Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 295 Where in the world is there any justice?!
At the Quyang County Government Office, frost hangs on the ceremonial gate, and the warning stone is stained with blood. The three characters "Gong Sheng Ming" are inscribed on the front of the stone tablet. Due to wind, sun and rain for over a hundred years, they have been weathered and peeled away, and the characters are blurred. On the back, the smaller characters are clear: "Your salary and emoluments are the people's blood and sweat; the common people are easy to oppress, but Heaven is hard to deceive."

At this moment, the county government office gate was tightly closed, and voices of conversation could be heard coming from inside. Gong Qiong bowed and stepped past Geng Ruqi, about to push the door open, but Geng Ruqi pressed down on his arm, pretending to listen attentively.

A young male voice came from inside the room, immediately grabbing Geng Ruqi's attention: "Captain, I'm so hungry! Why are we going on a hunger strike? We haven't eaten for seven days, I'm starving!"

"Uh, it seems it's because they're afraid they'll poison the food," another person who sounded a bit older said, his voice tinged with guilt.

"But the people from Taiyuan Left Guard saw that we weren't eating, so they brought their own food and ate it. It's probably not poisoned."

“I never expected that no one would come to pay attention to us after seven days! We are killing officials, I thought someone would come and arrest us that day.”

"Captain, you're just too shy to admit it, aren't you?" another person teased. "Gurgle~" A rumbling sound came from his intestines, and the guy couldn't laugh anymore.

"Sigh, looking back now, we were a bit impulsive. We're practically half-formed members of the Imperial Guard. If we had filed a complaint with the Emperor, that corrupt official wouldn't have gotten away with it either. It's all my fault for acting rashly and ruining things for you all," the captain sighed.

"Captain, what nonsense are you spouting! Who could have held back back then? Besides, didn't we get our fill of killing those corrupt officials and bald monks? Third Brother, what do you say?!"

"Awesome, absolutely awesome! Damn, it's even more exciting than killing Tartars!" Cao Sandao exclaimed, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. Everyone burst into laughter, but the captain could only manage a forced smile.

After laughing, Cao Sandao suddenly whispered, "Captain, do you think we're going to die?"

The smiles on everyone's faces froze, and silence fell over the hall. Geng Ruqi felt saddened. He took a deep breath and was about to push the door open when he heard movement inside again. After hesitating for a long time, he withdrew his hand from the door.

"It's not that I'm afraid of death, it's just that I feel it's not worth it. If you die in battle, at least your family will get a pension. What are we compared to that?" Cao Sandao was on the verge of a breakdown.

"I'm so sorry to you all," the captain said, choking back tears.

"I miss my mother and my wife..." Cao Sandao sobbed uncontrollably.

"Third brother, shut up! Stop talking! You came here knowing the consequences, don't make things difficult for the captain!"

"Mmm!" Cao Sandao responded heavily, biting his lip tightly. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.

“I think we actually killed the wrong person.” A calm but untimely voice drifted over.

Inside the yamen (government office), there was a brazier. A man with delicate skin, who looked more like a scholar than a soldier, squatted on the ground warming himself by the fire. He placed one hand under his stomach and the other diagonally on the brazier, alternating between the two.

Winter is tough. It's manageable when you're well-fed and watered, but going hungry is really unbearable. I think everyone really doesn't need to go through this; even death row inmates get their last meal.

"What do you mean? What do you mean, 'killed the wrong people'? Didn't they deserve to die?! Explain yourself!" Cao Dazui's eyes widened in anger. "I'm talking about those young monks in Shuangta Temple. We shouldn't have killed them," Liu Mingzhe replied.

"Those bald monks deserve to die!"

"But they are all still just children."

"Won't they still be bad seeds when they grow up? What's the difference!"

"They were sold to the temple by their families to be used for the old monks' lewd pleasure; they were pitiful people."

"Damn it, they've already killed them, what's the point of saying all this now? Are you trying to upset us?!" Cao Dazui said aggressively. "They're pitiful, but isn't Second Brother pitiful too? Isn't the sister-in-law they killed pitiful too?!"

"Sigh, I can't explain it to you!"

"What don't you understand? I think you've gone stupid from reading too much! If it weren't for your second brother taking the blow for you, you would have been chopped into eight pieces by the Jurchens long ago!"

"I know, that's why I'm here to avenge my second brother. It's fair to exchange one life for another. We killed innocent people indiscriminately, so we should pay with our lives. That's just fair!" Liu Mingzhe said loudly. He hated being called disloyal. He was just mild-mannered and had studied for a few more years before his family fell on hard times. He wasn't cold-blooded or heartless!

"Hmph, justice? What justice is there in this world? If there were justice, Second Brother wouldn't have died!" Cao Dazui said coldly.

"I believe that the Ming Dynasty is still just!"

Geng Ruqi pushed open the door and entered. Instantly, the stench of blood filled the air. Several corpses were lined up on the ground, with obvious drag marks. Sharp eyes were fixed on him. Geng Ruqi was secretly alarmed, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Who are you?!" the captain asked in a deep voice.

"I am Geng Ruqi, the Governor of Shanxi!"

Gong Qiong squeezed in through the crack in the door, looking at everyone in the room with a somewhat helpless expression. The captain looked at him, and their eyes met quickly. Gong Qiong nodded slightly to him.

"Is the governor here to arrest us? Come on, the brothers have been waiting for you for a long time!" The captain's voice even carried a hint of relief.

"No, you all prepare yourselves and come with me to the capital to meet the Emperor!"

"Huh?! ×15"

(End of this chapter)