Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 174 The Massacre of an Entire Family
At the end of the memorial service, Gu Xuan took the stage again to give a concluding speech.

"We must be clearly aware of who our enemies are and who our friends are!"

"Our enemies are powerful and ruthless. They have been entrenched in this country for thousands of years, deeply rooted and intricate!"

"They are powerful clans, aristocratic families, but also gangsters and bandits!"

"They are still wolves in human skin, bloodsuckers, sucking the blood of most people while they themselves are fat and bloated!"

“If we do not rise up and fight, our descendants will suffer such oppression for generations to come, with no hope of ever getting ahead.”

……

Some of Gu Xuan's words came from several articles that were secretly published and circulated by the "Datong Society" in the past.

Among the Imperial Guards present, some had read those articles.

Hearing these words again now, and reflecting on my own and others' experiences, I can't help but gain a deeper understanding.

Within the Great Zhou Dynasty, those numerous large families that had existed for hundreds or even thousands of years, upon closer examination, were not much different from gangsters and bandits.

The clan leader is the chief, the family rules are the gang's regulations, and the members are a large family bound by blood. With many people, they are powerful and share honor and disgrace, forming a strong force.

They not only produced organized crime, but their clan also produced many talented scholars, many of whom served as officials in the imperial court.

With money, people, and power, they naturally and violently monopolized many resources and industries within the Great Zhou territory, forming de facto independent mini-kingdoms.

Various forms of bullying and market manipulation exist in sectors such as mining, shipping, and other industries.

In this situation, how can ordinary people fight back against them? They can only be oppressed and bullied!

Even the royal family has been reduced to a vassal state!

The Sima family is the most typical representative of these powerful and aristocratic families.

If it weren't for Gu Xuan's arrival, Sima Shang's usurpation of the throne would have been just around the corner.

At that time, given the Sima family's unruly behavior of forming extensive alliances with numerous powerful clans, the Great Zhou Dynasty will be completely reduced to a paradise for the aristocratic families and a hell for the common people!
Gu Xuan also elaborated on this point in his concluding remarks.

Just imagining such a glimpse of the future sends chills down the spines of the Imperial Guards!

That is at this moment.

Only then did they truly understand the horror of the Sima family's potential usurpation of the throne, and the severe consequences!

The saying goes, "People can't teach people, but experience can teach people in one go."

Or, to put it another way, what you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand.

The Imperial Guards soldiers who participated in this bittersweet recollection meeting were mostly from humble backgrounds or were orphans of the Imperial Guards, and had all experienced the hardships of this world to varying degrees.

It was through this experience that they broke through the superficial impressions they had after reading a few articles.

To truly understand why His Majesty King Zhou promoted the "Great Harmony Society" in the army and encouraged everyone to learn to read and write.

Yes, it has come to this point.

Almost every soldier could imagine that the person who promoted the "Great Harmony Society" was none other than His Majesty King Zhou, who stood before them.

Although all of this seems unbelievable, it is true.

In his speech, Gu Xuan also mentioned some methodologies.

"To counter powerful interest groups, you usually need an equally or even more powerful organization."

"We should make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible; only then can we achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

"Above our heads are three great mountains: the Jie people, the powerful clans, and the Quanrong people."

"I've roughly solved the first one, but the next two will depend on everyone's efforts."

……

In fact.

The true organizers and implementers of this "bitterness recollection" meeting were the core members of the "Great Harmony Society" within the Imperial Guard, including the staff.

At the outset, they were full of doubts about this type of conference, and even questioned its effectiveness.

But it wasn't until this first "bitterness recollection" meeting was successfully held by the Imperial Guards of Dongyuan that they truly realized its power.

We have gained successful experience.

The second and third times naturally followed among the Imperial Guards of the South, West, and North Gardens.

For some reason, Gu Xuan did not participate in the subsequent reminiscence meeting, but instead had his core confidants deliver the summary speech on his behalf.

The effect may be slightly reduced, but the principles remain the same.

On the other hand.

Gradually, people in the court and among the common people discovered these movements within the Imperial Guards.

Even though Gu Xuan had tried his best to build the Imperial Guard system into an independent kingdom, the truth could not be hidden forever due to its proximity to the capital.

