Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Bah! Of course I don't admit it! You are all just pretending. You are trying to incite that bear Xiong Dayong to do evil. Oh, if I didn't have a mission, I would kill that bear first!"

Hu Xiaoqi cursed and spoke angrily.

"I have already chopped off Xiong Dayong's head. I will use his head as a sacrifice to comfort the people of Yancheng who were killed by him."

Xie Jin continued.

"Ah?!" Hu Xiaoqi jumped up from the ground, jumped forward, approached Xie Jin and asked, "You killed Xiong Dayong, is that true?"

At this moment, his legs were still tied, which also showed that he was not without the ability to resist.

The personal guards around Xie Jin immediately stepped forward, drew their swords and pointed them at Hu Xiaoqi, forcing him to retreat.

Xie Jin waved his hand, asked the guards to step back, looked at Hu Xiaoqi, and continued,

"Xiong Dayong is indeed dead. Let me correct you on one point. It was not us who allowed Xiong Dayong to commit evil deeds. It was the power given to him by the Emperor and nobles of Chu that facilitated his evil deeds.

As for General Jiang Tai, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't persuade him to rebel.

However, the Emperor of Chu was incompetent and favored villains over wise ministers, which led to widespread misery among the people. Yancheng was easily occupied by us, and tens of thousands of Chu troops were taken prisoner.

If you are smart enough, you should understand that the master you are loyal to is not a wise leader. Even if you work yourself to death, you will not be able to save the world.

Therefore, I am your benefactor. The fact that I am patiently explaining this to you instead of torturing you or killing you directly is enough to prove this point."

Hu Xiaoqi stared at Xie Jin again and again, smacking his lips, and felt that what he said seemed to have some meaning.

"I don't have time to talk to you now, because the reinforcements from Chu will arrive soon. Can we defeat these Chu troops without wasting a single soldier and avoid unnecessary casualties? Today is the day. I will go to the city gate to welcome the Chu army."

Xie Jin said to Hu Xiaoqi,

"You are a skilled martial artist, so I can only tie you up first. I will talk to you after I have dealt with the Chu army. During this time, you can think carefully about what I just said."

After saying that, Xie Jin turned and left.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Hu Xiaoqi called him, looking tangled and hesitant, and confirmed with him,

"You really won't kill innocent people indiscriminately. Will you always treat the people of Chu well like this? You won't even kill more prisoners?"

"Of course, they will all be my subjects in the future. If I kill them, who will plant the fields, mine the rocks, and serve as soldiers? Without them, my country cannot become strong."

Xie Jin spoke up.

Hu Xiaoqi,...

Yes, that seems to make a lot of sense!

Hu Xiaoqi gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind and said,

"I hope you won't lie to me, otherwise even if you are an emperor, you will not die a good death. Let me tell you, County Magistrate Zhou has arranged some people to hide in the dark..."

After Xie Jin heard this, he thanked Hu Xiaoqi earnestly and said to him,

"Don't think that you have betrayed County Magistrate Zhou. You have not only prevented a bloody riot by telling me this, but you have also saved the lives of many innocent people. Therefore, you have also accumulated a lot of merit. You are definitely not a bad person now."

"..." Hu Xiaoqi.

It sounds like a good thing, but it doesn't seem right!

-

Xie Jin left the room, his expression darkened, and he quickly instructed the guards around him, "Call more soldiers to arrest them."

Xie Jin went to meet the County Magistrate Zhou. He never expected that there was a poisonous snake hiding under his nose.

You really can't underestimate any person.

If Hu Xiaoqi hadn't been here today, there would have been a huge mess when the Chu army arrived.

Xie Jin let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he couldn't relax yet. Even if Magistrate Zhou and his men were caught, it didn't mean that everything would be fine.

There must be other Chu people hiding in the dark. It is understandable that they used their lives to save their country and beliefs.

In war, from a personal perspective, there is never right or wrong, only cruelty.

-

County Magistrate Zhou was a middle-aged man in his forties. Because he had pretended to surrender before, although he was under surveillance, he was not locked up with shackles or handcuffs, and was given a certain degree of freedom.

County Magistrate Zhou was surprised but not surprised to see Xie Jin coming.

When he learned that Hu Xiaoqi had failed, he sighed, "It's fate."

Xie Jin wanted to persuade him to surrender, but County Magistrate Zhou firmly refused.

When he learned from Xie Jin that the general leading the reinforcements was the former crown prince of Da Zhao, County Magistrate Zhou felt that this world was too crazy.

"Haha, haha, this is so funny, this is so funny, the State of Chu is finished, it's finished..." County Magistrate Zhou was so angry that he spat out blood.

"So, you still don't want to surrender?" Xie Jin asked him.

County Magistrate Zhou still shook his head. In despair, he chose to tell everyone all his arrangements, not wanting those people to die innocently again.

There is no chance. Resistance will only result in more bloodshed. A comeback is impossible!

He had previously placed his hopes on reinforcements, but now all the reinforcements are led by the people of Da Zhao. How ridiculous!

