Everyone immediately looked at him with vigilance, even the prefect was no exception. This caused Song Deyuan's face to turn pale, and he didn't know where to place his hands, and he kept trembling.
"Humph, Mr. Song, are you being unreasonable? We have received you with good intentions, but you come here like this, how can it make sense!" The prefect turned red with anger and pointed at Song Deyuan's nose and cursed.
"I……"
"Stop making sophistry!" The magistrate waved his sleeves, "Except for your academy who will use such methods, how can anyone else dare to incite good people?"
"you……"
"If you want an explanation, go to the prison and explain it! Someone, tie this thief up and watch the interrogation strictly!"
The prefect gave an order, and three or five sergeants emerged from behind the screen. Before they could defend themselves, their hands were tightly held down.
When Song De saw the situation, he knew it was a fraud. He could only shake his head and sigh bitterly, regretting his mistake. Without saying a word, he was escorted out of the back door.
In an instant, the magistrate gathered all the clerks and drafted a new law: "The academy openly violates the king's law, and anyone who preaches what he says will be punished with either a disciple or a staff." He also sent more than a dozen officers and soldiers to escort the minor officials out of the office. Post notices to arrest college members.
Of course, this alone was not enough to give the prefect the confidence to win. All their hopes were pinned on Nayue Prefecture.
As expected, Lu Fangxuan's army arrived quietly amidst the noise.
The people looked towards the middle of the street and saw several neat teams driving forward. Everyone was riding a horse and was tightly wrapped in armor. A pair of sharp eyes showed, and the scabbards emitted a dazzling light in the sun. The horseshoes The sound was approaching, like a clock counting every moment, exaggerating the uneasy atmosphere at any time.
The crowd fell silent immediately, but the horsemen seemed to be interested. They stopped thirty steps away from them, still without saying a word, with a cold expression, letting the wind blow their black hair on the temples.
"Everyone," everyone followed the voice and saw a clerk walking out of the yamen, surrounded by more than a dozen soldiers, "Song Deyuan, with his half-full bottle of vinegar, is engaged in the business of deceiving people. . What benefits do you think you can get by following the academy? As a scholar, he is just boasting about his ability to do practical things for you. Now he has been convicted and is ready to be dealt with at a later date. This is also a warning. You guys, don’t believe the arrogant words of monsters, lest you ruin the law.”
As soon as this statement came out, the crowd went cold, and no one responded. This made the little official very dissatisfied and turned towards the horse army.
Just hearing the sound of the sword coming out of its sheath quickly behind the back made the people's legs weak with fear, and they shouted repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I just follow the order of the government..."
"Okay, okay!" The junior official clapped his hands happily, "Then I will read out the notice to make you and the common people remember to abide by the laws and regulations: 'The sinner Song Deyuan, because he keeps a retainer privately, brings his cronies, and communicates with others. He uses tricks to confuse people's minds and talks about current affairs, causing good people to behave badly without restraint for a long time. Now he will be held accountable for several crimes, and he will tell the people of the city that anyone who colludes with the academy will be executed without mercy!'"
He raised his head coldly: "Do you hear me clearly?"
The common people again saw the fierce looks in the eyes of the Yue soldiers, so they had no choice but to say yes and did not dare to have second thoughts: "The common people understand and understand what the official meant."
"Retract the troops." The leading officer immediately threw two words out of his mouth. All the horse soldiers followed the instructions, sheathed their swords, held down the horse bridles, listened to a few neighs, and left only one The smoke and dust billowing from the ground, and the fearful crowd - order was probably formed in that simple way.
The pillar force behind it suddenly collapsed, and Zhenjiang returned to its original state. The farmers were still struggling to make ends meet, while the people in the city relied on hard labor to survive, looking up to a few drops of favor from the government. As for the gentlemen, you were worried about the strength of the academy the day before yesterday, but today you are immersed in joy. As predicted by the Mainland Party, the wealthy people all came forward to draw a clear line with the college and supported the closure of the college. It was quiet and peaceful wherever I went, but the wailing underground was covered by the noise on the surface day after day. The hot weather gradually became colder, and it was terrifyingly cold.
The iron-clad order has not yet dragged Nanjing into the abyss. Wei Huai was still delighted with the flourishing academy, with the New Deal plans in his mind as he leisurely swayed back and forth on the recliner.
"Mr. Wei." Xia Yuanlong didn't have time to say hello, but rushed up from behind him, "Letter from Zhenjiang." He frowned tightly.
"You," Wei Huai stood up with his crutches, "Whenever it comes to official matters in the academy, you never smile."
"We are prepared for danger when we are in peace," Xia Yuanlong had no time to joke with him, "As an alliance leader, you'd better not be so frivolous."
Seeing how serious he was, Wei Huai was a little worried: "What's wrong with Zhenjiang? Tell me quickly!"
"Yesterday, people there reported that Dean Song was arrested, and the people in the academy were lured out, thrown into prison, and tortured. What's more serious is that for the first time, the government claimed that the academy is illegal."
Wei Huai tilted his head and looked at him in confusion: "I opened the academy, and all the princes and counties supported it. How can he just break the law when he says it's illegal in Zhenjiang?"
"So, the people in the alliance unanimously said that we must find ways to rescue Dean Song and his colleagues. After all, we have sufficient reasons," Xia Yuanlong explained, "Now everyone in Zhenjiang is in danger, and the people have no place to speak. , I’m afraid the Ji Tian Hui Zheng that the academy advised has come to an end. This is not only for the future of the academy, but also for the people who are trapped in the fire and water."
Wei Huai was about to blurt out the word 'yes' out of his inner enthusiasm, but was held back by his hesitation.
"No, the Wan Party is getting along with us now. If we continue to argue with them, the upcoming New Deal may be dead. This is a good opportunity for us to show our strength. If we want to keep talking on paper, the people will lose confidence in us. "
"Wei Jimin, you still want to compromise, Zhu Che has learned from the past!" Xia Yuanlong slammed the table, opened his eyes wide with anger, and yelled.
"Can this be the same thing as compromise? Do you think I don't want to save them!" Seeing him getting angry, Wei Huai became annoyed in his heart, and the crutch in his hand almost burst into flames.
"Then hurry up and save them. Don't argue here. Come up with a harmonious solution! I tell you, the academy will fight to the end. If you take one step back, you can take ten thousand steps back! No matter who is in the position of dean , this is an unchangeable law!" After saying that, Xia Yuanlong stepped out of the house and never looked back.
Wei Huai still wanted to have a clear quarrel with him, but there was no one in front of him today, but he was scolded for no reason. He was so depressed that he couldn't express it anymore. He tried to squeeze some ideas out of his empty mind, but he still came up empty. He had no choice but to smash his crutch against the table leg to relieve his irritation.
