Qin Gong

Chapter 715: The despair of the nobles of Qi! Lifelong regret!

Chapter 715: The despair of the nobles of Qi! Lifelong regret!

In the city of Linzi, there are shops on both sides of the bustling streets. A wide variety of goods are displayed on the stalls. There are crowds of pedestrians and people of all kinds walking around. They are picking and choosing, bargaining with the vendors. Occasionally, there are shouting and cursing sounds. Basically, you can see women arguing or men cursing the vendors for being black-hearted and selling too expensive goods.

The figures of people running for their lives are intertwined with laughter, hawking, and the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the cobblestone road. In sharp contrast are the restaurants along the street. Looking towards the gate, there is a constant stream of guests coming and going. When passing by, you can vaguely see women holding cups and chatting with male guests in the restaurant. The aroma of the wine wafts out from the door, making people stop. Occasionally, when a down-and-out man in cloth sees the fair-skinned woman in the restaurant, his eyes are filled with yearning and envy, and then helplessness.

And on this day.

The sound of hurried footsteps suddenly disrupted everything. The people on the street looked in the direction of the sound, and what came into their sight were countless Qin soldiers. When they saw those Qin soldiers holding long spears and sharp swords, everyone was instinctively frightened.

No one knew what was going on, but everyone knew that the arrival of the Qin army was probably not going to be a good thing.

After a while.

Throughout the city of Linzi, under the panicked gazes of countless people, one by one the Qin army generals on horseback, each leading their Qin soldiers, arrived in front of the gates of one mansion after another.

"Open the door! Open the door!!!"

There was a loud knock on the door, and then the door opened and a cursing servant appeared inside.

"Whoever dares to act wildly here will die..."

The servant hadn't finished speaking when he saw that the person knocking on the door was a Qin soldier, and when he saw that the people outside the door were all Qin soldiers, the servant was completely stunned and retreated away at a loss, and then he didn't dare to say another word.

"My Lords, this is..."

When the servant saw the Qin soldiers entering the mansion one after another, he came to his senses and dared to ask a question. However, seeing that no Qin soldier paid attention to him, the servant did not dare to stop them.

After a while.

Amid the screams, all the figures in the mansion were led into the yard by Qin soldiers holding weapons.

"Sir, I am Gongsun. I have often drunk and talked with the county lieutenant and the county governor before, and I never dared to commit any crime. I wonder why you gentlemen came here today?"

After the elderly man was brought to the yard, he, surrounded by several men in their forties, stepped forward to ask questions of the Qin general who was holding the bamboo slips and reading them.

The intention of these words was undoubtedly to tell the general why they were arrested. They had friendships with the county lieutenant and the county magistrate, especially the county lieutenant. If he did not give an explanation, they would definitely go to the county lieutenant to seek justice in the future.

"What happened?"

"I do not know!!!"

In the yard, noisy sounds were heard one after another. In addition to a dozen men, there were nearly thirty women who kept talking, some of whom had children with them.

Under normal circumstances, if anyone dared to treat them like this, they would definitely not let it go. However, when they saw the Qin soldiers holding weapons, they were instinctively afraid.

"According to the king's order, all of you must move your entire clan to Guanzhong! There are still three people missing from the household registration. Send your servants to find them immediately, otherwise you will all be treated as deserters, and you will all be implicated and become prisoners!"

The Qin general explained, holding up a bamboo slip with one hand, indicating that there was a list of names on it.

"Ah! What? Heading to Guanzhong?"

"Why? We are not from the noble families of Chu, Wei and Yan!"

"Yes! Our ancestors were from Qi, why did we move to Guanzhong?"

Hearing the words of the Qin general, the men, women, old and young gathered in the yard were all in an uproar, talking non-stop, with confusion in their words.

However, all the women and men saw clearly that as the general spoke, some Qin soldiers looked over with a hint of "desire" in their eyes. This scene made everyone shudder. Anyone with a brain knew what this look meant. These Qin soldiers were expecting them to become prisoners.

"Sir, we are not the old clans of Chu, Wei and Yan. In the past, Lord Wu Lie promised that the nobles of Qi would not move to Qin. Why now?"

The old man in the lead also looked a little confused, then frowned and looked at the Qin army general.

In the past, in Shui Village outside Linzi City, although King Wu Lie met privately with Xu, Zhan, Lu and others, this matter had already spread to various cities in Qi. After the demise of Qi, all the people in Qi knew about it.

Why would the Qin army appear now and ask them to move to Guanzhong?

"Lord Wu Lie has already left Linzi. This matter is not Lord Wu Lie's responsibility. If Lord Wu Lie has made a promise with you, you can go see Lord Wu Lie. If you don't want to go to Guanzhong, this matter still needs Lord Wu Lie to obey the king. I am just following orders!"

