Chapter 506
Chapter 506
At Shen Lang's command, the Royal Guard began to round up the hundreds of local thugs and ruffians who had caused the disturbance. The men wailed like ghosts, hesitating and refusing to move forward. When the Royal Guard drew their swords and struck their backs, the hundreds of thugs and ruffians fell wretchedly into the massive, reservoir-like cesspool, crying out like drowned roosters. They thrashed desperately in the pit of filth, stirring up the collected excrement until a foul stench pierced the sky. The scene was too ghastly to behold.
A quarter of an hour later, only five hundred men managed to crawl out of the cesspool. Nearly half of the thugs and ruffians had drowned in the filth, meeting an utterly gruesome end. The five hundred who crawled out were not in good shape either. The stench from their bodies was overwhelming, and they could barely stand, trembling uncontrollably.
They had suffered an unprecedented blow to both their spirits and their bodies. In the days to come, many more of them would surely die. Those with open wounds, now exposed to the filth, would inevitably develop incurable infections. Moreover, the most terrifying thing about such a large cesspool was the gas. It was filled with large amounts of hydrogen sulfide, various forms of ammonia, and methane gas. Although they had crawled out, they had already inhaled a significant amount of toxic fumes. How many more of them would perish? It was impossible to know. Shen Lang pinched his nose and watched them from a distance.
“To be honest, I went easy on you this time. You'd all best behave yourselves from now on. Of course, if you want to come looking for revenge, you're always welcome!”
With that, Shen Lang led his men away, swaggering as he went. The five hundred lucky survivors looked at each other and began to weep and wail. Never in their lives had they experienced such a wretched or humiliating moment. It would be a memory they could never forget. After their wailing subsided, they were overcome with frantic regret.
‘I must have lost my mind. Why did I provoke Shen Lang, that madman? How many did he kill in Tianshu Province not long ago? It's not like we didn't know. I regret it so much. Why did I have to cross that great villain!’
* * *
The incident of the failed candidates wailing at the Confucian Temple had caused a great stir, shocking everyone. Though it had seemed impossible to suppress them, the situation was thoroughly resolved in just four hours, like clouds swept away by the wind. As if an autumn wind had swept away the fallen leaves, the thousands of failed candidates and scholars vanished completely. Nothing remained around the Confucian Temple but dozens of corpses, scattered bloodstains, piles of filth, and a great deal of trash.
The dozen or so renowned courtesans who had come there to attract attention had deserved to die. Months ago, they had been the ones frantically spreading false rumors. The two treacherous ministers, Zheng Tuo and Yang Yingnian, had clearly achieved nothing, yet these women had praised them as if they had performed immortal deeds, hailing them as the pillars who had saved the State of Yue from crisis. Zheng Tuo had effortlessly taken the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Estate, disguised a large army as Qiang cavalry to carry out a great slaughter, and madly murdered, plundered, and burned, pinning the blame on Shen Lang.
Starting with these courtesans, the rabble-rousers had desperately spread propaganda throughout the capital. They had accused Shen Lang of bringing Qiang cavalry into the country, repeating the tragedy of a century ago, and branded him a traitor to the State of Yue, all before the truth could even come to light.
Later, no matter how the authorities refuted the rumors, stating that Zheng Tuo and Yang Yingnian were both traitors and that Shen Lang and Zhang Chong were the great loyal subjects and meritorious officials who had suppressed the Su clan's rebellion, the lies had spread for so long that the common people no longer believed the government's denials. The notion that Shen Lang had brought barbarians into the country to murder, plunder, and burn had become an established fact in the public's mind. After Zheng Tuo and Yang Yingnian died, some people even secretly burned paper offerings for them, believing that loyal ministers had been unjustly killed. Where could one even begin to argue against such folly?
King Ning Yuanxian had been suppressing his simmering rage toward them. He hadn't been in the capital at the time, and by the time he returned, those courtesans had already stopped their agitation. But now they had appeared again at the Confucian Temple, where countless candidates had gathered to wail?
‘You courtesans just couldn't help yourselves, could you? So desperate for fame you'd risk your own lives. Are you flies? Do you swarm wherever you see filth?’
The King gave a verbal command to the young eunuch: kill them all, whether they were renowned courtesans or common prostitutes. And so, the dozen or so beauties all met a gruesome end. The women many scholars had dreamed of were massacred. In handling the Confucian Temple incident, the King fully implemented Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu's advice: ‘Use severe methods to demonstrate the solemnity of the law.’
He immediately had dozens of the instigators executed and stripped nineteen of their official ranks. One hundred and thirty-five were held accountable and barred from taking the imperial examinations for life. Fifteen hundred received a lighter punishment, being banned from the next round of examinations. Every scholar present at the Confucian Temple was registered as a participant in the incident, leaving a permanent stain on their records. If they were ever to cause such trouble again, they would be immediately stripped of all their ranks, put in shackles, and sent to the border armies as slaves.
