Chapter 56 Epidemic (4)
"Sir, weren't you imprisoned because you spoke up for the suffering people? So you didn't do nothing, sir."
"So what? Not only has nothing changed, but even the right to help those people has been taken away. If I had been calmer at the time, perhaps I could have used my rights to help them do something, but now——"
Yang Ziqian regretted it deeply. Although he had no attachment to power, he missed the opportunity to help more people. In his heart, he no longer regarded the King of Laos as his monarch. Even if he had the heart to resist, he was powerless. He regretted his powerlessness. He should not have been too impulsive to contradict the King of Laos, so that his power was taken back. Because of his talent, the King of Laos could only imprison him. Yang Ziqian did not have any good feelings about this. He just did not want to see anyone sacrificed again. If he had known this, he would rather bear all the pressure and use his troops to help the people...
"Even Lord Hao is dead, and the only people left in the court are those treacherous officials who enrich themselves and don't care about the lives of others. What can I do alone?"
"It's too early for you to say that, sir."
"What's the meaning?"
"Perhaps, as you said, there are only treacherous ministers left in the court, but that doesn't mean that the soldiers are the same. The soldiers who were once your subordinates are all waiting for you. They all firmly believe that you will guide them again. They also have wives and children, and they will definitely not sit idly by. Now, as long as you give the order, they will swear to pursue you to the death."
Yang Ziqian was surprised to hear his subordinate's words. From the look of his subordinate's face, it seemed as if he had been waiting for this opportunity?
"In other words, you have already made this preparation secretly, Yang Chao!!"
"Yes, I believe that one day you will no longer be able to tolerate the tyranny of the King of Laos, so in order to welcome the arrival of this day, I have made all preparations and am only waiting for you to speak. If you think that I am guilty of doing this, I am willing to be punished!"
What Yang Chao did was undoubtedly an act of rebellion. If it were known, he would only be killed. Not only would Yang unkind and unjust, but he would also be seen as an unkind and unjust person in the eyes of the world. However, everything Yang Chao did was for Yang Ziqian's sake. With such awareness, how could Yang Ziqian blame or punish him?
"Forget it. Maybe this is God's will. Now I need someone, and I can't do without you. Even if people say it's unjust, let me bear it alone. Yang Chao, you have been with me since you were a child, even after you entered the court. But I have never regarded you as a servant or subordinate. You always put yourself in my shoes first. How could I not know your painstaking efforts? You are the person I trust the most. Sometimes I even wonder how I would have gotten through it if you were not by my side. Now I am finally sure that without you, I would not be who I am now. The road ahead may be very difficult. Are you willing to continue to stay with me?"
"Yes! I will pursue you till my death!"
Yang Chao was picked up by Yang Ziqian's father and was given his name by him. After that, he had always been Yang Ziqian's follower, studying and practicing martial arts with him. Yang Ziqian's father never treated Yang Chao as an outsider, and even treated him as his own son. When he was dying, he entrusted Yang Ziqian to him . Yang Chao knew that he was an orphan and could not afford Yang Ziqian, who was the son of an official. In order to repay the old man Yang for raising him, he had already made up his mind to follow Yang Ziqian until his death. Yang Ziqian never Yang Chao was treated as an outsider or a servant, and they shared everything and ate everything together. He never despised Yang Chao because he was an orphan picked up by his father. Because of this, they understood each other. Yang Chao always abided by his duties and never overstepped his bounds, just like a shadow accompanying him. When Yang Ziqian entered the court as an official, Yang Chao also won a place for himself with his own abilities, but he was different from Yang Ziqian who served the court. The reason why he became an official was entirely to protect Yang Ziqian. The bond between the two of them had long surpassed that of master and servant...
"I never thought that my Yang family has served the imperial court for generations, but now it is my generation that has to make the choice to give it up. My ancestors in the underworld will definitely not forgive me, right? And I will also be punished for my rebellious behavior, right?"
"Even so, I will accept the punishment together with you, sir."
"... Let's stop here. There is no time left. Yang Chao, gather all the people you can. We have to fight to defend the people of Laos."
"As you command, sir!"
The flames of war have been ignited and a civil strife is about to take place. Unlike the original Zhao State, these rebels are all forced. Under the threat of plague and abandoned by the monarch, they have no other choice. In order to survive, they can only fight. In order to fight, they will bear the crime of rebellion forever!
Deaths due to the plague, panic due to the plague, loss of family and loved ones due to the plague, being abandoned due to the plague, being forced to fight due to the plague, many things are very likely not God's will, but man-made. Life and death may be determined by heaven, but being able to disregard life and death and only want to save more people, and disregarding the life and death of others and only thinking about self-preservation, it is always very easy to see through a person's heart in the face of a ruthless disaster. Compared with the monarch of Fan State who was not afraid of life and death and wanted to save more people, the monarch of Lao State was greedy for life and afraid of death and did not care about the life and death of other people, which was the real reason for the demise of the country.
Facts have proved that the most terrifying thing is not the disaster, but the human heart. The plague is terrible, but as long as there are people supporting it, people will still have hope of survival; however, giving up without trying, or even burning people who are infected but not dead yet, this kind of coldness and cruelty makes people's hearts cold and warm. How many people died not from the plague but from this kind of coldness?
