Qing Yao

Chapter 318 Zhao Youlu is sorry to his fellow villagers!

Seven victories in seven battles!

Even someone as brave as Hailancha could cause such a battle report to alarm the court and the public, let alone a civil official who was born into a family through donation and who was seen by outsiders as having no strength to even kill a chicken!

One can only imagine how brilliantly the "living Ebilun" would shine in the old man's heart after the good news reached Beijing, and what glory it would bring to the person involved!

A triumphant Zhao An led his sacred mule and horse unit, composed of Green Standard Army soldiers, canal gang members, and imperial guards, and proudly escorted more than a thousand prisoners on the road back to Suzhou.

The entire team was filled with an almost fanatical atmosphere of devotion to Zhao An. The more than one hundred Yangzhou Green Standard Army soldiers who participated in the battle never dreamed that following Lord Zhao would bring them such tremendous merit, let alone that they could sweep away the rebels like autumn leaves in the wind.

The general was so excited that even the saliva drooling from the corner of his mouth tasted sweet. This great achievement was enough to promote him several ranks!
Hey, it's like getting it for free.

Looking at Lord Zhao sitting on the mule in front of him, he felt that Lord Zhao was radiating light and heat, like the sun in the sky, which made him want to rush forward and hug him tightly several times.

Even just clinging to someone's coattails would be fine.

The members of the canal gang who participated in the battle all stood up straight, each one feeling proud, and every one of them looked at Zhao An with utmost admiration.

With such divine power achieved by the young lord today, he will rise rapidly in the officialdom of Anhui. From now on, who in the Jianghuai region will dare to underestimate them?

Who would dare say that the Canal Gang is just a bunch of shady characters!
Putting everything else aside, just considering how well Shaojun takes care of the brothers in the gang, Anhui might very well become their Cao Gang's territory in the future.

The other guards, including Qingyao, were also beaming with joy, calculating in their hearts what kind of reward they would receive upon returning to the capital. The worst of them all thought about being promoted one rank, and those who dared to dream felt that they might even be promoted to the Imperial Guard.

Qingyao didn't have high expectations for himself; he just wanted to be promoted to a first-class bodyguard.

The requirements are not high, but they are quite difficult.

This is because 70% of the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, the Minister of the Imperial Court, and the Minister of the Imperial Household Department all came from the ranks of the First-Class Imperial Guard.

Just as one could not enter the Hanlin Academy without being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and one could not enter the Grand Secretariat without being a Hanlin scholar, the first-class imperial bodyguard was a strict requirement for imperial bodyguards to enter the imperial guard ranks.

If things really go as planned, wouldn't Lord Zhao be Qingyao's great benefactor?

Zhao An was pondering the significance of this battle. First, it thwarted the conspiracy of the reactionary group in Anhui led by Zhu Gui, establishing his unshakeable position in the Anhui officialdom. Second, it effectively dealt a blow to the folk cult led by the White Lotus Sect, playing a significant role in restoring a good public security environment in Anhui. Finally, through this battle, he personally proved to the Qing Dynasty and the old master that he was not only both a scholar and a warrior, but also the best replacement for the "firefighter" General Fukang'an.

At the same time, the victory in this battle will act as a catalyst to give birth to a new Han Chinese armed group in the Jianghuai region.

Now, besides taking stock of the battle results and commending the participants, we must immediately organize effective relief efforts and restore order to the disaster area as soon as possible.

However, after traveling less than forty li back, Zhao An's mood soured again.

The once deserted official road was suddenly filled with countless disaster victims. They walked numbly from the direction of Suzhou, supporting the old and carrying the young. There was no sound in the crowd, only a sense of oppression, a heavy silence that even the joy of victory could not dispel.

Zhao An's expression gradually hardened. He reined in the mule and had Xu Lin, who was beside him, go forward to ask the disaster victims what had happened.

Xu Lin rode a mule and led his men to quickly go and inquire about the disaster victims. They were told that the officials of Suzhou had sent troops to drive them out. They were told that if they left on their own, the government would not pursue their crime of joining the rebellion and committing the death penalty. If they did not leave, they should not blame the government for "settling accounts later".

"Bastard!"

Zhao An cursed under his breath, his eyes suddenly sharpening. He told Xu Lin to inform the disaster victims to go back and collect relief porridge, because nine out of ten of these victims were already on the verge of death. Letting them leave Suzhou was tantamount to letting them fend for themselves.

The disaster victims were initially afraid to go back, but when they learned that the person who was letting them go back was the provincial governor Zhao, who was even more powerful than the prefect of Suzhou, they reluctantly followed the group back.

