Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 229 Asking for orders for the people
The head of the Gao family was unable to break free and was sent to the provincial prison, where he was locked up in solitary confinement.

It was not until this time that a guard unblocked several acupuncture points on the head of the Gao family, allowing him to move and speak.

Patriarch Gao was furious. "Call the governor! I want to talk to him!"

Several guards left quickly, and the prison guards ignored them.

"Hey, Patriarch Gao, you're here too! Really quick!"

A familiar voice sounded from the adjacent cell.

Patriarch Gao paused after hearing this, turned around and took a closer look, his eyes widening. "Mr. Zheng, you, why are you here?"

Zheng Yu sat against the wall and sighed, "My family has suffered misfortune. I, Zheng, have come to apologize and am willing to accept the punishment of the law."

Patriarch Gao looked puzzled. Was this an act for him?

Before, Zheng Yu and Lu Zheng had a very good relationship and were even brothers. But now Zheng Yu was arrested, which was unbelievable...

"Did Lu Zheng ask you to come?" asked the head of the Gao family.

Zheng Yu said calmly, "I guess so. If Brother Lu hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known... Alas, I'm too embarrassed to see anyone."

Patriarch Gao pursed his lips and remained silent.

After a while, Patriarch Gao finally said, "Do you know who meant this?"

"What?" Zheng Yu was stunned for a moment, then said, "Well, I dare not say anything careless..."

As he spoke, Zheng Yu subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Hey, are you trying to trick him? He won't put the blame on Lu Zheng anyway.

Those families in Hongzhou really need to be suppressed.

When the head of the Gao family saw Zheng Yu's expression and actions, he felt inexplicably uneasy. Could it be that this was really an instruction from above?
Just then, a bloody man was dragged in and thrown into a cell.

"This……"

Patriarch Gao stared at the man and felt vaguely that he looked familiar.

He couldn't help but look at Zheng Yu and asked in a low voice: "He is your family's housekeeper, right?"

Zheng Yu sneered, "I was wrong in my judgment. He has brought disaster to our Zheng family for so many years. He even wants to take all the blame and ask me to protect his family. I am not ignorant of the law. Whoever does something must bear the consequences! At worst, his property will be confiscated and he will be exiled..."

Patriarch Gao's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Is this for real?
If all the things the Gao family has done were to be exposed, it would not be as simple as confiscating their property and exiling them.

He hurried to the prison door and said to an officer, "Officer, please give me a message home."

The officer said, "Sir, please don't embarrass us."

"Then tell Lord Su a message!" Patriarch Gao said, "I have something important to tell you!"

The officer said calmly, "Your Excellency is very busy and doesn't have the time... If Patriarch Gao wishes to confess any crime, I can give you a pen and paper. After writing it down and checking it, I can present it to Your Excellency for review."

Confess? He won’t confess! Patriarch Gao thought to himself.

Patriarch Gao said, "Then give me a pen and paper!"

A policeman slowly brought in pen and paper, the crudest items.

Patriarch Gao quickly began to write a paragraph.

The messenger next to him stared at it and said, "If Patriarch Gao writes like this, I will not present it to His Excellency."

"You!" Patriarch Gao's face darkened, and he suppressed his temper and said, "You're afraid of offending Lord Su, but aren't you afraid of offending me? I just want you to pass on a message."

The messenger said quietly, "Master Su will always be the master of my family. But Master Gao may not necessarily be the master of the Gao family in the future."

The head of the Gao family glared and realized that all the guards in the prison were Su Ming's men, some were even servants sent by the family, and not ordinary officials.

Seeing Patriarch Gao like this, the messenger took the pen and paper and said, "I'll give these things to you when Patriarch Gao confesses his guilt."

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Gao became furious.

Not long after, another middle-aged man in fancy clothes was brought in and locked up with the head of the Gao family.

"Master Gao..."

"Master Wang..."

The two looked at each other with mixed feelings.

The two family heads who were able to call the shots in Hongzhou now met in prison, which was a bit awkward.

"But Lu Zheng?" Patriarch Gao couldn't help but ask.

The head of the Wang family said angrily, "Yes, he is really crazy... He wanted to kill my son with a sword, saying that my son had committed a serious crime and that my Wang family had violated the national law... I originally came to ask the governor and the provincial governor to make a decision, but... "

Lu Zheng was in an aggressive manner, and the head of the Wang family did not dare to offend Lu Zheng, so he had to come to the provincial government.

Patriarch Wang didn't expect that Su Ming didn't even give him a chance to explain and directly threw him into jail.

Patriarch Gao had a strange look on his face when he heard this, and he thought to himself, is Patriarch Wang confused, and is he asking Su Ming to make the decision?

Patriarch Wang couldn't help but whisper, "I finally understand. It's Lord Su and the others who are trying to move on us."

Patriarch Gao had a blank expression on his face. "You understand too late."

"Then what should we do?" Patriarch Wang couldn't help but worry.

Their Wang family is no match for the Gao family. Even the head of the Gao family is here...

Patriarch Gao sat there motionless. "Let's wait. I don't believe they can really do anything to us... Once things get out of hand, the higher-ups will know about it."

