Chapter 444: Conflict with Confucians

Chapter 444: Conflict with Confucians

Chapter 444: Conflict with Confucians
One mile east of Jianchun Gate is the East Stone Bridge, which runs from north to south and was built in the first year of Taikang (280).

South of the bridge is the Horse Market, one of the three major markets in Luoyang. Because it is located in the east of the city, it is also called the East Market.

The horse market not only trades all kinds of livestock, but is also a place for executions.

Ji Kang, Xiahou Xuan, Wang Jing and others were all executed here.

On this day, Luoyang County brought the "drama thief" Wang Zhang to the Ma Shi execution ground.

When the prison van passed by, people gathered around to watch and cursed.

"You bastard, you deserve this day!"

"Give back my son's life!"

"It would be better if he was cut into pieces."

The people kept cursing, still not feeling satisfied, and some even threw tiles.

Wang Zhang did not dodge either. He looked ahead with lifeless eyes, hoping only to die quickly.

There were more than a dozen officers behind him, but their expressions were different.

Some people kill people like crazy, but when they are about to die, their faces turn pale and they tremble with fear.

Some were cruel and brutal, and even burst into tears when they saw they were about to be tortured.

Some people were mumbling something, but no one knew what they were saying.

They just survived until now.

Some of them had already died of illness in prison.

A high platform had been built above the Ma Shi execution ground, and Wang Yan was still chatting with others.

“If we could avoid war and keep the order, why would it have come to this?” Because Wang Zhang had a high status, Wang Yan personally supervised the execution, and there were seven or eight court officials around him, all listening silently.

"I have been trying my best to maintain this mess in Luoyang. I have been working diligently and fearing failure for ten years now."

"Quanzhong started from Yue Prefecture and was a master of military tactics. He conquered the east and the west and wiped out bandits one after another. If it weren't for him, Luoyang would have fallen long ago, and you would not have been able to sit still."

"I am requesting you to appoint me to an official position today, just to show my sympathy to the officers and soldiers and to boost their morale so that they can better serve the court."

"Some of you are from Hebei, where you have been trapped by the invaders for a long time, and your families have been damaged. If you want to return home in the future, you still need Quanzhong's help."

"There are also those who come from Guanzhong, Yanxu, and when the enemy is in full swing, people are in a panic. If the enemy attacks, won't Quanzhong lead his troops to resist? When the swords clash, thinking of the wounded, won't you feel pity?"

"It's just a few official positions, alas." At this point, Wang Yan sighed and said, "Tolerance is for the sake of the country, remember."

Wang Yan's words are well-reasoned and not just a substitution of concepts or nonsense.

The officials and nobles whose families lived in enemy-occupied areas felt this especially deeply.

Shi Le was certainly not a bandit. In fact, he was quite kind to the scholars in Hebei. He set up the "Gentlemen Camp" and lured them to serve as fake officials. But how could he not be affected at all during the war?
Furthermore, many people have not yet changed their mindset and look down on the Huns. They still want to drive them away and recover lost territory. After all, Luoyang had only been besieged many times but had not fallen, and the Huns had not been able to gain a foothold in Henan.

Based on this idea, if we want to recover Hebei and Bingzhou, we can only rely on Shao Xun, and we should not make things too difficult for him.

"I heard that Shao Quanzhong was greedy for money and lustful. He raped and threatened the women of the royal family and even committed many sexual and cruel acts. Could he really be the one who defeated the Huns?" someone asked with a worried look on his face.

"It's just slander. If that's the case, how can Quanzhong succeed?" Wang Yan retorted: "Did Zhang Fang succeed?"

The questioner was ashamed and kept silent, but he was still a little jealous in his heart.

Some Sima princes were arrogant and domineering in their daily lives, and many people disliked them and wanted to take revenge on them.

Whether the princesses are beautiful or not is one thing, but their high and mighty status makes people feel itchy. If they could pin one down and beat her up to their heart's content, it would be the ultimate happiness in life to vent the depression in their hearts.

"Shao Taibai is very measured in his actions, so I'm not worried." Another person said, "But the things he did may cause endless trouble. Once a warrior becomes domineering and doesn't take the rules seriously, it's hard to predict what will happen."

"When the world is in turmoil, can you really suppress the warriors?" Wang Yan asked in return: "Now that things have come to this, it is better to follow the trend and still be able to restrain this beast. If we just resist, can't they take it for themselves? By then, Shao Quanzhong will not be able to go against the will of the people. Once the beast is out of the cage, who can control it?"

The questioner was speechless.

Wang Taiwei meant that rules and laws are invisible and intangible, but they are still useful because they exist in people's hearts. If the warriors are forced to do things by themselves, there will be no rules at all.

Without the constraints of rules, the evil of human nature is unleashed. Can you bear it?

If we give it now, the court can still maintain some dignity and the rules will not be completely destroyed. It is the best choice out of helplessness.

"Shao Quanzhong comes from a family of soldiers. How does he view scholars?" someone else asked.

