Xiao Ruxun had imagined the scene of her reuniting with Ma Gui and Mei Guozhen countless times, but it definitely did not include such a scene. Such a scene was something she could never have imagined. She could not imagine that Mei Guozhen and Ma Gui would actually be in such a position.
It reminded him of something that was very difficult to recall.
Eight hundred years ago in the Tang Dynasty, in a city called Suiyang, a group of starving people had run out of food in order to fight against the rebel army of the empire. In order to protect the city, in order to show their loyalty, they had to make a cruel decision.
At that time, everything that could be eaten in the city had already been eaten. Take note, everything except bricks, mud, and wood had been eaten. Anything that could be eaten had already been eaten.
Of course, the army was more secure than the civilians. Before the army ran out of food, the civilians in the city had run out of food for a long time and were forced to walk on the cursed road that the Chinese people couldn't walk for thousands of years — cannibalism.
The ruler of that city was called Zhang Xun. Before this, he had already been fighting against the empire's rebel army for twenty-one months, fighting in three different cities. From a small county magistrate, he had relied on his military exploits to quickly rise to the position of Deputy Imperial Censor and Henan Military Governor within twenty-one months, becoming an indispensable member of the empire. This was not only a miracle for him, but also a miracle for this era.
However, at that time, any official's position couldn't be compared with a mouthful of food in a soldier's bowl. He clearly knew that his army had reached its limit and was in a desperate situation. The civilians in the city had started to cannibalism, and the army's food rations were about to run out. Once there was no food, the army was doomed to collapse and could no longer fight against the rebel army.
Even though he had already achieved the glorious achievement of killing 120,000 enemies, he had indeed reached his limit.
Under such circumstances, cannibalism happened in Suiyang City, which was guarded by Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun allowed it. He offered his concubines and his deputy his slaves. In such an extreme way, the garrison of Suiyang City held on to the end in desperation. Although the city was still destroyed in the end, seven days later, the well-prepared army of the Tang Empire counterattacked and defeated the exhausted rebel army.
Then, the Tang government army won all the way and finally put down the An-Shi Rebellion.
However, Zhang Xun couldn't see all this anymore.
According to the historical records, Zhang Xun ate 30,000 people in order to defend Suiyang City. Therefore, Zhang Xun was both a national hero and a cannibal.
For thousands of years, there had been a lot of controversy. Even in Daming, where Xiao Ruxun was now, Zhang Xun was still an untouchable taboo topic. Of course, Xiao Ruxun knew it was not accurate. Zhang Xun didn't eat so many people, and cannibalism was not so unforgivable in that environment.
A well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man. We, who were well-fed and warm, couldn't understand the situation of Suiyang's garrison at that time. Moreover, Zhang Xun didn't eat the whole city. Zhang Xun's appearance as a man-eating devil was more or less fueled by the Tang government.
Zhang Xun, as a county magistrate, became a high-ranking official in the empire in two years. His achievements were so brilliant that it showed the mediocrity and incompetence of the other high-ranking officials in the Tang government. His appearance exposed the cowardice and selfishness of the government bureaucrats.
This was unacceptable to the high-ranking officials and nobles who caused the An-Shi Rebellion. Therefore, they couldn't allow a living Zhang Xun to enter the court as a meritorious minister of the empire and take away a big piece of the cake that had already been divided in the court.
Zhang Xun had to die. This was the reason why Helan Jinming didn't save Suiyang City, and also the reason why the other allies didn't save him. After Zhang Xun's death, they marched together and took back Suiyang City in ten days. Then they started the strategic counterattack on Luoyang City and Chang 'an City.
Zhang Xun's death had a strong political significance at that time. The high-ranking officials tried their best to slander Zhang Xun and exaggerate his cannibalism in order to weaken the public's anger after his death. Undoubtedly, most of the people in Suiyang City starved to death in despair. At that point, cannibalism was an inevitable result of the desire to survive, not a deliberate act.
Even so, cannibalism was something that those high officials and nobles who lived like princes and never had to worry about not having enough to eat could not accept. Even the open-minded people of the Tang Dynasty could not accept it, let alone the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, which emphasized morality to an abnormal degree.
You can be corrupt, you can be drunk, you can enclose land, you can refuse to pay taxes, but you can not be without morals. Moreover, whether you have morals or not is not in your own hands, nor is it up to the general public to decide, but it is up to the scholars.
Countless historical events told us that the eyes of the people were not bright. Moreover, it was useless no matter how bright their eyes were. If they couldn't think clearly, they could only be the accomplices of the mastermind.
The literacy rate of the Daming Dynasty was appallingly low. How could you expect people who didn't even know how to read to distinguish right from wrong? It was already very hard for everyone to live, and it was all they could do to survive. How could they have the energy to distinguish right from wrong?
To put it bluntly, the people could only watch and shout "666" as support.
Xiao Ruxun could almost imagine how angry those sanctimonious fellows would be after this matter was spread to the imperial court, and how they would jump up and down to impeach Mei Guozhen and Ma Gui.
What was worse was that Datong, which was defended by Mei Guozhen and Ma Gui, didn't have a strategic position like Suiyang. Zhang Xun defended Suiyang City to protect the Jianghuai region, and bought precious time for the Tang government to use the tax revenue of Jianghuai to launch a strategic counterattack, so that the An-Shi Rebellion could be successfully put down.
His achievements were so brilliant that the Tang government and future generations couldn't kill Zhang Xun with one blow.
But Datong was different!
They defended Datong, but it still led to the expansion of the war. It was indisputable that the defense of Datong City didn't change the fact that Datong Town had completely fallen.
Apart from loyalty and spirit, Xiao Ruxun couldn't find any reason to shirk their responsibility.
Looking at Ma Gui, Xiao Ruxun really didn't know what to say.
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Ruxun could only slowly ask, "Is Inspector Mei okay?"
Ma Gui nodded.
"Inspector Mei is still alive, but he hasn't eaten for a long time, so his body is too weak. He's lying on the bed and can't move."
"This … isn't he …"
Xiao Ruxun really didn't know how to ask. Didn't he have human flesh to eat? Why was he still hungry?
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