Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 229 They've rebelled!!! [Requesting monthly votes]

"A brilliant plan?"

Yan Maoqing was taken aback. Why couldn't the brilliant plan have been explained in advance? Why did they have to add this at the last minute?

This is why we are facing a mob with almost no power to resist. If we did this on a real battlefield, wouldn't it cause a major disaster?
At the same time, Yan Maoqing immediately realized...

This so-called "brilliant plan" was probably not just Yan Shifan's doing; Shen Kun and Gao Gong were also involved.

Otherwise, why would Gao Gong suddenly stop beating the drums, and why would Shen Kun suddenly stop wielding his sword to give instructions?

These two are clearly cooperating with Yan Shifan!

Thinking of this, Yan Maoqing had a sudden realization.

The treacherous minister himself has revealed himself!

One is Shen Kun, one is Gao Gong, and one is Yan Shifan!
These three actually colluded and formed a small group in secret, quietly sidelining me!
What is its nature?

At best, this is called disobeying military orders; at worst, it could be classified as a mutiny and subject to military law!
"Uncle, please calm down and let me explain in detail."

Then Yan Shifan, with a forced smile, beckoned his dozen or so servants to come forward. While showing them what they were carrying, he explained to Yan Maoqing in front of everyone.
"This is a multi-headed needle pen that I modified by attaching needles carried by my attendants to a small stick. It is not much different from the tattooing needle pens used in various government offices."

"My uncle should know that the Ming Dynasty law still had the punishment of tattooing. In addition to being used when the family members of those who plotted rebellion were implicated and exiled, it was also used in two other situations: one was for criminals who committed theft, and the other was for criminals who committed robbery."

“For first-time offenders, the word ‘theft’ will be tattooed on their right forearm; for repeat offenders, it will be tattooed on their left forearm; and for third-time offenders, it will be considered a serious crime and they may be sentenced to hanging.”

“Those who rob others of their property will have the word ‘robbery’ tattooed on their right forearm. Those who commit robbery a second time will have the word tattooed on their left forearm. Those who commit the third time will also be considered to have committed a serious crime and will be sentenced to beheading.”

"Although these thieves are definitely rebels of the White Lotus Sect, we still lack some evidence to definitively confirm their identities."

"If we wipe them out like this, and some villains later distort the truth and use this incident to frame and slander my uncle, we may not be able to prove our innocence even if we are in the right, and our reputation will be ruined by the villains."

"If these rebels are all guilty of theft and robbery, and have committed the crimes more than twice, and all have tattoo marks on their bodies, then their identities are no longer in doubt."

"My uncle-in-law's annihilation of them today is naturally a heroic act of eliminating a scourge for the people. How can we allow treacherous officials in the court to attack and slander him?"

"Uh……"

After hearing Yan Shifan's explanation, how could Yan Maoqing not understand what he meant?
Yan Shifan intended to brand these thieves.

While this action cannot confirm their status as rebels of the White Lotus Sect, it can confirm their status as habitual thieves or robbers who are guilty of capital crimes, forcibly patching up the loopholes in today's events.

Admittedly, habitual thieves or robbers should also have relevant government records and tattoo records as evidence.

However, in the Ming Dynasty of this era, there were many local officials who held their positions without doing their jobs, and the case files and records of tattooing punishments in the yamen were not necessarily complete. In addition, suspects could change their identities by changing their registration and moving around, which undoubtedly gave Yan Maoqing plenty of room to argue his way out of trouble and even to turn the tables on others...

Traitor!

That one-eyed fat man is cunning to the core!
How could I, Yan Maoqing, a man of seven feet tall, possibly stoop to such treacherous methods and collude with him?!
"This is pointless. Get out of here!"

Yan Maoqing's face turned cold, and he flicked his sleeve and shouted,

"Shen Kun, why aren't you drawing your sword?!"

"Gao Gong, why aren't you beating the drums?!"

"Quickly annihilate these White Lotus rebels! Are you disobeying military orders?!"

However, Shen Kun and Gao Gong still did not comply upon hearing this. Instead, as if they had planned it beforehand, they both knelt down and begged Yan Maoqing for forgiveness.

"General Yan, please forgive me!"

"I believe that Envoy Yan's actions are not without reason. We must be wary of treacherous people in the court, otherwise this matter will have endless consequences!"

"If General Yan is implicated by treacherous people because of this matter, just as General Yan said to me before, if everyone in this world is only good at causing trouble, then who will we rely on to accomplish anything in the future?"

"This humble official dares to implore General Yan to prioritize the overall situation!"

"???"

Yan Maoqing was dumbfounded. He never expected that Shen Kun and Gao Gong would use his own words to shut him up!

Most importantly, Shen Kun and Gao Gong, you two big-eyed guys with thick eyebrows, I promoted you with my own hands and even intended to help you to higher positions, but you actually got involved with Yan Shifan so quickly and betrayed the revolution so easily.
What about morality?
What's the bottom line?
Are you two even human?

next moment.

"I implore General Yan to prioritize the overall situation!"

As if moved, even the soldiers of the Heroes' Camp knelt down in unison before Yan Maoqing, coercing him to accept this treacherous plan.

