Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 99 The Art of Memorials (3)

"Build a Jingguan."

"I want to let those Japanese know that the people of the Central Plains will not tolerate bullying by foreign races."

The word "Jingguan" (jing) means a high hill, and "guan" means a gate. In ancient times, when people killed bandits and displayed the corpses after victory, they would build a Jingguan (jingguan) to hide the bodies. This was common on ancient battlefields.

Originally, Jingguan was simply used to bury corpses, but at some point it became a way to show off military achievements.

As the scale of battles grew, tens of thousands of people died in a war, and it became unrealistic to build a Jingguan with all the corpses, so the corpses were replaced with heads.

Song Yan spoke slowly, and the coldness in his words surprised Luo Yuheng.

She originally thought that Song Yan had a weak sense of national clan because he had been imprisoned in the backyard for many years, but now it seems that she was wrong. He may not have a sense of clan or country, but he has a strong sense of national identity.

The body was recovered from the beach and the head was cut off.

As for the corpse, Luo Yuheng arranged for some people to transport it to the deep mountains and forests, so it would not be wasted. The jackals, tigers, leopards, mice, insects, crows and vultures in the forests would clean up the corpse to ensure that not a single bit of meat would be wasted.

Song Yan no longer needs to worry about the construction of the Jingguan.

Ningping County gradually returned to peace, and even the bloodstains at the city gate were cleaned up, but it could not be restored to its original state. It is said that if you see dark brown marks on the stone slabs when you walk past there, that is the blood shed by the Japanese pirates.

Those who had fled before also gradually returned.

Teahouses and taverns were crowded.

From time to time, one could hear some words such as Yang Siye was unworthy of being the county magistrate and actually colluded with the Japanese pirates to plunder the county town; Yang Miaoqing made peace with the Japanese pirates and tried to use the Japanese pirates to disrupt Ningping and rob the prison in the chaos.

They also applauded the more than one hundred corpses in the county government office and the dungeon.

Some things happened in the past few days, such as the Duke of Song's Mansion.

Yang Miaoqing died. No matter what, she was still the mistress of the Duke's Mansion in name, so she was buried with great ceremony. It is said that Song Hongtao cried so hard that he fainted several times.

Then, just three days after Yang Miaoqing was buried, he took back his seven concubines.

Fang Hai, the governor of Songzhou, also took a stroll to Ningping County.

It is said that when Fang Haigang heard that Ningping County was attacked by a large number of Japanese pirates, he was still having sex with his concubine in bed. He was so scared that he had sex on the spot. He didn't even care about etiquette and grabbed a long robe and put it on, and rushed out of the room without even buttoning it.

It’s not that he is so devoted to the country and the people. After all, he is the highest official of Songzhou Prefecture.

What a joke, he has just been transferred to be the governor of Songzhou.

If a county under his jurisdiction was massacred by Japanese pirates at this time, he would have to give up his position as governor. The Fang family might be able to use their connections to save his life, but he would definitely lose his official hat and might even have to spend a few years in prison.

It was said that Fang Hai cursed the Japanese pirates in the yard for a quarter of an hour, and only stopped when he heard that all the Japanese pirates were burned to death at sea.

Then he immediately visited the Luo family with a large number of gifts.

After knowing that the farmer who resisted the Japanese pirates and the weapon called wolf-whip were both made by Song Yan, he held Song Yan's hand and talked for a long time, mostly talking about young people's great achievements, which made Song Yan wonder if this guy had some strange hobby.

Originally, he felt a little uncomfortable about Song Yan using his stupid son to kill Song Yun, but now all the discomfort has vanished.

Fang Hai even took many officials from the provincial government to visit the Jingguan on the seaside in person.

By that time, the three Jingguan temples had been built, and bloody heads were mixed in the soil. Due to the hot and humid weather in early autumn, the heads had already rotted.

As they watched, dark clouds loomed overhead, as if even the gods in heaven were disgusted by this purgatory on earth, unwilling to offer a ray of light. Flies buzzed hungrily above the corpse, their wings stained with congealed blood.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and stench, which was enough to suffocate a living person. Occasionally, the cries of crows could be heard from the broken walls. Their beaks were stained with blood, and it was obvious that they had enjoyed a delicious meal.

Fang Hai and the others also turned pale. Then, suppressing their fear, they added a handful of dirt to the Jingguan and hurriedly left. Returning to the prefecture, they wrote a memorial that night and sent it to the Eastern Tomb at full speed.

