Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 255 Bloodstained Pingyang

The cold wind is howling!

The vast city of Pingyang was shrouded in gloom and oppression.

The bright moon had already slanted, and there seemed to be wisps of scarlet blood in the air.

thunder.

Crying.

The sounds were deafening.

Looking up at the starry sky, a cold glint flashed in Song Yan's eyes. Since he had decided to take action, there was no room for hesitation. What did it matter if blood flowed like a river? Some things are best left unsaid; hesitation is the worst thing you can do. Only a swift and decisive action will suffice.

His gaze swept towards the corner of the courtyard. Almost all the guards and servants of the governor's mansion had died in battle, leaving only a few dozen members of Qian Yaozu's family huddled together in a tight ball. Song Yan could sense the confusion, fear, and hatred in their eyes as they looked at him. They probably already knew that the Qian family's current predicament was all his doing, so their hatred was understandable.

He smiled, strode towards the door. He would be dealing with these people with Qian Yaozu tomorrow, so he didn't have time to deal with them for the time being.

……

"What are you doing?"

A scholar wearing a turban and holding a folding fan stood in front of a gate, his face flushed with shame and anger, and he angrily rebuked the guards in front of him.

Although I don't understand why someone would carry a fan in this freezing weather, it seems to be a standard accessory for scholars. Perhaps they feel that having a folding fan makes them look more sophisticated.

Behind the scholar was a very large and luxurious academy, which was an extremely dazzling building even in the entire Pingyang City, not much inferior to the governor's mansion. Perhaps only the royal family and the Zhang family's old residence could barely surpass it.

This is the Xilin Academy in Pingyang City.

Xilin Academy was mostly established with funding from wealthy merchants and landlords.

Land and building materials were all provided free of charge; even the tuition fees for the teachers and the writing implements for the students were supplied by wealthy merchants and landlords. From this perspective alone, it should be a good thing, somewhat similar to a Hope Primary School in modern society… However, nothing comes for free, and the wealthy merchants and landlords were not benevolent people who would give away money for no reason. Once students accepted the financial support of the wealthy merchants and landlords and succeeded in their studies, passing the imperial examinations and becoming officials, they were obligated to take care of the interests of the landlords and wealthy merchants, and to open doors of convenience for them, even if the place of office was not their hometown.

In this way, Xilin Academy became completely bound to the landlord and merchant class, becoming an undeniable force in the Ningguo court.

Even though Pingyang was besieged and the people were suffering terribly, Xilin Academy remained unaffected, enjoying good food and drink. Therefore, when a group of peasants suddenly surrounded the academy, the scholars were extremely angry. Having grown accustomed to their high status, they didn't take these soldiers seriously at all. Even when facing numerous soldiers alone, they showed no fear whatsoever, casually waving their hands:

"You peasants, you've gone too far! Do you think Xilin Academy is a place where you can cause trouble? Get out of here!"

Normally, the guards wouldn't dare offend these scholars, but now that even Qian Yaozu has been tied up and is about to die tomorrow, they have a powerful backer. Who would care about a few scholars now? Have these scholars gone mad from all their studies? Can't they see the current situation? They don't even have a degree, yet they think they're already officials? They exchanged glances, both able to see the excitement and ferocity in each other's eyes. Suddenly, the leading guard stepped forward and kicked the scholar in the stomach.

This leader was a junior officer in the local militia, named Zhang Han, the only son of Zhang Zhen.

The poor scholar, who was too weak to even kill a chicken, was no match for a kick from a rough soldier. He stumbled backward and crashed heavily into the door with a bang. The door was flung open, and the scholar immediately curled up on the ground, his face ashen, large beads of sweat rolling down his face. He raised a finger to point at the soldier, about to utter some harsh words, when a long spear pierced through him with a hiss, stabbing straight into the scholar's heart.

Blood trickled from his mouth, his eyes wide open. Even with the spear already piercing his heart, he couldn't believe that these lowly peasants would actually dare to lay a hand on him.

With a hiss, the spear was pulled from the scholar's chest, and a spurt of blood gushed out.

A strange flush appeared on Zhang Han's face. It was as if all the resentment that had been building up for a long time was being released at this moment, and he felt completely relaxed.

Of course, Zhang Han was very clear that his own pleasure was secondary.

