The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 244 The burial of the scholar-officials and the emperor!
"Clang!"

As one soldier dropped his weapon, more and more soldiers on the city wall dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender. The city had been breached, so what was the point of the emperor being here? We were all Han Chinese, so there was no need to fight to the death.

Open the city gate and welcome King Zhou!

Soon, the remaining gates of Nanchang City surrendered directly.

Thick smoke floated in the wind and a huge fire broke out in the city. Gangsters and thugs took advantage of the situation to burn, kill and loot. Even the originally good people joined in the looting.

Those high-ranking officials, those wealthy families who usually boast of being from noble families, became extremely vulnerable at this moment. Their wealth became a death warrant. Even if they had tall and strong servants, how could they match the endless stream of refugees causing chaos?

Once the fire started, the case became unsolved, but the wealth obtained from the robbery was enough to make these penniless people suddenly rich.

For such people, Guo Jing only has one word: kill!

As the army entered the city, the Zhou army took over the city defense and blocked the main roads. Anyone wandering on the streets was arrested, and those who burned, killed and looted were killed on the spot. The fire was put out, and then a notice to reassure the people was issued.

On the city wall, corpses were scattered around in various mutilated states. After they attacked the city wall, opened the city gates and let the army in, the resistance was basically over.

When the Song army surrendered, Zhao Hong returned to the imperial city with his close associates. The emperor's dragon flag was planted on the top of the city wall and fluttered in the wind. There was a commotion on the city wall, with the survivors cheering and some people collecting the property and blood-stained armor from the dead bodies.

Lu Guanying staggered past the half-dead body, no longer as fierce and ferocious as before. He threw the bent knife on the ground, took off his bloodstained helmet and placed it on the parapet, then sat down against the wall with difficulty, his face covered with sweat, he stretched out his hand to hold the arrow that had penetrated his other shoulder, his fingers were shaking.

Then he gritted his teeth and pulled it out.

"what!"

He couldn't help but let out a low roar of pain with his clenched teeth. He threw the bloody feather arrow at his feet. Blood gushed out of the empty wound on his shoulder. He pressed the acupoints on the wound to stop the bleeding, then gritted his teeth, took out the golden wound medicine and sprinkled it on the wound, which stopped the bleeding.

Inside the city walls, cavalrymen galloped on the streets, and a voice came from afar: "For three days, no household is allowed to go out at will!"

……

Inside the imperial city, Guo Jing rode a little red horse and entered through the main gate, followed by thousands of elite cavalrymen. There was no one on the imperial road, only the sound of horse hooves like thunder, echoing in the empty palace city.

"kill!"

Just as they passed by a pond, several figures suddenly jumped out of the water and attacked Guo Jing, with the sound of mechanical weapons and hidden weapons swarming in.

Facing the sudden assassination, Guo Jing sat on his little red horse without moving an inch. The personal guards beside him tightly surrounded him, holding shields in their hands and blocking the front tightly. Only a few hidden weapons hit the horses under their crotches.

"You barbarian lackey, give me your life!"

However, hooks shot out from the guards' sleeves and stabbed them, with the barbs digging deep into their flesh. "Get out of the way!" the leader shouted and dodged like a snake.

At this moment, a long spear shot out from the team and nailed him to the ground with lightning speed. The tip of the spear sank into the bluestone brick floor and trembled continuously. The remaining people were also entangled and captured by the guards.

A figure walked out of the team and came to Guo Jing, "I am sorry for my negligence and for frightening Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

“It’s okay.” Guo Jing waved his hand, looked at the people still struggling on the ground, drove his little red horse forward, and said, “Kill them all!”

At this moment, he didn't even want to look at these things any more. This was just an episode. On the way to the main hall, Guo Jing encountered several more assassination attempts. These people were like death warriors, fighting without regard for death.

However, these tricks had no effect at all in front of the army.

In the main hall, Zhao Hong sat on the dragon throne, with a few ministers standing below. "Your Majesty, the Zhou army has entered the city, we have lost!" someone said, and then someone suggested, "Your Majesty, please surrender."

At this moment, these formerly loyal ministers all changed their attitudes and wanted to use him as a stepping stone for advancement.

Zhao Hong was stunned for a long time, then turned to look at Zhen Dexiu, "Sir, what should we do now?"

After the war, Zhen Dexiu was still wearing armor and looked haggard. He glanced at the emperor sitting on the throne, then at his colleagues beside him, and suddenly knelt down, "Your Majesty, the situation has deteriorated to this point, and I cannot refuse death. I hope you will allow me to die for the country. The situation is hopeless, and it is up to you to decide whether to surrender or not!"

