latelenovela Chapter 228 Purge the Aristocratic Families of Youzhou Prefecture
Chapter 228 Purge the Aristocratic Families of Youzhou Prefecture
After repelling the northern barbarians, Youzhou Prefecture regained its former cheerful atmosphere.
Unlike the common people who were overjoyed and resumed their old ways, the Zhenbei Army did not stop. Following the instructions of the young superintendent, they transported the ashes of their comrades to an open space in the suburbs, a hundred paces away from the military camp.
They did not bury their comrades' ashes directly in the ground, because after learning of this, the Marquis of Zhenbei decided to personally go to pay his respects on the day the fallen soldiers were buried.
At that time, the young military supervisor and all the generals, big and small, from the army followed the Marquis of Zhenbei to the tomb. After a memorial ceremony, everyone dispersed.
Before leaving, the Marquis of Zhenbei turned to the young military supervisor and said, "Lord Zheng, please wait. I have something to discuss with you."
Zheng Hao lifted his leg to follow the other person's steps.
The two entered the tent. The Marquis of Zhenbei dismissed the others, sat down, and looked at the young supervisor, only to find that the other was still standing in the same spot.
His brow twitched slightly. The young man in front of him was not a person who adhered to the rules, but for some reason, he always appeared strict and polite, both in public and in private.
He had no intention of making things difficult for Zheng Hao, and instead asked him to sit down.
The young military supervisor remained calm and chose a chair close to him to sit down. Although the Marquis of Zhenbei had summoned him to discuss important matters, he showed no curiosity whatsoever, nor did he bring it up himself.
Seeing his composure, the Marquis of Zhenbei did not remain silent. He looked at him with eagle eyes and asked, "What exactly did you mean by what you said yesterday?"
Yesterday, while he was at the government office, he felt that the young man's words were strange, but due to the inconvenience of the location and the presence of Gu Lin, he did not dare to ask directly.
However, he noticed the young military supervisor's behavior. As a subject, the young supervisor showed no respect for the emperor. From Emperor Jian'an to the Crown Prince, the young military supervisor seemed to treat them as objects of value for diagnosis and evaluation.
Although he did not explicitly utter any treasonous words, every sentence revealed his disdain for Emperor Jian'an and the Crown Prince.
Zheng Hao remained calm, raising his eyes to look at the Marquis of Zhenbei. He did not avoid the other party's question, and his tone was cold and deep: "Does the Marquis think that the royal family is worthy of your service, and the Crown Prince is worthy of your loyalty?"
This statement is utterly treasonous.
Although the Great Qian Dynasty has suffered from frequent natural disasters and man-made calamities in recent years and has gradually lost its prestige, the world still belongs to the royal family. The royal family is still respected and supported by the people. Anyone who dares to speak disrespectfully and disregard the imperial authority will be despised and criticized by scholars. However, Zheng Hao spoke out without hesitation in front of him.
What were the characteristics of the Marquis of Zhenbei?
He looked at the young military supervisor, his expression growing cold, his tone icy: "I will pretend I didn't hear what you said today. As long as the Great Qian exists, I will be a subject of the Great Qian."
"His Highness the Crown Prince has been taught by renowned scholars of the time for many years. Although he is gentle and refined and lacks the decisiveness to be a wise ruler, he has the qualities of a ruler who can maintain stability and ensure that the people have enough to eat. In my opinion, he is a wise ruler."
As he spoke, a complex look flashed across the Marquis of Zhenbei's eyes.
Zheng Hao was not surprised by the other party's resolute attitude.
Marquis Zhenbei is resolute and ruthless; how could he possibly persuade the other party with just a few words?
He looked at the Marquis of Zhenbei, his dark eyes deep and thoughtful: "Whether the Crown Prince is a wise ruler or not, it won't be long before Your Excellency knows after he ascends the throne."