As Zhao An passed through the crowd of disaster victims, his heart was heavy. The victims were in such a terrible state. Many of them were so hungry that they looked like they had just come out of a concentration camp. They were pale and emaciated with sunken eyes. Many of them were crawling rather than walking.

As this provincial governor walked through, many disaster victims wanted to speak with him, but they had already exhausted their strength and could only let out weak groans.

The occasional cries of children from among the crowd sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silence, deeply piercing Zhao An and his group.

Even the guards and the Green Standard Army soldiers from Yangzhou felt extremely bad. As they passed through the crowd, someone handed out their food bags to the disaster victims, and then everyone took out their food.

This action not only gave the disaster victims complete hope, but also made them firmly follow Zhao An and his entourage. It seemed that only by following this young provincial governor could the people of Anhui have a way to survive and have hope.

Beneath the walls of Suzhou, the sun brought light, but also the most terrifying scene.

Countless flies swarmed across the land like a black cloud, and the air, mixed with the stench of blood and burnt flesh, was suffocating and nauseating.

Without the fighting on the "battlefield," groups of starving refugees searched for food in pools of blood. Blood-stained raw rice and noodles were dug up from the ground by withered hands and stuffed into their mouths, blood and dirt still attached.
The dead are repeatedly searched by the living, and even a tiny scrap of food can drive a group of people crazy.

The city gate in the distance was open, but a squad of Green Standard Army soldiers was guarding it, while several other squads were driving away the refugees. However, there were simply too many refugees, and many of them would rather die than get up and leave. It wasn't that they didn't want to leave, but that they didn't even have the strength to stand.

The arrival of Zhao An and his group caused even greater panic and commotion among the disaster victims. Many people stared in horror at the blood-stained group, some instinctively shrinking back (crawling), while some disaster victims, whose minds and bodies had long been numb, stared at Zhao An and his group like wooden figures, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with them.

There is no life, no joy, only despair.

As Zhao Anxin silently walked through the crowd, he suddenly felt a chill. He saw the body of an infant curled up in its mother's arms, and an old man with a broken leg digging at the soil on the ground, trying to bury his broken leg so that it could stop the bleeding.

Beside the bodies of many tragically deceased victims, there were pitiful people who no longer had the strength to wail or shed tears, keeping watch.

Swarms of greenbottle flies are the most active creatures on this land, and the rotting corpses that have been dead for many days under the city walls have become a breeding ground for the flies.

Although many people in the city were organized to bury the bodies, the burial speed could not keep up with the speed at which flies laid eggs.

An indescribable chill instantly gripped Zhao An's heart, igniting a raging fire within him.

The fire of anger.

Because none of this should have happened!
These disaster victims he desperately tried to save, these people whom the government should have protected with all its might, perished silently in broad daylight in the most tragic way!
What caused all of this?!
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhao An dismounted from his mule. Instead of heading into the city to receive the flattery of the Suzhou officials, he walked to the trampled, mangled corpse of his mother, silently cradled the lifeless infant in his arms, and gazed at the poor little life. The refugees stared blankly at Zhao An, who was surrounded by a group clearly resembling soldiers. Their intuition told them that Zhao An was an important figure, but they didn't know that this important figure was the same Lord Zhao who had been repeatedly shouted about during the night. They only knew that this important figure seemed to deeply empathize with everything they had suffered.

Perhaps, it's just plain pitiful.

Zhao An's subordinates were all holding their breath, at a loss for what to do.

Then Zhao An's voice rang out: "Qingyao, send someone to summon Li Wen, the prefect of Suzhou."

"Whoo!"

Qingyao glanced at his two subordinates, and immediately the two men in yellow riding jackets, both stained with blood, spurred their horses and galloped into the city.

Not long after, Prefect Li Wen and his entourage rushed to the scene and discovered that the child Zhao was holding was a disaster victim who had died long ago. Li Wen felt a sense of foreboding and forced himself to lead his subordinates in a kneeling ceremony: "Your humble servant greets Your Excellency!"

However, there was no response.

Looking up boldly, one discovers that the young Lord Zhao is still holding the dead child, motionless.

Everyone noticed the anger in Zhao An's eyes and the trembling hands of the governor, who had just won a great victory, as he held the child.

Anger erupted after several dozen breaths.

"Why did I risk my life to lead the rescue of Suzhou?"

At first, Zhao An's voice was calm, but when he suddenly pointed to the corpses of the disaster victims lying in pools of blood nearby, as well as those who were too hungry to even get up, his emotions finally erupted, and his voice became extremely harsh.

"Is this all just to watch the people of my Great Qing Dynasty lie dead in the wilderness, left to rot and breed with maggots and flies! To watch the people of my Great Qing Dynasty sit here and wait to die! Lord Li, you are the magistrate of Suzhou, tell me, is this the peace and prosperity the Emperor desires? Speak!"

