EBE Chapter 413 Begging for mercy
Chapter 413 Begging for mercy
Chapter 413 Begging for mercy
Inside the carriage, Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, then knocked on the carriage and asked, "How far are we from Fengxiang Prefecture?"
Yu Tao quickly urged his horse forward and replied, "It's still more than ten li away."
Wang Wenzhou nodded and asked, "How far is that old dog Sun Chuanting from us?"
Yu Tao replied, "The scouts just reported that Sun Chuanting's main force is more than 50 li away from us. They have stopped their march and set up camp to rest."
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Very good. Pass down the order to head straight for Fengxiang Prefecture. If the prefect of Fengxiang refuses to come out of his house, prepare to attack the city immediately."
Wang Wenzhou's so-called siege was, of course, not a real siege; it was just having people shout slogans outside the city walls.
"Yes!" Yu Tao nodded.
For more than a month, Wang Wenzhou was running ahead while Sun Chuanting was chasing behind, because Wang Wenzhou's troops were all cavalry, and Sun Chuanting could not catch up at all.
Sun Chuanting dared not divide his troops, fearing that if he led too few men, even if he caught up with Wang Wenzhou, this mad dog, they would be killed on the spot. Moreover, even if his subordinate generals encountered Wang Wenzhou, they dared not do anything to him, after all, Wang Wenzhou's rank was too high, and in the entire Shaanxi, only Sun Chuanting himself dared not be afraid of Wang Wenzhou.
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded in Shaanxi: wherever Wang Wenzhou went, he would find an excuse to behead the local officials. Enraged, Sun Chuanting led a large force to chase after Wang Wenzhou, completely unable to do anything about him.
What frustrated Sun Chuanting the most was that even though he had ordered all local officials in Shaanxi to ignore the orders of Wang Wenzhou, this mad dog, the people still supported Wang Wenzhou. In most cases, as soon as Wang Wenzhou's troops arrived at the city walls, the local officials were bound hand and foot and brought before Wang Wenzhou's army.
Wang Wenzhou's name once again became famous throughout the Ming Dynasty, and the people all called him Wang Qingtian (Wang the Upright Official). The officials, of course, were not so naive; they not only cursed Wang Wenzhou as a mad dog, but also gave him another nickname: Mad Dog Butcher.
In the imperial court, the civil and military officials were divided on the matter of Wang Wenzhou. The faction led by the Donglin Party, advocating for Wang's execution, continuously submitted memorials impeaching Wang Wenzhou for illegal activities, wishing they could tear him to pieces. Zhu Youjian, of course, supported the Wang faction and always found excuses to exonerate Wang Wenzhou.
This time, Wen Tiren sided with Wang Wenzhou and supported him, so much so that the Donglin Party was powerless against Wang Wenzhou and could only watch helplessly as he carried out a large-scale massacre of officials in Shaanxi.
For the past month, the Shaanxi officialdom has been in turmoil, as if the end of the world had arrived. A total of 124 local officials were beheaded by Wang Wenzhou. During this period, 28 local officials fled Shaanxi under various pretexts, and 48 local officials retired and returned to their hometowns. The remaining local officials all live in fear, because to this day, Wang Wenzhou has not spared a single local official in any area he has passed through.
Even with such great risks, many local officials were unwilling to leave. After all, becoming an official was no easy feat, and they were often caught in a bind, unable to find an excuse to flee. In their thirties and forties, in the prime of their lives, how could they possibly retire and return to their hometowns? To do so would be to admit their guilt.
Ten miles outside Fengxiang City, Prefect Xiong Yingyuan and Magistrate Yang Daxun, along with their officials, welcomed Wang Wenzhou.
Yang Daxun wiped the cold sweat from his face and looked at Xiong Yingyuan guiltily, saying, "Lord Xiong, should we go out and hide for a while? Wang Wenzhou is a mad dog; he kills without blinking an eye!"
