Chapter 599 Farce
Since Luo Zhun was able to take over the post of Wuxi Xuanfu Envoy at this critical moment, he naturally would not lack courage.
However, as a student official, he still lacked experience and decisiveness.
When he learned that the gentry in the city led the people to force the emperor to abdicate, he actually tried to force the other party to retreat in shame by using his righteous words.
result……
"I heard that those mountain barbarians were originally ready to be recruited by the imperial court, but it was General Sun's eagerness for merit that forced them to rebel again!"
"That's right. They even dug up someone's ancestral grave. How could the barbarians not be anxious? He got the credit, but weren't we Wuxi people the ones who suffered?!"
"I heard that he hasn't shown up for several days. Could he have escaped?!"
"He must have escaped! How can this soldier from the capital care about the lives of us Wuxi people?!"
"The previous envoy was also from the north. If he hadn't insisted on taking away the barbarians' silver mines, why would the barbarians have made trouble for no reason?"
"That's right! We Wuxi people have been really badly harmed by these northerners!"
"Although my ancestral home is not in Wuxi, I am still a southerner after all. Don't fall for the northerner's scheme and sacrifice your life for him in vain!"
"The Sun guy ran away, but he left behind a lot of wounded soldiers. I heard that they all dug up the mountain barbarians' ancestral graves..."
With so many people talking at once, who would listen to Luo Zhun's talk about the truth?
Seeing that someone was planning to take advantage of the wounded, Luo Zhun finally lost his composure and shouted, "How dare you! Are you going to rebel?!"
Seeing that the master had finally perked up, those servants who had been working without putting in any effort also hurriedly raised their tools and posed with their beards puffing and eyes glaring.
Although no one really stepped forward to punish the rioters, the noise at the yamen gate gradually calmed down.
Luo Zhun heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this. He was about to start a serious argument when someone suddenly shouted at the bottom of the stairs: "Don't talk nonsense. The imperial court sent troops here to protect the country and the people. How could General Sun abandon the people of this city?"
At this point, the man stepped forward and bowed deeply: "Please, old father, quickly invite General Sun out to correct the people's views!"
This person was none other than Liang Jingcheng, one of the three leading gentry and the head of the Wuxi Liang family.
Just now he had been watching coldly in the crowd, but suddenly he jumped out, seemingly speaking for the government and trying to rescue Luo Zhun, but in fact he forced Luo Zhun into a corner!
Just as planned, Sun Shaozong had led a part of his troops three days ago, bypassing the barbarian coalition forces in front of them and going deep into the Wuxi mountain area to besiege Wei and rescue Zhao.
If Luo Zhun had exposed this matter at the beginning, it would have been fine.
But now they have been used to counterattack. Even if Luo Zhun tells the truth again, how many of these excited rioters will believe it?
Just as he showed some hesitation, Liang Jingcheng on the opposite side changed his expression and shouted in horror: "What? Did General Sun really abandon the city and flee?!"
There was an uproar all around, and then the remarks of those "Southerners and Northerners" began to make a big fuss again.
In modern society with advanced information technology, there are still disputes between the north and the south, let alone the ancient times when people had a strong sense of localism?
As the crowd was excited, someone suggested gathering more people to go to the military camp to investigate thoroughly.
Luo Zhun was so anxious that he jumped up and down, and shouted at the officers to maintain order. However, with local gentry like Liang Jingcheng blocking the way, how could these local clerks be willing to obey his orders?
At most, they are just putting on airs from a distance and doing their job in vain.
Seeing hundreds of rioters pulling each other together and heading towards the military camp, and seeing many ignorant civilians along the way being bewitched into joining the team, Luo Zhun was extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
If this incident gets out of hand, what will happen to the people's morale?
No matter what happens with Sun Shaozong, Wuxi City is doomed!
"Stop, stop right there!"
At this critical moment, suddenly more than a dozen people rushed out from the street corner, each with weapons in their hands, and they stopped the hundreds of rioters.
The leader was a tall, thin man in his thirties. He stood in the middle with a frown on his face. Just as he was about to shout loudly, he heard someone in the mob shout, "Oh no! The government troops are angry and want to kill innocent people to take credit for their crimes!"
It is said that a single stone can cause a thousand ripples. After hearing the words "killing innocent people to claim credit", the crowd suddenly became chaotic. Some wanted to flee in all directions, some wanted to step forward to argue, and some angrily picked up stones and bricks from the ground and were ready to throw them at the government troops.
Finished!
It's completely over now!
Seeing this, Luo Zhun, who had been chasing after them from behind and wanted to save the situation, suddenly felt his legs go weak and he sat down on the ground in a completely humiliated state.
Whether it was the government troops dispersing the people or the mob besieging the government troops, the "fact" that Sun Shaozong fled without fighting would inevitably spread throughout the city!
"Damn it!"
But the leading soldier just cursed, suddenly untied the tie around his neck, threw away his tightly wrapped cloak, revealing a black dragon-swallowing cloud robe.
In a few seconds, more than a dozen men with knives followed suit, revealing their Dragon Guard uniforms. They shouted in unison, "The Dragon Guards are on duty. Who dares to spread rumors and cause trouble?!"
The long street suddenly became quiet.
