Chapter 391: Heart of a Wolf and Lung of a Dog

Xu Qi and Liu Rong’s shock was palpable.

They suffered so much by holding on for dear life and not confessing.

But where did it occur to me that the rightful owner had been easily captured by the Brocade Guards.

And now, this person has become a prisoner, so …… everything is finished.

Zhu Di does not need to ask for clarification of the person who was captured, in fact, only look at Xu Qi and Yang Rong’s reaction, will already know, in front of the eyes of this unimpressive old man, must be the real culprits behind the scene undoubtedly.

His eyes are full of suspicion, apparently also can not imagine, in front of this dying man, can be manipulated behind the scenes, and even almost put him the emperor to death.

Zhu Di’s eyes wandered and his mouth called out, “Who is it?”

Although the old man looked wretched, his face still carried a subdued look as he sighed, “Ai, I never thought that there would be today.”

He then smiled again and said, “Although the great power has gone, it can be seen that the time is also luck, it is not that we are not expert, it is really that the fate of heaven is not in me.”

Zhu Di laughed coldly: “District an old Confucian, also dare to talk about the fate of heaven?”

The old man was speechless.

Zhu Di said, “I’ll ask you once more, er who.”

The old man, however, looked left and right, “I just want to know why I was captured?”

A man can fail, but someone as noble and conceited as the old man must wish to know why he was captured.

He said slowly, “Is it Xu Qi and Liu Rong?”

He glanced breezily at Xu Qi and Liu Rong.

The two gritted their teeth and just froze without saying anything.

Just by looking at the faces of the two, he seemed to notice something and added, “Could it be those friends?”

The so-called friends he mentioned were the county minister and the Confucian scholar who had received him.

Quickly, though, he vetoed it again.

Because these two people, see the brocade guards to kill, they fight to the death to resist, and now they are dead.

The old man’s face wore a look of suspicion, he obviously couldn’t understand this.

Finally, he looked at Zhu Di and said, “If Your Majesty wants to know the truth, then please also give the information, if not, Your Majesty will not be able to get the real answer.”

Zhu Di was instead calm and relaxed at the moment, he smiled and looked at Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi said, “To take you, hand to hand, there is no need to spend any energy at all.”

The old man’s eyes looked toward Zhang Anshi, “This one, is the famous Zhang Anshi?”

Zhang Anshi said, “You know me too?”

“Of course I know.” The old man actually did not show an indignant look as he sized up Zhang Anshi while saying, “I just did not expect to be this young and truly have the style of Deng Tong.”

Deng Tong was a favorite minister of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and he was extremely favored by Emperor Wen at a young age ……

Of course, in the Confucian discourse, this is a traitorous minister.

Zhang Anshi, however, only laughed, “You still want to show off your tongue even now?”

The old man shook his head and said, “The words from the bottom of your heart only, you said that you take me easily, the old man would like to know, how easy it is.”

Zhang Anshi said, “You’re such a cunning fox-like person who thinks he’s smart, but in reality, he’s arrogant.”

The old man didn’t say anything, and looked as if he was patiently waiting for what was to come.

Zhu Di, however, looked at Zhang Anshi with a surprised face, and this old man, if he is an old fox, then …… Zhang Anshi can hold him so quickly.

Isn’t this Zhang Qing a first-class fox?

He also desperately wanted to know how Zhang Anshi did it.

Only Zhang Anshi continued, “And it is easiest to deal with arrogant people.”

Zhang Anshi paused and continued, “I first ordered my men to guard the various crossings and ferries, and had my men set up defenses on the various official roads, do you really think that I wanted to capture you with this?”

The old man sighed as he seemed to begin to wake up to something.

“But the truth is, I’m just borrowing these to make your escape more difficult.”

“Now the soldiers have blocked all the major roads, you want to escape, relying on yourself is no longer possible, then it is inevitable that you need to create another strange path. But to create another strange path, it means, you need to use your relationship.”

The old man chuckled, “You mean the more people the old man moves, the more broken he will be?”

Zhang Anshi slightly raised his chin and said: ”Of course it is! One thing, one person two people do, can do to keep their mouths shut, but involves seven or eight, or even ten or dozens of people, the more people involved, then the bigger the cracks, the probability of news circulating out will certainly be higher.”

