Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 151 Live Broadcast
For Emperor Ying Cong of Da Xu, another boring morning court session ended.

In the past, he would listen carefully to the information reported at the morning court, but now he felt that these things were reported after careful selection. If he wanted to know the real situation, it would be better to ask Hong Zhongnu after the court was dismissed.

Although it is just hearsay, it is valuable because it is more real.

"Your Majesty, we have an appointment to enjoy the flowers in the Imperial Garden with the Empress today. But would you like to inform her now so she can prepare?"

Ying Cong was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "I need to inform her and tell her that I will be handling government affairs in the Imperial Study today, so she doesn't need to come."

Hong Zhongnu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, you haven't been to the harem for nearly a month..."

Ying Cong was stunned for a moment and asked, "Has it been that long?"

Hong Zhongnu nodded seriously. He was actually reminding Ying Cong that if things continued like this, problems would arise sooner or later.

Ying Cong was in a daze for a moment. He also knew that this was not good, but for him now, how could a woman be as attractive as a brother?

Being able to discuss politics with Zhao Yifu unscrupulously through "Thousand Mile Painting" was the happiest time in all the years since he became emperor.

So he said without hesitation: "Let the Queen and the two concubines discipline the princes and stop them from being so unruly."

"Especially her son, he's the crown prince, he must be well educated."

"Now let's go back to the Imperial Study... No, to the Spring Pavilion."

The Imperial Study was the study where Ying Cong handled government affairs and met with ministers, while Chunlai Pavilion was his own private study.

He felt happier staying in the small study at this time.

As for those women...he could use the children to divert their attention so that they wouldn't bother him all day long.

Seeing that the emperor had no interest in beauty, Hong Zhongnu sighed secretly.

He was actually acting as a lobbyist for the ladies in the harem. After all, the emperor had not been to the harem for a long time, and the eunuchs' interests were naturally close to the harem, so he was willing to help.

But now it seems that something is not right. Either the emperor is really not interested in women recently, or he has a new love outside!
But, what about that new love outside?
Hong Zhongnu suddenly remembered the painting he had gone out of the palace to get earlier... He shuddered and wondered if the emperor was keeping a female fairy with magical powers outside?
……

[How is it going on your side?]

Ying Cong sat down and started sending messages.

After a while, I got a response: "I just woke up. Wait a minute, I'll ask."

Ying Cong looked up at the sky in confusion. It was already three quarters past four in the morning. As a county magistrate, you were being threatened by bandits, and you were still sleeping?

Although he really wanted to complain, Ying Cong had already found an excuse for Zhao Yifu in his mind: After all, he had just returned from working hard outside, so it was normal for him to sleep in.

[Here I come, the man has been captured and is being held in the county jail. I'll go interrogate him right away.]

Ying Cong perked up after seeing this line of words and said, "Okay, okay, remember to tell me the whole story so I can see how these bandits got here."

Zhao Yifu replied: [You know what? I have a great idea. I want you to see a live broadcast. Let me think about it.]

Ying Cong quickly calmed down and waited patiently.

He even had the leisure to make a pot of tea and find some preserved fruits, just to see what Zhao Yifu's "live broadcast" was all about.

After a moment, patterns began to appear on his Qianli painting.

At first, it looked a little dirty, as if it was splashed with ink.

But then the ink ball quickly dissipated and turned into a dark and cramped prison scene.

The prison actually looks quite clean, and two people are being brought in for trial right now.

One of them was a bald man with a broken hand, and the other was a middle-aged man with a lonely look.

At this time, a person with his upper body hidden in the shadows sat calmly on the seat at the top of the prison. Just by looking at his upright sitting posture, one could naturally feel an elegant scholarly air.

Ying Cong then wrote on the blank space at the edge of the scroll: [Is this you? You don't look like a good person.]

Well, to be honest, this scene does seem like there is a mastermind behind the scenes.

Zhao Yifu immediately replied: [Stop making trouble, I'm interrogating them.]

When the conversation at the edge of the scroll ended, a white speech bubble appeared next to the "shadow man" in the picture, with the words: [Common name of the criminal.]