"Why has the Prime Minister come to this? It is Heaven's will to destroy our Song Dynasty. It is not the fault of war, nor is it the fault of the king." Zhao Hong ordered his men to help him up, pursed his lips but said nothing.

He wanted to surrender and survive, but when he thought about the fact that Guo Jing was a peasant and his ancestors were rebels from Liangshanpo, he felt extremely upset. It was hard for him to accept that the Song Dynasty would perish at the hands of such a person.

"Tap!"

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the palace, followed by the sound of armor shaking as they ran. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became stagnant, and everyone held their breath involuntarily, staring at the palace door.

A tall figure appeared at the entrance of the hall, and the light behind him made his shadow very long.

"Boom, boom!"

The steady steps moved towards them step by step, as if stepping on everyone's heart.

Soon, Guo Jing came closer, and the officials of the Song Dynasty finally saw his true face. The honest young man of the past was no longer there, replaced by a square and resolute face, thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and bright eyes. He walked over in armor, and an aura of majesty without anger came over them, which made them a little breathless.

He walked closer, not looking at Zhao Hong who was sitting on the seat, but scanning the ministers, his eyes fell on Zhen Dexiu, "Are you the one who advocates the defense of Nanchang this time?"

Facing Guo Jing's heavy gaze, Zhen Dexiu stared, not giving in at all, "Yes, this is my opinion!"

Guo Jing's voice was cold, "I'm very curious, when the Jin Kingdom attacked Lin'an, you didn't defend the city to the death and lost such a big city to the Jin people. Now that I'm here, why are you fighting to defend the city to the death? In your eyes, I, Guo Jing, am not as good as the Jin people?" Zhen Dexiu snorted coldly, "Humph, the Jin people are just a foreign race, but you, Guo Jing, are a rebel. As a Han Chinese, you don't think about protecting the country and the people, but are willing to be a running dog of the foreign race and attack our Song Dynasty. How can we surrender when you are such an accomplice to the tiger?" The old man's words were filled with contempt.

"Okay, that's a very good point. Do you think that the people living on the land of the Song Dynasty should be exploited by you, driven by you, and die for you?" His voice became colder and colder.

Qiao Xingjian stepped forward and said, "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. Our Song Dynasty is the orthodox Han Chinese. As a Han Chinese, shouldn't I do my part for the court?"

Guo Jing frowned and glared at him, "Heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things as straw dogs. Saints are not benevolent and treat the people as straw dogs. You, the children who are familiar with the Confucian sage books, cannot reach the level of saints, but you really treat the people as straw dogs. In the past, the millions of Han people in Kaifeng and Hebei were not your people. Aren't the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiankang and Lin'an who were slaughtered your people?"

"In the face of the Jin people, you kowtowed and gave the money you plundered to the foreign race, but you harshly suppressed your own people and treated them like trash. Have you read so many books? A hundred years ago, Prince Yue was killed by Zhao Gou. A hundred years later, those heroes who fought against the Jin did not die at the hands of the enemy, but at the hands of their own people. I really feel sorry for them and the people on this land."

Zhen Dexiu's mind was in turmoil, but he still said stubbornly, "Even if that's the case, so what? It's better than a foreign running dog like you!"

Guo Jing was too lazy to continue arguing with him. "I have finally seen the light of day for the scholar-officials that the Song Dynasty has nurtured for a hundred years. Your backbone is only for your own country, not for the outside world. Such a country should not exist in the world!"

"Since you are so courageous, I will grant your wish!" After saying this, Guo Jing left without looking back, and the soldiers who came in with him also retreated.

The officials all looked gloomy and their hearts sank to the bottom. They thought Guo Jing would respect enemies like them, but they didn't expect that he would anger him. What's more, they didn't expect that he would directly ignore Emperor Zhao who was sitting on the dragon throne.

After walking out of the hall, Guo Jing's expression was icy, "Da Hu, arrest him!"

"Yes!"

As a result, the Eagle Guards spread throughout Nanchang City, and the troops hidden in the city quickly gathered and arrested people according to the list. A long time ago, Guo Jing had asked Dahu to plant chess pieces in the south, and he knew the situation in Nanchang City better than Zhao Hong.

All the official families in the south who colluded with the Jin Kingdom, bullied the people, and committed crimes were purged by the Eagle Guards, including Shi Miyuan's family. A new emperor appoints new ministers, and Guo Jing would not allow these parasites to linger and abuse their power.

