Tiger Guards

Chapter 76 The Power of the Imperial Court
Seven or eight miles south of the Wei family manor, the joint forces of the Wei and Fan families also deployed along the Chidao Road.

There are flags, armor, crossbows, and knights.

Wei Gu's father, Wei Huang, was reining in his horse at the front of the battle formation when he saw the county clerk, Liu Zheng, leading a dozen or so riders. He immediately rode up to meet them and asked, "Yuan Fang, what's the situation?"

"Very unfavorable."

Liu Zheng saw that Fan Fu, the head of the Fan family, was also riding his horse closer. Fan Fu's eldest son Fan Xian and Wei Huang's eldest son Wei An remained motionless and watched from the side.

When Fan Fu approached, Liu Zhengcai bowed and said, "Lord Kong Xiu, Lord Fu, the Right Wise Prince Qu Bei has submitted a memorial to the court explaining what happened. The court has ordered the county government to take the Wei and Fan families into custody. This will be a matter of great pity."

Upon hearing this, Wei Huang faltered, the color draining from his round face, a look of horror on his face: "Is the imperial court so heartless?"

Fan Fu's face paled, and he sighed deeply, "We too would have liked to have offered tribute to the imperial court, but at that time the Xiongnu were numerous, and the Baibo were fierce and stubborn. If we had offered them wealth and goods, the treacherous ministers, knowing our wealth and respect for the imperial court, would have demanded more than they deserved. Our families would have been ruined, and Hedong would have been devastated. Don't the officials in the court know this?"

Liu Zheng looked sad and did not respond.

Wei Huang recognized the bandit Cao from his own county who had come with Liu Zheng and asked, "Is he being imprisoned to await punishment?"

"Lord Kong Xiu, when troops gather together, they are like fire, and there will be a burning."

The thief Cao bowed and said: "Please, Lord Kong Xiu, please think about the peace of our hometown."

"Ha ha……"

Wei Huang smiled bitterly and asked, "What will happen to my son Zhongjian?"

The thief Cao was unsure and turned to look at Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng was somewhat confident, so he answered confidently: "Zhao Ji, the Zhonglang of the Tiger Guards, is willing to protect him. We will also ask the governor to intercede for Zhongjian."

Wei Huang looked dejected. He turned to look at his eldest son, Wei An, who was standing in the distance. Seeing this, Wei An rode his horse forward and asked worriedly, "Father."

"The court is investigating my family's crimes. Zhongjian might be pardoned, but I'm afraid Boding will be wronged."

Wei Huang's voice was weak and powerless. Wei An's expression changed drastically. A fierce look flashed across his face, and then he became dejected.

The Wei family is a large clan, and their family is powerful, but they also have other relatives who are of smaller powerful status.

If the imperial court punishes this group of people, the war will not start.

The situation is similar with Fan Fu. Although the internal situation is not as dense as that of the Wei family, it is still unable to mobilize the entire family to rebel against the court.

If you raise an army to resist, you will become a real bandit.

If he had known about it two days or one day in advance, he could have raised an army to attack and kill the Baibo generals, or led his troops to defend the emperor, and would not have ended up in this situation.

Wei An bowed to Liu Zheng and said, "Brother Yuan Fang, could you give me some time?"

"Bo Ding will go on his own."

Liu Zheng did not urge them either. It would be useless to urge them too hastily. In the end, Wei and Fan, father and son, had to give up their resistance on their own initiative.

They are more respectable, and all the county can do is clean up their tails.

Seeing Liu Zheng's permission, Wei An turned his horse back to the Wei family's main camp and summoned his brothers and close companions to arrange the funeral.

At this time, Fan Xian also arrived at the front of the battle. His face changed drastically. "I also have over a thousand infantrymen. Father, how can I just sit there and wait to die?"

Liu Zheng's expression also changed: "Be careful with your words!"

"Why should I be so cautious? The imperial court wants to kill me, so why should I kneel down and apologize?"

Fan Xian pointed at Liu Zheng and said, "I'm right here. Who wants to kill me?"

The cavalrymen who came with him drew their swords, pointed their spears and halberds at Liu Zheng and others, and protected Fan Fu behind them.

Fan Fu coughed twice and advised his son: "At this point, you should think about your family."

"Father!"

Fan Xian roared and angrily scolded: "What have we done wrong?"

"Fool, you and I are father and son, but how could the county exterminate our bloodline?"

Fan Fu asked back and turned to look at Liu Zheng, and Fan Xian also looked at Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng nodded and bowed solemnly: "The court has sent the county to handle it, so there is room for maneuver. If the Huben and Xiongnu were to intervene, there would be heavy casualties and widespread repercussions. There would be no hope for the Fan family to rise again!"