What really matters is... the pledge of allegiance.

Father captured Qian Yaozu alive, seemingly obtaining a pardon from General Song. However, this pardon is only temporary. If the Pingyang Prefecture soldiers' performance fails to satisfy the Duke, the pardon could be revoked at any time, and their fate would still be tragic.

Xilin Academy.

Official residence.

Zhang family.

Huang family.

Sending the Pingyang Prefecture troops to attack these areas simultaneously was a test from Song Yan, to see how the troops truly responded to his orders. If they continued to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, given General Song's character, he would definitely abandon them without hesitation.

Once their hands are stained with the blood of scholars, officials, and aristocratic families, they will inevitably be ostracized by the Ningguo court. In this situation, the only way to survive is to completely submit to Song Yan. Zhang Han felt no resentment; on the contrary, he greatly admired Song Yan's arrangements. General Song was younger than him, yet he possessed such planning, such character, and such wisdom, far surpassing ordinary people. Following such a person, his future was limitless.

However, this means that Song Yan now commands four thousand elite troops from Xinhou County.

The Pingyang Prefecture's soldiers were also completely under Song Yan's control.

Even if the imperial court reassigns the governors, they have already been completely sidelined by Lord Song.

Furthermore, annihilating the Huang and Zhang families would allow them to seize large amounts of silver and grain.

By opening granaries to provide disaster relief, countless lives were saved, and the hearts of the people of Pingyang Prefecture were easily won over.

Army, public support, money, food... and the heavy armor on those black-clad warriors... what exactly is the lord trying to do?
Could it be...

rebel?

The two words appeared out of nowhere in his mind, and Zhang Han felt a shiver run through his body, a strange flush rising to his face. That was rebellion! If it failed, even they, the vassals, would suffer the consequences, facing the crime of having their entire families executed. Yet, Zhang Han felt no fear whatsoever; instead, an indescribable excitement welled up deep in his eyes.

A true man should aspire to travel far and wide, ready to die on the battlefield. How can he live a life of mediocrity and remain subservient to others?
Civil officials wield immense power, while military generals are reduced to mere dust. Is this fair?
Although Zhang Han is just a martial artist, he has read the Spring and Autumn Annals and history books. The highest status of military generals in each dynasty was during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong. Now that there is an opportunity for military generals to regain their glory, he will not refuse it.

Even failure is better than living a miserable and pathetic life.

Just then, many more scholars emerged from the academy. Seeing the corpses on the ground, each scholar flew into a rage:
"You scoundrels, this is Xilin Academy! How dare you be so insolent?"

The angry roar jolted Zhang Han out of his thoughts. He grinned and glanced at the scholar, his expression becoming extremely ferocious. He flicked his spear, and then the spear shot out like a dragon.

puff!
The sharp spearhead pierced straight through the scholar's chest, then with a forceful pull, the scholar's body fell to the ground, twitching, and then remained motionless.

spat.

"Noisy."

"The students of Xilin Academy refused to accept control and even dared to attack the soldiers of Pingyang Prefecture, deliberately creating chaos in Pingyang. They are suspected of colluding with the Jurchens and should be executed!"

At Zhang Han's command, a group of soldiers swarmed forward, brandishing their swords and spears. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of corpses lay scattered on the ground, blood flowing freely. Only then did these scholars realize that when these soldiers no longer wanted to reason with them, all the poetry and books they had diligently studied were utterly useless.

The Prefect's Residence.

Several soldiers carried a huge log and rammed it into the building with a loud bang. This was a siege tactic. Even though the prefect's mansion was sturdy and strong, the solid wood doors could not withstand the impact of the huge log and were instantly smashed into pieces.

Such a huge commotion immediately attracted the attention of some guards. Upon seeing the guards outside the gate, they cursed loudly: "Who are you? Do you know where you are? Trespassing on the prefect's residence, you'd better watch your heads..." *Pfft*

A curved blade had already slashed down.

His head flew into the air, blood spurting from his neck and spraying half a meter away.

"So much nonsense."

The leader of the group brandished his blood-stained scimitar, his cold eyes sweeping over the luxurious mansion before him: "Charge! Capture everyone alive!"

"Let the women who were abducted go, and kill the rest of them."

