The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 395 Kidnapping
Hu Quan's opposition to the treacherous party was actually beneficial to the country.

However, he made a mistake due to his radicalism, namely, "please execute him." This is similar to keyboard warriors in later generations who see anything online and say "he should be shot," without any practical action.

A significant difference between the Song Dynasty and other dynasties in my country is that political struggles rarely resulted in death. The outcome of political infighting among civil officials was almost always demotion, with the most severe punishment being exile. Cases of escalating to the point of confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan were extremely rare; a thorough search of historical records will yield only a handful of examples.

This is because Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, resolved the threat to military power through relatively mild means such as "releasing military power over a cup of wine," and established the ancestral family law of "not killing scholar-officials and those who submit memorials to the emperor."

Therefore, if Hu Quan were to step forward and declare that these were all treacherous officials who should be demoted, Zhao Gou might have to reconsider.

But Hu Quan said, "Kill them all."

That would turn into netizens solving cases, with the death penalty as the starting point.

When those above saw such a suggestion, they automatically ignored it, and their opinion of Hu Quan also became "this guy is a low-quality, brainless, angry young troll, a second-level supervisor."

Zhao Gou snorted, "Hu Quan, since you like the East China Sea so much, then go to Guangzhou and manage the salt warehouses."

Hu Quan: "..."

Qin Hui's faction was overjoyed; they had won! The Emperor was on their side.

Hu Quan sighed deeply, "Alas, so be it. Let him manage the salt warehouse. The officials are incompetent, and scoundrels are in power. The country is in danger."

Zhao Gou continued, "Issue an imperial decree to bring Chen Gui, the prefect of De'an, back to Lin'an and find out where he got his muskets and whether he colluded with the puppet Song dynasty."
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In De'an Prefecture, Chen Gui, who was 60 years old this year, looked at the two constables who came to escort him to Lin'an with a bitter smile: "Gentlemen, I'm already 60 years old, you don't need to put me in shackles, right?"

The two constables, Dong Chao and Xue Ba, were not good people. They said, "Does being old mean you can break the law? If you should be put in shackles, you should be put in shackles."

Helpless, Chen Gui had no choice but to let them put him in shackles, and then embarked on his arduous journey.

The journey from De'an Prefecture to Lin'an was a long one, and he didn't know if he could survive.

He didn't even know what he had done wrong to deserve this treatment. Sigh.

Soon, two constables escorted him out of De'an Prefecture, out of the city, across a field, and ahead was a barren slope. The trees on the slope had long been cut down by the surrounding farmers, leaving only bare rocks.

Once they reached the pile of rocks and found themselves alone, Dong Chao started making sarcastic remarks: "Chen Gui, you've been a high-ranking official for many years, you must have a lot of money on you, right? Take some out and give it to us brothers, it might make your journey a little easier."

Chen Gui quickly took the money.

As soon as the money was paid, the shackles were removed, and smiles appeared on the faces of the two constables.

Dong Chao said, "Do you know why the authorities want to arrest you?"

Chen Gui: "I'm not quite sure."

Xue Ba chuckled and said, "Some people above said your musket came from the puppet Song dynasty, and that you are a spy for the puppet Song."

Chen Gui was taken aback: "What do you mean by that? I developed that musket myself; there is absolutely no way I got it from the pseudo-Song dynasty."

Dong Chao: "The truth is not important; what matters is who believes you?"

Chen Gui: "..." Chen Gui felt disheartened in an instant. He had worked diligently for the Song Dynasty for decades. In order to defend the city and resist the attacks of bandits and Jin thieves, he had risked his life to invent the long bamboo pole firearm. He never expected that it would become the reason for the treacherous officials to slander him. Why is it so difficult to do something practical in the Song Dynasty?
Dong Chao chuckled again: "The money you gave us brothers just now was to remove your shackles, but unfortunately, you have an old enemy who paid us another sum of money to kill you on the way. And it was quite a lot of money. So, old man, don't blame us brothers on your journey to the underworld. Blame your enemy for being too rich."

After saying that, Dong Chao and Xue Ba simultaneously drew their waist knives.

Chen Gui was taken aback: "You...you..."

Just as the two were about to fight, a sweet laugh suddenly rang out from behind a rock not far away: "Oh my, what's all the commotion outside?"

As the sound approached, a woman emerged from behind the stone. She was dressed in a chivalrous outfit, with a truly curvaceous figure that was mesmerizing at first glance. Her features were stunningly beautiful, exuding a captivating charm.

She saw two constables pointing knives at an old man, but she wasn't afraid. Instead, she laughed and asked, "Brothers, why are you holding knives and trying to kill this old man? What crime has he committed? Is he a treacherous official?"

The moment Dong Chao saw her, he was so captivated that he couldn't speak, his eyes glazed over: "Little sister, don't worry about what's going on here. We're on official business. We'll talk to you after we finish."

Xue Ba swallowed hard, but his mind was clearer than Dong Chao's. This was the desolate wilderness they had chosen as the place to kill and silence witnesses, and the sudden appearance of this woman was really strange. They had to be on guard. He couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

The woman chuckled and said, "My name is Ake! I was born dazzling, I'm sorry."

Xue Ba: "What are you doing here? This is none of your business, get out of here."

Woman: "I've searched and searched, just to find a place for you to be buried!"

Xue Ba shouted urgently, "Brother Dong Chao, don't be confused, this woman is strange, let's go side by side."

Dong Chao was finally brought to his senses by the shout, and the two rushed forward, attacking the woman with their waist knives at the same time.

But at the same time, the two of them felt a blur before their eyes, and the woman instantly moved from directly in front of them to directly behind them. Her movements were so fast and fluid that it was as if it were just a flash, so fast that they couldn't even see it clearly.

The two constables only heard the woman's voice chuckle behind them: "You shouldn't have turned your back to me!"

The next instant, almost simultaneously, they both felt a sharp pain in their backs, as if something had pierced them...

Chen Gui was also stunned. He was old and his eyesight was failing, so he could not see the woman's movements clearly. He only saw the woman flash by, and then the two constables fell to the ground simultaneously, bleeding profusely, dying incredibly quickly.

Chen Gui stammered, "You...you...you..."

The woman turned to Chen Gui and reintroduced herself: "Hello, Mr. Chen! My name is Ake, and I'm an assassin from the Northern Song Dynasty."

Chen Gui was astonished: "A fake Song dynasty?"

The woman laughed and said, "Who is right and who is wrong is still undecided. Let's continue to refer to them using the terms from the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties."

Chen Gui was shocked: "What... are you going to do?"

Woman: "I've come to take you to the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty! Your talents are not being fully utilized in the Southern Song Dynasty, so you'll be much happier in our Northern Song Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)