The Marquis of Zhenbei remained silent. His fingers twitched slightly. The young military supervisor's words were ambiguous, so he did not ask for details. Based on his intuition, he felt that the other party was not trying to say anything good.
Neither of them spoke, and the tent fell silent.
Zheng Hao shifted slightly and looked up again, while the Marquis of Zhenbei bowed his head and looked back.
Facing the other party's gaze, Zheng Hao said, "With the Marquis's return, the morale of the army has stabilized, and Youzhou Prefecture has returned to peace. I intend to take this opportunity to purge the powerful families of my prefecture."
Marquis Zhenbei frowned upon hearing this.
He knew that there were many grudges between the other party and the powerful families of Youzhou Prefecture. One of these grudges was that the Xie and Huo families poisoned the waterwheels that the other party was promoting, which almost caused more than a dozen deaths and led to the other party losing their official positions.
Marquis Zhenbei could understand Zheng Hao's dissatisfaction with the aristocratic families, and also understood how difficult it would be to make him swallow his anger.
“A prominent family is like a tree with many branches and leaves, and if you cause trouble for this family today, the other families will make things difficult for you tomorrow.”
Marquis Zhenbei has been stationed in Youzhou Prefecture for many years. Has he never thought of dealing with these powerful families?
He himself came from a prominent family and knew the ins and outs best. Trying to provoke them would be like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud—it would never end.
Hearing the Marquis of Zhenbei's advice, Zheng Hao was neither angry nor annoyed.
He parted his thin lips slightly and said in a calm tone, "Even if the aristocratic families collude with the northern barbarians, is the Marquis willing to tolerate it?"
As soon as the young military supervisor asked the question, the Marquis of Zhenbei's expression gradually turned cold. Having fought on the battlefield for many years, his face was so dark that he looked like a devil about to take lives, which was very scary.
Faced with this scene, the young military supervisor seemed unaffected and continued, "When the Northern Barbarians approached the city, the major families in the city sent their servants to communicate with the Northern Barbarian spies, hoping to exchange their lives for a chance to survive after Jingcheng was captured."
The Zhenbei Army fought valiantly at the front, risking their lives to protect the entire Jingcheng, while powerful clans colluded with spies from the northern barbarians in the rear, which was utterly disgusting and disheartening.
Marquis Zhenbei could tolerate their other mistakes, but he would not let them off easily for treason.
He wouldn't allow the soldiers' sacrifice to be for the sake of protecting these ingrates.
The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at the young military supervisor and reached a consensus with him.
Marquis Zhenbei said to Zheng Hao, "Don't hesitate. Order your men to capture all the major families right now, and don't let any of them escape."
The powerful families of Youzhou Prefecture are becoming increasingly ungrateful, with no regard for their country or family, and even considering betraying their country for personal gain. Marquis Zhenbei has no intention of continuing to tolerate them and cannot allow these traitors to live.
Otherwise, if the northern barbarians attack in the future, who knows if they will collude with them again?
"If they dare to resist, kill them on the spot without exception. I will take responsibility if anyone comes after me."
Zheng Hao rose and bowed: "This matter was brought up by your humble servant. Your Highness need not take all the responsibility upon yourself. Your humble servant is courageous and responsible, and is not afraid of being punished by the court."
Marquis Zhenbei, impatient with his words, waved his hand and urged, "Hurry up and go. Those people are cunning and ruthless. They'll run faster than anyone else at the slightest sign of trouble. Take advantage of their unpreparedness and send someone to arrest and convict them."
After saying this, Zheng Hao didn't say anything more, bowed again, and turned to leave the tent.
At noon, while the people were eating or taking a midday rest, column after column of soldiers entered Jingcheng.
The people walking on the street were terrified when they saw this scene.
They looked at each other, whispering among themselves, "What's going on? Could there be many Northern Barbarian spies in the city?"
Those with a sharp mind noticed that this formation didn't seem like they were arresting Northern Barbarian spies. Then, looking at the direction the Zhenbei Army was heading, they paused for a moment, and then the most unlikely possibility came to mind: "Why does it look like they're heading towards the Xie and Huo families?"