In an instant, the entire court was thrown into an uproar!

At the grand court assembly, many ministers, as if by unanimous agreement, demanded a thorough investigation of the Imperial Guard system, especially to find out who the mastermind was.

Originally, they all represented different powerful factions and were at odds with each other, but now they are unusually united in their opinions.

Furthermore, some extremely shrewd civil officials outwardly echoed the sentiments indifferently, but in reality, they were observing the situation with detached indifference.

They were all elite members of powerful families, and they had already vaguely sensed something from the changes in the Imperial Guard system.

Similarly, there were also some robust veteran generals standing among the ministers, who on the surface appeared to be echoing the sentiments, but in reality, their eyes were filled with uncertainty.

They were also the representatives of various aristocratic families in the army, but in recent days, Gu Xuan had used various means to either sideline them or drive them out of the core of the Imperial Guard.

The reason they remained indifferent was that they all keenly sensed that these changes within the Imperial Guards were very likely due to His Majesty the King of Zhou.

This was a natural outcome, and no matter how Gu Xuan tried to delay or confuse the court, he could not completely conceal it.

It's already the result of his painstaking efforts that he managed to drag things out until now.

The reason why these shrewd civil and military officials did not unite to launch a campaign against Chao Gu Xuan was mainly due to two reasons.

First, despite their speculations, they still did not know what Gu Xuan truly wanted to achieve. Otherwise, if they had known, they would have done anything to assassinate Gu Xuan.

Secondly, the time is not right, and they each have their own conflicts, making it difficult for them to completely join forces in the short term.

Gu Xuan sat high on his throne, still feigning ignorance.

As long as things don't completely fall apart, he'll maintain this stance, all to buy himself time to build his base.

Therefore.

As before, he outwardly agreed to the ministers' demands and ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice to jointly organize an investigation team to "thoroughly investigate" the relevant personnel in the Imperial Guard.

But actually.

This so-called investigation team, in terms of organizing personnel and approving funding, was dragging its feet and cutting corners wherever possible.

Furthermore, Gu Xuan stirred things up, instigating various disputes and delaying the inevitable as much as possible. This was his advantage as King Zhou.

As long as he remains in this position, and as long as the powerful clans do not decide to turn against him, he can exercise his power to the greatest extent possible within the scope of his authority.

As a result, the investigation into the Imperial Guard system dragged on for several months.

Despite constant criticism and questioning from the outside world, the investigation results remain elusive.

……

During this period, a case with a great impact and widespread circulation occurred within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Hanoi County.

The Chang family was one of the largest clans in the area and a well-known landowner.

They have thousands of clansmen and tens of thousands of tenant farmers who cultivate their land. They also secretly control the local slaughtering, silk, and other industries.

And that's not all.

Currently, there are two officials in the court who are from the Chang family, one old and one young, both holding the rank of fourth grade or above.

It can be said that such a family is one of the typical representatives of the many powerful clans within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Chang Mao, the head of the Chang family, was a well-known "great philanthropist" and "great hero" in Hanoi County.

For some reason, a child of about ten years old was so ignorant that he went to the local county government to report that his whole family had been killed by people sent by the Chang family.

According to the person who reported the crime, his sister worked at the Chang family's silk factory and was raped and murdered by the third son of the Chang family.

His father and brother went to reason with him, but were instead beaten and injured.

That very night, their home was attacked by bandits, and almost the entire family was killed. He was the only one who escaped because he was relieving himself.

The local county government accepted the case, and a constable who had distinguished himself in the military and retired from the border army temporarily took in the young boy who had reported the case.

Unexpectedly, that very evening...

The righteous constable was beheaded, and the young child who reported the crime was also killed!
The yamen runner's father was also a veteran, and naturally he was unwilling to accept this, so he went to the next level of government office to report the case. As a result, he was hacked to death in front of the government office, and the murderer committed suicide on the spot!
Such bloody and cruel methods, for a time, actually shocked some people.

but.

A few days later, a junior officer in the Imperial Guard returned to his hometown to visit relatives. While sitting idly with local officials, he heard about the incident and became extremely angry.

The Imperial Guard junior officer erupted in anger, "The Chang family is so wicked and insane, aren't they afraid of the law?"

