diymy Chapter 6 Complaint
Chapter 6 Complaint
"Boom—"
A loud bang, like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
The out-of-control coal truck, like a maddened black rhinoceros, smashed through several servants of the Fan family who tried to stop it, before overturning to the ground due to its immense inertia.
The car body fell apart, and wood chips flew everywhere.
Thousands of kilograms of coal ash poured out instantly, exploding into a huge black mushroom cloud in front of the city gate. The smoke and dust obscured the sun, causing the surrounding people and officials to cough incessantly, and the scene was chaotic.
"Ahem! Who goes there!"
"Someone is disrupting the ceremonial procession! Stop them immediately!"
In the chaos, a figure covered in black ash struggled to crawl out of the ruins.
It's Lu Yan.
He was in a terrible state, with a cut on his forehead, blood mixed with coal dust flowing down, making his scholarly face look ferocious and terrifying. But he paid no heed to the pain, because through the billowing dust, he could already see the large blue sedan chair parked in the middle of the official road a hundred paces away.
That was his goal.
"Changying!" Lu Yan roared hoarsely.
"exist!"
A thunderous roar erupted from behind the overturned carriage.
Zhao Changying, like a black demon crawling out of hell, charged out suddenly, carrying a broken piece of wood that had been taken from the carriage shaft in one hand.
"Those who block my way shall die!!"
He swung the broken piece of wood with his intact right hand, creating a whistling sound.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two servants who had just drawn their swords and rushed forward were swept away by the blow, falling several feet away like broken sacks.
"Kill him! That's Lu Yan! The master said, dead or alive, it doesn't matter!"
Among the crowd, the dozens of desperados planted by Fan Renfu finally reacted. They no longer concealed themselves, drawing short blades hidden in their sleeves, some even pulling out lime powder, howling as they rushed towards the three men in the smoke and dust.
This was an ambush right under the nose of the censor.
"Fan Fu! Grab the supplies and come with me!"
Lu Yan grabbed Fan Fu, who was so frightened his legs went weak, and shielded him behind him, then followed closely behind Zhao Changying.
Zhao Changying is the blade of this sharp knife.
He used his broken left arm, which was strapped with a thick wooden board, as a shield to block a steel blade that came slashing down.
"Pfft!"
The blade pierced flesh, and blood splattered!
Zhao Changying didn't even utter a sound. With the broken wood in her right hand, she stabbed the assassin hard in the lower abdomen, sending him flying.
He was like a mobile fortress, using his flesh and blood to carve a bloody path to the sedan chair in the airtight killing formation.
One step, two steps, ten steps...
"Brother! Let's go!!!"
As more and more assassins surrounded them, Zhao Changying suddenly stopped and turned around to block the gap with his broad back. With his last bit of strength, he shoved Lu Yan forward.
Lu Yan staggered and broke through the encirclement.
At this moment, he was only thirty steps away from the sedan chair.
But before him lay the last line of defense—two rows of Imperial Guards officers dressed in flying fish robes and wielding embroidered spring knives.
"You audacious scoundrel! You've disrupted the ceremonial procession; kill you without mercy!"
The commander of the Imperial Guard shouted sternly, his sword already half an inch out of its sheath, its cold light gleaming.
This is the real dead end.
If he had taken one more step, the Imperial Guards would have chopped off his head before the Fan family even had a chance to act.
In that life-or-death moment, Lu Yan neither slowed down nor begged for mercy.
He was rapidly calculating distance, kinetic energy, and angle in his mind.
Twenty steps... ten steps...
It's now!
Lu Yan suddenly pulled out a white cloth that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and raised it high above his head. At the same time, his knees buckled, and using the huge momentum of running, he slid out along the cold frozen ground in a resolute manner.
"Sizzle—"
The sound of his knees scraping the ground was sickening. He slid across the snow, leaving a long, bloody trail, and finally, like a precisely fired nail, stopped just three feet in front of the Imperial Guard commander.
The blade was already raised, hovering above his head; it only needed to fall to leave him a headless corpse.
But the knife did not fall.
Because the centurion saw clearly what Lu Yan was holding in his hand.
That's not a white cloth.
It was a white flag.
Four large characters were written on it in vivid, bloody (chicken blood)—
Traitor to the Ming Dynasty
These four words carried such weight that even the Imperial Guards dared not easily draw their swords.