The old man frowned gently, “But as far as I know, the old man only asked two people to go away this time.”

Zhang Anshi laughed out loud, his eyes filled with sarcasm and ridicule.

The old man looked at him in disbelief and said, “What are you laughing at?”

Zhang Anshi laughed, “That’s why I called you arrogant, and that’s why you were captured.”

The old man looked at him in confusion.

Zhang Anshi said, “Men, invite him in.”

This inexplicable remark of Zhang Anshi’s was even more suspicious.

But at this moment, a man came in tremblingly and bowed his head, “See …… see ……”

He obviously hadn’t seen a big scene before, so his whole body was extremely uncomfortable, and he couldn’t even speak properly.

The crowd looked toward the man.

Zhang Anshi gently said to this man, “There is no need to be afraid, and His Majesty will not blame you, just get up.”

Zhu nodded back.

It was only then that the man carefully stood up.

Zhang Anshi pointed his finger at the man and said to the old man, “Do you recognize this man?”

The old man had a suspicious look on his face, but he eventually shook his head.

“Of course you don’t recognize it, but you must not know that the person responsible for your escape is this man!”

The old man’s color changed violently.

Zhang Anshi then said, “In the eyes of your sophisticated people, your plan is naturally seamless, and can even be said to be perfect. However, your problem lies in the fact that you think that the people who are familiar with your plan are only a few, but you have never thought that the people who are really planning for you are not human beings at all in your eyes.”

“This person in front of me is precisely that Confucian scholar’s household servant. That Confucian scholar indeed holds you in the highest regard, and knowing that you are going to flee, he naturally tries to meet you by all means. He lives in the Plum Ridge, and is more than familiar with the place, and with his assistance, this matter is indeed twice the effort with half the effort.”

Speaking here, Zhang Anshi had a mocking look on his face as he looked at him and continued, “But have you ever thought about where your power originates from? You don’t really think that your power comes from yourselves, do you?”

The old man looked at Zhang Anshi dead in the face, and at this moment, he slowly began to understand something.

Zhang Anshi continued, “You think you can turn the clouds and rain, and count all the successes of your schemes on your own head, a self superior. But precisely forgot, really for your pawns, precisely these you usually as cattle and horses to drive the slave. So in your heart, the ones who are familiar with the plan are two, but in reality, the people who are really setting it up in it are dozens of people.”

“Do you still think that the Confucian scholar who received you would even take the trouble to arrange the boat, to prepare the wine and food, and even to support the boat for you personally? And personally give you an escort?”

The old man opened his eyes slightly and sighed, “A bad move, a bad move ……”

Zhang Anshi looked at him contemptuously and said, “What poor chess moves! It’s nothing more than stupidity and arrogance, so why bother pretending that you’re a hundred times worse?”

“You regard these slaves, as people to be driven by you from birth, thinking that they are nothing more than oxen and horses that will naturally be loyal to you, nothing more than the hands and feet that you hang on to, thinking that they can’t think, and that as long as you give orders, someone will naturally fulfill them, and this is the fundamental reason why you are taking your deaths today.”

The old man said, “What is there to say about being unfaithful to a slave?”

Zhang Anshi couldn’t help but laugh, it was for the sake of feeling that this person’s shamelessness, and said: ”How much money did you give them? What kind of food did you let them eat on a regular basis? What kind of treatment did you give them on a daily basis? I can see that you are full of food, delicious food, wives and concubines, living in gorgeous houses, wearing beautiful clothes, but you give people food that is cold, wearing coarse linen clothes, and you are still delusional, do they give you their lives?”

“If he refuses to give you this kind of person to sell his life, but you are so good to open your mouth what for the slave disloyal, this way, you this old dog and what is it? The court gave you such people courtesy, opened the Enke to let you become officials, high officials and generous pay, but you only like a mad dog to revolt, such virtue, really worse than a dog!”

“It is a dog, eat and drink enough, and still can wag his tail and beg for mercy. And you this old dog and Xu Qi and other people, all are not familiar with the dog just. For the slave is not loyal four words, it is not your turn to rebuke the slave, the real ungrateful person, precisely is your own.”