In an instant, the thousands of candidates scattered like frightened animals, trembling in fear. Finally, the King issued a royal decree. This year's civil, martial, and special grace examinations were conducted fairly and justly, with no malpractice whatsoever, and the results were therefore valid and true. All examiners were to be praised and rewarded. Thus, the tumultuous storm came to an end.
* * *
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu summoned Zhang Chong.
“Someone has gathered a mountain of evidence to take you down! They say you've embezzled funds, and that you annihilated an entire family.”
The annihilation of an entire family naturally referred to the death of Xu Guangyun's clan.
“Furthermore, they claim you plundered the people, seizing mountains of gold and silver without turning it over to the state, pocketing it instead. They also say you colluded with Shen Lang to kill thousands, even tens of thousands, of innocent people.”
Those two incidents took place in White Night County. At that time, Shen Lang and Zhang Chong had worked together to trap thousands of looters, acquiring hundreds of thousands of gold coins. That money was not submitted to the state but was instead distributed among the people of White Night County to help them fend off the Su clan's rebel army.
Zhu Hongzhu shook his head and said, “I have dismissed all of those stories. While factional struggles are inevitable, one must know where to draw the line.”
Zhang Chong prostrated himself in gratitude, saying nothing.
“Some say you betrayed the Zhu Faction. However, I believe you when you say you did it because you did not wish to become Shen Lang's enemy.”
Zhang Chong bowed low once more.
“Zhang Chong, you were once a sword in His Majesty's hand, to be used only for killing. But now, you have transformed and show the makings of a great minister. Talent is hard to come by, so your position in the Secretariat will remain yours. Even if you are not part of our Zhu Faction, you may yet rise to the position of Prime Minister.”
Zhang Chong remained prostrated on the floor, silent.
“However, there is one thing I wish to tell you.”
Zhang Chong said respectfully, “Please enlighten me, Prime Minister Zhu.”
“Do not limit your sights to the State of Yue. You must look to the entire Great Yan Empire.”
“Yes.”
“Furthermore, since you wished to avoid conflict, then avoid it completely and remain neutral. Do not get entangled with Shen Lang. If you do, you will truly face a great disaster.”
Zhang Chong did not answer that, merely expressing his gratitude.
“Thank you for your guidance, Prime Minister Zhu.”
* * *
The next day, at the morning court assembly.
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu recommended that Zhang Chong be appointed as the Military Governor of Yan Province, an action that slightly surprised King Ning Yuanxian.
‘Duke Bian Wu of Wei had privately expressed his wish for Zhang Chong to take the position of Military Governor of Yan Province, but he has yet to submit a formal memorial. Is Prime Minister Zhu making a move before him?’
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu had been convalescing at home for a long time and rarely attended the morning assembly. Even when he did, he seldom spoke. But when he did open his mouth, his words carried immense weight. Previously, when Ning Yuanxian wanted to personally lead a punitive expedition, his ministers desperately tried to stop him, but a single word from Zhu Hongzhu settled the matter. A few days ago, the civil and martial officials had tried to use the incident of the scholars wailing at the Confucian Temple to create a major scandal, insisting there had been cheating in the examinations. They intended to use it as a pretext to eliminate Shen Lang and pressure King Ning Yuanxian into compromising and backing down. Then, too, a single word from Zhu Hongzhu had decided the entire situation and brought the ministers under control. Without the support of the court officials, the scholars wailing at the Confucian Temple could not influence the tide of events and were swept away like autumn leaves. The great incident vanished in an instant, without a trace.
This time was no different. Once Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu spoke, his words had to become reality. Currently, no one could refute Zhu Hongzhu's words. To do so would invite dire consequences. The power of the Zhu Clan spanned the entire Eastern world; they were one of the most powerful and influential families in the Great Yan Empire.
When Jiang Li fell in the past, Ning Yuanxian, who had been his ardent admirer, found himself in great trouble. This great trouble could have been a crisis forcing his abdication, or perhaps even a matter of life and death. After Jiang Li's fall, several neighboring states were considered to be on his side. Some of their rulers were immediately deposed, while other states were destroyed by the allied forces of the Great Yan Empire.
Ning Yuanxian had not only admired Jiang Li but had even arranged a marriage with his unborn child. When the critical moment came, he deposed his queen and installed a woman from the Zhu Clan in her place. The Zhu Clan held immense power in the capital of Yan, so by making one of their own his queen, Ning Yuanxian was able to escape a fatal crisis without great danger. In the end, Ning Yuanxian's calling Zhu Hongzhu 'Grand Tutor' was not merely a casual address.
However, though Zhu Hongzhu wielded the power of a regent, he did not act like one. He knew his reputation was too great and his power too vast, so he rarely appeared at court. But when he did appear and speak, no one could stand against him.
King Ning Yuanxian smiled and said, “The Grand Tutor's proposal is excellent. What do you ministers think?”
The civil and martial officials below all bowed and said in unison, “It is excellent. We are in agreement!”
King Ning Yuanxian asked again, “Zhang Chong, do you wish to go to Yan Province?”
Zhang Chong bowed and replied, “This subject wishes to go!”
“I hereby issue a royal decree. Zhang Chong is appointed as the Military Governor of Yan Province!”