The surroundings were deathly silent.
Even the Fan family thugs who were chasing them were stunned by this sudden turn of events and stood frozen in place, too afraid to move.
Lu Yan knelt on the ground, panting heavily. He didn't look up, but simply held the white cloth even higher. His voice was hoarse from inhaling too much coal dust, yet it carried a penetrating calmness:
"Lu Yan, a student from Ziyang, has accused the magistrate of Ziyang of colluding with the local tyrant Fan Renfu to embezzle 1,200 mu of military farmland belonging to Emperor Taizu! This is undermining the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and cutting off the grain supply route to Liaodong! This is—a traitor to the nation!"
Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the hearts of everyone present.
It's not "wronged," it's not "lifesaving."
He is a "traitor to the country".
He was a educated man who understood the law, but also a gambler who knew how to use political correctness to save his life. He elevated this county's corruption case to the level of "the fate of the nation in Liaodong."
At this point in time, anyone who dares to stop him is an accomplice of a traitor.
a long time.
The curtain of the large blue sedan chair, which had remained motionless, was finally lifted a crack.
A very well-maintained hand reached out and gently waved.
The commander of the Imperial Guard understood, sheathed his sword, and stepped aside.
A middle-aged man in a scarlet official robe with a long beard slowly stepped out of the sedan chair. He had a thin face and cold, sharp eyes; he was none other than Zuo Guangdou, the censor who had been ordered to inspect Shandong.
Zuo Guangdou ignored the stunned officials around him and the thugs wielding weapons. His gaze fell on Lu Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and coal dust.
"Military settlement?" Zuo Guangdou spat out the two words through gritted teeth, his voice not loud, but carrying a metallic tone. "You are a student of the Imperial Academy, you should know the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If there is no evidence, you are guilty of false accusation and will be punished by rolling on a bed of nails."
"I know." Lu Yan raised his head, his face covered in dirt, but his eyes were frighteningly bright. "If even one number is false, I am willing to die in front of your sedan chair."
He took out the blue ledger he had stolen from the Fan family mansion and the "Audit Report on the Loss of Military Farms" that he had prepared overnight, and presented them with both hands.
"This is irrefutable evidence."
The attendant beside Zuo Guangdou took the account book and handed it over.
Zuo Guangdou turned to the first page. After just one glance, the pupils of this upright and incorruptible censor, known for his unwavering integrity, suddenly contracted.
The densely packed records above are not a simple account of events, but rather a series of shocking transactions involving power and money:
"In the 42nd year of the Wanli reign, they seized 300 mu of military farmland in Zhaojiawa Garrison, bribed the county magistrate with 50 taels of silver, and forged land deeds..."
"In the 44th year of the Wanli reign, 500 mu of farmland in Xigouzi were annexed and converted into mulberry fields to evade grain taxes..."
The data is detailed and the logic is logically sound. This isn't a complaint; it's clearly an audit report that can be used to commit murder!
"Great...very good!"
Zuo Guangdou slammed the account book shut, his gaze flashing like lightning as he suddenly shot towards the Ziyang magistrate, who was already paralyzed with fear on the ground, and Fan Renfu, who was trembling in the crowd.
"Is this the 'peaceful world' under your rule? Is this the 'no land left to conquer' you reported?"
Zuo Guangdou's voice suddenly rose in pitch, like a thunderclap:
"Guards! Remove this Ziyang magistrate from his post and arrest him immediately! Seize that so-called village head Fan Renfu and all his cronies! Seal the county government's storerooms and treasury; this court will personally conduct a land survey!"
"yes!"
The fierce-looking Imperial Guard officers swarmed forward, the sound of iron chains locking their throats particularly jarring in the cold wind.
The once arrogant thugs of the Fan family dropped their weapons and knelt down, begging for mercy.
Lu Yan remained kneeling on the ground.
Only when he heard those screams and pleas for mercy did his tense nerves finally relax.
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, turned his head, and looked at Zhao Changying, who was lying in a pool of blood not far away, grinning foolishly at him.
The bet was won.
He won this high-stakes gamble, risking his life.
A faint smile appeared on Lu Yan's lips, but it lasted only a moment before being replaced by a deeper coldness.
This is just the first step.
Riding this wave of opportunity, he not only wanted to survive, but also to make a name for himself in this chaotic world.
(End of this chapter)