The old man closed his eyes and showed a sad color.

Of course, his grief, obviously not Zhang Anshi’s words poking at his heart hit him, for people like the old man, they are self-viewed as superior and different from others, naturally, they will not take themselves and lowly slaves to analogize.

They had their own set of moral standards and value system, how could they be ashamed just because of Zhang Anshi’s insults?

His grief, apparently did not expect that he was negligent, and fell into such a fate, by Zhang Anshi such as his own look down on the cool officials humiliated.

In a moment, the old man opened his eyes and said calmly, “But …… I want to ask, how did you find these slaves?”

Zhang Anshi hooked a smug smile and said, “They came to the door themselves.”

The old man remained perplexed.

Zhang Anshi then said: ”To solve this problem, it’s actually very simple, under normal circumstances, these slaves, being instructed by their house masters, even if they have the intention to file a lawsuit, they will definitely not succeed easily. After all, they have no insight, and being held hostage by the family head, it is difficult for them to make up their mind. So if you want to solve this problem, then you have to have the widest possible dissemination of the government’s instructions, overnight.”

The old man was slightly shocked and couldn t help but say, “How did …… it happen overnight?”

Zhang Anshi spat out three words, “Deliver the eggs.”

Elderly: “……”

Chu: “……”

Zhang Anshi said: ”This egg delivery, on the surface is a small favor, but in reality …… for the people, it is extremely attractive. If you memorize the official notice, you can receive eggs! Maybe in your eyes, this is just a joke. But for the ordinary people, is the most important thing. Thus, one spreads the word, ten spreads the word, and in just one night, it will be known to all.”

This means of giving away eggs may have been limited to a small spread in later times.

But in this day and age, it’s almost a descending blow; after all, it’s the first of its kind, and it’s creating a fervor that is unimaginable to those in high places.

That passion for collecting eggs will spread and spread like crazy, quickly spreading to any corner of the whole Nanchang Province.

Zhang Anshi continued, “Just this, it is enough to let people spread by word of mouth, and the content of the notice, is also very simple and catchy, only stating that …… one person is wanted as an accomplice of the stolen officials, this person is a Confucian scholar, his age is in the forties or above, he walks hurriedly, and does not dare to walk on the avenue and so on, the key information can be. In this way, it can ensure that, those who give you to open up the escape of the slaves can detect the difference, and report to the police.”

Elderly: “……”

The old man obviously didn’t expect it to be just that simple.

Just as the old man was still finding it hard to accept, he saw Zhang Anshi say again, “Do you know what the people of this world hate the most?”

“……”

“Stolen officials, and you are a cohort of stolen officials! These slaves, who have always been bullied by you, must have had a painful experience before they were reduced to slavery, and no one has done anything to redress their grievances; therefore, hearing of this matter, and perceiving that you have acted in secrecy, it is inevitable that some of them will be willing to report to the authorities.”

The old man laughed coldly: “Heh …… old man has always been innocent, the people he has befriended, even as Xu Qi’s generation, are mostly clean and self-respecting, two-sleeved clean, you and so on are just compelling fools ……”

Zhang Anshi laughed, but looked at the slave who had been standing by with his hands tied, “What is your name?”

The man stammered, “Little man Wang Fu, no, Zhou Fu.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Is it Wang Fu or Zhou Fu?”

This man said, “My original surname was Zhou, only later I became a servant and changed my family master’s surname to Wang.”

Zhang Anshi then said, “He said that he and the officials up and down this Buzhengzhi Division are all two-sleeved and clean, what do you think?”

“I dare not say anything, but …… but ……” Zhou Fu replied carefully, but still said, “But I feel that if it was in the time of the Great Ancestor and Gao Emperor was around, I’m only afraid that all of these people would have been killed to death.”

Zhang Anshi couldn’t help himself.

Zhu Di, on the other hand, had a sullen face, he was a bit surprised.

In fact, in Zhu Di’s opinion, the Taizu High Emperor’s reputation among the people is not good, after all, too harsh, often raise a big prison, implicating hundreds of thousands of people.