Upon hearing this, those present exchanged bewildered glances, each seeing a mixture of confusion and excitement in the other's eyes.
Xie family.
At midday, the whole family, young and old, gathered in the ancestral courtyard for lunch. Maids were everywhere, serving the masters and servants at the table.
The Xie family is large and prosperous, especially the main branch, which has not yet split up and has a total of four branches, all of which are descended from the Xie family's ancestors.
The eldest son is the current head of the Xie family and has three sons and one daughter with his wives and concubines. The second son has four sons and four daughters, the third son has two daughters and one son, and the fourth son has three sons and two daughters. All of them have official titles. The men in the Xie family are often promiscuous and have kept many mistresses outside the family. Many of their children do not have official titles.
Even so, their family was quite large and prosperous, with a large group of children and grandchildren gathered in the ancestral courtyard. Seeing so many children and grandchildren in front of him, the Xie family patriarch never stopped smiling.
It wasn't until a steward from the Xie family rushed in, his face pale and his voice trembling with worry, shouting "Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" that the joyful atmosphere in the ancestral courtyard finally came to a standstill, drowning out the laughter and chatter from the banquet.
Everyone turned their attention to the steward who rushed into the house.
The Xie family patriarch glanced at him, his brow furrowing, his expression displeased: "What kind of panicked behavior is this? Where have all the manners gone?!"
Before the steward could even apologize, the thought of the soldiers with their swords and knives filled him with terror: "My lord, the Zhenbei Army has stormed into the Huo family's residence, guarding all the exits and preventing anyone from entering or leaving. They're currently ransacking the Huo family's property!"
The Xie family patriarch's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
He forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What exactly happened? The Huo family hasn't committed any serious offense, so how could the Zhenbei Army trespass on private property?"
He guessed at some of the reasons, but frankly, he still didn't believe that the Zhenbei Army would dare to raid the Huo family.
The Huo family is no ordinary family; they have powerful backing. Even if the Huo family's actions were not cleaned up and they were caught by the Zhenbei Army, and the Zhenbei Marquis was still angry and made things difficult for them, the Huo family could easily settle things by giving them some money and grain and handing over a few servants.
However, the Marquis of Zhenbei was not as easy to talk to as he had imagined. Before the steward could explain to him why the Zhenbei Army had broken into the Huo family, the Xie family head seemed to hear faint noises and cries coming from his own home.
The steward was terrified: "Won't the Zhenbei Army come and raid our Xie residence?"
"Shut up!"
"The head of the Xie family shouted."
The manager immediately fell silent.
The head of the Xie family stood up, turned around and instructed the fourth master of the Xie family to take good care of the younger generation and the old ancestor. Then he asked the second and third masters of the Xie family to go with him to the front yard to find out what was going on.
However, as soon as they stepped out of their ancestral courtyard, before they had gone far, a large group of people came walking towards them.
The group moved extremely fast and arrived in front of them in no time. The Xie family head's expression changed slightly because the newcomers were not only ordinary soldiers of the Zhenbei Army, but the leader was Tian Kang.
His eyes swept over the swords and knives held by the soldiers in front of him, and the Xie family patriarch's brow twitched. He dared not provoke this group of bandits.
The Xie family head forced a smile: "General Tian, what brings you here with your troops to break into a private residence?"
“Even if the general has something to discuss with me, he should not bring a group of soldiers with swords and knives to my door. It is easy to frighten the people along the way.”
Seeing Xie's hypocritical demeanor, Tian Kang sneered: "The Xie and Huo families colluded with the Northern Barbarians during the war, yet Xie still has the nerve to question us."
Upon hearing this, the Xie family head felt a sinking feeling in his heart, but he was not too alarmed.
