Outside Hengyang City, white soul-calling flags were spread out in the wind.
Paper money, crying and howling, all in silence.
The funeral of the deceased is an extremely ordinary thing.
However, this funeral procession did not go towards the outside of the city. Instead, it came from outside the city towards the inside.
There is no cemetery or graveyard in the city.
Carrying the coffin and walking towards the city in such a swagger, how could the guards guarding the city let the other party enter the city?
And the funeral procession, driven by the city defenders, not only did not leave, but stopped directly outside the city gate.
The morgue outside the city was so lively that it naturally attracted countless people to watch.
And the city gate was blocked for a while because of these onlookers.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way for those who are watching the excitement in front! Lord Zhou is here to administer justice!"
"King Zhou! It's really King Zhou!"
"Lord King Zhou!"
"Lord King Zhou!"
Zhu Rui, who was dressed in formal attire, was riding a tall horse and slowly driving towards this side with a group of personal guards.
With the appearance of Zhu Xi, the people who were watching spontaneously moved out of the way.
Looking at the guards with cold light flashing in their hands, their steps were almost uniform, and their eyes were filled with murderous intent.
There was no trace of panic in the eyes of the people around them, but instead, there was a hint of fanaticism in their eyes.
When these guards followed King Zhou to Hengyang City, they were indeed walking on the streets, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, keeping the people away.
After all, when these people first arrived in Hengyang City, they were rumored to be burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil, comparable to bandits.
However, as some wealthy and unkind people in Hengyang City were gradually purged, it gradually spread that no ordinary people were persecuted.
These personal guards around King Zhou were like the incarnations of their patron saints in the eyes of the people.
The people no longer feel that these personal guards with murderous faces are evil.
On the contrary, more of them feel that they are kind and give people a sense of security.
"How about everyone spread out first? The city gate is crowded, which is not conducive to travel. Everyone, please give me a face, Zhu Ju, and open a road for the time being. Let pedestrians pass. It is convenient for others and for yourself."
"Now, please give in in an orderly manner."
After Zhu Xi rode his horse to the city gate, he frowned slightly when he saw that the city entrance was almost blocked by onlookers.
When he looked at the funeral procession that stopped not far from the city gate, his expression became even more ugly.
Because what was written on the leader's coffin and the soul-calling flag were actually big words of injustice.
"You should first separate a few people to maintain order. Remember not to drive them away to avoid causing a stampede."
"As commanded."
After Zhu Ru opened his mouth to appease the surrounding people, his personal guards and city gate defenders began to direct the traffic in an orderly manner.
The surrounding people were also extra generous at this time. Following the orders of the garrison who commanded order, the traffic was quickly restored to normal again.
At this time, Zhu Rui also came to the funeral procession with his personal guards.
The leader was a young man who looked extremely fair.
He looked like he was only sixteen or seventeen years old.
However, the other party's eyes were particularly firm at this time.
After seeing the legendary Zhou King Zhu Ju approaching him, the young man was dressed in mourning clothes and holding a spiritual tablet in his hand.
Without any hesitation, he knelt down heavily in front of Zhu Zhu.
"Zhou Xin in white, pay homage to His Highness King Zhou!"
"Bai Yi? You are still a scholar."
When Zhu Zhu heard that the other party called himself Bai Yi, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
This white coat is a title given to scholars who have passed the examination and are qualified to take part in the imperial examination.
But seeing the other party's actions of leading the funeral into the city, Zhu Ju's face couldn't help but become more and more ugly.
"Since you are a scholar, you should know that bringing a funeral into the city is disturbing the order. Although this crime is not serious, it can still punish you with three years of hard labor!"
"As a scholar, how could you do such a stupid thing?"
"Also, on the day of the funeral, the deceased is the most important. How can you write the word "injustice" on the coffin and the soul-calling flag? Do you know that this is a great unfilial act?"
Zhu Xi's words were not loud, but they were filled with a sense of calmness and self-power.
After people listen to it, it is difficult to have the courage to look at him directly.
Such momentum made Chu Ze and Zhu Di, who were hidden in the crowd, couldn't help but nod.
Apart from anything else, Zhu Rui at least has a good command of his momentum.
"I really didn't realize before that the fifth child can still be so impressive. It's great. He looks like he is almost 30% as powerful as the elder brother."
"But... didn't you say that Lao Wu will make a big contribution to the whole society in the future? Now that he has become the city lord, will his contributions be gone in the future?"
Among the crowd, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Xi who was sitting on the horse with an extremely serious expression that made people dare not look directly at him.
He couldn't help but push Chu Ze beside him with his hand.
Chu Ze, who heard Zhu Di's question, smiled indifferently.
"His subsequent contributions mainly included rewriting most of the medical books, integrating and revising prescriptions, etc."