And yet I didn’t realize that there seemed to be another side to it in the eyes of those who had it.

Zhang Anshi continued, “He said that you were unfaithful as a slave, but is that true?”

This Zhou Fu was too scared to speak, but he also seemed to feel that he was somewhat unfavorable to his family head.

Zhang Anshi did not continue to delve into this statement and turned to say, “Why did you play on their whereabouts?”

“I …… I ……” Zhou Fu was scared and trembling, as if he was trying very hard to say, “I am only thinking … . just thinking about these stolen officials, teaching us not to build the railroad ……”

Zhang Anshi lost his smile and said, “What has it got to do with you if this railroad succeeds or fails?”

“I’ve heard that the railroad was built right at Zhili, and that there will be good times when the railroad is built.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Who did you hear that from?”

“The villain …… villain’s fellow villager, he went to Zhili to work a few years ago …… said that he could eat three times a day, and he could have a meal of meat in three days.”

This Zhang Anshi and Zhou Fu asked a question and answered a question, but he heard the old man burst into a rage as he shouted, “Shameless.”

Zhang Anshi, however, laughed out loud and said, “When you hear that this man only thinks about being able to have three meals a day and one meal of meat in three days, you think that he is so despicable and shameless that he would sell out his own family head just for this, right?”

The old man sighed sadly: “Villain is a villain, since ancient times, chaste women do not serve two husbands, loyal ministers do not serve two masters, if you are bought by you heavy money, it would be fine, I really did not think that such villains, but only for this kind of small gains ……… ”

He had a pained look on his face.

Zhang Anshi laughed even colder: “If his family head, but really like what you say, charity, benevolence, even let this Zhou Fu can eat three times a day, three days can have a meal of meat, why would he be envious of Zhili? So in the end, the truly shameless people are precisely people like you! You are the one who teaches others to eat the chaff. The court levies so little tax, you will wail, but Zhou Fu such a person, but is looking forward to eat better, you immediately call people shameless,”

“A person like you speaks more beautifully than anyone else, but in reality, you are nothing more than a mad dog that only speaks beautiful words and is full of moralizing. Now that it has come to this, don’t worry, there are even more shameless things waiting for you next.”

The old man was furious, but he still wanted to say something, but Zhang Anshi said at this moment, “Such traitors, how can you still let him stand and talk?”

At this statement, the escorting lieutenant just realized, someone from this old man’s heel kicked hard, this old man ate the pain, snapped and fell to his knees, he cried out miserably.

Zhang Anshi turned a deaf ear to the miserable cries, but clasped his hands towards Zhu Di and said, “Your Majesty, I will not dishonor my mission, the man has been captured by the deadline.”

Zhu Di put his hands behind his back and stared at the old man, “I’ll ask for the last time, why are you a human being?”

The old man howled, although only being kicked in the face, but it seems like a cone of pain, grimacing, a long time, he said, “Despicable surname Wu.”

Zhang Anshi was still continuing to listen, but he also wanted to know the origin of this person.

But when Zhu Di heard it, he seemed to understand something at once.

He looked deeply at the old man and said, “Jiangyou Wu Clan?”

The old man closed his eyes, showing a saddened look, and said, “Yes, too.”

Zhu Di said, “I have never expected that the rebel would be someone like Er.”

The old man said with a cold face, “Successful kings and lords, defeated thieves! Now, there is nothing to say, only that the old man has never degraded the lintel of the family, and now that he has done his duty and died, heaven’s destiny is also.”

Zhu Di’s eyes showed a ferocious light, with anger, and said sternly: “The Great Ming can be said to be not thin to you, but I never thought that it would be so wolfish!”

The old man said, “If it is not thin, why did the Great Ancestor whip the world with torture. If it is not thin, and the implementation of the New Deal, to teach the people of the world, to such a life worse than death?”

He slightly raised his head, fearlessly looking at Zhu Di, his voice even more harsh: “This world, this is not your Zhu family’s world. Your father, but also Huaibei Buyi, is just a man who owns his own army and holds the world hostage, but he is also a man who looks after himself and calls himself an orphan!”

…………

Ask for a monthly ticket.