Do you want to be a person, or do you want to be a pawn?
It was a very simple question. Any normal person would give a very normal answer.
It was also an extremely cruel and ugly question. It was the principle of all political games.
Do you want to be a pawn, the master of the game, and control all the pawns in the world for your own use? Or do you want to be a pawn that can be abandoned at any time?
Shen Yicheng's words were full of temptation for the officials who held power.
"The Emperor wants his country to be stable, and his descendants to be the rulers of the world forever. But we, as officials, also have families and descendants. Who doesn't want their descendants to continue burning incense? Shi Butang, don't you know what happens to the families of those officials who commit crimes after they die?
If we surrender and watch as Xiao Ruxun cooperates with the Emperor to take back military power, as long as they take back the military power in the capital, with Xiao Ruxun's prestige in the Ming Dynasty Army, when that day comes, you, me, and all the officials and nobles in the court, how many people can survive?
Just look at taxes. Don't you know about the Daming the national treasury? Every year, how much money that should have been collected is not collected, and how much money that should have been used on the ground is taken away by the officials? After this investigation, according to the Daming Law, all the officials who Daming the national treasury should have their families executed!
This includes you, Shi Butang. You, your wife, your children, your parents, your clansmen, your old friends. How many people can survive? Homes being searched, ancestral halls destroyed, ancestral tombs smashed, incense extinguished, and infamy for thousands of years. Do you really want to see this happen?
If the Emperor regains power, he will definitely punish us. You don't want to be lucky. The world lacks everything, money, food, and land, but there is no shortage of people who want to be officials. The Emperor can kill us and there will be a large number of people who can be used as pawns at any time. But for us, if we die, we die.
Everyone outside knew about this. Everyone had made a choice, so their choice was very simple. They wanted to live, they didn't want to watch helplessly as they walked down the path of death. Right now, the only way to survive was to fight with all their might.
Was this a rebellion? Was this a rebellious act? It didn't matter. So what if it was? As long as we win and set things right, we can push all the blame onto Xiao Ruxun. In any case, he's dead, and most of the people who know about this matter are dead as well. At most, in a hundred years, everyone who knows about this matter will die.
How did the descendants know about this? History books! Who wrote the history books? You, me, the whole court! There is only one Taishi Qi and only one Dong Hu. If he dies, then so be it. But the book is still here. You and I will only be the heroes who set things right, not the rebels. The rebel is Xiao Ruxun, not you and me.
Shi Butang, I don't mind telling you that in the past few days, all the officials of the third rank and above, except for you and Song Yingchang, have decided to follow my orders to kill the traitors, eliminate the traitors for the country, clean up the Emperor's side, and bring peace to the Empire! "
Shi Xing was shocked. He turned to look at Shen Yicheng with a face like that of a devil.
"A bright world? Shen Yicheng, you colluded with the officials? You … What else do you want?! "
Shen Yicheng shook his head and said slowly.
"Shi Bu Tang, now that things have come to this, let's not talk about this anymore. Right now, facing this matter, if you have two choices in front of you, one is to have everyone sit and wait for death, the other is to have only a few people die, which would you choose?"
Shi Xing was stunned.
"You … You want to …"
"Yes, I want to kill Xiao Ruxun. If I kill him, the emperor will have no outside help, and his biggest support will be gone. The third eunuch of the Imperial Horse has been poisoned by me, and the Imperial Horse can't be used for the time being. If I kill Zhang Cheng, the emperor will have no way to deal with it."
Shen Yicheng put the wine cup on the table heavily.
"You want to make the emperor a mere figurehead? This is a rebellion! This is a rebellion! You don't just want to kill Hsiao Jixin, do you? What else do you want? Do you want to kill the emperor?! Shen Yicheng!!! "
Shi Xing roared at Shen Yicheng.
"I, Shen Yicheng, am the Daming's official, why would I do something like killing the emperor? This is to clean out the emperor's side! "
Shen Yicheng's face was cold and solemn. "This is the best way, and also the most convenient way. We only need to kill the Soaring Dragon Guards, the Imperial Horse Supervisor, the East Faction Guards, the Director of Rites, and the two thousand Zhennan Army in the barracks outside the city, as well as the three thousand troops in the West Mountain!"
Shi Xing stared at Shen Yicheng, gritted his teeth, and said fiercely, "That's the lives of tens of thousands of people! Tens of thousands of people! Shen Yicheng, how can you be so vicious? "
"Otherwise, Shi Butang, are you willing to exchange the lives of your entire family with them?"