Before long, screams of agony rang out in the prefectural government office, and soon a thick stench of blood filled the air above the mansion.

In the courtyard, thick blood pooled together, forming a glaring crimson stain.

Similar situations were playing out in every mansion throughout Pingyang City.

Scream.

blood.

Slaughter.

The house was ransacked.

Bags of grain, chests of gold and silver, porcelain, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings were loaded onto carriages and began to be transported to the government office. When Song Yan arrived at the government office, he saw hundreds of chests and mountains of grain.

There is far too much food.

Even the spacious government offices couldn't hold it all, so large quantities of grain had to be piled up on the streets as a last resort.

Even though Song Yan knew that these officials were rife with corruption and must be quite wealthy, he was still shocked by what he saw.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, all the residences of 132 officials of Pingyang Prefecture have been searched and confiscated. A total of 367 boxes of gold, silver and jewels have been seized. Due to the large quantity, the value is difficult to calculate, but a rough estimate is no less than one million taels of silver."

"Furthermore, the amount of grain confiscated is countless; a rough estimate is at least 200,000 shi (a unit of dry measure)."

Zhang Zhen stood beside Song Yan, reporting a rough estimate.

Song Yan's expression was strange, and his throat bobbed.

Not long ago, I was envious of Jiao Junze for confiscating the Fan family's property and suddenly having hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Who would have thought that in just a few days, my own gains would be even greater than Jiao Junze's?

Millions of silver.

well.

very good.

The military pay for the next few years is back.

As for grain, 200,000 shi (石) would amount to 20 million jin (斤).

The current population of Pingyang City is estimated at 100,000. If each person consumes 2 jin of grain per day, this amount of grain would be enough to support the entire city of Pingyang for 100 days.

Who could believe that just 132 officials could embezzle at least 20 million catties of grain?
This doesn't even include Qian Yaozu, the biggest scoundrel.

If we were to calculate it freely, it could probably last for six months without any problem.

And then there's the million taels of silver... Although he knew these civil officials were corrupt, who could have imagined they would be so greedy?
Seemingly shocked, Zhang Zhen grinned and explained, "Your Excellency may not know this, but Pingyang City is a border town, and it is always on standby for war. Therefore, Pingyang Prefecture has a large granary. However, that granary is now empty."

Song Yan chuckled; he finally understood where all this grain had come from.

They even dared to use the grain in the official granaries at will. Everyone says that military generals are incredibly bold, but in reality, it seems that civil officials are truly bolder.

Even if the higher-ups come to investigate, they can simply burn the warehouse to the ground, leaving no evidence to prove anything.

"Where are those people...?"

"It's all been dealt with. The 132 official residences, their families, guards, and several thousand people have all been killed. The women who were coerced or abducted have been released and returned home."

Song Yan's face was cold and indifferent. Thousands more heads rolled, but there was not a trace of pity in his eyes.

These people were clearly very wealthy, having even moved grain from the official granaries into their own homes, yet they were unwilling to give any of it away. Even when they were to send grain to the Jurchens, they would still try to plunder the last grain of food from the common people.

It's not a pity to die.

Are there any honest and upright individuals among them?

Zhang Han's expression grew even more disdainful: "Not a single person."

"Even the most honest one could find a hundred times more money in his house than his salary."

"What about those scholars?"

"They are all worse than beasts. With Pingyang under blockade, there are countless cases of people using the grain they have to coerce women into submission. Some even use their connections to seize things by trickery and force... Those scholars, at the very least, have seven maids by their side, indulging in revelry every night."

Even though she knew this would happen, Song Yan still couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Zhang Zhen was decisive and efficient. He simply ordered his men to surround the officials' residences and capture the officials alive. Zhang Zhen's subordinates, on the other hand, carried out the killings and confiscating the property in one fell swoop.

This saved him a lot of trouble.

Of course, Song Yan was also well aware that Zhang Zhen was making his stance clear to him.

This attitude is something Song Yan is happy to see.

A slight smile appeared on his lips: "Where are the Zhang and Huang families?"

These two powerful families are the biggest cancer in the entire Pingyang City.

With a century of experience, Song Yan believes that he will reap even greater rewards from these two powerful families.

When these two powerful families sent people to their door with all the land deeds and house deeds of Xinhou County, they had already committed suicide.

(End of this chapter)