The monarch he was loyal to was too... disrespectful compared to the Crown Prince of Zhao in front of him. He was unwilling to use such disrespectful words to slander the monarch he was loyal to.

In the end, County Magistrate Zhou chose to bite his tongue and commit suicide!

He fell to the ground, spitting out a lot of blood, but this way of death would not kill him immediately. If he wanted to be saved, he could still be saved.

Xie Jin frowned and looked at him, his eyes showing regret and respect. He squatted down, looked at County Magistrate Zhou, and asked him for the last time,

"Do you want to live? Do you want to live to see a better and different world? Although you have no tongue, you still have eyes, so maybe you can see more clearly."

County Magistrate Zhou was deeply touched by these words, and he was also moved by Xie Jin's generosity and kindness.

County Magistrate Zhou looked at Xie Jin, unable to speak any more, but nodded vigorously with tears streaming down his face.

Such a wise ruler will do what he says and make the world a better and different place.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jin smiled at him, then helped him up and asked his personal soldiers to take him to the hospital for treatment.

His robe was already stained with blood, but Xie Jin didn't care. Seeing that the time was almost up, he went straight to the city gate.

Climbing up the city wall and looking into the distance, Xie Jin saw a cavalry team galloping towards him. The rising yellow dust obscured most of his view, and he could not see clearly how many people were there.

After about a cup of tea, Xie Wenyuan and others arrived at the foot of the city.

Deputy General Lei looked up at Xie Jin and others on the city wall and shouted,

"Open the city gate quickly! Welcome the general!"

Xie Jin responded, asked the soldiers to open the city gate, and then led his men down.

Xie Wenyuan rode his horse into the city gate. When he saw Xie Jin, he immediately dismounted and came up to him with a smile.

"Hahaha, well done! I didn't expect you to chop off Xiong Dayong's head so quickly. You can't judge a person by his appearance!"

"General, you are too kind. This is not just my achievement." Xie Jin immediately said modestly.

"Please come into the tent, read the imperial edict, announce Xiong Dayong's guilt, and formally accept the army. General, you don't know that if you don't come, I really can't hold on any longer."

"Why are you, the magistrate of Yongchang County, in charge of the affairs of Yancheng? Where is the magistrate of Yancheng?" asked a deputy general Zhang in the army with a frown.

"Alas, I was also entrusted by County Magistrate Zhou to ask the general to come with me to visit him. You will know." Xie Jin sighed.

"County Magistrate Zhou is a fair man. He couldn't stand Xiong Dayong's words and deeds and had conflicts with him many times. Yesterday, Xiong Dayong was stimulated by the invitation of the general. Perhaps in order to vent his inner fear, he had County Magistrate Zhou's tongue cut off."

"What! This Xiong Dayong is so cruel!" Lieutenant General Zhang was shocked.

The others were also filled with righteous indignation, and they all cursed Xiong Dayong for dying too easily and wanted to whip his corpse again.

Xie Wenyuan also raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, took another look at the blood on Xie Jin's body, and said in a deep voice,

"Xiong Dayong has committed many evil deeds, is cruel and inhumane, and even dared to betray his country and surrender to the enemy. His crime is unforgivable. Someone, immediately arrange to sacrifice his head to the flag and hang his body on the city wall for the people of Dazhao to see!"

"Yes!" The generals responded, each of them looking excited.

Everyone was incited by Xiong Dayong's brutality, and they also felt that the trial against him was full of justice, which made them even more furious.

How could there be any problems in a city like Yancheng?

Xie Jin led the way and led Xie Wenyuan and others to the military camp. Along the way, they passed through the urban area and met some civilians, but there were no problems.

When the people saw the army passing by, they all retreated to both sides with fear on their faces, which was perfectly normal.

Lieutenant General Lei saw a small toy sold by a vendor and thought it was very interesting, so he stopped, dismounted, and said to the vendor,

"Bring me a few wooden puppies and pack them up so I can take them back to give to my kids at home."

"...Okay, General, take it!" The vendor packed the things into a small cloth bag and gave it to Lieutenant General Lei.

Deputy General Lei took the cloth bag and gave him some change. "This is your reward. No need to change."

The vendor gratefully accepted the food and bowed to Deputy General Chong Lei in various ways to express his gratitude.

"You are just a small vendor. You have no eyesight and you don't know how to kowtow." Deputy General Lei jumped on his horse and said with disdain.

The street vendor finally knelt down, watched him ride away on horseback, then quickly got up, feeling extremely depressed.

Alas, why was he the only one chosen when no one else was chosen? Fortunately, he spoke Chu dialect well.

If he were to be exposed, he would be beaten with fifty military sticks and could go to the underworld to report to his father.

-

Xie Wenyuan followed Xie Jin to the military camp. In fact, he was a little nervous. He wanted to go through the motions quickly and then leave with his men.

The longer we stay, the greater the risk of being exposed, so we should hurry back to the restaurant in the city and have some good wine and food.

This was what Xie Jin meant. He whispered to him while no one was paying attention, asking him to hurry up and go through the process, and not to add drama to himself at this time.

Xie Wenyuan,...

Of course I know, I’m not that unreliable!