The constable quickly stopped him, glancing cautiously around before saying, "Brother, be careful what you say. There's no clear evidence in this case..."

Such words naturally failed to convince the junior officer of the Imperial Guard: "These criminals will be dealt with sooner or later!"

There were actually several retainers of the Chang family present. They immediately drew their knives, intending to kill the junior officer of the Imperial Guard and cut out his tongue!
Fortunately, they underestimated the martial arts skills of this junior officer of the Imperial Guard. Although they managed to cut off one of his arms, they were all killed in the counterattack!

In the following days, Chang's retainers sent out several groups of people, determined to kill him completely.

If he hadn't managed to break into the local garrison camp at the last moment using his Imperial Guard badge, he probably wouldn't have escaped with his life.

Because of this.

This case eventually reached Gu Xuan's ears and spread throughout the court and the public.

Such a brazen and blatant act of violence is outrageous!
Even some officials who also came from prominent families felt that this was going too far.

Everyone else is just slowly extracting profits, like cutting flesh with a dull knife, but the Chang family, aren't you being a bit too tyrannical?!

Faced with this case, Gu Xuan initially followed the usual practice and ordered the Ministry of Justice to send special officials to Hanoi County to investigate the case.

The outbreak of this case has, to some extent, temporarily diverted some of the court's attention from the Imperial Guard system.

Because very quickly, two months later.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice determined that dozens of servants of the Chang family were the main culprits in the case, and that the rape, murder, and other crimes were all committed by these individuals.

These people were also taken back to the capital to await execution in the autumn.

As for the three sons of the Chang family, they were sentenced to ten years of exile.

Other members of the Chang clan, including the clan head Chang Mao, had no connection to the case.

To the common people, this outcome was clearly a lenient treatment.

Despite the widespread anger, there is also a sense of helplessness, because this is the norm on this land today.

Moreover, in the eyes of many powerful clans, exiling the Third Young Master Chang was already a remarkable concession. Did they really want to kill a member of a high-ranking family for the sake of a few commoners, or even pursue more people?
If His Majesty the King of Zhou hadn't taken notice of this case, perhaps even the Third Young Master Chang wouldn't have been exiled; only a few servants would have been punished.

However, this outcome was ultimately unacceptable to Gu Xuan.

He could not possibly accept this outcome!

With a single order, a man from a humble background was specially promoted to a special case officer in the Ministry of Justice, and accompanied by five hundred imperial guards, he rushed to Hanoi County to re-examine the case.

Such a swift and decisive action has drawn considerable attention.

Even the Quanrong envoys took notice of this matter and sent a message back to the distant Quanrong royal court via carrier pigeon.

And a few months later.

The poor official who understood Gu Xuan's intentions, under the powerful intimidation of five hundred elite imperial guards, captured the entire Chang family, who had committed numerous evils over the years!

It would have been better if they hadn't been tried. But once the trial began, it uncovered numerous crimes committed by the Chang family, including murder, monopolistic practices, and bribing officials.

This family is practically a local tyrant!
however.

Even under these circumstances, some renowned legal experts and officials still attempted to petition for leniency for the Chang family, citing the principle that "the law does not apply to aristocratic families."

But sensing Gu Xuan's unwavering will, they ultimately stopped.

finally.

Throughout the entire Chang family, all those found guilty were either beheaded or exiled; they were almost completely eradicated!

The Ministry of Justice officials who had been sent there earlier were also found guilty of bribery and were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public.

And that's not all.

Under Gu Xuan's special instruction, all the details of the case were published in the official gazette in installments, fully exposing the many crimes of the Chang family.

As a result, the sales of the local gazette increased dramatically once again, and its influence far exceeded that of the past.

Even remote prefectures and counties, as well as the Quanrong tribes beyond the borders and many small tribes in the north, began to pay attention to the official gazettes of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

under these circumstances.

Gu Xuan seized the opportunity to have the official gazette reveal more of the true nature of powerful clans.

Such actions will certainly make those in high positions more vigilant, but they can also awaken more people at the bottom of society.

This is a weighing of gains and losses, and Gu Xuan ultimately decided to choose the latter, because he was bound to come to this point sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)