.

That's terrible, so terrible.

Every three meters around the perimeter of the space, there was an iron chain, and each chain was tied to a person. Some of them were already dead, and their corpses were enormous. It was these enormous corpses that gave rise to the strong stench.

And those who weren't dead were all on the verge of death, like this one who was skin and bones from hunger, and there were a few more over there who all looked like they were on the verge of death.

"Little Haruko!"

Just as Chen Jie was wondering who these people were, he suddenly saw Ji Shun rush towards someone. It was a thin person tied in the middle, who looked like he had been tied up for several days.

At that moment, Ji Shun rushed over and looked at Xiao Chunzi, saying, "You're not dead! You're not dead!"

Xiao Chunzi looked up and saw Ji Shun. A bitter smile appeared on her face: "Xiao Shunzi, what brings you here?"

He then fainted.

Seeing this, Ji Shun immediately panicked and shouted, "Xiao Chunzi, Xiao Chunzi..."

"Um... stop yelling, is there any water? Give him some."

"Water, water!"

Ji Shun looked up and searched around. At that moment, Chen Jie reached into his storage ring, took out a water gourd from his storage ring, and threw it over.

Ji Shun immediately kowtowed to Chen Jie as soon as he took the document, saying, "Thank you, Lord City Lord, thank you, Lord City Lord."

Upon seeing the water, these men, who were still tied up but not yet dead, all cried out, "Give me a sip, please, give me a sip..."

Seeing the pitiful state of these people, Chen Jie was moved with compassion. He waved his hand, and two water gourds appeared in his hand. He said to Shi Gengming and Du Xiong, "Give them some water."

Upon hearing this, the two immediately agreed and gave the people some water, which made them feel a little better. At this time, Chen Jie asked them what had happened. After the people explained, Chen Jie understood that these were all people who had offended Xu Shouhui. Some of them had said something that Xu Shouhui did not want to hear.

Some people broke Xu Shouhui's bowl, while others were simply people Xu Shouhui disliked, so he tied them all up here, deprived them of food and water, and let them starve to death.

Its cruelty was absolutely outrageous. Even Chen Jie had to admit that Xu Shouhui was truly a scourge to both heaven and man!

Thinking this, Chen Jie continued to look at the cave. After looking around, Chen Jie witnessed the wickedness of human nature. The place was roughly divided into three parts: a pit of corpses, a storage area, and a dog chain.

The dog leashes were where these people were chained, and there were also mass graves filled with corpses. Looking at them, there were probably thousands of people, and the ground was covered with skeletons.

What's even more disgusting is the storage area, where various dried hearts, livers, spleens, stomachs, and kidneys are stored, and there's even a large tube of fleshy lumps. Upon closer inquiry, it turns out that those are the eunuchs' genitals.

Xu Shouhui's depravity is evident. Chen Jie felt extremely heavy-hearted upon seeing this scene, and his gaze became incredibly sharp. A beast like Xu Shouhui does not deserve to live in this world.

Thinking of Chen Jie, he said, "Ji Shun."

"Lord City Lord!"

Ji Shun immediately ran over, and Chen Jie looked at Ji Shun and asked, "Do you know when Xu Shouhui ran away and where he ran to?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Shun said, "They fled overnight, heading northwest. Peng, the Grand Preceptor Peng, is there!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie immediately understood Ji Shun's meaning. Xu Shouhui must have gone to Peng Yingyu's place. At this moment, Chen Jie called out, "Du Xiong."

"My subordinate is here."

"Gather five hundred cavalrymen and follow me."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)