Han Dynasty Achievements

Chapter 96: Clouds Moving in All Directions (Subscription Request~)

Zhong Yao stood there for a while, then turned around and prepared to return to the Supreme Court.

"Tingwei, take care." Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

Zhong Yao turned around and saw a eunuch walking towards him slowly.

Zhong Yao frowned and then quickly relaxed his brows. He felt uncomfortable and instinctively disliked this person.

There was a smile on her snow-white face, but it was a fake smile that gave people a sinister feeling.

Zuo Li came closer and said with a smile: "Tingwei, get ready, some people are preparing to rescue the prisoners."

Zhong Yao remained calm and raised his hand, saying, "Thank you, my lord."

Zuo Li was stunned to see that he was not panicked at all.

Zhong Yao didn't say much, just turned around and left.

At the same time, a team of clerks and runners from the Supreme Court escorted Yuan Jia and his gang out of the Supreme Court and sent them to the execution ground.

On the remote path, there were more than a dozen cages and more than twenty people walking in shackles. The line was very long.

The Left Supervisor of the Supreme Court rode a horse and walked in front, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.

At the intersection not far ahead, there were dozens of masked men standing on both sides, holding swords, waiting quietly.

The Left Supervisor of the Supreme Court seemed to have noticed something. He looked around, reined in his horse, and walked a little slower.

The clerks who were escorting him were not nervous. One of them stood behind him and said with a smile, "Left Supervisor, this is Luoyang. Who dares to rob a prisoner in broad daylight?"

Zuo Jian drew his knife and said, "Don't you think it's too quiet?"

The clerk's expression changed, and he looked around quickly, then smiled and said, "Zuo Jian, you scared me. This is a secluded path. Isn't it normal to be quiet?"

shhhhhh

Before he could finish his words, there were sudden sounds of short bows shooting from both sides.

"what……"

Then the clerks and runners of the Supreme Court screamed loudly, and many of them fell to the ground.

"alert!"

Zuo Jian suddenly jumped off his horse, holding a long sword, and stared at the masked man who was silently rushing towards him not far away.

The masked man didn't say a word. He killed anyone he saw. He rushed forward and swung his knife to cut the chains on the cage.

Yuan Ji, Wang Kuang and others were somewhat confused when they saw this.

"Mr. Yuan, hurry up!"

Someone with a mask on was supporting Yuan Wei and was about to walk out.

Yuan Wei had white hair and an old face. He had no strength at all. He looked at the masked man and said breathlessly, "Take Yuan Ji away."

The masked man stared at Yuan Wei, as if hesitating, then turned to Yuan Ji and shouted, "Take the imperial servant away!"

"Don't let them take one!"

The left supervisor tried his best to resist the men in black and shouted at his officers.

The officers were no match for the enemy at all, and with short-bowmen hiding on both sides, the situation instantly became one-sided.

Several masked men carried Yuan Wei, Yuan Ji, Wang Kuang and others and prepared to withdraw.

Although Yuan Ji didn't understand why, he knew that this was his uncle's back-up plan. Seeing that Yuan Wei was almost dying, he hurriedly said, "Be careful, uncle, don't hurt him!"

The masked man didn't care about anything else and carried everyone away to evacuate.

But they suddenly stopped and even retreated.

Not far ahead of them, a team of well-armored imperial guards appeared at some point.

As they retreated, they caught a glimpse of archers on the roofs of the houses around them. Looking back, they discovered that there were also imperial guards blocking the road at the other end!

"Ah..." Several screams were heard in the dark, and those shortbowmen were dealt with.

Zhong Yao's face turned green as he slowly came out from a corner, staring coldly at the masked man in the lead.

Yuan Wei raised his head with difficulty, his eyes cloudy, and said, "Take Yuan Ji away alone."

The masked man gritted his teeth and shouted, "Kill them!"

Zhong Yao snorted and said, "You so-called knights are so bold!"

The imperial guards moved and rushed towards the men in black. With the help of the archers, it was a one-sided attack.

