allonlinenovel Chapter 600 How absurd, how laughable!
Chapter 600 How absurd, how laughable!
Thanks to the gentry of Jiangnan, or perhaps thanks to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, many single men in Jiangnan have recently found relatives.
For example, there's Ge Cheng, who voluntarily came forward and confessed to killing the tax collector.
Father, mother, wife, son, daughter, and elder brother, younger brother, younger sister, and brother-in-law. The only person missing is the seventh maternal uncle of my third maternal aunt's family, whom I've never met since childhood.
The key point is that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is very particular about its work. Not only did they go to great lengths to find relatives for Ge Cheng and others, but after they found them, they also arranged a seven-day tour of the capital for them.
According to Guan Sheng, "Firstly, you people are not qualified to enter the Imperial Prison."
"Secondly, the prison in Yingtian Prefecture will probably be full of people very soon."
"Thirdly, your family's Ge Cheng resisted taxes, causing the imperial court to run out of money to support you."
"So, in seven days at most, you will either go to the execution ground or to Dengzhou."
"Take my advice: if you can go to the execution ground, try your best to go. Don't even think about going to Dengzhou."
"Tsk tsk, it's thousands of miles, and you're going to walk all that way on your own two feet? And then you'll have to do hard labor. What about your health?"
"..."
Lan Yu thought Guan Sheng was a terrible person.
Or rather, none of the Imperial Guards led by Guan Sheng were good people.
Look how scared they've made people.
The man, seven feet tall, didn't even blink when he killed the tax collector. It's said that when he went to the government office to surrender, he walked in with his head held high and kept saying that he would take responsibility for his actions.
What now?
I was so scared, like a newborn baby, I couldn't even control my poop and pee!
"It was Master Wu! It was Master Wu who ordered me to do it!"
"Master Wu said that as long as I do things well, he can ensure that all my children can study and become officials, and he will also give my younger brother's family a workshop!"
"Master Wu also said that this wasn't just something I did myself; other people were doing it too, so I only need to serve a few years in prison!"
Ge Cheng sobbed and cried, even confessing to peeping at the young widow next door while she was bathing when he was a child.
Guan Sheng smacked his lips and said with regret, "That's too cowardly. We haven't even used any torture yet, and he's already confessed everything."
Lan Yu couldn't help but glance at Guan Sheng.
He even wondered to himself, if it were me, Lan, in his place, could I handle it?
After just a moment's thought, Lan Yu felt somewhat discouraged.
Can't bear it.
I can't bear it at all.
This isn't about whether or not to be tortured, or whether or not it's a matter of life or death.
Instead, the entire family, including all nine generations of relatives, would perish.
With the entire extended family wiped out, what meaning do the promises of those gentry and officials hold?
Damn it, none of these Imperial Guards from the Prince Consort's mansion are any good!
……
Outside Suzhou city, the Wu family residence.
Wu Ren, the head of the Wu family, was in utter despair.
The parents, both over sixty, the wife who has supported each other through thick and thin, the eldest son who has just had a baby, the daughter-in-law who is crying while holding her baby, the grandson who has just turned one month old, the second son who is still studying for the imperial examination, and the daughter who has just been engaged and will get married in the spring.
The whole family stood neatly in the yard.
Guan Sheng walked up to Wu Ren's daughter-in-law, reached out and touched the child's cheek, and smiled, "What a fine child, fair-skinned, with big eyes, he looks like he'll amount to something."
Wu Ren simply closed his eyes.
Is he promising?
Only by surviving can one achieve something.
If even survival is not an option...
Guan Sheng glanced at Wu Ren and smiled, "Don't be afraid, Master Wu. The revised Ming Code stipulates that many punishments will not be used on people over seventy or children under seven. This child is just a month old, so no punishment is relevant to him."
"However, the Ministry of Personnel has issued a new rule: anyone whose ancestors for three generations have violated the law or discipline can study but is not allowed to take the imperial examinations, let alone become an official or join the army. They cannot even become a clerk or a yamen runner."
“Your kid, tsk tsk, his grandfather committed treason, his father became a thief, counting from him, it will be at least his grandson’s generation before they have the opportunity to take the imperial examination and become an official.”
"What a pity, what a pity."
"However, Mr. Wu, you can rest assured."
"At least your child can get into the orphanage run by the imperial court. The court will raise him, let him study, and he can honestly farm or do business in the future."
"However, my garrison commander specifically instructed me to tell you all that because of your tax resistance, the imperial court probably won't collect much tax this year, and naturally there won't be much money to allocate to the orphanage. Don't expect your young master to eat and drink well."
"..."
Wu Ren opened his eyes and coldly looked at Guan Sheng, saying, "Since ancient times, the victor is king and the loser is villain. I have ended up like this, so there is nothing to say. However, it is rather despicable that your garrison commander would set his sights on a child who is not even a month old."
Guan Sheng smiled and shook his head.
"You should thank my family's governor."
"If it weren't for the fact that my family's border market, which was overseen by the garrison commander, contributed 20 million strings of cash to the national treasury, your young master would probably have starved to death."
At this point, Guan Sheng looked Wu Ren up and down again and said with a smile, "Otherwise, when your young master grows up, I, the captain, will send him to see you?"
Wu Ren glared fiercely at Guan Sheng and roared, "How dare you!"
Guan Sheng put on a puzzled expression and asked, "Why wouldn't this commander dare?"
“He did not do anything wrong. This commander can frame him with all sorts of charges, such as treason, disrespect, filial impiety, and disloyalty.”
"If you don't believe me, I, the commander, will make one up for you right now."
The baby in Wu Ren's daughter-in-law's arms burst into tears, but Guan Sheng said with a smile, "Never mind, never mind. My commander can't stand seeing a child cry. I am a kind-hearted man. Your young master's life is saved."
Wu Ren unconsciously glanced at the corpses scattered all over the courtyard.
Of the dozen or so servants in the Wu family, not one is alive now.
The executioner who carried out the murder claimed that he was kind-hearted.
How absurd, how laughable!
Wu Ren raised his head, then closed his eyes again, and sighed deeply, saying, "This whole affair was done by me alone. My family was unaware of it. I beg you, sir..."
Guan Sheng raised a finger and shushed him, saying, "Don't beg me, it's no use."
“You should have been prepared from the moment you had the tax collector killed.”
"In this situation, at most we can save the lives of your parents, wife, children, and young master. You, Master Wu, are doomed. Even a god can't save you."
"However... if you want to save the lives of your parents, wife, and children, you, Master Wu, should know what to do, right?"
Wu Ren took a deep breath and said, "Chen Jinzhong in the east of Suzhou, Hu Dongjian in the west, and Li Jun in the north are the only three names I know. As for the rest, I'll have to ask Prefect Xu."