"I don't agree!"

Fan Xian grabbed the loaded crossbow hanging from the side of the harness, pointed it at Liu Zheng with glaring eyes, and said, "Let them come!"

Liu Zheng rode forward, his horse nose pressed against Fan Xian's. He raised his hand, grasped the crossbow, and aimed it at his face, speaking in a low voice, "You are a man of understanding, of decency and importance. I've come here on orders, and I'm not afraid of life or death."

"I still refuse to accept it. Ultimately, it's the court's incompetence. What is my family's fault?"

Fan Xian trembled, turned his head to look at Fan Fu, his eyes trembling: "Forgive my unfilial son."

Fan Fu opened his mouth to persuade her, but he just closed his eyes.

Liu Zheng was frightened by the powerful crossbow pointing at his face and closed his eyes.

"So Yuan Fang is also afraid of death. My today may be Yuan Fang's tomorrow!"

Fan Xian snorted with a cold smile, put away his crossbow, turned around and slowly rode away.

He drew out his dagger, swayed on the saddle, held the dagger against his throat with both hands, and slammed it in hard.

The horse took another seven or eight steps, and Fan Xian fell off the horse, lying on his side and twitching.

He fell off his horse and blood was splattered all around.

Fan Fu also fell off his horse and walked towards his son in a daze. Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, his face covered with sweat.

At this time, Wei Huang also dismounted tremblingly and said to Liu Zheng, "Don't let Bo Ding see my corpse."

"Here."

Liu Zheng agreed, and Wei Huang drew his sword and pointed it at his neck, but the sword was too long and inconvenient.

He took out a dagger and stabbed it into the side of his neck. Blood gushed out immediately, and the man staggered and fell backwards, dying completely.

The surrounding Wei family members, clan elders, and tribe leaders all came forward and surrounded Wei Huang.

Except for a few who were older than them, the rest knelt on the ground.

Seeing this, the thief Cao turned around and looked at several county soldiers. These county soldiers were also afraid and could only step forward to cut off Wei Huang's head.

In the Hedong area, as of now, no one dares to stain the blood of the Wei and Fan father and son.

Whoever has this blood on his hands will be hunted down and killed along with the closest relatives of these two pairs of father and son in order to eliminate the hidden danger.

The severed head was wrapped in a flag, and several elders of the Wei family also instructed their children to help Wei Huang's body onto horseback and take it away by a detour.

After the imperial court inspects and publicly displays the head, it will be retrieved, sewn up, and buried.

Even the bloodstains left by Wei Huang on the ground were cleared away by his followers with spears and halberds and covered with dirt.

They all looked solemn and sad. Wei Huang and Fan Xian committed suicide, but in the end, they still had to save them.

Now is the time, Liu Zheng is easy to talk to; if he is really imprisoned and tortured, not only will he be humiliated and tortured, but his involvement will inevitably expand.

When Wei An finished his instructions and returned, he saw Fan Fu lying on Fan Xian's chest with a cut on his neck, staring at the sky with his head tilted, his eyes bulging with anger.

Wei An didn't see his father, nor did he see any of the elders or clan members.

He dismounted, took off his helmet and threw it aside, then managed to straighten his stiff neck.

He slowly drew out his sword and knelt on his knees facing the ancestral grave.

Looking up at the azure sky, with a nostalgic look on his face, he sang softly, "Preparing firewood, three stars are in the sky; what a night it is, to see this beloved? My dear, my dear, what a beloved person I am!"

"I prepare my straw, and three stars are in the corner. What a night it is, that we meet by chance! My dear, why do we meet like this?"

"My preparations are well-prepared, and three stars are in the window. What night is it, that you see such a charming star? My dear son, what is this charming star?"

His relatives and tribal leaders were crying inconsolably, taking off their helmets and kneeling in front of their ancestral graves.

After singing the Tang Dynasty song "Chou Mu", Wei An closed his eyes, his eyelids drooped and squeezed, and the mist in the corners of his eyes gathered into tears and flowed down.

He placed the hilt of the sword on the ground, held the blade steady with both hands, and pierced his throat.

He was not dead yet, so he just stood there gritting his teeth and holding on, his misty eyes open, staring at Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng quickly dismounted and rushed to Wei An's side, wailing loudly: "Bo Ding~!"

He cried so sadly that he couldn't control himself. The relatives and followers of the Wei and Fan families around him could no longer control themselves and burst into tears.

Liu Zheng really had no choice. He was the county chief clerk and the most trusted person of the county governor Wang Yi.

If he doesn't come, the court will send out the Tiger Guards, and the incident will escalate. Fan and Wei, father and son, will be in trouble, and many people will be implicated.

(End of this chapter)