The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 145 Bloody Spring
After Zhao Yuanzhi and the Jinyiwei disappeared from Chongwen Gate, Shen Lian looked back at the prosperous city, stood for a moment, and followed them.

Ahead is Shura Hell.

Two soldiers from the Wucheng Bingmasi who were patrolling the streets with oil-paper lanterns saw the Jinyiwei coming from afar and stepped aside as if avoiding the plague god.

After Shen Lian and the others walked away, the soldier holding the lantern sighed and said, "These Jinyiwei have not allowed people to pass through for years. I wonder where they are going to kill people next. Sigh..."

When his companion heard this, he quickly gestured to him to keep quiet.

"Don't worry about your life! The factory is dealing with the Donglin Party. Be careful and we'll charge you with conspiracy to rebel!"

~~~~
Shen Lian rode his horse through Chongwenmen and walked west along Zhengyangmen Street for half an incense stick of time before arriving at the West City where Beijing officials gathered.

He handed the reins to the guard, dismounted and led the Jinyiwei on foot.

The further west they went, the fewer people there were. The night was quite cold, but Shen Lian had a fire burning in his heart.

He would feel extremely nervous every time a house was raided or someone was arrested.

Later, Ping Liaohou said to him, that’s because you still have a conscience.

Unfortunately, on New Year's Eve of the first year of Taichang, Shen Lian's conscience had become as cold as the stone lions in front of Xizhimen.

They soon arrived in front of Luo Sigong's residence.

"Sir, this bastard left the door unlocked and waited for us to catch him!"

Shen Lian looked up into the distance and saw two servants in front of the Luo Mansion seeing a large group of Jinyiwei approaching. They were so scared that they quickly hid in the yard and closed the gate.

"The East Factory is arresting someone. Anyone who dares to stop us will be punished like the criminal! Open the door!"

Shen Lian roared and walked forward to kick the door.

The two servants hesitated for a while, and finally slowly opened the door.

In the past few days, Eunuch Wei has been arresting remnants of Yuan’s party in the capital, causing panic among officials.

It’s all because Yuan Jinglie had too many connections during his lifetime and met too many upright gentlemen, many of whom received benefits from him.

Every two days, Beijing officials were arrested and imprisoned by the Pacification Office, and then executed or exiled on various charges.

Now, even the former commander of the Pacification Division, Luo, is about to be arrested.

Two guards pushed open the door and the Jinyiwei rushed into the courtyard. Dozens of torches were swaying everywhere. The front yard and the screen wall were empty, with no one in sight.

"Sir, they've escaped to the backyard!"

Shen Lian drew out his Embroidered Spring Sword, wiped the blade with his Iron Arm, and quickly rushed to the backyard, with dozens of Jinyiwei following closely behind him.

After passing a few rockery and ponds, the view suddenly opens up and is brightly lit.

There were several banquet tables set up under the corridor in the backyard. Luo Sigong and his family were sitting together, eating the New Year's Eve dinner.

Next to the corridor, there are several bonfires more than one person tall, which is the custom of northerners to stay up all night to welcome the New Year.

A dozen servants stood by the campfire, the handles of their weapons faintly visible from their sleeves.

Shen Lian stared at the bonfire in a daze. His family lived in Jiangnan, and they would not light such a big bonfire to keep vigil on New Year's Eve.

"Sir, it's time to arrest someone!"

A small flag whispered a reminder beside him.

Shen Lian waved his hand quickly, and the flagman immediately stepped forward, showing a Northern Pacification Division waist badge, and shouted:
"Your Majesty has issued an oral decree: Former Commander of the Pacification Division, Luo Sigong, while a noble, was corrupt and perverted the law. He colluded with the traitor Yuan Yingtai, leaked intelligence to the Jiannu, and caused the bloody Battle of Hunhe River, resulting in heavy casualties for the Kaiyuan Army. He has brought disaster to the nation and the people, and his crimes are extremely heinous. I order Shen Lian, a centurion of the Northern Pacification Division, to be arrested immediately and brought to the East Depot for interrogation! After the interrogation, report back to me!"

The servants standing around all moved towards the small flag. The firelight illuminated their faces, making them look red as if stained with blood.

"Stop! Are you planning a rebellion?"

Xiaoqi faced the campfire, his body hidden in the shadows of a group of servants.

Shen Lian looked fierce and waved to a group of Jinyiwei behind him to come forward and arrest him.

At this time, Luo Sigong, with gray hair and beard, stood up from his seat. He looked around and his eyes fell on Shen Lian's face.

"Are you Shen Lian from the Northern Pacification Division? I haven't seen you for a few days, and you've been promoted to centurion. You're truly a promising young man!"

Shen Lian nodded and said expressionlessly:
"Lord Luo, the Emperor has ordered us to arrest you. I'm doing my duty! I'm sorry!"

Shen Lian was quite familiar with Luo Sigong. Half a month ago, he was the commander of the Pacification Division. The late emperor had bestowed him with a large number of honorary titles, and he was in a high position and had great power.

It doesn’t really matter whether this old man has colluded with the Later Jin or sold out military secrets.

For the Jinyiwei to arrest someone, one reason was enough. They didn't care what the facts were. As long as the person was in the imperial prison, all the charges would become facts.

Now, the emperor and eunuch Wei want this man dead.

In Shen Lian's eyes, no matter who Luo Sigong was before, he is just a dead man now.

After more than half a year in the capital, Shen Lian became accustomed to killing and killed many people with his own hands.

He has long since changed from the simple-minded captain of the Zhejiang Army to the cold-blooded and murderous East Factory spy he is today.

He is the sharpest sword in the hands of the Nine Thousand Year Old Man.

"I don't even know what the Jian Nu look like, how can I collude with them? With whom can I collude?"

