The summer in the southern wilderness of the Tang Empire was not hot. It was as gentle as the Empress, who was also called Summer. It was very comfortable. Along the way to the south, Ning Que naturally thought of the trip to the Lanke Temple with Sangsang. It was here that he fell in love with this place.
He and Wang Jinglue rode in an ordinary carriage. When they reached the Verdant Canyon, they could not go any further. They abandoned the carriage and walked on foot, struggling to find a path among the rocks. There were many Tang soldiers reinforcing guard posts in the steep canyon. The imperial court did not intend to completely seal the Verdant Canyon. Naturally, they wanted to recover the Qinghe River one day.
Walking out of the Verdant Canyon, they saw weeds growing in the wilderness. Even the mature cultivated land had been abandoned. Brown bloodstains could be seen in the fields, as if they would bleed with a casual step.
Ning Que seemed to see the late autumn of last year, when his Senior Brothers and Sisters stood here facing hundreds of thousands of troops. He seemed to see Second Brother fighting with the world with an iron sword. He felt the pressure on his shoulders heavier.
It was late. The two rested in the open air in the wilderness in front of the Verdant Canyon. The insects were chirping in the summer night, and the bright moon rose from the mountains. Ning Que was speechless as he looked at the moon.
When they woke up the next morning, he and Wang Jinglue continued to the south. What they saw was no different from previous years. The small bridge, the flowing water, the white walls, the black eaves, and the famous gardens along the Fuchun River were all beautiful.
There were no traces of war in Yangzhou City. The bluestone streets were as clean as if they had been washed. There were no bloodstains. Vendors called out to their customers in a soft local accent, and the unique aroma of pickled duck filled the restaurants. If it were not for the well-equipped warlords patrolling the streets, it would be impossible to imagine that so many people had died and so many murders had occurred in this city a few months ago.
Ning Que and Wang Jinglue walked to the back garden of the Mayor's Mansion. He looked at the green bamboos sticking out of the wall in silence. There were spots on the bamboos that looked like tear stains or bloodstains.
"On that day, the City Defense Mansion gathered the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army as an order and gathered the officials of Yangzhou in the mansion. Then, they suddenly turned hostile and asked these officials to surrender. After they refused, they started a bloodbath. A total of 13 imperial court officials were killed, and three of them were even descendants of the warlords."
Wang Jinglue looked at the City Guard Mansion and said in a low voice, "The person in charge of this matter is called Zhong Da Jun. At that time, he was the Commander of the City Guard Mansion. He was the son of the City Guard. The warlords invited the Admiral of the Navy to Fuchun River for a discussion and set up an ambush. After a bitter battle, the Admiral of the Navy and the senior officers died in battle. Then, the purge and massacre of the Navy on the Great Lake began. In the evening, the armed forces of the Cui Clan forced their way into the Governor's Mansion of Qinghe County. The Governor committed suicide. "
In just a few simple sentences, he had clearly described the major incident on the day of the rebellion in Qinghe County. On that bloody day, 3,000 Tang navy officers and soldiers were either dead or injured, and more than 300 court officials who were loyal to the Tang Empire were beheaded. As Wang Jinglue had said earlier, there were actually many descendants of the warlords among these officials. It was just that they did not agree with the opinions of the elders in the warlords, so they became sacrifices.
No matter how clean the bluestone streets in Yangzhou City were, to the point where not a single trace of blood could be seen or the smell of blood could be smelled, the blood had still flowed out and seeped into the soil between the bluestone cracks. It was not that it could not be seen or smelled, but that it had not existed. Since it had existed, it should be remembered.
Ning Que did not say anything and left the City Guard Mansion with Wang Jinglue. Instead of going to the inn, they went straight out of the city to the banks of the Fuchun River. They rented a boat with a black awning for five taels of silver and went downstream.
It had not been long since the end of the war. The temporary peace in Qinghe County did not allow people to truly feel relaxed. At least, it was difficult for tourists to relax, so there were not many boats on the beautiful Fuchun River.
Ning Que and Wang Jinglue sat on both sides of the black awning boat and looked at the scenery by the river. Even though they were both experienced and knowledgeable, they had to admit that in terms of exquisite beauty, there was no place in the world that could beat this place.
The black awning boat swayed leisurely as it sailed past the famous gardens by the river. The boatman explained the historical origins of the famous gardens from time to time, and the private property of the green bamboo at the foot of Crouching Tiger Mountain. He was very familiar with these things. Wang Jinglue was not in the mood to listen to these things, but Ning Que listened very carefully.
The Fuchun River was extremely beautiful, but unfortunately, it was not long. The black awning boat moved slowly, swaying and swaying until it reached the downstream. It went ashore through the forest and arrived at the Coal Mountain of Qinghe County.
The warlords of Qinghe County were known for being literate, but they did not lack the support of military and economic power. The Coal Mountain, which stretched for hundreds of miles, was the treasure that Haotian had given to the warlords.
Ning Que and Wang Jinglue stood in a remote corner of the Coal Mountain and silently looked at the movement here. They saw the stewards of the warlords waving their leather whips, and the naked miners were dragging the coal cart with difficulty. Their bodies were covered in soot, and the soot was mixed with the blood from the whipping. It was a tragic sight.
Wang Jinglue's expression was extremely ugly at first, but after observing for a while, he looked slightly better. He said, "They should be barbarians captured from the primeval forest, and some slaves sent by West-Hill."
