A thrill of fear!
Su Chen sat on the horse, looking through the windy and snowy night, and the uneasiness in his heart grew stronger.
This feeling……
Could it be that something happened to the eldest brother?
"Longevity."
On one side, Dong Zhuo thought that Su Chen tilted his head because he couldn't bear the killing of these prisoners. He took a bite of the mutton and chewed it hard in his mouth: "The reason why Dong did this was to train a group of tigers and wolves, who would die in the face of blood." Only when you are excited and do not retreat when ordered to do so can you be a good soldier!"
There are thousands of people guarding the Yanshan Racecourse, including 500 soldiers. The rest are herders of horses and cattle and sheep, but they also carry weapons. 800 Xiliang soldiers traveled across the mountains and ridges, running long distances, relying on the snow and night as cover. , under daily brutal training, he endured the coldest time in the middle of the night to attack the sleeping horse farm soldiers, killing the soldiers guarding them, and then turned around to clean up the shepherds.
"These prisoners cannot be kept. They have seen us and were later interrogated by the court. Their appearance, accent, and clothing are all extremely unfavorable to us."
Dong Zhuo was still talking, and Su Chen, who was next to him, turned his head and came back, urging his horse to pass Dong Zhuo, with cold eyes: "Everyone obeys the order, kill the prisoners, slaughter the cattle and sheep, pick the meat and bag it, and take away the qualified war horses here!"
Originally, he planned to take away the cattle and sheep, and then bring all the horses back, but now Su Chen felt something might have happened and didn't want to delay.
In response to this order, the Xiliang soldiers sped up, and the second batch of twenty prisoners were pushed up. A group of prisoners cried and begged, and some prisoners knelt on the ground and struggled and cursed: "This is your majesty's horse farm, Yanshan Iron Cavalry." Sooner or later I will crush you!"
Amidst the curses, the heads of these prisoners were chopped off and piled into small piles.
Soon, the horses for next year were brought out from the ranch. There were more than 500 horses, and 500 people were selected to get on the horses. More than 20 female relatives in the house also dragged the horses on their backs in front of them with the Xiliang soldiers noisily.
They were not very good at riding horses, so they had to take more than 20 women with them, and they had to go a little slower. After leaving the pasture, they still returned the same way they came.
"But what happened?" Dong Zhuo urged his horse to catch up with Su Chen.
"I feel more and more uneasy. I feel like something big is about to happen. Let's go back to Ding'an City first."
It was impossible for Su Chen to say that he had a premonition that something had happened to his eldest brother, so he could only find a vague excuse, and then he and Dong Zhuo followed the cavalry in front. Behind them were more than 200 people walking on foot with the wounded and some beef and mutton, which was relatively slow. On many.
"Changsheng simply leads the soldiers on horseback back to Ding'an City first, and then follows me on foot."
It was windy and snowy, and it was night again. Marching long distances on foot, carrying a large number of supplies and wounded people, was a huge physical exertion, and it was really not suitable for traveling for a long time.
Su Chen thought for a while, then accepted Dong Zhuo's proposal, and immediately rode up to catch up with the cavalry in front.
"Speed up, let's leave first."
Yanshan Ranch is located in the northwest of Rongzhou and borders the grassland. It is more than two hundred miles away from Yunqi County to the east, and even further to Ding'an City in the south, which takes almost five days.
At this time of night, troops and horses in Yanjing, the capital city, were mobilizing frequently, and the palace was brightly lit. It was already the fourth watch, and the emperor was still in the study with no intention of sleeping.
He looked at the "General's Night Banquet" unfolded by the two eunuchs and carefully examined every character's face and clothing, probably trying to see something from it.
Outside, a eunuch's voice sounded: "Your Majesty, Master Xiao is back."
"Let him in."
Kitamiya straightened up and waved his hands. The two eunuchs rolled up the painting wisely, put it into a sleeve, and brought it to the back hall. Here, the door opened, and an old man in black robes came in and raised his hands to the emperor behind the desk above.
"My lord, Xiao Wenbi pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Where are the people?"
"Your Majesty, someone... someone is dead. When I arrived, I had been hacked several times by everyone, and he himself raised the dagger to kill himself." Xiao Wenbi sighed, turned slightly sideways, and walked along the stone outside the door. After going down the steps, a carriage stopped outside. A body wearing a white brocade robe was lying on the thatch. The robe was soaked red with blood. The neck was cut open to reveal the severed blood vessels and throats inside, and there were three other things on the face. Bone incisions can be seen deep down the road, and there are also obvious holes poked by spears in the chest, abdomen, and legs.
The emperor stood at the door of the study and stared in silence for a while. He walked down the stone steps and came to the side of the carriage. Looking at the body on it, he could vaguely see the outline of the prince of Ding'an.
Suddenly, Kitamiya lifted the palm of the corpse, rubbed the palm and the tiger's mouth, and then turned around and returned to the eaves without saying a word.
"Draw up the decree!"
The emperor slowly turned around and glanced at the body on the carriage again. His voice was cold: "Su Yong, the prince of Ding'an Marquis, cheated on the king and deceived the king. He intended to resist. He would rather die than regret. Today Su Yong will commit suicide. The crime still exists: Su Congfang, the Marquis of Ding'an, failed to teach his children well, evil cults were rampant under his rule, and he was guilty of dereliction of duty. He was deprived of the title of Marquis and his whole family was escorted to the capital to await their fate!"
"His Majesty!"
