Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 871 Cutting Through the Gordian Knife (Part 2)
Early morning of the seventh day of the tenth lunar month.

Lu You flew into a rage in front of the small mountain of corpses belonging to the male members of the Wang family.

The officials of Chengdu Prefecture, on the other hand, turned ashen-faced and fell silent.

What do you mean by "no grudges last overnight"?

That's what you call not holding grudges overnight!

They had an argument during the day, and that very night the whole family died.

Could this... this Lord Lu be a Jurchen disguised as a Han Chinese?!
"The thieves in Chengdu are truly outrageous!" Lu You shouted in the blood-soaked hall, "They actually slaughtered the entire Wang family! Is there no law?! Is there no justice?!"

I will surely bring the murderers to justice and restore order to Chengdu!

No one agreed.

Everyone thought Lu You had truly gone mad, daring to use such methods in political struggles, which was truly a breach of the bottom line.

This isn't just assassinating someone in the street; it's wiping out an entire family!

Now, what was once a simple matter of an upright official fighting against local tyrants and evil gentry has been transformed into a serious political event.

Political events are never based on evidence.

When the meteorite that foretold the death of the King of Qin and the division of the land appeared, and Qin Shi Huang could not find the culprit, he ruthlessly chose to slaughter everyone within a radius of 500 li. This is the reason why.

Now it's all over, all over. Those who echoed Lu You yesterday will most likely be treated as accomplices.

After Lu You finished venting his anger... or rather, after his performance, he turned to Cao Dache and asked, "Have you found any survivors?!"

With dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night, Cao Dache immediately cupped his hands and said, "The women are mostly unharmed, but the men of the first, second, third, and sixth branches of the Wang family were all killed. Only the fifth branch, Wang You's family, managed to escape the clutches of the thieves by hiding in the livestock shed!"

Lu You sighed heavily: "Alas! Cao Dalang, this is all your fault. If you had arrived a moment earlier, wouldn't we have been able to save more people?!"

Cao Dache immediately bowed and apologized.

Wang Yan, who was in the first position at the back, had good eyesight. After seeing the bloodstains on Cao Dache's boots under his skirt armor, he felt an urge to facepalm.

This can no longer be described as 'rough'; it has reached the point of being arrogant, impulsive, and unrestrained.

Lu You sighed again: "Since Judge Wang is no longer here, let me, the Prime Minister, investigate the case. Since everyone in Chengdu is here, bring Wang You up! Let's see if he knows why the Wang family suffered such a calamity!"

Soon, Wang Hui, who was only wearing a white undergarment, was helped over by two armored soldiers.

Upon seeing the pile of corpses behind Lu You, he lost all control. A stream of heat dripped from his crotch onto the ground, and he became even weaker, almost hanging on the armored soldier.

Lu You stepped forward slowly, a smile on his face: "Wang You, do you know who exactly killed the entire Wang clan?"

Wang You stared blankly at Lu You, as if looking at a ravenous demon ready to devour its prey. His body trembled even more violently, and the stench beneath him became unbearable, mingling with the smell of blood, making one frown in disgust.

The officials of Chengdu Prefecture were not all spineless. When they saw that the only surviving male member of the Wang family was being persecuted like this, several of them immediately wanted to stand up and protect him.

But to everyone's surprise, after a moment of stunned trembling, Wang You suddenly seemed to realize something, sticking out his now grayish-brown buttocks and kowtowing heavily: "Lord Lu! Lord Lu! I heard you clearly!"

This is because my Wang clan seized the military farmland, and the deserted soldiers, unable to bear the oppression, committed this act. I implore Lord Lu to uphold justice for my Wang clan! Please uphold justice for us!

In the end, Wang You burst into tears. It was unclear whether it was out of genuine family affection or she was terrified, but her tears flowed like a burst dam, unstoppable.

Those Chengdu officials who wanted to get ahead looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.

What exactly is Wang You up to?
Even if you are really afraid of Lu You, you only need to let him make the decision. Why did you have to bring up the fact that the Wang clan swallowed up the military farm?

In that case, wouldn't Ms. Wang no longer be the perfect victim?

It should be noted that although the Wang family's land reclamation seemed to be in full swing a few days ago, it was ultimately done in secret, and the Wang family has never publicly acknowledged this matter.

Now that the only male descendant of the Wang family in the main branch of Chengdu Prefecture has admitted to this matter in full view of the officials of Chengdu Prefecture, doesn't that mean that the Wang family has a way to bring about their own demise?

Lu You's smile widened, and he didn't help Wang You up, but simply stroked his beard and said, "Oh, I see. The case is quite clear. Minister Wang."

Wang Yan, the Sichuan Transport Commissioner, immediately stepped forward with his hands clasped: "What are your orders, Lord Lu?"

Lu You continued to stroke his beard and replied, "I dare not accept your orders. Logically speaking, this major case should not be handled by the Transport Commissioner, but firstly, the Prefect Wang, who is in charge of criminal law, is dead; secondly, it concerns the military farms, and without Minister Wang in charge, this matter cannot be sorted out."

Therefore, it is hoped that Minister Wang can shoulder this responsibility, clearly sort out the Wang family's land holdings, and determine which were military settlements they annexed and which were their original lands, so that a proper handover can be carried out.