Because after the Zhenbei Army repelled the Northern Barbarian army, he quickly dealt with the communications with the Northern Barbarians, including killing the people involved. Therefore, it was impossible for the Xie family to expose any clues. It was only possible that the Huo family was accidentally caught out by the Zhenbei Army.
Patriarch Xie: "General Tian, I don't understand what you're saying. The Xie family has lived in Youzhou Prefecture for many years and is inseparable from it. How could we possibly commit treason?"
"Although my Xie family has marriage alliances with several other families, we will help those who are right, not those who are related. If they are truly colluding with the enemy, my Xie family will definitely uphold justice and eliminate our own relatives!"
Tian Kang was too lazy to waste any more words on him and ordered his personal guards, "Strictly guard all exits of the Xie residence and escort everyone in the Xie family back to the government prison!"
"Yes!"
The personal guards waved to the Zhenbei Army, and Xie family head watched as the Zhenbei Army swiftly bypassed them and attacked the various courtyards.
The Xie family head could no longer maintain his smile: "This is outrageous! General Tian, you should think carefully. My Xie family is not a merchant family that can be manipulated by Prefect Zheng and disposed of at will by your Zhenbei Army!"
Tian Kang sneered, understanding that the other party was threatening him. The Xie family had powerful backers, and it was not a family that a general like him, who came from humble beginnings, could afford to offend.
Tian Kang glanced at him with his tiger-like eyes: "This confiscation of property was not my intention, nor was it ordered by the Marquis; it was Lord Zheng who personally gave the order."
Upon hearing this, Xie's family head immediately thought of the young prefect. Then, he paused, remembering how they had sent people to poison the water cart, forcing the other party to swallow their grievances. He had originally thought that the other party had resigned themselves to their fate and dared not offend them again, but unexpectedly, the young prefect had learned from his experience and wanted to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
He sneered, "What a huge appetite! I wonder if he can even finish it."
Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Tian Kang said, "Lord Zheng asked me to pass on a message to you: His Highness the Crown Prince has long since dealt with the backers of the Xie and Huo families."
Upon hearing this, the Xie family head, who had initially remained calm and hoped that his powerful backer could resolve the issue of the young prefect, gradually realized that something was amiss.
Hearing the curses and cries coming from behind him, and seeing the smiling general in front of him, Xie Clan Head fainted.
Tian Kang looked at the unconscious Xie family head with disdain and said to the soldiers beside him, "Hurry up and take them back to the prison to await Lord Zheng's judgment. As for the money in their warehouse, take some and stop while you're ahead. Don't be greedy, or you'll lose face in front of Lord Zheng. Don't blame me for skinning you alive."
It should be the Zhenbei Army.
Tian Kang led his troops to raid the homes with great speed. In less than half a day, he had imprisoned all the main branches of the Xie and Huo families. The remaining criminal branches and the wealth of the major families would require some time to be tallied.
Instead of returning to the military camp, Tian Kang went directly to the government office to report to the young military supervisor: "Sir, the main branches of the Xie and Huo families have all been imprisoned. What do you intend to do with them?"
Without hesitation, as if he had already made up his mind, Zheng Hao said, "Punish them according to the law. Those who collude with the enemy and betray the country shall be executed, and the rest shall be punished as slaves to cultivate the wasteland of Youzhou Prefecture."
Tian Kang's expression shifted from surprise to admiration. Lord Zheng was truly magnanimous. If it were anyone else, they would surely have taken advantage of the enemy's vulnerability and dealt with them severely. But Lord Zheng did not; instead, he dealt with the Xie and Huo families according to the law.
Tian Kang accepted the order and withdrew.
The young military supervisor, who was standing still, raised his eyes slightly, his gaze deep. He had taken in all the changes in Tian Kang's expression.
Zheng Hao lowered his eyes, his eyelids concealing all the emotions in them.
The main male members of Xie Huo's family were all executed. The remaining members could not cause any trouble, so why kill them all and ruin their reputation?
Zheng Hao didn't want any more rumors to reach Uncle Gu's ears.