"But in my opinion, it is easy to train a doctor who can treat diseases and save people, but it is difficult to train a person who can discover and cure the world's diseases."
"Just like the King of Zhou today, if he is a doctor, he can cure ten people. However, if he is a person who dares to change political orders, create new policies, and implement new policies, then his new policies may be able to save lives in one go. Down thousands of people.”
"He who does not seek the world is not enough to seek peace for a place!"
"Okay. Maybe you are right. But let's just watch the fun first."
While Chu Ze and Zhu Di were talking, Zhu Ruren in front had already jumped off his horse.
And he led others to look at the funeral procession.
There are people of all ages, their faces are yellow, their clothes are in tatters, and the smell of wind and sand on their faces doesn't look like a temporary thing.
From their rough skin and somewhat cloudy eyes, it was obvious that these were people who had been working in agriculture all year round and had been exposed to the sun and wind.
"Remove all the words of injustice on the coffin and soul-calling flags for me! If there are grievances, I will naturally not cover them up. Those who complain are not guilty, but treating the dead like this is unfilial and disrespectful! This is not allowed!"
"Zhou Xin, right? You stay and explain to me clearly what happened. The others will continue with the funeral. The deceased is the most important and should be buried in peace!"
"Thank you so much, His Highness King Zhou! Folks, please take off the injustice flags and go to the funeral!"
After Zhou Xin heard Zhu Rui's words, he kowtowed to Zhu Rui with great gratitude, and then stood up to greet the funeral procession to return.
And he himself stayed where he was.
"This spiritual tablet in your hand?"
Zhu Rui looked at Zhou Xin, who was still holding the coffin, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
What is clearly written on this spiritual tablet is, the deceased: Zhao Sanjiu.
But now the person holding the spiritual throne is a young man named Zhou
This thing seems a bit complicated.
"Back to His Royal Highness King Zhou, the deceased was not a close relative of Zhou Xin. This person's name was Zhao Sanjiu. Zhou Xin's parents died in the war in his early years. He grew up eating the food of hundreds of families. Uncle Zhao had given charity to Zhou Xin many times to save his life! "
"Uncle Zhao has died unjustly, so Zhou Xin should sue him in white clothes!"
"No matter what the final result is, Zhou Xin is responsible for it! The folks who came here today were all inspired by Zhou Xin. I hope Your Highness will not take the blame! Life and death are all the responsibility of Zhou Xin alone!"
Zhu Ru looked at Zhou Xin who was about to kneel down again.
He couldn't help but smile slightly.
"You have an appetite for me! You dare to do what you say, incite the villagers, and bring out a funeral procession to block the city gate. That's right. You're here to complain. But that's not right. That's what you're doing. Looking for death."
"Do you know what I did in Hengyang City?"
"Know a thing or two!"
"How do you rate it?"
"Eliminate harm to the people, kill decisively, and do practical things, but at the same time, they are also things that offend people. If you were not the prince, you would probably have lost your life and death!"
When Zhu Xin heard Zhou Xin's comments, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Although Zhou Xin looks young, he quite likes his energy.
"Tell me, who do you want to sue?"
"Reporting to His Highness King Zhou, what Zhou Xin wants to sue is not one person, but a group and a religious tradition!"
"Zhou Xin wants to sue some people who, in the name of monks, take incense money from the people during the day, shouting about compassion and saving all sentient beings. But behind the scenes, they amass money wantonly and pay high interest rates to the people. The Buddhist scum who makes money by borrowing money!”
"My Uncle Zhao has no children, but he still fought with His Majesty against the veterans of the Northern Yuan Dynasty!"
"After he was injured and retired from the army, he became known as a good person in his hometown. Although he had no children, he supported dozens of orphans in the war."
"I, Zhou Xin, am one of them."
"In order to treat several of our brothers and sisters, Uncle Zhao had no choice but to borrow ten taels of silver from Wushan Temple in Hengyang City."
"And my Uncle Zhao is an honest man. Even if he eats less and wears less, he still pays back the money to the temple on time every month!"
"But now it has taken four years to repay. Uncle Zhao just learned a few days ago that he has repaid the temple a total of thirteen taels of silver in the past four years, but now he still owes the temple a hundred and seventy taels!"
"When he learned about this, Uncle Zhao had a quarrel with the other party in the temple. However, the other party took advantage of the large number of people and actually beat and humiliated my Uncle Zhao."
"Uncle Zhao was beaten unconscious by them and then thrown out of the temple. When he was discovered, he was already injured on the way home and he was already gone!"
"Your Highness, King Zhou, Zhou Xin knows that it is natural to repay debts! But if such things are taken advantage of and have no bottom line, after being given a name, they can take advantage of them without any scruples."
"Where is the law of justice in that day?"
(End of chapter)