When the Qin army generals heard the old man talking about Wu Liejun, their eyes became kinder. In the military camp, facing the county governors and county lieutenants from all over the place, the generals might still be a little arrogant. After all, the county governors and county lieutenants govern the officials, and few people can get involved in the affairs of the military camp.

But when it comes to Wu Liejun, the Qin army generals dare not neglect him, because the latter has prestige both in the military camp and in the county seat.

And as a general personally, as a man who goes in and out of the battlefield, he admires Wu Liejun more than anyone else in the world.

"Ah! This..."

When the old man heard the general's words, which were correct, he immediately looked embarrassed and uncomfortable.

Talk to Wu Liejun!

Everyone knows that Wu Liejun has left Linzi and has probably returned to Xianyang. What should they say now? If they wait until they get to Guanzhong to tell Wu Liejun, it will be too late!

"Someone, take him out of the city!"

Seeing the old man looking embarrassed and the other men looking at each other in bewilderment, the Qin army general gave the order with a cold face and without hesitation.

"Remember, if the other three members of your clan are missing tomorrow, they will become fugitives and you will all be held responsible!"

Looking at the frightened and panicked women, children, the elderly and the young, the Qin army general gave another reminder before turning around and leaving, and then walked out of the mansion.

at the same time.

In other places in Linzi City, along countless streets large and small, and in mansions, Qin soldiers kept escorting richly dressed nobles out.

"Look! Hiss, what's going on?"

"I don't know! There are people being arrested everywhere in other places!"

"I heard that King Ying Zheng of Qin wants to relocate all the noble families in Qi to Guanzhong..."

In Linzi city, among the countless onlookers, there was an endless stream of discussions. Amid the countless pointing and criticizing, all the nobles felt unprecedented discomfort, even humiliation.

They have always been rich and powerful, and have never been looked at and pointed at like this by ordinary people. At this moment, they saw countless faces on the streets along the way, looking at them and talking about them, wishing they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

"Lord Wu Lie has a promise not to relocate the people of Qi! Lord Wu Lie has a promise not to relocate the people of Qi!!!"

On the street, the closer to the city gate, the more nobles were arrested. As the densely packed nobles gathered together, the sounds of crying and shouting naturally continued. After all, no one wanted to leave the hometown where they grew up and go to the distant Guanzhong.

"Lord Wu Lie has said that he will not relocate the people of Qi away from their homeland!!!"

The shouting not only made the Qin soldiers guarding along the way frown, but also many Qin generals were not much better.

At this time, the people from the old clans of Chu, Wei and Yan who were also escorted were already disheartened. They had already expected this situation, so they were just disappointed. However, when they saw the people from the old clans of Qi looking so grief-stricken and angry, many of them couldn't help but smile in their despair.

Although Guanzhong is thousands of miles away, having these Qi nobles accompanying me along the way is actually a mixture of joy and hardship!

It is said that human nature is that if one's own life is not good, one cannot stand seeing others doing better than oneself, especially when one sees people who are at odds with oneself living better than oneself, it is more painful than killing oneself.

"Stop shouting! Wasn't it you, the old Qi clan, who designed to drive away Lord Wu Lie? I heard that you spent a lot of effort to drive away Lord Wu Lie!"

Several men dressed in Chu and Wei costumes walked in the crowd and spoke to the men wearing Qi silk clothes.

The words fell.

Not to mention the others who were wearing Chu and Wei costumes, even many of those who were wearing Yan costumes couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Say one more word!"

"Hit him!"

They were in a bad mood, and enemies would always be jealous of each other when they met. The young men who had a grudge against each other were already resentful, and now they heard their former enemies laughing at them, which was really unbearable. They were so angry that their hair stood on end, and without saying a word, more than ten people rolled up their sleeves and started fighting.

Soon one person helped another, and within a few breaths, the fight had grown to a scale of thirty or forty people.

Countless people in Qi saw this scene, and before they could say anything, they saw that in an instant, many Qin soldiers holding swords stepped forward from the crowd, stopped the fight without hesitation, and pressed all the fighters to the ground.

Several young men were so angry that they lost their minds and fought desperately, determined to beat the other party to death. However, after they finally broke free from the Qin soldiers' pressure, they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their abdomen, followed by a chill that instantly filled their bodies, draining all their strength.

In an instant.

With the slight noise of one person falling to the ground.

The entire street fell silent as countless people watched in horror. Whether it was the escorted nobles, men, women, young or old, or the young man who had just been fighting, all were silent.