The masked man tried hard to break out, but he couldn't get out.

Before long, almost all the masked men were killed, and a few of them were left alive with knives at their necks.

Zhong Yao walked forward, pulled off their masks, recognized one of them, and shouted, "Take him back!"

The police came and put shackles on them and dragged them away.

At this time, Zuo Jian came forward, holding his injured right arm, and asked, "Has the court judge already made the prediction?"

Zhong Yao ignored him and came to Yuan Wei. Yuan Wei was leaning against the wheel, with disheveled hair, tilted head, and dull eyes.

Zhong Yao took a closer look and said, "Master, it's in vain."

Yuan Wei's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say it. He just kept looking in the direction of Yuan Ji.

Yuan Ji was forced to kneel on the ground. Looking at Yuan Wei's appearance, he burst into tears: "Uncle!"

Yuan Wei's cloudy eyes gradually lost focus and slowly closed.

Zhong Yao was relieved to see Yuan Wei dead. He stood up slowly and turned to his left supervisor, saying, "I have checked you. You have nothing to do with the eunuch party, the Yuan family, or the He family. Why are you helping them?"

The left supervisor was stunned and said with a smile: "The court official is joking. When have I ever helped them?"

The clerk beside him hurriedly said, "Tingwei, it was Zuojian who discovered the thief in time."

Zhong Yao looked directly at the left supervisor and said, "This route has several detours on purpose. I told three people about it separately. Only you know this place."

The left supervisor gritted his teeth secretly, and then said, "Yes. I have indeed not received any favors from the Yuan family, but I have received favors from others, and they asked me to help."

Zhong Yao was not surprised and said, "You can go now."

Zuo Jian looked at Zhong Yao and said, "You won't kill me?"

"Don't kill." Zhong Yao said.

The left supervisor looked suspicious and asked, "Aren't you afraid of being punished by His Majesty?"

Zhong Yao looked back at Yuan Ji and the others and said, "Your Majesty has never liked killing people. From the palace coup to the execution of the eunuch party, in this case of the Yuan family, Your Majesty has tried his best to control the situation and be lenient. He will not punish the culprits, but only the main culprits. You are the ones who like to kill people. You don't have to worry about the court's arrest. In a few days, His Majesty will pardon the whole country again."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Jian's expression changed, and he raised his hand and said, "Thank you, Tingwei."

After saying this, he and a few surviving rangers were left in miserably aid.

The clerk came over, looked at their backs, shook his head and said, "I hope they can feel your majesty's benevolence and wake up."

Zhong Yao didn't care and said, "Take them to the execution ground and don't waste time."

"Yes!" the clerk responded, and put the man back into the prison van and continued to transport him away.

Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Pan Yin took small steps into the study and saw Liu Bian concentrating on practicing calligraphy, so he moved forward silently.

Liu Bian drew a right stroke, raised his pen, looked at the somewhat readable handwriting, nodded with satisfaction and said, "What's the matter?"

Pan Yin then said, "Your Majesty, Doctor Yang's carriage lost control and he was thrown out of the carriage, suffering serious injuries."

Liu Bian looked at the word "Prime Minister" on the paper and said with a smile, "He still wants to hide, I will give him a surprise. Order Dong Zhuo to supervise the execution first, and set off for Yanzhou tomorrow."

"Yes." Pan Yin responded.

"Is there any news about Huangfu Jianchang and Cao Cao?" Liu Bian asked again just as Pan Yin was about to turn around.

Pan Yin immediately said, "Not yet."

Liu Bian nodded, wondering in his heart how much Huangfu Jian could bring back.

It would certainly not be easy for the court to raise money and grain. What he really hoped for was to reform the tax system, curb local corruption, and receive money and grain directly into the Luoyang treasury.

Seeing that Liu Bian didn't say anything else, Pan Yin quickly left the palace.

There is a time for execution, and the auspicious time cannot be missed.