The last word "said" startled not only the kneeling Prefect Li Wen, but also everyone around him.

"Your humble servant, your humble servant..."

In his haste, Li Wen's voice faltered.

Just as he was about to say something, Zhao An angrily interrupted him, questioning, "Lord Li, tell me, why aren't you distributing grain! And why are you driving the disaster victims elsewhere!"

Facing Zhao An's sharp and intimidating gaze, Li Wen broke out in a sweat and forced a smile, saying, "My lord, please understand! Food is already scarce in the city, and there are far more disaster victims than city dwellers. Where would we find surplus grain to supply them?"

"nervous?"

Zhao An sneered and interrupted Li Wen again, "So anxious that there are starving corpses everywhere outside the city, yet you can still cobble together hundreds of mules and horses to give to me in Suzhou? So anxious that even the rats in your Suzhou granaries are starving to death! Before I left, I repeatedly told you not to close the city gates and to make sure to distribute porridge to the people outside the city, why didn't you listen! Not only did you not listen, but why did you still refuse to distribute food to the disaster victims even after I led my troops to a great victory over the White Lotus rebels!"

"My lord, although the rebellion has been quelled, there are still many refugees outside the city. If we rashly open the granaries to distribute grain, it may lead to looting! I believe we should wait until the city is cleared and the household registrations of the disaster victims are verified before we can distribute relief in an orderly manner according to the regulations of the court! Furthermore, although you have won a great victory, it is hard to guarantee that there are no survivors. If the remnants of the White Lotus are mixed among the disaster victims, distributing grain now would be aiding the enemy!"

Li Wen kowtowed deeply, "This humble official has no selfish motives, and is only devoted to the court and the country. I beg Your Excellency to reconsider!"

"Think twice? Bullshit!"

Zhao An laughed in fury, but the laughter was more unpleasant than crying, filled with violent murderous intent. His terrifying eyes were fixed on Li Wen, who was kneeling there. "No order has been restored? Disaster relief registration? Orderly relief? Aiding the enemy? Lord Li, the people outside the city are about to die, and you are still here talking to me about the bullshit rules! Have you read all the classics of sages but gone to waste?!"

Before Li Wen could argue, he bent down and put the baby back into the mother's arms. Then he ripped off the commoner's clothes he was wearing, revealing the official's yellow jacket underneath.

"What is the purpose of the imperial court bestowing this official robe upon me? Is it so that I may step on the corpses of the common people to claim credit and rewards? Is it so that I may feel at ease watching the corpses of the common people lying exposed in the wilderness? Is it so that I may have to think twice with you here, or is it so that I may feign compliance with a heart of stone like you? Answer me!"

Zhao An's expression was ferocious. Even though Li Wen felt that he had done nothing wrong, he felt a chill in his heart because he remembered that this young man in front of him had killed the prefect and the general.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the young man's crotch, where a precious sword covered with green sharkskin hung.

It's an Ebilun knife!

"answer me!"

"answer me!"

Two sharp shouts in succession startled Li Wenben, who instinctively tried to back away. However, as soon as he moved, he was firmly held down by two guards from the Eagle and Hound Bureau who acted without Zhao An's orders.

Seeing this, none of the yamen runners and attendants who had come with Li Wen dared to make a move.

Zhao An, whose murderous intent had long been aroused, looked at Li Wen, whose face had turned pale, and roared, "You corrupt official, how many people have you killed? Today, I will kill you on behalf of the dead people, on behalf of our Great Qing, and on behalf of the Emperor!"

The notched Ebilun sword was instantly drawn, and under the blazing sun, it was swung down again, one strike, two strikes, a full three strikes, before finally severing Li Wen's neck.

The screams, like vengeful ghosts in the dead of night, lingered in my ears for a long time.

The officials of Suzhou were either so frightened that they screamed or collapsed to the ground with a cry of "Oh my god!"

The magistrate Cui Xiu and the guerrilla Zhou Ku who rushed over were so frightened that they pressed their heads firmly to the ground, their bodies trembling violently.

Zhao An glanced at Li Wen's head rolling on the ground, gave a slight snort, and coldly surveyed the terrified officials of Suzhou. However, the Ebilun sword did not drink blood again, but slowly returned to its sheath.

This relieved the officials of Suzhou, but to their surprise, the governor who had just killed the prefect with his sword knelt down facing the densely packed corpses of disaster victims on his left.

This kneeling stunned everyone present.

What shocked them even more was Lord Zhao's tearful voice: "Fellow villagers of Anhui, I, Zhao Youlu, have failed you!"

(End of this chapter)