Upon reaching this point, an official finally couldn't help but say, "Lord Lu, the key issue now is investigating the murderers and bandits. How did this get involved with land ownership?"

Lu You didn't even bother to glance down before immediately saying, "That's not right. To be able to kill all the male members of the Wang clan and escape without anyone noticing is not something an ordinary soldier could do. Now, if we want to investigate, where should we even begin?"

Why not start with Cao Dalang, who's always by Lu Xiangong's side?

Many people think this way, but no one dares to say it out loud.

"Therefore, in order to find out the root of this case, we must find out who Wang has a grudge against. The only clue we have now is the military farm. So let's find out which family's farmland Wang has swallowed up, which is why the thief could do such a heinous thing."

After Lu You finished stating his conclusion, he bent down and patted Wang You on the shoulder, his smile becoming extremely warm: "Wang You, don't worry, I will definitely stand up for you."

"Today you shall write a petition and submit it, Li Chong. You are hereby promoted to Acting Vice Prefect of Chengdu. Speak carefully with Wang You, and under no circumstances shall you be disrespectful!"

The Chengdu government officials present were taken aback again, and then many of them had a thought pop into their minds.

Could it be that Lu You really didn't do this?

Li Chong was related to the Wang family by marriage; his daughter married Wang Hui's eldest son and became the head wife of the household.

His daughter also gave birth to three sons, all of whom are now adults.

It can be said that this person shares the same fate as the Wang family, and it is absolutely impossible for him to betray them.

Moreover, Li Chong had been immersed in the field of criminal law for many years and was essentially Wang Hui's deputy, so he could rightfully lead the criminal department.

Now Lu You has actually put Li Chong in charge of criminal justice and even handed over the only witness in this case to him. Could it be that he is truly open and honest and has no selfish motives?
Surely they can't be so arrogant that they think they're untouchable in Sichuan?

But come to think of it.

The Sichuan Pacification Commissioner was already special, holding a higher position than ordinary Pacification Commissioners. He also carried the responsibilities of a Pacification Commissioner, which almost squeezed out the Judicial Commissioner.

Now, Wang Yan, the transport commissioner in charge of finances, is clearly in cahoots with Lu You. Apart from the supervisor of the Ever-Normal Granary in Hanzhong, who oversees the logistics of Wu Lin's army, Lu You is truly uncontrollable at this time.

However, the Song Dynasty's system was characterized by layers of checks and balances and suppression, and no one could block the channels of information. Therefore, as long as Li Chong could produce solid evidence, he was not afraid that Lu You could cover up the truth.

Li Chong seemed to understand this as well. He suppressed his anger, bowed to receive the order, and then, disregarding the stench, pulled Wang You away.

The massacre of an entire family in a royal residence could not be concealed, especially in the Song Dynasty when urban culture was flourishing.

Soon, all sorts of messy rumors flew around, causing everyone to feel insecure, but also making the people curious about which powerful figure the Wang family had offended, leading to the massacre of their entire family.

By the third day, the rumors had spread far and wide.

There are roughly two versions of the story circulating in the market.

One version says that Lu You, the Prime Minister, had a falling out with Wang Hui. Lu You was an extremely petty person, so he immediately sent people to exterminate Wang Hui's entire family.

Another version says that the Wang family not only embezzled military farm land but also forcibly married off other people's daughters and wives, which enraged the convicts.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad. But the key point is that Wang Hui was a womanizer. After turning all the military settlement people into tenants, he issued an extremely absurd order: no matter which family's daughter was getting married, the bride had to be sent to the Wang Mansion for three days before it was considered a proper wedding.

Finally, the bandits and convicts could no longer endure it. They sneaked into Chengdu Prefecture, killed all the men of the Wang family, and kidnapped all the women, taking them to the mountains to be their wives.

Of these two rumors, the first only involves political struggle;

The second type, however, incorporates elements of eroticism, violence, money, and a hint of karmic retribution. Even a short play might not be as comprehensive.

Even a fool could figure out which version of the story is more widely circulated.

Very soon, very soon!

The first version of the story has disappeared without a trace, while the second version is becoming increasingly bizarre, almost to the point of comparing the Wang family mansion to a den of debauchery.

Meanwhile, Li Zhong's questioning of Wang You gradually turned into an interrogation, and the intensity of the questioning increased.

However, Wang You seemed to have lost his mind, insisting that he heard it clearly and that it was done by local soldiers from Sichuan.

In the end, Li Chong had no other choice but to break the rules and expel all the officials and clerks. He personally explained the advantages and disadvantages to Wang You, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him, and directly stated that Lu You could not do whatever he wanted within the Song Dynasty system.

Moreover, the Wang family has connections in the imperial court. With such a big incident, no scholar-official with a family background would stand idly by. As long as Wang You can implicate Lu You, Lu You is doomed!
Wang You was clearly terrified, but he still insisted that the massacre of his entire family was caused by the Wang clan's annexation of military farms.

This left Li Chong both extremely angry and utterly helpless.

In mid-October, ten days after the major case occurred, the case finally made a major breakthrough.

But that was not the direction Li Chong hoped for.

(End of this chapter)