Ying Cong sat up straight with a start. This was something he had never experienced before, and it caught his attention immediately.

However, neither of them showed any intention of responding.

Everyone remained silent.

Even the wooden expressions on the two people's faces were clearly depicted in the scroll.

This made Ying Cong wonder if Zhao Yifu was so focused on painting that he forgot about the interrogation.
He couldn't help but write in the margin: [Little Taoist priest, how about punishing them?]

Zhao Yifu said awkwardly: "I'm afraid it's not possible. I don't have any professionals in this small place."

【Besides, I am a cultivator and cannot do such things.】

Ying Cong felt helpless. This wouldn't work.

Zhao Yifu said: [Don't worry, let me try my method.]

As he spoke, a dialog box appeared next to the shadowy figure's head: [Why are you rebelling?]

Ying Cong looked at it and immediately said "Good guy". Is this directly labeling someone as a "rebel"?

If you rebel, your entire clan will be exterminated!
However, the two people in the picture still looked expressionless.

However, at this moment, the 'shadow man' in the picture turned to a scholar-like figure beside him and said, "Brother Hanshan, do you know the name of the leader of the Xiaoliupo bandits?"

A dialog box popped up above Li Liang's head: [The leader of Xiaoliupo is named Xu Meng, and his origins are unknown.]

Zhao Yifu asked: [Is there a large clan with the surname Xu in Jingshan?]

Li Liang replied: [This subordinate does not know.]

Zhao Yifu didn't care and turned to a servant beside him, asking, "If that doesn't work, capture a few more people and ask them... Oh, now that their leader has been captured, the people in that village should have dispersed, right?"

Wu Zhongdao: [Disperse. Before I left, I killed everyone who had a say. They no longer have a leader.]

In the picture, it is obvious that Zhao Yifu fell into a rather depressing silence.

Zhao Yifu: [We'll talk about your matter later. Now I'm giving you a task. Find out the origins of this person Xu Meng. You can offer a reward.]

At this moment, Xu Meng finally broke his silence. A dialog box suddenly appeared above his head: [Don't bother. I, Xu, am alone, without any family. I simply saw the current state of the world and took my brothers to rise up.]

Zhao Yifu waved Wu Zhong aside, then looked at Xu Meng and said, "You're worried that if I continue investigating, the entire Xu family in Jingshan will be implicated, right?"

Xu Meng immediately retorted: "No, I just don't want to die as a member of a stranger's clan for no apparent reason." Zhao Yifu asked: "Who are you then?"

Xu Mengdao: [I am just me, an ordinary citizen.]

Zhao Yifu said: [Stop making people laugh. Ordinary people can't afford to be as magnanimous as you.]

[Xu Meng, Meng means 'the eldest son of a commoner'. Is this name meant to remind you not to compete with the eldest son of a legitimate wife for the family fortune?]

These words were extremely damaging and almost broke Xu Meng's defense.

The corner of his mouth twitched, he seemed to want to say something but stopped talking, and suddenly stopped talking again.

Zhao Yifu said calmly, "Actually, I have no interest in interrogating you. After all, you've already committed acts of rebellion. I only need to execute the ringleaders and then make other arrangements for the refugees you've taken hostage."

"The reason I'm here to interrogate you is simply because I'm curious about the battle in Jingshan... It looks like you were defeated miserably."

Xu Meng finally couldn't help but speak again: "It's tragic. At our peak, we had a hundred thousand men. We had already cornered that useless Governor Jingshan, but we didn't expect such an army to arrive from Mozhou..."

Zhao Yifu reminded: [Yongyi Camp.]

Xu Meng nodded and said, "Yes, it's the Courageous Battalion!"

Each of them was highly skilled in martial arts, capable of fighting ten or even a hundred men at once. Furthermore, with their superb coordination, a mere five hundred men were able to break up our thirty thousand-man army with a single charge.

[I was also terrified by the number of casualties in that battle, and had no choice but to flee to Yuzhou with the remaining troops.]

Ying Cong felt confused when he saw the words appearing in the 'dialog box' of the scroll.

He quickly wrote beside it: [Ask him to tell us more about the battle in Jingshan. How is it going now?]