Xiong Yingyuan calmly said, “My dear brother, you and I have always been diligent in our duties and have never done anything to wrong the people. Last year, I was reprimanded by Lord Sun for not having enough of the three taxes. At that time, I thought of doing what my colleagues did and just getting by, collecting the taxes for several years later. But I thought, if that were the case, how would the people survive? Good and evil are only a fine line apart. Recently, Lord Wang has been killing his colleagues wherever he goes. The reason for this is that his colleagues have been collecting the three taxes on a large scale, leaving the local people with no way to survive.”
Xiong Yingyuan said with a smile, "There is nothing between you and me like this, so why would Lord Wang kill us for no reason?"
Yang Daxun swallowed hard. He was very fortunate. In fact, if it weren't for Xiong Yingyuan's pressure, he would have received his salary for several years, just like his other colleagues. Today, he deliberately brought several beautiful concubines with him because he had heard that Wang Wenzhou was a womanizer and that as long as you slept with a pretty girl, you could negotiate anything.
"Your Excellency, Lord Wang's entourage has arrived!" At this moment, a yamen runner came to report.
Xiong Yingyuan straightened his clothes and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to worry. Lord Wang is known as the upright and just official among the people. We have done nothing wrong, so Lord Wang will not target us."
"Phew!" Yang Daxun took a deep breath. Hopefully, that's how it is. If all else fails, I'll just offer up my charming concubine with both hands.
A short while later, dust billowed up in the distance as Wang Wenzhou's team sped towards them.
The carriage stopped, and Wang Wenzhou, with one arm around Chen Yuanyuan and the other around Wang Ying, stepped down from the carriage.
"Wang Qingtian!"
"Wang Qingtian is so handsome!"
"Master Wang is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and possesses an extraordinary temperament!"
"Wang Qingtian's wife is so beautiful!"
The onlookers chattered excitedly, cheering. Ming Dynasty officials, somewhat like celebrities of later times, attracted crowds wherever they went. Wang Wenzhou, the renowned upright official, was even more of a superstar; his recent execution of corrupt officials had won over countless hearts.
"Prefect Xiong Yingyuan of Fengxiang greets Lord Wang." Xiong Yingyuan and the others hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects to Wang Wenzhou.
"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over Xiong Yingyuan and the others with hostility.
Yang Daxun was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Lord Wang must be tired from your journey. Lord Xiong and I have already prepared a feast for you."
At this point, Yang Daxun turned around and beckoned to his concubine, saying, "Why don't you hurry over and help Lord Wang to rest!"
"Bah!" Wang Wenzhou cursed, "You surnamed Yang, how dare you slander me like this? Do you think I'm that kind of lecherous man!"
"Swish!" Wang Wenzhou drew his imperial sword, pointed it at Yang Daxun, and asked coldly, "Yang Daxun, do you know your crime?"
Yang Daxun's expression changed, and he immediately knelt down, pleading, "Lord Wang, this humble official truly doesn't know what mistake I've made?"
Xiong Yingyuan cupped his hands in greeting and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Lord Wang is too kind. Lord Yang is my subordinate, and as far as I know, Lord Yang is not a lawless person."
"Heh!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, looking Xiong Yingyuan up and down. This old bastard is actually quite protective of his own. Today, not only can you not protect him, but you're also a fool crossing the river. I'm here to kill.
"How dare you!" Wang Wenzhou pointed his sword at Xiong Yingyuan and said coldly, "Xiong Yingyuan, do you know your crime?"
"What crime have I committed?" Xiong Yingyuan asked without changing his expression.
"Wang Qingtian, please don't kill the wrong person! Lord Xiong is an honest official!"
"That's right, Wang Qingtian, Lord Xiong and Lord Yang are different from those corrupt officials!"
"Wang Qingtian, you must have been misled by slander. Lord Xiong is truly a good man!"
At this moment, the onlookers knelt down and begged Wang Wenzhou for mercy.
"Huh?" Wang Wenzhou was dumbfounded. For the past month or so, whenever he questioned the local officials, the people would point at them and curse them. This was the first time he had encountered people pleading for the officials.