The young men who were pressed to the ground by the Qin soldiers, no matter whether they were wearing Chu, Wei, Yan or Qi costumes, all had their pupils wide open, looking at those who fell in a pool of blood with fear.

They turned their eyes in a daze, and when they saw the Qin soldiers drawing their bloody swords and looking at the corpses with a calm expression, for the first time, these young men who were born into aristocratic families and were arrogant and domineering in the past finally became afraid from the bottom of their hearts.

Fear fills the mind of every young man.

Amid the terrified cries of several women, everyone, all the common people saw a Qin army general step forward, look at the aristocratic disciples who were suppressed, and without hesitation give the order to drag them outside the city gate and execute them according to Qin law for the crime of gathering a crowd to fight privately!

"grown ups!!!"

"Your Excellency, you can't do that! Your Excellency!!!"

The words of the Qin army general undoubtedly made the people around them boil with excitement. No matter they were old or strong, or women, they all knelt on the ground.

If a few people were killed by the Qin army, everyone would accept it looking at the Qin soldiers around them. After all, not all the dead were their own people. As long as the other descendants were fine, there would be no need to worry in the future.

However, at this moment, this Qin general wanted to order the execution of all those who fought. This would directly kill off their descendants, leaving only a few alive! What's more, all the descendants had just participated in the fight. Wouldn't it be the end of their descendants if they were all killed?

No descendants!!!

Who can remain calm? Who has the nerve to meet their ancestors after death?

"Qin law stipulates that anyone who gathers a crowd to fight privately will be put to death, no matter who they are! Anyone who dares to stop them will be killed without mercy!"

The Qin general looked around, put one hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, shouted loudly, and raised his hand to signal other Qin soldiers to escort the prisoners to execution.

"Father, save me! Father, save me!!!"

"Grandfather!! I don't want to die! Grandfather! Mother! Mother! I don't want to die!!!"

In an instant, cries and shouts resounded throughout the entire street. The sons of the nobles who had just been fighting fiercely all became weak in the legs and feet and were dragged by the Qin soldiers. It was clearly seen that some of them had liquid flowing out of their crotches.

This scene.

Not to mention the countless men and women of the gentry who sat on the ground in despair, watching their own sons being dragged away and soon being taken outside the city to be beheaded. Even the countless Qi people on the streets were frightened and turned pale. They looked at the Qin soldiers and generals with fear and terror, and dared not say a word.

"go!"

The Qin army general was not concerned about this scene and continued to give orders, asking the soldiers to escort the people out of the city and not to block the people behind.

"Wu Lie-kun! You don't even care about us~ That's it~!!!"

Looking at the women around him with tears streaming down their faces, an old man with long beard and white hair and dressed in Qi clothes cried and shouted with a sad face. From the jade ornaments around his waist and the number of women and men around him, it can be seen that this old man's status in Linzi must be not low, and his family is extremely prosperous.

"Wu Lie-kun!!!"

The white-haired old man looked up to the sky and shed tears: "I regret it!!!"

In fear, countless Qi people in the quiet streets, the densely packed aristocratic families on the streets, and every Qin soldier, all heard the old man's words.

At this moment, not to mention that the nobles of Qi were extremely regretful, even the countless common people on the streets, looking at these Qin soldiers, clearly realized how good it was when King Wu Lie was still in Linzi!

The funny thing is that they didn't realize it at the beginning. They were afraid of Wu Liejun and regarded him as a tiger. They were afraid of the Qin soldiers and cavalry under Wu Liejun's command...

Looking at the blood still flowing on the streets without any intervention, and thinking of the scene just now, even the people of Qi could see how different the tolerance with which King Wu Lie led his troops in Linzi and treated the people of Qi was compared to how tolerant he was towards these Qin soldiers and Qin people.

Hearing the old man's regretful cry, the people of Qi who were watching the excitement fell silent. No one knew what they would do in the future when faced with the strict Qin laws.

Men, women, old and young, from the old families of Chu, Wei and Yan no longer had the heart to laugh at them. Seeing their own family members about to be dragged away and beheaded, even they had to admit that compared to the past, Bai Yan was now extremely merciful.

Under the scorching sun, outside the city of Linzi, the heart-wrenching cries for mercy were finally stopped by something and completely quieted down.

Inside the city, outside the residence of Yan's father and grandmother, there were already many people kneeling, and in the courtyard of the residence, Meng Gu was so angry that he slammed the table.

"It was you who used to be relatives of the Ying family, and you urged the county governor and county lieutenant to take up their posts one after another. You also indulged the old clans of Chu and Yan, secretly sent people to the north, colluded with the Donghu, and caused my nephew to leave Linzi! Now, my nephew has followed your wishes and left Linzi, and you come to beg for mercy again..."