Xiao Wenbi hurriedly stepped forward and said, "There is something wrong with this edict. Su Yong is dead and his crime should be expunged. If the Marquis of Ding'an is implicated at this time, the princes in the capital will be panicked and the princes in the various states are afraid of thinking too much. Your Majesty, this is intentional." What's more, according to the laws of Yan, the crime of deceiving the emperor is nothing more than ransacking the house."
The emperor who turned around looked straight at his master and Taishi, and then said 'hmm'.
"What the Grand Master said makes sense, but I am too impatient, so I will change the following to: In memory of my ancestors who fought for the country and worked hard and achieved great results, but then people were stupid and slow. Today, they have abandoned their hereditary duties, deprived them of their position as marquis, and confiscated their family property. The Su family is not allowed to live in Ding'an City and will move out of the Marquis' Mansion within two days of receiving the order!"
"This is my decree. Write it down carefully and send it to Zhongshu Province. I will prepare the edict overnight and send it to Ding'an City in Rongzhou to inform all states!"
"Let one of the commanders of the imperial city, Fei Zhong, lead five thousand imperial city soldiers and one thousand Yanshan cavalry to accompany him. Tang Huaiyuan, the governor of Rongzhou, will also lead his troops. By the way, just in case, I will send two more first-grade masters to go forward. Go, if there is stubborn resistance, shoot without mercy!"
Xiao Wenbi looked at the back figure who turned and walked into the study, his eyes swayed, he raised his hand slightly, and the soldiers behind him pulled away the carriage and the corpse in the carriage. The eunuch who recorded it turned around and ran away, conveying this edict to Zhongshu Province. A group of officials, including Zhongshu Ling and Zhongshu Shilang, who had been sleeping, drove back to the official office overnight, until the sky became dim and bright, and the corrected edict came from The fast horses go first, followed by the notice and written instructions, followed closely by another group of fast horses out of the capital.
At the same time, the documents of the notice and the soldiers and horses of the imperial city followed them out of Yanjing. The documents they carried were read out along the way. It was already the morning of the third day when they arrived in Rongzhou. Tang Huaiyuan was shocked and speechless when he heard the news. He and Rong Zhou The two princes of the state, Su and Wu, had a good relationship with each other. He also knew Su Yong's character well, how could such a gentle and kind person do such a thing.
But the edict had arrived, so he could only accept the emperor's decree, accompany the reading envoy from Yanjing, and the imperial soldiers and horses to Ding'an City to read the edict.
The news that the Su family had been deposed as marquises, eliminated hereditary officials, and even wanted to confiscate their homes, was like a sudden thunder, resounding throughout Rongzhou.
On the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month, when Fang Wenye heard the news, he was having dinner with his family at home, and his granddaughter Fang Xuejun was also there. For a moment, everyone in the Fang family was stunned, and then they sent people to the government to inquire and got the news. After proving the evidence, the old man called everyone to the atrium hall.
"The Su family is finished."
"What should we do? Will it affect our Fang family? You must know that Xue Jun and Su Chen still have an engagement!"
"It shouldn't affect us, but if the Su family loses its power, why should we have an in-law relationship with them!"
"How about breaking off the engagement?"
There were members of Fang's family in the hall who said this difficult thing to say, but it was also what everyone was thinking. It was not because they were afraid of being implicated in the crime, but because they were afraid that the emperor would vent his anger on the Fang family.
"Then..." Fang Wenye pursed his lips and nodded with some difficulty: "Then so be it."
"I disagree!"
Among the Fang family members sitting in rows below, a woman's voice suddenly rang out. Fang Xuejun ignored the pull of her father beside her and said, "Why do you decide my marriage? When you flatter others, you want to put your face on them. , now that the engagement has been agreed, and you despise the decline of the Su family, you want to withdraw the engagement. You are not ashamed, but I am!"
"Xuejun, this is what the adults are discussing. You are a woman..." The person in the second room stood up. Before he could finish speaking, Fangxuejun held up a chair with one hand and threw it at him.
The man was hit so hard his head was covered in blood.
"Since I have decided to marry the Su family, it is my own business and has nothing to do with you!"
Fang Xuejun pushed away her cousin who came to pull her, turned around, and strode out. Leaving behind a group of red-faced homeowners, Fang Wenye squeezed the armrest tightly, and the veins on his forehead were pulsing.
…
Su Chen, who had entered the territory of Ding'an City that afternoon, also learned about this from the businessmen who passed by. The moment he heard that his brother was dead and ransacked the house, he became indifferent, and the hand pressing the hilt of the sword became cold. Shivering slightly.
The deputy general of the Xiliang Army on the side urged his horse to approach: "What will the young marquis do next?"
"Take your troops and horses back to settle down. Don't leave the mountain without orders. By the way, send a fast horse to inform General Dong behind. Just do what I just said."
Su Chen looked at the other party and saw the five hundred cavalrymen taking action, turning around and running towards the mountains. He just grabbed the horse's belly and galloped towards Ding'an City. When he came to the city gate, the guarding soldiers saw him. They all couldn't bear it and shouted: "Little Marquis, please take care of yourself."
Su Chen nodded to them, dismounted and walked into the city gate holding the reins. People were coming and going on the street. Some people who looked familiar to Su Chen silently raised their hands. One of them said: "Little Marquis, we don't believe that the prince is like that." People!" As soon as he finished speaking, he was blasted away by a group of patrol soldiers whom he had never seen before.
When they saw Su Chen, one of them stepped forward and took the horse from Su Chen's hand, "Mr. Su, this horse also belongs to the Marquis's property, and will be taken away, as well as the sword on your waist."
Su Chen just nodded in agreement and did not embarrass these soldiers from Yanjing. He took off the sword from his waist and handed it to them.
Then, we walked towards the familiar streets.
