On the tenth day of October, the day after he settled in Bajiao Town for rest, Sun Tu led 500 personal guards to Jinling City, which was later known as Nanjing. As for the other troops, they continued to stay in Bajiao Town, because as Tong Mu said, At this time, there are countless soldiers and horses inside and outside Jinling. If there are tens of thousands more people, there will really be no place to station.
As one of the most important and famous cities in the south of the Yangtze River, Jinling City has left a strong presence in the past dynasties, including Sun Wu's Jianye, Jiankang in the Eastern Jin Dynasty... and now in the Song Dynasty, here It is still the number one city in the south of the Yangtze River, the beauties of the Three Wu Dynasties, and the name of the six-generation emperor state is indeed well-deserved.
But all this is in the past. Today's Jinling City no longer has the prosperity of the past, but only chaos and fear. Sun Tu only led his army ten miles away in front of the towering north gate of Jinling. He already saw countless military camps spread out there, and many soldiers were playing among them. They didn't look like an army at all.
And when Sun Tu's army and horses passed by many military camps, the soldiers inside just glanced at them without any unnecessary reaction. Just this kind of preparedness could reveal the combat effectiveness of these officers and soldiers who came from the north to suppress the rebellion, and it also made Sun Tu shake his head secretly.
After successfully entering the city and actually entering Jinling, even though Tong Mu had told him about the chaos here before, Sun Tu still felt unbelievable and accepting after actually seeing it with his own eyes. In the imagination, Jinling City, a city with endless flow of people and prosperous commerce, is now empty and withered. Although there are still many people on the long street, most of them are soldiers, and they are not patrolling or anything, but chasing in boredom. slapstick.
Farther away, some soldiers with knives and guns kept beating the closed shop. When someone finally opened the door, they swarmed in. After a while, they saw them snatching a lot of things and running out. The store owner was sitting on the ground in despair, wanting to cry without tears.
This was considered good. After taking only two steps forward, Sun Tu saw three groups of soldiers escorting dozens of men and women who were crying and being wronged. However, some of them could not keep up with the team. The head was whipped violently with a leather whip, until those who had no power to fight back were left moaning and crying, which looked really pitiful.
"What's going on?" Sun Tu frowned deeply when he saw this, and couldn't help but look at Tong Mu, who was accustomed to seeing things next to him, and asked.
"It should be that Zhu Meng is trying to plunder the city's wealth again. Since we retreated to Jinling, he has been using different methods to extort the local people. First, he added dozens of heavy taxes, and then added collusion The crime of rebelling against thieves has been imposed on some people. Now, they should be related to Hua Shigang..." Tong Mu's face was not good-looking, but he was still very clear about the methods of these people: "But in many cases, It’s the people below who are making their own decisions, because only in this way can these soldiers get a share of the pie.”
As he was speaking, he heard a rather majestic shout from not far away on his left: "This is the decree of the imperial court. Why, do you want to rebel? Now the emperor has taken a liking to this piece of land in your home." Stones, those are the blessings you have cultivated for three lifetimes, and you still dare to say more? Come here, demolish their houses so that we can easily transport the gems out of them.
Don't bump into the gems! "
Following this order, there were rumbling sounds over there. Sun Tu glanced around and saw that a fairly good house had its door and outer walls removed, revealing the house and yard inside. Come. The owner of the house inside was trembling with anger and yelled: "I... I have clearly given you twenty taels of gold before, and you promised not to make things difficult for me anymore, so why did you go back on your word..."
"What are you talking about? We don't understand at all. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will be careful to accuse you of disobeying the emperor's decree. Come on, hurry up and bring the gem back to me!" The junior officer reprimanded loudly and arrogantly. As he raised his hand and gave the order, dozens of soldiers went to work like wolves and tigers, quickly demolishing many buildings in the yard, and then put a piece inside The rocks used as rockeries were moved out.
Just looking at the appearance of this stone, it is too ordinary. Apart from being as tall as a person, there is almost nothing special about it. But even so, these guys regard it as a flower and stone gang that can pay tribute to the emperor, and they directly demolish the house. Transport away. But in front of these soldiers' shining weapons, the owner of the house and some servants did not dare to resist. They could only watch these soldiers dragging stones away with resentment and sadness on their faces.
Wu Song and Lu Da, who came with Sun Tu, had already turned red with anger when they saw this scene, and the veins on their foreheads were pulsing. Fortunately, Sun Tu took action to hold them down in time, otherwise they would have Go straight up and fight to the bitter end.
"Qian Ju, how can we watch them act so recklessly and harm the people!" Although Wu Song did not move again, his mouth was still full of resentment. Ruda was also the same, looking directly at Sun Tu, waiting for him to give an explanation.