Shen Yicheng looked coldly at Shi Xing.
Shi Xing looked at Shen Yicheng's cold eyes in astonishment.
"I wonder if these people will pity you when your entire family is killed? When your wife and children cry for help, but you are powerless to do anything, will you regret it? Will you regret your choice today? "
"Tens of thousands of people killed, or hundreds of thousands of people killed, which do you think is better?"
"Shi Butang, are you really willing to sacrifice the lives of your family? Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of your clansmen and students? "
"Those standing outside are the ones who are unwilling, and are willing to support this old man. At this moment, outside the city, the operation has already begun. Xiao Ruxun is already on his way to Dong 'an Gate. Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner. Shi Butang, what do you want to do? What can you do? "
"What?!"
Looking at Shen Yicheng's gloomy face, Shi Xing was shocked.
He knew that Shen Yicheng didn't lie.
Shen Yicheng didn't lie.
At 7 pm, a motorcade set off from inside the city and arrived outside the city. They sent over 300 jars of wine and some pork and mutton to the barracks of the Zhennan Army.
Wang Hui didn't receive the order that there would be a motorcade to deliver food to them, but it was not strange. These days, the emperor gave rewards one after another without advance notice. So he led a team to greet these people outside the barracks.
"Who are you?"
A middle-aged military officer with a warm smile on his face made an obeisance to Wang Hui, "I'm ordered by Assistant Minister Xiao of the Ministry of War to bring you some wine and meat. Tomorrow, Duke Qin will take office, and the Ministry of War has decided to celebrate it. This is the gift."
Then the military officer handed over the documents from the Ministry of War. There was a list on it, and all the instructions were very normal. Wang Hui was relieved and said with a smile, "Then, on behalf of the entire army, I thank Shi Butang and Assistant Minister Xiao for the wine and meat!"
The middle-aged military officer laughed and left after handing over the motorcade. Wang Hui brought the motorcade back to the barracks. At a glance, there were indeed hundreds of jars of wine and a lot of meat. Overjoyed, Wang Hui ordered the cooks' army to cook the meat, and then the whole army had a good meal together.
After a day of training, the soldiers of the Zhennan Army were happy to be able to eat meat. Wang Hui gathered the whole army, gave each of them a bowl of wine, and then gave the whole army a lecture.
"Originally, we shouldn't drink in the army, but today is a little special. Tomorrow, Silang will take office as the governor of the military affairs in the capital and the Left Commander-In-Chief of the Middle Military Command. We will also be incorporated into the capital camp, and there will be more trials waiting for us in the future. The glory of the Zhennan Army will not stop here! Everyone, drink to your hearts' content! "
"Drink to your hearts' content!"
One by one, the soldiers of the Zhennan Army happily drank the wine in their bowls. Just as Wang Hui was about to drink his bowl of wine, he heard Old Huotou's shout in his ear, "The meat is here!!!"
The soldiers hurriedly put down the bowls in their hands and gathered around to eat the meat. Wang Hui looked at the soldiers' lively expressions and did not insist on the soldiers lining up to receive the meat. However, when he saw their cheerful expressions, he suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Xiao Ruxun and could not help but worry.
He did not know if the army would still have such a lively scene on the day of the completion of the important matter. How many of these comrades who had been with him day and night would be able to live to that day?
Wang Hui sighed.
"Deputy General Wang! This bowl of meat is for you! "
Suddenly, Wang Hui heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw Old Zhou running towards him with a bowl of meat. "If you don't come and eat, it will all be eaten by those rascals. Come, come, come, this bowl of meat is for you!"
Wang Hui took the bowl of meat and was instantly elated.
"Old Zhou, you … how about this! I'll keep this bowl of meat, then this bowl of wine is for you! "
Old Zhou took the wine with a smile and finished it while laughing. Wang Hui simply ate the meat and stopped thinking about the things that worried him. In any case, Xiao Ruxun would definitely have a solution.
That was what he thought.
However, not everyone had the same worries as him. They were very happy and relaxed, enjoying the wine and meat to their heart's content. Eating the meat and drinking the wine was the happiest life for most soldiers in this era.
Wang Hui ate the meat quietly and looked at each soldier. Seeing them chatting and laughing, his mood strangely calmed down.
That's right, why should I think about the future now? No one can predict what will happen in the future …
After eating the bowl of meat, Wang Hui was not satisfied and ate another bowl. When he was about to eat a third bowl, something strange happened.
"Tian Sheng! Tian Sheng, what's wrong? Tian Sheng?! "
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