[The information I received is different from what he said.]

Zhao Yifu understood and said, "Tell me in detail about your uprising in Jingshan."

Xu Meng did not hide anything and told everything he knew.

After all, these things are known to everyone.

So when Xu Meng explained the time and place of their Jingshan rebellion, Ying Cong was already going crazy.

Because it didn't match what he knew at all.

The time when the Jingshan Governor reported was much later than the time when Xu Meng confessed. According to Xu Meng, they originally chose to drive away the tax collectors and resist because they could not bear the repeated taxation.

This was a riot at best.

But this was unbearable for the local officials who were only interested in political achievements, so they rebelled, forcing or even plundering the Xu family's property in the name of rebellion.

The Xu family's situation is quite similar to that of Zhao Yifu's Zhao family. There were no scholars among their ancestors, but most of the family members have mastered self-defense martial arts.

The Xu family was not a prominent family in the underworld of Jingshan. They were just a militia group.

But when their superiors falsely accused them of rebellion, these militiamen actually had knives in their hands...

Since everyone says it’s a rebellion, then let it really be a rebellion!
Desperate to persevere, Xu simply beat the local county magistrate to death and executed the tax collectors who repeatedly came to collect taxes. Then he was at a loss...

They did this in anger, but the problem they were going to face next made them feel daunted...they were going to confiscate their property and exterminate their entire family.

Helpless, they could only bite the bullet and move on.

Originally, they thought that their group would be wiped out at any time, but under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, their rebellion, which started as a tax resistance, quickly developed into a rebellion that swept across Jingshan.

Not to mention the Governor of Jingshan, even Xu Meng, the person involved, was confused about this process.

At the same time, this is also the reason why he can tell all these things now. He feels that he and others have been framed and pushed by a pair of dark hands onto a path of no return. He urgently needs to talk to someone.

Without an action plan or a goal, everyone is confused...

Not only Zhao Yifu, but even Ying Cong who was far away in the capital was speechless, and at the same time he understood how the Jingshan Rebellion came about.

But it is precisely because of this that it can better explain the problem.

Ying Cong suddenly picked up a pen and wrote on the blank space on the scroll: [Lu Zhao deserves death!]

This 'Lu Zhao' is the governor of Jingshan Province, a third-rank official, and can be said to be a frontier official in charge of local government orders.

But it was this person who plunged the entire Jingshan Province into turmoil and even had the intention of expanding outward.

The 'shadow man' in the scroll then asked: [Where did you get the supplies and weapons needed for your rebellion?]

Xu Meng said: [At first, it was his own. Later, after he broke through several forts, he discovered a lot of food, weapons, and even armor.]

The Shadow Man asked: [Which family do those forts belong to?]

Xu Mengdao: "I don't know. Those people didn't leave their real names when they built the forts, and we encountered almost no resistance when we attacked them. The supplies these troops desperately needed fell into our hands like they were given away for free."

The Shadow Man asked: [Do you have any suspicions about this?]

Xu Mengdao: [Yes, I suspect someone from the government is behind this.]

[Because although the serial numbers on the equipment we received were erased, they were very similar to the standard equipment in the arsenal, except that they were used rather than brand new.]

The Shadow Man said, "Very well. Is there anything else you want to tell me? Think carefully. I can be lenient with you because of your cooperation."

[After all, if you were caught in Jingshan, you'd be a rebel, but if you were caught here, you'd be considered a bandit.]

Xu Meng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He said: [Does this villain still have a chance to survive?]

The Shadow Man said, "Even if it means finding the person behind all this, I will spare your life."

This unique "live broadcast" has come to an end.

However, after the "live broadcast" ended, Zhao Yifu still had to comfort the netizen who was hurt.

[Little Taoist priest, you have to find a way to help me find the person behind this.]

Zhao Yifu felt that this was not a simple matter, and he really wanted to help.

But the question is, why should he figure out these things on his own?
So he said, "Rich man, I'm busy with my own affairs here, how can I extend my hand to Jingshan?"

[Besides, your court has so many capable people, just leave the work to them.]

His intention is very sinister, he just doesn't want to see those "old things" sitting idle.

(End of this chapter)