Liu Bian looked at the word "Prime Minister" on the table, and then looked at the memorial beside him.

This is a joint memorial by Xun You, Zhong Yao, He Yong and others, entitled "Eighteen Proposals on Salt Administration", which proposes to bring salt administration back to the court and change from taxation to monopoly.

Compared with other taxes that affect the whole country, the salt administration originally belonged to the imperial court, so the impact of changes would not be so drastic, there was more room for maneuver, and the results would be the quickest.

Liu Bian's eyes flickered for a moment, he took a deep breath, and whispered to himself: "Wait a little longer."

At present, there are still two difficult problems to be solved, one is Yanzhou and the other is Bingzhou. After these two are solved, the court will be basically stable in time and can concentrate on reform.

Taiwei Mansion.

Dong Zhuo, who was packing up and preparing to leave Luoyang, received a new order from Liu Bian.

Dong Zhuo sat there, his eyes wide open and his face iron-colored.

Li Su was secretly happy that he would be appointed as the Minister of Six Departments, but when he heard that Dong Zhuo was going to supervise the execution of the Yuan family, he could not help but be secretly shocked, but he did not dare to show it on his face.

After a long while, Dong Zhuo retracted his murderous gaze, looked at Li Su, and said irritably: "Just do as you say, find a way to get the Xiongnu to invade the border, so that Niu Fu and others don't have to enter the capital."

Li Su quickly raised his hand and said, "I obey your command."

Dong Zhuo stood up, put on his clothes, grasped his sword, and walked out of the house quickly.

Li Su opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, no sound came out.

He also wanted to find an excuse for Dong Zhuo so as not to supervise the execution, but he felt that Dong Zhuo seemed to be suspicious of him, so he did not dare to say anything more.

On the execution ground.

More than 20 adult men from the Yuan family, dressed in prison uniforms, and a dozen of their accomplices were all forced to kneel on the execution ground.

Outside were a group of officials from the Supreme Court and the imperial guards, and outside of that were the people watching.

"Traitor!"

"Traitors are a scourge to the country and the people!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

The people were very excited. They threw the weapons, rotten eggs, and rotten vegetables in their hands desperately, cursed loudly, and even wanted to rush in.

Yuan Ji and other members of the Yuan family remained silent, with fear in their eyes, and the rest of their followers also looked dejected.

Not far across from them, Dong Zhuo sat upright, his expression cold and majestic, his eyes as big as copper bells.

The Right Supervisor of the Imperial Court beside him looked at the sun, silently calculated the time, then turned to Dong Zhuo and said, "General Dong, the time has come."

What Dong Zhuo was thinking was to kill these members of the Yuan family as soon as possible so that he could leave Luoyang quickly and escape back to Bingzhou.

All he had to do was pick up the execution order on the table and shout "behead", and all the members of the Yuan family not far away would fall to the ground.

But when the time came, Dong Zhuo hesitated again. Killing the Yuan family would not benefit him at all, but would offend those aristocratic families.

The Right Supervisor of the Imperial Court waited for a while, and when he saw that Dong Zhuo did not move, he whispered, "General Dong?"

Dong Zhuo glanced at him and reached for the execution order in front of him.

To him, the so-called aristocratic family is not that important.

"Dong Zhuo!"

Suddenly, Wang Kuang on the execution ground had red eyes and a distorted face. He shouted, "Today, you slaughtered scholars and killed loyal people. Aren't you afraid of God's punishment?"

Dong Zhuo opened his eyes, his eyes were as cold as lightning, he took up the order to kill, and said in a deep voice: "Kill!"

Wang Kuang knelt straight and roared, "Dong Zhuo, the Yuan family treated you well, but you are ungrateful and betrayed your benefactor. Anyone in the world has the right to kill you!"

Dong Zhuo snorted and didn't care at all.

At his command, the executioner held down the prisoners and raised the butcher knife high.

"what……"

The Yuan family members suddenly burst into tears, struggled and cried, shouting for mercy.