The head of the Gao family can only wait for someone in the court to say something good about their Gao family.

As for the life and death of other families? That's none of his business.

Patriarch Wang leaned aside and said quietly, "Hey, who do you think will be the next family?" I'm afraid everyone will have to come... Patriarch Gao thought.

……

Hongzhou City, Li Mansion.

Several elders of the Li family gathered together, each with a solemn expression.

Li Da had brought back a message before, saying that they thought Lu Zheng was a mysophobia person, so they asked the servants to clean the house thoroughly and also planned to replace some old decorations.

As a result, some shocking news came back from outside, forcing them to change their minds and get together to discuss the matter.

"So, this is what Lu Zheng meant by loving cleanliness?"

"It seems that this is what he meant..."

“How many houses has he visited?”

"There should be six families now, all of them are big families, no one dares to touch him..."

"The provincial government has already sent soldiers to arrest some members of the Zheng and Gao families. Those who resisted were executed in the streets. It's clear they're serious about this."

"Looking at the situation, if nothing unexpected happens, they will come to us tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"Should we go find him first, or write a letter to Li Yuan and ask him to persuade him?"

"He's already put Zheng Yu in jail. Who do you think can persuade him? I'm afraid the state government won't let this go..."

"so what should I do now?"

"How many families in the entire Hongzhou City are clean? We can't confiscate all their property or even exterminate their entire clan, right?"

"It's better to clean up the mess and hand over the people than to have them come knocking on our door... After that, we'll see if we can take over some of the businesses. After all, so many families have suffered. We should be able to recover some of the losses. This is also an opportunity for our Li family!"

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but agree with it.

"If our offspring commits a capital crime..." someone couldn't help but say.

Everyone was silent for a while.

"Whoever owns the offspring should take care of it. Try to avoid death, but it may not be easy to get rid of the crime." Someone said.

After another round of discussion, everyone dispersed.

The atmosphere in the entire Li Mansion, or rather, the entire Hongzhou City, became depressing.

……

"Is he crazy?"

When Yang Heng learned what Lu Zheng was doing, he looked incredulous.

"Was it the governor of Hongzhou or the governor who asked him to do this? Or was there someone else behind the scenes? No, the Anguo government wouldn't be so stupid as to let Lu Zheng take all this responsibility..."

Yang Heng tapped the table with his fingers, his brows furrowed.

Someone whispered, "Given Lu Zheng's personality, I'm afraid he wants to do this, and the Hongzhou government is taking advantage of his situation."

Yang Heng chuckled, his expression complicated. "The government is borrowing the power of a young man? That's a bit ridiculous to say to anyone. But he is Lu Zheng, who just received the Holy Gift. In the entire Hongzhou City, there is really no one who can compare to him."

"They say a new official starts with three major changes. He's not even an official, yet he dares to suppress so many powerful families. He's truly a young, inexperienced person who's not afraid of a tiger..."

Even though Yang Heng really wanted to kill Lu Zheng and solve a hidden danger for the State of Wu.

But after hearing such things, he couldn't help but admire Lu Zheng from the bottom of his heart.

Even if he was an official in the State of Wu, he would not dare to be so forceful if he wanted to suppress those big families.

Lu Zheng was not only powerful, but he also forced those families to go to the provincial government.

Regardless of the final outcome, the feud between Lu Zheng and those big families has been established.

"He really doesn't care about his life. Isn't he afraid that Hongzhou will be in chaos?" Yang Heng murmured to himself.

Someone whispered, "Wouldn't this fulfill your wish?"

Yang Heng sighed when he heard this. This indeed fulfilled his wish, but for some reason he didn't want it to be like this.

He should be the one to kill Lu Zheng. If he dies at the hands of the An people, Lu Zheng will not even have a good reputation left.

How could those aristocratic families allow those who opposed them to be recorded in history?

Yang Heng looked at the people in front of him, "Do you think he will die?"

One of them said, "Lu Zheng is a man of integrity, hates evil, and acts very cautiously. He's not a reckless person... I have a feeling he'll be fine, and perhaps even gain fame because of this."

Yang Heng frowned, the events of not long ago were still fresh in his mind. He was afraid that Lu Zheng was not in danger of his life.

Even though Lu Zheng went to the major families alone to demand justice, who would dare to risk the great disapproval and target Lu Zheng who had received divine blessings?
At least for now, at this critical juncture, no one dares to step forward.

The families in Hongzhou City could wait and retaliate secretly later, but Yang Heng didn't want to wait any longer.

Yang Heng couldn't help but sit up straight and ponder.

After a long while, he slowly said, "Make your preparations. He should be going to those companies. It's just right... If you have the chance, don't hold back. Go ahead and keep an eye on all the movements."

Someone heard this and left quietly.

Yang Heng sat there, still unable to understand Lu Zheng's behavior.

"Why did he do this?" Yang Heng murmured.

"Please speak for the people. If it were for his reputation, he wouldn't offend others like this." said one person.

Yang Heng's expression shifted slightly, and he sighed, "People who cultivate righteousness are truly not to be provoked, like our Wu State's Lord Qian..."

(End of this chapter)