Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 103 The Sister-in-Law Protects Her (1)

Song Yan was not angry at the words of these pedantic scholars. On the contrary, he laughed. He was not afraid of the Yang family's revenge, but he was afraid of not knowing how the Yang family would retaliate.

To be honest, he really underestimated the Yang family's capabilities. After all, they were a family that had been established for so many years, and there were bound to be some clever people among them. He thought the Yang family would arrange for assassins to secretly eliminate him, but in reality, the Yang family adopted a more vicious and psychologically damaging method.

One thing that must be acknowledged is that in ancient times, the power to dictate public opinion often rested in the hands of scholars.

In almost every dynasty, scholars were always more respected.

For ordinary people, there is a general feeling that scholars are literate and therefore more reasonable, so they subconsciously believe what scholars say, which can unconsciously influence the direction of public opinion.

You're talking about creating newspapers and things like that, trying to seize control of public opinion... but that's actually a very unrealistic thing.

Even if you improve papermaking and printing techniques and reduce the cost of newspapers to the minimum, ordinary people still won't buy them. Even if you give them away for free, it won't make much difference because the literacy rate is just too low.

Ultimately, public opinion is guided by intellectuals.

This move was extremely ruthless.

The novel downplays the suffering inflicted on coastal residents by Japanese pirates, glossing over it as if it were merely a conflict between neighbors. Instead, it focuses on Song Yan's massacre and burning of the pirates, immediately portraying him as a cruel and heartless butcher.

Then there are classical Chinese phrases like "zhi hu zhe ye" and "ren yi dao zhi" (benevolence, righteousness, and morality), which ordinary people may not understand but will find impressive.

However, all of the above was just a prelude; the real killing move was at the very end.

What if the Japanese pirates gather an army of 100,000 and invade Songzhou?
The local residents might not understand other languages, but they definitely understood this one. These people of Songzhou had no choice but to seriously consider this issue, as it concerned their lives and livelihoods.

After all, the Japanese pirates have always been brutal. Once they break through Songzhou, the entire Songzhou prefecture will likely be awash in blood and littered with corpses.

Coupled with the previous remarks as a prelude, one would subconsciously feel that this disaster was caused by Song Yan burning the Japanese pirates, and that it was Song Yan who brought about the disaster.

They only follow the words of these scholars and don't consider whether the Japanese pirates can gather an army of 100,000. Let alone 100,000, even the previous group of 5,000 Japanese pirates was extremely rare. Most of the Japanese pirates in this era were scattered and small groups.

If other places outside Ningping were attacked by Japanese pirates, the blame would also fall on Song Yan.

In this way, Song Yan's image changed from a hero who protected his country and resisted Japanese pirates to a plague god who brought disaster.

As for binding Song Yan and handing him over to the Japanese pirates to appease their anger, only a scholar would do such a thing. However, Emperor Ninghe would most likely not agree to it, after all, not every emperor is like Zhao Gou or Zhu Qizhen.

Song Yan was certain that this scholar Linghu was just one of many. Not to mention outside the city, there were probably countless scholars in different places within Songzhou Prefecture spreading the same message.

Perhaps seeing that there were more and more listeners, Linghu Shusheng became even more smug, and his voice became louder than before. When he got excited, he spoke fluently and spittle flew everywhere. In his words, Song Yan was no longer just a fierce and brutal butcher, but a treacherous villain who disregarded the lives of tens of thousands of people in Songzhou Prefecture and only cared about his own career advancement.

The words she spoke became increasingly offensive, eventually turning into direct insults, such as how a dignified man should not marry into another family, which was a disgrace to men; and how marrying his sister-in-law was a disregard for human relations. Even Luo Yuheng was not spared from being ridiculed, such as how a woman should not show her face in public, which was unchaste.

The scholar's gentle and refined manners were completely gone.

Unfortunately, some people actually thought Linghu Shusheng's words made a lot of sense, probably because they were residents of Songzhou City, and even if the Japanese pirates looted, they would mostly not be able to plunder them.

Song Yan didn't care much, but some people just couldn't stand it anymore.

With a whoosh, Linghu the scholar felt a flash of light before his eyes, and the next instant, something cold was pressed against his face. His originally righteous voice came to an abrupt halt. The moment he saw the sharp blade, his body shuddered, and goosebumps quickly spread from his neck to his cheeks.

The other classmates nearby immediately shut their mouths and dared not say another word.

Gudong!