The name of the Dragon Guards is much more famous in the local area than the official army. Although it is not a good reputation, it is the most appropriate to use it to maintain order at this time.
Seeing that he had the situation under control, the tall and thin man acted more superior and secretly glanced to his left and right.
Someone nearby immediately raised his voice and said, "My master is Li Qianhu of the Huguang Qianhu Division. He came to Wuxi City secretly because he was asked by the Bandit Suppression General to investigate the barbarian spies in the city!"
It was actually Qianhu himself? !
Ordinary people still don't know the pros and cons of this, but how could Liang Jingcheng and other local gentry not know the extravagance of the Dragon Guard Captain?
Although the Trial Thousand Household Officer of the Huguang Thousand Household Office was only a fifth-rank official, he was the emperor's eyes and ears in Huguang. Even the governor, provincial governor, and provincial judge would not dare to offend him!
Liang Jingcheng, who originally wanted to step forward to ask a few questions, immediately shrank back into the crowd.
Seeing that he had found a way out of a desperate situation, Luo Zhun jumped up from the ground without anyone's help, trotted over, and said with a bow , "Captain Li, you came at the right time!"
Then he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who is this general who smuggled bandits?"
Captain Li returned the greeting first, then said in a loud voice: "General Zhou is a general selected by the court from Shuzhong. He has been ordered to lead 50,000 troops to wipe out the Wuxi rebellion!"
"Because these barbarians are scattered in the mountains, it is really difficult to wipe them out, so the general and Sun Xianfeng came up with a clever plan to lure them out..."
"grown ups!"
Seeing that he was talking eloquently and actually talking about such military secrets in front of everyone, a captain nearby hurriedly reminded him.
Captain Li suddenly woke up, laughed and swallowed the rest of his words, then frowned and pointed at the crowd and shouted, "Come here, capture those barbarian spies who were causing trouble just now!"
The two responded loudly and rushed into the crowd aggressively.
The people, who had been excited just now, were now like lambs, allowing the Dragon Guards to come and go freely and arresting the people who had started the trouble one by one.
After all, no one is deaf. Even if there were some stupid ones who couldn't guess what the so-called brilliant plan was, the 50,000 government troops heard it clearly.
Even if these many government troops could not completely wipe out the mountain barbarians, it would be easy for them to suppress the people of Wuxi City.
So who would dare to go against the Dragon Guards at this juncture?
However, the captured 'spies' refused to surrender and cried out desperately that they were wronged. The one who struggled most fiercely was naturally Liang Jingcheng.
Then he was heard shouting, "Unjust, unjust, sir! Liang just came to the rescue of Lord Luo, how could he be a barbarian spy? Besides, Liang has a reputation and a reputation as a juren!"
Hearing him crying out for injustice and using his fame as a talisman, Captain Li frowned and walked closer, looked him up and down, then suddenly raised his hand and swung his scabbard, hitting Liang Jingcheng so hard that his teeth broke and flew everywhere!
Liang Jingcheng screamed in pain as he was hit by a scabbard in the face again. His straight nose collapsed and his vision went dark. When he wanted to scream again, his throat was already blocked by blood and he could only make some muffled sounds.
"Noisy!"
Captain Li hung the scabbard back on his waist as if nothing had happened, turned to Luo Zhun and said with a smile: "Lord Luo, may I borrow your court temporarily?"
"You can use it as you like, you can use it as you like!"
Luo Zhun agreed without hesitation and personally led the Dragon Guards to the Xuanfushi Yamen.
Seeing that Captain Li was about to go to the court for questioning, Luo Zhun could not help but move closer and asked sourly, "I wonder when will arrive? It's really hard for me to keep it a secret."
Unexpectedly, Captain Li shook his head and smiled bitterly after hearing this, then leaned over to Luo Zhun's ear and said, "There is no such thing as a general who slays bandits. It was all made up by Captain Sun. Otherwise, how could this humble official dare to announce such a military and national event to the public?"
"Make up..."
Luo Zhun almost screamed, but fortunately Captain Li covered his mouth in time.
After a long while, Luo Zhun finally came to his senses and said in a trembling voice, "So, the 50,000 government troops are also fake?"
Captain Li nodded: "Of course."
Luo Zhun couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly: "If this outrageous lie is exposed again..."
"rest assured."
Captain Li patted his chest and said, "This humble official weighs about 100 pounds, but it still has some weight. No one will believe that I would give up the good life in the provincial capital and come here to risk my life!"
That's true. The Dragon Guards are the emperor's eyes and ears, and there is no reason for them to risk their lives to participate in suppressing the rebellion. It was for this reason that Luo Zhun had such faith in the 50,000 government troops.
Thinking of this, Luo Zhun couldn't help but change his expression, and bowed to Captain Li solemnly and said: "It is true that a loyal minister is known in times of turmoil! When I was in the provincial capital, I heard a lot of slander against Captain Li in the officialdom. Now I know your loyalty and bravery!"
Captain Li also hurriedly returned the greeting with a solemn expression: "I dare not. For the sake of the country and the people, I have no choice but to do it!"
At the same time, he couldn't help but complain in his heart: If Sun Shaozong hadn't been the Inspector of a Thousand Households and hadn't taken out Eunuch Qiu's handwriting, I wouldn't have bothered to come to this damn place!