Ning Que said, "Since the peace agreement has been reached, as long as the families of Qinghe County are not as arrogant and stupid as idiots, they should know what awaits them if they still dare to trap our people here to do hard labor."
Last autumn, Qinghe County had rebelled, and 3,000 Tang Navy officers and soldiers had suffered heavy casualties. Those who did not die were all taken to the Coal Mountain downstream of the Fuchun River to do hard labor. In the peace agreement signed between the Tang Empire and the West-Hill Divine Palace, the most important condition was that Qinghe County had to return these Tang soldiers. Some time ago, those Tang soldiers who had been tortured inhumanely were sent back to Chang 'an. According to them, those days were too painful.
Ning Que made a special trip to the Coal Mountain because the Tang imperial court felt that there was something wrong with the number of people returned by Qinghe County. After the rebellion, at least 1,000 Tang soldiers were taken to the Coal Mountain to do hard labor, but this time, less than 600 were sent back to Chang 'an. The explanation given by Qinghe County was that many Tang soldiers were seriously injured in the battle. After being taken to the Coal Mountain, although they received treatment, they could not be cured and died just like that.
This was a very reasonable explanation, but Ning Que did not believe it. As time passed slowly, the sun began to set in the west. The hard labor in the Coal Mountain was still desperately struggling. He walked towards an abandoned coal pit.
According to the secret guard's intelligence, when the West-Hill Divine Palace's diplomatic corps left Qinghe and began to prepare for negotiations with the Tang Empire, the coal pit became quiet and no one entered it again.
Ning Que and Wang Jinglue walked along the tunnel into the abandoned coal pit. As the tunnel extended, the top of the pit became lower and lower. They had to stand up, and it became much more difficult to move.
After walking for an unknown period of time, the underground coal pit was completely dark and bone-piercingly cold. The faint wind condensed the pungent smell of decay in one place, unable to be released.
Ning Que stopped and reached out to hold the podao. After confirming that there was no danger at the bottom of the pit, he lit an oil lamp beside the cave wall. Wang Jinglue looked at the bottom of the pit, which was illuminated by the dim light, and his face became abnormally pale.
Ning Que's expression did not change. He squatted down and used his hand to touch the leg bone of a rotten corpse. After confirming that it had been smashed by a heavy object, he walked inside and looked at the injuries on the corpses.
There were at least hundreds of corpses at the bottom of the coal pit. These corpses were so badly rotten that there was no sign of their identity. However, he knew that these were the people he was looking for.
These people did not die of knife wounds or arrow wounds. They died of starvation, thirst, or exhaustion. These people had been brave Tang soldiers when they were alive. Of course, they had resisted before being tortured. That was why the whips had taken away the flesh on the bones, and why the leg bones had been broken by the stones.
Ning Que and Wang Jinglue stood in front of the corpses of the Tang soldiers and were silent for a long time.
The Tang Empire had always given the highest respect to the soldiers who fought for the country. Even a corpse would not be allowed to wander outside, let alone the Tang soldiers who had been alive at that time. Ever since they knew that more than a thousand of the Tang navy had been sent to the Coal Mountain by the warlords of Qinghe County, the imperial court of the Tang Empire had never stopped trying to save them. Even at the critical moment when the Abbey Dean entered Chang 'an, the imperial court did not forget to send a warning to Qinghe County and secretly promised to give them corresponding benefits as long as they could release these people.
It was believed that after this, the warlords of Qinghe County would be very clear about Chang 'an's attitude and would not dare to torture these Tang soldiers anymore. However, in less than a month before this, hundreds of these Tang soldiers had died at the Coal Mountain. One could imagine what kind of torture and pain they had suffered at that time.
Wang Jinglue used to be a Minister of Offerings in the Prince's Mansion and lived a carefree life. Later, he was sent by His Majesty to serve under General Xu Shi. After several years of training, he had long become a real soldier.
Looking at the hundreds of corpses at the bottom of the pit, he said, "We have to find a way to send them back."
Ning Que had been in the army in the City of Wei for many years and knew the customs of the army. However, he did not agree with Wang Jinglue and said, "It's not a problem to be buried here, but we need to build a better tomb."
Wang Jinglue understood what he meant. One day, the Tang Empire's cavalry would rush out of the Verdant Canyon and sweep across the south of the human world. Qinghe County was and would be the territory of the Tang Empire in the future.
Ning Que said, "When I slaughtered the Qinghe County Guild Hall in Chang 'an, some people always thought that I was too ruthless and worried that it would affect the hearts of the people of Qinghe. If they saw this scene, I don't know if they would still insist on their views. We can take our time to build the hearts of the people, but the dead people will urge us to move faster."
Wang Jinglue said, "There are still many people in Qinghe County who are loyal to the Tang Empire. Even many of the descendants of the warlords still consider themselves Tangs. Otherwise, there would not have been so many descendants and officials who died during the rebellion. I'm just worried that if we kill too many of them, it will push them to the opposite side."
"When the warlords rebelled, those people did not stand up to express their opinions. When more than 300 Tang officials were beheaded, they still stood by and watched silently. I don't know where their hearts are, but I only know that they were once silent. That means they are accomplices, and that they have a reason to die."
Ning Que said, "My hands are stained with a lot of blood, and no matter how I wash them, I can't wash them clean. Some people seem to have no blood on their hands, but even if they jump into the Fuchun River, they won't be able to wash them clean."
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(Try to finish the next chapter before one o 'clock.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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