Linghu Shusheng swallowed nervously, his movements so careful it was as if he were afraid that a slightly larger swallow would slit his throat: "This, young lady, what are you doing?"

Who else could this woman be but Luo Tianyi?

His bright eyes were as cold as ice crystals, devoid of any warmth, and his fingers seemed to tremble slightly, as if he might strike with his sword at any moment. This, perhaps, was a case of a knight using his martial arts to break the law.

For these powerful martial artists, the laws established by the state have never been taken seriously.

However, Song Yan was quite touched by his sister-in-law's protectiveness.

"Tianyi, it doesn't have to be this bad. Put it down."

Just then, a few fingers gently patted Luo Tianyi's shoulder. Luo Tianyi pursed his lips, snorted, and finally sheathed his sword. He then glared fiercely at Linghu Shusheng before turning and leaving.

After Luo Tianyi left, the scholars all let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Greetings, sir." Song Yan smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.

The scholar Linghu quickly returned the greeting: "Please, thank you for saving my life, young master. My name is Linghu Rui, and I do not know your name."

A casual glance around revealed that the commotion had already attracted the attention of many people, not just tourists out for a spring outing, but also some refugees, and some others who were looking around with strange eyes. They didn't seem to be there for a spring outing, but rather to be looking for a target.

When they see people wearing more expensive clothes and jewelry, their eyes light up.

Naturally, some people's attention fell on these scholars. After all, most of those who could study in this day and age had some wealth, and judging from the clothes of Linghu Rui and the others, they did not seem to be from poor families.

Although this place is on the banks of the Yi and Luo Rivers, it is not Songzhou Prefecture.

People rarely go on outings or picnics within the city limits.

Song Yan seemed to realize something, but he simply smiled and said, "I am the lowly son-in-law you speak of, the butcher, Song Yan."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the scholars' faces immediately became somewhat strange. Being caught red-handed talking badly about someone was truly embarrassing.

Many people frowned and looked at Song Yan with hostility, as if they were complaining that Song Yan had killed too many Japanese pirates and might provoke their retaliation.

Even the eyes that were looking around all fell on Song Yan, their gazes becoming somewhat wary. After all, this was a formidable man who could withstand tens of thousands of Japanese pirates and burn thousands of them.

Linghu Rui's face paled even more, his throat tightening and his Adam's apple bobbing uncontrollably. Although he was a son-in-law, a lowly position, the thought of thousands of people being burned alive in the flames was still chilling to the bone. "Brother Song, um..."

Song Yan smiled at Linghu Rui, then his expression gradually turned serious.

Linghu Rui was still unaware of Song Yan's intentions when, at that moment, Song Yan's slightly low and suppressed voice slowly rang in everyone's ears:

"In June of the first year of the reign of Emperor Taizu, taking advantage of the newly established Ningguo Kingdom, twenty-four pirate groups joined forces, totaling 80,000 Japanese pirates. They landed at seventeen places including Dongchuan, Hugang, Hongpo, Baoshi, Ningping, Yudai, and Xialin, burning, killing, and looting along the way. No one was spared. Thirty-six villages and towns were massacred, the two county towns of Dongchuan and Ningping were massacred, and Songzhou Prefecture was captured. They did not stop their attacks for three days, massacring the city. Of the 100,000 residents, only seven survived."

Linghu Rui's expression suddenly changed. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Song Yan's even more somber voice gave him no chance to interrupt.

"In the summer of the seventh year of Emperor Taizong's reign, nine thousand Japanese pirates landed at Yutang. They did not attack the county seat or the prefecture, but twenty-eight surrounding villages and towns were burned to the ground. More than thirteen thousand men were slaughtered, and more than three thousand women were abducted..."

"In the sixth year of Emperor Gaozong's reign, more than 300 Japanese ships invaded Gaoyu Port, massacred the city, and the blood stained the sea red, and the corpses swallowed the sea."

"In the thirteenth year of Tian Shou, three thousand Japanese pirates invaded Dongchuan again. Wherever they went, villages and cities were destroyed and houses were empty. The Japanese pirates were brutal and took pleasure in torturing children. In a single old well, sixty-three children's heads were found, and in a bonfire, one hundred and seven charred bones were found... Eighteen days later, several Japanese pirate ships docked and threw down more than a thousand women's heads."

"The second year of the Yongli reign..."

"The eleventh year of Yuanjing..."

"The sixth year of Ninghe..."

(End of this chapter)