This must be a mutiny, right?

Is there no mistake?
Looking at Shen Kun, Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and a group of soldiers from the Heroes' Camp kneeling before him, how could Yan Maoqing not realize what he was going through?
He had lost control of the Heroes' Camp, his orders were useless, and these bastards were forcing him to resign!

"Suppress the rebels first, we'll deal with the rest later!" Despite this situation, Yan Maoqing was still unwilling to give up and tried to bluff his way out of it.

"Uncle, please hear me out. This matter cannot be discussed later."

Yan Shifan also knelt down, a hint of determination and sincerity appearing in his one eye as he earnestly pleaded with Yan Maoqing.
"When I was working in the Shuntian Prefecture government, I had some knowledge of the matter of forging tattoo marks!"

“Tattooing a living person is completely different from tattooing a dead person.”

"When a person is alive, the ink can be completely integrated into the skin and flesh, making it look seamless and the color even and clear!"

“Once a person dies, especially after they have cooled down, if you tattoo words on them, you can still get the color, but it will just stay on the surface of the wound. Any coroner with a little experience can tell the difference at a glance!”

"That's why I stepped forward at this moment to request the forgery of the tattoo marks. Now that someone has already died, we must forge them while they're still fresh in our minds to ensure that nothing goes wrong and to prevent anyone from noticing anything and still clinging to the uncle!"

"..."

Yan Maoqing was dumbfounded; he never expected that Yan Shifan would even know this.

As far as Yan Maoqing knows, this difference should be considered a normal physiological change.

From a microscopic perspective, when the human body suffers an external injury, it triggers a series of inflammatory responses, mobilizing blood cells and tissue cells to repair the wound.

The pigments used in tattoos are also treated as foreign objects by the body's cells during this process, causing them to reject the pigments and encapsulate them, thus truly integrating them into the skin and flesh, making them look completely natural.

Even after a person dies, before they are completely cold, the blood cells and tissue cells in the body will remain active for a short period of time, and can still produce the same effect.

However, once it cools down, the inflammatory response will not occur, blood flow will stop, all body cells will die, and naturally, this repair mechanism will no longer be able to be activated.

The effect of such a tattoo will be different from that of a person when they are alive.

Yan Maoqing even suspected that Yan Shifan had considered subsequent issues, such as how to explain the inflammatory reaction after the tattoo.

When this matter reached Zhu Houcong's ears, and he issued an edict or sent someone to investigate, the matter was eventually brought to light.

Who knows how many days will have passed? Tattoos are minimally invasive wounds, and the inflammation will subside in as little as one night. Moreover, the inflammation will disappear even faster after a person dies. How could it possibly be found out?
this moment.

A feeling of powerlessness, unlike anything he had ever experienced before, welled up within Yan Maoqing. He stared intently at Shen Kun, Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and the group of treacherous officials from the Heroic Camp, filled only with impotent rage.
"It's backwards!!!"

"You are coercing your superiors! You are rebelling! You are mutinying!"

"This humble official dares not..."

Shen Kun, Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and a group of soldiers from the Heroic Battalion knelt on the ground, admitting their mistakes, but their eyes were full of stubbornness.

Some people even had a layer of glistening mist in their eyes.

Shen Kun sniffed and kowtowed heavily:

"General Yan, this is the only time I have no choice but to disobey orders. I will bear all the consequences. No matter how you deal with me afterward, even if it is by military law, I will have no complaints!"

"Uncle, this matter was brought up by me. It has nothing to do with Lieutenant General Shen, Lieutenant General Gao, or the other soldiers. If you want to punish someone, you should punish me alone!"

Yan Shifan did not back down, and even wanted to take all the blame, as if he had regained his ambition to become the weightlifting champion of the Ming Dynasty.

Even Gao Gong was not to be outdone, and he had the loudest voice:
"General Yan, I also have strong support for this matter, and I am willing to take responsibility!"

"..."

Yan Maoqing was utterly speechless, his eyes filled with despair as he looked at the group of treacherous officials before him.

No one with the surname Shen is any good!

Gao Gong can only cause trouble, he can't accomplish anything!

What Yan Maoqing couldn't understand at all was that the young Grand Secretary Yan Shifan would betray him like this. Wasn't this like a mouse being a bridesmaid for a cat? What on earth was this bastard thinking?!
What sins did I commit in my past nine lives to encounter such a group of treacherous officials?
Now that things have escalated to this point, it seems inevitable that things won't develop according to his wishes.
But little did he know.

The person who was most terrified, most desperate, most helpless, and most speechless at this moment was not him, but actually the group of rascals who were still breathing not far away.

"Mother, save your child..."

Their pupils were trembling violently, and their entire bodies felt as if they were in an ice cellar.

Many more people could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground like puddles of mud; some even lost control of their bladder and bowels.

Beast!
They've been playing with eagles for so many years, and now they've finally met a beast!

What kind of beasts are these, that they can so righteously and sternly discuss such heinous and cruel things, while each of them acts with genuine emotion, tears in their eyes, and deep brotherly affection...

They didn't even try to hide it from people; did they think we were all dead?

(End of this chapter)