The big landowners were also targeted, but they were screened and not nailed to death.

The emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty were sitting in the Qinzheng Hall. Guo Jing never came back after he left. Soldiers were guarding outside and no one was allowed to go out. No food or drinks were provided. After three days, these people were so hungry that they could not stand up.

In the early morning, the gate was opened again, and many tied people were stuffed in. Some were taken out after being screened. Someone asked the guards when they would be released, but the only answer he got was a cold face.

On the fifth day, the gate opened and Lu Guanying walked into the hall. Looking at these dignitaries and royal relatives, he felt very happy. These high-ranking people finally came to this point today.

"The king has ordered that the Song Dynasty has its own integrity. I will fulfill your wishes and help you die for your country to earn the reputation of loyalty. You will have a place in future history books." After saying this, he glanced at the people in the hall, laughed three times, and left without looking back.

"General, spare my life!"

"Spare my life!"

For a while, there were cries and howls one after another. Zhen Dexiu, Qiao Xingjian and others stared with their eyes wide open in disbelief. They pointed in the direction of the outside and cursed, "Tyrant, you shall not die well!"

Then he turned around and looked at the emperor behind him, "Your Majesty, I will go first!"

As he spoke, Zhen Dexiu struggled to get up and threw himself into the flames. Afterwards, a few people followed in his footsteps, but they were a minority after all. The rest cried and wailed in a shrill voice.

Soon, flames shot up into the sky. This palace, which had cost a huge amount of the people's money, was burning fiercely. Through the palace door, one could faintly hear the crying and wailing coming from inside.

But none of the soldiers guarding here sympathized with them. The conversation between Guo Jing and them that day had already spread throughout the army. The emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty did not treat them as human beings. In this case, they should be sent to death!
The hall was filled with thick smoke. Officials were running around, crying and wailing. Zhao Hong sat on the dragon chair, staring blankly at everything in front of him. Suddenly he laughed, "Haha, let's all die, let's die together!"

His mind had already collapsed. He never thought that there was anything wrong with what Zhen Dexiu and the others said. Even the officials in the court didn't think there was anything wrong. They were just peasants. If they died, they died. It didn't matter as long as it wasn't them who died.

This is also the biggest difference between Guo Jing and his officials and these people. They still treat the people below them as human beings, but the Song Dynasty no longer treats them as human beings.

This palace cost a lot of money and food. Guo Jing only burned the halls where people were imprisoned and did not involve other places. He was not like Li Shimin, who burned down the Luoyang Palace and had to spend a lot of money to rebuild it later.

The fire burned for a whole day and a night. The people nearby saw it clearly but they could only watch. The Zhou army was much stronger than the officials of the Song Dynasty. As soon as they arrived, they reduced taxes and stabilized the food prices in the city so that people could have food to eat. With this, what else could they be dissatisfied with?

……

After a fire burned down the Song Dynasty palace, one night, the tomb keeper of the Song Dynasty Imperial Mausoleum not far outside the city was killed, and all the buildings on the mausoleum were burned, knocked down, and razed to the ground. No trace of the imperial mausoleum could be found anymore.

After conquering Nanchang Prefecture, Guo Jing took charge of the imperial city, coordinating and stabilizing the people's hearts in the south. He handed over the task of conquering Guangnan Road and recovering Dali and other old territories to his generals.

After this battle, there would be no war in the world for a long time, so the generals below were very active and rushed to send troops, fearing that they would not gain military merit, and they did not dare to act recklessly.

The old forces left over from the Song Dynasty were almost uprooted by the Eagle Guards. At the very least, the so-called old and young people from the previous dynasty would no longer appear openly on this land.

There was no place for these people in Da Zhou, this was a new country.

Upon learning that the Song emperor had committed suicide by self-immolation, many officials in the southern counties hanged themselves. The Song Dynasty had nurtured scholars for a hundred years and still won over many people's hearts. It was a pity that they were the hearts of these literati, not the people at the bottom.

One night, Guo Jing was sitting in the main hall processing memorials when he suddenly felt the surroundings become eerily quiet. He raised his head and saw a figure standing not far in front of him.

Looking at the skinny figure in eunuch's clothes in front of him, he frowned and was secretly alert in his heart, "Who are you?" There were guards outside the palace. This person could break in quietly, so he was not an ordinary person.

The old eunuch stared at him grimly, sneered, and said something that made him shudder.

(End of this chapter)