Sun Tu sighed and pointed at the entire Jinling City: "Now there are soldiers doing random things everywhere here. Do you think you can control it? I am afraid that even with all the strength of my army, I can't stop such atrocities. So. What we have to do is not to forcibly stop one or two such incidents, but to find solutions from the root."
Tong Mu also echoed: "What Qianli said is true. Nowadays, too many people in the city are extorting money and oppressing the people under the guise of recruiting flowers and stones. We can't control it at all. Do you know that now, as long as the family is in the city?" Everyone who owns stones is in danger, because at some point, people from the government will come to collect the so-called gem tax. Those who are willing to pay bribes are better off, but those who really can't afford the money will be easily People will soon find various excuses to destroy their homes. And anyone who dares to resist will be convicted of treason and executed on the spot. Hey, this Jinling City will be destroyed in the hands of these guys sooner or later. superior!"
The gloomy air on Sun Tu's face felt a little thicker, and he glanced at the indignant brothers under his hands: "At least we can't do anything now, if we take action at will, we will be involved. , so I ask you to be patient for now, and it won’t be too late to punish them when you find the right opportunity!”
Sun Tu's prestige in the army was still very high. With just one order, everyone bowed their heads and obeyed. Even Wu Song and Lu Da relaxed their bodies, lowered their heads and continued walking forward. However, the anger in their hearts cannot be extinguished because of this. One day it will explode.
hair.
Walking on the deserted and desolate streets of Jinling, everything you could see was the soldiers and cadres doing random things. This made everyone unable to bear to look at it anymore, so they could only speed up their march, and after half an hour, they finally arrived at a magnificent building. Before the mansion, it was Zhu Meng's current residence.
With just a cursory glance, one can see that this mansion occupies an extremely large area, probably more than twenty acres. This would be nothing if placed in sparsely populated areas such as Liaoxia, but in a densely populated area like Jiangnan. , the city looks very grand in a city where every inch of land is precious. Moreover, the decoration at the entrance of this house is extremely exquisite, with carved railings, painted pillars, and colorful lights surrounding it. Its exquisiteness is truly astonishing.
And this is just one of the most inconspicuous of Zhu Meng's several houses in Jiangnan. His two mansions in Suzhou and Hangzhou are even more exquisite and luxurious. Unfortunately, both cities have fallen, and he can only I feel "wronged" to live in such a small house.
Different from the chaos outside, there is order within a few miles around the house. Thousands of soldiers wearing helmets and solemn expressions are patrolling around the house in an orderly manner. However, if ordinary people dare to approach, they will Treated as an assassin, he can be killed with a crossbow on the spot without leaving any consequences. Just by looking at this kind of defense, we can know that Zhu Meng actually knew that his perverse behavior would provoke revenge from the people, but he did not take it to heart and still indulged his desires.
It was not until they entered this long street that Sun Tu's team was stopped. Even if Tong Mu quickly revealed his identity, others were not allowed to pass by at will. Only Sun Tu and Tong Mu were allowed to come to the door of the mansion, and then Wait for the message to be sent inside, and then let him come in to see Zhu Meng. This kind of behavior has never been seen by Tong Guan, who is a favorite of the emperor and a privy envoy of the imperial court.
Just as Sun Tu and the two were waiting in front of the gate, a desperate and angry roar suddenly came from inside: "Zhu Meng, you are so rebellious and have brought disaster to the country and the people, and you will definitely die a good death. Even if I was killed by you and turned into a fierce ghost, I won’t let you go either—ah!” This voice obviously came from inside the courtyard, but it actually passed through several doors and spread to the outside, which clearly shows the circumstances under which the person who yelled out the words roared out. , how desperate he was again.
Tong Mu's eyes suddenly froze, and his body trembled as he said, "It's Yang Du, Yang Tuiguan. He couldn't help it after all."
"Huh?" Sun Tu glanced at him with some doubts, and Tong Mu whispered: "Yang Du is the official of Jinling. He has always been upright and loves the people. Naturally, he is dissatisfied with Zhu Meng's various actions since his arrival. I had thought about going directly to the capital to file a complaint before, but Zhu Meng stopped me. I also tried to persuade him to endure it a little longer, but he couldn't get over it..." When he said this, There was helplessness and sadness in his eyes, but it was not fake.
A moment later, a corpse covered in blood and covered with whip marks and sores was dragged out by several expressionless soldiers. Tong Mu only glanced down, the gloom in his eyes getting heavier, because He identified the body as Yang Du.
At the same time, a middle-aged man who looked like a butler also walked over with a smile: "It turns out that Sun Qianha led the army. My master is waiting in the inner hall. He also asked Sun Qianha and Tong Tuiguan to go in to see him.