"Quanzhong is a wise man. He knows the good of scholars and cannot do without them." Wang Yan said, "His wife, Madam Yu, is the daughter of Yu Chen, the internal historian of Liang. His concubine, Lady Le, is the daughter of the former Shangshu Ling Le Guang. His concubine, Lady Lu, comes from a great family in Fanyang. There are many scholars from the three states of Yu, Yan and Xu in the shogunate. He is entrusted with important tasks and regarded as a pillar of support. There is no need to worry."

The questioner nodded silently.

Shao Xun made important use of the gentry in the local area.

The counties and kingdoms in Yuzhou were basically controlled by scholars, and many of them were even run by local powerful families who appointed their own officials and recruited their own soldiers, giving them full authority.

He also strongly supported Shangshu Ling Yu Min, and pushed Lu Zhi to the court as Shizhong, and the brother of concubine Le, Le Zhao, was appointed as Jieshizhong a few years ago...

From this point of view, he still values ​​scholars very much, and is not like Zhang Fang and Gou Xi, who have extremely tense relations with scholars. Perhaps, Wang Yifu is right. Shao Xun has no choice but to give them official positions and wealth.

Well, there might be a chance.

If Shao Xun can give wealth and honor to the generals, they can do the same.

"General..." The fourth person began to ask questions.

Wang Yan accepted all the arguments and won over all the scholars one by one, which made him very impressive.

Moreover, he did not use his special skill of "orpiment in the mouth" this time. There was no logical problem from beginning to end, and he won easily.

His skills are indeed profound.

Of course, fame also plays a role. Many people are intimidated by his dazzling halo and feel psychologically inferior to him. In such a situation, how can he win the debate?

But doubts also exist. Everyone is waiting and watching, and the matter is not over yet.

After the debate was over, Wang Zhang was taken to the execution ground.

Wang Yan stood up and looked at Wang Zhang who was forced to his knees by the soldiers, and sighed slightly.

"Wang Yifu?" Wang Zhang raised his head and called out.

"It is me." Wang Yan stood with his arms folded, looked at Wang Zhang and said, "In the past, you followed the King of Chengdu to Luoyang. At that time, you were full of vigor and wealth. Eight years have passed. Did you ever think that you would be like this today?"

Wang Zhang was from Taiyuan, but he was not from the Wang family of Taiyuan. He was a real Hun.

In the early years, when Sima Ying was still alive, Wang Zhang served as a military officer in the General's Office.

When he was in the government, he pointed out that Lu Ji was highly trusted by the King of Chengdu, which caused envy among the generals and officers in Hebei, and he was defeated by a weak enemy (the King of Changsha, Sima Yi). Later, he followed Liu Cong back to the north and served as the general of the central army of Liu Han.

Wang Zhang was very loyal to Liu Yuan and Liu Cong, and he also had experience as an official in the Central Plains. He was not that ignorant. Otherwise, he would not have risked his life to give advice to Liu Cong when he was watching fishermen in Fenshui.

What can be done? The world is like this, and his choice cannot be right or wrong. The winner takes all, and there is nothing much to say.

Wang Yan sighed, turned and left.

When the officials of Luoyang County saw that the general had left, they looked at the time and ordered the execution.

The executioner was a shrewd man. When he saw that the prisoner could actually talk to the general, he used all his skills and chopped off Wang Zhang's head with one blow, without causing him any more pain.

The people watching cheered.

Liu Han had besieged Luoyang several times, and there were many people who had grudges against the Xiongnu. If they caught a fake general of the central army, they would want to eat his flesh - well, this is the scope of business of a yamen clerk, it's not that it can't be bought and sold, just pay enough money.

Wang Yan looked at the crowd and sighed, "If the Xiongnu conquer Luoyang, how can we know that we will not end up like Wang Zhang?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Some truths may not be convincing enough if you just say them, but the scene of Wang Zhang being beheaded was so shocking.

Everyone's face looked unhappy, and some of their resolve was slowly shaken.

Yes, in such a chaotic world, what else can I say? Maybe this is fate.

If you have a bad fate and cannot live in a peaceful time like your ancestors and parents, you are destined to pay some price.

Now all they hope is to pay a lower price - unknowingly, their bottom line has been crossed, and the question has changed from whether to pay a price to how much to pay.

After the execution, Wang Yan returned to the city on an ox cart.

There is also a banquet tonight, and many scholars are invited to attend.

It was not stated explicitly what it was, but it was inevitable to eliminate the negative impact on the son-in-law - no, Shao Quanzhong.

He would tell fortunes in public to increase his persuasiveness.

In addition, necessary comfort still needs to be given.

Give some benefits to shut some people up, such as commenting on their nephews.

In addition, the operation of some official positions is also very time-consuming, and it consumes the favors and face he has accumulated over decades.

Whenever he thought of this, he couldn't hold back.

I became famous at a young age, but I never thought that one day I would have to clean up the mess for a man who was born a soldier in the army? Moreover, I spent a lot of money, wasted favors, and was even ridiculed in secret.

Sometimes, he didn't want to be an official anymore, he felt suffocated.

But it's just a thought.

As Shao Xun became more and more powerful, he had more and more thoughts in his mind.

How can I let this person know the huge contribution I have made?

(End of this chapter)