……

"In early August of the 19th year of Ninghe, Japanese pirates landed on the coast and attacked Ningping at night."

"Ningping County Magistrate Yang Siye, County Magistrate Yang Zhongning, County Lieutenant Yang Chengen, and Duke Song's wife Yang Miaoqing colluded with the Japanese pirates, opening the city gates from the inside and allowing the Japanese pirates to enter Ningping."

"The Japanese pirates carried out widespread burning, killing, and looting in Ningping County. Wherever they went, there was widespread grief and blood flowed like a river. 1,972 people in Ningping were killed or injured."

"Three hundred and sixty-seven houses burned down."

"Countless people have fled."

"Fortunately, Ningping County Lord Luo Yuheng, armed with a spear, led the Luo Mansion guards to resist and intercept the Japanese pirates at the East City Gate, protecting the people of the county."

"The Ningping County Lady led the charge, personally beheading 176 Japanese pirates. Her 500 guards fought to the death to defend Ningping."

A memorial that used a little bit of exaggerated rhetoric, through the eunuch's special voice, echoed in the ears of civil and military officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Well, putting aside that little bit of exaggeration, most of the content in the memorial is about things, such as the Japanese pirate attacks, but some small details have been slightly processed.

Hearing the eunuch's voice, the officials below had different expressions, some were stunned.

Ningping County Lady Luo Yuheng personally beheaded 176 Japanese pirates? Who are you kidding? Could that unruly and headstrong princess do such a thing?
By the way, how many pirates can 500 guards stop? Are their bodies made of iron?
Some people have frowned.

Such as the Minister of the Central Secretariat Yang Hetong, the Minister of Rites Yang Guochen, and other officials from the Yang family or the Yang family faction.

After all, in this memorial, Yang Siye, Yang Zhongning, and Yang Chengen, three members of the Yang family's side branch, were extremely disgraceful.

"Your servant, Fang Hai, upon hearing the news, could not sleep that night. He immediately summoned many of his colleagues in Songzhou Prefecture, such as the Songzhou Magistrate Meng Kuo, the Songzhou Deputy Governor Lu Zhao, the Songzhou Sima Wu Xiao, and the Songzhou Tongpan Ji Cheng... He led all the Songzhou troops, as well as many of his colleagues' outer residences and guards, and rushed to Ningping at night."

"The Japanese pirates fled to the coast and attempted to board a ship to go out to sea. Ningping County Lord Luo Yuheng's three sons, Luo Tianshu, Luo Tianquan, and Luo Tianyang, led their men to attack from the side, shooting them with rockets, setting the ship on fire, and burning and killing all the pirates."

"Afterwards, we counted and found a total of 9,772 heads of Japanese slaves strangled. We have already built three Jingguan on the coast to deter the Japanese slaves along the coast."

"There are also over 3,000 Japanese soldiers whose bodies have sunk into the sea."

"Although over 13,000 Japanese pirates were killed in this battle, I, Fang Hai, as the Governor of Songzhou, failed to defend the country and ensure its safety, resulting in the unjust deaths of 1,972 civilians under my jurisdiction. I feel deeply guilty and live in constant fear. I beg to retire and return home. I hope Your Majesty will grant this."

"There's also Song Yan, the son-in-law of the Luo family. He's developed a weapon called the wolf-whip, which is incredibly effective against the Japanese invaders. He might be able to promote it along the coastal areas."

The memorial, with thousands of words, described in detail how the officials of all ranks in Songzhou worked hard and fearlessly in the fight against the Japanese pirates, and how they led the charge. It also described how brave and fearless Luo Yuheng was and how dangerous the battle process was.

As for the fact that the entire families of the three officials of the Yang family were killed, it was only mentioned in passing. After all, it was normal for Japanese pirates to attack and kill people.

What's more, it was normal for the Japanese pirates to feel deceived when they encountered resistance and kill people to vent their anger.

Only at the end did he mention Song Yan.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was silent.

Many officials looked at each other, with different expressions.

In front of him sat the dragon throne, a middle-aged man. It was Emperor Ninghe, wearing a golden dragon robe and looking majestic.

His eye sockets were deeply sunken, as if he had not had a good rest for a long time, and his face was abnormally pale.

(End of this chapter)