Luo Sigong smiled bitterly.

"Forget it. A new emperor appoints new ministers. The old emperor passed away, Wei Zhongxian came to power, and you started to make trouble! Shen Lian, I'll let you take the position of the Pacification Office. You can accuse me of any crime you want. I will go to the East Factory with you right now." After Luo Sigong said this, he drew the sword from his waist and threw it hard on the ground.

"I just want to know, was today's incident the Emperor's idea, or was it Wei Zhongxian who ordered you to do it?!"

Shen Lian's expression remained unchanged. He had seen such scenes too many times.

These days, he personally saw off seven or eight Beijing officials, one of whom was the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

Whether it is the Donglin Party, the Chu Party or the Zhejiang Party, people always like to have wild thoughts before they die.

They always felt that the emperor was wise and that all the problems were instigated by Eunuch Wei.

Wei Zhongxian did want to kill Luo Sigong because he had close ties with the Donglin gentlemen and was very influential in the capital. Many of the Jinyiwei and Zhenfusi were his people. Leaving him behind would ultimately be a disaster.

Shen Lian is Eunuch Wei's knife. He will kill whoever the eunuch wants to kill.

When he first entered the Pacification Office half a year ago, he still had awe for these adults and gentlemen.

Later, when I learned more inside stories, I realized that these upright gentlemen were worse than beasts and their deaths were not a pity.

Once the killing begins, it is difficult to stop.

Shen Lian has already embarked on a path of no return, and he has a premonition that his end will not be good either.

Fate pushed him into this Shura field.

If he were given another chance, he would definitely choose to stay in Kaiyuan and not wade into the muddy waters of the capital.

"What difference does it make whether the Emperor kills you or the Ninth Prince? Your crimes are far more than these. Take him away!"

Two Jinyiwei came forward with iron chains and grabbed Luo Sigong.

At this moment, two dark figures rushed up from behind. Shen Lian was shocked. Could it be that the Luo Mansion really had assassins?

The shadows quickly rushed to the campfire. They turned out to be two children. The boy, holding a wooden sword, rushed towards the Jinyiwei. The girl, wearing a white skirt and jacket, looked timidly at Shen Lian's Feiyu suit, as if she was curious.

"Don't arrest Grandpa!"

The boy pushed away the guard who was holding Luo Sigong and stabbed him with the wooden sword.

"Go away!"

The guard put his left hand on Luo Sigong's shoulder, pushed the boy away with his right hand holding the knife, and cursed at him.

"We'll arrest you later and send you to the Jiaofangsi to beat the drums!"

Unexpectedly, the child showed no fear at all and swung his wooden sword even harder at the barbarian. "I'll go with you. Don't hurt my family."

Before Luo Sigong finished his words, there was a "swish" sound, and the sharp goose-feather knife pierced into the child's body.

A look of disgust and horror flashed across the face of the guard, but it lasted only a moment before disappearing. Everyone was stunned. Although Luo Sigong's entire family would be doomed if his crimes were proven, it was still a bit unreasonable to kill him now, especially since he was just a child.

Killing children is not the tradition of the Jinyiwei.

Luo Sigong watched his grandson slowly fall into a pool of blood. As the bonfire flickered, tears welled up in his dim old eyes.

The scenes of Wanli's campaign to aid Korea appeared before his eyes again.

He and his Jinyiwei brothers shed their blood in Korea and continuously passed on intelligence to the Ming army on the front line. The winter in Korea was colder than that in the capital, so they had to light a bonfire and huddle back to back to keep warm to prevent themselves from freezing to death.

The bonfire at that time was as bright as it is tonight.

Luo Sigong dropped his feet and stamped his chest, then swung up a chair and smashed it hard on the man. He was a former commander and had incredible strength. The chair was shattered into pieces and the man fell down without a sound.

The servants drew their swords one after another, and dozens of goose-feather swords and Japanese swords were raised at the same time, pointing at Shen Lian and the others.

"Even the children were not spared. Kill you eunuchs!"

"The East Factory is arresting people, how dare you rats..."

Before Shen Lian finished speaking, a sharp Japanese sword came slashing towards his head.

These people were all Luo Sigong's former subordinates. Seeing that the Luo family was forced into a desperate situation, they were filled with grief and anger, and vowed to kill all of these eunuch party minions.

Shen Lian knew he had no way to retreat, so he raised his embroidered spring sword and shouted to his Jinyiwei: "Kill them all!"

The bonfire flickered, outlining a swaying human figure.

Weapons and armor clashed, making clanging sounds, occasionally accompanied by the thud of metal entering flesh. Soon, people fell in pools of blood, and in the light and shadows, the number of people standing still dwindled.

In the end, only five or six people were left.

~~~~
Shen Lian, covered in blood, looked around and heard shrill wails. There were people lying on the ground, some of whom were not dead yet.

His eyes were covered with blood mist, and the world before him became hazy. Luo Sigong, standing opposite him, looked like a bloody man.

It was as if he was back on the battlefield of Hunjiang six months ago. The soldiers of the Mandarin Duck Formation were besieged by Bayala. He was wounded in many places and his life was hanging by a thread. In the end, it was General Liu who saved him.

Shen Lian remembered his mission, raised the Embroidered Spring Knife that had been used to cut the gap, and pointed it at Luo Sigong.

"Come on, follow me to the Pacification Office!"

The little girl helped her grandfather stand up. Her white skirt was covered with bloodstains and turned blood red.

She looked up and stared at Shen Lian fiercely, then suddenly picked up a broken goose-feather knife on the ground and slashed it across her neck. Blood gushed out and splashed onto her Feiyu suit.

(End of this chapter)