Qi Gu stood up and pointed at the several people from the aristocratic families in front of him without mercy. These people were old and strong, and they were all well-known and powerful people in Linzi City.

But right now, Meng Gu couldn't care less. He got angry when he thought of the actions of these old men in the past.

"Anyway, there is no other way right now. Even if we send the letter to Xianyang, we won't be able to make it in time even if we travel day and night without sleep!"

Seeing his mother glaring at him from a distance, Meng Gu calmed down a little, but his expression was still very embarrassed.

"We know how difficult this matter is. We also know that it is our own fault that we have fallen to this point. We regret not knowing how to do this!"

The leader, Old Xing, had a guilty look on his face and looked at Meng Gu with a helpless tone, then looked at Yanfu and Shui Shou who were standing beside him.

"Right now, we only hope to preserve our family business. This is the foundation passed down from our ancestors, and we cannot lose it! We also ask the father and brother of the old Wu Liejun to go to the Qin army camp and meet their generals, leaving a bloodline for us in Linzi. We, the nobles, will never forget this favor in the future!"

Old Xing humbly bowed to Yanfu and Shuishou and bowed.

"Yes! Please ask Wu Liejun's father and brother to come forward and leave a bloodline for us and preserve the family business left by our ancestors!"

"Please ask Wu Liejun's father and brother to come forward!!!"

Under the pavilion, all the old men who were usually highly respected and considered themselves noble in the past, no matter they met the county magistrate or the county lieutenant, now all bent down and saluted Yanfu and Shuishou.

Facing Bo Gu's words, bitter expressions appeared on the faces of every old man, and the other middle-aged men were too ashamed to refute.

Those who can come to Yanfu are not ordinary people and can see more clearly.

The journey to Guanzhong is thousands of miles long, and it is unknown how long it will take. Not to mention the hardship, there will be chaos when there are too many people, and no one knows what will happen. What's more, these people who have lived for most of their lives know better than anyone that family business, as long as it is in Linzi, is family business and foundation.

Selling out and leaving, or leaving, is like uprooting, and like a tree, it will gradually wither away, and it is not a question of whether it can survive.

The best way for the family to continue is to stay rooted in Linzi, wait for three to five years, and then find a way to move back to Linzi.

That was why they came here and asked Bai Yan's father and brother to come forward. Although these two had no official positions, they had all inquired privately that not only was the chief general of the Qin army acquainted with Bai Yan, but even other generals had led troops under Bai Yan and participated in the Battle of Chudong. Bai Yan not only saved their lives, but also had a sense of gratitude for their meritorious service.

They also knew that this was the order of the King of Qin. Without Bai Yan, no one could protect them. But now, as long as Bai Yan's father and brother went to the Qin army privately to plead for mercy, it would not be difficult to leave a few people in Linzi to manage the family business for them.

With Bai Yan in Xianyang and Bai Yan's father and brother stepping forward, the Qin army commander and generals would not worry about letting a few people go.

Under the pavilion.

Seeing Yanfu and Shuishou looking embarrassed and hesitant, the old men could only plead in a low voice.

In the past, they were the ones who secretly drove Wu Liejun out of Linzi, and now they have ended up like this. They have reaped the consequences of their own actions and have no words to say. When this matter comes to Guanzhong in the future, they will go to see Bai Yan and confess their crimes in person.

But right now, they only hope that Bai Yan's family can help them and preserve their roots in Linzi.

........................

Just when the nobles in Linzi City were all in Bai Yan's mansion, asking Bai Yan's clansmen to come forward.

In Qi County, no matter in which city or town, one could see Qin soldiers escorting members of the gentry everywhere, even in the nearby Langya County.

The old clans of the Qi State in these two counties, looking at the ruthless Qin soldiers, could only drag their families with them, and with sad faces mixed with a few old clans of Chu, Wei and Yan, they left their homeland together, and under the escort of the Qin soldiers, they walked step by step towards Guanzhong thousands of miles away.

Among them, Zhan Maoshen of the Zhan family, Yu Dou of the Yu family, Xu Ni of the Xu family, Lu Hui, as well as the Qi clan members in cities all over the country, when they saw with their own eyes their wives and concubines, the old and young in the family all being driven out of the mansions, their faces all turned pale and their hearts were dead.

When leaving the city, they looked at the Qin soldiers holding long spears and sharp swords around them, looked back at the city and their homeland, and thought that no one would help them and no one would protect them. Without exception, everyone began to regret their conspiracy to drive Bai Yan out of Qi.

(End of this chapter)